Kansas City Chiefs Quiz (1960 – 2000): 1) Most rushing yards,
career? 2) Most pass receptions, career? 3) Most TD, career? 4)
Most interceptions, career? Answers below.
Johnny Mac”s Baseball.The Yankees, 1949-64
If it seems like we”ve had a lot of stories on the Bronx Bombers,
well, that”s what happens when you win a gazillion World
Championships. And as someone born with a visceral dislike for
the team, you have no idea how this all pains me. But the truth is
the truth. Despite the previous great runs we have discussed in
this space, this might be the single greatest domination by one
team in one sport ever (though the Boston Celtics would have
something to say about that). Sixteen seasons, fourteen pennants
and nine World Series titles. Good God, that is impressive. Five
in a row from ”49 thru ”53, a couple more in the Fifties, and then
the muscle team of ”60-”62. They just won, no matter what.
DiMaggio retires? Bring in Mantle. Dickey steps down, here
comes Berra. Pitching thinning out? Bring up Vic Raschi and
trade for Eddie Lopat and Allie Reynolds. Still need another
starter.grab that Ford kid from the minors. A little help in the
pen? That Joe Page looks like he can pitch. Infield getting a bit
old? How about Billy Martin and Gil McDougal. Maybe a
veteran bat off the bench? Johnny Mize and Enos Slaughter OK?
It goes on and on.
The main victims for the early years were the Brooklyn Dodgers.
After beating them in 1947, a Series memorable for Al
Gionfriddo”s catch off Joe D. and Bill Beven”s near no-hitter,
which he ended up losing, the Bombers made a habit of
victimizing Brooklyn. 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1956 all resulted in
Yankee victories over the “Boys of Summer.” [1955, when
Brooklyn claimed their one and only title, interrupted that
streak.] On paper, the Dodgers looked to be at least the equal of
their intra-city rivals, if not superior. Snider, Hodges, Jackie
Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Campanella, Furillo, Gilliam,
Newcombe, Erskine, Podres, Preacher Roe, Ralph Branca.that
was some pretty impressive collection of talent, yet the Yankees
beat ”em like a rug. They also devoured the Whiz Kids of
Philadelphia in 1950, slapped the Giants in ”51, split two
memorable seven-game classics with the Milwaukee Braves
(winning in ”58 after losing in ”57), before finally sputtering a bit
in 1959, finishing a distant third to the Go-Go Sox. Funny thing,
their best single season record through all of this was in 1954,
going 103-51 but finishing eight behind the Indians.
1960 saw the emergence of the true Bronx Bombers. This would
be Casey Stengel”s last year, having led them all the way through
this period. They coasted to the pennant behind Mantle and Ford
and a new crew that included Bobby Richardson., Tony Kubek,
Clete Boyer, Elston Howard, Moose Skowron and newly-
acquired Roger Maris. Maris would take MVP honors and the
Yankees would hit 193 homers en route to an expected victory
over the surprising Pirates. They absolutely dominated the Bucs
in every category except games won. [I guess that is the most
important one, huh?] New York outscored Pittsburgh 55 to 27,
out-homered ”em 10-4, out-hit ”em .338 to .256 and won
lopsided victories of 12-0, 10-0 and 16-3. But Bill Mazeroski
won Game Seven with that memorable blast and the Yankees
were sent to a crushing defeat.
1961 then saw the Yankees really pissed off. They clubbed a
then record 240 homers, leading to an easy pennant over the
Tigers. The story of Mantle and Maris is too well known to
chronicle here, but that wasn”t all they had. Berra, Howard,
Skowron and part-timer Johnny Blanchard all hit over 20
homers. Maris repeated as MVP and all told they had nine All-
Star selections. Whitey Ford went 25-4 and won the Cy Young
award, Ralph Terry was 16-3 and ace reliever Luis Arroyo
posted a 15-5 record with 29 saves. They had it all; power,
pitching, defense. The Reds were brushed aside in five, with
Whitey tossing two shutouts, while Hector Lopez, a reserve
outfielder subbing for an injured Mantle, drove in seven.
The same basic crew would repeat in 1962, winning a great 7-
game Series over San Francisco. Terry, who had served up the
homer to Mazeroski in 1960, was on the hill for Game 7.
Nursing a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, he had Matty
Alou on first with two outs. Willie Mays then crushed a liner to
right-center that looked like it would tie the game, but Maris, an
underrated fielder, made a great short hop on the ball, holding
Alou at third. With first base open, manager Ralph Houk
decided to pitch to Willie McCovey (in all fairness, Orlando
Cepeda was on deck.choose your poison). McCovey hit a
scorcher that little second sacker Bobby Richardson just
managed to snare, the Series being won by a few inches.
The Yanks would then capture two more pennants, but lost the
Series each year. First hey were swept by Sandy Koufax and the
Dodgers in 1963, managing just 4 runs, and then New York lost
in seven to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals in ”64. Yogi Berra,
who had taken over for Houk in 1964 as field boss, was
unceremoniously given the boot after just one year. Cards
manager Johnny Keane was hired to replace Yogi, marking the
end of this great dynasty. Dropping all the way to 6th in 1965,
the Yanks then canned Keane 20 games into the ”66 campaign,
bringing back “The Major,” Ralph Houk. But the magic was
gone, as was most of the talent…last place beckoned for the once
proud Bombers. Years of mediocrity followed, and the Yanks
didn”t return to prominence until Billy Martin and the 1976
season. But that was one incredible record…five Series in a row,
14 of 16 pennants.
1949 97-58…defeat Brooklyn 4-1 in Series.
1950 98-56…defeat Philadelphia 4-0
1951 98-56…defeat New York Giants 4-2
1952 95-59…defeat Brooklyn 4-3
1953 99-52…defeat Brooklyn 4-2
1954 103-51…second to Cleveland”s 111-43.
1955 96-58..lose to Brooklyn 4-3
1956 97-57…defeat Brooklyn 4-3
1957 98-56…lose to Milwaukee 4-3
1958 92-62…defeat Milwaukee 4-3
1959 79-75…third
1960 97-57…lose to Pittsburgh 4-3
1961 109-53…defeat Cincinnati 4-1
1962 96-66…defeat San Francisco 4-3
1963 104-57…lose to Los Angeles 4-0
1964 99-63…lose to St. Louis 4-3
Gerry and the Pacemakers
Led by Gerry Marsden, Gerry and the Pacemakers rocketed onto
the British music scene along with the Beatles in 1962. Born in
1942 in Liverpool, Marsden originally called his group the Mars
Bars (a ploy to get backing from Mars candy company, which
backfired in a big way when the Mars family sued to have them
change their name.obviously, Gerry didn”t realize that the Mars
family is one of the most powerful, and wealthy, in the world).
The Pacemakers was then agreed to as the new name.
The group debuted in 1959 and, as an aside, in 1960 they were
on a bill at Liverpool Stadium headed up by Gene Vincent, who
just two weeks earlier had been seriously injured in the car
accident which claimed the life of guitarist Eddie Cochran. By
1961 the Pacemakers and Liverpool”s other upcoming stars, the
Beatles, were playing together at the Cavern club as well as the
leading spots in Hamburg, Germany.
In 1962 Gerry and the gang became the second group to be
signed by manager Brian Epstein (after the Beatles) and the great
George Martin (sorry, Sir George Martin) was brought on board
to produce their records. The first three singles that the
Pacemakers then released under his guidance went to #1 on the
UK charts.”How Do You Do It,” “I Like It,” and “You”ll
Never Walk Alone.” This latter tune, adapted from the musical
“Carousel,” would become the anthem of the Liverpool football
team and fans across the UK have since used it as one of their
tribal chants (not that there is anything wrong with this.it”s
actually pretty cool).
Gerry and the Pacemakers were thus part of the new wave, which
was given the generic title of the “Liverpool” or the “Mersey
Sound” (the latter after a river that flows through Liverpool).
Others aside from the Pacemakers and the Beatles from
Liverpool included Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (“Little
Children”) and Freddie and the Dreamers (“I”m Telling You
Now”).
The Pacemakers made their North American debut in May 1964
at the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto (I add that for my Canadian
friends who may have some dim recollection of this event) and
by July “Don”t Let The Sun.” hit #4 in the U.S. [Though not
higher as “I Get Around,” “Memphis,” and “Rag Doll” occupied
the Top Three slots on the Billboard charts. Marsden was also
later sued for breach of copyright on this tune because he took
the title of an earlier song by Ray Charles. Charles won.]
“How Do You Do It” (#9 / U.S.), “I Like It” (#17), “I”ll Be
There” (#14), and then “Ferry ”Cross The Mersey” (#6) all
followed within a year. [“Ferry.” was the title song for the
group”s film, released on the heels of the Beatles” screen
offerings.] The Pacemakers were hot. But less than two years
later.after minor hits “It”s Gonna Be Alright” (#23) and “Girl
On A Swing” (#28)…it was all over. The group didn”t feel it
could keep up with the evolving UK rock scene and Marsden
began a successful cabaret and Broadway career. Next
Wednesday, Peter and Gordon.
Brian Robinson.Hiker
Holy cow.did you see what this guy just accomplished? Last
Saturday Robinson became the first hiker to traverse each of the
3 U.S. National Scenic trails in a calendar year when he finished
up on the Appalachian Trail in Maine (at Mount Katahdin). This
year Robinson logged 7,400 miles through 22 states, including
the Pacific Crest Trail (Mexico to Canada) and the Continental
Divide Trail (the Rockies). He had to deal with extremes, of
course, from hip-deep snow (which forced him to abandon the
Appalachian Trail in April for a spell) as well as scorching heat
and loneliness. At one point Robinson even contracted Bell”s
palsy, which paralyzed the left side of his face for 6 weeks.
But here”s a diet / nutrition tip for you all. The 6”1″ 155 lb.
hiker subsisted on a regimen of Snickers bars and peanut butter,
which he ate every two hours and which kept him from losing
weight. Robinson was on leave from his job as a systems
engineer at Compaq. Hey, Brian, a lot has happened there since
you left, you know? [I don”t have the heart to tell him he doesn”t
have a job anymore. You tell him.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/28/67: #1 “To Sir With Love”
(Lulu) #2 “The Letter” (The Box Tops) #3 “Never My Love”
(The Association)
Kansas City Chiefs Quiz Answers: 1) Rushing, career: Christian
Okoye – 4,897 yards. 2) Pass receptions, career: Henry
Marshall, 416 (1976-87.Marshall”s best season was only 62.
He did average 15.7 per catch). 3) Most TD, career: Otis Taylor,
60. [Taylor played from 1965-75 and averaged 17.8 yards on his
410 receptions. 57 of his touchdowns were receiving.] 4)
Interceptions, career: Emmitt Thomas, one of the great corners in
the game (though he”s not in the Hall of Fame, surprisingly),
picked off 58 between 1966-78, 5 for touchdowns.
Next Bar Chat, Friday.
