Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Book Review: "Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert" & "Blows To The Head" and more
A very important yet not too well documented corner of baseball history - - interracial baseball prior to the arrival of Jackie Robinson on the scene is the subject matter of "Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert" by Timothy Gay (Simon & Schuster, $26.00,349 pages).
We are there with Leroy "Satchel" Paige, Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean and Robert William Andrew "Bob" Feller. We are there in the barnstorming and amidst Jim Crow, there for the elation and joy and humor and also for the degradation, hurt and racism. There are many never before told stories in this well researched and important tome.
"Blows To The Head" is a slim but fascinating and virtually inspirational story by Binnie Klein (Suny Press, $19.95, 195 pages) all about as the book's sub-title proclaims "how boxing changed my mind." The prime focus of this appealing narrative is how in the mid 1950s the author, a Jewish psychotherapist, became interweaved with boxing and in the process discovered so much about her roots. A KNOCKOUT OF A BOOK
Back in the day there was arrogant and in-your-face Charlie Finley, possessor of hype, hoopla and histrionics. He was the owner who moved his team from KC to Oakland, winning three straight division titles, three World Series, developing such players as Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and more. "Charlie Finley" by G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius,(Walker,)$27.00, 336 pages) could have used some tighter editing and perhaps 75 less pages; nevertheless, it brings back a time, a place and one of baseball history's more zany characters.
Douglas J. Gladstone's slim paperback "A Bitter Cup of Coffee (Word Association, $18.00, 192 pages) is a carefully researched look at how MLB and the Players Association and the vexing issue of 874 players who played in the Majors for that proverbial "cup of coffee" and never were retroactively included in amended vesting requirements.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
NBA Draft history (From the Vault)
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.
In the sixth round, the New York Knicks plucked Al McGuire from St. John's. The last player picked was John Burke of Springfield, Massachusetts by Baltimore in the 12th round. By 1966, the territorial selections were eliminated. A year later, the New York Knicks used their fifth pick to get Walt Frazier and their 17th to obtain Phil Jackson.
In the ensuing years, all kinds of marquee players and also-rans have made their way onto NBA rosters through the draft. In my opinion, the 1970 and 1981 NBA Drafts rank among the all-time best yielding bumper crops of players.
The 1970 NBA Draft yielded such greats as Dave Cowens by Boston (4th); Pete Maravich by Atlanta (3rd); Bob Lanier by Detroit (1st); Calvin Murphy by San Diego (18th); and Geoff Petrie by Portland (8th).
The 1981 draft included such gems as Isiah Thomas by Detroit (2nd); Mark Aguirre by Dallas (1st); Buck Williams by New Jersey (3rd); Tom Chambers by San Diego (8th); Rolando Blackman by Dallas (9th); Danny Ainge by Boston (31st); Kelly Tripuka by Detroit (12th); Orlando Woolridge by Chicago (6th); and Eddie Johnson by Kansas City (29th).
Who knows what the NBA Draft 2010 has in store. Stay tuned.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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."
Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father’s Day Weekend 2010 at Fenway
Fenway Park, Circa 1960 Saturday, June 19th, was a day that was perfect in every way for Red Sox Nation. Game time temperature was 83 degrees and sunny. Another sellout at Fenway, 37,454 (101.4% full)
Fathers and sons and others bonding and enjoying this great game of ours at America’s most beloved ballpark. Fans following every pitch, friendly and competent staff - - there at the ready with directions, security, food and drink.
And this father and his son (a Dodger fan) there, too.
And Manny Ramirez was back - - wearing a Dodger uniform.
In the game’s early going it was almost like old times for Manny who got the Dodgers off and running in the second inning, singling, stealing second base and scoring on a Garret Anderson single to get L.A. on the board. He smashed a 356- foot shot off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield into the Green Monster’s second row seats in the sixth inning, cutting the score to 3-2 Sox. Fenway exploded with cheers and boos for Red Sox’s Nation’s one time favorite as he ran out the circuit clout.
The game see-sawed back and forth, tied at four all in the bottom of the ninth. “BEAT L.A. BEAT L.A.” The crowd roared. The Celtics almost had done it. Now the Sox had their shot.
Bill Hall singled off Dodger reliever Ronald Belisario to start the home team off, but was snuffed out at second on a poorly executed sac bunt by Daniel Nava. Darnell McDonald fanned for Boston. Marco Scutaro walked.
It was now little Dustin Pedroia at 5 feet and 9 inches versus the 6 feet 5 inch Jonathan Broxton, star Dodger closer. Two outs.
"When you go out and the guy's throwing 100 and it looks like he's 9-feet tall, I was thinking I've got to wake up," the Red Sox peppery player said. "I check swung twice. When I check swung, it really wasn't going that good. I just stepped out, thinking I've got to put the ball in play."
“The two breaking balls Broxton threw were filthy,” said manager Terry Francona. “ I know how good Broxton is, but any time Pedey has something to do with the outcome of the game, we feel good. He kind of wills himself to do something good.’’
Pedroia did something real good. He lined a 98-mile-per hour fast ball for a two-strike single into right. Nava raced around the bases.
“I was trying to make up for that bunt,’’ Nava said. “I was just saying to myself, ‘I’ve got to get home.’ I was at least trying to make it close. I just wanted to get my hand in there. There was no way I was going to get punched out at home.’’
Nava’s headfirst slide gave the Sox a 5-4 dramatic win, their fifth straight victory. The huge crowd was on its feet celebrating, high-fiving, some fans were deliriously happy, thrilled. Just another miraculous moment in the 98 year fabled history of Fenway Park – and even Dodger fans seemed to love it.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Baseball Names - and How They Got That Way! (L)
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, X and all the others and wanted more, here is more, just a sampling. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome
LE GRANDE ORANGE Rusty Staub played for the Montreal Expos in the years 1969-71. "He came here as an unknown, and not only was he our first big star," Expo President John McHale remembers, "but he had a way of relating to the people and a sense of being a star. His reddish hair, his physical stature, his unselfishness made him an easily identifiable figure. He was a very important factor in those years in the success of the team." Staub's size, red hair, and personality all merged into the nickname the Montreal fans coined for him.
LEFTY Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton was a private man who never talked to the press. He was a southpaw and a man with some odd habits. letters team name printed on the front of a jersey.LIP, THE When he was an infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1930's, Leo Durocher was known as Screechy because of his high-pitched voice and bench-jockeying ability. As he moved through his 17 year playing span and 24-year managing career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros, Durocher attracted the ire of umpires and the hostility of rivals with what they termed his motor-mouth. A tough, combative, at times profane individual, Durocher's nickname was an apt one.
LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL In 1939 Carl E. Stotz founded the first Little League in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Within two decades, kids and parents all over the United States and other countries were competitively involved. Williamsport has been the site of the Little League World Series since 1947. And the enterprise begun by Stotz is a big time sports phenomenon.
LITTLE NAPOLEON John J. McGraw came from the old Baltimore Orioles to take control of the New York Giants on July 16, 1902. He inherited a last-place team that had had 13 managers since 1891. The man they called Muggsy immediately released half the players on the roster of the Giants. "With my team," he said, "I'm absolute czar." Driving, cajoling, innovating, McGraw moved the Giants from a last place finish in 1902 to a second-place finish in 1903. He drove the New York team to a pennant in 1904. In his 30 years as manager, the Giants won ten pennants and finished second 11 times. McGraw's small physical stature contrasted sharply with the giant power that his gait, his face, and his name, projected throughout the world of baseball. He was famous for such lines as "The only popularity I know is to win," "Do what I tell you, and I'll take the blame if it goes wrong," and "I do the hiring and the firing around here." He was little in size but had Napoleonic power, and these two traits merged into the nickname of the man who was one of the greatest managers in baseball history.
LITTLE PROFESSOR Joe DiMaggio's younger brother, Dom, played center field for the Boston Red Sox for 11 years and compiled a lifetime .298 batting average. He wore glasses, was a keen student of the game, and was but five feet, nine inches tall and 168 pounds-and these characteristics supplied the reason for his nickname.
THE LINE Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline was called this as a tribute to his reliability and a play on his last name.
LITTLE LOOEY Small in size, shortstop Luis Aparicio made his mark as a member of the Chicago White Sox in the 1950s.
LOLO Mickey Lolich, former pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, for his last name, and how low his leg drive was in his delivery.
“LONESOME GEORGE Former legendary Yankee General Manager George Weiss, for his aloof ways.
LOOK THE RUNNER BACK A situation in which a pitcher attempts to control a base runner by staring at him, implying a throw; the pitcher's gaze alone will most times convince a runner to stay close to the base.
LOOPER A batted ball that drops in flight.
LOSING PITCHER One year he won eight games and lost 18; another year he won ten games and lost 20; in 1939 he lost 16, and in 1940 he led the National League in losses with 22. These statistics earned Hugh Noyes Mulcahy his nickname. In a nine-year career, Mulcahy won 45 games and lost 89.
LOU GEHRIG’S DISEASE Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), named after the famed New York Yankee who had the disease
LOUISIANA LIGHTNING The 95-mph speed he can put on a fastball and his Louisiana birthplace have earned for Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees his colorful and alliterative nickname.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER This bat is named for the Kentucky city that was named for a French king, Louis XVI, in 1780. The Hillerich and Bradsby bat factory has been manufacturing Louisville Sluggers since 1884. One white-ash tree is needed to produce 60 bats. More than 6 million bats are manufactured annually. Major league ball players use 2 percent of the annual production, but each of their bats is built according to precise individual specifications. Babe Ruth's Louisville Slugger model weighed 48 ounces, while the one wielded by Wee Willie Keeler weighed just 30 ounces.
LE GRANDE ORANGE Rusty Staub played for the Montreal Expos in the years 1969-71. "He came here as an unknown, and not only was he our first big star," Expo President John McHale remembers, "but he had a way of relating to the people and a sense of being a star. His reddish hair, his physical stature, his unselfishness made him an easily identifiable figure. He was a very important factor in those years in the success of the team." Staub's size, red hair, and personality all merged into the nickname the Montreal fans coined for him.
LEFTY Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton was a private man who never talked to the press. He was a southpaw and a man with some odd habits. letters team name printed on the front of a jersey.LIP, THE When he was an infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1930's, Leo Durocher was known as Screechy because of his high-pitched voice and bench-jockeying ability. As he moved through his 17 year playing span and 24-year managing career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros, Durocher attracted the ire of umpires and the hostility of rivals with what they termed his motor-mouth. A tough, combative, at times profane individual, Durocher's nickname was an apt one.
LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL In 1939 Carl E. Stotz founded the first Little League in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Within two decades, kids and parents all over the United States and other countries were competitively involved. Williamsport has been the site of the Little League World Series since 1947. And the enterprise begun by Stotz is a big time sports phenomenon.
LITTLE NAPOLEON John J. McGraw came from the old Baltimore Orioles to take control of the New York Giants on July 16, 1902. He inherited a last-place team that had had 13 managers since 1891. The man they called Muggsy immediately released half the players on the roster of the Giants. "With my team," he said, "I'm absolute czar." Driving, cajoling, innovating, McGraw moved the Giants from a last place finish in 1902 to a second-place finish in 1903. He drove the New York team to a pennant in 1904. In his 30 years as manager, the Giants won ten pennants and finished second 11 times. McGraw's small physical stature contrasted sharply with the giant power that his gait, his face, and his name, projected throughout the world of baseball. He was famous for such lines as "The only popularity I know is to win," "Do what I tell you, and I'll take the blame if it goes wrong," and "I do the hiring and the firing around here." He was little in size but had Napoleonic power, and these two traits merged into the nickname of the man who was one of the greatest managers in baseball history.
LITTLE PROFESSOR Joe DiMaggio's younger brother, Dom, played center field for the Boston Red Sox for 11 years and compiled a lifetime .298 batting average. He wore glasses, was a keen student of the game, and was but five feet, nine inches tall and 168 pounds-and these characteristics supplied the reason for his nickname.
THE LINE Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline was called this as a tribute to his reliability and a play on his last name.
LITTLE LOOEY Small in size, shortstop Luis Aparicio made his mark as a member of the Chicago White Sox in the 1950s.
LOLO Mickey Lolich, former pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, for his last name, and how low his leg drive was in his delivery.
“LONESOME GEORGE Former legendary Yankee General Manager George Weiss, for his aloof ways.
LOOK THE RUNNER BACK A situation in which a pitcher attempts to control a base runner by staring at him, implying a throw; the pitcher's gaze alone will most times convince a runner to stay close to the base.
LOOPER A batted ball that drops in flight.
LOSING PITCHER One year he won eight games and lost 18; another year he won ten games and lost 20; in 1939 he lost 16, and in 1940 he led the National League in losses with 22. These statistics earned Hugh Noyes Mulcahy his nickname. In a nine-year career, Mulcahy won 45 games and lost 89.
LOU GEHRIG’S DISEASE Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), named after the famed New York Yankee who had the disease
LOUISIANA LIGHTNING The 95-mph speed he can put on a fastball and his Louisiana birthplace have earned for Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees his colorful and alliterative nickname.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER This bat is named for the Kentucky city that was named for a French king, Louis XVI, in 1780. The Hillerich and Bradsby bat factory has been manufacturing Louisville Sluggers since 1884. One white-ash tree is needed to produce 60 bats. More than 6 million bats are manufactured annually. Major league ball players use 2 percent of the annual production, but each of their bats is built according to precise individual specifications. Babe Ruth's Louisville Slugger model weighed 48 ounces, while the one wielded by Wee Willie Keeler weighed just 30 ounces.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Book Review: “The 300 Club,” “The Only Game in Town” and more
The highly prolific Dan Schlossberg is at it again with another winner – “The 300 Club” (Ascend Books, $24.95, 293 pages). Carefully crafted, brilliantly organized, this terrific tome focuses on that rarest of baseball fraternities, the two dozen hurlers who won 300 games in their careers.
We are there with the great Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Cy Young and his 511 wins, Lefty Grove and Early Wynn who just made it into the exclusive club with 300 victories and Pud Galvin (361 victories) who was there first way back when. Painstakingly researched - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
“The Only Game in Town” edited by David Remnick (Random House,$30.00, 492 pages) is a mother lode of fabulous sports writing from the pages of the New Yorker Magazine where the editor of this book is the editor.
We are able to enjoy works by Roger Angell, John Updike, Ring Lardner, Dom Delillo, John Cheever, Nancy Franklin and others on all matter of sports representing 80 years of writing in the storied magazine. GO FOR IT
“Batting Stance Guy” by Gar Ryness and Caleb Dewart (Scribner, $18.00, 255 pages, trade paperback original) is part unique and detailed analysis of what the authors deem to be the 50 most interesting stances of the last three decades, part book of lists (like best home run trot, etc.), part all over the map insights into the facts and factoids and stats of the national pastime. YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT
“Dream Golf” by Stephen Goodwin (Algonquin Books, $24.95, 344 pages) is about golf, architecture, dreaming, adventure. It is a must read containing as it does splendid writing about the adventure of the creation of a quartette of top courses that grace the coast of Oregon.
“Miracle Ball” by Brian Biegel (Three Rivers Press, $15.00, 231 pages, paperback reprint) is a narrative focused on the author’s quest to find the Bobby Thomson “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” baseball. Biegel’s two year effort reads like a detective story.
Interesting, beautifully written, “Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling” by Ruth Raymer (Random House/Spiegel & Grau, $25.00, 226 pages) is sort of like a coming of age adventure. The “sort of” is the key word here in a book that takes on a roller coaster Damon Runyan world of hipsters and gamblers and touts and gaming – all of which is sort of a sports universe.
Children’s Corner: “Bases Loaded” by Mike Knudson illustrated by Stacy Curtis (Viking, $14.99, 155 pages) showcases the duo Raymond and Graham and a thrill a minute scenario spinning of the pair’s goal to have their Little League team beat their rival and cop the championship. Suitable for ages 8 and up, but a nice “read to” for lower ages – this is a home run of a book.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
The Armando Galarraga Imperfect Perfect Game
The Don Larsen Perfect Game
Armando Galarraga pitched a Perfect Game last week and the whole world knows it, courtesy of that marvel of marvels, instant replay.
Even Umpire Jim Joyce who gave the “safe sign” for the 27th batter despoiling the 27 up, 27 down recorded by the Tiger hurler, knows it.
And Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig refused to over-rule the ump. He even went a step further taking at jab at those who he deemed protest too much.
"The game's become altogether too partisan," Selig said. "It seems people are not happy unless one side wins, the other loses." And the Commish added on his Facebook page: "Whether you're a Tiger or an Indian, surely there's got to be some capacity for us to work together, not agree on everything but at least set aside small differences to get things done. People have to break out of some of the ideological rigidity and gridlock that we've been carrying around for too long."
Huh?
The day after Armando Galarraga was jobbed of the Perfect Game GM presented him with a (consolation) prize, a base price $75,505 Corvette. Nice for Galarraga but not needed since he earns enough to purchase many Corvettes. Not nice for the taxpayers who own 60% of General Motors along with the federal government.
Let’s flash backwards to another time, another pitcher who was awarded a Corvette.
Hank Bauer rf 4 0 1 1
Joe Collins 1b 4 0 1 0
Mickey Mantle cf 3 1 1 1
Yogi Berra c 3 0 0 0
Enos Slaughter lf 2 0 0 0
Billy Martin 2b 3 0 1 0
Gil McDougald ss 2 0 0 0
Andy Carey 3b 3 1 1 0
Don Larsen p 2 0 0 0
Totals 26 2 5 2
Name Pos AB R H RBI
Jim Gilliam 2b 3 0 0 0
Pee Wee Reese ss 3 0 0 0
Duke Snider cf 3 0 0 0
Jackie Robinson3b 3 0 0 0
Gil Hodges 1b 3 0 0 0
Sandy Amoros lf 3 0 0 0
Carl Furillo rf 3 0 0 0
Roy Campanella c 3 0 0 0
Sal Maglie p 2 0 0 0
a-Dale Mitchell
ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 27 0 0 0
I have been asked a million times about the perfect game.” Don Larsen said. “ I never dreamed about something like that happening and everybody is entitled to a good day and mine came at the right time.”
"I still find it hard to believe I really pitched the perfect game," Don Larsen said. "It's almost like a dream, like something that happened to somebody else."
The date was October 8, 1956
The image of the Yankee right-hander casually tossing the ball from a no-stretch windup to Yogi Berra remains as part of baseball lore. Larsen struck out Junior Gilliam on a breaking ball to start the game.
Then the 3-2 count on Pee Wee Reese – and the strikeout.
It all blended together - the autumn shadows and the smoke and the haze at the stadium, the World Series buntings on railings along the first and third base lines, the scoreboard and the zeroes for the Dodgers of Brooklyn mounting inning after inning.
The 6'4," 240 pound hurler threw no more than l5 pitches in any one inning against the mighty Dodgers of Campanella, Reese, Hodges, Gilliam, Robinson, Snider and Furillo.
A second inning Jackie Robinson line drive off the glove of Andy Carey at third was picked up by Gil McDougald. Out at first. Mantle’s great jump on a fifth inning line drive by Gil Hodges positioned him for a backhand grab of the ball. Hodges eighth inning hot shot down the third base line was converted into an out by Andy Carey. Sandy Amoros and Duke Snider of the Dodgers hit balls into the right field seats - foul but barely so.
Just two seasons before Don Larsen pitching for Baltimore had one of the worst records ever (3-21). He became a Yankee in the fall of 1954 in a 17-player trade. “ Nobody lost more games than me in the American League that year,” Larsen said. “But two of my wins came against the Yankees. That's probably why I came to them.
In 1956, "Gooneybird,” his teammates called him that for his late-night behavior, posted an 11-5 record. In his next-to-last start of ‘56, Larsen unveiled his no-windup delivery. "The ghouls sent me a message," he joked explaining why.
Larsen started Game 2 in the World Series against Brooklyn. He was atrocious walking four, allowing four runs in 1 2/3 innings. There was no one more shocked than the big right-hander when he learned when he arrived at Yankee Stadium that he be the starter in Game 5. Now he was finishing it.
"Everybody suddenly got scared we weren't playing the outfield right," Stengel said. "I never seen so many managers." The Yankee infield of first baseman Joe Collins, second baseman Billy Martin, shortstop Gil McDougald and third baseman Andy Carey were ready for any kind of play.
The Yankees were clinging to a 2-0 lead scratched out against veteran Sal Maglie, age 39. Gilliam hit a hard one-hopper to short to open the seventh inning,and was thrown out by Gil McDougald. Reese and Duke Snider flied out. In the eighth, Jackie Robinson grounded back to Larsen. Andy Carey caught Hodges' low liner at third base. Amoros struck out.
The huge crowd of 64,519.at the stadium cheered each out. The game moved to the bottom of the ninth inning. "If it was 9-0, Larsen would've been paying little attention," Berra remembered. "It was close and he had to be extremely disciplined. He was. At the start of the ninth I didn't say a thing about how well he was throwing. I went to the mound and reminded him that if he walked one guy and the next guy hit one out, the game was tied."
"The last three outs were the toughest," the Indiana native. recalled. "I was so weak in the knees that I thought I was going to faint. I was so nervous I almost fell down. My legs were rubbery. My fingers didn't feel like they belonged to me. I said to myself, 'Please help me somebody.' "
The 64,5l9 in the stands were quiet. Four pitches were fouled off by Furillo and then he hit a fly ball out to Bauer in right field. Campanella grounded out weakly to Billy Martin at second base. Left-handed batter Dale Mitchell pinch hit for Sal Maglie. It would be the final major league at bat for the 35-year-old lifetime .3l2 hitter. Announcer Bob Wolff called it this way:
"Count is one and one. And this crowd just straining forward on every pitch. Here it comes....a swing and a miss! Two strikes, ball one to Dale Mitchell. Listen to this crowd! I'll guarantee that nobody - but nobody - has left this ball park. And if somebody did manage to leave early man he's missing the greatest! Two strikes and a ball. . . Mitchell waiting stands deep, feet close together. Larsen is ready, gets the sign. Two strikes, ball one, here comes the pitch. Strike three! A no-hitter! A perfect game for Don Larsen!"
That final pitch - Larsen's 97th of the game that took just 2 hours and six minutes - was the only one that elicited controversy.
"The third strike on Mitchell was absolutely positively a strike on the outside corner," Berra maintains to this day. "No question about it. People say it was a ball and that I rushed the mound to hug Larsen to make the umpire think it was a strike. Nonsense. It was a perfect strike."
Casey Stengel was asked "Was that the best game he had ever seen Larsen pitch?"
"'So far,'" was the Yankee manager’s response.
The rest of Larsen's 14-year career - with eight teams - consisted of unbroken mediocrity punctuated with flashes of competence. He finished with an 81-91 record and 3.78 ERA.
Named the MVP of the Series by Sport magazine for his epic feat, Larsen received a Corvette. He also earned about $35,000 in endorsements and appearances, including $6,000 for being on Bob Hope's TV show. He spent $1,000 for plaques commemorating the game and gave them to his teammates, Yankee executives, the six umpires, his parents and close friends.
The man who reached perfection also received many letters and notes including this one:
“Dear Mr. Larsen: It is a noteworthy event when anybody achieves perfection in anything. It has been so long since anyone pitched a perfect big league game that I have to go back to my generation of ballplayers to recall such a thing – and that is truly a long time ago.
“This note brings you my very sincere congratulations on a memorable feat, one that will inspire pitchers for a long time to come. With best wishes,
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
President of the United States
“I pitched for 14 years with 8 different clubs and won only 81 games,” Larsen said. “ Hey, I gave it my best shot and I tried and I wish my record had been better but I was very pleased to get into the World Series and pitch the Perfect Game. And I guess that is what I will always be remembered for.
“I have been asked a million times about the perfect game,” Larsen mused. “I never dreamed about something like that happening. Everybody is entitled to a good day, and mine came at the right time.”
So did Armando Galarraga’s.
Wonder if President Obama will write a letter to Galarraga the way President Eisenhower sent off a letter to Don Larsen.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Armando Galarraga pitched a Perfect Game last week and the whole world knows it, courtesy of that marvel of marvels, instant replay.
Even Umpire Jim Joyce who gave the “safe sign” for the 27th batter despoiling the 27 up, 27 down recorded by the Tiger hurler, knows it.
And Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig refused to over-rule the ump. He even went a step further taking at jab at those who he deemed protest too much.
"The game's become altogether too partisan," Selig said. "It seems people are not happy unless one side wins, the other loses." And the Commish added on his Facebook page: "Whether you're a Tiger or an Indian, surely there's got to be some capacity for us to work together, not agree on everything but at least set aside small differences to get things done. People have to break out of some of the ideological rigidity and gridlock that we've been carrying around for too long."
Huh?
The day after Armando Galarraga was jobbed of the Perfect Game GM presented him with a (consolation) prize, a base price $75,505 Corvette. Nice for Galarraga but not needed since he earns enough to purchase many Corvettes. Not nice for the taxpayers who own 60% of General Motors along with the federal government.
Let’s flash backwards to another time, another pitcher who was awarded a Corvette.
Hank Bauer rf 4 0 1 1
Joe Collins 1b 4 0 1 0
Mickey Mantle cf 3 1 1 1
Yogi Berra c 3 0 0 0
Enos Slaughter lf 2 0 0 0
Billy Martin 2b 3 0 1 0
Gil McDougald ss 2 0 0 0
Andy Carey 3b 3 1 1 0
Don Larsen p 2 0 0 0
Totals 26 2 5 2
Name Pos AB R H RBI
Jim Gilliam 2b 3 0 0 0
Pee Wee Reese ss 3 0 0 0
Duke Snider cf 3 0 0 0
Jackie Robinson3b 3 0 0 0
Gil Hodges 1b 3 0 0 0
Sandy Amoros lf 3 0 0 0
Carl Furillo rf 3 0 0 0
Roy Campanella c 3 0 0 0
Sal Maglie p 2 0 0 0
a-Dale Mitchell
ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 27 0 0 0
I have been asked a million times about the perfect game.” Don Larsen said. “ I never dreamed about something like that happening and everybody is entitled to a good day and mine came at the right time.”
"I still find it hard to believe I really pitched the perfect game," Don Larsen said. "It's almost like a dream, like something that happened to somebody else."
The date was October 8, 1956
The image of the Yankee right-hander casually tossing the ball from a no-stretch windup to Yogi Berra remains as part of baseball lore. Larsen struck out Junior Gilliam on a breaking ball to start the game.
Then the 3-2 count on Pee Wee Reese – and the strikeout.
It all blended together - the autumn shadows and the smoke and the haze at the stadium, the World Series buntings on railings along the first and third base lines, the scoreboard and the zeroes for the Dodgers of Brooklyn mounting inning after inning.
The 6'4," 240 pound hurler threw no more than l5 pitches in any one inning against the mighty Dodgers of Campanella, Reese, Hodges, Gilliam, Robinson, Snider and Furillo.
A second inning Jackie Robinson line drive off the glove of Andy Carey at third was picked up by Gil McDougald. Out at first. Mantle’s great jump on a fifth inning line drive by Gil Hodges positioned him for a backhand grab of the ball. Hodges eighth inning hot shot down the third base line was converted into an out by Andy Carey. Sandy Amoros and Duke Snider of the Dodgers hit balls into the right field seats - foul but barely so.
Just two seasons before Don Larsen pitching for Baltimore had one of the worst records ever (3-21). He became a Yankee in the fall of 1954 in a 17-player trade. “ Nobody lost more games than me in the American League that year,” Larsen said. “But two of my wins came against the Yankees. That's probably why I came to them.
In 1956, "Gooneybird,” his teammates called him that for his late-night behavior, posted an 11-5 record. In his next-to-last start of ‘56, Larsen unveiled his no-windup delivery. "The ghouls sent me a message," he joked explaining why.
Larsen started Game 2 in the World Series against Brooklyn. He was atrocious walking four, allowing four runs in 1 2/3 innings. There was no one more shocked than the big right-hander when he learned when he arrived at Yankee Stadium that he be the starter in Game 5. Now he was finishing it.
"Everybody suddenly got scared we weren't playing the outfield right," Stengel said. "I never seen so many managers." The Yankee infield of first baseman Joe Collins, second baseman Billy Martin, shortstop Gil McDougald and third baseman Andy Carey were ready for any kind of play.
The Yankees were clinging to a 2-0 lead scratched out against veteran Sal Maglie, age 39. Gilliam hit a hard one-hopper to short to open the seventh inning,and was thrown out by Gil McDougald. Reese and Duke Snider flied out. In the eighth, Jackie Robinson grounded back to Larsen. Andy Carey caught Hodges' low liner at third base. Amoros struck out.
The huge crowd of 64,519.at the stadium cheered each out. The game moved to the bottom of the ninth inning. "If it was 9-0, Larsen would've been paying little attention," Berra remembered. "It was close and he had to be extremely disciplined. He was. At the start of the ninth I didn't say a thing about how well he was throwing. I went to the mound and reminded him that if he walked one guy and the next guy hit one out, the game was tied."
"The last three outs were the toughest," the Indiana native. recalled. "I was so weak in the knees that I thought I was going to faint. I was so nervous I almost fell down. My legs were rubbery. My fingers didn't feel like they belonged to me. I said to myself, 'Please help me somebody.' "
The 64,5l9 in the stands were quiet. Four pitches were fouled off by Furillo and then he hit a fly ball out to Bauer in right field. Campanella grounded out weakly to Billy Martin at second base. Left-handed batter Dale Mitchell pinch hit for Sal Maglie. It would be the final major league at bat for the 35-year-old lifetime .3l2 hitter. Announcer Bob Wolff called it this way:
"Count is one and one. And this crowd just straining forward on every pitch. Here it comes....a swing and a miss! Two strikes, ball one to Dale Mitchell. Listen to this crowd! I'll guarantee that nobody - but nobody - has left this ball park. And if somebody did manage to leave early man he's missing the greatest! Two strikes and a ball. . . Mitchell waiting stands deep, feet close together. Larsen is ready, gets the sign. Two strikes, ball one, here comes the pitch. Strike three! A no-hitter! A perfect game for Don Larsen!"
That final pitch - Larsen's 97th of the game that took just 2 hours and six minutes - was the only one that elicited controversy.
"The third strike on Mitchell was absolutely positively a strike on the outside corner," Berra maintains to this day. "No question about it. People say it was a ball and that I rushed the mound to hug Larsen to make the umpire think it was a strike. Nonsense. It was a perfect strike."
Casey Stengel was asked "Was that the best game he had ever seen Larsen pitch?"
"'So far,'" was the Yankee manager’s response.
The rest of Larsen's 14-year career - with eight teams - consisted of unbroken mediocrity punctuated with flashes of competence. He finished with an 81-91 record and 3.78 ERA.
Named the MVP of the Series by Sport magazine for his epic feat, Larsen received a Corvette. He also earned about $35,000 in endorsements and appearances, including $6,000 for being on Bob Hope's TV show. He spent $1,000 for plaques commemorating the game and gave them to his teammates, Yankee executives, the six umpires, his parents and close friends.
The man who reached perfection also received many letters and notes including this one:
“Dear Mr. Larsen: It is a noteworthy event when anybody achieves perfection in anything. It has been so long since anyone pitched a perfect big league game that I have to go back to my generation of ballplayers to recall such a thing – and that is truly a long time ago.
“This note brings you my very sincere congratulations on a memorable feat, one that will inspire pitchers for a long time to come. With best wishes,
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
President of the United States
“I pitched for 14 years with 8 different clubs and won only 81 games,” Larsen said. “ Hey, I gave it my best shot and I tried and I wish my record had been better but I was very pleased to get into the World Series and pitch the Perfect Game. And I guess that is what I will always be remembered for.
“I have been asked a million times about the perfect game,” Larsen mused. “I never dreamed about something like that happening. Everybody is entitled to a good day, and mine came at the right time.”
So did Armando Galarraga’s.
Wonder if President Obama will write a letter to Galarraga the way President Eisenhower sent off a letter to Don Larsen.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Baseball Names and How They Got That Way, Part XVII (J and K)
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, Part X and all the others and wanted more, here is more, just a sampling. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome
JARRY PARK The Montreal Expos ended their baseball history in the 2004 season in the 70,000-seat Olympique Stadium, a futuristic leftover from the Montreal Olympics. The roots of the team reach back, however, to Jarry Park, their first home. Months before the Expos played their first baseball game, in 1969, a site for the team had not been determined. National League President Warren Giles, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau, and Montreal Expos President John McHale came to Jarry Park "as the last thing to look at as a possibility," according to McHale. He continued, "There was an amateur basebal1 game going on. There was great enthusiasm. As we walked into the park, the people recognized Warren Giles, and they stood up. They cried out: 'Le grand patron. Le grand patron!' Giles said, 'This is the place. This is the place. This is the only place I've seen where we can play baseball in Montreal.'" The Expos expanded the amateur ball park from the 2,000 seats that existed behind home plate to a facility that accommodated 28,000. In the ninth year of their existence, the Expos left Jarry Park and its tonjours un beau coup ("a hit every time") basebal1 for something new. The old park remains for the people of Montreal une aJ7aire du cocur ("an affair of the heart").
"Jet" Sam Jethroe, for his tremendous speed on the bases. He was one of the first Negro League players to break through baseball's color barrier, the first black athlete to play for the Boston Braves.
""Joltin' Joe" Joe DiMaggio, for the jolting shots he hit.
JUG-HANDLE CURVE A wide-breaking curveball.
JUNK PITCHER A hurler who throws slow and deceptively breaking pitches, or "junk."
“Juan Gone” Juan Gonzalez got this nickname for his home run skills.
"Jumping Joe" Joe Dugan earned his nickname for being AWOL from his first big league club as a youngster
“JUNIOR” The Los Angeles Dodgers dedicated the 1978 World Series to James Gilliam, who died at the age of 49 just before the Series began, a victim of a cerebral hemorrhage. There have been many athletes over the years who have been called Junior, but Gilliam seemed to have a lock on the name as he had a lock on the emotions of all of those associated with baseball. He was given the name when he performed as the youngest player on the Baltimore Elite Giants, a black baseball team. There were attempts to retire the name when Gilliam played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers and then coached the L.A. team, but the name endured. In the 1978 World Series, all the Dodgers wore on their uniform sleeve a round black patch with Gilliam's number 19 on it. In the eulogy for the man who was proud he was a Dodger, it was said, "He went through al1 of his life without ever once getting his signals crossed." Gilliam was "Junior," but he was a big man. Also Ken Griffey and countless others.
JUNK MAN, THE Eddie Lopat was the premier left-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees in the late 1940's and through most of the 1950's. He recalls how he obtained his nickname: "Ben Epstein was a writer for the New York Daily Mirror and a friend of mine from my Little Rock minor league baseball days. He told me in 1948 that he wanted to give me a name that would stay with me forever. 'I want to see what you think of it—the junk man?' In those days the writers had more consideration. They checked with players before they called them names. I told him I didn't care what they called me just as long as I could get the batters out and get paid for it." Epstein then wrote an article called "The Junkman Cometh," and as Lopat says, "The rest was history." The nickname derived from Lopat's ability to be a successful pitcher by tantalizing the hitters with an assortment of offspeed pitches. This writer and thousands of other baseball fans who saw Lopat pitch bragged more than once that if given a chance, they could hit the "junk" he threw (see STEADY EDDIE).
K The scorecard symbol for a strikeout. A backwards K is denotes a strikeout looking while a forwards K indicates a strikeout swinging.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS The name Royals was chosen by the team's fans in 1969 after the home of the "American Royal", one of the largest livestock shows and parades in the USA. The name also in honor of the old Negro League team in Kansas City the Monarchs.
Kauffman Stadium The Kansas City Stadium was originally named Royals Stadium, but changed to Kauffman Stadium after original owner, Ewing Kauffman.
KEYSTONE Second base.
KEYSTONE COMBINATION The second baseman and the shortstop.
KNOCK OUT OF THE BOX To score runs against a pitcher in such a way that he is removed from the game.
KNUCKLEBALL An unusual pitch that flutters as it comes to the batter (FLUTTERBALL; KNUCKLER).
KNUCKLE CURVE A combination knuckleball and curveball.
"Killer" Harmon Kleberg played for the Washington Senators (1954-1960), Minnesota Twins 1961-1974). His nickname was a play on his surname and a tribute to his hitting skills.
KENESAW MOUNTAIN LANDIS Judge Landis was baseball's first commissioner. He ruled the sport with supreme authority until 1946. The first part of his name came from the place where his father had been wounded during the Civil War.
"Kentucky Colonel" Earl Combs came from Kentucky
"King and the Crown Prince" Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
KING KONG Charlie Keller played major league baseball for 13 years, all but two of those years with the New York Yankees. Keller was a solid ball player with a lifetime batting average of .286. He was a muscular 5'10", 185-pounder, and his nickname came from the main character of the movie of the same name. Keller's given names were Charles Ernest, but there were many pitchers who believed it was King Kong who was hitting against them.
"Kitty" Hurler Jim Kaat played for quite a few teams 1950s through 1970s. Nickname was a play on his surname.
KLU Ted Kluszewski played 15 years in the major leagues. He pounded out 279 homers, recorded a lifetime slugging average of nearly .500 and a career batting average of nearly . 300. He was a favorite of the Cincinnati fans; at 6'2" and 225 pounds, his bulging biceps were too huge to be contained by ordinary shirt-sleeves. Kluszewski cut off the sleeves and started a new fashion in baseball uniforms-just as fans and sportswriters cut off part of his name to make for a nickname more easily pronounced and printed.
"Knight of Kennett Square" Pitcher Herb Pennock because he raised thoroughbreds and hosted fox hunts in his home town of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
“Knucksie" Phil Niekro used his knuckleball to last 24-years and win 318 games with 121 of those victories coming after he turned 40.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
Monday, May 24, 2010
SPORTS BOOK REVIEW: “Steinbrenner,” “Children’s Sports Books from Pengun” and more.
“Steinbrenner” by Bill Madden (HarperCollins, $26.99, 480 pages, 16 pages of photographs) is a mother lode of information on the man they used to call “the Boss.” Madden, has been on the scene for more than 30 years covering the Yankees and Major League Baseball for the New York Daily News and is the 2010 recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award.
There is a lot that is known about Steinbrenner and that is all over the book. There is also a lot not widely known and that gives the book its hook and its anchor like when George’s personal friend Barbara (Walters) was evicted from his suite when George’s wife made a surprise visit to a World Series game, how George threatened to “take care of” Mickey Rivers’ wife courtesy of the Black Musilms, the fact that Steinbrenner’s original investment of $8.5 millions to purchase the Yanks consisted of just under $200,000 of his own capital.
Part gossip, part sports reporting, part inside information, all Bill Madden at the top of his game – that is “Steinbrenner – the Last Lion of Baseball
“What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports” by George Allen (Regnery Publishing, $27.95, 200 pages) is an intriguing and interesting book by the son of the famed former NFL coach and a man with no small athletic and political accomplishments in his own right. Themes include: “Government should regulate fair play not take over,” “A locker room divided cannot survive,” “Government like sports should reward hard work, achievement and excellence.”
“Let’s Ride” by Sonny Barger( William Morrow $23. 99, 268 pages) is a true guide to motorcycling that proclaims "How To Ride The Right Way For Life." Sensibly written and a safety stressser - this is a book for all those who ride or want to. REQUIRED READING by a founding member of the Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angels.
BACKLIST BEAUTY: “Nice Guys Finish Last” by Leo Durocher with Ed Linn (University of Chicago Press, $18.00, 488 pages, paper) is the classic outspoken book by the “Lip.” They don’t make them like him any more and they don’t write great books like this any more either. HIGHLY NOTABLE
Baseball books from Penguin Young Readers:
“ALL STAR” by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Jim Burke (Philomel Books, $17.99), is all about Honus Wagner and the most famous baseball card ever. It is about the true grit of one of the greatest shortstops of all time and his card. Perfect for ages 6-8. TRUE GRIT.
“NO EASY WAY” is the story of Ted Williams and the 1941 season, the last one any player ever hit .400. Fred Bowen with words and Charles S. Pyle with images team up to homer with this worthy read from Dutton for ages 6-8. WORTHY
“PLAY BALL CORDUROY!” with lift-the-flaps by B.G. Hennessey with pictures by Lisa McCue (Viking, $11.99, ages 3-5) is a loving look at learning to play baseball. Corduroy and Blue Mouse practice together showing that baseball is all about winning and teamwork. TERRIFIC.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Baseball Names - and How They Got That Way! Part XVI (I)
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, X and all the others and wanted more, here is more, just a sampling. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome
"I LOST IT IN THE SUN" Billy Loes was a Brooklyn Dodger pitcher in the 1950s. Possessed with a great deal of natural athletic ability, Loes never achieved the success experts predicted should have come to him as a matter of course. At times he was quicker with a quip than with his glove. During the 1952 World Series, Loes ingloriously misplayed a ground ball hit back to the pitcher's mound. Later he was questioned by a reporter who wished to learn what had been the problem. Loes responded, "I lost it in the sun."
"I NEVER MISSED ONE IN MY HEART" Long-time major league umpire Bill Klem's phrase was his attempt to explain how difficult the job of umpiring was and how objective he always attempted to be. Klem retired in 1941—according to him, after the first time he pondered whether he had correctly called a play.
“IDIOTS ” Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona explained the name his players gave to themselves in 2004: "They may not wear their hair normal, they many not dress normal, but they play the game as good as you can."
"IF IT'S UNDER W FOR 'WON,' NOBODY ASKS YOU HOW" As a player and a manager, Leo Durocher could invent more ways to tease and taunt and beat the opposition than virtually any other figure in the history of baseball. His was an aggressive, no-holds-barred approach to the National Pastime. The quote attributed to him reflects his attitude toward the game.
“THE IGNITOR" Paul Molitor had a long and distinguished career primarily with the Milwaukee Brewers and could be counted on to make things happen for his teams.
"IN THE CATBIRD SEAT" Red Barber beguiled Brooklyn Dodger fans for years with his Southern voice, narrative skills, honest manner, and down-home expressions. His pet phrase to describe when someone was pitching, hitting, fielding or just functioning well was a reference to that individual as being in the "catbird seat." Barber also used the phrase to characterize a team ahead by a comfortable margin and virtually assured of victory.
“IN THE HOLE” On the infield at a location nearly exactly between fielders, describes location of batted balls.
“IRON HORSE” Lou Gehrig, a.k.a. Larrupin' Lou and Pride of the Yankees, earned his main nickname for playing in 2,130 consecutive games—a major league baseball record that stood until Cal Ripken, Jr. came along. Day in and day out for 14 years, like a thing made of iron, Gehrig was a fixture in the New York Yankee lineup. He led the league in RBI's, 5 times and 13 years he drove in more than 100 runs a season. The man they also called Columbia Lou—a reference to his Columbia University student days—was admitted to the Hall of Fame in 1939.
IRON MAN Joe McGinnity pitched in the majors from 1899 to 1908. He started 381 games and completed 351 of them. He had a lifetime earned-run average of 2.64. McGinnity could pitch day in and day out like a man made of iron. In 1903 he pitched and won three doubleheaders. Winner of 247 games—an average of almost 25 a year—McGinnity was admitted to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1946.
"IT'S NOT OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER" This phrase, attributed to Yogi Berra, underscores the former Yankee great's long experience in the wars of baseball. Berra, as player, manager, and coach, has seen the game of baseball from many levels. A victim and victor of late-inning rallies, of curious changes in the destinies of players and teams, his stoical attitude to the National Pastime is the view of a pro, even though it is expressed in perhaps not the most appropriate syntax.
"IS BROOKLYN STILL IN THE LEAGUE?" At the beginning of the 1934 baseball season, New York Giant manager Bill Terry teasingly asked reporters that question about his team's subway rivals. It was a natural if uncomplimentary query. The Dodgers were still in the league, but they had not done much in the past few years. The final two games of the 1934 season saw the Dodgers still in the league but long out of the pennant race. On the other hand, the Giants were tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals. Brooklyn's last two games were with the Giants. Brooklyn won those last two games, while St. Louis swept its final two games from Cincinnati to take the National League pennant. And Giant manager Bill Terry learned the virtues of letting sleeping dogs sleep. Van Lingle Mungo, the Dodgers' star pitcher of that year, remembers the way it was: "Because of Terry's taunt, we wanted to win just a little more each time we played them that year. The fans were even more so; they'd boo Terry every time he'd stick his head out of the dugout." Mungo pitched more innings than any other hurler in 1934, but he especially remembers the last game he pitched and won against the Giants. "It was like a World Series to me. I never wanted to win a game as much. I think it was one of the best games I ever pitched and I pitched it for Bill Terry."
Dr. Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next. FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SPORTS BOOK REVIEW: The T206 Collection and other Sporting Reads
If you are into baseball cards and into beautiful baseball books,the T206 Collection by Tom Zappala, et al (Peter E. Randall Publisher, $38.00, 203 pages, oversized) is one tome terrific you should check out. The legendary T206 set of cards is all yours for the grazing, studying, in this remarkable book that tells the stories, sad and soaring, of the players in Tobacco Trust’s ‘white border’ set.
SPECIAL INTEREST: “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu”($15.00) by the 28-year-old John Updike in a special 50th anniversary deluxe collector’s edition is the account of Ted Williams and his final at bat at Fenway Park. The little book contains an autobiographical preface and a substantial afterword prepared by Updike just months before his death.
Nice sports books from Clerisy Press are available for your reading pleasure – all from the prolific John Snyder. “365 Odd Ball Days in Chicago Cubs History” and “365 Odd Ball Days in Los Angeles Dodgers History” are both in paper, both 377 pages and both priced at $14.95. If you are into baseball trivia/nostalgia - -these tomes are for you. “Angels Journal” and “Twins Journal” (($29.95, 448 pages) cover year by year and day by day with the franchises since 1961.
Another look at Mr. October? Yes, that’s what Dayn Perry (Morrow, $25.99, 326 pages) serves up in “Reggie Jackson.” Perry points out that both Reggie and his agent were uncooperative in the project but there was plenty of help from print, internet and interview sources. The book is billed as the first full tome on the old showhorse in a quarter century.
Flip Bondy’s “Chasing the Game” (Da Capo, $25.00, 312 pages) is highly recommended for soccer zealots as in depth and with accuracy it documents the American quest for the World Cup. Most interesting are the ups and downs of the USA in World Cup clashes.
From Pantheon we have “The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron,” by Howard Bryant ( $29.95, 600 pages). The author’s master work previously was “Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston.” This book with all its depth, insights, passion, and heart is now Bryant’s master work providing as it does a full portrait of a baseball legend who never seemed to come out from behind the mask and the headlines.
BACKLIST GEMS: “Early Innings” and “Middle Innings” edited by Dean A. Sullivan (Bison Books, paper) are documentary histories of baseball, one from 1825-1908 and the other from 1900-1948, told from the viewpoint of primary writings, many from unexpected sources, all serving up insights and sidebars to many aspects of the richness of our national pastime.
Fascinating “Tennis and Philosophy” edited by David Baggett (University Press of Kentucky, $35.00, 294 pages) is as its sub-title proclaims about “what the racket is all about” told from the perspective of scholars, philosophers, writers. An interesting read.
Dr. Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Monday, May 03, 2010
SPORTS BOOK REVIEW: Terrific Tomes from Triumph and other Interesting Reads
Out of Chicago Triumph Books is a purveyor of all kinds of sports books especially baseball. Out this spring is a collection of worthies for all interests and all kinds of fans.
"Of Mikes and Men" by Pete Van Wieren with Jack Wilkinson (Triumph,$24.95, 224 pages) is as its sub-title proclaims all about his lifetime of Braves baseball. Anecdotal, enjoyable, insightful this book is a must for Braves fans and others will like it, too.
"Straight Talk from Wild Thing" by Mitch Williams with Darrell Berger (Triumph, $19.95, 208 pages) is an outspoken read by one of the more outspoken hurlers in baseball history, one of the more enjoyable current day broadcasters. The former fireballing lefty lets it all hang out.
"Stan the Man" by Wayne Stewart (Triumph, $24.95, 256 pages) is a bouquet of red roses to Stan Musial, Cardinal legend, one of the great players of all time. From the cloth-covered rock that was his first baseball to the Brooklyn Dodger fans who hung the name "the Man" on him through many interviews providing insights into "Stash," this is a winning read.
"Al Kaline: the Biography of a Tigers Icon" by Jim Hawkins (Triumph, $24.95, 288 pages) is all about the Hall of Famer written by the scribe who in 1970 as a 25-year-old first began covering his subject. We are there through the many triumphs on and off the baseball field including Kaline's career as Tiger commentator from 1975 to 2002.
"Scooter" by Carlo DeVito (Triumph, @4.95, 384 pages) is all about the wonderful Phil Rizzuto. Lengthy, detailed, created with loving devotion for the late and great Yankee shortstop and announcer this book has a lot to offer.
From Penguin/Gotham comes "Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine" (paper, $16.00) a title that is full of secrets revealed behind the art and science of the perfect swing.
"The Game From Where I Stand" by Doug Glanville (Henry Holt/Times Books, $25.00, 304 pages) is quick reading but also an unsatisfying work by this ex MLB outfielder and multi-featured media figure on many outlets. He set out to offer insights into the human side of the game. Sophomoric stuff.
"Swinging from My Heels" by Christina Kim and Alan Shipnuck (Bloomsbury, $25.00, 240 pages) is the tale with all kinds of behind the scenes gossip and insight of Kim, one of the most popular LPGA players since she was a 19-year-old in 2003. Warts and all - this is a moving read.
MOST NOTABLE: "JEWISH MAJOR LEAGUERS, 2000-2009," Deck of the Decade, produced by Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc.("JML"), a not-for-profit organization. You don't have to even be Jewish to want to buy these cards available at $36 via the JML web-site www.jewishmajorleaguers.org.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Baseball Names and How They Got That Way! Part XV (H)
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, X and all the others and wanted more, here is more, just a sampling of the all the "G's out there. As always, reactions and suggestions always welcome
HACK WILSON A short, red-faced, gorilla-shaped man, Hack Wilson played for the Chicago Cubs from 1926 to 1931. In those years he was an American folk hero--the million-dollar slugger from the five- and ten-cent store. In those years he drove in more runs than any other player except for Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He set National League records that still stand for the most home runs and most total bases in a season and the major league record for runs batted in. The stock market crashed in 1929, but the Li'l Round Man soared in 1930: he smashed 56 homers, drove in 190 runs, and batted .356.
The Cubs purchased Robert Lewis Wilson in 1926 from Toledo for $5,000. Dubbed Hackenschmidt, after a famous wrestler of the time, he ripped by day and nipped by night. The Hacker was called the poor man's Babe Ruth because of the $40,000 he earned in 1931--a salary second only to the Babe's. Wilson's batting trademarks were parallel knuckles on a no nub bat handle, and a booming voice that declared when rival players taunted him, "Let 'em yowl. I used to be a boilermaker and noise doesn't bother me." In 1932 Hack became a Brooklyn Dodger and finished out his career as a member of the so-called Daffiness Boys. It was a perfect climate for the man with so many nicknames, and with the Dodgers he was called the Hacker. With all his accomplishments, with all the verve he exhibited, with all the fame he had--Hack Wilson was not admitted to the Hall of Fame until 1979.
HAMMERIN' HANK Four times he led the American League in home run hitting. In 1938 he blasted 58--and no man had hit more in a season up to that point in time except Babe Ruth. His name was Henry Benjamin Greenberg, but he was better known as Hank Greenberg. He played a dozen years for the Detroit Tigers and finished his career in 1947 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greenberg was admitted to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1956 (see GREENBERG GARDENS).
HAPPY JACK Former major league pitcher Jack Chesbro spent time before he hit the majors as an attendant at the state mental hospital in Middletown, New York where he pitched for the hospital team and showed off a very pleasant disposition.
THE HARMONICA INCIDENT Despite a string of four straight pennants, the Bronx Bombers were a bust throughout much of the 1964 season. Yogi Berra had succeeded Ralph Houk as skipper; there were reports that he got more laughs than lauds from his players. It was getting to be late August; the Yankees were in third place behind Baltimore and Chicago. The Yankees were on the team bus heading to O'Hare Airport on August 20, 1964, losers of four straight to the White Sox, winless in 10 of their last 15 games. A 5-0 shutout at the hands of Chicago's John Buzhardt had totally demoralized them.
Phil Linz, #34, reserve infielder, a career .235 hitter was a tough, aggressive player who loved being a Yankee. But he was regarded by some to be un-Yankee like along with teammates Joe Pepitone and Jim Bouton.
I sat in the back of the bus," Linz recalled. The bus was stuck in heavy traffic. It was a sticky humid Chicago summer day. "I was bored. I pulled out my harmonica. I had the Learner's Sheet for 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.' So I started fiddling. You blow in. You blow out."
An angry Berra snapped from the front of the bus: "Knock it off!" But Linz barely heard him. When asked what their manager had said, Mickey Mantle said, "Play it louder." Linz played louder.
Berra stormed to the back of the bus and told Linz to "shove that thing." "I told Yogi that I didn't lose that game," Linz related." Berra smacked the harmonica out of Linz's hands. The harmonica flew into Joe Pepitone's knee and Pepitone jokingly winced in pain. Soon the entire bus - except for Berra - was in stitches.
Another version has it that Linz flipped the harmonica at the angered Berra and screamed: "What are you getting on me for? I give a hundred per cent. Why don't you get on some of the guys who don't hustle?"
Linz was fined $200 - but as the story goes received $20,000 for an endorsement from a harmonica company. "The next day," Linz gives his version, "the Hohner Company called and I got a contract for $5,000 to endorse their harmonica. The whole thing became a big joke."
Actually, the whole thing changed things around for the Yankees. The summer of 1964 was Linz's most productive season. Injuries to Tony Kubek made the "supersub" a regular: Linz started the majority of the games down the stretch, and every World Series game at short. New respect for Yogi propelled the Yanks to a 22-6 record in September and a win in a close pennant race over the White Sox. A loss in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games cost Berra his job. But there were those who said he was on his way out the day of the "Harmonica Incident."
HARRY THE HAT Harry William Walker of St. Louis Cardinal outfielding fame was in the habit of adjusting his baseball cap between pitches and annoying those around him.
HAWK Ken Harrelson baseball's "bad boy" in the 1960s and provided fans with a colorful character on and off the field. He wore long blond hair, love beads, bell-bottoms and Nehru jackets and his own "Hawk" medallion.
HESITATION PITCH A specialty of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, this pitch came out of a slow windup that had a hitch in it. The ball would came at the hitter at various speeds, causing problems in the timing of a swing and helping Satchel to win many games.
HIGHLANDERS The team began in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles and then moved to New York in 1903. Originally called the Highlanders for its Hilltop Park location, in 1914, Jim Price of the New York Press is credited with coming up with a new name for the team - the New York Yankees.
HIGHPOCKETS George Kelly played for the New York Giants in the 1920s. A 6-4, 190-pound first baseman, he earned his main nickname for the way his uniform pants hung on his spindly build. He was also called "Long George" by the press, and "Kell" by teammates.
HIT 'EM WHERE THEY AIN'T William Henry Keeler played 19 years in the major leagues and finished his career with a .345 lifetime batting average. In 1897 Keeler batted an incredible .432. A reporter asked the diminutive batter, "Mr. Keeler, how can a man your size hit four-thirty-two?" The reply to that question has become a rallying cry for all kinds of baseball players in all types of leagues. "Simple," Keeler smiled, "I keep my eyes clear and I hit'em where they ain't."
HITLESS WONDERS The 1906 Chicago White Sox had a team batting average of .230, the most anemic of all the clubs in baseball that year. The team's pitching, however, more than made up for its lack of hitting. The White Sox staff recorded shutouts in 32 of the team's 93 victories. The "Hitless Wonders" copped the American League pennant and faced the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. The Cubs of 1906 are regarded as one of the greatest baseball teams of all time; they won 116 games that year, setting the all-time major league mark for victories in a season and for winning percentage. The White Sox continued their winning ways in the World Series, however, trimming their cross town rivals in six games.
HIYA KID! Babe Ruth had a great deal of difficulty in remembering names, and "Hiya Kid!" was his traditional greeting to make up for this shortcoming. However, he once was introduced to President Calvin Coolidge and improved on his traditional greeting by shouting, "Hiya Prez!"
HOLY COW Former New York Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto was an exuberant and excitable individual. Some accused him of rooting for the home team, but most everyone admitted that the Scooter watched and described baseball through the eyes of a fan. The phrase associated with Rizzuto underscored his amazement at the happenings on a baseball field and is generally his "last word." (see SCOOTER, THE).
HOME RUN BAKER If there ever was a baseball player who became a legend because of a nickname, it had to be John Franklin Baker. Admitted to the Hall of Fame in 1955, he had a powerful image but not much in the way of home runs. Baker played 13 years and collected a grand total of 93 homers. His best homerun year was 1913, when he popped 12 round-trippers. Baker's lifetime home-run percentage was 1.6, as compared to Babe Ruth's 8.5, Hank Aaron's 6.3, and Rocky Colavito's 5.8. Powerful press agentry or key home runs in crucial situations have to be the explanations for Baker's nickname. His home-run hitting did not make him deserving of it.
But to be fair - -there were some moments: For his day he was a good home run hitter. In the Dead Ball Era, Baker led or tied for the league lead in homers four straight seasons (1911-14), including winning the home run title in 1913 with 12. In the 1911 World Series, he hit game-winning home runs on successive days against the Giants' future Hall of Fame pitchers Rube Marquard and Christy Mathewson
HOME RUN TWINS Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, phrase coined in 1961.
HOMESTEAED GRAYS Negro League team out of Pittsburgh that played many of its games in Washington in the 1930s and 1940s.
HOME WHITES Uniform worn by a team playing in its home ballpark.
HONDO HURRICANE, THE He was 6'5" and weighed 210 pounds. He came up from the minor leagues to the New York Giants in 1947 with a "can't miss" label. Clint Hartung batted .309 that first year and this meshed with his Hondo, Texas, birthplace to earn him his nickname. Unfortunately, the hurricane blew itself out. Hartung batted only .179 in 1948 and .190 in 1949. His major league career lasted but six years, and Hartung left with a .238 career batting average, just 14 big league homers and thoughts of what might have been.
HOOP A shortening of Harry Hooper's surname who with Duffy Lewis and Tris Speaker formed Boston's famous "Million-Dollar Outfield."
THE HOOSIER THUNDERBOLT Amos Rusie Played For Indianapolis Hoosiers (1889), New York Giants (1890-1895, 1897-1898), Cincinnati Reds (1901)
HORSE NOSE Given to catcher Pat Collins by Babe Ruth, a reference to a facial feature.
HORSEWHIPS Sam Jones earned this because of his sharp-breaking curve ball.
HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT On April 18, 1923 - that "The House That Ruth Built" opened for business. The New York Yankees' first home opponent was the Boston Red Sox. No one back then was bold enough to predict the fabulous and outstanding moments the future held in store for the brand new American League park.
The press release first announcing the new stadium indicated it would be shaped like the Yale Bowl and that it would contain towering battlements enclosing the entire park so that those lacking tickets would not even be able to get a glimpse of the action.
Built at a cost of $2.5 million, "The Yankee Stadium", as it was originally named, had a brick-lined vault with electronic equipment under second base, making it possible to have a boxing ring and press area on the infield. Yankee Stadium was the first ballpark to be called a stadium, the last privately financed major league park. It was a gigantic horseshoe shaped by triple-decked grandstands. Huge wooden bleachers circled the park. The 10,712 upper-grandstand seats and 14,543 lower grandstand seats were fixed in place by 135,000 individual steel castings on which 400,000 pieces of maple lumber were fastened by more than a million screws.
A massive crowd showed up for the proudest moment in the history of the South Bronx. Many in the huge assemblage wore heavy sweaters, coats and hats. Some sported dinner jackets. The announced attendance was 74,217, later changed to 60,000. More than 25,000 were turned away. They would linger outside in the cold listening to the sounds of music and the roar of the crowd inside the stadium. At game time, the temperature was a nippy 49 degrees. Wind whipped the two Yankee pennants and blew dust from the dirt road that led to the stadium. The dominant sound of the day was the march beat played by the Seventh Regiment Band, directed by John Phillip Sousa. Seated in the celebrity box were Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, New York State Governor Al Smith and Yankee owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert.
At 3:25 in the afternoon, Babe Ruth was presented with an oversized bat handsomely laid out in a glass case. At 3:30, Governor Smith threw out the first ball to Yankee catcher Wally Schang. At 3:35, home plate umpire Tommy Connolly bellowed: "Play ball!"
Babe Ruth said: "I'd give a year of my life if I can hit a home run in the first game in this new park". His wish and that of the tens of thousands in attendance came true. The Babe came to bat in the third inning. There were two Yankee base runners. Boston pitcher Howard Ehmke tried to fool Ruth with a slow pitch. The Sultan of Swat turned it into a fast pitch, hammering it on a line into the right-field bleachers. It was the first home run in Yankee Stadium history; Ruth got his wish.
The huge crowd was on its feet roaring as Ruth crossed the plate, removed his cap, extended it at arm's length in front of him, and waved to the ecstatic assemblage - witnesses to baseball history. The game played out into the lengthening afternoon shadows. "Sailor Bob" Shawkey, sporting a red sweatshirt under his jersey, pitched the Yankees to a 4-1 victory, making the first Opening Day at Yankee Stadium a matter of record.
THE HOOSIER THUNDERBOLT Hall of Fame Amos Rusie, out of Indiana, played For Indianapolis Hoosiers (1889), New York Giants (1890-1895, 1897-1898), Cincinnati Reds (1901). He paced the league in strikeouts five times passed the 300-strikeout mark three straight seasons.
HORSE COLLAR Describes a situation when a player gets no hits in a game.
HOT STOVE LEAGUE Winter-time baseball doings and gossip.
HUMAN VACUUM CLEANER Brooks Robinson made a name for himself with Baltimore as one of the top fielding third basemen of all time.
THE HUMAN RAIN DELAY Mike Hargrove, as a player, took a long time to bat, stepping in and out of the box to adjust stuff
HOW ABOUT THAT Former New York Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen must have uttered that phrase thousands of times in noting the spectacular fielding plays, long home runs, and superb pitching performances that he viewed during his long career. It was a phrase expressed in an excited Southern accent that almost made those who heard it want to respond to Allen and given their opinion of what he had described.
HOWDY DOODY Darrell Evans was called this or "Howdy" by his Braves' teammates because of his resemblance to Howdy Doody. The nicknames were encouraged by Atlanta team owner Ted Turner.
HURRICANE For Bob Hazle after the storm that hit the South Carolina coast in 1954. The Milwaukee Braves, locked in the 1957 pennant race, lost outfielder Bill Bruton to a knee injury. Hazle replaced him he responded to the chance. He joined the starting lineup on Aug. 4, 1957 helping the Braves win the pennant as he batted .403 over the end of that season.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Other Frommer sports related articles can be found at:
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/excerpts/growing_up_baseball.stm
http://www.baseballsavvy.com/archive/w_pumpsie.html
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/02/sports_frommer083002.htm
http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15388&s=93d3ba714519f785d290b4305f62c42d
Harvey Frommer along with his wife, Myrna Katz Frommer are the authors of five critically acclaimed oral/cultural histories, professors at Dartmouth College, and travel writers who specialize in cultural history, food, wine, and Jewish history and heritage in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
This Article is Copyright © 1995 - 2010 by Harvey Frommer. All rights reserved worldwide.
HACK WILSON A short, red-faced, gorilla-shaped man, Hack Wilson played for the Chicago Cubs from 1926 to 1931. In those years he was an American folk hero--the million-dollar slugger from the five- and ten-cent store. In those years he drove in more runs than any other player except for Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He set National League records that still stand for the most home runs and most total bases in a season and the major league record for runs batted in. The stock market crashed in 1929, but the Li'l Round Man soared in 1930: he smashed 56 homers, drove in 190 runs, and batted .356.
The Cubs purchased Robert Lewis Wilson in 1926 from Toledo for $5,000. Dubbed Hackenschmidt, after a famous wrestler of the time, he ripped by day and nipped by night. The Hacker was called the poor man's Babe Ruth because of the $40,000 he earned in 1931--a salary second only to the Babe's. Wilson's batting trademarks were parallel knuckles on a no nub bat handle, and a booming voice that declared when rival players taunted him, "Let 'em yowl. I used to be a boilermaker and noise doesn't bother me." In 1932 Hack became a Brooklyn Dodger and finished out his career as a member of the so-called Daffiness Boys. It was a perfect climate for the man with so many nicknames, and with the Dodgers he was called the Hacker. With all his accomplishments, with all the verve he exhibited, with all the fame he had--Hack Wilson was not admitted to the Hall of Fame until 1979.
HAMMERIN' HANK Four times he led the American League in home run hitting. In 1938 he blasted 58--and no man had hit more in a season up to that point in time except Babe Ruth. His name was Henry Benjamin Greenberg, but he was better known as Hank Greenberg. He played a dozen years for the Detroit Tigers and finished his career in 1947 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greenberg was admitted to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1956 (see GREENBERG GARDENS).
HAPPY JACK Former major league pitcher Jack Chesbro spent time before he hit the majors as an attendant at the state mental hospital in Middletown, New York where he pitched for the hospital team and showed off a very pleasant disposition.
THE HARMONICA INCIDENT Despite a string of four straight pennants, the Bronx Bombers were a bust throughout much of the 1964 season. Yogi Berra had succeeded Ralph Houk as skipper; there were reports that he got more laughs than lauds from his players. It was getting to be late August; the Yankees were in third place behind Baltimore and Chicago. The Yankees were on the team bus heading to O'Hare Airport on August 20, 1964, losers of four straight to the White Sox, winless in 10 of their last 15 games. A 5-0 shutout at the hands of Chicago's John Buzhardt had totally demoralized them.
Phil Linz, #34, reserve infielder, a career .235 hitter was a tough, aggressive player who loved being a Yankee. But he was regarded by some to be un-Yankee like along with teammates Joe Pepitone and Jim Bouton.
I sat in the back of the bus," Linz recalled. The bus was stuck in heavy traffic. It was a sticky humid Chicago summer day. "I was bored. I pulled out my harmonica. I had the Learner's Sheet for 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.' So I started fiddling. You blow in. You blow out."
An angry Berra snapped from the front of the bus: "Knock it off!" But Linz barely heard him. When asked what their manager had said, Mickey Mantle said, "Play it louder." Linz played louder.
Berra stormed to the back of the bus and told Linz to "shove that thing." "I told Yogi that I didn't lose that game," Linz related." Berra smacked the harmonica out of Linz's hands. The harmonica flew into Joe Pepitone's knee and Pepitone jokingly winced in pain. Soon the entire bus - except for Berra - was in stitches.
Another version has it that Linz flipped the harmonica at the angered Berra and screamed: "What are you getting on me for? I give a hundred per cent. Why don't you get on some of the guys who don't hustle?"
Linz was fined $200 - but as the story goes received $20,000 for an endorsement from a harmonica company. "The next day," Linz gives his version, "the Hohner Company called and I got a contract for $5,000 to endorse their harmonica. The whole thing became a big joke."
Actually, the whole thing changed things around for the Yankees. The summer of 1964 was Linz's most productive season. Injuries to Tony Kubek made the "supersub" a regular: Linz started the majority of the games down the stretch, and every World Series game at short. New respect for Yogi propelled the Yanks to a 22-6 record in September and a win in a close pennant race over the White Sox. A loss in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games cost Berra his job. But there were those who said he was on his way out the day of the "Harmonica Incident."
HARRY THE HAT Harry William Walker of St. Louis Cardinal outfielding fame was in the habit of adjusting his baseball cap between pitches and annoying those around him.
HAWK Ken Harrelson baseball's "bad boy" in the 1960s and provided fans with a colorful character on and off the field. He wore long blond hair, love beads, bell-bottoms and Nehru jackets and his own "Hawk" medallion.
HESITATION PITCH A specialty of Leroy "Satchel" Paige, this pitch came out of a slow windup that had a hitch in it. The ball would came at the hitter at various speeds, causing problems in the timing of a swing and helping Satchel to win many games.
HIGHLANDERS The team began in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles and then moved to New York in 1903. Originally called the Highlanders for its Hilltop Park location, in 1914, Jim Price of the New York Press is credited with coming up with a new name for the team - the New York Yankees.
HIGHPOCKETS George Kelly played for the New York Giants in the 1920s. A 6-4, 190-pound first baseman, he earned his main nickname for the way his uniform pants hung on his spindly build. He was also called "Long George" by the press, and "Kell" by teammates.
HIT 'EM WHERE THEY AIN'T William Henry Keeler played 19 years in the major leagues and finished his career with a .345 lifetime batting average. In 1897 Keeler batted an incredible .432. A reporter asked the diminutive batter, "Mr. Keeler, how can a man your size hit four-thirty-two?" The reply to that question has become a rallying cry for all kinds of baseball players in all types of leagues. "Simple," Keeler smiled, "I keep my eyes clear and I hit'em where they ain't."
HITLESS WONDERS The 1906 Chicago White Sox had a team batting average of .230, the most anemic of all the clubs in baseball that year. The team's pitching, however, more than made up for its lack of hitting. The White Sox staff recorded shutouts in 32 of the team's 93 victories. The "Hitless Wonders" copped the American League pennant and faced the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. The Cubs of 1906 are regarded as one of the greatest baseball teams of all time; they won 116 games that year, setting the all-time major league mark for victories in a season and for winning percentage. The White Sox continued their winning ways in the World Series, however, trimming their cross town rivals in six games.
HIYA KID! Babe Ruth had a great deal of difficulty in remembering names, and "Hiya Kid!" was his traditional greeting to make up for this shortcoming. However, he once was introduced to President Calvin Coolidge and improved on his traditional greeting by shouting, "Hiya Prez!"
HOLY COW Former New York Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto was an exuberant and excitable individual. Some accused him of rooting for the home team, but most everyone admitted that the Scooter watched and described baseball through the eyes of a fan. The phrase associated with Rizzuto underscored his amazement at the happenings on a baseball field and is generally his "last word." (see SCOOTER, THE).
HOME RUN BAKER If there ever was a baseball player who became a legend because of a nickname, it had to be John Franklin Baker. Admitted to the Hall of Fame in 1955, he had a powerful image but not much in the way of home runs. Baker played 13 years and collected a grand total of 93 homers. His best homerun year was 1913, when he popped 12 round-trippers. Baker's lifetime home-run percentage was 1.6, as compared to Babe Ruth's 8.5, Hank Aaron's 6.3, and Rocky Colavito's 5.8. Powerful press agentry or key home runs in crucial situations have to be the explanations for Baker's nickname. His home-run hitting did not make him deserving of it.
But to be fair - -there were some moments: For his day he was a good home run hitter. In the Dead Ball Era, Baker led or tied for the league lead in homers four straight seasons (1911-14), including winning the home run title in 1913 with 12. In the 1911 World Series, he hit game-winning home runs on successive days against the Giants' future Hall of Fame pitchers Rube Marquard and Christy Mathewson
HOME RUN TWINS Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, phrase coined in 1961.
HOMESTEAED GRAYS Negro League team out of Pittsburgh that played many of its games in Washington in the 1930s and 1940s.
HOME WHITES Uniform worn by a team playing in its home ballpark.
HONDO HURRICANE, THE He was 6'5" and weighed 210 pounds. He came up from the minor leagues to the New York Giants in 1947 with a "can't miss" label. Clint Hartung batted .309 that first year and this meshed with his Hondo, Texas, birthplace to earn him his nickname. Unfortunately, the hurricane blew itself out. Hartung batted only .179 in 1948 and .190 in 1949. His major league career lasted but six years, and Hartung left with a .238 career batting average, just 14 big league homers and thoughts of what might have been.
HOOP A shortening of Harry Hooper's surname who with Duffy Lewis and Tris Speaker formed Boston's famous "Million-Dollar Outfield."
THE HOOSIER THUNDERBOLT Amos Rusie Played For Indianapolis Hoosiers (1889), New York Giants (1890-1895, 1897-1898), Cincinnati Reds (1901)
HORSE NOSE Given to catcher Pat Collins by Babe Ruth, a reference to a facial feature.
HORSEWHIPS Sam Jones earned this because of his sharp-breaking curve ball.
HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT On April 18, 1923 - that "The House That Ruth Built" opened for business. The New York Yankees' first home opponent was the Boston Red Sox. No one back then was bold enough to predict the fabulous and outstanding moments the future held in store for the brand new American League park.
The press release first announcing the new stadium indicated it would be shaped like the Yale Bowl and that it would contain towering battlements enclosing the entire park so that those lacking tickets would not even be able to get a glimpse of the action.
Built at a cost of $2.5 million, "The Yankee Stadium", as it was originally named, had a brick-lined vault with electronic equipment under second base, making it possible to have a boxing ring and press area on the infield. Yankee Stadium was the first ballpark to be called a stadium, the last privately financed major league park. It was a gigantic horseshoe shaped by triple-decked grandstands. Huge wooden bleachers circled the park. The 10,712 upper-grandstand seats and 14,543 lower grandstand seats were fixed in place by 135,000 individual steel castings on which 400,000 pieces of maple lumber were fastened by more than a million screws.
A massive crowd showed up for the proudest moment in the history of the South Bronx. Many in the huge assemblage wore heavy sweaters, coats and hats. Some sported dinner jackets. The announced attendance was 74,217, later changed to 60,000. More than 25,000 were turned away. They would linger outside in the cold listening to the sounds of music and the roar of the crowd inside the stadium. At game time, the temperature was a nippy 49 degrees. Wind whipped the two Yankee pennants and blew dust from the dirt road that led to the stadium. The dominant sound of the day was the march beat played by the Seventh Regiment Band, directed by John Phillip Sousa. Seated in the celebrity box were Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, New York State Governor Al Smith and Yankee owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert.
At 3:25 in the afternoon, Babe Ruth was presented with an oversized bat handsomely laid out in a glass case. At 3:30, Governor Smith threw out the first ball to Yankee catcher Wally Schang. At 3:35, home plate umpire Tommy Connolly bellowed: "Play ball!"
Babe Ruth said: "I'd give a year of my life if I can hit a home run in the first game in this new park". His wish and that of the tens of thousands in attendance came true. The Babe came to bat in the third inning. There were two Yankee base runners. Boston pitcher Howard Ehmke tried to fool Ruth with a slow pitch. The Sultan of Swat turned it into a fast pitch, hammering it on a line into the right-field bleachers. It was the first home run in Yankee Stadium history; Ruth got his wish.
The huge crowd was on its feet roaring as Ruth crossed the plate, removed his cap, extended it at arm's length in front of him, and waved to the ecstatic assemblage - witnesses to baseball history. The game played out into the lengthening afternoon shadows. "Sailor Bob" Shawkey, sporting a red sweatshirt under his jersey, pitched the Yankees to a 4-1 victory, making the first Opening Day at Yankee Stadium a matter of record.
THE HOOSIER THUNDERBOLT Hall of Fame Amos Rusie, out of Indiana, played For Indianapolis Hoosiers (1889), New York Giants (1890-1895, 1897-1898), Cincinnati Reds (1901). He paced the league in strikeouts five times passed the 300-strikeout mark three straight seasons.
HORSE COLLAR Describes a situation when a player gets no hits in a game.
HOT STOVE LEAGUE Winter-time baseball doings and gossip.
HUMAN VACUUM CLEANER Brooks Robinson made a name for himself with Baltimore as one of the top fielding third basemen of all time.
THE HUMAN RAIN DELAY Mike Hargrove, as a player, took a long time to bat, stepping in and out of the box to adjust stuff
HOW ABOUT THAT Former New York Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen must have uttered that phrase thousands of times in noting the spectacular fielding plays, long home runs, and superb pitching performances that he viewed during his long career. It was a phrase expressed in an excited Southern accent that almost made those who heard it want to respond to Allen and given their opinion of what he had described.
HOWDY DOODY Darrell Evans was called this or "Howdy" by his Braves' teammates because of his resemblance to Howdy Doody. The nicknames were encouraged by Atlanta team owner Ted Turner.
HURRICANE For Bob Hazle after the storm that hit the South Carolina coast in 1954. The Milwaukee Braves, locked in the 1957 pennant race, lost outfielder Bill Bruton to a knee injury. Hazle replaced him he responded to the chance. He joined the starting lineup on Aug. 4, 1957 helping the Braves win the pennant as he batted .403 over the end of that season.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Other Frommer sports related articles can be found at:
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/excerpts/growing_up_baseball.stm
http://www.baseballsavvy.com/archive/w_pumpsie.html
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/02/sports_frommer083002.htm
http://www.redsoxnation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15388&s=93d3ba714519f785d290b4305f62c42d
Harvey Frommer along with his wife, Myrna Katz Frommer are the authors of five critically acclaimed oral/cultural histories, professors at Dartmouth College, and travel writers who specialize in cultural history, food, wine, and Jewish history and heritage in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
This Article is Copyright © 1995 - 2010 by Harvey Frommer. All rights reserved worldwide.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Dr. Harvey Frommer on Sports -- SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
“The Eastern Stars” and University of Nebraska Worthies and More
A book filled with wonderful stories. A book that explain the story behind a true baseball phenomenon. A book that is crafted and written with care and zeal by an informed and inspired writer. All of these things are what makes “Eastern Stars” by Mark Kurlansky (Riverhead Books, $25.95) a grand slam treat.
Kurlansky, best selling New York Times author, writer of much fiction and nonfiction about the Caribbean, spins this wondrous tale of the town San Pedro de Macoris and how its legendary baseball team the Eastern Stars changed it.
Part baseball, part travel piece, part Caribbean cultural history, part personal stories of such as Sammy Sosa, Julio Franco, Rico Carty, Tony Fernandez, Alfredo Griffin and others. It is the story of a town that gave by the year 2008 79 players from San Pedro de Macoris to the Major Leagues - -meaning that one in six Dominicans playing in the bigs came from the small town. This is just one of the fascinating themes of “The Eastern Stars,” a book that is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
From the University of Nebraska, an emporium of first class sports books, comes a worthy inventory appealing to all tastes and pocket books.
“Ed Barrow” by Daniel R. Levitt ($21.95,427 pages, paper ) is a page turning bio of the man who built the original and best New York Yankees dynasty.
For Red Sox fans especially there is “Joe Cronin” ($31.95, 382 pages). The book ably covers many facets and features of the ambitious Cronin’s time – player, player-manager, general manager, American League president. Well written and well worth owning.
“Rooney” by Rob Ruck, Maggie Jones Patterson and Michael P. Weber ($36.95, 641 pages) is an absorbing and very long account of Art “The Chief” Rooney, Sr. who truly is “Mr. Pittsburgh. Filled with incredible details, “Rooney” gets behind the man and the legend who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933.
“American Hoops” by Carson Cunningham is a 508 page look at U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball From Berlin to Beijing. With so much scope to this work, so many interesting nuggets of information, so much careful research – this is a must read especially for fans of the hoop game.
“Final Innings” compiled and edited by Dean A. Sullivan (Bison Books, $29.95, 344 pages, paper) is a documentary history of baseball 1972-2008. The book is a conclusion to the author’s four-volume documentary history. In essence, Sullivan carefully selected relevant stories from newspapers and periodicals and pieced them together in an engaging and informing narrative.
“Living Out of Bounds” by Steven J. Overman (Bison Books, $18.95, 227 pages, paper) is an insightful look at the everyday life of male athletes.
“Psychology Gets in the Game” edited by Christopher D. Green and Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. (313 pages, paper) is a lengthy treatise via essays on the foundations on which modern sports psychology was created.
From the most intense and informed Philly fan around comes two books from Max Blue “God Is Alive and Playing Third Base for the Appleton Papermakers” (iuniverse, $29.95, 265 pages) and “Phillies Journal 1888-2008, Strategic, $19.95, 534 pages). Both are terrific tomes. The former is madcap, delicious escapist reading that has a little bit of everything and makes a lot of sense (at times). The latter is loaded with a thousand limericks and is chock full of Philly matter – stats, essays, trivia, musings. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for fans of the team and franchise.
“Roger Maris” by Tom Clavin and Danny Peary (Touchstone Books, $26.99, 422) is a workmanlike bio of what the book’s sub-title calls “baseball’s reluctant hero.” Many interviews and much effort expended.
BEST OF THE REST: Now out in paperback from Harper is George F Will’s classic “MEN AT WORK: The Craft of Baseball” ($14.99, 400 pages,) The book is required reading for all those with an interest in the national pastime. Page after page of well chosen and carefully crafted insights into the game of baseball. A MUST OWN!
“It’s What’s Inside the Lines That Counts” by Fay Vincent (Simon and Schuster, $25.00) is another terrific tome in the oral history project orchestrated by the former Baseball Commissioner. This one has baseball stars from the 1970s and 1980s talk and remember the way it was. Such as Tom Seaver, Willie McCovey, Ozzie Smith, Dick Williams are included in the book.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Remembering Jackie Robinson - (From the Vault)
Lest we forget. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on the last day of January in 1919 and died on October 24, 1972 in Stamford, Connecticut. Robinson attended UCLA, where he won letters in three sports.
He was in the Army during World War II and then played briefly in the Negro Leagues when the war ended. He was signed to a minor league contract with the Montreal Royals in 1946 by Branch Rickey, and the following year came up to the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke baseball's age-old color line on April 15, 1947.
He played in the major leagues for a decade. He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, and he helped the Dodgers win six pennants and one world championship.
Despite all the pressure he played under, he was still able to record a lifetime batting average of .311. His base-stealing ability and hustle won many games for the Dodgers. He set several records for fielding for second basemen.
His influence on sports is immeasurable. His breaking of baseball's color line against the greatest of odds is still one of the most dramatic stories in all of sports history. And there are those who still have special memories of the man and the legend. Here is how one from that time still remembers the great player Brooklyn Dodger fans called "Robby".
When school was out, I sometimes went with my father in his taxi. One summer morning, we were driving in East Flatbush in Brooklyn down Snyder Avenue. My father pointed to a dark red brick house with a high porch.
"I think Jackie Robinson lives there," my father said. He parked across the street and we got out of the cab, stood on the sidewalk and looked at the house. Suddenly, the front door opened. A black man in a short-sleeved shirt stepped out. I didn't believe it. Here we were on a quiet street on a summer morning with no one else around.
The man was not wearing the baggy, ice-cream-white-uniform of the Brooklyn Dodgers that accentuated his blackness. He was dressed in regular clothes, coming out of a regular house in a regular Brooklyn neighborhood, a guy like anyone else going out for a bottle of milk and a newspaper.
Then, incredibly, he crossed the street and came right toward me. Seeing that unmistakable pigeon-toed walk, the rock of the shoulders and hips that I had seen so many times before on the baseball field, I had no doubt who it was.
"Hi Jackie, I'm one of your biggest fans," I said self-consciously. "Do you think the Dodgers are going to win the pennant this year?"
"His handsome face looked sternly down at me. "We'll try our best," he said.
"Good luck," I said."
"Thanks," he replied."
He put his big hand out, and I took it. We shook hands and I felt the strength and firmness of his grip. I was a nervy kid, but I didn't ask for an autograph or try to prolong the conversation. I just he walked away down the street.
Dr. Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
He was in the Army during World War II and then played briefly in the Negro Leagues when the war ended. He was signed to a minor league contract with the Montreal Royals in 1946 by Branch Rickey, and the following year came up to the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke baseball's age-old color line on April 15, 1947.
He played in the major leagues for a decade. He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949, and he helped the Dodgers win six pennants and one world championship.
Despite all the pressure he played under, he was still able to record a lifetime batting average of .311. His base-stealing ability and hustle won many games for the Dodgers. He set several records for fielding for second basemen.
His influence on sports is immeasurable. His breaking of baseball's color line against the greatest of odds is still one of the most dramatic stories in all of sports history. And there are those who still have special memories of the man and the legend. Here is how one from that time still remembers the great player Brooklyn Dodger fans called "Robby".
When school was out, I sometimes went with my father in his taxi. One summer morning, we were driving in East Flatbush in Brooklyn down Snyder Avenue. My father pointed to a dark red brick house with a high porch.
"I think Jackie Robinson lives there," my father said. He parked across the street and we got out of the cab, stood on the sidewalk and looked at the house. Suddenly, the front door opened. A black man in a short-sleeved shirt stepped out. I didn't believe it. Here we were on a quiet street on a summer morning with no one else around.
The man was not wearing the baggy, ice-cream-white-uniform of the Brooklyn Dodgers that accentuated his blackness. He was dressed in regular clothes, coming out of a regular house in a regular Brooklyn neighborhood, a guy like anyone else going out for a bottle of milk and a newspaper.
Then, incredibly, he crossed the street and came right toward me. Seeing that unmistakable pigeon-toed walk, the rock of the shoulders and hips that I had seen so many times before on the baseball field, I had no doubt who it was.
"Hi Jackie, I'm one of your biggest fans," I said self-consciously. "Do you think the Dodgers are going to win the pennant this year?"
"His handsome face looked sternly down at me. "We'll try our best," he said.
"Good luck," I said."
"Thanks," he replied."
He put his big hand out, and I took it. We shook hands and I felt the strength and firmness of his grip. I was a nervy kid, but I didn't ask for an autograph or try to prolong the conversation. I just he walked away down the street.
Dr. Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Monday, April 12, 2010
“Bums” and “Dynasty” SPORTS BOOK REVIEW
Peter Golenbock is one of the most widely published and highly regarded sports authors in the business. I have read (and reviewed) most of the terrific tomes he has penned.
Now from Dover Publications comes “Bums” and “Dynasty” – two of the best the prolific Dartmouth alum has written. Both have new lives in attractive paperback formats. Both are sensibly priced at $19.95. Both merit a special place on your sports bookshelf.
“Bums,” 0riginally published in 1984, has a splendid preface by Paul Dickson and is a true page turner about a beloved team and a special era in baseball history. The Brooklyn Dodgers come back to life through Golenbock’s concise and incisive prose and oral histories conducted with such as Rachel Robinbson, Larry King, Roy Campanella, Carl Erskine, Roger Kahn, Clem Labine, Karl Spooner and many, many more.
The team the Dodgers of Brooklyn could never beat in the world series until 1955 – the New York Yankees – is given its due in “Dynasty,” originally published in 1975. The book’s focus is the Bronx Bombers of 1949-1964. We are there in the stirring chronological account with Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Whitey Fors, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Casey Stengel, Elston Howard, Billy Martin and more. We are there through the on field heroics and the off stage controversies.
I have written a great deal about both teams and about the time period that Peter Golenbock has covered. So I say with certainty that “Bums” and “Dynasty” are two gems that have only become more glistening, more appealing, more valuable through time.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. "The prolific Frommer has a PhD in media and communications from New York University and his thesis focused on culture and sports." A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
The Book Review: “1921,” and much more ...
“1921” has one of the longest sub-titles - -“The Yankees, The Giants & the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York” and two authors Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg and a foreword by Charles C. Alexander (University of Nebraska Press, $31.95, 515 pages). This is a book that carefully and cogently tells the narrative of the United States and big league baseball on the cusp of change. Its Babe Ruth vs. John J. McGraw and their respective teams and a very interesting season and much more.
The 1960 Pirates are the focus of “Kiss It Good-Bye” by John Moody (Shadow Mountain, $24.99, 372 pages, photos) is one of those peculiar books that comes along every once in a while – that blind sides you with its charm, relevance and appealing writing. The book re-lives the 50th anniversary season of the Bucs and their incredible victory over the vaunted New York Yankees. The author, just six years old then but a devoted fan of the team, writes in absorbing detail with new insights. Moody focuses on as the book’s sub-title proclaims: “The Mystery, the Mormon, and the Moral of the 1960 Pirates.” NOTABLE.
The ten greatest American sports rivalries of the 20th Century - - “Rivals” by Richard O. Davies (Wiley-Blackwell, $24.95, 280 pages, paper) is an academic look at the subject matter.
From Acta comes “Traded” by Doug Deatur, $19.95, 189 pages, paper). This trim tome is an explication and analysis of some of the most lop-sided trades in the history of baseball. There are lists of these trades by teams, in the 20th century, trading deadline deals and more. If you can find your way around the repetitious subject matter, there are lots of interesting nuggets.
“High Heat” by Tim Wendel (Da Capo Press, $25.00, 268 pages) is highly readable and slightly controversial probing as it does “the secret history of the fast ball and the improbable search for the fastest pitcher of all time.”
Unlike some of the current season’s crop of baseball books that are amateurish, repetitious, poorly conceived and edited, “High Heat” is a glistening gem.
Especially noteworthy (just half-kidding) is Wendel’s sagacious commentary in his acknowledgments: “Most athlete’s autobiographies are not much to write about. But I was struck by how candid “Throwing Heat,” (Nolan) Ryan’s autobiography with Harvey Frommer, was.”
For the golfers in the audience there is “Dream On” by John Richardson (Skyhorse Publishing, $23.95, 192 pages). This is a funny, dynamic, absorbing and inspirational story of how the author went from nowhere to somewhere, in less than a year, breaking par and playing the best round of his life. HIGHLY NOTABLE
Dr. Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books 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." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
DR. HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Encore 2010 - - RED SOX / YANKEES . . .THE GREATEST RIVALRY:
Every time I get before an audience talking sports I am always reminded of when I was promoting one of my early books – “New York City Baseball - 1947-1957 – The Last Golden Age” - about the old Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and New York Yankees.
The publishing company’s publicist asked – which team did you root for as a kid?
My reply was - -“None of these teams.”
“Oh my, oh my, that won’t do. Please pick one –
I had grown up in Brooklyn- -so I picked the Dodgers.
I went about promoting the book. One day I was in the Staten Island Mall introduced as a former Brooklyn Dodger fan when a guy in the back started to shout – you were never a DODGER fan . . . .I remember you from the old neighborhood. You were that Cardinal fan.”
“Folks,” I said, “that’s my crazy cousin. Don’t pay any attention to him. He has always been a bit jealous.”
He quieted down . and I went on with my talk. But truth be told, I was a St. Louis Cardinal - fan for a brief time. Youthful folly.
Today I am considered the ultimate Yankees fan having published 8 books on the subject, hundreds of articles, written for the team for 18 years.My REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM came out in 2008.
At the same time I am a student of the Red Sox. In fact, my book CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK is going into production. So I have interest in both teams.
I was a life-long New Yorker until about a dozen years ago. And then, I moved on to teach and write and live in New England. Back in the Big Apple, I had always been a keenly interested onlooker to the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox. But it wasn't until I was living in the mountains of New Hampshire that I realized via conversations at the gas pumps, and in the general store just how important "THE RIVALRY" is - - to the Red Sox Nation.
I have authored many books but the ones I have written with family members have a special place . . .like the ones written with my wife Myrna and RED SOX VS YANKEES written with my son Fred that traces the long historic feud between the two teams through oral history,narrative and images.
When it comes to Red Sox/Yankees baseball, there is never a dull moment, and those caught up in it are never at a loss for words. There are stories, asides, poignant memories, insights, game accounts, vulgarisms, quips and rejoinders that cut across generations and geography. As an oral historian all of these anecdotes have much appeal to me.
And now a new story was added to rivalry lore when Democrat Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown in the special US Senate election in Massachusetts. There are those who say Coakley’s dissing of Fenway Park and her off base comment that former Red Sox great Curt Schilling was a "Yankees fan" - helped bring her down.
That’s a big talk topic now (as part of the “Rivalry” and will certainly still be a talk topic on APRIL 4th 2010 @ Fenway Park and beyond when the Red Sox of Boston and the Yankees of New York, meet once again in a regular season game.
It will be the 2,065th meeting between them. The first time they met was way back on May 7, 1903 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston - - The teams weren't the Yankees and Red Sox then but instead had more geographically correct names: the Highlanders -- they played on the hilly terrain of upper Manhattan; and the Pilgrims -- in tribute to their New England heritage.
The first game at Fenway Park between them was April 20, 1912, just a few days after the sinking of the Titanic. Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the grandfather-to-be of President John F. Kennedy, threw out the first ball, and the Red Sox eked out a 7-6 win in 11 innings.
The spark of all sparks was ignited by BoSox owner Harry Frazee, a show business wheeler-dealer with a home in Boston and a main residence on Manhattan’s Park Avenue, who liked to quip: “The best thing about Boston is the train ride back to New York."
On January 9, 1920, he committed “Harry Frazee’s Crime.” At a very cold morning press conference a very happy Yankee owner Jake Ruppert announced:
“Gentlemen, we have just bought Babe Ruth from Harry Frazee of the Boston Red Sox. I can’t give exact figures, but it was a pretty check – six figures, strictly a cash deal.”
It may have been the biggest mistake in baseball history.
The fallout from Harry Frazee’s infamous deed has become known as “the Curse of the Bambino.
From 1919 through 1933, the Sox dropped at least 100 games a season five times, at least 90 games a season five more times. The Red Sox lost Game 7 of the World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986. They lost the pennant in playoffs in 1948 and 1978;
You might say – the “curse was working.” THE SOX stunk.
The golden age of Yankee baseball can be traced directly to the arrival of the Sultan of Swat.
In Boston, irate fans have screamed: "Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" even when the Yankees were not playing at Fenway.
-- The Yankees of New York versus the Red Sox of Boston is the greatest, grandest, strongest, longest rivalry in baseball history – a competition of images, teams, cities, styles, ballparks, fans, media, culture, dreams, bragging rights - all mixed in, mixed up.
The competition is so much more than a baseball team representing Boston -- going against a baseball team representing New York. It is a competition between the provincial capital of New England and the mega-municipality of New York City.
The New York Yankees are the glitz and glitter, the most successful franchise in baseball history, perhaps in all sports history. Through the years, winning has been as much a part of Yankee baseball as their monuments and plaques, as much as the pinstriped uniforms, the iconic intertwined “N” and “Y” on the baseball caps.
Less successful, more human, more vulnerable – the Bostons have seemed until recent success like the rest of us.
The rivalry is the Babe and Bucky and Butch. It is Carl Yastrzemski trotting out to left field at Fenway with cotton sticking out of his ears to shut out the boos of Sox fans.
The rivalry is Mickey Mantle slugging a 440-foot double at Yankee Stadium then tipping his cap to the Red Sox bench.
It is Carlton Fisk's headaches from the tension he felt coming into Yankee Stadium.
For the BoSox and their fans, winning at times has not seemed as important as beating the Yankees and then winning.
For the fans of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, the slogan used to be "Wait 'til Next Year." For Boston fans it always has seemed to be -"When are the Sox going to fold this year?"
The rivalry is Ted Williams spitting, Reggie Jackson jabbering, Luis Tiant hurling for NY and Boston and smoking those Cuban cigars. It is the Yankees' Mickey Rivers jumping out of the way of an exploding firecracker thrown into the visitors' dugout at Fenway.
LOU PINIELLA ( managed and played for the Yankees): There was always a lot of excitement in that small park that made it special. You might have 20,000 Red Sox fans at Fenway and 15,000 Yankee fans. Their rivalry helped our rivalry. It excited the players who had to respond to it.
Piniella may have enjoyed Fenway but a former Red Sox star hated Yankee Stadium.
DWIGHT EVANS: "When you have coke bottle go by your head from the third deck, you wonder what kind of people these are. When you have cherry bombs thrown at you or thrown into crowds, that's not fun and those are not fans. When they throw a penny or a dime from the third deck and it hits you, it's going to put a knot on your head. You knew you had to watch out if you came in wearing a Red Sox uniform.”
……On the field, inside the white lines, the rivalry has been characterized by some of baseball's wildest and most intense moments: There has been anger, rage, occasionally violence. Sometimes it has been triggered by personality clashes, at other times the trigger has simply been the "Blood Feud."
In 1938, players from both clubs stormed the mound at Yankee Stadium when New York’s Jake Powell and Boston's Joe Cronin started punching each other. Cronin was ejected from the game and moments later was assaulted by several Yankee players under the stands.
In 1951, a six year old was taken to his first game.
RUDY GIULIANI: It was between the Yankees and the Red Sox, with Joe DiMaggio playing for the Yankees and Dominic DiMaggio playing for the Red Sox. I found that fascinating -- that brothers would be on two different teams. I asked my father: “How come they’re playing for different teams- are they angry at each other?”
Perhaps no two players have symbolized the rivalry as much as Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Both Californians,both bigger than life. One was an outspoken iconoclast, the other a soft-spoken team man.
As the story goes, Sox owner Tom Yawkey and Yankee boss Dan Topping were at Toots Shor’s (famous NYC restaurant and hangout). They agreed that that Ted Williams would hit much better at Yankee Stadium and Joe DiMaggio would hit much better at Fenway Park. The two ended the evening on a handshake agreement to make a trade of DiMaggio for Williams.
When Topping arrived home in the early morning and realized what he had agreed to, he picked up the phone and called Yawkey in a panic.
"Tom,Tom" he cried, "I'm sorry but I can't go through with the deal."
"Thank God!" was Yawkey's reported reply.
Another version of the story has Tom Yawkey making the phone call. "Dan, I know it's very, very late, and I still want to make that trade we discussed. However, if you still want to make it you'll have to throw in that left-handed hitting outfielder. You know who I mean, that little odd-looking rookie."
"I can't,"Topping said. “We’re thinking of making him a catcher. I guess we’ll have to call off the deal."
So Joe DiMaggio remained a Yankee. Ted Williams played out his career with the Red Sox. And the little odd-looking rookie stayed with the Yankees and became a catcher. His name - - Yogi Berra.
Berra, DiMaggio, Williams were all on the scene in 1949 and so was Walter Mears, who went on to become a Pulitzer-prize winning political reporter for The Associated Press. He recalled the last two games of that season.
WALTER MEARS: The result was inevitable - Boston goes ahead, Yankees catch up and win. Tied. Same outcome the next day and New York wins the pennant. There was no TV to watch then, and I sat listening to the radio in Lexington as the Red Sox blew it. At 14, it seemed like the end of more than just a season. I remember saying to my father 'I think I'll just go for a walk,' which I did, so that he wouldn't see me cry. I think that's when I learned that there was no point in mourning the Red Sox. You just take it.
In 1952, excitable rookie Jimmy Piersall came onto the Red Sox scene. During a game Piersall shouted to Yankee infielder Billy Martin, “Hey, Pinocchio!" (in what was an overt reference to the size and contours of the Yankee second baseman's nose), “too damn yellow to fight?" "Put up," snarled Martin. “Let's settle this under the stands.” As the story goes Boston pitcher Ellis Kinder accompanied Piersall and Bill Dickey accompanied Martin as seconds. Martin sucker-punched, threw the first blow. They got into a clinch. That ended the “fight” as Piersall bled profusely from the nose.
JIMMY PIERSALL: It wasn’t a real fight, just pushing and shoving. The only guy that got hurt was Bill Dickey. Heck, the way the media played it up it was like a real brawl. You know writers would hang their mothers for the Pulitzer Prize.
That moment in Yankee-Red Sox history underscored the rivalry’s "bad blood." But it was not the most famous of the on-the- field altercations. One that qualifies for that title took place on August 1, 1973.
Boston catcher Carlton Fisk had led the American League All Star balloting for catcher. Munson was runner-up.
“Fisk hated Munson,” said Don Zimmer who was on the scene back then. “Munson hated Fisk.”
The game was tied, 2-2, top of the ninth. Munson doubled down the left-field line and wound up on third thru an infield groundout. Gene Michael missed the ball on a squeeze bunt attempt, but the solidly built Munson came tearing down the line attempting to score. He slammed into Fisk who had the baseball and was blocking the plate. Fisk tagged Munson hard and then shoved him off his body. Munson punched the Sox catcher in the face, bruising his left eye. The two got into -- clinching and clawing.
Next Fenway Park was swarming with pushing, shoving, cursing -- more than 60 players and coaches. When order was finally restored, Carlton Fisk and Thurman Munson were ejected from the game. But an exclamation point had been added to the sometimes violent, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes odd, sometimes dramatic, sometimes poignant, nature of the rivalry.
The following abbreviated timeline provides a few more RIVALRY highlights or lowlights depending on which team one roots for.
May 6, 1915 – Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth hammered his first major league home run. And sure enough it came against the New York Yankees when they still called the Polo Grounds home.
April 18, 1923 Yankee Stadium opened. Before the game, Boston mogul Harry Frazee walked side-by-side with Yankees owner Jake Ruppert. A shot by Babe Ruth into the right field bleachers highlighted the Yankees' 4-1 triumph over the Red Sox - -the first Yankee Stadium homer.
1925, the Yanks sought to trade their first baseman to the Red Sox for Phil Todt. Boston blinked. The first baseman, Lou Gehirg,became one of the greatest players of all time. Phil Todt had a mediocre career.
1935 -In a Red Sox-Yankees doubleheader: 47,627 fans jammed into Boston’s little ballpark. The Yankees won the first game, 6-4. They slammed seven ground-rule doubles into the roped-off crowd to take the second game, 9-0.
September 6, 1960 in his final game at Yankee Stadium, Ted Williams rapped his 518th career homer, pacing Boston’s 7–1 win.
In 1961, last game of the season, Yankee Roger Maris stoked his 61st home run breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record. The historic shot came off a 2-0 fastball from Boston pitcher Tracy Stallard.
October 2, 1978: A one-game playoff got underway inside Fenway Park. Yankees against Red Sox, the two teams with the best records in baseball after 162 games – winner take all for the American League East title.
Former Yankee Mike Torrez was on the mound for Boston; Ron Guidry, the best pitcher in baseball then, started for the Yanks.
(Red Sox Hurler )DENNIS ECKERSLEY: It was electric that day. I had pitched Saturday and won #20 and was glad I wasn’t pitching that playoff game. I was in the dugout. I was in the clubhouse. I was all over. I was more nervous watching than pitching. We were ahead 2-0 in the seventh. They were setting up this little stage for the celebration. Then all of a sudden . . .
BUCKY DENT: When I hit it, I knew that I had hit it high enough to hit the wall. But there were shadows on the net behind the wall and I didn't see the ball land. I was running from the plate because I thought I had a chance at a double. I didn't know it was a home run until the second-base umpire signaled. It was an eerie feeling because the ballpark was dead silent.
Red Sox manager Don Zimmer changed the Yankee shortstop's name to "Bucky F_____g Dent." Yaz had two hits in that game, including a homer off Ron Guidry, but he also made the last out.
DENNIS ECKERSLEY: Yaz was crying in the trainer’s room. It was not as crushing for me because when you’re 23 you think, well, we’ll do it next year. But if I knew what I know now, I would have been devastated. We never really got there again after that.
WALTER MEARS: Speaker of the House of Representative Tip O'Neill went to Rome that fall and saw the Pope. When he came back he was at some function with Yaz and told him the Holy Father had spoken of him. Yaz wanted to know what the Pope had said.
" Tip,” he said, “How COULD Yastrzemski pop out in the last of the ninth with the tying run on third? "
A frustrated fan, has the final word on the Dent homer:
DAN MACKEY: It was only a wind-assisted pop up that barely got out of the infield and then through a harmonic convergence - -the Jet stream, Babe Ruth in heaven, a minor earthquake in the Phillipines, gravity from Mars and Pluto, a kid stomping his foot in the Bronx, high pressure over the northeast, a jet landing at Logan Airport, a pigeon flapping its wings, a whale spouting off the coast of Finland, a heavy lady in the third row waving her program and yelling “Get OUT, GET OUT,” all these forces and more aligned , a little white ball floated further and further up and over the Green Monster, light as a feather, then fell like a stone into the net, the home run net. . .
I hit bottom them. I swore the Red Sox off. I said I’d turn my life over to a higher power. Unfortunately, the higher power turned out to be Roger Clemens. He was a false god.
Speaking of higher powers and stories . . .There’s was always been classic one that typified what it was like to be a Red Sox fan.
A Pirate fan, a Cubs fans and a Red Sox fan were bemoaning their team’s history. Grieving, they called on a higher authority .
The Pirate fan asked: “Oh, God, when will my team return to the World Series?” And God replied: “Not in your lifetime.”
The Cub fan asked: “Oh, God,when will my team return to the World Series?”
And God replied: “Not in your children’s lifetime.”
The Red Sox fan, who had listened quietly, finally worked up the nerve to ask:
“Oh, God, when will my beloved Red Sox return to the World Series?”
And God said: “Not in My lifetime”
But as we all know - -the RED SOX have won 2 world championships in OUR lifetime - -2004 and 2007. One more than the Yankees have won in the 21st century. So that classic story is just a story. And the reality is the Red Sox are alive and very well. Just as the RIVALRY is.
The Rivalry action was hot and heavy in October 2003 - American League Championship Series. Game 3. Top of the fourth inning. Boston’s Pedro Martinez popped Yankee outfielder Karim Garcia in the back of the shoulder with a pitch. Moments later Garcia slid hard into Boston’s Todd Walker at second base.Martinez made menacing gestures to the Yankees bench. Lots of shouting.
Bottom of the fourth, Manny Ramirez screamed at Roger Clemens for throwing too close to his body. Profanities were exchanged. Ramizez held his bat menacingly. Dugouts emptied.
Enter one time Red Sox manager/ now Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer. The man Bill Lee called a gerbil moved slowly around the pushing and milling about crowd. Then Zimmer threw a left hook in the direction of the Martinez. Pedro grabbed Zimmer around the neck and threw the 72-year-old to the ground where he tumbled over and over like a roly poly doll.
Boston police and Yankees gathered around their feisty coach making sure he was all right. Umpires huddled. No one was tossed from the game, but beer sales were suspended.
Three days later - - like a pair of heavyweight fighters, the rivals met in a winner take all seventh game at the Stadium on October 16th. It was again Pedro Martinez against Roger Clemens.
A win this night for the Red Sox would send them to the World Series for the first time in 85 years. Many members of Red Sox nation were at Yankeee Stadium to cheer the Olde Towne team on.
Bob Sullivan was one of them: I grew up in Boston. Yankee Stadium was always enemy territory. There were times when my girlfriend and I would be near some lout who would carry on over our wearing our Sox caps.
To the delight of Sox fans and the dismay of Yankee rooters, Boston racked Clemens for four runs in three-plus innings. Martinez seemed on cruise control and was leading in the top of the eighth, 5-2.
With a pitch count over 100, with Red Sox relievers at the ready, it seemed Pedro was done. But Grady Little, Sox manager, sent him out to pitch the bottom of the eighth.
One out.
“The Curse of the Bambino” was there for the taking, for the breaking. Five more outs for Boston to get into the World Series.
Derek Jeter doubled to right. Bernie Williams singled.
Jeter scored. Hideki Matsui was next.
Little exited the Sox dugout. He had a righty and a lefty at the ready in the bullpen.
BOB SULLIVAN: We were standing up when Grady left the mound. He was not taking Pedro out. Unbelievable.
Matsui pulled an inside fastball down the right field line. It bounced into the stands. Ground-rule double. Williams on third; Matsui at second. Martinez’ pitch count was 118.
Jorge Posada lifted the ball over second base. It dropped in, the fourth straight one out hit for New York. Williams scored. Matsui scored. The game was tied, 5-5.
Little finally pulled Martinez. Bottom of the eleventh inning. Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield against Yankee pinch hitter Aaron Boone.
It was 16 minutes past midnight, Friday morning. The ball jumped off Boone’s bat and went deep over the left-field wall.
Jubilant Yankees raced out of the dugout and bullpen onto the field. There were those who said Yankee Stadium shook and moved. The noise level was ear-splitting.
Rounding third, Boone jumped into the arms of teammates waiting at home plate. It was another triumph for the "Evil Empire,"a fifth pennant in six seasons.
DEREK JETER: I don't know about a curse, but I believe we have some ghosts in this stadium that have helped us out.
It was a low point for Red Sox Nation.
But 2004 lay ahead.
Spring training - -in the first Yankees-Red Sox game of 2004 in Fort Meyers, Florida scalpers sold 21 DOLLAR seats for $150 – a testament to the power of the Rivalry.
At mid season the Yankee lead over Boston was 8 1/2 games. But the Sox turned things around and faced off against the Yanks in the American League championship series one again.
On October 16, 2004 in a marathon Game Three of the ALCS, the Red Sox were gouged, 19-8 by the Yankees who went up 3-0 in the series.
(Boston globe columnist….. DAN SHAUGHNESSY: My son, a high school student then, gave up his ticket for Game Four. He didn’t want to see the Yankees win in Fenway.
(Red Sox Vice President)
LARRY CANCRO: It was just gloomy getting to the park the next day. President Lucchino said: “We are all going to have to think of something to get us back in this thing and win it.”
Most of us were looking at him like he was completely insane.
“Hey, you know Mike Eruzione, from the 1980 Miracle Olympic hockey team,” he says to me. “Call and see if he can come here and be part of the first pitch ceremony. He was part of a miracle; let’s see if he can inspire us.”
Mike came in that night; the players were excited to meet him and he participated in our pre-game ceremony.
In the bottom half of the seventh of that Game 4, the Sox were losing 4-2 to the Yankees. In the private box of Red Sox President Larry Lucchino, the mood was one of frustration and anger.
GEORGE MITROVICH ( Chair of The Great Fenway Park Writers Series) I was working on a statement for Mr. Lucchino that would graciously congratulate the Yankees while letting heartbroken Red Sox fans know this isn't the end. I was oblivious to the fact that the Sox had pulled within a run of the Yankees.
TERRY GUINEY, Managing Partner of Boston’s Hotel Commonwealth, That game seemed more like a wake.Then the rally started against Mariano Rivera, “Mr. Automatic”, the greatest stopper in baseball.
Kevin Millar walked. Dave Roberts, God love him, came in as a pinch runner. Everybody who knew anything about baseball could tell he was going to steal.
Roberts goes. He makes it. Then Billy Mueller hits one up the middle, and the game is tied!
People were hugging people they didn’t know; everybody high-fiving.
TERRY FRANCONA: Roberts’ steal was the most thrilling event I’ve been associated with. I doubt we could have done all that we did without that happening. The Sox won it in the twelfth on a towering home run by David Ortiz.
LARRY CANCRO: The movie "Miracle" had just come out; many of the players had not seen it. For Game 5, Mike came in and gave out blue hats and the word "Miracle" emblazoned on them.
On October 18th the fifth game of the ALCS started at 5:10 P.M. just 16 hours after Game 4 had ended early that morning.
It was Mike Mussina versus Pedro Martinez. In the bottom of the 14th inning with two outs Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez drew walks. David Ortiz, Big Papi, singled to center on the tenth pitch thrown to him. The Red Sox win 5-4.
LARRY CANCRO: Game Six, we go to New York. We win that.
Game Seven, Our team doesn’t show up for batting practice. They've voted to watch the movie “Miracle” in the clubhouse. They come out and clobber the Yankees.
DAN SHAUGHNESSY: 2004 is still the greatest sports story ever told. The Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years at the expense of the Yankees. The World Series was clearly anticlimactic.
The Sox swept the Cards four straight in the World Series.
And at last, the curse was broken.
And as you know, the Red Sox won another World Series in 2007.
Then the Yankees won it in 2009.
And the great rivalry rolls on . . .
Who knows what 2010 holds in store?
The publishing company’s publicist asked – which team did you root for as a kid?
My reply was - -“None of these teams.”
“Oh my, oh my, that won’t do. Please pick one –
I had grown up in Brooklyn- -so I picked the Dodgers.
I went about promoting the book. One day I was in the Staten Island Mall introduced as a former Brooklyn Dodger fan when a guy in the back started to shout – you were never a DODGER fan . . . .I remember you from the old neighborhood. You were that Cardinal fan.”
“Folks,” I said, “that’s my crazy cousin. Don’t pay any attention to him. He has always been a bit jealous.”
He quieted down . and I went on with my talk. But truth be told, I was a St. Louis Cardinal - fan for a brief time. Youthful folly.
Today I am considered the ultimate Yankees fan having published 8 books on the subject, hundreds of articles, written for the team for 18 years.My REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM came out in 2008.
At the same time I am a student of the Red Sox. In fact, my book CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK is going into production. So I have interest in both teams.
I was a life-long New Yorker until about a dozen years ago. And then, I moved on to teach and write and live in New England. Back in the Big Apple, I had always been a keenly interested onlooker to the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox. But it wasn't until I was living in the mountains of New Hampshire that I realized via conversations at the gas pumps, and in the general store just how important "THE RIVALRY" is - - to the Red Sox Nation.
I have authored many books but the ones I have written with family members have a special place . . .like the ones written with my wife Myrna and RED SOX VS YANKEES written with my son Fred that traces the long historic feud between the two teams through oral history,narrative and images.
When it comes to Red Sox/Yankees baseball, there is never a dull moment, and those caught up in it are never at a loss for words. There are stories, asides, poignant memories, insights, game accounts, vulgarisms, quips and rejoinders that cut across generations and geography. As an oral historian all of these anecdotes have much appeal to me.
And now a new story was added to rivalry lore when Democrat Martha Coakley lost to Republican Scott Brown in the special US Senate election in Massachusetts. There are those who say Coakley’s dissing of Fenway Park and her off base comment that former Red Sox great Curt Schilling was a "Yankees fan" - helped bring her down.
That’s a big talk topic now (as part of the “Rivalry” and will certainly still be a talk topic on APRIL 4th 2010 @ Fenway Park and beyond when the Red Sox of Boston and the Yankees of New York, meet once again in a regular season game.
It will be the 2,065th meeting between them. The first time they met was way back on May 7, 1903 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston - - The teams weren't the Yankees and Red Sox then but instead had more geographically correct names: the Highlanders -- they played on the hilly terrain of upper Manhattan; and the Pilgrims -- in tribute to their New England heritage.
The first game at Fenway Park between them was April 20, 1912, just a few days after the sinking of the Titanic. Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the grandfather-to-be of President John F. Kennedy, threw out the first ball, and the Red Sox eked out a 7-6 win in 11 innings.
The spark of all sparks was ignited by BoSox owner Harry Frazee, a show business wheeler-dealer with a home in Boston and a main residence on Manhattan’s Park Avenue, who liked to quip: “The best thing about Boston is the train ride back to New York."
On January 9, 1920, he committed “Harry Frazee’s Crime.” At a very cold morning press conference a very happy Yankee owner Jake Ruppert announced:
“Gentlemen, we have just bought Babe Ruth from Harry Frazee of the Boston Red Sox. I can’t give exact figures, but it was a pretty check – six figures, strictly a cash deal.”
It may have been the biggest mistake in baseball history.
The fallout from Harry Frazee’s infamous deed has become known as “the Curse of the Bambino.
From 1919 through 1933, the Sox dropped at least 100 games a season five times, at least 90 games a season five more times. The Red Sox lost Game 7 of the World Series in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986. They lost the pennant in playoffs in 1948 and 1978;
You might say – the “curse was working.” THE SOX stunk.
The golden age of Yankee baseball can be traced directly to the arrival of the Sultan of Swat.
In Boston, irate fans have screamed: "Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" even when the Yankees were not playing at Fenway.
-- The Yankees of New York versus the Red Sox of Boston is the greatest, grandest, strongest, longest rivalry in baseball history – a competition of images, teams, cities, styles, ballparks, fans, media, culture, dreams, bragging rights - all mixed in, mixed up.
The competition is so much more than a baseball team representing Boston -- going against a baseball team representing New York. It is a competition between the provincial capital of New England and the mega-municipality of New York City.
The New York Yankees are the glitz and glitter, the most successful franchise in baseball history, perhaps in all sports history. Through the years, winning has been as much a part of Yankee baseball as their monuments and plaques, as much as the pinstriped uniforms, the iconic intertwined “N” and “Y” on the baseball caps.
Less successful, more human, more vulnerable – the Bostons have seemed until recent success like the rest of us.
The rivalry is the Babe and Bucky and Butch. It is Carl Yastrzemski trotting out to left field at Fenway with cotton sticking out of his ears to shut out the boos of Sox fans.
The rivalry is Mickey Mantle slugging a 440-foot double at Yankee Stadium then tipping his cap to the Red Sox bench.
It is Carlton Fisk's headaches from the tension he felt coming into Yankee Stadium.
For the BoSox and their fans, winning at times has not seemed as important as beating the Yankees and then winning.
For the fans of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, the slogan used to be "Wait 'til Next Year." For Boston fans it always has seemed to be -"When are the Sox going to fold this year?"
The rivalry is Ted Williams spitting, Reggie Jackson jabbering, Luis Tiant hurling for NY and Boston and smoking those Cuban cigars. It is the Yankees' Mickey Rivers jumping out of the way of an exploding firecracker thrown into the visitors' dugout at Fenway.
LOU PINIELLA ( managed and played for the Yankees): There was always a lot of excitement in that small park that made it special. You might have 20,000 Red Sox fans at Fenway and 15,000 Yankee fans. Their rivalry helped our rivalry. It excited the players who had to respond to it.
Piniella may have enjoyed Fenway but a former Red Sox star hated Yankee Stadium.
DWIGHT EVANS: "When you have coke bottle go by your head from the third deck, you wonder what kind of people these are. When you have cherry bombs thrown at you or thrown into crowds, that's not fun and those are not fans. When they throw a penny or a dime from the third deck and it hits you, it's going to put a knot on your head. You knew you had to watch out if you came in wearing a Red Sox uniform.”
……On the field, inside the white lines, the rivalry has been characterized by some of baseball's wildest and most intense moments: There has been anger, rage, occasionally violence. Sometimes it has been triggered by personality clashes, at other times the trigger has simply been the "Blood Feud."
In 1938, players from both clubs stormed the mound at Yankee Stadium when New York’s Jake Powell and Boston's Joe Cronin started punching each other. Cronin was ejected from the game and moments later was assaulted by several Yankee players under the stands.
In 1951, a six year old was taken to his first game.
RUDY GIULIANI: It was between the Yankees and the Red Sox, with Joe DiMaggio playing for the Yankees and Dominic DiMaggio playing for the Red Sox. I found that fascinating -- that brothers would be on two different teams. I asked my father: “How come they’re playing for different teams- are they angry at each other?”
Perhaps no two players have symbolized the rivalry as much as Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Both Californians,both bigger than life. One was an outspoken iconoclast, the other a soft-spoken team man.
As the story goes, Sox owner Tom Yawkey and Yankee boss Dan Topping were at Toots Shor’s (famous NYC restaurant and hangout). They agreed that that Ted Williams would hit much better at Yankee Stadium and Joe DiMaggio would hit much better at Fenway Park. The two ended the evening on a handshake agreement to make a trade of DiMaggio for Williams.
When Topping arrived home in the early morning and realized what he had agreed to, he picked up the phone and called Yawkey in a panic.
"Tom,Tom" he cried, "I'm sorry but I can't go through with the deal."
"Thank God!" was Yawkey's reported reply.
Another version of the story has Tom Yawkey making the phone call. "Dan, I know it's very, very late, and I still want to make that trade we discussed. However, if you still want to make it you'll have to throw in that left-handed hitting outfielder. You know who I mean, that little odd-looking rookie."
"I can't,"Topping said. “We’re thinking of making him a catcher. I guess we’ll have to call off the deal."
So Joe DiMaggio remained a Yankee. Ted Williams played out his career with the Red Sox. And the little odd-looking rookie stayed with the Yankees and became a catcher. His name - - Yogi Berra.
Berra, DiMaggio, Williams were all on the scene in 1949 and so was Walter Mears, who went on to become a Pulitzer-prize winning political reporter for The Associated Press. He recalled the last two games of that season.
WALTER MEARS: The result was inevitable - Boston goes ahead, Yankees catch up and win. Tied. Same outcome the next day and New York wins the pennant. There was no TV to watch then, and I sat listening to the radio in Lexington as the Red Sox blew it. At 14, it seemed like the end of more than just a season. I remember saying to my father 'I think I'll just go for a walk,' which I did, so that he wouldn't see me cry. I think that's when I learned that there was no point in mourning the Red Sox. You just take it.
In 1952, excitable rookie Jimmy Piersall came onto the Red Sox scene. During a game Piersall shouted to Yankee infielder Billy Martin, “Hey, Pinocchio!" (in what was an overt reference to the size and contours of the Yankee second baseman's nose), “too damn yellow to fight?" "Put up," snarled Martin. “Let's settle this under the stands.” As the story goes Boston pitcher Ellis Kinder accompanied Piersall and Bill Dickey accompanied Martin as seconds. Martin sucker-punched, threw the first blow. They got into a clinch. That ended the “fight” as Piersall bled profusely from the nose.
JIMMY PIERSALL: It wasn’t a real fight, just pushing and shoving. The only guy that got hurt was Bill Dickey. Heck, the way the media played it up it was like a real brawl. You know writers would hang their mothers for the Pulitzer Prize.
That moment in Yankee-Red Sox history underscored the rivalry’s "bad blood." But it was not the most famous of the on-the- field altercations. One that qualifies for that title took place on August 1, 1973.
Boston catcher Carlton Fisk had led the American League All Star balloting for catcher. Munson was runner-up.
“Fisk hated Munson,” said Don Zimmer who was on the scene back then. “Munson hated Fisk.”
The game was tied, 2-2, top of the ninth. Munson doubled down the left-field line and wound up on third thru an infield groundout. Gene Michael missed the ball on a squeeze bunt attempt, but the solidly built Munson came tearing down the line attempting to score. He slammed into Fisk who had the baseball and was blocking the plate. Fisk tagged Munson hard and then shoved him off his body. Munson punched the Sox catcher in the face, bruising his left eye. The two got into -- clinching and clawing.
Next Fenway Park was swarming with pushing, shoving, cursing -- more than 60 players and coaches. When order was finally restored, Carlton Fisk and Thurman Munson were ejected from the game. But an exclamation point had been added to the sometimes violent, sometimes ridiculous, sometimes odd, sometimes dramatic, sometimes poignant, nature of the rivalry.
The following abbreviated timeline provides a few more RIVALRY highlights or lowlights depending on which team one roots for.
May 6, 1915 – Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth hammered his first major league home run. And sure enough it came against the New York Yankees when they still called the Polo Grounds home.
April 18, 1923 Yankee Stadium opened. Before the game, Boston mogul Harry Frazee walked side-by-side with Yankees owner Jake Ruppert. A shot by Babe Ruth into the right field bleachers highlighted the Yankees' 4-1 triumph over the Red Sox - -the first Yankee Stadium homer.
1925, the Yanks sought to trade their first baseman to the Red Sox for Phil Todt. Boston blinked. The first baseman, Lou Gehirg,became one of the greatest players of all time. Phil Todt had a mediocre career.
1935 -In a Red Sox-Yankees doubleheader: 47,627 fans jammed into Boston’s little ballpark. The Yankees won the first game, 6-4. They slammed seven ground-rule doubles into the roped-off crowd to take the second game, 9-0.
September 6, 1960 in his final game at Yankee Stadium, Ted Williams rapped his 518th career homer, pacing Boston’s 7–1 win.
In 1961, last game of the season, Yankee Roger Maris stoked his 61st home run breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record. The historic shot came off a 2-0 fastball from Boston pitcher Tracy Stallard.
October 2, 1978: A one-game playoff got underway inside Fenway Park. Yankees against Red Sox, the two teams with the best records in baseball after 162 games – winner take all for the American League East title.
Former Yankee Mike Torrez was on the mound for Boston; Ron Guidry, the best pitcher in baseball then, started for the Yanks.
(Red Sox Hurler )DENNIS ECKERSLEY: It was electric that day. I had pitched Saturday and won #20 and was glad I wasn’t pitching that playoff game. I was in the dugout. I was in the clubhouse. I was all over. I was more nervous watching than pitching. We were ahead 2-0 in the seventh. They were setting up this little stage for the celebration. Then all of a sudden . . .
BUCKY DENT: When I hit it, I knew that I had hit it high enough to hit the wall. But there were shadows on the net behind the wall and I didn't see the ball land. I was running from the plate because I thought I had a chance at a double. I didn't know it was a home run until the second-base umpire signaled. It was an eerie feeling because the ballpark was dead silent.
Red Sox manager Don Zimmer changed the Yankee shortstop's name to "Bucky F_____g Dent." Yaz had two hits in that game, including a homer off Ron Guidry, but he also made the last out.
DENNIS ECKERSLEY: Yaz was crying in the trainer’s room. It was not as crushing for me because when you’re 23 you think, well, we’ll do it next year. But if I knew what I know now, I would have been devastated. We never really got there again after that.
WALTER MEARS: Speaker of the House of Representative Tip O'Neill went to Rome that fall and saw the Pope. When he came back he was at some function with Yaz and told him the Holy Father had spoken of him. Yaz wanted to know what the Pope had said.
" Tip,” he said, “How COULD Yastrzemski pop out in the last of the ninth with the tying run on third? "
A frustrated fan, has the final word on the Dent homer:
DAN MACKEY: It was only a wind-assisted pop up that barely got out of the infield and then through a harmonic convergence - -the Jet stream, Babe Ruth in heaven, a minor earthquake in the Phillipines, gravity from Mars and Pluto, a kid stomping his foot in the Bronx, high pressure over the northeast, a jet landing at Logan Airport, a pigeon flapping its wings, a whale spouting off the coast of Finland, a heavy lady in the third row waving her program and yelling “Get OUT, GET OUT,” all these forces and more aligned , a little white ball floated further and further up and over the Green Monster, light as a feather, then fell like a stone into the net, the home run net. . .
I hit bottom them. I swore the Red Sox off. I said I’d turn my life over to a higher power. Unfortunately, the higher power turned out to be Roger Clemens. He was a false god.
Speaking of higher powers and stories . . .There’s was always been classic one that typified what it was like to be a Red Sox fan.
A Pirate fan, a Cubs fans and a Red Sox fan were bemoaning their team’s history. Grieving, they called on a higher authority .
The Pirate fan asked: “Oh, God, when will my team return to the World Series?” And God replied: “Not in your lifetime.”
The Cub fan asked: “Oh, God,when will my team return to the World Series?”
And God replied: “Not in your children’s lifetime.”
The Red Sox fan, who had listened quietly, finally worked up the nerve to ask:
“Oh, God, when will my beloved Red Sox return to the World Series?”
And God said: “Not in My lifetime”
But as we all know - -the RED SOX have won 2 world championships in OUR lifetime - -2004 and 2007. One more than the Yankees have won in the 21st century. So that classic story is just a story. And the reality is the Red Sox are alive and very well. Just as the RIVALRY is.
The Rivalry action was hot and heavy in October 2003 - American League Championship Series. Game 3. Top of the fourth inning. Boston’s Pedro Martinez popped Yankee outfielder Karim Garcia in the back of the shoulder with a pitch. Moments later Garcia slid hard into Boston’s Todd Walker at second base.Martinez made menacing gestures to the Yankees bench. Lots of shouting.
Bottom of the fourth, Manny Ramirez screamed at Roger Clemens for throwing too close to his body. Profanities were exchanged. Ramizez held his bat menacingly. Dugouts emptied.
Enter one time Red Sox manager/ now Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer. The man Bill Lee called a gerbil moved slowly around the pushing and milling about crowd. Then Zimmer threw a left hook in the direction of the Martinez. Pedro grabbed Zimmer around the neck and threw the 72-year-old to the ground where he tumbled over and over like a roly poly doll.
Boston police and Yankees gathered around their feisty coach making sure he was all right. Umpires huddled. No one was tossed from the game, but beer sales were suspended.
Three days later - - like a pair of heavyweight fighters, the rivals met in a winner take all seventh game at the Stadium on October 16th. It was again Pedro Martinez against Roger Clemens.
A win this night for the Red Sox would send them to the World Series for the first time in 85 years. Many members of Red Sox nation were at Yankeee Stadium to cheer the Olde Towne team on.
Bob Sullivan was one of them: I grew up in Boston. Yankee Stadium was always enemy territory. There were times when my girlfriend and I would be near some lout who would carry on over our wearing our Sox caps.
To the delight of Sox fans and the dismay of Yankee rooters, Boston racked Clemens for four runs in three-plus innings. Martinez seemed on cruise control and was leading in the top of the eighth, 5-2.
With a pitch count over 100, with Red Sox relievers at the ready, it seemed Pedro was done. But Grady Little, Sox manager, sent him out to pitch the bottom of the eighth.
One out.
“The Curse of the Bambino” was there for the taking, for the breaking. Five more outs for Boston to get into the World Series.
Derek Jeter doubled to right. Bernie Williams singled.
Jeter scored. Hideki Matsui was next.
Little exited the Sox dugout. He had a righty and a lefty at the ready in the bullpen.
BOB SULLIVAN: We were standing up when Grady left the mound. He was not taking Pedro out. Unbelievable.
Matsui pulled an inside fastball down the right field line. It bounced into the stands. Ground-rule double. Williams on third; Matsui at second. Martinez’ pitch count was 118.
Jorge Posada lifted the ball over second base. It dropped in, the fourth straight one out hit for New York. Williams scored. Matsui scored. The game was tied, 5-5.
Little finally pulled Martinez. Bottom of the eleventh inning. Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield against Yankee pinch hitter Aaron Boone.
It was 16 minutes past midnight, Friday morning. The ball jumped off Boone’s bat and went deep over the left-field wall.
Jubilant Yankees raced out of the dugout and bullpen onto the field. There were those who said Yankee Stadium shook and moved. The noise level was ear-splitting.
Rounding third, Boone jumped into the arms of teammates waiting at home plate. It was another triumph for the "Evil Empire,"a fifth pennant in six seasons.
DEREK JETER: I don't know about a curse, but I believe we have some ghosts in this stadium that have helped us out.
It was a low point for Red Sox Nation.
But 2004 lay ahead.
Spring training - -in the first Yankees-Red Sox game of 2004 in Fort Meyers, Florida scalpers sold 21 DOLLAR seats for $150 – a testament to the power of the Rivalry.
At mid season the Yankee lead over Boston was 8 1/2 games. But the Sox turned things around and faced off against the Yanks in the American League championship series one again.
On October 16, 2004 in a marathon Game Three of the ALCS, the Red Sox were gouged, 19-8 by the Yankees who went up 3-0 in the series.
(Boston globe columnist….. DAN SHAUGHNESSY: My son, a high school student then, gave up his ticket for Game Four. He didn’t want to see the Yankees win in Fenway.
(Red Sox Vice President)
LARRY CANCRO: It was just gloomy getting to the park the next day. President Lucchino said: “We are all going to have to think of something to get us back in this thing and win it.”
Most of us were looking at him like he was completely insane.
“Hey, you know Mike Eruzione, from the 1980 Miracle Olympic hockey team,” he says to me. “Call and see if he can come here and be part of the first pitch ceremony. He was part of a miracle; let’s see if he can inspire us.”
Mike came in that night; the players were excited to meet him and he participated in our pre-game ceremony.
In the bottom half of the seventh of that Game 4, the Sox were losing 4-2 to the Yankees. In the private box of Red Sox President Larry Lucchino, the mood was one of frustration and anger.
GEORGE MITROVICH ( Chair of The Great Fenway Park Writers Series) I was working on a statement for Mr. Lucchino that would graciously congratulate the Yankees while letting heartbroken Red Sox fans know this isn't the end. I was oblivious to the fact that the Sox had pulled within a run of the Yankees.
TERRY GUINEY, Managing Partner of Boston’s Hotel Commonwealth, That game seemed more like a wake.Then the rally started against Mariano Rivera, “Mr. Automatic”, the greatest stopper in baseball.
Kevin Millar walked. Dave Roberts, God love him, came in as a pinch runner. Everybody who knew anything about baseball could tell he was going to steal.
Roberts goes. He makes it. Then Billy Mueller hits one up the middle, and the game is tied!
People were hugging people they didn’t know; everybody high-fiving.
TERRY FRANCONA: Roberts’ steal was the most thrilling event I’ve been associated with. I doubt we could have done all that we did without that happening. The Sox won it in the twelfth on a towering home run by David Ortiz.
LARRY CANCRO: The movie "Miracle" had just come out; many of the players had not seen it. For Game 5, Mike came in and gave out blue hats and the word "Miracle" emblazoned on them.
On October 18th the fifth game of the ALCS started at 5:10 P.M. just 16 hours after Game 4 had ended early that morning.
It was Mike Mussina versus Pedro Martinez. In the bottom of the 14th inning with two outs Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez drew walks. David Ortiz, Big Papi, singled to center on the tenth pitch thrown to him. The Red Sox win 5-4.
LARRY CANCRO: Game Six, we go to New York. We win that.
Game Seven, Our team doesn’t show up for batting practice. They've voted to watch the movie “Miracle” in the clubhouse. They come out and clobber the Yankees.
DAN SHAUGHNESSY: 2004 is still the greatest sports story ever told. The Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years at the expense of the Yankees. The World Series was clearly anticlimactic.
The Sox swept the Cards four straight in the World Series.
And at last, the curse was broken.
And as you know, the Red Sox won another World Series in 2007.
Then the Yankees won it in 2009.
And the great rivalry rolls on . . .
Who knows what 2010 holds in store?
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