Sunday, June 21, 2009
FROM THE TRUNK: Tales from NBA Draft history
The NBA draft is all the rage. Prospects are dissected, analyzed, and compared to heroes of yesteryear. There is the pre-draft camp, the endless talk show hustle as well as fantasy drafts. Preceded by hype, hope and hoopla, the NBA Draft finally arrives with a cast of hundreds of personalities, nationally televised hour after hour. And then there is the endless post-draft commentary.
Once upon a time things were quite different in a simpler world and a smaller NBA. The first draft in 1947 saw first-round selections made by Pittsburgh, Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington and Baltimore. No name from that first-round faraway time (aside from Knicks draftee Walt Dropo, who went on to a distinguished Major League baseball career) had any kind of real basketball impact.
The records from that primitive time are so shrouded in a time warp that a couple of the players drafted in '47 like Bob Alemeida and George Petrovick have a question mark next to their name signifying a lack of information as to the college they played for.
A few non-first-round players went on to make a name for themselves in pro ball like Andy Phillip out of Illinois, Jim Pollard from Stanford, Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M, and Red Rocha who had played at Oregon State.
A footnote to NBA history is Tony Lavelli of Yale, taken by Boston in the 1949 Draft. He went on to play the accordion for the Celtics at half time, sometimes. But contrary to rumors, his musical skill was not one of the reasons for Boston drafting him.
The 1950 Draft went 10 rounds for some teams and 12 for others, as a few teams lost interest. Territorial picks were sometimes much fought over and debated. The exclusive right to draft a player who came from a team's geographical region gave Philadelphia the legendary Paul Arizin in 1950.
A couple of others who went on to fame and glory were picked in that draft: Bud Grant (NFL) by Minneapolis and Bob Cousy by Tri-Cities.
The 1951 NBA Draft lasted 12 rounds, but most teams stopped picking by then.
The First Round went this way:
(Team) Player, College
1 (Baltimore) Gene Melchiorre, Bradley
2 (TriCities) Mel Hutchins, Brigham Young
3 (Indianapolis) Marcus Freiberger, Oklahoma
4 (Ft Wayne) Zeke Sinicola, Niagara
5 (Syracuse) John McConathy, NW Louisiana
6 (NY Knicks) Ed Smith, Harvard
7 (Boston) Ernie Barrett, Kansas State
8 (Rochester) Sam Ranzino, North Carolina State
9 (Philadelphia) Don Sunderlage, Illinois
10 (Minneapolis) Whitey Skoog, Minnesota*
*The pick of Skoog was a Territorial one.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Book Review: “Torre,” “A-Rod,” “Yogi” and “Munson”
Yankee legends past and present are well represented by publishers this spring. For somewhat more than a hundred dollars a quartette of works focused on Joe Torre, Alex Rodriguez ,Yogi Berra and Thurman Munson are there for the buying and taking away. If you are a die-hard fan of the Bronx Bombers – these books will have a fatal attraction.
“The Yankee Years” by Torre and Tom Verducci (Doubleday, $26.95, 502 pages) is a mother lode of info - a lot of it previously in newspapers, magazines, other books and on the internet. The book’s major focus is on the time Joe Torre took over as manager until he was given an offer he could refuse and moved on to pilot the LA Dodgers. Gossip, glory, grievance all intermingle.
“A – Rod” by Selena Roberts (Harper,$26.99, 272 pages) has a bit more finesse and full disclosure to it than Torre’s tome and all credit goes to the author for that whether or not Alex Rodriguez was amused or bemused by what she has written. But we walk away after reading about the multi--talented athlete and tortured human being, after reading about his over the top hedonism, his on and off again drug use, his foibles and fakery - - asking do we really care? Just another greedy and disjointed talent afflicted by too much, too soon!
Allen Barra’s “Yogi Berra Eternal Yankee” (Norton, $27.95, 98 photographs, 451 pages) is a page turner. Filled with anecdotes and insights, filled with the long run of Lawrence Peter Berra from the hill in St. Louis to the top of the world as Yankee icon and baseball fable, “Yogi Berra Eternal Yankee” written by no relation Allen Barra -- is the guy to turn around a Mickey Mantle phrase - -who makes Berra more than human. We see him warts and all in this carefully crafted treatment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“Munson:The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain” by Marty Appel (Doubleday, $26.00, 375 pages) is a labor of love and a love of labor, creating as it does an intimate portrait of one of the most under-rated and complex of Yankees. It was thirty years ago that the multi-talented Appel teamed with the Yankee catcher on his autobiography. Now “Munson:The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain” offers closure and climax to that tome and loads of insights and tales.
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Friday, June 12, 2009
"Lucky Lindy" and the '27 Yankees
The 13th of June , 1927, was one of the great testimonial days in the history of New York City. Millions cheered as a ticker-tape parade welcomed Charles A. Lindbergh who had defied death and gained immortality flying "The Spirit of St. Louis" solo across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris and back.
Once an unknown, the 25-year-old "Lucky Lindy" was now too well known for some tastes. It was claimed in some quarters that the young aviator was a bigger star than Babe Ruth, if one could believe that.
Mark Koenig did not. The Babe, the Yankee second baseman argued, was larger than Charles Lindbergh, larger than life. "My God, the way people would come from all over to see him. You had to be there to believe it."
You had to be in New York City that day to believe the fuss made about the peerless pilot. "Col Lindbergh, New York City is yours," Mayor Jimmy Walker, told him at the City Hall lovefest. "I don't give it to you. You won it."
Lindbergh rode bare-headed in an open automobile in what in later times was to be called the "Canyon of Heroes." There were estimates that 4 million people were there to see him and that tons and tons of confetti were showered down upon him.
At the Stadium that day the Yankees were pitted against Cleveland. Lou Gehrig with a .394 batting average, 14 homers and an incredible 60 RBIs torqued the Yankee dynamo. The 20,000 die-hard fans who definitely cared more about their team than Lindbergh had a good time seeing New York pulverize the Indians, 14-6. Native Alabaman Ben Paschal had one of his greatest days in baseball, probably his greatest, ripping two homers (he had but 24 in his career), a triple and double and scored five times. Lazzeri and Dugan also homered while Collins contributed a grand slam. The victory triggered the longest Yankee winning streak of the season - nine games, June 13th through July 23rd.
June 14 was a rainy day and the Yankees did not play. Their lead over the second place White Sox was five games. At this mid point in their sensational season the Yankee lineup caused extreme stress to any pitcher who had the misfortune to face it. It was truly Murderers Row, a killing squad with thunder aplenty. As the admiring members of the New York press kept pointing out day after day if one of the Yankees sluggers didn't hurt the opposing team, another one would. You could count on it.
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Once an unknown, the 25-year-old "Lucky Lindy" was now too well known for some tastes. It was claimed in some quarters that the young aviator was a bigger star than Babe Ruth, if one could believe that.
Mark Koenig did not. The Babe, the Yankee second baseman argued, was larger than Charles Lindbergh, larger than life. "My God, the way people would come from all over to see him. You had to be there to believe it."
You had to be in New York City that day to believe the fuss made about the peerless pilot. "Col Lindbergh, New York City is yours," Mayor Jimmy Walker, told him at the City Hall lovefest. "I don't give it to you. You won it."
Lindbergh rode bare-headed in an open automobile in what in later times was to be called the "Canyon of Heroes." There were estimates that 4 million people were there to see him and that tons and tons of confetti were showered down upon him.
At the Stadium that day the Yankees were pitted against Cleveland. Lou Gehrig with a .394 batting average, 14 homers and an incredible 60 RBIs torqued the Yankee dynamo. The 20,000 die-hard fans who definitely cared more about their team than Lindbergh had a good time seeing New York pulverize the Indians, 14-6. Native Alabaman Ben Paschal had one of his greatest days in baseball, probably his greatest, ripping two homers (he had but 24 in his career), a triple and double and scored five times. Lazzeri and Dugan also homered while Collins contributed a grand slam. The victory triggered the longest Yankee winning streak of the season - nine games, June 13th through July 23rd.
June 14 was a rainy day and the Yankees did not play. Their lead over the second place White Sox was five games. At this mid point in their sensational season the Yankee lineup caused extreme stress to any pitcher who had the misfortune to face it. It was truly Murderers Row, a killing squad with thunder aplenty. As the admiring members of the New York press kept pointing out day after day if one of the Yankees sluggers didn't hurt the opposing team, another one would. You could count on it.
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).
Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Baseball Names - and How They Got That Way! Part X
The words and phrases are spoken and written day after day, year after year - generally without any wonderment as to how they became part of the language. All have a history, a story. For those of you who liked Part I, Part II, Part III and all the others and wanted more, here is more. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome.
MAN, THE (STAN THE MAN) Stanley Frank Musial, St. Louis Cardinal baseball immortal, batted .315 as a rookie in 1942, when he was 21 years old. In 1962, at the age of 41, he hit .330-one point under his lifetime batting average. Musial is the all-time Cardinal leader in games played, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, and total bases. His twisted, crouched, coiled stance at the plate enabled him to slash the ball with power or stroke it with finesse to any part of the playing field. Musial was an especially successful hitter in the small confines of Ebbets Field. His specialty was slamming frozen rope doubles off the outfield walls. Dodger fans had difficulty pronouncing his name, sometimes calling him "Musical." Many of the black Dodger fans simply referred to Musial as "the Man" in tribute to the power and style he displayed. Eventually fans all over the league used this nickname-a reference not only to Musial but to the respect due his power and authority.
MAN IN THE IRON HAT Yankee owner Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Hutson wore the same squished derby hat over and over again.
MAN NOBODY KNOWS Catcher Bill Dickey, Yankee immortal, because of his blandness.
MAN OF A THOUSAND CURVES His nickname was a bit hyperbolic, but the major league batters who swung at his stuff and came up empty might not disagree with it. For Johnny Sain, talented star of the Boston Braves and other teams, curveball pitches were a trademark and the reason for his nickname. He allegedly had such pitching skill that his curves dropped, darted, hesitated, broke wide, broke fast, broke slow, broke twice. There may not have been a thousand curves, but there were enough variations on these curves Sain possessed that the effect on batters was the same (see "SPAHN AND SAIN AND PRAY FOR RAIN").
MAN O' WAR Sam Rice was a fleet-footed outfielder and was called Man O' War" after the famous racehorse of his era.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN During the late 1 940's and into the 1950's, Don Mueller of the New York Giants appeared to have a special gift with a bat in his hands. His lifetime batting average was a respectable .296, yet he never led the league in any hitting category. His nickname came from his expert bat-manipulation and his ability to hit the ball where he wanted it to go.
MAJOR Ralph Houk, for rank held in the Armed Forces and demeanor MARSE JOE Hall of Fame Manager Joe McCarthy, , for his commanding style.
MARVELOUS MARV Marvin Eugene Throneberry was perhaps born to be a New York Met. His initials spelled out the name and his personality and limited skills underscored the characteristics of the 1962 New York expansion team. Throneberry, who looked like Mickey Mantle batting but did not get the same results, labored through a seven-year, four-different-team major league career- the Mets were his last team. He is a gentle, fine humored man, and sportswriters hung the nickname on him in good-natured jest. Throneberry loved it and went along with their efforts to depict him as a clown. Once a teammate dropped an easy fly ball. Marvelous Marv smiled and shouted, "What are you trying to do anyway, steal my fans?" "MASTER Builder IN BASEBALL Jacob Ruppert, and that he was.
MASTER MELVIN Mel Ott was a power-armed right fielder for 22 years with the New York Giants. He smashed 511 home runs in a fabled career that saw him average better than a hit a game while compiling a lifetime batting average of .304. Ott became a Giant at the age of 16-and that's how his nickname came about. Ott's Hollywood-type beginning was recalled by Eddie Logan, Giants equipment manager, who was about the same age as Ott at the time and was sent to pick up the youth: "We had the 9th Avenue El at the time. Mr. McGraw had told him to ride the El to the last stop, which was the Polo Grounds. He took the El the wrong way and wound up at the Battery. I looked for the straw suitcase. I found him. I said, 'C'mon boy, let's go.' He got the biggest thrill riding back on the train." Labeled "McGraw's baby," Ott was in only 35 games in 1926, then 82 in 1927. "He's too young to play big-league ball," McGraw said, "but I am afraid to send him to the minors and have a manager there tinker with his unorthodox batting style. The style is natural with him. He'll get results as soon as he learns about big-league pitching." And he did.
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball."
The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
MAN, THE (STAN THE MAN) Stanley Frank Musial, St. Louis Cardinal baseball immortal, batted .315 as a rookie in 1942, when he was 21 years old. In 1962, at the age of 41, he hit .330-one point under his lifetime batting average. Musial is the all-time Cardinal leader in games played, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, and total bases. His twisted, crouched, coiled stance at the plate enabled him to slash the ball with power or stroke it with finesse to any part of the playing field. Musial was an especially successful hitter in the small confines of Ebbets Field. His specialty was slamming frozen rope doubles off the outfield walls. Dodger fans had difficulty pronouncing his name, sometimes calling him "Musical." Many of the black Dodger fans simply referred to Musial as "the Man" in tribute to the power and style he displayed. Eventually fans all over the league used this nickname-a reference not only to Musial but to the respect due his power and authority.
MAN IN THE IRON HAT Yankee owner Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Hutson wore the same squished derby hat over and over again.
MAN NOBODY KNOWS Catcher Bill Dickey, Yankee immortal, because of his blandness.
MAN OF A THOUSAND CURVES His nickname was a bit hyperbolic, but the major league batters who swung at his stuff and came up empty might not disagree with it. For Johnny Sain, talented star of the Boston Braves and other teams, curveball pitches were a trademark and the reason for his nickname. He allegedly had such pitching skill that his curves dropped, darted, hesitated, broke wide, broke fast, broke slow, broke twice. There may not have been a thousand curves, but there were enough variations on these curves Sain possessed that the effect on batters was the same (see "SPAHN AND SAIN AND PRAY FOR RAIN").
MAN O' WAR Sam Rice was a fleet-footed outfielder and was called Man O' War" after the famous racehorse of his era.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN During the late 1 940's and into the 1950's, Don Mueller of the New York Giants appeared to have a special gift with a bat in his hands. His lifetime batting average was a respectable .296, yet he never led the league in any hitting category. His nickname came from his expert bat-manipulation and his ability to hit the ball where he wanted it to go.
MAJOR Ralph Houk, for rank held in the Armed Forces and demeanor MARSE JOE Hall of Fame Manager Joe McCarthy, , for his commanding style.
MARVELOUS MARV Marvin Eugene Throneberry was perhaps born to be a New York Met. His initials spelled out the name and his personality and limited skills underscored the characteristics of the 1962 New York expansion team. Throneberry, who looked like Mickey Mantle batting but did not get the same results, labored through a seven-year, four-different-team major league career- the Mets were his last team. He is a gentle, fine humored man, and sportswriters hung the nickname on him in good-natured jest. Throneberry loved it and went along with their efforts to depict him as a clown. Once a teammate dropped an easy fly ball. Marvelous Marv smiled and shouted, "What are you trying to do anyway, steal my fans?" "MASTER Builder IN BASEBALL Jacob Ruppert, and that he was.
MASTER MELVIN Mel Ott was a power-armed right fielder for 22 years with the New York Giants. He smashed 511 home runs in a fabled career that saw him average better than a hit a game while compiling a lifetime batting average of .304. Ott became a Giant at the age of 16-and that's how his nickname came about. Ott's Hollywood-type beginning was recalled by Eddie Logan, Giants equipment manager, who was about the same age as Ott at the time and was sent to pick up the youth: "We had the 9th Avenue El at the time. Mr. McGraw had told him to ride the El to the last stop, which was the Polo Grounds. He took the El the wrong way and wound up at the Battery. I looked for the straw suitcase. I found him. I said, 'C'mon boy, let's go.' He got the biggest thrill riding back on the train." Labeled "McGraw's baby," Ott was in only 35 games in 1926, then 82 in 1927. "He's too young to play big-league ball," McGraw said, "but I am afraid to send him to the minors and have a manager there tinker with his unorthodox batting style. The style is natural with him. He'll get results as soon as he learns about big-league pitching." And he did.
Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball."
The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
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