Baseball Quiz: Now these may be fairly easy. 1) Who is the all-
time leader in shutouts? 2) Who is the only player in either
league to get 7 hits in a 9-inning game. [Two others did it in
extra innings.] Answers below.
Johnny Mac”s Sports Beat
More baseball in the coming weeks. But first, J Mac has a little
golf tale.
—
As you golfers are well aware, teachers and “swing gurus” (gosh,
I hate that term) are all the rage today. Butch Harmon, who
tutors young Mr. Woods, is probably more famous than his Dad.
All his father did was win the Masters. So let me take you back
to the original swing master, Ernest Jones.
Born in 1888 in Kent (outside of London) Ernest was involved in
golf from an early age. He won caddy tournaments starting at
age 10. He eventually became an assistant pro by age 18. A fine
player, he won the Kent Cup in 1914. He would repeat that win
in 1920 under very different circumstances.
You see, WW I was raging and Jones, at age 27, volunteered to
serve. In 1915, he was wounded by shrapnel so severely that his
right leg was amputated at the knee. Just 4 months after the
amputation, he attempted to play again. Without use of a
prosthesis he shot 83 his first time out! He was shortly breaking
70, eventually shooting a 64 balancing on one leg. He eventually
adapted to a prosthetic device and played exhibitions against the
likes of Harry Vardon and James Braid.
This ability to play on one leg led Jones to his discovery about
the golf swing.it wasn”t “hit the ball” as he was taught, but
instead “swing and clubhead.” Simple, huh?
He taught some of the finest players of the day while a head pro
on Long Island and specialized in teaching women. His
approach, which focused on feel over power (Jones himself was
only 5”2″ and 130 lbs) was ideally suited to the fairer sex.
Remember, this was some 40 years before the sexual revolution
and women were not even allowed at most clubs.
After WW II, he moved his teaching indoors, to the Spalding
building in midtown Manhattan. His private 30 minute lessons
were booked months in advance and he gave more than 3,000 a
year. He would also counsel anyone who asked, from fellow
train riders on the LIRR to fellow imbibers at the Brass Rail.
Occasionally, Spalding employees were also given lessons.
Among those employees was a young girl who was modeling
sportswear for the company. She thought that since she was
wearing the golf attire, a certain knowledge of the game wouldn”t
hurt. Also availing himself of Mr. Jones” expertise was another
employee, a WW II Air Force vet and admitted golf nut. While
trying to keep his focus on the ball, he was nonetheless intrigued
by the young model. They dated, married and lived happily ever
after. The vet was Johnny Mac Sr., the young model, my mom.
As I struggle now to overcome serious surgery and work my way
back to some semblance of competency on the course, the story
of Ernest Jones gives me hope.
One-Hit Wonders, continued
Artists whose only Billboard Top 40 song was also a Top 10 hit.
[For the period 1961-75. Chart debut and peak position are
also listed.]
Marvin Hamlisch “The Entertainer” 4/74 #3 [“The Sting”]
Major Harris “Love Won”t Let Me Wait” 5/68 #2.Doesn”t get
any better than this one.
Richard Harris “MacArthur Park” 5/68 #2…Ever notice how
this song just won”t go away? Aaghhhhh!
Rolf Harris “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” 6/63 #3
Joe Henderson “Snap Your Fingers” 6/62 #8
Eddie Holman “Hey There Lonely Girl” 1/70 #2
Clint Holmes “Playground In My Mind” 5/73 #2
The Hondells “Little Honda” 10/64 #9
The Honeycombs “Have I The Right?” 10/64 #5
Hot Butter “Popcorn” 8/72 #9…totally embarrassing tune.
The Human Beinz (sic) “Nobody But Me” 1/68 #8…Cleveland
bar band.
The Ides of March “Vehicle” 4/70 #2
Frank Ifield “I Remember You” 9/62 #5…I hope you
remember this one, awesome song.
Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar “Apache” 2/61 #2…from
Denmark.
Terry Jacks “Seasons In The Sun” 2/74 #1…Canadian
The Jaggerz “The Rapper” 2/70 #2
The Jaynetts “Sally, Go ”Round The Roses” 9/63 #2
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/19/75: #1 “Listen To What The
Man Said” (Wings) #2 “The Hustle” (Van McCoy & The Soul
City Symphony) #3 “I”m Not In Love” (10CC.requesting
quiet. requesting quiet).
BTO / Al Gore
[Thanks to HK for passing on this story from The Globe and
Mail.]
You may have noticed that during some of Al Gore”s campaign
appearances, he has been employing Bachman Turner
Overdrive”s song, “You Ain”t Seen Nothing Yet,” one of the
great road songs and a #1 hit for BTO in 1974.
According to a Gore spokesperson, Randy Bachman”s tune has
sharpened the focus of Gore”s appearances. “After Tipper
brought us the song, the phrase became more of a riff in the
speech. It fit so well we actually changed the speech a little. It”s
a two-for-one. It”s not only a great song. It truly captures Gore”s
message.”
“I wish they”d sharpen my bank account, ” says Randy Bachman.
[I recently wrote of Bachman…remember, he”s also a co-founder
of The Guess Who, currently on a big reunion tour.] As far as he
knows, no one from the Gore campaign has contacted his
publisher to negotiate the rights to use the song. [I used an
oldies song, myself, last year in a radio commercial. It”s a long
process to gain permission. But, first and foremost, the artists
deserve to be paid!!!]
It turns out that Bill Clinton tried to get permission to another
BTO song, “Takin” Care of Business,” back in 1992. “I said no,”
says Bachman. “I didn”t like Bill Clinton and I really don”t like
politicians.”
Clinton requested the song again in 1996. Bachman refused him
a second time. “I didn”t like Clinton because I did a lot of work
down south and I know the state he”s from has a bad
environmental record. And I didn”t like what he did personally.
If a guy cheats on his wife, then he cheats in business.”
Now, lest you think this piece is an excuse to blast both Clinton
AND Gore, Bachman likes Al.
But Globe and Mail reporter Brent Bambury mused about a line
in “You Ain”t Seen Nothing Yet”. ”Any love is good love / So I
took what I could get”.
How to interpret it? Says Gore spokesperson Jano Cabrera:
“Our interpretation of that would be there”s nothing wrong with
unity and it”s a symbol of how interested Vice President Gore is
in bipartisanship.” Weak spin, eh?
Gabe Jennings
Hopefully you caught some of Sunday”s action at the U.S.
Olympic Track and Field Trials. Again, if you are in the least bit
interested in sports, it”s worth watching; better than the Olympics
themselves. [Don”t miss this coming Sunday and the battle in
the Men”s 200 between Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene.]
My friend George and I were discussing another facet of the
Trials. These athletes are terrific role models. None of this NBA
garbage. First off, you have to admire the tremendous dedication
track athletes have to their sport. They”re also an intelligent
bunch who you imagine might actually watch the news now and
then.
I will try and profile a few of the Olympic team members as we
get closer to Sydney but, for now, there is one true character on
the team who, while highly intelligent, may not exactly be
everyone”s role model, Gabe Jennings, who won the 1500 on
Sunday.
Jennings has quite an interesting background. For starters, his
mother delivered him, herself! [You don”t want to know all the
details.] Gabe”s parents were living on a commune in Northern
California. The date of his birth, January 25, is also that of the
great Steve Prefontaine, perhaps the best all-around distance
runner America has ever produced. Pre was also known for his
quirky behavior and, thus, serves as a role model for Jennings in
more ways than one.
Back in 1997, Jennings ran the fastest high school mile in 23
years (4:03) and he ended up enrolling at Stanford, where this
past spring he won both the NCAA indoor and outdoor 1,500
meters.
As to his quirkiness, columnist John Walters had the following
description of Jenning”s in the current issue of Sports Illustrated.
“Jenning”s wardrobe is more J. Christ than J. Crew. Whenever
possible he eschews shoes, socks and underwear – ”I don”t
believe in laundry,” he says – and walks around campus in a long
flowing robe that he purchased in Morocco. He”d rather walk
around naked. ”When I go into the music building to practice the
harpsichord,” he says, ”I like to play in the nude.””
Hey, who am I to judge? But I can”t say I”m too fired up when
Jennings describes himself as a revolutionary, “espousing
communism and calling Che Guevara, ”my hero,”” according to
Walters.
Get ready to see a lot of Jennings during the Sydney coverage.
He”s great copy.
Quiz Answers: 1) Walter Johnson, 110. 2) Rennie Stennett,
Pittsburgh, 9/16/75. Stennett went 7 for 7. Now I went back and
figured out that without this one game, Stennett would have
finished the season batting .277, instead of the .286 mark he
ended up with. Back then, that meant something in contract
talks.
*Two A.L. players have 7 hits in a game. Rocky Colavito did it
for Detroit in 1962, going 7 for 10 in a 22-inning game. In 1970,
Cesar Gutierrez went 7 for 7, but in a 12-inning game while
playing for Detroit. Gutierrez was not a good hitter and this
single performance meant he finished the season at .243 instead
of .230. [Yes, some of this info is about the most useless stuff
you are ever going to receive in your lifetime.]
Soccer
I”ve mentioned this before but in my travels overseas, one of the
fun things to do is sit in a pub and watch a good English league
soccer (football) game. Alas, the coverage in America, however,
sucks. But, on the off chance that you care like I do, there is a
terrific web site that I found out about through Sports Illustrated.
www.soccerage.com [Grab a pint!]
Next Bar Chat, Friday…a summer hockey tale from our friends
up north (really!)…and a little British golf history; it”s British
Open time, you know. Plus, oh, what the heck…those darn
bears.
