Men”s Track Quiz: From 1979 through 1993, what three British
runners alternated in holding the world record for the mile?
Answer below.
Rulon Gardner
Gardner pulled off the biggest upset in the history of wrestling,
period, when he defeated the 286-pound Greek statue, Russian
Alexander Karelin, to capture the gold in the heavyweight
division of the Greco-Roman competition in Sydney.
[If you need to be reminded of what the difference is between
Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling, as I did, in the former, you
can attack your opponent only above the legs, which obviously
places a premium on upper body strength.]
Until this past Wednesday, Karelin, the greatest wrestler of all
time, hadn”t lost a single match in 13 years while capturing the
gold at the last 3 Olympic competitions. Not one match, of any
kind, in 13 years.
Gardner had qualified for the U.S. team by defeating Matt
Ghaffari in the U.S. trials. Ghaffari won the silver medal in
1996, yet had been 0 for 22 against Karelin. Gardner had fought
the Russian only once prior to Sydney, at the 1997 world
championships where he lost 5-0.
Karelin grew up in Siberia and is regarded as a superstar in
Russia. According to the Washington Post”s Angus Phillips,
Alexander “travels by helicopter with coaches, masseurs and
doctors, owns a casino and hotel and was elected to the Russian
Parliament after running on the advice of his friend, President
Vladimir Putin.”
Gardner had equally humble beginnings, one of 9 children
growing up on a dairy farm in Afton, Wyoming.
On Wednesday, Gardner came up with the only point of the
match. Karelin walked off without saying a word.
Cuba Upset
Nothing else to do in Cuba except complain about their gold
medal loss to the U.S. in baseball on Wednesday, 4-0.
“They played like a high school team! Like an elementary
school team! Like kids just learning how to play baseball!”
shouted one local in Havana. Last week, the Cubans also had
their 21-game Olympic winning streak snapped by the
Netherlands, and the Dutchmen were wearing wooden shoes!!
[Sorry, cheap joke and I humbly apologize.]
The roughest criticism was reserved for the Cuban team”s
coaches. “The baseball players didn”t play so bad, it was the
directing that was horrible. They did not make the necessary
changes.”
But the Cuban citizens did appreciate the play of the Americans.
As to what happens to the players and coaches when they return,
look for a little flotilla heading to Miami.
And here”s to Tommy Lasorda. I think he was genuinely happier
over guiding the U.S. team to its historic gold than any success
he had with the Dodgers.
Frank Wills
Wills, the Watergate security guard who discovered the 1972
break-in, died Wednesday at age 52.
As reported by the AP, “Early on June 17, 1972, Wills found a
piece of gray tape over a door latch leading into the Watergate
complex. Thinking a shift worker had put it there to make it easy
to get in and out of the building, he simply pulled it off and
stuffed it in his pocket.”
When he later found a second piece of tape over the lock, he
called the police. Accompanying the officers into the
Democratic National Committee offices, five men were
discovered to be attempting a burglary; James McCord, Bernard
Barker, Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis and Virgilio Gonzalez.
Wills quit the Watergate soon after the break-in, the start of a
very tough stretch that basically lasted until his death. Many in
Washington were afraid to hire him, though eventually he ended
up as a security guard at Georgetown University.
In 1983, he was convicted of shoplifting a pair of shoes in
Georgia and in 1990, he settled in North Augusta, SC, to take
care of his ailing mother. The two lived off of her Social
Security check and when she died in 1992, Wills said he could
not afford to bury her, so he donated her body to science.
ATTACK MONKEYS!!!
According to a wire service report, youth gangs in Paris have
started employing attack monkeys in an effort to intimidate their
rivals. No more pit bulls or rottweilers.
Said a police officer in the depressed suburb of Aubervilliers,
“There are dozens of them. Kids take them out on leashes, and
even carry baby monkeys around in diapers. But these animals
can be very dangerous indeed.”
Imported illegally through Spain from Gibraltar, Morocco or
Algeria, the Barbary apes are known for their powerful limbs,
sharp teeth and short tempers. They can be turned into effective
weapons. And don”t call them “apes.” They hate that.
More Bear Chat
Thanks to Canadian correspondent Harry K for forwarding a
story from the National Post (an excellent paper, by the way)
concerning one Ed Craft of Prince George, British Columbia.
It seems that Mr. Craft awoke in the middle of the night last
week to the sound of his dog howling in the backyard.
“The dog was just raising Cain,” said the 64-year-old Craft, “and
dogs don”t bark unless something is happening.” [I don”t know
about this; my dog just liked to hear himself talk, I think.]
Anyway, reporter Foster Smith picks up the story.
“Mr. Craft stepped out on to a small platform atop three steps
leading down to the backyard. That”s when he saw the full-size
bear squaring off against his dog.
” ”I hollered at the dog to get back in his dog house and clapped
my hands and I guess that startled the bear because he turned and
came for me,” said Craft.
“The bear charged the ten feet separating it from Mr. Craft and
jumped when it reached the steps where he was standing. With
its back feet on the bottom stairs, the bear wrapped its front paws
around Mr. Craft”s legs at the knees, scratching the front of his
bare legs and puncturing the back of them with its claws;
prompting Mr. Craft to wind up and punch it in the head.
” ”It happened so fast, I had no choice,” said our hero. ”I”m real
lucky.” ”
After he hit the bear, the bruin scampered away. Concluded
Craft, “I ain”t no hero, believe me. If I”d seen it before I went
outside, I wouldn”t have gone out.” So much for the dog then,
eh?
Minor Leaguers
I mentioned in Wednesday”s chat that after my trip to
Cooperstown this week, I felt compelled to write about the 9
minor leaguers who hit 60 or more home runs in a single season.
I now realize that I have some good resources here in the home
office, so forgive me if I wait until Monday to supply you with
more details.
For now, here are the prolific sluggers.
–Joe Bauman, 72 (the all-time mark for any professional level),
1954, Roswell Rockets.
–Joe Hauser, twice, 69 and 63. *More on Bauman and Hauser
Monday.
–Dick Stuart, 66. 1956. Successful big league career followed.
–Ken Guetther, 62. In 15-years, he clouted 330 dingers, but
never made it to the big time.
–John “Moose” Clabaugh, 62 in just 121 games. He had a cup
of coffee with Brooklyn that season, 1926, and went just 1 for
14. Major league scouts shied away because he was nearsighted
and a lousy outfielder. Moose hit 346 home runs in the minors.
–Bob Crues, 69 in 1948. In the same season he drove in 254
runs (in just 140 games) while playing for Amarillo. Never
made it to the majors.
–Bob Lennon, 64 in 1954. Lennon later played parts of three
seasons in the big leagues with just one homer. What made his
64 so remarkable, however, was the fact that he had never hit
more than 24 in a season before ”54. [Steroids?!]
–Frosty Kennedy, 60 in 1956. Never made it to the majors.
–And lastly, there was Tony Lazzeri. Some have called his 1925
season at AA Salt Lake City the greatest ever by a minor leaguer.
All Tony did was hit .335 with 60 HRs and 222 RBIs. But he
also scored 202 runs! And Lazzeri parlayed that season into a
$75,000 signing bonus with the New York Yankees, where he
went on to fashion a Hall of Fame career.
Anna Nicole Smith
By now you”ve undoubtedly heard that former Playboy Playmate
Smith was awarded $449 million in damages in her court battle
with the son of her late, 90-year-old husband over his $1.6 billion
estate. Anna is reportedly very happy as are we here at Bar Chat.
Smith met tycoon Howard Marshall in a topless bar in Houston
and married him when she was 29 and he was 89. Their
beautiful relationship, founded on love and mutual trust, ended
after just 14 months when Marshall, err, passed on to tycoon
heaven. [When he got there he was reminded that “you can”t
take it with you.” “Drat!” he must have replied.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/27/75: “I”m Sorry” (John Denver)
#2 “Fame” (David Bowie) #3 “Rhinestone Cowboy” (Glen
Campbell)
Attention High School Soccer Fans
On Wednesday, a New Jersey high school senior by the name of
Mustapha Kamara scored 11 goals in Newark Tech”s 19-2
victory over Warren Tech. According to the National High
School Record Book, this matches the second-highest goal total
for a single game; the record being 12 set by Marcos Arreola of
Calexico High of California in a 12-5 victory over Calipatria in
1980. [Now that”s pretty cool…all 12 goals.] By the way, the
Newark Tech coach employed all 16 of his players and Kamara
scored his 11th with 5 minutes left in the game. As for the
opposing goalie, geez, I hope he hangs in there.
Track Quiz Answer: British runners Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett,
and Steve Cram. The progression was as follows:
–7/17/79, Coe surpasses the record of New Zealand”s John
Walker by running a 3:49.0
–7/19/80, Ovett runs a 3:48.8
–8/19/81, Coe.3:48.53
–8/26/81, Ovett.3:48.4
–8/28/81, Coe.3:47.33
–7/27/85, Cram.3:46.32
*On 9/5/93, Algeria”s Noureddine Morceli smashed Cram”s
mark, running a 3:44.39. Since then, the record has been
lowered to 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco.
Charlie Brown: “How can we lose when we”re so sincere?”
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
