tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11996837175481340242024-03-05T03:19:14.341-05:00The Paperboy's ArchiveFor the love of tangible media.Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-41813005905445123792022-10-28T08:58:00.004-04:002022-10-29T11:40:23.527-04:00A Legendary Post-Season Clash Gets a 21st Century Reboot <p><b><span style="font-size: large;">M</span>ORE REBOOT THAN REMAKE, </b>and certainly not a sequel, the renewal of post-season hostilities between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies figures to play out like a lot of modern Hollywood retakes on earlier hits.</p><p>The stakes are higher, the staging infinitely more expensive and elaborate, and the settings are completely different.<br /><br />But whether the 2022 World Series can recreate, let alone exceed the drama of the 1980 National League Championship Series? That tension that left a baseball crazed kid writhing on the floor of his parents' den? That, sports fans, remains to be seen.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8h1OzTPY9bV0Nh2XvpO-XM8VQxYcQJrChy5jP_fdWSQuwIm-XMbOK57x0g9AlbOWE-gHr7fuQpvvVF2I8m0lQFLrPM_Cv7Ct-MN-azAr8NypWAkAaEZnH3Z_yvEXFc3HQsry3GQIduNEGZLkvxWp-67i19fgC7ZPLd7ZYQxwRZjOsPxN4ZX4VOWuYQ/s6557/1980%20Astros%20nlcs.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6557" data-original-width="5054" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8h1OzTPY9bV0Nh2XvpO-XM8VQxYcQJrChy5jP_fdWSQuwIm-XMbOK57x0g9AlbOWE-gHr7fuQpvvVF2I8m0lQFLrPM_Cv7Ct-MN-azAr8NypWAkAaEZnH3Z_yvEXFc3HQsry3GQIduNEGZLkvxWp-67i19fgC7ZPLd7ZYQxwRZjOsPxN4ZX4VOWuYQ/w309-h400/1980%20Astros%20nlcs.jpeg" width="309" /></a></div><p>Held in an era when that one middle step from regular season to the final round was mostly just called "the playoffs," the 1980 NLCS was played entirely on artificial turf in Philly's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JfySVUoz0&t=166s">since-imploded Vet</a>, and in the Houston Astrodome -- once the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cv9eWKuLrg">Eighth Wonder of the World</a>" -- now <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU4lZBOpy90&t=739s">a modern ruin</a>.</p><p>It was a best-of-five series that went the distance and then some. Four contests were decided in extra innings, including the clincher. Pete Rose tried to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkAUeFqHb4A">take the very large head off</a> a <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bochybr01.shtml">catcher-be-famous</a>-later. <br /><br />There were 11 stolen bases, and just one home run. And there was a triple play that wasn't, because NL President Chub Feeney <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vT2SMNA0zQ">said it wasn't</a>.</p><p>There were Houston's tequila sunrise uniforms, Philadelphia's powder blues, Howard Cosell in the booth, and a quartet of future Hall of Famers hoping to be difference makers. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Neophytes and Failures</h2><p>Though their 93 wins paced the National League, back then it was the Astros who were the upstarts, making their first post-season appearance ever. </p><p>The Phillies were back for the fourth time in five years, having lost in '76 to the Rose-led Cincinnati Reds, and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in '77 and '78. A founding franchise in the senior circuit, they'd only ever won two pennants, in 1915 and 1950, and never a championship.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mMVc_zELkykkNebn-vsB5p7iQDwL2Vuko8bMLHsja58-EEyzCNtifoJougBuCp0hQs7XFYd1yRfXp8Ftlu78BZwEEuVGL3otkc3A0fbOChgth3WsWxW5YJ-Faa4HZsQLxJWiAeiiDskqy953xbqDe_DcGIaw5PbDlHpMA6467R41XDJn4Q3FjcKwPw/s6180/1980%20Phillies%20team.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4957" data-original-width="6180" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mMVc_zELkykkNebn-vsB5p7iQDwL2Vuko8bMLHsja58-EEyzCNtifoJougBuCp0hQs7XFYd1yRfXp8Ftlu78BZwEEuVGL3otkc3A0fbOChgth3WsWxW5YJ-Faa4HZsQLxJWiAeiiDskqy953xbqDe_DcGIaw5PbDlHpMA6467R41XDJn4Q3FjcKwPw/w640-h514/1980%20Phillies%20team.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Phillies' NLCS program</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now Rose was on the Philly side. So too was hard ass manager Dallas Green, who upon taking over for the deposed Danny Ozark, preached "we, not I," and drove his underachieving squad to succeed, even if that meant they hated him.</p><p>Lefty <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/carlton-steve">Steve Carlton</a>, coming off the third of his four Cy Young season, anchored the Phillies rotation. <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/schmidt-mike">Mike Schmidt</a> slammed 48 homers and drove in 121 runs en route to his first of three Most Valuable Player awards. A rejuvenated, re-animated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RY455IGjaM">Tug McGraw</a> anchored the relief corps.</p><p>Up the middle, the Phillies were Fort Knox. Their catcher: 7-time Gold Glove winner Bob Boone, the shortstop 2-time Gold Glover Larry Bowa, their second-baseman, 3-time GG Manny Trillo, and in center, 8-time winner Garry Maddox.</p><p>While lacking comparable bling, the Astros were not without their weapons, chief among them, free agent acquisition <a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/inside-pitch/nolan-ryan-million-dollar-man">Nolan Ryan</a>, baseball's first $1 million per year pitcher, who briefly formed a flame-throwing tandem with J.R. Richard.<br /><br />Richard though, was <a href="http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201507/jr-richard-still-throwing-heat-houston-astros-pitcher-stroke-strikeouts">felled by a midseason stroke</a> from which he'd never fully recover.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTT5D00A7GqqS9qbKDetFoI-VO3qW9_aMiDVNwqgU10X5YUhUVQxBOtmqS-Vxs5KYqsJ0VToFgdu-DC6XZHDDfK40GvEa1w1CY39siQ_aGan9svcodD-Cuq_tDHAPqeH54HgYTaLrZFU7ytrZ6Ks6_FHeQp1-JkTez9rbyuZse0ykv9kSIcW5uIwYsw/s6575/1980%20Astros%20team.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4941" data-original-width="6575" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTT5D00A7GqqS9qbKDetFoI-VO3qW9_aMiDVNwqgU10X5YUhUVQxBOtmqS-Vxs5KYqsJ0VToFgdu-DC6XZHDDfK40GvEa1w1CY39siQ_aGan9svcodD-Cuq_tDHAPqeH54HgYTaLrZFU7ytrZ6Ks6_FHeQp1-JkTez9rbyuZse0ykv9kSIcW5uIwYsw/w640-h480/1980%20Astros%20team.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also from the Phillies' NLCS program</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>Houston held another ace though, knuckleballer Joe Niekro, who compiled back-to-back 20-win seasons, plus veterans Ken Forsch, Vern Ruhle and a cavernous pitching-friendly, climate controlled stadium. In the bullpen, McGraw's temperamental opposite, the calm, composed <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sambijo01.shtml">Joe Sambito</a>.<br /><br />Tailored for their ballpark, the Astros swiped 194 bases while stroking just 75 home runs. Among their everyday stars, left fielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzjo01.shtml">Jose Cruz</a> and Hall-bound returnee 2B <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/morgan-joe">Joe Morgan</a>.<div><br /><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Series</h2><div><br /></div><div>Hosting, the Phillies fell behind in the third before rallying to take the opener, 3-1. It would be the only game decided in regulation.</div><br />Game two to saw the guest Astros again take an early lead and lose it, only to regain it in the top of the eighth, lose it again in the bottom half of the frame, then score four in the 10th to pull away. 7-4.<br /><br />Back in Houston, game 3 was a nail bitter, scoreless through regulation before the Astros walked it off on a bases loaded sac fly in the 10th to take a 2-1 series lead. The home team was one victory away from its first pennant, the visitors only a loss away from yet another wasted campaign.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTmr0kSEc6bpBvoh4vk3UzzTFYkWBysC_QxSSeubiYLNvAlp9FXEgPwD4h9shMGkQdfPgKFffsNs8dpB6gAG42akWM-J341a-EZLVGG_h8B3F3lmeef6mCHahsqgrAcau_YjrG227wiz1vOdRc1jUQqZAkr58of1nQsqrFqtbi5CcVBEYcOYZzjAGpw/s6496/Phillies%201980%20NLCS.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6496" data-original-width="4954" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTmr0kSEc6bpBvoh4vk3UzzTFYkWBysC_QxSSeubiYLNvAlp9FXEgPwD4h9shMGkQdfPgKFffsNs8dpB6gAG42akWM-J341a-EZLVGG_h8B3F3lmeef6mCHahsqgrAcau_YjrG227wiz1vOdRc1jUQqZAkr58of1nQsqrFqtbi5CcVBEYcOYZzjAGpw/w305-h400/Phillies%201980%20NLCS.jpeg" width="305" /></a></div><div>Houston struck early in the potentially decisive game 4, holding a 2-0 lead until Philly posted three in the top of the eighth. The Astros tied it with a walk, a sac bunt and a base hit in the bottom of the ninth, sending yet another game into extras.<br /><br />The Phillies, however, strung together a single and two doubles to plate two runs, holding on to knot the proceedings at two wins a piece. <br /><br />Game five would be win or go home, and again Houston struck first with an RBI double by Cruz in the first, scoring outfielder Terry Puhl. Philly responded immediately, with two in the top of the second off Ryan.<div><br /></div><div>The Astros fought back with one in the sixth and three in the seventh, 5-2 Houston heading into the eighth inning at the Eighth Wonder. The Phillies, unbowed, posted five runs -- the biggest single inning in the series -- to pull ahead, 7-5, but Houston came right back to tie it.<br /><br />There it stayed until the top of the 10th when doubles by Del Unser and Maddox plated the winning run, 8-7. Game, set and match.<br /><br />The Phillies had their first pennant in 30 years and, days later, would lock down the first championship in their 98-year history.</div><div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Nowadays</h2><p>The ensuing 42 years have seen the Phillies win four more pennants, though just one more championship. The Astros captured their lone NL flag in 2005, lost the Series to the Chicago White Sox in a sweep, did a complete tear down, moved to the American League and emerged a perennial, albeit <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/astros-cheating-scandal-explained/1ptq9e01ed4sr1ozgmjsznsd7h">tainted</a>, powerhouse.</p><p>Now, with Houston housed in a <a href="https://ballparks.com/baseball/national/bpkaus.htm">Juice Box</a> and Philly in a <a href="https://ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm">band box</a>, with analytics, launch angles and exit velocities ensuring a plenitude of home runs, with future Hall of Famers like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/verlaju01.shtml">Justin Verlander</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/altuvjo01.shtml">Jose Altuve</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harpebr03.shtml">Bryce Harper</a>, in an era when everyone's a million dollar ballplayer, they battle again, this time for all the marbles.<br /></p><p>-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i></p></div></div></div>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-16207300858507689462021-12-31T10:19:00.001-05:002021-12-31T19:10:02.786-05:00Don't Stop Believin' -- A Post-Boomer Anthem Turned 40<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">"J</span>UST A SMALL TOWN GIRL,</b> livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere."</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSwexxffeG3PqcdLqYD29VL1tHZLTTGuzRs794HlkZ5e9zcEQ81qKu7SQ6crTe6cO_oE6daSbUor0IMtRwx3uyF0GSfoeQL4Js3d3jNoquLNtLSOy278fVqfYMm2a0b97EzaCLOXcR2jVJNHBPULYRVZcmK-IJLo8_eelwSGRu0TBf7077sZPRKFcBMA=s2827" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2827" data-original-width="2794" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSwexxffeG3PqcdLqYD29VL1tHZLTTGuzRs794HlkZ5e9zcEQ81qKu7SQ6crTe6cO_oE6daSbUor0IMtRwx3uyF0GSfoeQL4Js3d3jNoquLNtLSOy278fVqfYMm2a0b97EzaCLOXcR2jVJNHBPULYRVZcmK-IJLo8_eelwSGRu0TBf7077sZPRKFcBMA=w410-h415" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The L.P.</td></tr></tbody></table>Come on! Sing it with me! <br /><p></p><p></p><p>"Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit! He took the midnight train goin' anywhere!"</p><p></p><p></p><p>Now stop and locate South Detroit on a map of Michigan. Then again, don't bother. It's not there. The only thing <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3045892,-83.0248227,12z">directly south of motor city</a> is Windsor, Ontario, and that's not even in the same country, let alone the same city or state</p><p>The real lesson here is never to never let geographical inaccuracy get in the way of a stellar pop song. Steve Perry and Journey sure as heck didn't and, as a result, <i>Don't Stop Believin'</i> is still with us like some post-boomer national anthem four decades after its release.</p><p>Everyone knows the words, from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JseWhrUz9TY">the kids from <i>Glee</i></a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x9YACdBUrU">Tony Soprano</a>. The song became a staple at hockey games in Detroit and baseball games in San Francisco. It's even been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXlBA-98i5w">deconstructed</a> by musicologist Rick Beato.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjowHzr58F_arvirc3YkyMdFkSgzzvFRa2vDmGtQpZkcpKb6AUjX2KR4Y6OP3JtUtP0kuj8fhZaf2xt6C4scwMsegXVVa3-dbwA24zspRfAA_FEHJCds0urRTCA7ZlD2zHGild46nSRMKiOQrpLN-rgEHmrCWy5GAZI_33IyKrjm3hsPZD1AqLrtdo-Xw=s990" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="411" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjowHzr58F_arvirc3YkyMdFkSgzzvFRa2vDmGtQpZkcpKb6AUjX2KR4Y6OP3JtUtP0kuj8fhZaf2xt6C4scwMsegXVVa3-dbwA24zspRfAA_FEHJCds0urRTCA7ZlD2zHGild46nSRMKiOQrpLN-rgEHmrCWy5GAZI_33IyKrjm3hsPZD1AqLrtdo-Xw=w133-h329" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">45-degree turn<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>And yet it wasn't the first, or even the biggest single initially released from the band's seventh studio album, <i>Escape, </i>released during the summer of 1981. <p></p><p>Its cultural contemporaries included the movies <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i>, <i>Superman II</i>, <i>Chariots of Fire</i> and <i>For Your Eyes Only. </i>The latter two films spun off their own charting singles, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a-HfNE3EIo">a Vangelis instrumental</a> from the former and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTXLhEk3J8E">Sheena Easton-sung title song</a> from the latter. Nominated for an Academy Award for best original song, it lost out to The <i>Best that You Can Do</i>, from the comedy <i>Arthur</i>.</p><p>All of this during what was kind of a bleak year. </p><p>President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt, so too did Pope John Paul II. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat did not. Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands staged a fatal hunger strike. Major League Baseball shut down from June 12 to August 9 because of a labor dispute, wiping out more than a third of its scheduled games.</p><p><i>Escape </i>was recorded that spring and released at the end of July.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcPBTuBQVQc8w1vq7i7ZvPh9BYhQ4qzKVxOTi_PAe24P4ph93wiAfSGQ82ljIhiHVlsSX_7Jdvw-sn5aYibTHJQAI3iP65yEjA53WdJI3kdtCUv3DScXeYckIvt2X9Ic4FveWnbQ-2qkLV17fjG_nE6s-Ti_tGDlyZ_RqRK5ENrtyE46XWC50HaFXIUA=s959" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="959" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcPBTuBQVQc8w1vq7i7ZvPh9BYhQ4qzKVxOTi_PAe24P4ph93wiAfSGQ82ljIhiHVlsSX_7Jdvw-sn5aYibTHJQAI3iP65yEjA53WdJI3kdtCUv3DScXeYckIvt2X9Ic4FveWnbQ-2qkLV17fjG_nE6s-Ti_tGDlyZ_RqRK5ENrtyE46XWC50HaFXIUA=w400-h421" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side 1, Track 1</td></tr></tbody></table><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8craCGpgs">Don't Stop Believin'</a>,</i> the lead track, was a kind of balm. Forward-looking, optimistic, idealistic even. A good song to play amid a never-ending pandemic.<p></p><p>It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 56, the week of Oct. 31, just behind <i>Trouble</i> by Lindsay Buckingham. Also on the charts then: <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqeKV2UYq1Q">Harden My Heart</a> </i>by Quarterflash, Olivia Newton John's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWz9VN40nCA">Physical</a>, </i>the theme from <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je2fGzKiqRM">Hill Street Blues</a> </i>and that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMdwFkO8xA0">number one song</a> from <i>Arthur</i>.</p><p>Still on the chart, an earlier Journey single, <i>Who's Crying Now </i>which went to number 4. Still to come, their power ballad, <i>Open Arms, </i>which topped out at number two behind the J. Geils Band's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqDjMZKf-wg">Centerfold</a></i>.</p><p><i>Don't Stop Believin'</i> climbed only to number 9, lingering on the charts for 16 weeks, but it never really faded away. Journey's signature song became instead a part of the firmament, a touchstone embedded in our pop-cultural consciousness. </p><p>"Hold on to the feeling..," Steve Perry sang in the outro, and hold on we have. It's the most digitally downloaded song of the 20th Century.</p><p>______________________________<br /><br />For Joan and Ian, who -- in these uncertain times -- now have the ultimate reason to believe. </p><p><i>-- Follow me on Twitter @paperboyarchive</i></p>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-77276873703437825102021-09-10T16:43:00.000-04:002021-09-10T16:43:43.686-04:00Nightmare in a Cardboard Box: The September 11 Papers<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>WENTY YEARS ON</b> and I can still recall everything I did that day.<br /><br />To be clear from the outset, I was -- relatively speaking -- outside the zone of physical danger, in an office building in midtown Manhattan. "Still too damn close," my cousin in Florida told me that evening. </p><div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOteNG8frktVHOcWfNeXby88aQIIZPl1indMOqYLQmlL_YBAiMdh2abUyjVe7LJcG3cTuV9CgvMIjWYYvjUNgFfH_ET3mkjkbV-7SSGdBOlgRsnjagAjCfP7x6cIBJJd9OJwWJ3afnHwCM/s1703/NLJ+Sept+11.jpeg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1703" data-original-width="1329" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOteNG8frktVHOcWfNeXby88aQIIZPl1indMOqYLQmlL_YBAiMdh2abUyjVe7LJcG3cTuV9CgvMIjWYYvjUNgFfH_ET3mkjkbV-7SSGdBOlgRsnjagAjCfP7x6cIBJJd9OJwWJ3afnHwCM/w310-h397/NLJ+Sept+11.jpeg" width="310" /></a>So far away, yet close enough to see from an office window the World Trade Center towers burning and then watch from the same vantage point as the top of the north tower, suddenly enveloped by a billowing cloud of smoke, splintered and sank from view.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>In 1975 I had the misfortune of being on a road running alongside New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when an Eastern Airlines jet on final approach from New Orleans got caught in a microburst and crashed just short of the runway, killing 113 people.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Again, in relative terms, I was outside the zone of immediate danger. I still have nightmares inspired by that day. But it was an isolated, discrete, incident and, more importantly, a genuine accident, whereas the events of September 11, 2001 were not.<div><br /></div><div>I'd arrived from work that morning after voting in the city's primary election. As I walked north on Madison Ave., people on the street were standing still and pointing south. I'd no idea what the commotion was about until I'd gotten upstairs, where my editor greeted me with, "You know what happened, right?"</div><div><br /></div><div><div>I didn't until he directed me to a west-facing window, told me to lean out as far as I could then look south. There, the north tower stood, with a smoking hole in its façade.</div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_j7yik4SAmZHCOxQiEseTOcFxeHj4G4WwDN5WSL4Zq-YnZfDJGTyP5XAD6Jf-Zk1l82rfzt3t6Rpk4B9pyy10SG13F2VztjXbOHT0106YdYeYNodUo8ZRH6GX-bgljiTe1h4NzFBmQx8/s2048/NYT+Sept+12.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1751" data-original-width="2048" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_j7yik4SAmZHCOxQiEseTOcFxeHj4G4WwDN5WSL4Zq-YnZfDJGTyP5XAD6Jf-Zk1l82rfzt3t6Rpk4B9pyy10SG13F2VztjXbOHT0106YdYeYNodUo8ZRH6GX-bgljiTe1h4NzFBmQx8/w345-h296/NYT+Sept+12.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>As a reporter, one's immediate reaction is to observe and report. Not knowing what lay ahead, I ran from the office to the nearest drugstore to buy a disposable camera, believing the fire would be put out, the hole repaired and the incident would become part of the city's lore, like that day in 1945 when a fog-bound B-25 bomber <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Empire_State_Building_B-25_crash">smashed into the Empire State Building</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The cheap camera's pictures turned out poorly, but in my mind's eye -- aided no doubt by the unprecedented media coverage -- they're crystal clear, as are the TV and radio news reports, the first-hand visual confirmation, the deepening dread as events unfolded, the not knowing which blow would be the last.</div><div><br /></div><div>I pitched in on my newspaper's coverage that day, and on those that immediately followed.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfZLev_lgBXFMTcqHP-oETMGvjb4u8Lh4LwkeuX_8JJb3HmQuCCUNHypv3Ano7gQ7UZDKd1zSmFbSrkvdfh4TR7srLfvXzh_6Zl3KEAs5IaQq_dVRSJm041Sic4ojdSSM9NRcMCZUEhsV/s1817/Newsday+Sept+12.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1817" data-original-width="1452" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfZLev_lgBXFMTcqHP-oETMGvjb4u8Lh4LwkeuX_8JJb3HmQuCCUNHypv3Ano7gQ7UZDKd1zSmFbSrkvdfh4TR7srLfvXzh_6Zl3KEAs5IaQq_dVRSJm041Sic4ojdSSM9NRcMCZUEhsV/w307-h374/Newsday+Sept+12.jpeg" width="307" /></a></div>Nearly 3,000 people died on what began as a sparkling clear September morning.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somehow, those I knew who worked at the complex all survived, one because he found an intact stairway out of the south tower above the point of impact, another because he was fortuitously late for work. </div><div><br /></div><div>Among the recognizable names of the dead was someone I'd known back in day camp, where he took an arrow to the eye in an archery accident.</div><div><br /></div><div>Arriving home in Queens that evening, I found my girlfriend awaiting my emergence from the subway. We held each other tightly, staring westward at the plume of smoke across the sky, trying to comprehend the awfulness. We watched the news, talked and slept fitfully before I woke to head back in.<br /><br />The Manhattan of September 12 was nightmarishly still. Subway traffic was halted south of Grand Central Terminal. Walking the last dozen blocks to my office, through that silent, desolated midtown at what now wasn't rush hour, was an experience I'll never forget.<br /><br />In the years since, I've read novels that have tried and failed to capture the feeling of that day, and tried to watch movies that nail it so well I needed to turn them off. The emotions are hard to harmonize. So I fall back on the immediate documentation.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNUFHeWnuktq41DLdPe8ujyzlCkq9JaRNyw88Zk1ekr4c5NTQ-d3JONaY42giagOsg6t3bLn5qvUg4MnPVZgt3ABapz6Wp6GZEK8ydpToxe9Lmeyx76bQN1TmC7kxIGAqmDPBMnz3HdDs/s2048/E+and+P+I+cant+forget+it.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1576" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNUFHeWnuktq41DLdPe8ujyzlCkq9JaRNyw88Zk1ekr4c5NTQ-d3JONaY42giagOsg6t3bLn5qvUg4MnPVZgt3ABapz6Wp6GZEK8ydpToxe9Lmeyx76bQN1TmC7kxIGAqmDPBMnz3HdDs/w291-h380/E+and+P+I+cant+forget+it.jpeg" width="291" /></a></div>A saver of things since boyhood, a habit or human failing that's provided the backbone for this blog, I reflexively kept the newspapers published on that terribly quiet next day, and periodicals from the days and weeks that followed.<br /><p>It seemed, and still seems, wrong to discard them, wrong to diminish the record of that terrible day. For 20 years, they've been in a cardboard box, one of many in a closet dedicated to my compulsion to retain printed matter, an urge undimmed by the evaporation of tangible media, newspapers and magazines, movies, music and books.</p><p></p><p>"Time it was and what a time it was, it was a time of innocence, a time of confidences. Long ago it must be, I have a photograph. Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." -- Simon & Garfunkel.</p><p><i>-- Follow me on Twitter @paperboyarchive<br /></i></p></div></div>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-81477098195308873362021-09-08T08:47:00.004-04:002021-09-11T17:14:39.597-04:00Damning Derek Jeter With Faint Praise<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>S A BASEBALL FAN,</b> it was easy to admire Derek Jeter's abundant success. As a New York Mets fan, it was hard not to resent it.<br /><br />The former New York Yankees captain will be inducted into the <a href="https://baseballhall.org/">Baseball Hall of Fame</a> today and I'd be dead wrong if I said he didn't deserve it. He played for 20 seasons, accruing 3,465 hits, a Rookie of the Year award, more than a dozen All-Star selections, five Gold Gloves, five Silver Slugger awards and played on five championship teams.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBruZ1qW_M2memkoQUCY9OxysHYhVnIsrCXQchvo2ER7jfuNCoEe-Ewj98s-HllgzzQztzRvTVF5k724UTY-azo8olawpWw9eq6EIL0Ym_WHHN9Rcqiv8gT98blgezKjsfa-b9s48Wnp5q/s2048/Derek+Jeter+2009+Yanks+program.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1530" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBruZ1qW_M2memkoQUCY9OxysHYhVnIsrCXQchvo2ER7jfuNCoEe-Ewj98s-HllgzzQztzRvTVF5k724UTY-azo8olawpWw9eq6EIL0Ym_WHHN9Rcqiv8gT98blgezKjsfa-b9s48Wnp5q/w311-h417/Derek+Jeter+2009+Yanks+program.jpeg" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 2009 season.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>But still, the green eyed envy monster would rather not hear about it.</p><p>First time I saw Jeter play, he was penciled in as shortstop for the AA <a href="https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/t-ay10069">Albany-Colonie Yankees</a>, who were playing the <a href="https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2014/11/28/7297267/a-brief-history-of-the-new-haven-ravens">New Haven Ravens</a> at the Yale Bowl on July 30, 1994. <br /><br />Rocketing through the Yankees farm system, he was batting .363, with 41 hits in just 113 at bats, 11 of which went for extra bases. He'd also walked 15 times, struck out 16, driven in 13 runs and registered a dozen steals. </p><p>Jeter had started the year in Single-A Tampa and would rack up just nine more at bats -- and five more hits -- for the A-C Yanks before being promoted to AAA Columbus. Somehow he'd spend almost all of 1995 there, stuck behind Tony Fernandez and Randy Velarde on the Yankees' first wild card team.<br /><br />Appearing in 15 big league games, he was briefly teammates with the man he'd spiritually replace and ultimately follow as the Bombers' captain, <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mattido01">Don Mattingly</a>, then in his last season as a player.<br /><br />Jeter took over as starting shortstop in 1996, winning the American League's top rookie honors, while the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978, an almost unimaginable drought for them that coincided with the powerful Mets teams of the 1980s.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHyrkSnd5f9iivVwrc4-_w2kmdxlYlOnJqn27n0g8nS7aPCUb0DyuFqpAVRyntDvoo8gsONnRzvwHFnsDFeU9IqSyX1-wSLiLIQoWr9BhyphenhyphensxhJDo0gFT5iXK9jzNAjuHqJzB7SDl0gWaH/s2048/1994+Ravens+Yankees+stub.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="2048" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHyrkSnd5f9iivVwrc4-_w2kmdxlYlOnJqn27n0g8nS7aPCUb0DyuFqpAVRyntDvoo8gsONnRzvwHFnsDFeU9IqSyX1-wSLiLIQoWr9BhyphenhyphensxhJDo0gFT5iXK9jzNAjuHqJzB7SDl0gWaH/w374-h195/1994+Ravens+Yankees+stub.jpeg" width="374" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15 years earlier, in New Haven, Ct...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In '96, the Mets had promoted their own snazzy shortstop, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ordonre01.shtml">Rey Ordoñez</a>. And, while the Cuban-born Ordoñez couldn't hit like his crosstown counterpart, he could field his position like few others ever had.<br /><br />The New York Times interviewed both for a feature titled <i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/11/magazine/my-shortstop-is-better-than-yours.html?searchResultPosition=1">My Shortstop is Better Than Yours</a></i>, but the parity didn't last. <br /><br />Ordoñez finished just fifth in National League RoTY balloting but gained instant recognition for his defensive acrobatics, winning Gold Gloves in 1997, 1998 and 1999, before being derailed by broken arm sustained in a mid-2000 season collision, after which he was never the same. </p><p>By that time, Jeter was already being kissed by fate, benefiting from Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier's hauling in a deep fly to right, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVNlvnsQ828">converting it to a home run</a>, kissing up to his manager, whom he respectfully if not obsequiously called <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/torre-when-jeter-gets-married-ill-be-the-first-to-know/1867742/">"Mr. Torre,"</a> -- as dutifully reported by a fawning press -- and literally kissing pop star <a href="https://mariahcarey.fandom.com/wiki/Derek_Jeter">Mariah Carey</a>, Miss Universe <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSC5ZKAwek">Lara Dutta</a> and <a href="https://www.whosdatedwho.com/dating/derek-jeter">others</a>.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zO36aGoHf5kqaO4KKZ2OFch7HOaBMp7d0FuYHd-H7vSyHpilH2a7uHkICko6fC2APqdkATgOsMk4tDyl46oSeSM3HHy9IZqGqifGmi-D8tZ6sErm0H3fBh_7vlc9tYpK2ct3R9W7xn08/s2048/1994+AC+Yankees+stats.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1624" height="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zO36aGoHf5kqaO4KKZ2OFch7HOaBMp7d0FuYHd-H7vSyHpilH2a7uHkICko6fC2APqdkATgOsMk4tDyl46oSeSM3HHy9IZqGqifGmi-D8tZ6sErm0H3fBh_7vlc9tYpK2ct3R9W7xn08/w349-h439/1994+AC+Yankees+stats.jpeg" width="349" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...a rising prospect</td></tr></tbody></table>The Yankees, who were capturing championships while Ordoñez was collecting his singular hardware, faced the Mets in <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2000_WS.shtml">the 2000 series</a> and took the first two games, each by a single run before the Mets broke their momentum with a game 3 win.<br /><br />Jeter led off the potentially pivotal game 4 by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHX8mmuodew">rocketing the first pitch of the night</a> from Mets starter Bobby Jones into Shea Stadium's left field bleachers. The Yankees, who never trailed in the game, won 3-2, and took the series the next night.<br /><br />The next season saw the Yankee shortstop make perhaps the signature defensive play of his career, in the A.L. Division Series, a maneuver that came to be known as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlZ3Tm4p92A">"The Flip."</a> It seemed the shortstop could do little, if anything, wrong. He'd even starting collecting Gold Gloves <a href="https://elitesportsny.com/2017/05/13/remember-derek-jeter-lets-not-forget-horrid-defense/">some say were undeserved</a>, as well as Silver Slugger honors.<br /><br />In 2003, he was named the franchise's fifteenth captain, putting him in the company of luminaries such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Thurman Munson and Mattingly.<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio051UHuJHHRZzaWKPx1Pw0rdLZP0LTH4cU3Qi1lSl6EnTyzlZgdpXYvatLe3tldsL2HliTXnDYOB3-rcCzyuj514OxoiL5zdAKcc6PSs9OlG9nKh8Nr2ZxLB04T6wkcxoNkxDeCAUiUDn/s2048/jeter+yanks+miniposter.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="2048" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio051UHuJHHRZzaWKPx1Pw0rdLZP0LTH4cU3Qi1lSl6EnTyzlZgdpXYvatLe3tldsL2HliTXnDYOB3-rcCzyuj514OxoiL5zdAKcc6PSs9OlG9nKh8Nr2ZxLB04T6wkcxoNkxDeCAUiUDn/w546-h401/jeter+yanks+miniposter.jpeg" width="546" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the 2009 game program, a mini poster.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In 2003, the Mets... <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/2003.shtml">well, don't ask</a>. In this tale of one city, it was the best of times for Derek Jeter, the worst of times for the team from Queens. The obsequious Bronx mainstay played on, partaking in another Yankees championship and living his charmed life as the Mets' fortunes rose and fell. <p></p><p>Then <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvSpYbdfT9c">his own body betrayed him</a> in game 1 of the 2012 A.L. championship series.<br /><br />It was a stunning "behold a god who bleeds" moment, and a reminder that for all his exploits, for all the acclaim, for all the objectification, he was only human, exceptionally talented, gifted even and fortunate, but still just flesh and bone. He retired after 2014.</p><p>Jeter's Hall election came with 99.7 percent of the vote, the highest ever. He was selected on <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-jeter-larry-walker-hall-of-fame-2021-induction">all but one of 397 ballots cast</a>, a triumph of the hype. Other immortals were at least as deserving. But then why am I writing about him?<br /><br />-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i></p>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-45923670411712540932021-08-23T20:47:00.002-04:002021-08-24T10:23:13.341-04:00Remembering Rod Gilbert as Rangers Restaurateur<b><span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ONG ISLAND</b> has long had hockey players identifying as denizens of the most populous U.S. island.<div><br /></div><div>But long before the birth of the more overtly-named New York Islanders in 1972, the island -- specifically the suburban-sprawling Nassau County -- was New York Rangers territory.</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2C4UmHGqsJmvF17pMpG-j4z5mmV9g-K8YAh_EdF3S1QW9KPB6zZzRS7tCIfzZEOFDcwiQaQ2UIrAgs0OjZsmAHnSg30wNkO0FSDg0-i9gUl3xnadbxY53bQnSReAIo8MBmvQI85HD2zzH/s2048/hot+rod+bbq.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1374" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2C4UmHGqsJmvF17pMpG-j4z5mmV9g-K8YAh_EdF3S1QW9KPB6zZzRS7tCIfzZEOFDcwiQaQ2UIrAgs0OjZsmAHnSg30wNkO0FSDg0-i9gUl3xnadbxY53bQnSReAIo8MBmvQI85HD2zzH/w303-h451/hot+rod+bbq.jpeg" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Come On</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>They lived among us. Their kids were our classmates. They summered where we summered, trained at an arena where we could skate and ate where we ate.</div><div><br /></div><div>So it came with much joy and no sense of incursion when <a href="https://www.hhof.com/HonouredMembers/MemberDetails.html?type=Player&mem=P198202&list=ByName#biography">Rod Gilbert</a>, one of the greatest Rangers players ever, opened a barbecued ribs joint in Hewlett, N.Y., not far from where I grew up, back in 1981.<br /><br /><i>Hot Rod BarBQ</i> took out a full-page add in the local Pennysaver, for what I presume was the grand opening of his "Canadian-style" restaurant on Jan. 5. On hand, he said, would be star Rangers goalie <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/d/davidjo01.html">John Davidson</a>, former blue shirt stalwart <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=5168">Pete Stemkowski</a> and onetime NYR farmhand <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=6658">Jim Troy</a>. <br /><br />There'd be a free drawing for Rangers tickets, an autographed stick and pucks. And, for the culinarily curious, food. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gilbert had starred for the powerhouse teams of the late 1960s and early '70s and was part of the goal-a-game or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrhgOwOYv6o">GAG line</a> with Jean Ratelle and Vic Hadfield. Piling up 406 goals and 615 assists over 18 seasons, earning the nickname "Mr. Ranger," he's still the franchise's all-time leading scorer.</div><div><br /></div><div>My dad's Rangers fandom dated back to the days of <a href="https://icehockey.fandom.com/wiki/Alex_Shibicky">Alex Shibicky</a>, <a href="https://www.hhof.com/HonouredMembers/MemberDetails.html?type=Player&mem=P196702&list=ByName">Neil Colville</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/25/sports/muzz-patrick-83-a-ranger-on-1940-stanley-cup-team.html">Muzz Patrick</a>. For him, <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stanley-cup-champions-1940-1949/c-288132576">"1940"</a> wasn't just a chant. It was a conscious memory. Persuading him to go took little effort and so we went.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCkbxUShSSjAA6EFpPfqQ2Mi0VUSEOCATQMF_8nh1l3H99fmhLMvPsYOHiqo5CgNeS8lGQifqFtv7oNiGu27qxdPLyoOHYP71kMX-6Di_NoYJ3bLkoVNw4yfffZIAHyKJeTh-e8Ie8HQ7/s2048/1979-80+NYR.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCkbxUShSSjAA6EFpPfqQ2Mi0VUSEOCATQMF_8nh1l3H99fmhLMvPsYOHiqo5CgNeS8lGQifqFtv7oNiGu27qxdPLyoOHYP71kMX-6Di_NoYJ3bLkoVNw4yfffZIAHyKJeTh-e8Ie8HQ7/s320/1979-80+NYR.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Topps NHL hockey cards<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>We didn't win any sticks or pucks, and I'm pretty sure Troy was either incognito or a no-show. That didn't matter amid the first-magnitude star power that turned out for Gilbert's opening night as restaurateur. Davidson was there, all 6'3" of him, eyes characteristically ablaze. So too was his understudy, Wayne Thomas.</div><div><br />And they brought reinforcements. Oft-injured forward Ulf Nilsson was there, the man whose fateful collision with the Islanders' Denis Potvin -- in which <a href="https://bluelinestation.com/2020/11/23/former-new-york-rangers-ulf-nilsson-hadnt-broken-his-ankle/">Nilssson sustained a broken ankle</a> -- inspired the deathless Madison Square Garden chant "Potvin sucks!" </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2vm8_ehIOgqrh7ZpqDMqqlbRCWxQxVc3Fou1qfNIEhnYrtO14OtAvjSONKVEq0PIJg7UUINEnGStKMEu265M4U4d4lGkvxNnoEqI7A5tysiV90pPysQUssykNkj77UF6Schd5aabnQ85/s2048/1979-80+NYR+autographs.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1511" data-original-width="2048" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2vm8_ehIOgqrh7ZpqDMqqlbRCWxQxVc3Fou1qfNIEhnYrtO14OtAvjSONKVEq0PIJg7UUINEnGStKMEu265M4U4d4lGkvxNnoEqI7A5tysiV90pPysQUssykNkj77UF6Schd5aabnQ85/s320/1979-80+NYR+autographs.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clockwise from lower left: Thomas,<br />Gilbert, Tkaczuk upside down, Nilsson, <br />Stemkowski and Davidson</td></tr></tbody></table>So too was veteran forward <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/t/tkaczwa01.html">Walt Tkaczuk</a> (no relation to Keith Tkachuk and sons Matthew and Brady), Stemkowski and Gilbert himself. All of them graciously signed the back of a Rangers team picture I'd gotten in a pack of hockey cards. <br /><br />Another popular Long Island hockey star appeared that night, Islander Bob Nystrom (whose career earned him the nickname <a href="https://www.nhl.com/islanders/fans/bob-nystrom-award">Mr. Islander</a>), less than two years removed from scoring a Stanley Cup winning goal for the Rangers' arch rivals. I kept his signature separate. It seemed the right thing to do.<br /><br />It was an awesome night. They were there. In person. Answering any witless question I had. Somewhere along the line, my dad and I had dinner, though the food -- 40 years later -- wasn't particularly memorable.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB56iIrkeY2O4roDrc7fjOTAlLW3JfXJkq6ujbg9gtfB-udw7DCAheSdWzkpB0ArKGqqO-RziPSsmgVOuqsRTUE8cOaJSAFjZX_l52aA7vvf-BtYEExKGBzC__Uwmiz7RnEPcRiL_dbhqz/s2048/Nystrom+auto+scrap.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB56iIrkeY2O4roDrc7fjOTAlLW3JfXJkq6ujbg9gtfB-udw7DCAheSdWzkpB0ArKGqqO-RziPSsmgVOuqsRTUE8cOaJSAFjZX_l52aA7vvf-BtYEExKGBzC__Uwmiz7RnEPcRiL_dbhqz/s320/Nystrom+auto+scrap.jpeg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nystrom, signing solo</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe that was the flaw in Hot Rod's business plan. I don't recall his establishment staying open all that long. But I'd like to think it was nights like that, in close quarters with real live hockey heroes, that helped make Long Island the hotbed it is today. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Rangers' Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, <a href="https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-adam-fox-wins-norris-trophy-first-defenseman-to-do-so-without-making-playoffs/">Adam Fox</a>, hails from Long Island. So too does the Boston Bruins' star d-man, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/05/28/long-islands-charlie-mcavoy-now-a-star-for-bruins/">Charlie McAvoy Jr.</a> The Islanders' <a href="https://greaterlongisland.com/islanders-complete-trade-with-devils-for-smithtown-born-kyle-palmieri/">Kyle Palmieri</a> is L.I.-born as is <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=160599">Sonny Milano</a> of the Anaheim Ducks and Keith Kinkaid, most recently a goalie for the Rangers, though <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/sachem/keith-kinkaid-dreaming-nhl-big">he grew up rooting</a> for the Islanders.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Rangers still maintain a connection with the <a href="https://www.longbeachny.gov/icearena">Long Beach arena</a> which features boys' and girls' Junior Rangers hockey programs.<br /><br />Gilbert, a Hockey Hall of Famer and the first Ranger to have had his uniform number, 7, retired, died on Aug. 22. He was 80 years old.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>-- Follow me on Twitter @paperboyarchive</i></div>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-40319356743296527122021-06-20T18:52:00.004-04:002023-08-30T11:42:05.665-04:00Canadiens-Islanders Stanley Cup Final 42 Years Overdue<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I</span>T WAS EXPECTED TO BE</b> the best vs. the best, the reigning dynasty vs. the rising power.<br /><br />But something happened on the way to the 1979 Stanley Cup finals, and the series that performance and passion demanded, pitting the defending champion Montreal Canadiens against the National Hockey League's top regular season team, the New York Islanders, was not to be.<br /></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7vGKlrxoavA6I38qSc6r8dNRCdn8aeOskYPzOgQop2ZlP6uvOi2o4msEJhLehY8DUNGwpTalEk7rpaXt4IsUm2yW4jJp7Wmoz1oRan6Ao7M9J8atiuIb16BmsYgnclwqn1SHkjid26bP/s2048/Montreal+Canadiens+1978-79+yearbook.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1556" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7vGKlrxoavA6I38qSc6r8dNRCdn8aeOskYPzOgQop2ZlP6uvOi2o4msEJhLehY8DUNGwpTalEk7rpaXt4IsUm2yW4jJp7Wmoz1oRan6Ao7M9J8atiuIb16BmsYgnclwqn1SHkjid26bP/w304-h437/Montreal+Canadiens+1978-79+yearbook.jpeg" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montreal captain Yvan Cornoyer <br />hoists the Stanley Cup in 1978. </td></tr></tbody></table>The Isles. The Habs. Two storied franchises. Together they combined to win eight consecutive cups, monopolizing hockey's big silver chalice from 1976 through 1983 without ever having to defeat one another in a head-to-head fight for its possession.<p></p><p>Now, 42 years later, and midway through the NHL's semifinals, there remains the possibility to reschedule this date with destiny. </p><p>It's an opportunity that exists only by dint of a provisional divisional realignment prompted by a once-in-a-century pandemic, and the resultant closure of the U.S. Canada border that forced the league to abandon its Eastern and Western conference structure, opening the door to an all-Eastern final.</p><p>The Islanders-Tampa Bay Lightning series is tied at two wins apiece, Montreal leads the Vegas Golden Knights, two games to one.</p><p>C'est maintenant! This chance may never come again. </p><p>Way back then, the NHL playoffs were a little different. The four division winners got a first-round bye. Those that finished second played a best-of-three preliminary series against one of four wild card teams: those with the highest point totals, that didn't finish in first or second, regardless of their division or conference of origin. Survivors got reseeded for the ensuing rounds. <br /></p><p>The 78-79 Canadiens held up their end, winning the NHL's Norris Division and earning a bye while mayhem played out among the league's hoi polloi. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiTwpWuLpcSHZyk8NKW17NUwroCFVQQlTv2KQO1YzlmjkRoabsHv5gguw5BTkWXLlFGTizqqlJFxYPvow5P55WV1Owi3jSU2TaMe6SSU-S9ZxpqO6y5Guu3PggizT1nW8k4uMzuzaPfxk/s2048/Guy+Lafleur.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1579" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiTwpWuLpcSHZyk8NKW17NUwroCFVQQlTv2KQO1YzlmjkRoabsHv5gguw5BTkWXLlFGTizqqlJFxYPvow5P55WV1Owi3jSU2TaMe6SSU-S9ZxpqO6y5Guu3PggizT1nW8k4uMzuzaPfxk/w264-h342/Guy+Lafleur.jpeg" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flower, from the Habs'<br />1978-79 yearbook</td></tr></tbody></table>Stacked with Hockey Hall of Fame talent including head coach Scotty Bowman, the Habs rolled up 115 points during the regular season, accruing a 52-17-11 record, second only to that of the Islanders' 116 (51-15-14).<p></p><p>Leading their attack was <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p198802&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Guy Lafleur</a>, whose 129 points (52 goals, 77 assists), put him third in the league for scoring. Surrounding Lafleur were sniper <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199303&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Steve Shutt</a> (37G, 40A), Pierre Mondou (31G/41A), Mario Tremblay and Yvon Lambert. Still on the team, though ailing, was their veteran captain, <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p198201&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Yvan Cornoyer</a>.</p><p>Flashy as the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/montreal-canadiens/stu-cowan-what-happened-to-the-flying-frenchmen">Flying Frenchmen</a> were, defense was their backbone.</p><p>Forward <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199203&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Bob Gainey</a> was in the midst of a four-year run as recipient of the Selke Award bestowed annually on the league's top defensive forward. Behind him were a slew of Hall-bound defensemen: <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p198603&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Serge Savard</a>, <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199502&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Larry Robinson</a>, <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199301&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Guy Lapointe</a> and <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p200203&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Rod Langway</a>. And behind them, superlative goaltender <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p198301&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=Montreal%20Canadiens">Ken Dryden</a> and backup Michel "Bunny" Laroque.</p><p>Loaded though they were, Montreal only narrowly escaped dethronement by the Boston Bruins, who led game 7 of their semi-final series 4-3, with just 2:34 left in regulation when they got caught with too many men on the ice.<br /><br />Lafleur scored on the power play, sending the game into overtime where Lambert <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22FV4105p8&t=100s">slid a goal line pass</a> under Boston net minder Gilles Gilbert for the series winner.</p><p>The regular season champion Islanders too were stocked with hall-bound superstars starting with center <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199702&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=New%20York%20Islanders">Bryan Trottier</a> and his wingmen, <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199101&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=New%20York%20Islanders">Mike Bossy</a> and <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p200202&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=New%20York%20Islanders">Clark Gillies</a>, aka the <a href="https://www.nhl.com/islanders/news/mavens-memories-how-the-trio-grande-happened/c-319759954">Trio Grande</a>. Trotts' 134 points (47G, 87A) led the league, capturing the Art Ross trophy as scoring leader and the Hart trophy as MVP. Bossy tallied 69 goals and 126 points, while Gillies added 35 goals and 56 assists.<br /><br />Sandwiched amid those top scoring forwards was rock solid defenseman <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199102&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByTeam&team=New%20York%20Islanders">Denis Potvin</a>, en route to winning his second straight Norris Trophy as the league's top blueliner, while posting 31 goals and 70 assists. Their head coach was the Hall-bound Al Arbour.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKotQEn-k4DHVpj5mJkF4wmwOMaAGK2KPSwefcbSSlWVEESV__L3tsioHBxh7bs-Mh8zGqAqIxHa3z2dyoxEHZSy0ZMdR1EhmY84r4frNEwxZLO4d0rjiU79EIXvfg2eNeNwg0mrx0awhm/s2048/1978-79+islanders+team+pic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="2048" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKotQEn-k4DHVpj5mJkF4wmwOMaAGK2KPSwefcbSSlWVEESV__L3tsioHBxh7bs-Mh8zGqAqIxHa3z2dyoxEHZSy0ZMdR1EhmY84r4frNEwxZLO4d0rjiU79EIXvfg2eNeNwg0mrx0awhm/w640-h421/1978-79+islanders+team+pic.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything but the Cup.<br />(From the 1978-79 Islanders yearbook)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Steadily accruing talent since their 1972 incarnation, the Isles lost three straight semifinals before being bounced in the quarters by the '77-78 Toronto Maple Leafs. With a solid supporting cast including goalies Glenn Resch and <a href="https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p199304&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByPosition&pos=G">Billy Smith</a> and that gaudy regular season performance, they seemed primed to take the next step.</p><p>They stepped, and fell, over the rival New York Rangers, a wild card team who'd dispatched the Los Angeles Kings and then the Philadelphia Flyers en route to their semifinal clash with their suburban brethren. <br /><br />Four of the series' six games were decided by a single goal, twice in overtime -- both Islanders' victories -- but it didn't matter. After knotting affairs at two games a piece, the Isles dropped game five at the Nassau Coliseum and game six at Madison Square Garden. <br /><br />Just like that, the NHL's top regular season team was done, or undone, and in any event, finished. Snuffed out. There would be no faceoff with the Habs, who beat the Rangers four games to one, capturing the cup for the fourth straight year.<br /><br />Had things played out differently, Montreal might have surrendered the cup to the Islanders much in the same way the Isles would lose it to the upstart Edmonton Oilers in 1984, launching that next dynasty. </p><p>Though the Habs and Isles met in subsequent series, most recently the 1993 semis won by Montreal, the potential for a main-à-main struggle for the silver was formatted out of existence, until now.<br /><br />While there's no replacing that missing bookend to the Canadiens-Islanders-Oilers succession, there is -- as of this writing -- at least the potential for serving up a variation on that NHL finale fans were denied so many years ago.</p><p>Now may never come again.</p><p><i>-- On twitter @paperboyarchive</i></p>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-82013382091369940052020-03-09T07:59:00.006-04:002023-02-10T22:40:34.902-05:00When the Islanders Traded Cousin Billy for a Dynasty<b><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>ILLY HARRIS WAS A LOT OF THINGS</b> to the New York Islanders, their first overall draft pick, first to score a goal at the Nassau Coliseum, their first leading scorer, the ironman who didn't miss a game over their first seven seasons.<br />
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He was also a Harris like me, imaginary kin that gave a kid from Long Island a sense of identity with the hometown team, bragging rights if you will. Billy was, I sometimes claimed, my cousin.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G5G73WrlDgp63X28Fh_9AHLwsdrkY5FkJHHlkPbu1jBe3Dt3G2ttCjcO3RDsCwCwx85qxRmhIh5Tl43UPA7ANGKKrgXt-wMy7hl64UuZ6sdsB5hY5MNifCJ21Umv61m_XWzF2N7Nj6QA/s1600/billy+harris+hero.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="951" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G5G73WrlDgp63X28Fh_9AHLwsdrkY5FkJHHlkPbu1jBe3Dt3G2ttCjcO3RDsCwCwx85qxRmhIh5Tl43UPA7ANGKKrgXt-wMy7hl64UuZ6sdsB5hY5MNifCJ21Umv61m_XWzF2N7Nj6QA/s640/billy+harris+hero.jpg" width="380" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billy Harris was a lot of things, then he was gone.</td></tr>
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But, first in, first out, he was also the surpassed star whose midseason exile to the Los Angeles Kings, 40 years ago March 10, helped change the underachieving Islanders into champions.<br />
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He and defenseman <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/lewisda02.html">Dave Lewis</a> were sent to L.A. exchange for center Butch Goring, whose number 91 the team <a href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com/2020/2/29/21159549/watch-butch-goring-holds-court-as-his-number-is-retired-to-the-coliseum-rafters">raised to the rafters</a> just 10 days ago.<br />
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Widely hailed as the final piece of the puzzle, Goring was a vital cog in the Isles' dyanastic run -- four consecutive Stanley Cups, plus a fifth finals appearance a year later -- and winner of the 1980-81 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.<br />
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The trade was a cruel blow to me and, I'm sure, to the team's original building block.<br />
<br />
But the eight-year-old franchise was already bearing the burden of great expectations, labeled as chokers, a squad that couldn't win in the clutch. They'd finished the 1978-79 season with the National Hockey League's best record then bombed in the playoffs, eliminated in round two by the hated New York Rangers.<br />
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So, when back-to-back losses to the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals dropped the Islanders to 31-28-9 on March 9, third place in the NHL's Patrick Division, General Manager Bill Torrey swung <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/this-date-in-nhl-history-march-10/c-287502730?tid=279684992">one of the greatest trade deadline deals in league history</a>. Cousin Billy was sent packing.<br />
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"We were sacrificial lambs,"<a href="https://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/mark-herrmann/islanders-alumni-look-forward-to-annual-golf-outing-1.13726238"> he told Newsday</a> in a 2017 interview.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8WmaM3d0YFO15PdYb9SX8MjBuZO_egUsMubwj8v0-87OjVVyf-j5SrCZAZ7DI2yJdl0oWN0vrLWI8bYyW7S9GicVyISUTgG2ATKMVhTF5JB5v7dbdr7nimBW1IPbfQgPHnFV8lq62gfD/s1600/harris+on+ice.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="862" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8WmaM3d0YFO15PdYb9SX8MjBuZO_egUsMubwj8v0-87OjVVyf-j5SrCZAZ7DI2yJdl0oWN0vrLWI8bYyW7S9GicVyISUTgG2ATKMVhTF5JB5v7dbdr7nimBW1IPbfQgPHnFV8lq62gfD/s400/harris+on+ice.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My tribute...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A star with the junior Toronto Marlboros, Harris had rolled up 57 goals and 72 assists during the 1971-72 Ontario Hockey League season. The expansion Islanders, who had yet to play an NHL game, took him first overall in the <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1972a.html">1972 Amateur Draft</a>, ahead of future Philadelphia Flyers legend Bill Barber, Montreal Canandiens sniper Steve Shutt and longtime NHL forwards Peter McNab, Don Lever and Al MacAdam.<br />
<br />
Taken by other teams on that day: goalie <a href="https://www.thcvintagemasks.com/bunny-larocque/">Michel "Bunny" Larocque</a> plus defensemen <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/121503-jim-schoenfeld-have-another-donut">Jim Schoenfeld</a> and John Van Boxmeer. Also taken by the Islanders, forward <a href="https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=11871">Derek Black</a>, who would die of cancer before reaching the NHL, and winger Bobby Nystrom, whose 1979-80 season would end <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyonwHpzy0A">gloriously</a>.<br />
<br />
Harris was <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/harribi02.html">a more than serviceable forward</a> for those early Islanders. He posted 28 goals and 50 points during an inaugural season that saw them win a then-record low 12 games. He hit the 50 point plateau again the next year and, as the team improved around him, so did his numbers.<br />
<br />
He peaked in 1975-76 with 32 goals and 70 points playing right wing with rookie of the year center Bryan Trottier and fearsome left wing Clark Gillies, both future hall of famers. Sportswriters dubbed the high-scoring trio the Long Island Lighting Company, named for a doomed local public utility.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYRV7UZVgquc8bnArzS56RAj1sodQdx_6S-M-ROK_qcoYGBdyC-YMCZWnX7o20QvkYwkBTd_gH1x6Vuun7-QE7xcNj58y89MRvfxo2Bnq3u7F1yavR09psHkqI_TSWco-41eNv0UC8foP/s1600/Billy+Harris+autographed+pic.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1215" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYRV7UZVgquc8bnArzS56RAj1sodQdx_6S-M-ROK_qcoYGBdyC-YMCZWnX7o20QvkYwkBTd_gH1x6Vuun7-QE7xcNj58y89MRvfxo2Bnq3u7F1yavR09psHkqI_TSWco-41eNv0UC8foP/s400/Billy+Harris+autographed+pic.jpeg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... His response.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For Harris too, the glory was short-lived. Rookie Mike Bossy arrived in 1977 and bumped him down the depth chart. Playing with less heralded forwards, his production fell too. In 1978-79, he had just 15 goals and 54 points. <div><br /></div><div>Then the arrival of Swedish winger Anders Kallur and rookie Duane Sutter in 1979-80 made Billy Harris expendable. He was just 28.<div>
<br />
He played parts of four years with the Kings and three others with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs (where he wasn't even their <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/harribi01.html">first Billy Harris</a>), then retired from the NHL.<br />
<br />
For a time, Harris ran a soy-based scented candle business in Rosseau, Ontario, offering autographed pictures to customers who requested them. When a problem arose with my order, we had occasion to speak. </div><div><br /></div><div>I confessed my false claim of kinship and sent him a photo of my enduring tribute, my Islanders jersey emblazoned with <i>our</i> name and his number. Billy laughed and autographed my picture accordingly.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive.</i></div></div>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-55481291645987724032020-02-02T08:04:00.004-05:002020-03-28T16:35:49.462-04:00A Steel Curtain Call for the Super Bowl's First Dynasty<b><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>CCORDING TO CHINESE ASTROLOGY</b>, the <a href="https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/sheep.htm">Year of the Ram</a> started on Jan. 28, 1979 and ended on Feb. 15, 1980.<br />
<br />
According to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it ended some three weeks earlier, with 12:15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XIV, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84_PtlGQvhyphenhyphenQK4zcNSp-f73OVu1Q1OqC5idLKrSak9vqgY5KLm0p5-q2zVg-Z37nSGr6sj7ZWi47ufKG6rGLHGKVL_oDEJJCcSuwebv7amU-KJTopFB-xFVwBmkeREryvvENT1Al3rKls/s1600/vince+ferragamo+mean+joe+sb+xiv+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1501" data-original-width="1600" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84_PtlGQvhyphenhyphenQK4zcNSp-f73OVu1Q1OqC5idLKrSak9vqgY5KLm0p5-q2zVg-Z37nSGr6sj7ZWi47ufKG6rGLHGKVL_oDEJJCcSuwebv7amU-KJTopFB-xFVwBmkeREryvvENT1Al3rKls/s400/vince+ferragamo+mean+joe+sb+xiv+2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vince Ferragamo and Mean Joe Greene<br />
(Sports Illustrated photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It ended, 40 years ago, with one of the most indelible plays in Super Bowl history.<br />
<br />
The upstart Los Angeles Rams made it to pro-football's biggest stage despite winning just nine games during the regular season, the fewest ever to that date for a team appearing in the National Football League season finale.<span style="font-size: x-small;">*</span> The defending champion Steelers were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in just six seasons, having won matches IX, X and XIII.<br />
<br />
Led by its already legendary quarterback, <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/players/terry-bradshaw/">Terry Bradshaw</a>, Pittsburgh had gone 12-4 during the 1979 season, then beat the Miami Dolphins and <a href="https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/Article/Steelers-beat-Oilers-in-Mike-Renfro-Game-36-years-ago-today-42596290/">Houston Oilers</a> in the playoffs. They had the NFL's highest-scoring offense while their Steel Curtain defense had allowed the seventh fewest points.<br />
<br />
Los Angeles QB <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FerrVi00.htm">Vince Ferragamo</a> wasn't even his team's starter until the 12th game of the season, after a broken finger sidelined incumbent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Haden">Pat Haden</a>. Though he'd steered L.A. to an aggregate 6-1 record, the big game was just his eighth NFL start. Plus, the Rams had outscored their opponents by just 14 points during the regular season, <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/2016/9/23/13028358/when-the-buccaneers-played-the-rams-in-the-playoffs-for-the-first-time">beating the Tampa Buccaneers 9-0</a> for the conference championship.<br />
<br />
Experts were predicting the biggest slaughter since Abraham spared Isaac.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5x2wMY6cFlMHSh5OxB1c94SGr-yp_IbJ0l-TZlBallyGiux_PQ2jBvfSqqctINldNjUOJe8jpanL4yMUFmpotmMFljuYQX8Eb5t4FG4-5Ke7fkobgcO2nOZ5Ep4wInZMrwpb_2fbS-1E/s1600/super+bowl+xiv+program+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1253" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl5x2wMY6cFlMHSh5OxB1c94SGr-yp_IbJ0l-TZlBallyGiux_PQ2jBvfSqqctINldNjUOJe8jpanL4yMUFmpotmMFljuYQX8Eb5t4FG4-5Ke7fkobgcO2nOZ5Ep4wInZMrwpb_2fbS-1E/s400/super+bowl+xiv+program+2.jpeg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The official game program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
L.A.'s game-opening drive stalled on its own 26-yard-line after three plays for a net total of five yards. Then the Steelers went to work, Bradshaw deploying running backs <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/players/franco-harris/">Franco Harris</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27399315/steelers-rocky-bleier-continues-live-american-dream">Rocky Bleier</a> to gain 55 yards, setting up a Matt Bahr field goal. Steelers 3, Rams 0.<br />
<br />
Five minutes and nine plays later, L.A. answered back. Running back <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TyleWe00.htm">Wendell Tyler</a>'s 39-yard dance through Pittsburgh's defense put the Rams in the red zone. Moments later, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-cullen-bryant16-2009oct16-story.html">Cullen Bryant</a> bulled in from the one. L.A. 7, Steelers 3.<br />
<br />
Early in the second quarter, Harris plowed into the end zone, putting Pitt back on top, 10-7. Then strange things started to happen, things that make odds-makers and bookies nervous.<br />
<br />
Rams placekicker Frank Corral tied the game five minutes after Franco's plunge. Then, after the teams traded three-and-outs, L.A. defensive back Dave Elemendorf's interception of a Bradshaw pass led to another Corral F.G.<br />
<br />
At halftime, the score stood: Los Angeles Rams 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 10.<br />
<br />
With Pittsburgh's ground game struggling in the third, Bradshaw connected with <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/players/lynn-swann/">Lynn Swann</a> for a 47-yard TD, the Hall of Fame-bound wide receiver beating double coverage to haul in the heave.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zHeywrYMvU44OR-WupK1LuE67wtYckyEAyITccwGwVcrr9WaaTB_Qpgc539Ia-6j05BnE6KyU9t4UjlCSnBg5lJ_dFout92kr3LdJvK4YY3Y0Rzs6SaQIwtrzU7rKk_ryHTPjRb5RdWP/s1600/wendel+tyler+sb+xiv+1+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1584" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zHeywrYMvU44OR-WupK1LuE67wtYckyEAyITccwGwVcrr9WaaTB_Qpgc539Ia-6j05BnE6KyU9t4UjlCSnBg5lJ_dFout92kr3LdJvK4YY3Y0Rzs6SaQIwtrzU7rKk_ryHTPjRb5RdWP/s400/wendel+tyler+sb+xiv+1+2.jpeg" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wendell Tyler on the run.<br />
(Sports Illustrated photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The champs were back on top, 17-13, but the Rams refused to lay down. <br />
<br />
Ferragamo quickly connected with <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WaddBi00.htm">Billy Waddy</a> on a 50-yard passing play that put L.A. on the Pittsburgh 24. Running back <a href="http://www.notinhalloffame.com/football/10520-258-lawrence-mccutcheon">Lawrence McCutcheon</a> then tossed a half-back option TD pass to receiver Ron Smith. <br />
<br />
Though Corral missed the extra point, it was Rams 19, Steelers 17 midway through the third and things were about to get even worse for Pittsburgh.<br />
<br />
Swann, leaping high for a catch, had his legs cut out from under by a Rams defender. The acrobatic receiver landed hard on his right shoulder, his helmeted head slamming to the Rose Bowl turf. He left the game with concussion.<br />
<br />
Bradshaw was intercepted twice more before the quarter's end, the second time when Rams cornerback Rod Perry caught a pass meant for the Steeler's remaining Hall-bound wideout, <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/players/john-stallworth/">John Stallworth</a>.<br />
<br />
The third quarter wrapped with L.A. clinging to that slender two-point lead, but the Rams could do little with the possession gained by Perry's piracy. Their punt gave Pittsburgh possession on its own 25-yard-line with 12:59 left on the clock. Then, the Steelers galvanized.<br />
<br />
A Harris run gained two yards. An incomplete pass left them there. It was third and eight on the Pittsburgh 27 when Bradshaw took the snap, dropped back about 10 yards, then uncorked one of the greatest throws in pro football history.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJ2HEu2vkLi-UvNGDSTqzSsLFP5MuE54CY5Sp7SrCXG30LsoQKOoDe-X8zdRxCWVPO1kFwD5nFgvQyOBmnOKDkz1GDuMnqE-WBkE8Nx6O59CZPz1_py4lTaNJaa1-ee_3l-K5KJO_-HvA/s1600/john+stallworth+catch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="684" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJ2HEu2vkLi-UvNGDSTqzSsLFP5MuE54CY5Sp7SrCXG30LsoQKOoDe-X8zdRxCWVPO1kFwD5nFgvQyOBmnOKDkz1GDuMnqE-WBkE8Nx6O59CZPz1_py4lTaNJaa1-ee_3l-K5KJO_-HvA/s640/john+stallworth+catch.jpeg" width="377" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Perry leaps in vain as Stallworth gathers in the pass.<br />
(Sports Illustrated photo)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
His high tight spiral sailed 46 yards down field. Just clearing cornerback <a href="http://mydamrams.tripod.com/index-189.html">Rod Perry</a>'s outstretched hand, the ball was caught by Stallworth in full stride at the Rams' 36. With Perry lying prone on field, the Steelers receiver raced untouched to the end zone. Steelers 24, Rams 19.<br />
<br />
The champs never looked back, scoring once more after a Ferragamo interception to seal the win, 31-19.<br />
<br />
Despite three interceptions, Bradshaw was named the game's most valuable player, largely on the strength of <a href="https://www.si.com/vault/1980/01/28/824338/the-anatomy-of-a-touchdown">60 Prevent, Slot Hook and Go</a>, a play they'd repeatedly tried and failed to execute in practice that week.<br />
<br />
It would be Bradshaw's last Super Bowl. An elbow injury would force him to retire after the 1983 season.<br />
<br />
The victory over the Rams also marked the end of the Pittsburgh Steeler dynasty, the first of the NFL's Super Bowl era. They'd not return to the big game until 1996.<br />
_______________________________<br />
<br />
* For a now-standard 16-game NFL season.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-87341280642348500132019-12-23T19:47:00.009-05:002021-06-13T23:57:09.799-04:00"Do They Know It's Christmas?" Wonder and Woe<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yteMugRAc0">"I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS"</a></b> was one fucked up piece of pop music. A bouncy 1979 ditty inspired by the true story of a teen-aged girl who opened fire on a San Diego school yard, killing two people and wounding nine just 'cause, its off-kilter sentiments have not aged well.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But a shot at redemption for its co-author, Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats, came just five years later in the form of perhaps the most impactful holiday song since Irving Berlin wrote <i>White Christmas</i> in 1942.</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiSDpB6NYH7aWIVf6hv9fczhrUPP-MbGhBzrSAmH8Eq39tdju5DQhVO0JaI8Ucp9x6aPwVifQNShPoaeKh1u1WSKrz3cmoLSNMW-KEcfOlcVC-TxuGLZPLHaZq3PnbPmPfjJSEDZfkqQq/s1600/F71819BB-FD21-49FE-BBD1-4B537D4B0D4D_1_105_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="891" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiSDpB6NYH7aWIVf6hv9fczhrUPP-MbGhBzrSAmH8Eq39tdju5DQhVO0JaI8Ucp9x6aPwVifQNShPoaeKh1u1WSKrz3cmoLSNMW-KEcfOlcVC-TxuGLZPLHaZq3PnbPmPfjJSEDZfkqQq/s320/F71819BB-FD21-49FE-BBD1-4B537D4B0D4D_1_105_c.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sleeve for the Columbia Records single</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As with Geldof's prior hit, <i>Do They Know It's Christmas</i> was inspired by a tragic situation with deadly consequences: famine in war-torn Ethiopia. Geldof's response to that disaster was epic, misguided, wonderful and misunderstood.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Recorded by some of the biggest stars of the era in U.K. and Irish pop under the moniker Band Aid and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQzJAKxTrE">carried to the world by MTV</a> at the peak of its influence, <i>Do They Know It's Christmas</i> reverberates to this day.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In their three-minute and fifty-second tune, Geldof and co-author Midge Ure of Ultravox shamed the Euro-American world for living in relative safety, security and plenty while those on the horn of Africa were starving to death, then urged people to open their hearts and their wallets to help.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Among those belting out their trenchant message were Sting, Bono, Phil Collins, Culture Club's Boy George, George Michael, Bananarama, Paul Young, Jody Watley, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. In artfully pieced together solos, duets, trios and quartets they sang:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... But say a prayer, pray for the other ones... At Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having fun... There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear... Where the only water flowing, is the bitter sting of tears... And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom... Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;">Then, pivoting to the thesis question:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><i>And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime... </i></span><i style="color: #222222;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">The greatest gift they'll get this year is life... </span></i><i style="color: #222222;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">Where nothing ever grows... </span></i><i style="color: #222222;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">No rain nor rivers flow... </span><span jsname="YS01Ge">Do they know it's Christmas time at all?</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222;">The obvious answer was yes, yes they knew it was Christmastime. Christianity had come to </span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ethiopia/Ethnic-groups-and-languages">Ethiopia</a><span style="color: #222222;"> 1,600 years earlier, making it one of the oldest Christian nations on earth. Africa as a whole, was and is </span><a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-origin-and-growth-of-christianity-in-the-african-continent.html">heavily -- even if not predominantly -- Christian</a><span style="color: #222222;">. That didn't stop critics from calling the sentiment Eurocentric and condescending.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3al2cE3caGfez8ssenoAFpSPtgBkyWS5Uh0YbMINvWQpWCHkq0HZ-XeAPoH-j25U6mAQ-x_L2dUgE1FwYbZMoXIMaFGCOtHRMs_68jLjOolJjkwf17vZ0KGsOi7IbAtIUYXf_oZTNBw3/s1600/C9E4AB29-C72B-43A4-8F58-70A9FBB1D507_1_105_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="1492" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3al2cE3caGfez8ssenoAFpSPtgBkyWS5Uh0YbMINvWQpWCHkq0HZ-XeAPoH-j25U6mAQ-x_L2dUgE1FwYbZMoXIMaFGCOtHRMs_68jLjOolJjkwf17vZ0KGsOi7IbAtIUYXf_oZTNBw3/s400/C9E4AB29-C72B-43A4-8F58-70A9FBB1D507_1_105_c.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />A side/B side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: black;">Whether it felt like Christmas time was the issue. Yuletide greetings and neatly wrapped gifts all seem rather beside the point when there's nothing to eat at all, which lead to the point carried home by the ensemble chorus:</span></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Feed the world! Let them know it's Christmas time again... Feed the world! Let them know it's Christmas time again... Feed the World! Let them know it's Christmas time again...</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
But that's where the real problems began.
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<i>Do They Know It's Christmas</i> was released on Dec. 3, 1984. Almost immediately it zoomed to the top of the U.K. charts where it perched on Christmas Day and selling more than three million copies there before the year was out. It sold another 2.5 million in the U.S. and 12 million worldwide. It also made money, perhaps as much as $28 million, intended for Ethiopian famine relief.
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="color: #222222;">We Are the World</i>, an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/arts/the-pop-life-artists-join-in-effort-for-famine-relief.html?scp=4&sq=%22Do+they+know+it%27s+christmas%3F%22+sold+million+copies&st=nyt">American counterpart single</a> was recorded in 1985 by Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie and other big stars who wrapped it in an LP's worth of material under the banner USA for Africa. Then came the trans-Atlantic benefit concert, Live Aid. Surely all of that frenetic activity could contribute something positive.<br />
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4QdvROeMq8l02FG6VBeT6jqmAT1znQQe74icU8rJA5h3zZo0VpPjYGF4rfhfY7kw471tK9aN7mVNz_5z_EwP8nHshzR_8A8fuzLtlCxIUEe3ek6sr1wN0s6wtI7EBmkqBlEhpepedgL8/s1600/the+single.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="899" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4QdvROeMq8l02FG6VBeT6jqmAT1znQQe74icU8rJA5h3zZo0VpPjYGF4rfhfY7kw471tK9aN7mVNz_5z_EwP8nHshzR_8A8fuzLtlCxIUEe3ek6sr1wN0s6wtI7EBmkqBlEhpepedgL8/s400/the+single.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foreign aid at 45 rpm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And that's been a subject of some dispute.<br />
<br />
While all this was going on, Ethiopia was ruled by a Soviet-backed dictator, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mengistu-Haile-Mariam">Mengistu Haile Mariam</a>. The famine, which killed an estimated 1.2 million people, happened on his watch and -- <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/1991/09/01/evil-days/30-years-war-and-famine-ethiopia">according to Human Rights Watch</a> -- as a result of his policies, while the government he led fended off an insurgency.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Much of the money raised through all these efforts went not for food, but for weapons, according to a <a href="https://www.spin.com/featured/live-aid-the-terrible-truth-ethiopia-bob-geldof-feature/">1986 Spin Magazine expose</a>. Over the ensuing four decades, Geldof <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1257735/Get-real-Bob--buying-guns-better-buying-food.html">has vehemently disputed this was the case.</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
While the cloud over his efforts and those of Ure and the performing artists has <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610472/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-song-history">never truly dissipated</a>, the song has endured, being remade in 1989, 2004 and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w7jyVHocTk">yet again in 2014</a>, the last time in service of raising money to combat an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.<br />
<br />
Still, there was no time like that first time, 35 years ago this month.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i></div>
Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-16290978863906946682019-12-07T12:16:00.000-05:002019-12-18T21:58:05.435-05:00The Jets, the Pats and Death from the Sky at Halftime<b><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>OR 60 YEARS, </b>the New York Jets and New England Patriots have regarded one another with a wariness befitting Cold War superpowers, using whatever treacherous means necessary to gain competitive advantage. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/11/sports/nfl-brokers-deal-and-parcells-can-coach-jets.html">Executives have been pirated</a>, head coaches coaxed away, star players <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2408267-jets-reportedly-file-tampering-charge-against-patriots-latest-details-reaction">persuaded to defect</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_woOpC_WQuH2MsJb2ZBHsRzFflw8yf17T5kfbSkci2B-MiRdvqyAstxblT23FQqgRPZF2uB2ibt02unMH2v0tLOCmmPDU435IX9PZpmDI3wbkMPMzbnuXuYMOhe9BwzJeRJbyhAkBbg-_/s1600/JETS+PATS+LAWNMOWER+STUB+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="769" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_woOpC_WQuH2MsJb2ZBHsRzFflw8yf17T5kfbSkci2B-MiRdvqyAstxblT23FQqgRPZF2uB2ibt02unMH2v0tLOCmmPDU435IX9PZpmDI3wbkMPMzbnuXuYMOhe9BwzJeRJbyhAkBbg-_/s400/JETS+PATS+LAWNMOWER+STUB+2.jpeg" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December 9, 1979, at<br />
Shea Stadium in NYC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Largely led by <a href="http://allthingsbillbelichick.com/">Bill Belichick</a>, New England has dominated on the field of play,<a href="https://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/new-england-patriots/teamvsteam?opp=22"> rolling up a 67-54-1 all-time record</a> with six Super Bowl championships to the Jets' measly one. Two times Belichick was named head coach of the Jets, only to be demoted in 1997 after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/11/sports/nfl-brokers-deal-and-parcells-can-coach-jets.html">Bill Parcells ploy</a> backfired and <a href="https://nesn.com/2018/01/watch-the-moment-bill-belichick-resigned-as-hc-of-nyj-18-years-ago-today/">only to resign</a> in evident disgust when tabbed again in 2000, all without ever actually coaching a game for them.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There's been the evil of <a href="https://nypost.com/2017/09/05/recalling-spygate-wreckage-the-original-ny-boston-scandal/">Spygate</a>, the embarrassment of <a href="http://www.nfl.com/videos/new-york-jets/0ap2000000101713/Thanksgiving-Throwback-The-Butt-Fumble">The Butt Fumble</a>.<br />
<br />
Twice the Patriots/Jets convergence has had near fatal consequences and once, 40 years ago this weekend, it was actually, literally, deadly.</div>
<div>
<br />
In 1969, just days after designing the offensive scheme for the Jets' Super Bowl III victory, <a href="https://pro-football-history.com/coach/346/clive-rush-bio">Clive Rush</a> was hired by the Patriots as their head coach. On Feb. 12, he was given the honor of introducing the team's new general manager, George Sauer Sr. (father of the champion Jets receiver <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/sports/football/the-missing-pieces-of-an-untold-story-about-a-jet.html">George Jr</a>.).<br />
<br />
Rush stepped up to the podium, gripped the microphone and began screaming as electricity from a short circuit coursed through his body, <a href="https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2019/02/12/clive-rush-electric-shock-patriots-coach-1969">according to the Boston Globe</a>. Were it not for a Patriots board member ripping out the wires running to a wall socket, Rush's coaching career -- and indeed his life -- might have ended right there.<br />
<br />
Then, on Sept. 23, 2001, early in Belichick's second season as the Pats' head honcho, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St9u238ipRE">slammed into</a> New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe as he sought to escape New York's pass rush. Bledsoe suffered a torn blood vessel in his chest. Only a team doctor's prompt decision to rush him to the <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/">Mass General</a> emergency room <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/09/22/drew-bledsoe-hit-tom-brady-mo-lewis-jets">kept the quarterback from dying.</a></div>
<div>
<br />
While the quick thinking saved his life, it couldn't save his job as backup QB Tom Brady stepped in to the starting role and hasn't relinquished it to this day.<br />
<br />
But in between the Rush Electrocution and the Bledsoe Bleed there was a third incident, during halftime of a game at New York's <a href="https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/shea-stadium/">Shea Stadium</a>, that took the life of not a player or coach but of a Patriots fan. It was an accident so improbable, so tragically bizarre, that even the urban legend detectives at Snopes.com felt compelled to confirm it really did happen.<br />
<br />
It happened on Dec. 9, 1979. I was there with my pal, Eddie, my dad and more than 45,000 other people.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUULa0S5XCmSLysjmTJEEsELafDxamEx0pr5IQpQPdt2ylyrft1hQRq32yZhBI3UETe_IFvJ1QukUotM28p4cF5FlOrR17U3UrivbXBzDR6cr2P-wAnW8zmnNGnYvMUi7t0lbd1YZQpLLf/s1600/JETS+PENNANT.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUULa0S5XCmSLysjmTJEEsELafDxamEx0pr5IQpQPdt2ylyrft1hQRq32yZhBI3UETe_IFvJ1QukUotM28p4cF5FlOrR17U3UrivbXBzDR6cr2P-wAnW8zmnNGnYvMUi7t0lbd1YZQpLLf/s640/JETS+PENNANT.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game day souvenir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
It was the last home game of the season at the gusty multipurpose stadium near the shore of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Bay">Flushing Bay</a>, perhaps two miles southeast of LaGuardia Airport. The 6-8 Jets had gone into the locker room with a 17-12 lead over the 8-6 Pats. <br />
<br />
Mid-game entertainment would be provided by the Electronic Eagles of The Radio Control Association of New York, an organization of gas-powered remote-controlled model plane enthusiasts. Only these weren't ordinary planes or even the hobby drones now popular across the U.S. They were flying contraptions, one of which was configured to look like a lawnmower.<br />
<br />
As the innocent, if ill-conceived stunt flying exhibition got underway, my pal and I had headed off to the souvenir stand in search of swag, leaving my dad holding a pair of high-powered Bushnell binoculars I'd received as a bar-mitzvah gift a year earlier. Our seats were in the upper deck on what would be Shea's first-base side during baseball season.<br />
<br />
Dad, now nearly 87, picks it up from there:<br />
<br />
<i>"The lawnmower plane was flying clockwise around the playing field at about the height of the top of the grandstand, with an occasional swoop downward and over the seating area. I was standing, following the show with the binoculars. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>After a swoop or two at the seating area across the field the plane swooped in and failed to swoop out again, as was expected. Instead, it crashed into several spectators, who went down. The crowd started to chant "Sue! Sue! Sue! It stopped when the injured party (or parties) didn't get up, when the crowd realized that the injury was more serious than originally thought. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I don't think anyone anticipated a fatality."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>The lawnmower plane crashed into field level seats behind the Patriots' bench, along what would be the third-base side of the stadium, and into a crowd of New England fans who'd made the trip to Queens for the game.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xXpIiF1eS6cPGWy-CTqYqUEDlDOT8YaGiCs_k51gwamJ96XevC8aT3jhb6QlAIayOvzfHxdZCAw4yDWXZowdE3cSNkt7qLc5rxCy1FlBqg5akjbwUMnuFYlq2vnD7MPRZdrpzuR8SELP/s1600/JETS+PATS+DEC+9+1979+PROGRAM+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xXpIiF1eS6cPGWy-CTqYqUEDlDOT8YaGiCs_k51gwamJ96XevC8aT3jhb6QlAIayOvzfHxdZCAw4yDWXZowdE3cSNkt7qLc5rxCy1FlBqg5akjbwUMnuFYlq2vnD7MPRZdrpzuR8SELP/s400/JETS+PATS+DEC+9+1979+PROGRAM+2.jpeg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game day program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Kevin Rourke, 25, of Lynn, Massachusetts sustained a concussion, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/15/archives/fan-hurt-by-model-plane-at-halftime-at-shea-dies-disregard-charged.html">a New York Times report</a>. Another fan, John Bowen, 20, of Nashua, New Hampshire, died from his injuries four days later at a hospital in New York City.<br />
<br />
The Queens County District Attorney's Office ruled the incident an accident and declined to bring charges against the pilot of the wayward craft, Brooklyn auto body repairman Philip Cushman. Bowen's father later filed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/18/nyregion/the-city-jets-sued-on-death-as-result-of-show.html">a $10 million federal lawsuit</a> against the Jets, the Electronic Eagles and Cushman.<br />
<br />
But from there the trail goes cold. I could find no official record of the case or how it ended.<br />
<br />
In the third quarter, New England rallied for a brief 19-17 lead before the Jets added 10 more points. A late Patriots touchdown brought them to within one but New York held on to win, 27-26.<br />
<br />
Just grown men playing a game.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i></div>
Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-45042169743884170492019-10-27T22:39:00.000-04:002019-11-21T09:04:04.326-05:00Padres and Tigers and Cubs, Oh My!!!<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>T WAS THE MEAL NO ONE ORDERED,</b> a freakish mix up in fate's kitchen that swapped the expected meat and potatoes for a Big Mac and Domino's Pizza.<br />
<br />
It was Major League Baseball's 1984 post-season, which appeared destined to feature two storied franchises, the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs, in a rematch of the immediately post-World War II <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1945ws.shtml">1945 World Series</a>.<br />
<br />
But destiny had other plans, turning a bull into a goat and momentarily making a guy best known for his bubble gum blowing prowess into a hero.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsKcawgVu0sRFDUmI0VQuD82c6m6NGzCScBEG5pbgHNz_7wEKuoMdZTS4IL64ifXGDcjkYuSJEbxST7Xi0j845Vkhe2D2zBVRoytpjkrqqeIx4vFzHwBKaCx8uQfiIdIpPOYQ1ehZbPtq/s1600/1984+Cubs+pennant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsKcawgVu0sRFDUmI0VQuD82c6m6NGzCScBEG5pbgHNz_7wEKuoMdZTS4IL64ifXGDcjkYuSJEbxST7Xi0j845Vkhe2D2zBVRoytpjkrqqeIx4vFzHwBKaCx8uQfiIdIpPOYQ1ehZbPtq/s640/1984+Cubs+pennant.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Cubs had been absent from the Fall Classic for four decades, biding their time playing day games only at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Wrigley-Field">their antique ballpark</a> at the corner of Clark and Addison. The boys from <a href="https://michpics.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/tiger-stadium-at-the-corner-of-michigan-trumbull/">Michigan and Trumbull</a> hadn't fared much better, appearing only in the 1968 series where they upset the favored St. Louis Cardinals and ace Bob Gibson.<br />
<br />
Their aggregate 78 prior seasons had yielded a grand total of two first-place finishes, one pennant and one championship, all by the Tigers.<br />
<br />
But this was 1984. War was peace, ignorance was strength, slavery was freedom and the Cubs were contenders. Actually that last part wasn't Orwellian doublespeak, but literal truth. They were, in fact, National League East champs.<br />
<br />
Led by budding superstar second-baseman <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/sandberg-ryne">Ryne Sandberg</a> and pitcher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Sutcliffe">Rick Sutcliffe</a>, who reeled off a 16-1 record after being acquired in mid-June, the Cubs were for real, winning their division by 6.5 games over the second-place New York Mets.<br />
<br />
Sandberg, 24, won the NL Most Valuable Player, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards. The Cubs won 96 games, their most since '45.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgex7BkCG4CuKBfyAx4rtMOFnGQw52Nm75pLNrYJYSJ_G-sJHTOq4Oqz-A25UPj9O42yrReZ_yneZr2HcompXeGNuv7kakTt0aU97SDFgig_ZoDM0l9TNyvJWzA0I1mfuSU75IShbBs7vK5/s1600/married+cubs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgex7BkCG4CuKBfyAx4rtMOFnGQw52Nm75pLNrYJYSJ_G-sJHTOq4Oqz-A25UPj9O42yrReZ_yneZr2HcompXeGNuv7kakTt0aU97SDFgig_ZoDM0l9TNyvJWzA0I1mfuSU75IShbBs7vK5/s320/married+cubs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">From Sport Magazine's April '81 baseball preview</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Impressive as Chicago was, the Tigers were better. Detroit broke from the gate with a 35-5 record -- the best 40-game start in baseball history -- and led the American League East from wire to wire, one of <a href="http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/222634426/baseball-secretariats-wire-to-wire-titles_partnerI_2">just five big league clubs</a> to ever do such a thing. They finished 104-58.<br />
<br />
Their top player was former Cubs reliever <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c8f40717">Willie Hernandez</a>, who had compiled a 1-9 record and 4.42 ERA hurling for the northsiders in 1980. Sport Magazine's '81 baseball preview warned "it was time to get the married Cubs off the field" when he came on to pitch. The article threw Sutcliffe under the bus too.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Four seasons later, nobody was making fun of Rick or Willie anymore. Sutcliffe won the NL Cy Young award based on his virtually unbeatable two-thirds of a season. Hernandez, with nine wins and 32 saves -- more than in his <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hernawi01.shtml#1977-1983-sum:pitching_standard">previous seven seasons combined</a> -- copped the AL's Cy Young and its MVP award too.<br />
<br />
Detroit was also bolstered by local hero <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=gibsoki01">Kirk Gibson</a>, who'd starred in football and baseball for Michigan State. Drafted in both sports, he chose the Tigers over football's St. Louis Cardinals.<br />
<br />
But the Tigers/Cubs betrothal wasn't assured. There was the formality of league championship play, pitting Detroit against the Kansas City Royals and Chicago against the San Diego Padres making their first ever post-season appearance.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgzWijqD57ZEXqTElDgoPBzacQeXUFtJvNI3IQaUQ9yAD0b5PodaaCQoCqHpuNSgH7N-5-H0iP95dOZ6CbbaJnC0sebDEBozKcRmvADmy08LqR6hPtdqxIq7MjFcVXS1j1jmPp28SsNpA/s1600/1984+Tigers+ALCS+program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="769" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgzWijqD57ZEXqTElDgoPBzacQeXUFtJvNI3IQaUQ9yAD0b5PodaaCQoCqHpuNSgH7N-5-H0iP95dOZ6CbbaJnC0sebDEBozKcRmvADmy08LqR6hPtdqxIq7MjFcVXS1j1jmPp28SsNpA/s400/1984+Tigers+ALCS+program.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Willie Hernandez and Kirk Gibson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Royals, who won just 84 games in '84, provided no obstacle. A mere speed bump on the Tigers' expressway, they were outscored by an aggregate 14-4, and swept 3 games to none.<br />
<br />
The Padres proved to be more problematic.<br />
<br />
After years of languishing as also-rans, they'd hired former A's skipper <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/williams-dick">Dick Williams</a>, acquired a handful of veterans cast off by winning teams -- ex-Yankees <a href="https://www.cooperstowncred.com/puff-the-hall-of-fame-case-for-graig-nettles/">Graig Nettles</a> and <a href="http://www.paperboyarchive.com/search/label/Goose%20Gossage">Goose Gossage</a>, plus former Los Angeles Dodger <a href="https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/2017/12/35-years-ago-steve-garvey-was-signed-by-the-padres/">Steve Garvey</a> -- and developed a nucleus of young, talented pitchers plus one superlative hitter, '84 NL batting champ <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/gwynn-tony">Tony Gwynn</a>.<br />
<br />
Chicago countered with Garvey's ex-Dodgers teammate <a href="https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Ron-Cey-Washington-State-baseball-The-Penguin-Bobo-Brayton-Tom-Lasorda-104698280/">Ron Cey</a>, spark plug <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dernibo01.shtml">Bob Dernier</a> and veteran <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/matthga01.shtml">Gary Matthews</a>, whose acquisition near the end of spring training pushed left fielder <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=durhale01">Leon "Bull" Durham</a> to first base and Bill Buckner out of town.<br />
<br />
The Cubs won the first two games of the still best-of-five NL Championship series at Wrigley, sending the Padres back to San Diego on the brink of elimination.<br />
<br />
There, Chicago took a 1-0 lead in game 3. After that it was all Padres. The friars scored seven unanswered runs for their first ever post-season victory, extending the series.<br />
<br />
A back-and-forth affair, game 4 was knotted at 5 in the bottom of the 9th when Garvey stunned the visitors with a walk-off two-run homer off future Hall of Fame reliever <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/smith-lee">Lee Smith</a>, tying the series at two games a piece.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-yn5Tz-iLg968orLLfoJ3eDuETnWNghL5YsJdkzWqkHZL2rG_YR7JfViP_M5V8Qw0w5Oycxv6C6k_8_dZn-X_eRcSbNl-lRpkbVoYAo822e9ykazRInb7q3b6bzbFS_CpkFsNahrwzj7/s1600/1984+Padres+NLCS+program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="785" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-yn5Tz-iLg968orLLfoJ3eDuETnWNghL5YsJdkzWqkHZL2rG_YR7JfViP_M5V8Qw0w5Oycxv6C6k_8_dZn-X_eRcSbNl-lRpkbVoYAo822e9ykazRInb7q3b6bzbFS_CpkFsNahrwzj7/s400/1984+Padres+NLCS+program.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An answered prayer: playing for a pennant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Chicago's date with Detroit and destiny suddenly seemed less assured.<br />
<br />
The next day in San Diego. Bull Durham and Cubs catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davisjo02.shtml">Jody Davis</a> homered early, staking Chicago and Sutcliffe to a 3-0 lead. The Padres tallied twice in the 6th to pull within a run, 3-2.<br />
<br />
Then San Diego's <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/martica01.shtml">Carmelo Martinez</a> opened the bottom of the 7th with a walk. A sacrifice moved him to second, bring lefty-hitting <a href="https://www.timflannery.com/mission.html#index">Tim Flannery</a> to the plate with one out.<br />
<br />
Chicago was eight outs away from the World Series. What happened next is etched in Cubs lore between Leo Durocher's black cat of 1969 and the unlucky fan who reached for a foul ball at the 2003 NLCS and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ-4mHW-YRY&t=508s">opened the gates of hell</a>.<br />
<br />
Flannery hammered a ground ball toward the Bull that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugOdiF1y2E0">shot under his glove</a>, through his legs and into right field. Martinez scored, tying the game. Then second-baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wiggial01.shtml">Alan Wiggins</a> singled. Gwynn followed with a bad-hop hit past Sandburg scoring Flannery and Wiggins. A Garvey rap plated Gwynn.<br />
<br />
When the dust settled San Diego held a 6-3 lead. Six Cubs outs later, the Padres were NL pennant winners headed for a showdown with Motown.<br />
<br />
The visual contrast between the clubs couldn't have been greater. Detroit, with its olde English "D" logo, classic uniforms and pre-war rust-belt city ballpark vs. San Diego, with their contemporary <a href="http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=NL&city=San+Diego&lowYear=1984&highYear=1984&sort=year&increment=9">brown and white uniforms</a> trimmed with orange and yellow. Hailing from sunny southern California, they didn't even exist the last time the Tigers won a pennant.<br />
<br />
The Padres and Tigers had two things in common. Each had a Hall-bound manager -- the Padres' Williams and the Tigers' <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/anderson-sparky">Sparky Anderson</a> -- and each had a tie to fast food. Detroit's owner was Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza. San Diego's owner for a decade was Ray Kroc, the man who made McDonald's famous.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
Kroc died in January of '84 and in tribute, the team added his initials RAK to the left sleeves of their jerseys.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yIYa_D1sTOrY2cO0h69Dg4n_dJg7gYoDvLszwaAUv4K8XX2fLb-JxFNciN3bDSHmL0NP_60BL4FF1VJizSMC8FgoAF6Ftn15XHRpnxiJNTXkD2tX6bb9EmngeMffsziSqWRRMG_JWAsm/s1600/expanded+ws+program+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yIYa_D1sTOrY2cO0h69Dg4n_dJg7gYoDvLszwaAUv4K8XX2fLb-JxFNciN3bDSHmL0NP_60BL4FF1VJizSMC8FgoAF6Ftn15XHRpnxiJNTXkD2tX6bb9EmngeMffsziSqWRRMG_JWAsm/s400/expanded+ws+program+cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The official program had a fold-out cover<br />
evoking that other fall classic, Election Day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In game 1, Tigers ace <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/morris-jack">Jack Morris</a> surrendered two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but muffled the Big Mac attack the rest of the way as Detroit clawed back a 3-2 victory.<br />
<br />
Game 2, however, belonged to the Padres, who won 5-3, and one man in particular, utility player <a href="https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/2015/06/padres-special-gem-in-our-midst-kurt-bevacqua/">Kurt Bevacqua</a>, who in 80 regular season at bats hit just .200 with one homer and nine RBIs.<br />
<br />
Playing for six teams over 14 seasons, his greatest claim to fame had been winning the 1975 Topps/ Bazooka bubble gum blowing contest, his feat<a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover/short-stops/bubble-play"> immortalized on cardboard.</a><br />
<br />
Now, the journeyman turned superman, slamming <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpieII83CnY">a decisive three-run homer</a> in the bottom of the 5th, one of two he'd hit while leading San Diego with a .412 average in the series. Tied at 1 game apiece, the series shifted to Detroit<br />
<br />
It wouldn't return to San Diego for 14 years. The Tigers pounced on Padres starters in each of the three games at <a href="https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/tiger-stadium/">the ballpark</a> formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, never trailing in any one of them.<br />
<br />
Gibson slugged a pair of homers in game 5, Detroit catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/parrila02.shtml">Lance Parrish</a> added one too. San Diego had briefly tied the game, 3-3, in the fourth But Detroit gradually pulled away for an 8-4 win, making official what had been apparent since April, they were the best team in baseball, at least in 1984.<br />
<br />
The Tigers' future Hall of Fame shortstop, <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hof/trammell-alan">Alan Trammell</a>, was the series MVP. He'd led all hitters with a .450 average, drilled two home runs and had six RBI.<br />
<br />
But, for all their heroics, neither the Padres, Tigers or Cubs returned to the post-season in 1985. Kansas City's Royals did, advancing from an afterthought to World Champions, downing the cross-state St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.<br />
<br />
Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-2379131561911397282019-10-26T07:40:00.003-04:002023-02-10T22:41:30.080-05:00It Was a Styx Concert. You Got a Problem With That?<b><span style="font-size: large;">"D</span>ON'T LOOK NOW,</b> but here come the '80's!"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics">Reaganomics</a>, big hair, tight jeans and MTV. We'd been warned. By Styx. Driving home their point in a minute and a half, the arena rockers and power ballad pioneers committed a half-dozen rock and roll cliches on side 2, track 1 of their ninth studio album, <i>Cornerstone.</i><br />
<br />
Prog-rock synthesizer intro? Check! Portentous power chords? Check! Segue into Steve Miller-like rhythmic guitar beat? Check! Check! Shouts of "Yeah! Yeah!"? Double check! And then... that notice of the imminent arrival of a new decade.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsivo4FArtCtHohVRG5PhdPr0SQmgHf2S9K96XTqG1qrB1yE6EcMrQ__6bp339MiO2XEFdsxoCT-TRHh1M2OgKalmyjrO7_fYdVYX0_s8m97ErO278PPbph8EHUcSUfNUzYzhakjw_apR/s1600/Cornerstone+outer+jacket.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="1600" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsivo4FArtCtHohVRG5PhdPr0SQmgHf2S9K96XTqG1qrB1yE6EcMrQ__6bp339MiO2XEFdsxoCT-TRHh1M2OgKalmyjrO7_fYdVYX0_s8m97ErO278PPbph8EHUcSUfNUzYzhakjw_apR/s400/Cornerstone+outer+jacket.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">80s artifact -- Styx' <i>Cornerstone</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Songs that date-drop invariably don't age well. They can't. Think of the line "Now you find yourself in '82," from Asia's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpxsMyoXUZQ">Heat of the Moment</a></i>, or the atypically upbeat Joe Jackson telling us, "It's not so easy. It's '84 now" in <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OFHTGne8MY">Happy Ending</a></i>.<br />
<br />
Date-stamping a song is the ultimate guarantee that the song in years hence will sound... well, dated. And so it is that Styx' song <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ZPQVG0jOs">Borrowed Time</a></i> is rooted in 1979.<br />
<br />
By the time <i>Cornerstone</i> was released 40 years ago this month, Chicago-based Styx had already embarked on a tour they'd dubbed <i>The Grand Decathlon</i>. On Oct. 25, the quintet of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James Young and brothers John and Chuck Panozzo arrived at the <a href="http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/NewYorkIslanders/index.htm">Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum</a> in Uniondale, Long Island for a two-night stand.<br />
<br />
They'd have an opening act called The Good Rats and in the audience on their second night me and my best bud. I was 14, about seven miles from home and seeing my first ever rock concert.<br />
<br />
Rock concerts. The very idea seemed dangerous. Would there be sex? Drugs? Violence? Woodstock? <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rolling-stones-disaster-at-altamont-let-it-bleed-71299/">Altamont</a>? These reference points were still reasonably current, all within the past 10 years. Of course, this was a Styx concert and at least two sets of suburban parents saw it as safe enough to let their kids go alone.<br />
<br />
Alas, they were right. These were Styx, not Stones, although I recall DeYoung wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwpFTeTKh8Ym7dO-YE7KCdErZnPNpNm4EgHiF84ENwpv3OsPG6P-39_JZBTJYohhPY3BAsBGa99VD8YlAr_yyPfvX1ohRWXUM6RJlUG_6VOIUDSp7aD62W_WAvSpx1tVBsacqpvgNhUUZ/s1600/styx+concert+stub+oct+25+1979.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwpFTeTKh8Ym7dO-YE7KCdErZnPNpNm4EgHiF84ENwpv3OsPG6P-39_JZBTJYohhPY3BAsBGa99VD8YlAr_yyPfvX1ohRWXUM6RJlUG_6VOIUDSp7aD62W_WAvSpx1tVBsacqpvgNhUUZ/s320/styx+concert+stub+oct+25+1979.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">40 years ago this week, at the Nassau Coliseum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Cornerstone was still so new, so untested that it's possible none of its nine songs even made the set list if the <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/styx/1979/nassau-veterans-memorial-coliseum-uniondale-ny-33d10ce5.html">previous night</a>'s version --which drew heavily from the band's past two albums -- is any indication. That one included Styx' first hit, <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QumxOQganfo">Lady</a></i>, but not their biggest one, Cornerstone's <i>Babe</i>.<br />
<br />
Ah, <i>Babe</i>, the schmaltzy, syrupy granddaddy of power ballads, written by DeYoung for his wife Suzanne, recorded as a demo and -- <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_(Styx_song)#Weekly_charts">according to legend</a> -- included on the album at the insistence of his bandmates. It topped the <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/styx/chart-history/HSI/song/344157">Billboard Hot 100 </a>on Dec. 8, 1979 and perched there for two of its 19 weeks on the charts.<br />
<br />
And they didn't even play it.<br />
<br />
They did work in other crowd pleasers, including <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5e0yd40jCQ">Never Say Never</a>,</i> a pop song with a French chorus, <i>ne dites jamais jamais, </i>and the future Eric Cartman tour-de-force, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOWK7Tam01M" style="font-style: italic;">Come Sail Away</a><i>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
We rocked. We rolled. We waited for a ride home from our parents. Cornerstone soared to number 2 on <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/Styx/chart-history/billboard-200">Billboard's Hot 100 album chart</a>, charted two more singles -- <i>Borrowed Time </i>and <i>Why Me?</i> -- and ultimately went triple platinum. It even got <a href="https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/styx">nominated</a> for a Grammy!<br />
<br />
But about <i>Babe</i>...<br />
<br />
<i>Babe</i> would almost come to define the band, and not for the better, even as it was typical radio fodder in an era that saw Air Supply score five top five singles in the next year and a half and spawn imitators like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKMPA5M1fRY">Sneaker</a>. <i>Babe </i>wasn't even the only power ballad on <i>Cornerstone</i>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j9ya5vEj4eyYUZgLWdRnoXbWJHVeE9QQX4o8qlAO7LDuZSOQvxxhd7A6t8NVhjfBsgCIhR91JG6HJxx1IYIR3ru5DDKiA3o1vxb57lqttVqjkYaHfc2bnWGyJDWUBlMS_6Sa8JI89lvH/s1600/Cornerstone+inner+jacket.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1584" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j9ya5vEj4eyYUZgLWdRnoXbWJHVeE9QQX4o8qlAO7LDuZSOQvxxhd7A6t8NVhjfBsgCIhR91JG6HJxx1IYIR3ru5DDKiA3o1vxb57lqttVqjkYaHfc2bnWGyJDWUBlMS_6Sa8JI89lvH/s400/Cornerstone+inner+jacket.jpg" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five out of Chicago, but bound for where?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
But, Styx's prior album, <i>Pieces of Eight</i>, featured a pair of genuine arena rockers, <i>Blue Collar</i> <i>Man</i> and <i>Renegade</i>. Styx wasn't likely to inspire anyone to don a leather jacket, grow their hair long and jump on a Harley, but they were approaching respectability. <i>Borrowed Time </i>was made in that vein.<br />
<br />
<i>Babe</i>, the band's only chart-topper ever, overwhelmed all of that, blowing whatever hard rock cred they had and becoming a point of introduction to a different kind of band, one that became increasingly, fatally, theatrical and thematic. <br />
<br />
To be sure, <i>Cornerstone</i>'s intricate packaging indicated the band harbored deeper, as yet unrealized ambitions, The album cover, suggesting the discovery of a buried artifact, wrapped around another album cover appearing to be that same artifact. Oh so meta.<br />
<br />
It was silvery. It was spacey. It showed five beings emanating from North America and headed for the sky. Where were they going? In subsequent albums we'd find out for better and then worse: back to Chicago, for <i><a href="https://ultimateclassicrock.com/styx-paradise-theatre/">Paradise Theatre</a></i> and then <a href="http://www.paperboyarchive.com/2018/04/domo-arigato-styx-takes-mr-roboto-out.html">to the future!</a><br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-16112034394315926412019-10-06T09:03:00.004-04:002021-01-16T13:17:52.934-05:00Shoot the Moon -- The 1969 National League Playoffs<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span>VERYONE WAS SHOOTING FOR THE MOON </b>in 1969, the Americans, the Russians and even the Atlanta Braves, at least metaphorically.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxnutNJnWsGpN3PLapY3r-kzcsPKEbZNEkywDZFMjXZbEvxhBQ2OZQWWNDXuJkuzdjTrw998aQCCIkBknP694BXhW5ilYTlr46KMK9DxPhg-J1v8lNghIH02IJMMRA4nSEXOMMtZC5SxO/s1600/1969+Braves+NLCS+program.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1226" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxnutNJnWsGpN3PLapY3r-kzcsPKEbZNEkywDZFMjXZbEvxhBQ2OZQWWNDXuJkuzdjTrw998aQCCIkBknP694BXhW5ilYTlr46KMK9DxPhg-J1v8lNghIH02IJMMRA4nSEXOMMtZC5SxO/s400/1969+Braves+NLCS+program.jpeg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> The team from The Launching Pad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Fifty years ago this weekend, Major League Baseball's first franchise based in the American southeast fought for the National League pennant. They did it while claiming the entire region as their own, just four seasons after moving from Milwaukee.<br />
<br />
It wasn't the first time relocation had rejuvenated the peripatetic Braves, one of the N.L.'s founding franchises. <br />
<br />
Sixteen years earlier, as attendance tanked in Boston, the moribund 64-win team relocated to <a href="https://www.milwaukeemag.com/what-does-milwaukee-mean/">the good land</a>, won 28 more games in their 1953 debut and then, four years later, a championship.<br />
<br />
The 1969 edition won 93 games, finishing first in the newly-created NL Western Division. Their roster was studded with stars: future home run king <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/aaron-hank">Hank Aaron</a>, his fellow future Hall of Famer <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/cepeda-orlando">Orlando Cepeda</a> plus slugger <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/407354b9">Rico Carty</a> and former New York Yankees' mainstay <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boyercl02.shtml">Clete Boyer</a>. Leading their pitching staff was a 23-game winner, knuckleballer <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/niekro-phil">Phil Niekro</a>.<br />
<br />
Stoked to plant their pennant, they produced a gorgeous 80-page playoff program -- full of articles, photos, rosters and stats -- wrapped by a moon landing-themed cover that declared, "One step for the Braves. One giant leap for the Southeast."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kP5Gm0Olwy8m1lmoOuYio6mM7e2EG6G_aXhNHqvlp7xYD2EjJ-SbF1dVWghARyAYVJ_ACF43X91bOidONHol2Trf6LnH4a1OIcojBLUWa_A3A1hEzu77LvIzON10zpEoMwGGq773XtTe/s1600/1969+atlanta+braves.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kP5Gm0Olwy8m1lmoOuYio6mM7e2EG6G_aXhNHqvlp7xYD2EjJ-SbF1dVWghARyAYVJ_ACF43X91bOidONHol2Trf6LnH4a1OIcojBLUWa_A3A1hEzu77LvIzON10zpEoMwGGq773XtTe/s640/1969+atlanta+braves.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first ever NL West champions (from the Braves' 1969 NLCS program).<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But to reach their figurative moon, they needed to step past the New York Mets.<br />
<br />
After languishing in last or next-to-last place for the first seven years of their existence and merely a .500 ball club as late as June 2, New York's NL franchise caught fire in the summer, overtaking the first place Chicago Cubs on Sept. 10 and then winning the Eastern Division by eight games. They finished at 100-62.<br />
<br />
Leading their charge was brash power pitcher <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/seaver-tom">Tom Seaver</a>, a 25-game winner who would have been Braves property had they not <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/atlanta-braves-history-braves-sign-tom-seaver-022417">violated the rules</a> for signing college players in 1966.<br />
<br />
Three years after his Braves contract was voided, Seaver was not merely the best pitcher in baseball, but leading a staff that included 17-game-winner <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/09/24/mets-to-retire-jerry-koosmans-number/">Jerry Koosman</a>, rookie Gary Gentry and down the depth chart, a young fireballer named Nolan Ryan.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTefuq8XSeehueNeo8CEnV4sFwOgEbDJH6JxEKUnN4oTPcjXXdWXDtn6zbVHZe8As1yGI8wfuZCYPTjmr_x15fp33zGGmPlKo-5u-9Rb5TBXHjV5TyAz8DMVPSVul5XFynFLzUcnM6_uC/s1600/1969+Mets+NLCS+program.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTefuq8XSeehueNeo8CEnV4sFwOgEbDJH6JxEKUnN4oTPcjXXdWXDtn6zbVHZe8As1yGI8wfuZCYPTjmr_x15fp33zGGmPlKo-5u-9Rb5TBXHjV5TyAz8DMVPSVul5XFynFLzUcnM6_uC/s400/1969+Mets+NLCS+program.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mets' NLCS program, an adaptive reuse of their<br />
regular season scorecard with minimal new content,<br />
offered for just a single home game for 25 cents.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Their lineup was a mashup of platoon players expertly deployed by Manager Gil Hodges, but led by left-fielder <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/sports/for-cleon-jones-baseball-was-only-the-beginning.html">Cleon Jones</a>, who'd hit .340, sterling center-fielder <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtgL-GX6pE8">Tommie Agee</a> and hard-hitting first-baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clenddo01.shtml">Donn Clendenon</a>.<br />
<br />
"Good pitching will always stop good hitting, and vice versa," baseball sage Casey Stengel <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/casey_stengel_139507">reportedly once said</a>. The best-of-five Mets/Braves NLCS was a vice versa kind of series, where good pitching largely took a back seat to good hitting and somehow, the Mets had more of that too.<br />
<br />
On Oct. 4, the series opened in Atlanta, in a bullring of a ballpark that came to be known as <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Atlanta-Fulton_County_Stadium">The Launching Pad.</a> Seaver vs. Niekro. They traded punches until the eight inning when, with the Braves nursing a 5-4 lead, the Mets' erupted for five runs, helped by a pair of Atlanta errors. Game 1 to the New Yorkers, 9-5.<br />
<br />
Game 2 the next day saw the Mets jump out to a 8-0 lead en route to an 11-6 romp. The Braves headed to New York, their moon landing in jeopardy.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4thsengfDIc44DaSKA2RkSmJgEWHkbZBEGc98W2oNiALUPIenshuV2coiLVkxP2eofHcOabLmVMcq2OXHMQDNIzryvvO1vmFmyx0w7I3Hk-KIDTHmZMoz9oApg2FF7dh8ZNvaDQKWjErC/s1600/braves+mets+nlcs+preview.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="782" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4thsengfDIc44DaSKA2RkSmJgEWHkbZBEGc98W2oNiALUPIenshuV2coiLVkxP2eofHcOabLmVMcq2OXHMQDNIzryvvO1vmFmyx0w7I3Hk-KIDTHmZMoz9oApg2FF7dh8ZNvaDQKWjErC/s400/braves+mets+nlcs+preview.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foreshadowing from the Braves program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There, Atlanta rapped out five hits and a walk in the first three innings off New York's starter, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/72a877e1">Gentry</a>, one of them a two run homer by Aaron, his third blast of the series.<br />
<br />
With two on and no outs in third, Hodges pulled Gentry in favor of Ryan, who sandwiched an intentional walk around two strikeouts and ended the inning on Braves catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/didiebo01.shtml">Bob Didier</a>'s fly out.<br />
<br />
Atlanta would never seriously threaten again, while the Mets got homers from Agee and infielders <a href="https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=bosweke01">Ken Boswell</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garrewa01.shtml">Wayne Garrett</a>.<br />
<br />
Ryan pitched seven innings, striking out seven while allowing two runs to earn the win, one of just two post-season victories in <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/ryan-nolan">his 27 year Hall of Fame career</a>. Aaron wouldn't appear in the playoffs again. He retired as a Milwaukee Brewer after the 1976 season with the most homers in major league history: 755.<br />
<br />
On Oct. 6, 1969, the Mets captured the NL pennant before a raucous crowd at <a href="https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/shea-stadium/">Shea Stadium</a> in Queens. Ten days later, they'd stun the Baltimore Orioles and the world by taking the World Series 4 games to 1. The moon belonged to them.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-4633760634557142212019-09-04T23:07:00.001-04:002022-01-31T19:48:31.492-05:00No place for MAD in a World Gone Ever Madder<b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>OR THE SNOB, THE HIGHBROW</b> and those who feigned ignorance, it was easy to dismiss <a href="https://www.madmagazine.com/">MAD Magazine</a> as silly, sophomoric trash, supermarket checkout line fodder a harried mom might quickly yank from her kid's grubby hands and stuff right back into the rack where it came from.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcFlzIEoHlXZbP8at8uaiPTKz7YuU4XUHcNvGYc6VLGAyURNjh_sg3L7FQKrvgHek-yHXMA4wd6lI9stJeeGAore91qqcFpubjBDkQ9DfUSyW4YdGhWm6xZtF3HKk_dJBNf4ANHufB0SD/s1600/mad+magazine+october+2019.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcFlzIEoHlXZbP8at8uaiPTKz7YuU4XUHcNvGYc6VLGAyURNjh_sg3L7FQKrvgHek-yHXMA4wd6lI9stJeeGAore91qqcFpubjBDkQ9DfUSyW4YdGhWm6xZtF3HKk_dJBNf4ANHufB0SD/s400/mad+magazine+october+2019.jpeg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of the line, styled as a throw-back,<br />
and, at $5.99, no longer really "cheap."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As one of those grubby kids, I knew better.<br />
<br />
MAD was the key to unlocking the truth about the adult universe, the hypocrisy, the vanity and inherent cynicism of every day life. Each issue was a cleverly disguised instruction manual, teaching kids how to see through, if not actually defeat, the bullshit being shoveled their way every day.<br />
<br />
Every goddamned day.<br />
<br />
MAD was dynamite. Now it's done.<br />
<br />
After 64 years, America's greatest purveyor of subversive satirical shtick has published its final issue of new material. From here on in, it'll be all re-packaged greatest hits collections not unlike the quarterly Super Specials MAD churned out when I was a kid, only more so. Immortality through re-runs.<br />
<br />
The cause of death: Obsolescence.<br />
<br />
MAD outlived its usefulness, done in by a world crazier than the one it lampooned, superseded by TV bridezillas, bachelors and bachelorettes, by real housewives and teen moms, by Survivor, The Apprentice and by a social media landscape more shameless and self-referential than its editors ever imagined.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRui7M4fvuBjtmBAz0WurwQ9FV4s-SeDbMjVsRM3i7W72nHowzrmcX0nx1PeEmW8WZDIebV3YtbYOVyH3JJfULHWGGd9OXdUi36_XlwuqeR0ehbaVivRy7xHgNQvaw4OVfoshIGdVNYDW/s1600/the+nostalgic+MAD.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1101" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRui7M4fvuBjtmBAz0WurwQ9FV4s-SeDbMjVsRM3i7W72nHowzrmcX0nx1PeEmW8WZDIebV3YtbYOVyH3JJfULHWGGd9OXdUi36_XlwuqeR0ehbaVivRy7xHgNQvaw4OVfoshIGdVNYDW/s320/the+nostalgic+MAD.jpeg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Super Special reprint</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
MAD was born in the ultra-self-congratulatory, self-serious 1950s, a time of sock hops and the red menace, of Disneyland and fall-out shelters, of American chest-thumping over beating the Axis powers and making the world safe for suburbia and shopping malls.<br />
<br />
It sprung from the skull of publisher <a href="http://www.williammgaines.com/">William M. Gaines</a> and legendary artist <a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/artists/harvey-kurtzman/">Harvey Kurtzman</a> as a full color comic book, something I only ever glimpsed as reprints packaged with those Super Specials.<br />
<br />
That incarnation lasted just 23 issues before being transformed into the glossy-cover black and white illustrated magazine we came to know and love.<br />
<br />
My dad got that first issue of the new MAD while serving in the U.S. Army and kept it long enough to give it to me together with a half dozen more issues of similar vintage, proving this type of MADness too could be hereditary.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_2XUpKuEoztrApSgZPmcifL20gVQcaOdqqwxTRZLeFa2CGCtHZ1YfPmPBAXYZMeRsBltRkxhx3L2KG_zak7UVRT6Uh3XpNtDoNBfgAsuqLxzUWFhuWGFbksGjWlGGxJhUTttTrFYkg90/s1600/mad+magazine+first+issue+2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1229" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_2XUpKuEoztrApSgZPmcifL20gVQcaOdqqwxTRZLeFa2CGCtHZ1YfPmPBAXYZMeRsBltRkxhx3L2KG_zak7UVRT6Uh3XpNtDoNBfgAsuqLxzUWFhuWGFbksGjWlGGxJhUTttTrFYkg90/s400/mad+magazine+first+issue+2.jpeg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where it began: dad's July '55 issue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There was a lot of mocking of Madison Avenue (those other Mad Men) in that first outing, their gray flannel-suited false earnestness, plus jibes at mid-century modernity, television, professional wrestling (as if it needed to be mocked) and America's as-yet-unrealized space program.<br />
<br />
In time, the magazine would turn its sights on Elvis Presley, Walt Disney and, unavoidably, politics, producing for its December 1956 issue a cover both timeless and iconic.<br />
<br />
About 25 years later, I started reading MAD and, in 1976, became a subscriber. <br />
<br />
I was 11 years old and wouldn't miss an issue for the next four years, spending lots of time with the so-called "usual gang of idiots" -- <a href="https://www.lambiek.net/artists/j/jaffee_al.htm">Al Jaffee</a>, the father of the fold-in, purveyor of <i>Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions</i>; Dave Berg's <i><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=dave+berg+the+lighter+side&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj58OKywrnkAhUkw1kKHWnHDcwQ_AUIEigB&biw=1593&bih=902#imgrc=_">The Lighter Side...</a>; </i>Antonio Prohias' Cold War-inspired <i><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/meet-the-cuban-expatriate-who-created-spy-vs-spy">Spy vs. Spy</a></i> and Don Martin's epic onomatopoetic sound effects.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17Sp5q2U6S4qS-2trwcRZhP90Zn0e6foG_8TG13G5SJMPIHrF-B1mJCptTmwBFDo1NiKrNKqeVxI9p33TKW7TXNKOG9EybHO_-wtNgr0gXRC2lWajXcRdAD2mZ5tycjUFCYoj5NyPLjwR/s1600/mad+magazine+december+1956-ANIMATION.gif" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="778" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17Sp5q2U6S4qS-2trwcRZhP90Zn0e6foG_8TG13G5SJMPIHrF-B1mJCptTmwBFDo1NiKrNKqeVxI9p33TKW7TXNKOG9EybHO_-wtNgr0gXRC2lWajXcRdAD2mZ5tycjUFCYoj5NyPLjwR/s400/mad+magazine+december+1956-ANIMATION.gif" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December '56, October '80</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=don+martin+sound+effects&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=rhiQFxlcfGxaPM%253A%252CLulIz2Bhqd2umM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTkidHeHmAtz3KqEhEVBfReX9SUmg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLxo2Lw7PkAhVrS98KHT8TBroQ9QEwAHoECAYQBA#imgrc=rhiQFxlcfGxaPM:">SHTOINK!!!</a><br />
<br />
They repeatedly spoofed <i>Star Trek</i> and <i>Star Wars</i> which meant a great deal to an unrepentant geek like me. I remain forever grateful.<br />
<br />
MAD was great fun.<br />
<br />
Behind the humor, there were serious messages from the editors: they hated hypocrisy and war, drugs, poverty, bigotry, pollution and politicians.<br />
<br />
Their send-up of <i>The French Connection</i> was titled <i><a href="http://bronzeageofblogs.blogspot.com/2017/07/mad-movie-cops.html">What's the Connection</a>? </i>In it, Gene Hackman's "Cockeye" Doyle is an unabashed bigot telling every minority he's encounters -- real or imagined -- to go back to where they came from. That lesson stayed with me. Even as a kid, I got the point that <i>that</i> was wrong.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<br />
MAD taught generations of kids to think critically about what they were being told and sold by the establishment. Its writers' unsubtle message: People are generally full of crap.<br />
<br />
They were of course right. For a time the formula worked and MAD had a little media empire going, one filled with paperback books, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?biw=1593&bih=902&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=GBZvXaTNM62Jggf2wYqgAw&q=mad+magazine+record+album&oq=mad+magazine+record&gs_l=img.1.2.0i30j0i24l3.39448.41101..44669...0.0..0.88.715.11......0....1..gws-wiz-img.HZScpNqBdqQ">phonograph records</a> and even a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_TV">TV show</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-rzm8c7X9CtzRw4GLjrr83QQOcvpa-V3zspHJcwZXyfxloc43G4ZJFW-B5c74KWMDByaFP6ZXy4zGfJkqgIAQ-1J72Mb2648SuswtV40nyLC-vy_DquC13acosNKKAz2xp2xxHN74A57/s1600/mad+magazine+october+76.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1229" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-rzm8c7X9CtzRw4GLjrr83QQOcvpa-V3zspHJcwZXyfxloc43G4ZJFW-B5c74KWMDByaFP6ZXy4zGfJkqgIAQ-1J72Mb2648SuswtV40nyLC-vy_DquC13acosNKKAz2xp2xxHN74A57/s400/mad+magazine+october+76.jpeg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peak geek -- October 1976</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In 2013, they published <i>Inside MAD</i>, full-color, hard cover coffee table book -- <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19823871-totally-mad">not even its first!</a> -- a gorgeous 256-page collection of its creators' favorite entries -- much which came from the sweet spot of my era, MAD's golden age -- plus encomiums from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0031976/">Judd Apatow</a>, <a href="https://www.biography.com/actor/whoopi-goldberg">Whoopi Goldberg</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/">Ken Burns</a>, <a href="https://mcfarlane.com/">Todd McFarlane</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Slattery">,</a> <a href="https://www.biography.com/musician/ice-t">Ice-T</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItI4UWoTPCI">Tony Hawk</a>, <i>Mad Men</i> creator <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1980806/">Matthew Weiner</a> and others.<br />
<br />
MAD influenced all of them too.<br />
<br />
Nine issues ago, its publishers attempted a re-launch, resetting the counter to issue 1 from 550, to no avail. The insanity of every day life had rendered MAD passably sane. Now, the magazine has wrapped up its role in educating America's youth, leaving disciples everywhere.<br />
<br />
We're still out there, and we can see right through you.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-66834630805615768382019-08-11T00:07:00.000-04:002019-11-09T07:34:09.199-05:00A Baptism in Springsteen's Church of Rock & Roll<b><span style="font-size: large;">I'</span>D HEARD ABOUT EVENTS LIKE THIS,</b> the fanaticism, the ecstasy, the rapture and delirium brought on by four hours of pure joy. Yet I still wasn't ready for what I witnessed that night.<br />
<br />
Bruce Springsteen, The Boss, live on stage at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowlands_Arena">Brendan Byrne Arena</a> in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He was midway through a 10-night stand somewhere in the swamps of Jersey, in the middle of the epic <a href="https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Born_in_the_U.S.A._Tour">Born in the USA Tour</a>, at the peak of his career.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJpHlONU3uwzz3vQz1dJ8tqCrNuU_k13lrPuvRUh_F11Vl6A6pMA3xakr6eizgexxmUOvzeM1fnD2LDj-I8D2NINbwJstt-QUCMug1hmxXONgOmDGABt5assNpfOWYms-N5xfX0EZ0kko/s1600/tour+program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="809" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJpHlONU3uwzz3vQz1dJ8tqCrNuU_k13lrPuvRUh_F11Vl6A6pMA3xakr6eizgexxmUOvzeM1fnD2LDj-I8D2NINbwJstt-QUCMug1hmxXONgOmDGABt5assNpfOWYms-N5xfX0EZ0kko/s400/tour+program.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The official tour program.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And then, right in front of everybody, the biggest star in rock and roll -- still a bachelor at age 34 -- danced with his mother.<br />
<br />
Just like that.<br />
<br />
It was August 12, 1984 and I was seeing Springsteen live for the very first time. Me, Richie, Wayne and Big Ed had driven across New York City from Long Island to the arena New Jersey's favorite son christened with a concert on its opening night just three years before.<br />
<br />
<b>Big Ed remembers: </b><i>Rich Fields was also a big Springsteen fan. He and I became close one winter when he missed a semester at school recovering from a tumor. </i>Born in the USA<i> was out and a huge success on radio and this new thing called MTV. I had just gotten home from a Mets game, crawled into bed, and then my phone rang at around midnight. </i><br />
<br />
<i>It was Rich, with the news that Springsteen tickets were going on sale in the morning. </i><i>He suggested I pick him up and we go camp out in front of the ticket store. This was before Ticketmaster and the Internet. We got there, and there were only 25 to 30 people in front of us. I thought that was great, but the process was also excruciatingly slow. I could write a whole article about just the ticket experience. We bonded with lot of people, I even went on a lunch date with a hot blonde from North Woodmere with a Datsun 280ZX, whom I never saw again. Finally around 4 p.m., Rich and I had the tickets.</i><br />
<br />
Eddie and Rich slept outside our local <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticketron">Ticketron</a> outlet. There, for $16 a piece they nabbed four seats in the front row of section 211, the upper level near what would be center ice. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhALgsmrafhacUFwPr4aBVQQzn_yWTLlAsxD_uc6LwF0KlY0WdLXdvmyBIHS2HzopnY4Jw0ewEC4jnIVFhtE8tQVJqVF93XxLLcsTFeyNJvF4TZxMnrlK77WGJDIbDTLWl_88qa31vCsE1/s1600/ticket+stub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1285" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhALgsmrafhacUFwPr4aBVQQzn_yWTLlAsxD_uc6LwF0KlY0WdLXdvmyBIHS2HzopnY4Jw0ewEC4jnIVFhtE8tQVJqVF93XxLLcsTFeyNJvF4TZxMnrlK77WGJDIbDTLWl_88qa31vCsE1/s400/ticket+stub.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Four hours of jubilation for $16.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The stage was to our left. Though we had seats, I don't recall sitting very much. I do recall the entire tier bouncing to the beat, not just the people, mind you, but the stands themselves.<br />
<br />
The dance song was, of course, <i>Dancing in the Dark</i>, a smash hit by a guy who wasn't about dance songs. But this was a new Bruce -- Megastar Bruce, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs">MTV star Bruce</a> -- and he could get away with doing pretty much whatever the hell he damned wanted to do.<br />
<br />
"That's my mom!" he shouted.<br />
<br />
<b>Big Ed:</b> <i>It was more than a decade before </i>Friends<i> premiered on TV, but half the male Springsteen fans were already in love with <a href="https://www.biography.com/actor/courteney-cox">Courteney Cox</a>, Bruce's dance partner in the DitD video. Well, I was expecting there to be some hot chick that would come up on stage and dance with Bruce. Instead he pulled his mother Adele on stage for that song.</i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
In June Springsteen released <i>Born in the USA</i>, his seventh LP. Though the name evoked his breakthrough album <i>Born to Run</i>, issued nine years earlier, this was no sequel. The nation had changed and so had The Boss.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Interval</h3>
<br />
Between those recordings, Springsteen had an all-out legal war with his original manager that kept him out of the studio and on the road for more than a year. He'd written a surfeit of songs out of which emerged <i>Darkness on the Edge of Town, </i>a<i> </i>searing blue collar <i>crie-de-coeur</i><i>.</i><br />
<br />
This was a bitter album for post-Watergate, post-Vietnam America, a time of double-digit inflation, gasoline shortages and the national malaise President Jimmy Carter later labeled <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jimmy-carter-speaks-about-a-national-crisis-in-confidence">"a crisis of confidence."</a><br />
<br />
Two years later, Bruce and the E Street Band released <i>The River, </i>a two-disc mix of rock-and-roll rowdiness and melancholy story songs about accidental pregnancy, metaphorical adultery and despair. Among those 20 tracks was a song about a man who'd walked out on his wife and kids, set to a party beat.<br />
<br />
Clocking in at a radio-friendly 3:19, the song -- <i>Hungry Heart</i> -- spent 18 weeks on Billboard Hot 100. Topping out <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/bruce-springsteen-the-e-street-band/chart-history/hot-100/song/12696">at number five,</a> it was Springsteen's first bona fide radio hit. <i>The River</i> LP went to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1980-11-08">number one on the Billboard 200</a>. [Ridiculously, improbably, 14-year-old me had been offered a ticket to a <i>River</i> tour concert and turned it down, a mistake I'd not make again.]<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRul4MY_5j15zvvMT2E5EQ29m4JKjQDKNFBbIVEnE0eQ0k6NFdgy1eQa14t4f7SEVHE-U6k_LwKRyl6xaJZyZ5hjIRXjLbP5bz5mLC20jwWKFk7jxy3xE5eteXHvMyRsif4YZEfZgHIvz/s1600/born+in+the+USA+the+LP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1591" data-original-width="1600" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRul4MY_5j15zvvMT2E5EQ29m4JKjQDKNFBbIVEnE0eQ0k6NFdgy1eQa14t4f7SEVHE-U6k_LwKRyl6xaJZyZ5hjIRXjLbP5bz5mLC20jwWKFk7jxy3xE5eteXHvMyRsif4YZEfZgHIvz/s400/born+in+the+USA+the+LP.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original vinyl release.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Most artists would have looked at that hard won success and ordered up more of the same. Bruce Springsteen isn't most artists. What carried over into the next album wasn't the hootenanny of <i>Hungry Heart</i>, <i>Sherry Darling</i> or <i>Cadillac Ranch</i>, but the loneliness of <i>Stolen Car</i>, <i>Drive All Night</i> and the album closer, <i>Wreck on the Highway</i>.<br />
<br />
Titled <i>Nebraska, </i>Bruce's 1982 release was bleak, stark and spare, a collection of vinyl-pressed demo tapes featuring The Boss alone on acoustic guitar and harmonica.<br />
<br />
The title track was based on the 1958 midwestern killing spree of 19-year-old <a href="https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/starkweather.htm">Charlie Starkweather</a>, accompanied by his 14-year-old girlfriend, <a href="https://journalstar.com/news/local/fugate-recovering-from-injuries-but-can-t-shake-starkweather-legacy/article_5ba6af19-4d12-597a-9225-5602b4e76b05.html">Caril Fugate</a>. Her parents were his first victims.<br />
<br />
What to expect after that?<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Boss Goes Boom</h3>
<br />
The answer came in the stadium scale heartland rock of <i>Born in the USA, </i>an LP containing a dozen songs. Seven of them reached the Top 10, including <i>Dancing...</i>, <i>Glory Days</i>, <i>I'm on Fire</i> and <i>My Home Town</i>.<br />
<br />
Ronald Reagan was president, the national mood was different, and crowding into Springsteen's genre were rockers John Mellencamp and Bob Seger plus Canadian counterpart Bryan Adams. <br />
<br />
The Boss's sound was now bigger and bolder, right from the opening title track.<br />
<br />
If one ignores the lyrics, <i>Born in the USA </i>the song can easily be mistaken for a patriotic anthem. It's really an indictment of a nation indifferent to a generation of people it sent to fight an ultimately pointless foreign war. It was precursor to the more overtly political music Springsteen would make in the ensuing decades.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qmtqeprgsPi0zQoXFvKMAVpQUkaTpfg3SMVVpAaDllGbuNKN7_66Ag22GXmGxm6mfRq6gQkcbpm6hMIn052Q4bjmb6-CPrHgZWuLcXJtAdqM41EJLTW5QdvsAcdpvv2y7Xgs6lOhsX2-/s1600/glory+days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="1084" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qmtqeprgsPi0zQoXFvKMAVpQUkaTpfg3SMVVpAaDllGbuNKN7_66Ag22GXmGxm6mfRq6gQkcbpm6hMIn052Q4bjmb6-CPrHgZWuLcXJtAdqM41EJLTW5QdvsAcdpvv2y7Xgs6lOhsX2-/s320/glory+days.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glory Days -- Me and college friend Laura K.<br />
circa 1985. I still have that shirt somewhere.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It opened his show on that August night, a four-hour marathon punctuated by The Boss's trademark stage stories and banter. There were three songs from <i>Nebraska, </i>though not the one about Starkweather, five from the double-album <i>River</i>, four from the first <i>Born</i> and eight from the new <i>Born.</i><br />
<br />
Among the most memorable: <i>Tenth Avenue Freeze Out</i>, the <i>Hungry Heart</i> sing-along and show closing covers <i>Twist and Shout</i> and <i>Do You Love Me?</i><br />
<br />
<b>Big Ed: </b><i>I am finally at a Springsteen concert and my first event at this new arena named after the former Governor of New Jersey in what Springsteen would refer to as The swamps of Jersey. My memories of the set list are fuzzy, partially because it was a lifetime ago and partially because I would go on to see Springsteen another 13 times over the years.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>To me, it was the equivalent of a Jew's Birthright trip to the Holy Land or a Muslim's Hajj to Mecca. I never saw a more enthusiastic crowd in an arena as I did when the band played </i>Born in the USA.<br />
<br />
The four of us -- really the 20,000 of us -- danced and sang all night. I've no idea how Bruce and company did that night in and night out. I was exhausted well before he introduced his bandmates during the rousing <i>Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)</i>. Little did we know (and who knows if he did) that the newly-added Patti Scialfa would one day be his wife.<br />
<br />
<b>Big Ed: </b><i>It was also our first sighting of Nils Lofgren, who'd replaced Miami Steve Van Zandt. He'd appeared on the </i>Born in the USA <i>album, then left to reinvent himself as Little Steven, fronting a band called </i>The Disciples of Soul. <i>Later he'd return to the E Street Band before reinventing himself again as Silvo on HBO's </i>The Sopranos.<br />
<br />
Thirty-five years and a couple of dozen concerts later, some starring The Boss and some not, this first time seeing him live on that summer night remains the best time. It made me a believer in Bruce almighty and the power of his music.<br />
________________________<br />
<br />
<i>Thanks to Eddie and Wayne for helping to reconstruct our memories. This entry is dedicated to our friend and fellow concert-goer Richard Fields, who died on Aug. 22 of last year. He was just 54.</i><br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-88580237401178977212019-08-04T10:51:00.002-04:002020-12-20T00:56:33.469-05:00Jim Bouton's Seattle Pilots: a Tale of Two Yearbooks<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>HE SEATTLE PILOTS</b> published a yearbook in 1969. It's a handsome document with a navy blue cover wrapped around 40 glossy pages of standard fare biographies and statistics punctuated by color and black and white photos.<br />
<br />
But that's not how most people came to know or why they remember Major League Baseball's one year wonders and why they'll never be forgotten.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z5bPBGZ4Dbod_tSAktrn1jWE10iUwp7sWkYk_08xLdxdwBv29IgTLbhcx4P-qxTzQ8c7KoFVJZ-ufcvLAfo5VZFETv_TQqL_K75_KgHk3XsJI3GUIDWCCrB4XWH9Of4e-8dh8lczW0ck/s1600/ball+four.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="734" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z5bPBGZ4Dbod_tSAktrn1jWE10iUwp7sWkYk_08xLdxdwBv29IgTLbhcx4P-qxTzQ8c7KoFVJZ-ufcvLAfo5VZFETv_TQqL_K75_KgHk3XsJI3GUIDWCCrB4XWH9Of4e-8dh8lczW0ck/s400/ball+four.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The incendiary unofficial yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Pilots, an oddball collection of players and coaches stationed in <a href="https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/sicks-stadium/">a decrepit minor league ballpark</a>, gained inadvertent immortality courtesy of Jim Bouton, a one-time New York Yankees phenom who lived through and chronicled the team's lone season in <i>Ball Four</i> the greatest baseball tell-all ever written<i>.</i><br />
<br />
Bouton died last month from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 80. He'd suffered from <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000719.htm">cerebral amyloid angiopathy</a>, which causes blood vessels to burst. It also causes a dementia and long before it killed him, the disease -- and a 2012 stroke -- <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/sports/baseball/jim-bouton-brain-disease.html?searchResultPosition=10">robbed Bouton of random words</a>, facts and correlations.<br />
<br />
That had to be a particular type of hell for a man best known by recent generations for what he said about baseball rather than what he did with one.<br />
<br />
A young flamethrower, Bouton won 21 games for the 1963 American League champions. He won 18 the next year, plus two more in a World Series he, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Whitey Ford lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.<br />
<br />
It was the end of an incredible 18-year run for the Bronx Bombers during which they won 15 pennants and 10 championships. It also capped a flicker of time when Bouton was among the game's best pitchers before arm trouble reduced him to a knuckle-baller barely hanging on to his career.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiqTukCF6siS_cAAfHCVKITQkoB-pYjgRq3CB9H6ggkwauTTgSQXZRXDAB4Xp2VJAdmu-yLV0tC68Pev8OH04shNOgk576mbuuDqpIIL2SFapkLetRQj7yob8JpYHxnnoJvLPaEJ0WOqy/s1600/opening+day.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1133" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiqTukCF6siS_cAAfHCVKITQkoB-pYjgRq3CB9H6ggkwauTTgSQXZRXDAB4Xp2VJAdmu-yLV0tC68Pev8OH04shNOgk576mbuuDqpIIL2SFapkLetRQj7yob8JpYHxnnoJvLPaEJ0WOqy/s400/opening+day.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite sunshine and great promise...<br />
(from the 1969 Seattle Pilots yearbook)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was in that debilitated state that the former standout hurler for a legendary team came to be acquired by the American League expansion <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SEP/1969.shtml">Pilots</a>, who lasted just the 1969 season, before failing as a business and moving to Milwaukee.<br />
<br />
An iconoclast who never missed a chance to clash with authority, Bouton chose that year to keep a diary. The resultant book, <i>Ball Four,</i> blew the lid off baseball's wholesome image, revealing that Mantle drank heavily, amphetamine use was rampant, players chased girls and spied on them whenever and wherever they could, owners were petty and management was often hidebound and stupid.<br />
<br />
It was a literary yearbook and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPAkO-pV-jM">highlight film</a> the likes of which had never been seen, a personal memoir and log book from a doomed voyage.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAGEu3sVp1GF98YnA1zOeOL_VzzeK-KbV3NiRW9wYUppphqFRV3MROqz1rPKdqQxqrpZrwiEpAicJfvBm3eT6Ek0DWCvtXBZ2in8h7ujkndzmCaYNQ7A7suQOkVcdofd0M46YAyJF5lqN/s1600/1969+Pilots+yearbook.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="791" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAGEu3sVp1GF98YnA1zOeOL_VzzeK-KbV3NiRW9wYUppphqFRV3MROqz1rPKdqQxqrpZrwiEpAicJfvBm3eT6Ek0DWCvtXBZ2in8h7ujkndzmCaYNQ7A7suQOkVcdofd0M46YAyJF5lqN/s400/1969+Pilots+yearbook.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The less well-read official yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="text-align: center;">With an ear for dialogue and an eye for human foibles, Bouton immortalized men like </span><a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brabege01.shtml" style="text-align: center;">Gene Brabender</a><span style="text-align: center;">, the Pilots' gentle giant of a pitcher. A 13-game winner, Brabender hailed from a place called </span><a href="https://www.blackearthwisconsin.com/" style="text-align: center;">Black Earth, Wisconsin</a><span style="text-align: center;">, and once ended an argument with the author by telling him he was lucky it was just that. "Where I come from, we just talk for a little while. After that we start to hit," he said.</span><br />
<br />
And men like pervy shortstop <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/oylerra01.shtml">Ray Oyler</a>, who sprung an erection on the team bus and offered to buy it from the driver, outfielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hovlest01.shtml">Steve Hovley</a>, whose eccentricity earned him the nickname "Orbit," and pitcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bellga01.shtml">Gary Bell</a>, whose best advice for confronting any batter was simply "smoke 'em inside."<br />
<br />
Bouton had a special affection for the Pilots' beleaguered skipper,<a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9fca0d9d"> Joe Schultz</a>, whose favorite profanities were "shitfuck" and "fuckshit." His best advice for dealing with any situation was "pound that old Budweiser."<br />
<br />
Bouton's ex-Yankee status gave his book gravitas and credibility. People had to take it seriously, whether they liked it or not, and many inside baseball's crumbling old order did not.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejotj6jUJq-LtMshvVAd0whKcXKnF4DyTLSCI9XTMU6EvfIcP2Rdd2LneQMSIgMhslXr_xqhgRmHHCyQ8609_l1IfU38tXJm5SG2OXFXlNQ23uIQ4dt2V3x8YKSpFkCU5hLprAtY3wvzE/s1600/jim+bouton+pilot.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1064" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejotj6jUJq-LtMshvVAd0whKcXKnF4DyTLSCI9XTMU6EvfIcP2Rdd2LneQMSIgMhslXr_xqhgRmHHCyQ8609_l1IfU38tXJm5SG2OXFXlNQ23uIQ4dt2V3x8YKSpFkCU5hLprAtY3wvzE/s400/jim+bouton+pilot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilots pitcher, author, idol smasher.<br />
(from the 1969 Pilots' yearbook)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He was denounced as a Judas, a man who broke a raft of unwritten rules, an apostate unwelcome for decades at Old Timer's Day.<br />
<br />
<i>Ball Four </i>also revealed something more about human nature, something that transcended baseball and applied more universally to anyone capable of independent thought but trapped in an organization ruled by group think and conventional wisdom.<br />
<br />
Bouton was an outside-the-box thinker. Baseball wasn't ready for him, but late 1960s-early 1970s America was and remains so to this day. So <i>Ball Four</i> remains a testament to one man's struggles against the establishment. The New York Public library deemed it one of <a href="https://www.nypl.org/voices/print-publications/books-of-the-century">greatest books of the 20th Century</a>.<br />
<br />
Just as importantly though -- within the realm of baseball -- Ball Four was a testament to the Pilots' travails, a history of people and events that surely would have been forgotten but for Bouton's decision to make their year the year the faded former fireballer recorded for posterity.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-67425332785109885672019-07-20T13:04:00.002-04:002021-01-18T00:22:08.469-05:00Michael Collins Drops Off Two Guys at the Moon...<b><span style="font-size: large;">"W</span>AIT IN THE CAR, MIKE,"</b> Neil and Buzz said, hopping out after their four day, 238,900-mile road trip. "Gonna take a walk, talk to some folks, grab some rocks. You drive around the block, we'll be right back."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr1IJUBlIJx0tuwfDlNzrfuBxVpisLxwQOnhISzuLVrm6IK02dFmG3hf_JGHZT2oU9pMsL6Y__tgyFIp1hhLJCT02hXYAGiTTiGPhdFdbc-ORU3Z-VGKK7dNc7O5qSfubOiTyednFbxPm/s1600/apollo+11+crew.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1437" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMr1IJUBlIJx0tuwfDlNzrfuBxVpisLxwQOnhISzuLVrm6IK02dFmG3hf_JGHZT2oU9pMsL6Y__tgyFIp1hhLJCT02hXYAGiTTiGPhdFdbc-ORU3Z-VGKK7dNc7O5qSfubOiTyednFbxPm/s400/apollo+11+crew.jpeg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aldrin, Collins and Armstrong conquer the Moon<br />
Life Magazine photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With that, Michael Collins, a dutiful, low key sort of guy listened to the radio, sipped coffee, circled and waited for his cohorts to return from their errand.<br />
<br />
Or not.<br />
<br />
The actual details likely differed, perhaps substantially, but just in dialog, not in result.<br />
<br />
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first to human beings to set foot on the Moon, Earth's orbital companion for the past 4.5 billion years or so, previously an unreachable place in the sky.<br />
<br />
Armstrong, the commander of NASA's Apollo 11 mission, arrived preloaded with matchless lines that would echo down through history: "The Eagle has landed," "That's <a href="https://time.com/5621999/neil-armstrong-quote/">one small step for [a] man</a>, one giant leap for mankind" and "<a href="https://www.liveabout.com/are-you-sure-mr-gorsky-was-a-hoax-3299162">Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.</a>"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias5qRMGgR4NSXVCko_p6dfcY0J58pwr26v7tAwJkvWPjDkKst0hd0tEd-Yuou48O_FtpaUMJ3hu6Bj5sBLV1jLmfTUyaHhaoUF_el4yeq5GEOtUW1kz8YfUV1iKisWZO1BTgcaT6ww07z/s1600/apollo+saturn+v.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias5qRMGgR4NSXVCko_p6dfcY0J58pwr26v7tAwJkvWPjDkKst0hd0tEd-Yuou48O_FtpaUMJ3hu6Bj5sBLV1jLmfTUyaHhaoUF_el4yeq5GEOtUW1kz8YfUV1iKisWZO1BTgcaT6ww07z/s640/apollo+saturn+v.jpeg" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 11 blasted off<br />
on July 16, 1969.<br />
Life Magazine photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Aldrin, the second man off the lunar lander, helped plant a U.S. flag on the dusty surface and posed for pictures taken by his boss with <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11-hass.html">a Hasselblad camera</a>. And, during their relatively brief 2 1/2-hour lunar romp, the men collected roughly 13 pounds of rocks.<br />
<br />
Fulfilling a fundamental dream of human existence, Armstrong and Aldrin spent more than 21 hours at <a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190719.html">Tranquility Base</a> (another Armstrong-ism) etching their names in history.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Collins flew around the Moon alone in a spaceship called Columbia -- glimpsing the dark, far side we can't see from Earth -- waiting for the others to fly up from the surface aboard top half of the lunar lander Eagle and rejoin him for the long ride back home.<br />
<br />
Eventually they did, leaving behind a wire-stiffened flag, a solar wind experiment and the lunar module's descent stage. Affixed to one leg of that landing craft, <a href="https://moon.nasa.gov/resources/136/apollo-11-plaque/">a stainless steel plaque</a> bearing the signatures of all three travelers and President Richard Nixon, stating, "We came in peace for all mankind. July 1969 A.D."<br />
<br />
The facsimile signature was as close as Michael Collins would get.<br />
<br />
Imagine flying nearly half a million miles to ferry two companions to a place where no man had gone before, while your assignment is simply to wait for them to return.<br />
<br />
Michael Collins did that, without evident rancor, bitterness or disappointment. He was a pilot flying his mission.<br />
<br />
"I didn't feel lonely or left out," Collins wrote in his recently republished memoir, <i><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374312022">Flying to the Moon</a></i>. "I knew my job was very important and that Neil and Buzz could never get home without me." So he flew, and waited, and listened to pre-recorded music including, he said without irony, the 1965 Jonathan King song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73ks2TPPyho"><i>Everyone's Gone to the Moon</i>.</a><br />
<br />
Collins actually had another destination in mind, he said: Mars. "It, not the Moon, is where I wanted to go as a child."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgY7flANiYLMRBhrihNbCb2IJ_t57frUoe_7q4970FeleoN_U7fiSzLtsvznOO42Ph-1pccjDvoECsEzFtkg83clOjyTR2nZEm5vh1m5RHpOCepKtAktCOoVrAt5raVoVhVjXdxOXHe31/s1600/apollo+11+patch.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="1600" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgY7flANiYLMRBhrihNbCb2IJ_t57frUoe_7q4970FeleoN_U7fiSzLtsvznOO42Ph-1pccjDvoECsEzFtkg83clOjyTR2nZEm5vh1m5RHpOCepKtAktCOoVrAt5raVoVhVjXdxOXHe31/s320/apollo+11+patch.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-making-of-the-apollo-11-mission-patch">Collins-designed</a> mission patch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That said, after the travelers returned, they were kept in quarantine for nearly three weeks, until scientists were sure they'd not returned with Moon bugs. Then the now-world famous trio was released to the public for a trip around the world good will tour that included a ticker tape parade down New York City's lower Broadway, a thoroughfare nicknamed the Canyon of Heroes.<br />
<br />
And then Collins walked away from the space program, returning to his Earthbound life as a husband and father.<br />
<br />
Armstrong, famously reclusive, gave few interviews and died in 2012 at age 82. Two years later, Congress renamed NASA's primary flight research center <a href="https://www.space.com/24236-neil-armstrong-nasa-flight-center-name.html">in his honor</a>, adding to a veritable mountain of accolades he'd received in his lifetime, including a Presidential Gold Medal bestowed by Richard Nixon. His name also adorns a museum, an airport, <a href="https://armstronges.fcps.edu/about/history">public schools</a> and an engineering center at his alma mater, Purdue University.<br />
<br />
Aldrin, 89, too received those medals, had <a href="https://aldrines.fcps.edu/index.php/about">schools named in his honor</a>, a lunar crater and <a href="https://toystory.disney.com/buzz-lightyear">this toy.</a><br />
<br />
At 88, Collins legacy is less distinct as he shares his name with a noted Irish independence leader about whom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117039/">a movie was made</a> starring Liam Neesen. Born in Rome, Italy, the son of a career Army officer, spaceman Collins wrote that he had no home town to honor him with a parade after his first spaceflight, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/gemini-x-prime-crew">Gemini X</a>, in 1966.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX66GekbuccIGmjuXWHkL1v9UYldNWW93Zr24MGPBin3x4R5z6IYZlkQFWiIeGhEjWf6hXLA3laJVEVOC7PX8nzwfoEGiEZfCTqPSnnUz4lF3l6wdxwmAnMAP2-kioI7ztwrDtHx8lqgUF/s1600/Life+Mag+Moon+Landing.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1282" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX66GekbuccIGmjuXWHkL1v9UYldNWW93Zr24MGPBin3x4R5z6IYZlkQFWiIeGhEjWf6hXLA3laJVEVOC7PX8nzwfoEGiEZfCTqPSnnUz4lF3l6wdxwmAnMAP2-kioI7ztwrDtHx8lqgUF/s400/Life+Mag+Moon+Landing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Special edition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
He graduated West Point but opted to join the Air Force, rather than the Army, becoming first a fighter pilot, then a test pilot and then an astronaut. Upon leaving NASA, he briefly served as U.S. Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Like his crewmates, he was honored by the president, Congress and <a href="https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/collinsm.htm">other distinguished groups</a>.<br />
<br />
Collins retired from the Air Force with the rank of Major General in 1982.<br />
<br />
Today he dreams of mankind traveling into the solar system, perhaps establishing a permanent town in space called Libra at the solar system's libration point where the gravities of the Sun, Earth and Moon cancel each other out. He's still willing to go to Mars, just to find out what's there. <br />
<br />
"And Mars is just the beginning," Collins said.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-25256319279317451492019-07-10T23:34:00.001-04:002019-10-29T22:57:20.927-04:00When Skylab Made Us All a Little Chicken Little<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">S</span>KYLAB WAS MANKIND'S</b> first semi-permanent off-world home. Shot into Earth orbit in May of 1973, the combination laboratory and apartment housed nine men during its cumulative 171 days of occupancy. <br />
<br />
Its last three-man crew vacated the premises in February 1974, after a record 84-day stay, leaving behind an assortment of supplies including film, food, and a roll of teleprinter paper for future visitors. Then, using their own spacecraft, the astronauts nudged the space station into a higher orbit and returned to their planet.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDMuLt1RmOBuX1oP5kVjF8pjqGd7K3VUnbCZh6QaDBtx1sHaqaivepi16r-FDT86JAndINn2maB2CMhJGGUqhZzvw6TykhDylvdG735jKAmifu0LDNVCHvcRdnm9s8-bJZI10yEKlZKvb/s1600/Skylab+from+space.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1600" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDMuLt1RmOBuX1oP5kVjF8pjqGd7K3VUnbCZh6QaDBtx1sHaqaivepi16r-FDT86JAndINn2maB2CMhJGGUqhZzvw6TykhDylvdG735jKAmifu0LDNVCHvcRdnm9s8-bJZI10yEKlZKvb/s400/Skylab+from+space.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damaged upon launch, Skylab began life as a fixer-upper.<br />
NASA photo taken by the lab's last departing crew.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For five and a half more years, <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-400/sp400.htm">Skylab circled the globe</a> patiently awaiting new residents or the boost of a passing space shuttle, but neither one came.<br />
<br />
Without assistance, the nearly 100-ton satellite gradually lost its war with gravity and drag and began falling back to Earth, reentering the atmosphere 40 years ago today, July 11, 1979.<br />
<br />
Though its return was long forecast, the imminent arrival of a large falling house, superheated by atmospheric friction, set off a planetary frenzy.<br />
<br />
While NASA -- America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- had put the laboratory in orbit, it had utterly and completely failed to make adequate plans for either keeping it there or gently landing it in some pre-ordained safe place.<br />
<br />
Project Apollo, which provided launch vehicles for the lab and its three separate crews, had long since ended. The shuttle program was years behind schedule. Only a year earlier, a Soviet-launched nuclear satellite crashed in Canada, spreading radioactive debris.<br />
<br />
Now, NASA could identify a swath of Earth over which its wayward space station may come down, but it could not say precisely where. In Europe, some people panicked. In America, some held parties.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LYkHXcYg1Ha1H4-NPEMKoEfeVauRRV8rWUFz0m4-KMR9wNcz7Rys6cHMbEMsE3lxly9Vgl5LLu_1eHCAuvUK49uC0ScVHQFFuLwKkyyLjfwzmzNiWDh_bX4zDTqj9lJS-SB1K83MCabh/s1600/poster+redo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1271" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LYkHXcYg1Ha1H4-NPEMKoEfeVauRRV8rWUFz0m4-KMR9wNcz7Rys6cHMbEMsE3lxly9Vgl5LLu_1eHCAuvUK49uC0ScVHQFFuLwKkyyLjfwzmzNiWDh_bX4zDTqj9lJS-SB1K83MCabh/s400/poster+redo.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster board headgear promised<br />
.00193 nanoseconds of warning you've been hit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The San Francisco Examiner newspaper offered a $10,000 bounty for the first piece of genuine wreckage brought to its offices. The rival San Francisco Chronicle promised $200,000 to any subscriber whose home sustained damage. Some enterprising folks cashed in by offering early-warning headgear.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19790701&id=h9gPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q4wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6094,67904&hl=en">NASA downplayed the risk</a>, predicting the odds of any individual being struck by its falling object were about 600 billion to 1. Some of the implements aboard the disintegrating station: a 5,000-pound airlock, a 4,000 pound lead safe and a half-dozen 2,700 pound oxygen tanks.<br />
<br />
Still, the space agency -- in a last ditch effort to influence the outcome -- fired the station's remaining booster rockets upon reentry, aiming it toward the Indian Ocean. They missed.<br />
<br />
Skylab broke up in the sky, raining parts over rural Western Australia, earning NASA a $400 fine from the <a href="https://www.australiantraveller.com/wa/outback-wa/esperance/025-see-where-skylab-crashed-to-earth/">Shire of Esperance</a> for littering. There, resident Stan Thornton collected some some of its fragments and flew to San Francisco to collect his prize.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-72282243371990575932019-06-29T15:09:00.000-04:002020-03-28T16:40:59.651-04:00Less Than Miraculous: An Ode to the 1979 Mets<b><span style="font-size: large;">E</span>VERYONE LOVES A WINNER</b> and few winners are more beloved than the Miracle Mets of 1969. Sad sacks, lovable losers and ultimate underdogs, they rose from historic ineptitude to world champs in just eight seasons.<br />
<br />
This weekend, those legendary Mets are being honored, revered and remembered at Citi Field. So, fête away 50th anniversary celebrants, this weekend is yours!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWPS-EBhUD2AV0TXYQUWrvZPgsI6O6I4sWCFGhvICSJqlT5Ma0LxHhXhodG3c0KTgCjLS6Ta8NdzjBpNikp0WiJyEclskFm0I9-TlW1VJ-JNcvzzkJpyI3c86iWuyCCkfeZSQ8RukGWUn/s1600/79+Mets+yearbook.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1223" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaWPS-EBhUD2AV0TXYQUWrvZPgsI6O6I4sWCFGhvICSJqlT5Ma0LxHhXhodG3c0KTgCjLS6Ta8NdzjBpNikp0WiJyEclskFm0I9-TlW1VJ-JNcvzzkJpyI3c86iWuyCCkfeZSQ8RukGWUn/s400/79+Mets+yearbook.jpeg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 40th Anniversary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For me, 2019 is a more personal anniversary, I'm commemorating the Mets' return to awfulness, 1979 -- my first year as a dyed-in-the-wool, watch-every-game fan -- the year the Mets had the lowest full-season attendance in franchise history: 788,905 including me, thrice.<br />
<br />
It was the year of Maz, Swannie and The Grave Digger, of The Flushing Flash and Kelvin Chapman. It was the swan song for Ed Kranepool, who joined the team as a teenager during its woeful first season in 1962, partook in the miracle, stayed through the downfall, and -- after<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-kranepool-kidney-transplant-20190510-2qe44w6iofd4vf73eb7oaqzmjq-story.html"> a brush with death</a> -- will appear at Citi Field today.<br />
<br />
At 9-15, the '79 Mets fell to last place on May 7th and never got up. It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.<br />
<br />
With the death of founding owner Joan Whitney Payson in 1975, control of the team passed first to board chairman M. Donald Grant and then, ultimately to Payson's daughter, Lorinda de Roulet. <br />
<br />
Grant and de Roulet ran the club as cheaply as possible, dealing away rather than rewarding those who had kept them competitive for most of the 1970s, including Miracle mainstays <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/seaver-tom">Tom Seaver</a> and <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/26133a3d">Jerry Koosman</a>. While the cross-town Yankees were signing the likes of Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, winning three straight pennants and back-to-back world series, the Mets were decorating the National League East cellar.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj1b7wCHWK9RwL5qTw_tzxuqclVKN8cQ2bjCvWtwQFhIe_QC5z1wD9wopKjAQdEsyRQrv2JXeVdb2-RW9o8ff1hUppsZrLqH7nMY6Ta_jn0gZG4xWyagp0x8RfaGmIZIcGKxnAaGFqP8d/s1600/78+ERA+leaders+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj1b7wCHWK9RwL5qTw_tzxuqclVKN8cQ2bjCvWtwQFhIe_QC5z1wD9wopKjAQdEsyRQrv2JXeVdb2-RW9o8ff1hUppsZrLqH7nMY6Ta_jn0gZG4xWyagp0x8RfaGmIZIcGKxnAaGFqP8d/s320/78+ERA+leaders+1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parity with the Yankees, at least on cardboard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The '79 season dawned with the my naive expectation they'd somehow outperform their shoestring budget.<br />
<br />
Their pitching staff was anchored by Craig Swan, whose 2.43 earned run average led the league in 1978. John Stearns had set a big league record for most stolen bases in a season by a catcher, 25, while first-baseman Willie Montanez drove in 96 runs.<br />
<br />
Veteran infielder and <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b688dfa3">off-season grave digger</a> Richie Hebner was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies after their signing of Pete Rose made him expendable. The price was pitcher Nino Espinosa, whose 11 wins led the staff in '78. His departure would leave a void the team failed to fill.<br />
<br />
The brightest star on the Mets roster by far was Brooklyn-born centerfielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mazzile01.shtml">Lee Mazzilli</a>, 24, who emerged a bona fide big league talent in '78, batting .273 with 16 homers, 61 RBIs and 20 steals. With his Italian good looks and tightly-tailored uniforms, Maz was a matinee idol on the rise.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPmZNJVTpvUHYkyxIGu5VUPgGjK_8Y6PXT-fehCaTbtk5OoFi5_J6ytdqQTPE0hagVWTsGYuF-Yr9GdSEmJ1c7XyvvbQ8Qhyphenhyphen2mBnwEKAoI85P0bXg9NCgfmBWLWXeUuMlwDQdP6kXeJDe/s1600/lee+mazzilli.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1233" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPmZNJVTpvUHYkyxIGu5VUPgGjK_8Y6PXT-fehCaTbtk5OoFi5_J6ytdqQTPE0hagVWTsGYuF-Yr9GdSEmJ1c7XyvvbQ8Qhyphenhyphen2mBnwEKAoI85P0bXg9NCgfmBWLWXeUuMlwDQdP6kXeJDe/s400/lee+mazzilli.jpeg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The matinee idol, from the '79 yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But he couldn't pitch and the club sorely needed pitching.<br />
<br />
The Mets brought to camp then declined to sign veteran <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brilene01.shtml">Nelson Briles</a> and went north with a rotation including Swan and Seaver trade piece Pat Zachry, Brooklyn-born Pete Falcone and rookies Neil Allen and Mike Scott. In the bullpen: Koosman acquisition <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/806d48b3">Jesse Orosco</a>, 22, starting a career that would see him pitch in a record 1,252 games.<br />
<br />
They also brought up Chapman, an infielder attempting to jump from AA to the majors after impressing in camp. He'd open the season at second base, pushing incumbent Doug Flynn to short and veteran Tim Foli to the bench.<br />
<br />
The rookie stroked two hits and scored two runs in the Mets' 10-6 opening day win over the Chicago Cubs. Hebner went 4-for-5 with a homer and Swan picked up the victory. Mazzilli's three hits the next day keyed a 9-4 win. It was all down hill from there.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C34sJut55OG_kYnTn0V20AntnloID9BpovQTkrywm7BFXeAgUuXDggvSEeYJ96HvnBpGYKaDmZA-y1ubn4fSShaf-B6CvUtzHlHLTypnhyphenhyphen5085MqE-JxDtbNLaYFnP6sumVe7OWsGfXJ/s1600/kelvin+chapman.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6C34sJut55OG_kYnTn0V20AntnloID9BpovQTkrywm7BFXeAgUuXDggvSEeYJ96HvnBpGYKaDmZA-y1ubn4fSShaf-B6CvUtzHlHLTypnhyphenhyphen5085MqE-JxDtbNLaYFnP6sumVe7OWsGfXJ/s320/kelvin+chapman.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rookie Kelvin Chapman, from the '79 yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Chapman had four singles and a double in his first 16 at bats, then went ice cold, mustering just one more hit in April, by which time the Mets had dealt Foli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the fleet-footed though erratic-fielding Frank Taveras, relegating the rookie first to the bench and then to the AAA Tidewater Tides.<br />
<br />
Hebner, who'd made the post-season seven times as a member of the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates, was a miserable Met. His streakiness at the plate and apparent carelessness in the field wore on the fans and they on him. Despite batting .268 with 10 homers and a respectable 79 RBIs, he'd last just a single season in Queens before being shipped to the Detroit Tigers.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Monta%C3%B1ez">Montanez</a> utterly failed to hit and in August he was traded to the Texas Rangers.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4B3aQ3a_P-oYOQKYEWA0KkQxwNleS6hakI9AozkOjyCtac0jzceKCR_G5iwIbSZUonrY4Cp6wLjg6gheP7KN239qyCBSPKCoU5euwNcOIX4yS76ihGQWAFrn9YGpd73ZxCkODpa-jjYrA/s1600/richie+hebner.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1231" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4B3aQ3a_P-oYOQKYEWA0KkQxwNleS6hakI9AozkOjyCtac0jzceKCR_G5iwIbSZUonrY4Cp6wLjg6gheP7KN239qyCBSPKCoU5euwNcOIX4yS76ihGQWAFrn9YGpd73ZxCkODpa-jjYrA/s400/richie+hebner.jpeg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A freshly-minted Met, from the '79 yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Scott and Orosco struggled and were returned to the minors. But for an injury, Allen would have joined them. As he healed, closer Skip Lockwood went down with a bad shoulder. The righty Allen was sent to the bullpen where he formed an effective short-relief tandem with lefty Ed Glynn, a one-time <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/27/sports/sports-of-the-times-it-s-tough-to-cut-the-mustard.html">Shea Stadium hot dog vendor</a> nicknamed The Flushing Flash.<br />
<br />
They combined for 15 saves, but those opportunities came few and far between.<br />
<br />
When an elbow injury sidelined Zachry, the Mets were forced to go outside the organization for help, acquiring veteran Dock Ellis -- who once pitched a no-hitter <a href="http://www.nonoadockumentary.com/">while high on acid</a> -- and swingman Andy Hassler. Neither could stanch the bleeding.<br />
<br />
After 156 games, the Mets record stood at 57-99. The club seemed destined to lose more than 100 games for the first time since 1967. Yet somehow they didn't, reeling off a season-best six-game winning streak to end the year.<br />
<br />
Swan went a career-best 14-13, with a 3.39 ERA, hurling 251.1 innings over 35 starts while no other Mets starter won more than six games.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFNU0cEGR-57cqH-5JRZIxdT_oXkHds-d1PQufqSfDEq0OZIZnYcK37k6G529NRK0h0hoiQrYVn_F2-vfKU7pvg6I8tr6FWPMW-KicfowT6Km3S1DGYDLZWE-aicBFo6jNvimS_nKTjM5/s1600/ed+kranepool.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1164" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFNU0cEGR-57cqH-5JRZIxdT_oXkHds-d1PQufqSfDEq0OZIZnYcK37k6G529NRK0h0hoiQrYVn_F2-vfKU7pvg6I8tr6FWPMW-KicfowT6Km3S1DGYDLZWE-aicBFo6jNvimS_nKTjM5/s400/ed+kranepool.jpeg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By 1979, he had seen it all.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Utility man Joel Youngblood <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-wally-pipp-lou-gehrig-anniversary-david-whitley-0602-20150601-story.html">Wally Pipp</a>-ed the starting right fielder's job away from rare free agent-signee Elliott Maddox, emerging as a viable everyday player with moderate power and a strong, accurate throwing arm.<br />
<br />
Still, the year belonged to Mazzilli, who batted .303, with 15 homers, 79 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases. Selected to the National League All Star team, he stroked a game-tying pinch-hit home run, then coaxed a game-winning walk from the Yankees' Ron Guidry an inning later.<br />
<br />
The 63-99 season was the last for the Mets' original ownership group, who sold the team to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for $21.1 million that winter.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-62793964862044974222018-12-22T11:50:00.004-05:002023-09-06T22:23:31.020-04:00MISL Launch -- The Birth of Big Time Indoor Soccer<b><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>ETE ROSE HAD</b> at least a dozen kids in 1978. There were Buzz and Gene, Tony and Mark, Ty, Mario, John, Krys, David, Doc and two guys named Keith.<br />
<br />
They weren't literal kids but Cincinnati Kids, one of the original six franchises in the Major Indoor Soccer League, the MISL that launched 40 years ago today.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP22AkTlSPA1FDBmhrwOsrcFKmMkXvGVmwTCnAsqdWUjC8OTFKLURjh0uS6JgXEtTz3Z7tZYyv2of1Cw24IlcTxDPaJpaAtYVs4lDTCI-BMnWMsshQOC8riBJcUS1otjwklJG1w9xcpHOM/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2ea1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1158" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP22AkTlSPA1FDBmhrwOsrcFKmMkXvGVmwTCnAsqdWUjC8OTFKLURjh0uS6JgXEtTz3Z7tZYyv2of1Cw24IlcTxDPaJpaAtYVs4lDTCI-BMnWMsshQOC8riBJcUS1otjwklJG1w9xcpHOM/s400/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2ea1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From volume 1, issue 2 of <i>Missile</i>, the official<br />
magazine of the Major Indoor Soccer League</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rose -- <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/24/archives/new-game-in-town-red-smith.html">part owner of the Kids</a> -- kicked out the first ball in the league's inaugural game against the New York Arrows at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island on Dec. 22, 1978.<br />
<br />
His star power wore off quickly though as the host Arrows downed <i>der fussball </i><i>kinder</i> 7-2 before 10, 376 curious onlookers.<br />
<br />
A week later and 120 miles south, the Philadelphia Fever opened to a sellout crowd of 16, 259 at the Spectrum arena. Game on!<br />
<br />
Indoor soccer, the mutant spawn of outdoor soccer and ice hockey: six guys per side, five chasing a bright red ball around an astroturf-covered NHL-size rink, trying to slam it off the walls, off each other, and into a 6 1/2-foot high by 12-foot wide goal set into the end boards and guarded by the sixth.<br />
<br />
Human pinball.<br />
<br />
Briefly dubbed hoc-soc -- a hat tip to its genetics -- the concept was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_NASL_Professional_Hoc-Soc_Tournament">tried out in 1971</a> by the Division I outdoor North American Soccer League. In the winter of '74, the NASL tried it again with a series of exhibition matches against a touring Soviet squad, most famously one with the Philadelphia Atoms that drew 11,790 fans to the Spectrum. That contest begot another the next year against the league's glamour franchise, the New York Cosmos.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbnOu5kd_6aLnLazUxj5J3sRSz0ZvfFgYh0bYolnYZstfkYpoqO1BLQ81PqBsGp9frF7EJJtVVONV_fFLgio6nbNeMqR-vHS-e9Hy-JJ5d8EeAR77LSNXz3SLQtmY5je4jwZl-UMoCrSh/s1600/early++missile.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="805" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbnOu5kd_6aLnLazUxj5J3sRSz0ZvfFgYh0bYolnYZstfkYpoqO1BLQ81PqBsGp9frF7EJJtVVONV_fFLgio6nbNeMqR-vHS-e9Hy-JJ5d8EeAR77LSNXz3SLQtmY5je4jwZl-UMoCrSh/s400/early++missile.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shep Messing, cover boy and interviewee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of those watching was <a href="https://turfandboards.com/2017/08/07/ed-teppers-indoor-game-still-kicking-40-years-later/">Ed Tepper</a> who, together with his friend attorney <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bs-sp-earl-foreman-obituary-0125-20170124-story.html">Earl Foreman</a>, recognized that with some rejiggering -- a bigger goal than used in those early matches, and four 15-minute periods rather than three 20-minute intervals -- they could create <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-02-22-8701150327-story.html">a fast-paced, high scoring version of soccer</a> for American sports fans.<br />
<br />
Foreman would be the MISL's founding commissioner, with Tepper as his deputy. The league, wherever possible, would rely on American players, a commitment mostly honored in the breach.<br />
<br />
Still, its first signee was ex-Cosmos star goalkeeper <a href="https://weareallalittlecrazy.org/profile-shep-messing/">Shep Messing</a>, who once posed for <i>Viva</i> magazine wearing nothing but a soccer ball and would soon publish an autobiography, <i>The Education of An American Soccer Player. </i>He'd play for the New York Arrows.<br />
<br />
In addition to New York, Cincinnati and Philadelphia, the founding franchises of the MISL included the Cleveland Force, Pittsburgh Spirit and Houston Summit Soccer, named for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Church">home arena</a> that would one day become evangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch.<br />
<br />
They'd play a 24-game season capped by a two-tiered playoff in March 1979. With rosters dominated by members of the NASL's Houston Hurricanes and Rochester Lancers, the Summit and Arrows quickly became the class of the league.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UdhyphenhyphenvINAVqHPJEgHtIieWYoRskHt-rSYxO_4hqS4vdZVz2Ux6VWwZtF6FU_5F1RGTvyNCvBm1hUcf_O-hZa7eCHDdAAqp6Vjx3FRK9T7VnWEW95GcOXYqhDtRXrp1HnhXjdSbYVNmysl/s1600/opening+night+hooplah+left.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="793" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5UdhyphenhyphenvINAVqHPJEgHtIieWYoRskHt-rSYxO_4hqS4vdZVz2Ux6VWwZtF6FU_5F1RGTvyNCvBm1hUcf_O-hZa7eCHDdAAqp6Vjx3FRK9T7VnWEW95GcOXYqhDtRXrp1HnhXjdSbYVNmysl/s400/opening+night+hooplah+left.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Opening night highlights...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvINJyQ52REkktiNq4Eh7k-SixZ7P6TksYU9-pwkBAn9rN74SOXU_UIMdOIyErdtIJ2ODZFcu1utbnvlSc8_BxSAU5uraLe7ylV-dQQ_64kVYVJ1adHHOKlOsK6-HhPRoxb_Nj-b7gZVf5/s1600/opening+night+hooplah+right.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="784" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvINJyQ52REkktiNq4Eh7k-SixZ7P6TksYU9-pwkBAn9rN74SOXU_UIMdOIyErdtIJ2ODZFcu1utbnvlSc8_BxSAU5uraLe7ylV-dQQ_64kVYVJ1adHHOKlOsK6-HhPRoxb_Nj-b7gZVf5/s400/opening+night+hooplah+right.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">... and headlines.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Houston's biggest star was Finnish forward <a href="http://www.clevelandsportshall.com/haaskivi-kai/">Kai Haaskivi</a>. New York countered with Yugoslavian Steve Zungul, available to the new league only because he'd defected from his homeland and, at that nation's insistence, was then banned from outdoor play by FIFA.<br />
<br />
Zungul's uncanny scoring ability would make him the greatest player in MISL history, while earning the nickname "<a href="https://www.indoorsoccerhall.com/steve-zungul1">the Lord of All Indoors</a>." His Arrows wingman was Canadian teen sensation Branko Segota.<br />
<br />
Other notable players that first year included Philly forward Fred Grgurev, who won the scoring title, posting 46 goals and 28 assists; Cincinnati's <a href="https://www.statscrew.com/soccer/stats/p-keougty001">Ty Keough</a> -- whose father Harry represented the U.S. in the 1950 World Cup tourney -- and Cleveland's British-born <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hamlyn">Alan Hamlyn</a>, who received the Bronze Star for his military service in Vietnam after being drafted while still just a green card-holding U.S. resident.<br />
<br />
In February, each team played an exhibition match against the Soviet Union's touring club, Spartak Moscow, which rampaged to a 5-1 record. They lost only to Houston, 7-5, and closed out their visit with excessive force, crushing Cleveland 20-2.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHvi6vLv3rZAMy5NX5UsHT7BJj5pGOJSpNtOAD06x62vP49bwUbeM1Jbmzh88cTuUl9gxCTYYGJcgudGK_s-sVMnPjJyRWSMRUEGQ9Rj0rm6SQB-rQ1-87exjSPn7anEvkSSpgH6GrihM/s1600/spartak.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHvi6vLv3rZAMy5NX5UsHT7BJj5pGOJSpNtOAD06x62vP49bwUbeM1Jbmzh88cTuUl9gxCTYYGJcgudGK_s-sVMnPjJyRWSMRUEGQ9Rj0rm6SQB-rQ1-87exjSPn7anEvkSSpgH6GrihM/s400/spartak.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spartak Moscow, the red menace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Houston paced the league with an 18-6 record, followed by New York, Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh and Cleveland didn't make the post-season dance. In round one, the fourth-seeded Fever brought down the Summit, while the Arrows beat the Kids, setting up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ogMTgIACM">a best of three final</a> between New York and Philly.<br />
<br />
The Arrows won, two games to none, capturing the MISL's first championship. Zungul was its first MVP.<br />
<br />
For the most part, MISL hit its target audience and by season's end, though its league-wide average attendance per game was just below 4,500, plans were unveiled to expand to Buffalo, Detroit and perhaps two more cities.<br />
<br />
Rose's Kids -- undermined by the free agent baseball star's decision to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies and by their junior leaseholder status at the city's Riverfront Coliseum, which they shared with the doomed World Hockey Association's <a href="https://funwhileitlasted.net/2012/08/04/1975-1979-cincinnati-stingers/">Cincinnati Stingers</a> -- would not return for year two.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: times; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZojrc7OFvkw1aamx9Ratjl2Ezr9OSQBvWImK8CL1YhcGLd-X1YPw1xgcjFK8-BZ3Jxm08fJy04ZvycVTMaQ9-SISyer9lQeTpXLm2g5xh2PaIMk00a_Os2-4yBxG2PFEk8wgymzrIIaw/s1600/zungul.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1131" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZojrc7OFvkw1aamx9Ratjl2Ezr9OSQBvWImK8CL1YhcGLd-X1YPw1xgcjFK8-BZ3Jxm08fJy04ZvycVTMaQ9-SISyer9lQeTpXLm2g5xh2PaIMk00a_Os2-4yBxG2PFEk8wgymzrIIaw/s320/zungul.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
Defector, FIFA outlaw and lord of all indoors</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Still, MISL management pressed ahead, adding five teams for a net total of 10, the Detroit Lightning, Buffalo Stallions, Hartford Hellions, St. Louis Steamer and Wichita Wings. A year later they'd be in 12 cities, adding Chicago, Denver and Phoenix, while losing Pittsburgh and shifting the Summit to Baltimore and Detroit to San Francisco.<br />
<br />
All of this ramped up the pressure on the already shaky NASL, which committed ever more to meeting the MISL threat on its own ice-covering artificial turf. Its resources largely depleted, the outdoor league which once boasted 24 franchises across the continent collapsed after its 1984 season.<br />
<br />
Four of its franchises found refuge with the all-indoor-all-the-time MISL and suddenly the mutant spawn, playing a bastardized version of the world's most popular sport, was the top soccer league in America.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-21516600214158866232018-12-16T11:18:00.003-05:002021-08-08T14:47:32.657-04:00O.J. Simpson Runs to Glory -- December 16, 1973<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span> WAS THERE</b> because somebody dumped New York Jets tickets on my dad.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyJz0Bx9cW-tP9vnd-aOhUOUQd5T-K80jmW-kMuMRqyPOWD1m1Slj3qZzRwNIgNqUWC67uCjmBywvLCIWnWYiNDGDWWtXuTeBeOFwEHmnXtbOK2t1lXTY80YzOHzdwunKub1sVJ5VgPj0/s1600/jets+bills+121673+game+prorgram.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyJz0Bx9cW-tP9vnd-aOhUOUQd5T-K80jmW-kMuMRqyPOWD1m1Slj3qZzRwNIgNqUWC67uCjmBywvLCIWnWYiNDGDWWtXuTeBeOFwEHmnXtbOK2t1lXTY80YzOHzdwunKub1sVJ5VgPj0/s400/jets+bills+121673+game+prorgram.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The consummate runner fulfills the promise"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was Dec. 16, 1973, one of those punishingly cold days at Shea Stadium, when icy wind whipped in from Flushing Bay, numbing everything in its path. Green Bay's Lambeau Field may be synonymous with "<a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2010/12/26/1897069/vince-lombardi-frozen-tundra-lambeau-field-origin-steve-sabol">frozen tundra</a>," but a late season Jets home game could just as easily freeze you to the marrow.<br />
<br />
On this day, the team was 4-9. By the 1 p.m. kickoff, snow was falling.<br />
<br />
So why go?<br />
<br />
Why trudge out to the <a href="https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/shea-stadium/">C-shaped municipal stadium</a> surrounded by parking lots and expressways to sit in the arctic chill, drink watery hot cocoa and watch bad Jets football (a virtually redundant description <a href="http://www.paperboyarchive.com/2016/12/december-81-green-and-white-clad-santa.html">throughout the 1970s</a>)?<br />
<br />
Two words. Make that two initials: O.J., as in Simpson, a man on the cusp of rushing for more than 2,000 yards in a 14-game season, something never accomplished before or since.<br />
<br />
O.J., aka The Juice, winner of the <a href="https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/oj-simpson/">1968 Heisman Trophy</a> while at the University of Southern California. Selected with the first overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 1969 National Football League draft, he was handsome, articulate and charismatic. A first-magnitude star.<br />
<br />
If you were born after 1994 -- after his descent into infamy -- it may be difficult to comprehend the hold he had on the American public, as an athlete, part-time actor, sportscaster and pitchman for orange juice, western boots and rental cars. <br />
<br />
He'd come of age in an era that saw the first wide-spread acceptance of black celebrities as just plain celebrities. In 1965, Bill Cosby became the first black to play a lead role in a television drama, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Spy_(1965_TV_series)">I Spy</a></i>. Three years later, while Simpson was running to greatness at USC, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0140792/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Diahann Carroll</a> took similar stride for black women in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_(TV_series)">Julia</a></i>. In 1970, Flip Wilson got in his own<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0bTOW4Twax99AI09THGoN5ICO1KGvgK5"> TV variety show</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV4aVDZUWlVeYROMP6r9Yz1JrO4pnE-GM8ZoUr5-7-zd7SYzMir6-2dZAiklovzLoLRQsGY_wTOaGksT1F5nMiKaqm2DbGxx38hBDBNhmdcqVGDQDLS5q4sBOWDI80NiOloZGR3Ql1W9B/s1600/the+superstar+in+rent+a+car.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="777" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAV4aVDZUWlVeYROMP6r9Yz1JrO4pnE-GM8ZoUr5-7-zd7SYzMir6-2dZAiklovzLoLRQsGY_wTOaGksT1F5nMiKaqm2DbGxx38hBDBNhmdcqVGDQDLS5q4sBOWDI80NiOloZGR3Ql1W9B/s400/the+superstar+in+rent+a+car.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why run through airports when you can fly?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During the 1960s, Muhammad Ali transcended professional boxing to become one of the world's most widely recognized celebrities, a man <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_v._United_States">willing to sacrifice his career</a> for his principles. But where he was controversial and brash, Simpson was silky smooth and universally liked, by men and women, white and black. He transcended race in the same way Barack Obama would three decades later.<br />
<br />
O.J.'s affable demeanor and good looks made him a natural for the tube and silver screen. Holding out for a better deal before signing with the Bills, he even threatened to <a href="https://www.si.com/vault/1969/07/14/610481/oj-simpson-contract-holdout-buffalo-bills-nfl">bypass Buffalo</a> for Hollywood, where he'd already had bit parts in <i>Dragnet</i>, <i>Ironside</i>, <i>Medical Center</i> and <i>It Takes a Thief</i>.<br />
<br />
While he eventually signed, he didn't hit the ground running. O.J. rushed for just 1,927 yards over his first three seasons combined, barely surpassing <a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-brown/stats/">Jim Brown</a>'s single-season record of 1,863. But things changed in 1972, when the Buffalo hired a new coach, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2009/03/29/longtime-nfl-college-coach-lou-saban-dies-at-87/">Lou Saban</a>, who plugged in The Juice and let him run.<br />
<br />
Simpson's 1,251 yards led the league. His 94 yard-run from scrimmage in an October game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the longest in the league that year. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry and 89.4 per game but scored only six touchdowns as the Bills staggered to a 4-9-1 record.<br />
<br />
By game 10 of the 1973 season, Simpson surpassed his previous season total, running for 1,323 yards, 123 of them at the Jets' expense in week 3. Though held to under 100 yards in three games, he finished the year in a rush, piling up 480 yards just over weeks 11, 12 and 13. Arriving at Shea, he'd already carried the ball 1,803 yards and Brown's record was only 60 yards away.<br />
<br />
That record fell before the end of the first quarter and, with the frost-bitten Shea faithful to bear witness, he piled up precisely 200 yards on the day as the Bills bullied the Jets, 34-14. It would be the last game for Jets coach <a href="http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/coachingtree130522weeb/greatest-nfl-coaches-weeb-ewbank-branch-paul-brown-coaching-tree">Weeb Ewbank</a>, architect of their Super Bowl III victory, and my first as a fan.<br />
<br />
For the season, Simpson had juked and jetted his way to 2003 yards -- almost 1.14 miles -- pursued by 11 men swearing to stop him.<br />
<br />
In time, and with extension of the standard NFL season to 16 games, the record would fall. So too would O.J., in a manner that would have seemed unimaginable fiction to football fans on that snowy day.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQBxOeEJ5WNlSs609GFtF6e05M3KBh7InIMmXFQ55L4O0x3g7eNd2Jptlfkjp-uxxlV8E2R5x3cggjO9ftraLMzaow3pIkhEgUec494m4NmvVrfOK1M3xSKJWR-hfjhbUTDY-VmZ5zSMX/s1600/capricorn+one+starlog+june+78.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1029" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQBxOeEJ5WNlSs609GFtF6e05M3KBh7InIMmXFQ55L4O0x3g7eNd2Jptlfkjp-uxxlV8E2R5x3cggjO9ftraLMzaow3pIkhEgUec494m4NmvVrfOK1M3xSKJWR-hfjhbUTDY-VmZ5zSMX/s640/capricorn+one+starlog+june+78.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpson as doomed astronaut John Walker, with co-stars Sam Waterston and James Brolin<br />
in the thriller <i>Capricorn One</i>. Photo from the July 1978 issue of Starlog Magazine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Between those two defining moments, Simpson played pro-football for just six more years, the final two for his hometown San Francisco 49ers. His acting credits included roles in <i>The Towering Inferno</i>, <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074292/">The Cassandra Crossing</a></i>, <i>Roots</i>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077294/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_20"><i>Capricorn One</i></a> and the <i>Naked Gun</i> movies.<br />
<br />
In 1985 he wed Nicole Brown, with whom he had two children over seven <a href="https://people.com/archive/cover-story-to-live-and-die-in-l-a-vol-42-no-5/">tumultuous years</a> during which the former football star cheated on and abused her. They divorced in 1992. <br />
<br />
In June 1994, he was charged with murdering her and friend Ronald Goldman, but apprehended only after a 50-mile -- or 88,000 yard --<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUyWS6j5rS4"> low speed chase</a> across the Los Angeles freeway system pursued by dozens of police officers sworn to stop him.<br />
<br />
Simpson was acquitted after an epochal 1995 trial but found legally culpable in a civil suit two years later and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/11/us/jury-decides-simpson-must-pay-25-million-in-punitive-award.html">ordered to pay</a> more than $33 million to the victims' families.<br />
<br />
Ten years after that, he'd be convicted of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/us/06simpson.html">armed robbery and kidnapping</a> for crimes involving sports memorabilia -- our communal tokens of hero worship. Sentenced to nine to 33 years imprisonment, The Juice was set free in 2017.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter<i> @paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-18889088592806842742018-10-27T09:58:00.002-04:002021-12-12T22:31:04.748-05:00Mr. October's Hip Check Decks Dodgers in '78 Series<b><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>E DRANK BEER </b>and set off fireworks. We looked at skin mags and been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_and_Bat_Mitzvah">bar-mitzvahed</a>. That summer, I even had what you might call a girlfriend. We were two men in 8th grade and we were going to the World Series.<br />
<br />
It was October, 1978, and the New York Yankees were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Again. A year earlier, the Bombers had beaten -- and humbled -- the Brooklyn fugitives, 4 games to 2. Reggie Jackson bashed three homers in the final game, burnishing his "Mr. October" legend.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTOVXrQdCkoyYl2xj0U1Aot5NbiZ8rq8YN6cU2HIY8KjhU6MLYg9BkDJfzBW6MFIlfoOgoFNU3K3iNjuEa5jOIXHwbRmwpn31AW5e4yLcJ_IQOGriMf0eBba2Znkf0Kq9I2grB2mxz50p/s1600/1878+World+Series+program.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="789" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTOVXrQdCkoyYl2xj0U1Aot5NbiZ8rq8YN6cU2HIY8KjhU6MLYg9BkDJfzBW6MFIlfoOgoFNU3K3iNjuEa5jOIXHwbRmwpn31AW5e4yLcJ_IQOGriMf0eBba2Znkf0Kq9I2grB2mxz50p/s400/1878+World+Series+program.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rematch of rivals, and<br />
a fresh new hell for L.A.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then, as now, the Dodgers were trying to avoid the sad distinction of losing <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/losing-teams-that-returned-to-world-series/c-299350220">back-to-back</a> championships. And I was sure it was the Dodgers' year.<br />
<br />
So sure, I put money on it, making schoolyard bets right before the morning bell at our Long Island junior high school. L.A. rewarded my faith by winning the first two games out on the coast. Let the taunting begin.<br />
<br />
My pal -- we'll call him J.D. -- scored us tickets to game 4. I've no idea how. Visions of a sweep danced in my head. What we saw was a different side of Mr. October, a savvy, heads up move that changed the course of the Series.<br />
<br />
But about J.D... He was one of those guys who'd hit puberty sooner than the rest of us, looked a little older (or maybe he was), and had enough self-assurance to pull off a beer buy at the local dairy drive-in without being questioned.<br />
<br />
He was that kid who sold contraband out of his school locker, the one your mother warned you about. For reasons not clear 40 years later, I was his wingman. Maybe I was part of his shtick, the artifice, the innocent who made him look less conniving. Or maybe he was the devil on my shoulder, urging me to do bad things.<br />
<br />
In our brief friendship, he got me into all kinds of vices that forestalled my irretrievable <a href="http://www.paperboyarchive.com/2016/07/the-star-fleet-guide-to-playing-doctor.html">descent into nerd-dom</a>. Along with the aforementioned beer, porn and gunpowder, he impressed upon me the importance of baseball and its crude street cousin, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickball">stickball</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCr4UTEvgREFXsXKXuXMyzlRWchd077qwWvZgOfq1WLG5QP7sdP64bWQej9396M_kQWsO27ZGPvCpjuY8X1p7NsSrUqgVYzip-GWcsncZomwGDfjnnS773bR3m4VsZmTP2msFF3itnVltf/s1600/20181022_220933.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1600" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCr4UTEvgREFXsXKXuXMyzlRWchd077qwWvZgOfq1WLG5QP7sdP64bWQej9396M_kQWsO27ZGPvCpjuY8X1p7NsSrUqgVYzip-GWcsncZomwGDfjnnS773bR3m4VsZmTP2msFF3itnVltf/s640/20181022_220933.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnny Oates, Steve Garvey, Steve Yeager, Reggie Smith, Jerry Grote, Ron Cey,<br />
Manny Mota, Dusty Baker, Davey Lopes, Rick Monday, Bill Russell, Don Sutton,<br />
Terry Forster, Tommy John, Bill North, Bob Welch, Doug Rau, Vic Davalillo, Lee Lacy,<br />
Rick Rhoden, Lance Rautzhan, Burt Hooton, Charlie Hough, Teddy Martinez and<br />
Manager Tommy Lasorda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The tickets were a major coup, even if the seats were in the right-centerfield bleachers next to that eerie <a href="https://www.baseball-fever.com/forum/american-league/new-york-yankees/45021-yankee-stadium-black-seats">blacked out section</a> that formed the batters' eye at Yankee Stadium. We'd get to the Bronx by Long Island Rail Road and then the creepy late '70s NYC subway.<br />
<br />
We were 13.<br />
<br />
Somehow, I convinced my folks we could do this. I think I told them J.D.'s big sister was our chaperone. I don't recall if she went or not. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.<br />
<br />
But about the series... As noted, the Dodgers had taken the first two games out in La La Land, closing out the second with an epic, David vs. Goliath <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26fRnCj4SYQ">confrontation</a> between Reggie and Dodgers rookie pitcher <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/remembering-bob-welch/c-33698483">Bob Welch</a>. Momentum was on their side as the series moved east.<br />
<br />
But, once in the Big Apple, Mighty Mo' ditched the Dodgers.<br />
<br />
Third baseman Graig Nettles single-glovedly <a href="https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-13-1978-graig-nettles-defense-leads-yankees-game-three-win">won game 3</a> for the Yanks. Though the final was 5-1, his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uid-nqb9SAU">stellar defense</a> at the hot corner kept two to six L.A. runs off the scoreboard.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA0XFfvBMiZlYEgRY70FyYi8RSGQiKPHyEop81rP8PTBfSbI3bT-NEBplxpILazAnY6L0C592sDltgtYHgpjQPpq1Ja8j9cJGCfzeG_QG8A6MOO740ytyFZcuVRKt0R20wQG0RhXQbv13/s1600/20181022_220726.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA0XFfvBMiZlYEgRY70FyYi8RSGQiKPHyEop81rP8PTBfSbI3bT-NEBplxpILazAnY6L0C592sDltgtYHgpjQPpq1Ja8j9cJGCfzeG_QG8A6MOO740ytyFZcuVRKt0R20wQG0RhXQbv13/s640/20181022_220726.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken Clay, Jay Johnstone, Ed Figueroa, Ron Guidry, Rich Gossage, Catfish Hunter,<br />
Reggie Jackson, Sparky Lyle, Dick Tidrow, Mike Heath, Gary Thomasson, Thurman Munson,<br />
Cliff Johnson, Chris Chambliss, Bucky Dent, Graig Nettles, Willie Randolph, Brian Doyle,<br />
Jim Beattie, Paul Lindblad, Jim Spencer, Fred Stanley, Paul Blair, Lou Piniella,<br />
Mickey Rivers, Roy White and Manager Bob Lemon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Game 4 was make or break for the Dodgers. J.D. and I made our way to the stadium and, after the obligatory souvenir stop, settled into our seats to watch the action. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulnar_collateral_ligament_reconstruction">Tommy John</a> started for Los Angeles, Ed Figueroa for New York.<br />
<br />
After four scoreless frames, Dodgers right fielder <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=smithre06">Reggie Smith</a> -- the other Reggie -- belted a three-run homer, bringing home Steve Yeager and Davey Lopes. 3-0, L.A. at the midpoint. That score held until the bottom of the sixth when, with one swing of his butt -- not his bat -- famous original Reggie changed everything.<br />
<br />
With one out, John walked <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b0667516">Roy White</a>, then allowed singles to Thurman Munson and Jackson, the latter scoring White.<br />
<br />
Then, with Munson on second and Reggie on first, <a href="https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/news/piniella-lou">Lou Piniella</a> hit a line drive toward Dodgers shortstop <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/a-cautionary-tale-for-don-mattingly-the-rise-and-fall-of-bill-russell/">Bill Russell</a> who knocked the ball down instead of catching it. Jackson took a few steps off first base and stopped.<br />
<br />
Russell picked up the live ball, stepped on second for the force on Reggie, then threw it to Steve Garvey at first to double-up Piniella. The ball never arrived.<br />
<br />
Jackson, still in the baseline, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvWKWvrVfrI">swung his right hip into the throw</a>, deflecting it past Garvey and into foul territory. Munson rounded third and scored.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszGqPWPuMmQacAeETKnMmrKy4bisRmXlX48u4fT0ZXwdfpYl5imTN9qAKqSA2ID2nLj_9xuJuJGI57bKJgAc_nJcO3RwbWLEuL8lruIKAb6DtA8VXc3KCPdDuwWRBV-F7pGGMqKuS6ARy/s1600/reggie+gets+hip.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1027" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszGqPWPuMmQacAeETKnMmrKy4bisRmXlX48u4fT0ZXwdfpYl5imTN9qAKqSA2ID2nLj_9xuJuJGI57bKJgAc_nJcO3RwbWLEuL8lruIKAb6DtA8VXc3KCPdDuwWRBV-F7pGGMqKuS6ARy/s400/reggie+gets+hip.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russell's throw caroms off Jackson's hip<br />
and past the waiting Steve Garvey<br />
(screen shot from an MLB Youtube video)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Meanwhile, Jackson retreated to first, bumping into Piniella as Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda raced out of the dugout to protest Mr. October's interference with the would-be double play.<br />
<br />
His argument, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7-8w4QD64">though epic</a>, was to no avail. The umps ruled Reggie out on the force at second, but not out of line.<br />
<br />
Munson's run stood and the inning ended with the Dodgers clinging to a 3-2 lead. It wouldn't last. The Yanks would tie it in the 8th and then win it against Welch in the 10th. Once again, the Dodger rookie faced Jackson with the game on the line. This time Reggie singled to prolong a rally. Piniella delivered the kill shot.<br />
<br />
Me and my pal made it home alive.<br />
<br />
Though the series was tied at two games a piece, for the shaken and demoralized Dodgers, it was over. Los Angeles took a two-run lead early in game 5, only to see New York storm back with 12 unanswered runs and the 3-2 series lead.<br />
<br />
The Yanks would take the championship two days later in Los Angeles, winning 7-2. Reggie took Welch deep in the seventh, a two-run bomb that sealed the deal. My lunch money now belonged to my creditors.<br />
<br />
J.D. and I soon drifted apart. I don't recall a specific rupture, it was more like a widening rift. He got me hooked on baseball and then faded away.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-80843008286330819072018-10-06T14:42:00.001-04:002022-01-07T16:20:45.392-05:00The '83 Sox: When Winning Ugly Was All The Rage<b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>HEY WERE FUN</b> and then they were done. Nowadays they're remembered mostly for what they wore.<br />
<br />
But if you woke up in Chicago on this day in 1983 and picked up a copy of the Sun-Times or Tribune, you might have had the sense the hometown White Sox were on the cusp of something rarely seen in the Windy City, a championship.<br />
<br />
A day earlier the White Sox had beaten the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198310050.shtml">in game one of the best-of-five American League playoffs</a>. On the way, they'd rolled up the best record in baseball, 99-63, largely after being dismissively insulted by Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsz0WUL6ARcDN0wJcejSCNkkezugt4r-oS1M6P8rV6cHy2x_rwUE4rm1XMfIDLAMu6tIPlD2fRfqX8riA6NR6wWo9zSfqTfQbM7qMLO3cM7IKRO8Ow-neg35xQfvYJ3fAkcQKvJAQaUqo/s1600/sox+83+alcs+program.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="785" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsz0WUL6ARcDN0wJcejSCNkkezugt4r-oS1M6P8rV6cHy2x_rwUE4rm1XMfIDLAMu6tIPlD2fRfqX8riA6NR6wWo9zSfqTfQbM7qMLO3cM7IKRO8Ow-neg35xQfvYJ3fAkcQKvJAQaUqo/s400/sox+83+alcs+program.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champagne days on Chicago's South Side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At the time of his fateful utterance, Rader's Rangers were atop the AL West though the trailing Sox had mounted a modest hot streak. "They're not playing that well," he'd said of his squad's pursuers. "They're winning ugly."<br />
<br />
Well.<br />
<br />
Well. Well. Well.<br />
<br />
On July 6, the White Sox hosted Major League Baseball's All-Star game. Marking the event's 50th anniversary, it had returned to its point of origin on the city's south side, Comiskey Park.<br />
<br />
The hosts' sole delegate was rookie slugger rookie <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kittlro01.shtml">Ron Kittle</a>.<br />
<br />
At 40-37, Chicago occupied third place in the West, 3 1/2 games behind Texas, but in 1983 baseball had no fury like the White Sox scorned. They went on a 59-26 tear -- a near .700 clip -- leaving the Texans in the dust, 22 games back and in third place behind the Kansas City Royals.<br />
<br />
Clad in bold futuristic uniforms later <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080701">likened to beach blankets</a>, the '83 Sox bashed 157 homers and led the league with 800 runs scored, tallying 4.94 per game. They also topped the AL by striking out 888 times. Kittle slammed 35 homers and drove in 100 runs to lead the charge. The Bull -- <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0b2d04bb">Greg Luzinski</a> -- pounded 32 round trippers, knocking in 95. Hall of Fame-bound catcher Carlton Fisk went 26/86/.289, while Sox legend <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/harold-baines-considered-for-hall-of-fame/c-209342764">Harold Baines</a> went 20/99/.280.<br />
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRwikfNfj0Ybst3uwIntl4EL1rZOxoU24jeTPtvtqnwV8CWVEwFDLPMKwCavw-sk4-L2jFHMK_IUumKIw_d6qyNqQJ-DffJM8nT6g16raOn0GVXMuYFwbTZg9T_1uoQkrywJ1A4_FYKpe/s1600/sox+hitters.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="1279" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRwikfNfj0Ybst3uwIntl4EL1rZOxoU24jeTPtvtqnwV8CWVEwFDLPMKwCavw-sk4-L2jFHMK_IUumKIw_d6qyNqQJ-DffJM8nT6g16raOn0GVXMuYFwbTZg9T_1uoQkrywJ1A4_FYKpe/s640/sox+hitters.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1983 Topps power trio: combining for 78 homers and 280 runs batted in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They also had one of the best pitching staffs in the game, one that allowed just 650 runs (589 of them earned) while fanning nearly 900 hitters. Their staff ERA of 3.67 was third best in the league.<br />
<br />
Their ace was <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hoytla01.shtml">LaMarr Hoyt</a>, whose 24 wins were the most by any starter in the bigs. Right behind him, Sox starter <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dotsori01.shtml">Richard Dotson</a> won 22, while <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=bannifl01">Floyd Bannister</a> won 16 and struck out 193 batters. Rounding out the rotation, lefty <a href="http://www.80sbaseball.com/missed-it-by-that-much-the-britt-burns-story/">Britt Burns</a>, whose career was later cut short by a degenerative hip condition.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpAtRCFk4yerG0g9mJVYbw56sCTCftKEFLd2KKQpL5pfB_BcNc50Juy4CFirDLwQ-XRXW-dzqpB_6iLFTYuoOxdB2wSxZvCIpqNOFBKt0KwhMNCUpCjHfaP9GhAVFuBAaBIUMygS8G1y8/s1600/sox+hurlers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1260" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpAtRCFk4yerG0g9mJVYbw56sCTCftKEFLd2KKQpL5pfB_BcNc50Juy4CFirDLwQ-XRXW-dzqpB_6iLFTYuoOxdB2wSxZvCIpqNOFBKt0KwhMNCUpCjHfaP9GhAVFuBAaBIUMygS8G1y8/s640/sox+hurlers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hurlers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Their manager: Tony LaRussa. A year earlier, he'd led them to an 87-75 record, good for third in the competitive AL West, parked behind the division-winning California Angels and the 1980 AL champ Kansas City Royals. It looked like 1983 would be the White Sox year. <br />
<br />
And but for Baltimore, it might have been. <br />
<br />
The Orioles had had the majors' second best record, just a game worse than the Sox. They also had Most Valuable Player <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/cal-ripken-jr-9459154">Cal Ripken Jr</a>. and a cadre of talented starting pitchers, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgresc01.shtml">Scott McGregor</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1982/06/30/bright-days-are-ahead-for-storm-davis/6508a09a-b554-469b-9dc6-103a36d56e91/?utm_term=.19db9c04c41f">Storm Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boddimi01.shtml">Mike Boddicker</a> and <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/62c0e067">Mike Flanagan</a>.<br />
<br />
Their good pitching stifled the White Sox hitters. Chicago's 2-1 victory in game one of the ALCS was their high point. Over the ensuing three games, they added just one more run as the Orioles claimed the pennant.<br />
<br />
Baltimore went on to defeat the Philadephia Phillies in the World Series, their last championship to date. Hoyt's 24-10 record won him the Cy Young Award. <a href="http://www.ronkittle.com/ron_kittle_biography.html">Kittle</a> garnered Rookie of the Year honors. LaRussa was voted AL Manager of the Year. As a group though, these South Siders would never ride as high again.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9c5708M-AIuN-T4fzKdFs6KOUn5R6mWPhbzcGIX8XRFczTeuswi_pRzfVzsUPYuDWPE-KKQQnlWBm8DWk0Dl1BAo2wkAgyX3MFA5KhWzQ_5f8EUXGig_njEZ_MjwQBMjCIXh1zilr80T/s1600/tony+larussa.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="870" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9c5708M-AIuN-T4fzKdFs6KOUn5R6mWPhbzcGIX8XRFczTeuswi_pRzfVzsUPYuDWPE-KKQQnlWBm8DWk0Dl1BAo2wkAgyX3MFA5KhWzQ_5f8EUXGig_njEZ_MjwQBMjCIXh1zilr80T/s320/tony+larussa.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Sox ALCS program: the skipper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
LaRussa had two more winning seasons before a tailspin and friction with then-General Manager Ken Harrelson <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-06-22-8602140807-story.html">cost him his job </a>midway through 1986. His interim replacement: <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/raderdo02.shtml">Doug Rader</a>.<br />
<br />
LaRussa was quickly hired by the Oakland Athletics, whom he led to AL pennants in 1988 and '90 with a World Series victory in '89. After winning three more flags and two titles with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/larussa-tony">inducted</a> into baseball's Hall of Fame.<br />
<br />
Hoyt faltered in 1984, falling to 13-18, losing the most games in the league. After that he was dealt to the San Diego Padres for a package of players including future White Sox shortstop <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guilloz01.shtml">Ozzie Guillen</a>, He'd lead them to a Series title as manager in 2005.<br />
<br />
While they didn't win it all, the Sox distinctive uniforms and typeface from that era have been <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-bring-back-1983-throwback-jerseys-as-a-permanent-uniform/c-68365662">part of their lore</a> ever since. Winning ugly never looked so good.<br />
<br />
-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@papaerboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-66448982133754768412018-09-16T21:39:00.000-04:002018-10-12T16:23:57.674-04:00Dynasty Denied -- The Stunning Fall of the 1988 Mets<b><span style="font-size: large;">D</span>AVID CONE WAS UNBEATABLE. </b>Rookie Gregg Jefferies was knocking the cover off the ball. The 1988 New York Mets came roaring down the stretch, winning 24 of their last 32 games and opening a 15-game lead over the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3gejQEtcyqd6T4C9wIiI9ivm54g6h7EXf9expdWPPZyIIRoMCJ90v3CTrHtsTgzCYhTVwi4ahjsYpYG9ZChyQCdB5YG7dkFdYZ5N-ugy-rV3wXzcTo2wedaJUKsCKizCdtkeDJEjVlym/s1600/1988+Mets+yearbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="604" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3gejQEtcyqd6T4C9wIiI9ivm54g6h7EXf9expdWPPZyIIRoMCJ90v3CTrHtsTgzCYhTVwi4ahjsYpYG9ZChyQCdB5YG7dkFdYZ5N-ugy-rV3wXzcTo2wedaJUKsCKizCdtkeDJEjVlym/s400/1988+Mets+yearbook.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clockwise from top left: stars Keith Hernandez, <br />
Kevin McReynolds, Howard Johnson, Gary Carter,<br />
Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Seemingly invincible, they ran away with the National League East title.<br />
<br />
This after a calamitous '87 season that started with ace <a href="https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-25-1985-mets-dwight-gooden-becomes-youngest-20-game-winner">Dwight Gooden</a> checking into rehab and effectively ended with St. Louis Cardinal Terry Pendleton's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XHCYdxL4Ag">devastating home run</a> off Roger McDowell, a blown Sept. 11 save that kept them from moving within a half-game of the first place Cards.<br />
<br />
They were playing like the squad that won the 1986 World Series.<br />
<br />
The swagger was back.<br />
<br />
Their 100-60 record was the best in the league. Armed with good pitching, good hitting and a rich farm system, the Mets had the makings of a dynasty.<br />
<br />
The sky was the limit and then they flamed out, done in by hype, hubris and human frailty.<br />
<br />
They wouldn't fully recover for a decade.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Resurrection</h3>
<br />
Their '88 starters included the in-recovery Gooden, who went 18-9, and <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=darliro01">Ron Darling</a>, who won a career best 17 games. Cone, a reliever at the season's outset, joined the rotation in May when veteran Rick Aguilera got hurt. He went 20-3, winning his last eight decisions. The streak tied Tom' Seaver's franchise record.<br />
<br />
Lineup mainstays <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/carter-gary">Gary Carter</a> and <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ea0bdc1d">Keith Hernandez</a> both had subpar years, but they no longer needed to lead the way as they did two years earlier. Outfielders Darryl Strawberry and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcreyke01.shtml">Kevin McReynolds</a> combined for 66 homers and 200 runs batted in. Third baseman Howard Johnson, who brightened '87 with 36 taters and 32 stolen bases, bashed 24 more round-trippers while swiping 23 more sacks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Light-hitting, good fielding Kevin Elster supplanted World Series shortstop Rafael Santana. Fellow farm system grads <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/magadan-honored-for-college-play/c-15728023">Dave Magadan</a> and Keith Miller also vied for infield playing time. Reliever Randy Myers came up from AAA to stay in '87. A year later, he was a dominant 26-save closer. Highly-touted pitching prospect <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/23/sports/baseball-west-sent-to-minors-by-overstaffed-mets.html">David West</a> and others awaited their chance.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI95DD61XTx30lKElPNT4n29G91w6DWmWHyVJ9D8VTkegiHPXVhJ511aOuzUjplQy5y9EIOSz116rI1Q1u8ICsuC8Yxk4Uqf1T1hbFRC6-1PWijQ2ITj_PT84vRI02o1Wu6n0MAt09U8Zs/s1600/1988+Mets+team+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="817" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI95DD61XTx30lKElPNT4n29G91w6DWmWHyVJ9D8VTkegiHPXVhJ511aOuzUjplQy5y9EIOSz116rI1Q1u8ICsuC8Yxk4Uqf1T1hbFRC6-1PWijQ2ITj_PT84vRI02o1Wu6n0MAt09U8Zs/s640/1988+Mets+team+picture.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out of the yearbook -- The almost great Mets of 1988, orange, white and blue all over. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And then there was Jefferies, a switch-hitting 21-year-old prodigy -- twice named Baseball America's <a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/where-are-they-now-gregg-jefferies/">Minor League Player of the Year</a> -- who arrived Aug. 28 and immediately began spraying line drives to all fields. In 29 games, he batted .321 with 35 hits in 109 at bats. Nearly half of them went for extra bases: eight doubles, two triples, six homers. He struck out 10 times, walked eight, scored 19 runs and drove in 17 more.<br />
<br />
He ignited the Mets, who were 76-53 and 6 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh before his recall. They finished 40 games over .500, compiling the second best winning percentage in franchise history. They're <i>still</i> the last Mets team to win 100 games.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Conceit</h3>
<br />
The '88 Mets seemed to restore order to a universe knocked helter skelter by the prior year's disappointment, if one can call winning 92 games and finishing three games out of first disappointing. <a href="http://www.paperboyarchive.com/2018/03/tom-terrific-and-turning-point-1983-mets.html">Five years earlier</a>, they'd endured the last of six straight last- or next-to-last place finishes while new owners revamped the farm system and rebuilt the parent club.<br />
<br />
They won 90 games in 1984, 98 the next and in 1986 a championship. Being contenders was a given. Titles were expected now. And, for a while, every move paid off. They could do no wrong. <i>Aforitiori,</i> if they made a move, it was bound to be right. Right?<br />
<br />
Securing their second division title in three years, New York turned to the NL championship series where they'd face the West Division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets had taken 10 of 11* from the ex-Brooklynites during the season.<br />
<br />
What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdOOPBb3zNH75pYyBGk9PzEuFNszyJNkYtu4ueabpuCJsVAiwxzvqEu-R60f5ZwqorjO3h0HnA-lexfBHMxQX-JX1O8WxBNpBAMn5ShUlGc86CJvFOBFo2Qdh2qEAZef9ufIje3-aQA_J/s1600/nameless+dr+k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="867" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdOOPBb3zNH75pYyBGk9PzEuFNszyJNkYtu4ueabpuCJsVAiwxzvqEu-R60f5ZwqorjO3h0HnA-lexfBHMxQX-JX1O8WxBNpBAMn5ShUlGc86CJvFOBFo2Qdh2qEAZef9ufIje3-aQA_J/s640/nameless+dr+k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The phenomenal Dr. K, Dwight Gooden, from the 1988 Mets yearbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before game 1 on Oct. 4, the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.newsday.com/from-the-archives-feeling-shunned-by-mets-darryl-strawberry-becomes-a-dodger-1.6321232">published an article</a> quoting Strawberry as saying he'd like to play for the Dodgers someday.<br />
<br />
That evening, Gooden faced off against Orel Hershiser, who'd tossed a record <a href="http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=hershor01">59 consecutive scoreless innings</a> that summer. The Mets ace outdueled his counterpart, yielding just four hits and striking out 10, but the Dodgers scratched out two runs and led 2-0 going into the ninth.<br />
<br />
Jefferies led off the top of the last with a hit, a Hernandez groundout moved him to second. Strawberry's double brought him home. Exit Hershiser. Reliever Jay Howell walked McReynolds, then fanned Johnson. With any other man due up, the Dodgers might have been home free, but the next man was Carter.<br />
<br />
Two years earlier, he refused to be the final out of the '86 Series, keying a legendary extra-inning, two-out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jabeNKO4w_o">game 6 comeback</a>. Now the future Hall of Fame catcher doubled off LA's reliever, scoring Strawberry and McReynolds, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. Myers threw two scoreless frames for the win. Howell took the loss.<br />
<br />
Cone, who once <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/191828e7">aspired to be a sportswriter</a>, penned a <i>New York Daily News</i> column published the next day comparing the flame-throwing Myers with the curve-ball-reliant Howell, whom he likened to a high school pitcher. The Dodgers, who'd won 94 games in the regular season, responded by ripping Cone for five runs, driving him from Game 2 after just two innings. With a 6-3 win, LA evened the series.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GJdxLLkYUbVCpoueVvF846NNBfySoKclEg8QsVZ4nMv8oGWQ6ZQOO2vRQNgJsEO081r7419bzx48ru3E2vP7LGsPUtzg3e_K1kCniAqdjppGCWwz5Y5pBRB9MisnV8YXj_GRGB73VQSy/s1600/1988+nlcs+program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="613" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GJdxLLkYUbVCpoueVvF846NNBfySoKclEg8QsVZ4nMv8oGWQ6ZQOO2vRQNgJsEO081r7419bzx48ru3E2vP7LGsPUtzg3e_K1kCniAqdjppGCWwz5Y5pBRB9MisnV8YXj_GRGB73VQSy/s400/1988+nlcs+program.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">When two was greater than five.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Game 3, in New York, brought a measure of revenge. Stifled by Hershiser for five innings, the Mets battled back to tie the game in the sixth, 3-3.<br />
<br />
LA broke that tie with a bases-loaded walk in the 8th, then handed the ball to Howell. As the Dodger closer ran the count full on McReynolds, Mets manager Davey Johnson asked umpires to inspect the pitcher's glove.<br />
<br />
Pine tar. <br />
<br />
Howell was summarily ejected and later suspended. The Mets erupted for five runs off a string of Los Angeles relievers then brought in Cone to close it out. The chastened author set his opponents down in order.<br />
<br />
New York now led the series, 2-1, with Dwight Gooden -- alias Dr. K -- on tap for game four.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Failure</h3>
<br />
The doctor delivered, holding the Dodgers to two runs on three hits while the Mets scored four, two on back-to-back homers by Strawberry and McReynolds.<br />
<br />
Johnson allowed his ace to pitch into the ninth where Gooden walked centerfielder John Shelby, then grooved his first pitch to Mike Scioscia. The LA catcher belted it into the NY bullpen. The Mets' potential 3-1 series lead vanished. Shea Stadium fell silent.<br />
<br />
Scioscia, interviewed years later, said he could hear his cleats crunching the infield dirt as he rounded the bases.<br />
<br />
Like Pendleton's blast off McDowell a year earlier, the Gothamites were stricken. The Mets reliever would re-live the horror again in the 12th, yielding a two-out homer to outfielder Kirk Gibson. LA 5, NY 4. Though the Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, Hershiser came out of the pen to lock it down, tying the series at two wins a piece.<br />
<br />
Los Angeles carried its momentum into game 5, thwacking their onetime prospect, Sid Fernandez, for six runs in four innings en route to a 7-4 win. New York had dropped two of three at home. They returned to LA facing elimination.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1K4f08YSKNE4qZmS0Pgjd0rc8FTNWJNB0BdmMWkup5pk5kXf77KVnZUj039RN2CyVMR5CVQ2n2dyuUuScv5frGFDZ3QNarSTg43SW7YJv_eUuPZYM_Q1iNmLdwZHCR-bJEO-_RgWRkXkd/s1600/nlcs+program+david+cone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="577" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1K4f08YSKNE4qZmS0Pgjd0rc8FTNWJNB0BdmMWkup5pk5kXf77KVnZUj039RN2CyVMR5CVQ2n2dyuUuScv5frGFDZ3QNarSTg43SW7YJv_eUuPZYM_Q1iNmLdwZHCR-bJEO-_RgWRkXkd/s400/nlcs+program+david+cone.jpg" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Pitcher, author, provocateur<br />
from the '88 NLCS program, Mets' edition</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There, backed by McReynold's four hits and three RBIs, Cone tossed a complete game gem, winning a stay of execution. He allowed just one run on five hits, struck out six and walked three.<br />
<br />
Game 7 pitted Hershiser against Darling. The Mets starter didn't make it past the second, surrendering six runs -- four earned -- on six hits. Hershiser scattered five hits and two walks en route to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd1JzXv01Y">a complete game shutout</a>.<br />
<br />
By the time he'd frozen the Mets' last batter, Howard Johnson, with a late breaking curve, the outcome had long been clear. The Mets' season was over. Though it wasn't immediately clear, so too was their era of dominance. There would be no dynasty.<br />
<br />
LA won the World Series, beating the Oakland A's, 4 games to 1. Kirk Gibson was named NL MVP. <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/darryl-strawberry-21048037">Strawberry</a> finished second. McReynolds, third.<br />
<br />
Hershiser won the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/1988_National_League_Cy_Young_Award">NL Cy Young Award</a>. Cincinnati Reds hurler Danny Jackson was runner-up. Cone came in third.<br />
<br />
<h3>
1989 and Thereafter</h3>
<br />
From 1984 through 1988, New York had had <a href="http://www.sportspaper.info/mlb/seasons/1989/new-york-mets-yearbook_1989.html">the best overall record</a> in the majors but little to show for it. Efforts grand and small to retool and reset failed to slow the decline. It started gradually in 1989 and accelerated to full-blown catastrophe in 1993 when they lost more than 100 games for the first time in 26 years.<br />
<br />
Reigning American League Cy Young winner Frank Viola was acquired for Aguilera, West and minor leaguer <a href="http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=412">Kevin Tapani</a>. Fan favorites Wally Backman, Mookie Wilson, Len Dykstra and McDowell were traded away. Their replacements underwhelmed, as did Jefferies.<br />
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In his first full season, the wunderkind struggled to hit just .258 after replacing Backman at second base and earned the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/25/sports/heartfelt-plea-vintage-whine-jefferies-writes-fans.html">lasting enmity</a> of teammates who believed he should have been sent back to the minors. In time, he'd fulfill some of his immense promise, but mostly as an ex-Met.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9JA-QVZSocUU1gcZpQ73Ho3Dp-7z8washHvR57s3O7sZVL-8LSOqPoYP6jmyTKgzmjly9X3WhHznEYuK5ONCeRl6b3PDFuqeDbf3iqF1KE1DjDD7anWs-GFbiK2TSg1f2v8-3tBwKz5x/s1600/nlcs+program+gregg+jefferies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="622" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9JA-QVZSocUU1gcZpQ73Ho3Dp-7z8washHvR57s3O7sZVL-8LSOqPoYP6jmyTKgzmjly9X3WhHznEYuK5ONCeRl6b3PDFuqeDbf3iqF1KE1DjDD7anWs-GFbiK2TSg1f2v8-3tBwKz5x/s400/nlcs+program+gregg+jefferies.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Wonderboy Gregg Jefferies,<br />
from the Mets' edition '88 NLCS program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hernandez and Carter were let go at season's end. Davey Johnson was retained, but not for long. With the team sputtering at 20-22, he was fired midway through 1990. They played better for his replacement, longtime player and coach <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cb7f6459">Bud Harrelson</a>, but only well enough to finish second for the fifth time in seven years. It would be their last winning season until 1997.<br />
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In November 1990, <a href="https://www.newsday.com/from-the-archives-feeling-shunned-by-mets-darryl-strawberry-becomes-a-dodger-1.6321232">Strawberry departed</a> for the Dodgers as he'd said he would. A year later, Jefferies, McReynolds and Miller were traded to the Kansas City Royals for one-time Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen and utility man <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/inside-baseball-royals-bat-back-bad-prediction-plus-more-mlb-notes/">Bill Pecota</a>. Soon after, Viola signed with the Boston Red Sox.<br />
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Cone, who'd solidified his ace status by leading the NL in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in August 1992, and helped them win the World Series. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 1994 as a member of the Royals. In 1998, 10 years after he burst to prominence, he won 20 games again, this time as a New York Yankee.<br />
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He returned to the Mets for a cup of coffee in 2003, then <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/30/sports/baseball/mets-pitcher-david-cone-retires.html">called it career</a>.<br />
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* An earlier version of this entry said it was 11 of 12.<br />
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-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i>Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1199683717548134024.post-17711858437665807552018-08-18T20:08:00.001-04:002019-11-09T07:38:46.567-05:00The Police Play Shea and Sting Decides to Quit<b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>T WAS ON THAT DAY, GORDON SUMNER SAID, </b>he decided to quit The Police.<br />
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Performing with bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers before 70,000 delirious fans* at a giant municipal sports stadium, Sumner -- aka Sting -- decided he'd reached the summit of his professional life. He was not yet 32 years old.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtUdowD7eDCBVfGygKdvvNf_u5Fyg9ekhoQqg8DClumFp9wyPQkaqX3jxqWRNxPGrU4DDs7MMmGGpRKy-gynXw6cL4PR9UqWTr9uHwW7BSefOt033ghvM55bFRKNvxnOvjR07o4KS2srN/s1600/police+1983+tour+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="819" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtUdowD7eDCBVfGygKdvvNf_u5Fyg9ekhoQqg8DClumFp9wyPQkaqX3jxqWRNxPGrU4DDs7MMmGGpRKy-gynXw6cL4PR9UqWTr9uHwW7BSefOt033ghvM55bFRKNvxnOvjR07o4KS2srN/s400/police+1983+tour+book.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summers, Sting and Copeland<br />
on their terminal world tour</td></tr>
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The date: August 18, 1983. The place: Shea Stadium in the New York City neighborhood of <a href="https://www.nycgo.com/articles/must-see-flushing-slideshow">Flushing, Queens</a>, home of Major League Baseball's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfz7gW2Wf3I">New York Mets</a> and the National Football League's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZgtwXswAbk">New York Jets</a>, both of whom were irrelevant to The Police. </div>
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<br />
Two months into a planned 10-month, 107-date world tour, the band's one-night stand at Shea was part performance, part pilgrimage and part homage to The Beatles, who'd famously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6DfG7sml-Q">played there 28 years earlier. </a><br />
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"We'd like to thank the Beatles for lending us their stadium," <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/20/arts/rock-police-perform-for-70000-at-shea-stadium.html">Sting said</a> from the stage.<br />
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The Beatles. The Fab Four. Simultaneously the best <i>and</i> most popular rock or pop group of their era, they'd split up 13 years earlier. While many groups and artists had since attained and held the world's attention -- <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-rolling-stones-mn0000894465">the Rolling Stones</a>, the Who, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Michael Jackson with and without his siblings, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXGz8i0I2L0">Diana Ross and the Supremes</a> and the Beach Boys to name a few -- none had yet shown the chart-dominating staying power of those cheeky lads from Liverpool, England.</div>
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Enter the London-birthed Police, a trio featuring the charismatic front man Sting on lead vocals and bass, Summers on guitar and Copeland on drums. Their first four albums had produced a string of hits including <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T1c7GkzRQQ">Roxanne</a></i>, <i>Can't Stand Losing You</i>, <i>Don't Stand So Close to Me</i> and <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENX1Sf3fgQ">Every Little Thing She Does is Magic</a></i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLUfmc9LiA4KT0Es0Jc0nTRYznfaCLXo4Q-owdZhD_nCjehNp-PU3cp4JFeZKAQmEFsleAl4M4j_wYdOAqXfS3uLWWYHH6m132tCFO4YQ-Pn6_StWuiDxdBHjzCIvPy0IvPpH81tJDw0Z/s1600/every+breath+you+take+single.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="753" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLUfmc9LiA4KT0Es0Jc0nTRYznfaCLXo4Q-owdZhD_nCjehNp-PU3cp4JFeZKAQmEFsleAl4M4j_wYdOAqXfS3uLWWYHH6m132tCFO4YQ-Pn6_StWuiDxdBHjzCIvPy0IvPpH81tJDw0Z/s400/every+breath+you+take+single.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 7-inch plastic piece of rock history</td></tr>
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All of that paled in comparison to what came next: Synchronicity, a 10-song LP full of jukebox hits: <i>Synchronicity II</i>, <i>King of Pain</i>, <i>Wrapped Around Your Finger</i> and the omnipresent smash <i>Every Breath You Take</i>.<br />
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Conceptualized by psychologist Carl Jung and amplified by author Arthur Koestler's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roots_of_Coincidence"><i>The Roots of Coincidence</i></a>, Synchronicity was the notion that sometimes things happening at the same moment appear to be related events even if there's no causal connection between them. </div>
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<i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs">Every Breath You Take</a></i> was everyone's simultaneous event, it's creepy stalker lyrics set against an utterly irresistible beat. The biggest hit single of 1983, it spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. And that was just in the US. It also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland and South Africa, reached number 2 in Australia, Norway and Sweden, number 3 in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands and copped the Grammy Award for song of the year. <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFN5DveQH0o">King of Pain</a></i> quickly followed it up the charts, reaching number three.<br />
<br />
In between those events, The Police headlined <a href="http://www.thepolicewiki.org/Police_wiki/index.php?title=1983-08-18">at Shea</a>. Opening for them were Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Opening for her was a little-known band out of Athens, Georgia, that had cut just a single album titled <i>Murmur</i>. They were R.E.M., and amid late afternoon drizzle that summer day, the big, echoey concrete and steel ballpark in Queens swallowed them up. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNsVtK9zNpmErIcKMhtzcHisImAyhXx2JP7THSZskdaiN7Ofc-ImLGA9S9-MN1tGiHtYI5gPeOLKa6Mj1YET2UFAMYE8LL8uQQZTap7HI6poebwiwCOvBVjMMlB7kBQuHW9bANtu4tSGb/s1600/band+in+a+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1024" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNsVtK9zNpmErIcKMhtzcHisImAyhXx2JP7THSZskdaiN7Ofc-ImLGA9S9-MN1tGiHtYI5gPeOLKa6Mj1YET2UFAMYE8LL8uQQZTap7HI6poebwiwCOvBVjMMlB7kBQuHW9bANtu4tSGb/s400/band+in+a+box.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A band in a box: Sting, Copeland and Summers from the '83 tour book</td></tr>
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<div>
Their day as <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/r-e-m-reflect-on-radical-out-of-time-lp-25-years-later-124296/">the world's biggest band</a> was yet to come.<br />
<br />
While the Jets would abandon Shea for New Jersey's Meadowlands after the 1983 season, the ballpark continued on as home of the Mets and an occasional concert venue for another 25 years before <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/sports/baseball/24mets.html">being torn down</a> and replaced.<br />
<br />
Long Island native Billy Joel's two-night run in July 2008 closed out its musical history. In <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk1mkLXZzqY">The Last Play at Shea</a></i>, a documentary film recounting the stadium's role in rock, Sting revealed what he was thinking that rainy evening now 35 years ago, up on stage where the Fab Four once thrilled.<br />
<br />
"I realized that you can't get better than this, you can't climb a mountain higher than this. This is Everest," he said. "I made the decision on stage that ok, this is it, this is where this thing stops, right now."<br />
<br />
Though the tour continued on, The Police never made another album. Based on their five-LP canon, they made the <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/police">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a> in 2003. Four years later, <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/rem">they were joined</a> by R.E.M. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts <a href="https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/joan-jett-blackhearts">finally arrived</a> in 2015.<br />
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* Including me and my pal, Eddie, whose idea it was to get tickets. Thanks Big Ed!<br />
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-- Follow me on Twitter <i>@paperboyarchive</i><br />
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Andy Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07079189776007845840noreply@blogger.com0