Grand Prix Quiz: [Spread the word racing fans, an actual
Formula One quiz!!] 1) This weekend Michael Schumacher tied
what driver for most career Formula One / Grand Prix victories
at 51? 2) Schumacher also wrapped up his 4th Formula One
championsihp, tying him for 2nd all-time with the answer to #1
above. But, what driver had 5 driving titles? 3) Who is the
leading career winner from Great Britain? Answers below.
William Barret Travis
Last time I made mention of the 1999 Ryder Cup. Captain Ben
Crenshaw was the motivational sort and with the U.S. squad\’\’s
prospects looking mighty grim going into Sunday\’\’s final singles
matches, Crenshaw pulled out all the stops, including having
then Texas Governor, and presidential candidate, George W.
Bush speak to the players on Saturday night. The event was
well-choreographed and Crenshaw wanted Bush to read Colonel
William B. Travis\’\’s remarks from the last days at the Alamo. So
I thought I\’\’d briefly retell what is one of the great moments in
American history.
On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna demanded that the 185
defenders at the Alamo surrender. They answered by firing a
cannon. Santa Anna wasn\’\’t too pleased with this gesture, so he
sent his 4,000 soldiers forward in a series of assaults. For 12
days, the Americans (including Travis, Davy Crockett and
Jim Bowie) rallied the defenders and inflicted huge losses on
the Mexican Army.
At one point during a lull in the fighting, Travis, a garrison
commander from South Carolina, drew a line on the ground with
his sword as he addressed his men: "Those prepared to give their
lives in freedom\’\’s cause, come over to me." Every man crossed
it, including the famous Indian fighter and inventor of the Bowie
knife, Colonel James Bowie, who was bedridden with
pneumonia but nonetheless asked that his cot be carried over.
Of course on March 6, the Texans were finally overwhelmed.
All but one of the defenders were killed (though there are
different accounts of this last bit), but the defenders had taken
1,544 Mexican lives.
Back on February 24, Travis had written the following letter, an
appeal for aid: [Capitalization is correct.]
To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world. Fellow
Citizens and Compatriots.
I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under
Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment &
cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has
demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to
be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the
demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly
from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat. [*This last
sentence was underlined.]
Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & of
everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid
with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily &
will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five
days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself
as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is
due to his own honor & that of his country.
Victory or Death
William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight
we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in
deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30
head of Beeves.
Travis
[Source: "America: A Narrative History," Tindall and Shi]
Johnny Mac\’\’s Baseball.great, or surprise, teams
Continuing with our series, we now take a look at the 1954 New
York Giants.
Although not often talked about as a surprise team, they seem to
fit the bill. One of the great teams of the early National League
under John McGraw (he managed them from 1903-1932), they
had continued success under Bill Terry, until falling on hard
times in the years before WWII. From 1938 to 1950, the Giants
never seriously contended until hiring fiery Leo Durocher to
manage them. The "Miracle of Coogan\’\’s Bluff" in 1951 (Bobby
Thompson and.The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win
the pennant!), resulted in a loss to the Yankees, and they dropped
to 70-84 in 1953. To be fair, the Korean War robbed them of the
services of budding great Willie Mays in \’\’52 and \’\’53, but the
Dodgers were the class of the league then and 1954 was not
supposed to be any different.
The return of the "Say Hey Kid" was the spark, however, and the
Giants also benefited from many other sources. Don Mueller, an
OK player, was suddenly challenging for a batting title. Monte
Irvin, a Negro League great, was having his last productive year
at age 35. Fill-in outfielder and pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes was
spectacular, hitting .341 with 15 homers and 50 ribbies in just
164 at bats. And the pitching just seemed to fall into place.
Johnny Antonelli, acquired from the Braves, went an unexpected
21-7, with a 2.30 ERA. Ruben Gomez posted a 17-9 record, the
best by far in an unspectacular career (lifetime 76-86). 37-year-
old Sal Maglie, in his last year with the Giants, went 14-6.
Journeyman Marv Grissom found unexpected success in the
bullpen, picking up 10 wins and 19 saves. And Hoyt Wilhelm,
already 30 at the time (but in just his 3rd season in what would be
a late-blooming career that saw him eventually throw in over
1,000 games), was a big help, winning 12 games in relief.
The Giants took the pennant by five games over Brooklyn, but
were not expected to do much in the Series. Awaiting them were
the powerful Cleveland Indians, who had unseated the five-time
reigning champion Yankees by posting a 111-43 record, the best
mark since 1906. Al Rosen, Larry Doby and batting champ
Bobby Avilla supported a great staff. Future Cooperstown
residents Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Bob Feller, along with
all-star Mike Garcia were formidable starters. The bullpen was
stellar, too…Ray Narleski saved 13 with a 2.22 ERA and Don
Mossi was equally effective, going 6-1, 1.94. Also in the pen
was an aging Hal Newhouser, who chipped in with 7 wins and
seven saves. That gave Cleveland four future Hall of Famers
among the pitching crew.
The Series was supposed to be over quickly.and it sure was,
but not with the expected outcome. Mays opened things with
his spectacular catch of a Vic Wertz blast, occurring in the eighth
inning with the score tied. The Tribe had 2 runners on base, and
Willie not only made the grab in the deepest part of center, but
his quick throw held the Indians scoreless. The physical layout
of the Polo Grounds would prove decisive.a strange stadium, it
had short foul lines (255\’\’ to right and 275\’\’ to left) and an
incredibly deep center field (483\’\’). Wertz would have had a
home run in any other park, but Mays had the room to track it
down. The game then went extra innings, with the park again
coming into play as pinch-hitter extraordinaire Dusty Rhodes hit
a 260-foot, 3-run homer off Lemon in the tenth, cinching a 5-2
win. Rhodes also proved critical in Game Two, tying the game
with a pinch-single in the fifth. He then stayed in the game and
homered later, boosting Antonelli to a 3-1 victory.
Going back to Cleveland didn\’\’t help the Indians\’\’ fortunes.
Loading the bases in the third, Durocher sent up Rhodes to
pinch-hit yet again (in the third inning, mind you). Dusty stroked
a 2-run single and the Giants cruised to a 6-2 win. Cleveland
then rolled over in Game Four, going down 7-4. It was a sweep
alright, except the wrong guys did it. Rhodes batted .667,
driving in 7 to go with the two homers, and Mays, Mueller and
Alvin Dark all starred at the plate. The pitching yielded but 6
earned runs in the four games, with Indian stars Avilla, Rosen
and Doby not driving in a run between them.
But the Giants quickly faded after this impressive win. Gomez
and Antonelli went back to being .500 pitchers, Maglie was
shipped off to Cleveland, Wilhelm to St. Louis, Mueller was
soon washed up, and Rhodes barely hit .200 by 1956, his own
moment in the spotlight gone.
The rest of the team, with the obvious exception of Mays, just
played out the string. Durocher was gone after 1955, and the
Giants were gone from NY after the 1957 season. That never
really worked out for them, and the team has not won a World
Series since that magical year of \’\’54.
It was not because they couldn\’\’t develop talent. They just didn\’\’t
know what to do with it. Here is a partial list of players who
came up through their farm system from the late fifties through
the early seventies. McCovey, Cepeda, Alou (all of \’\’em.Matty,
Felipe, and Jesus), Jim Ray Hart, George Foster, Bobby Bonds,
Gary Matthews, Garry Maddox and Dave Kingman. Some
collection, no? Yet they never managed to get it right. Foster,
Matthews, Maddux, Kingman, the Alous, and especially,
Cepeda, went on to star elsewhere. Hart never quite made it.
Bonds was an enigma, and they never figured out how to use him
most effectively (they should have just left him at leadoff and
lived with the strike outs). McCovey was actually platooned for
five years in the beginning of his career.what a waste of talent
that was. More next Wednesday.
Stuff
–Back on 7/27 I had an item on the "Box Jellyfish," which I said
had killed 65 since they were able to identify the cause of death
in the individual cases, back to 1955. I also said it took as little
as 3 minutes to die from a box jelly bite. Well, on Monday night,
MSNBC had a special on underwater threats, and the marine
biologist said box jellies are now responsible for 100 deaths a
year! And a bite can kill you in 30 seconds. Yes, the editor was
way too conservative. As my buddy Dan L. (who also watched
the program) said, he is now developing hydrophobia. Hell, I\’\’m
not going near a kiddie pool.
–Party Schools: Much is being made of the new survey showing
Univ. of Tennessee as the #1 party school in the country. But I
think the reports are missing the big story here. St. Bonaventure,
not rated last year, has emerged at #7! We\’\’ve all been
wondering what happened to Bluto Blutarsky\’\’s kids, well here\’\’s
the answer. Go Bonnies! We may have to do a Bar Chat up
there this year.
–Eric Lindros: Oh brother. This is one former New York
Rangers season ticket holder (admittedly, back in the early 80s),
who thinks the deal to acquire Lindros is one of the stupidest
moves in sports history. The over / under in games before he
suffers his 7th .and last.concussion is 14. And I was never
more humiliated than to have my Philly buddy Mark R. call, for
the purposes of holding Philly sports talk radio up to the phone to
remind me of how delighted the Philly fans are to find a bunch of
suckers like the Rangers organization.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/25/73: #1 "Brother Louie"
(Stories) #2 "Live And Let Die" (Wings) #3 "Touch Me In The
Morning" (Diana Ross)
Grand Prix Quiz: 1) Schumacher tied Alain Prost for 1st on the
all-time list with 51 victories. 2) Juan Fangio won 5 Formula
One titles. 3) Nigell Mansell with 31 victories is the leading
driver from Great Britain. [Jackie Stewart won 27 and Jim Clark
25.]
And one way to rate the drivers\’\’ rankings is the number of wins
vs. starts. For example:
Schumacher – 51 in 147 starts
Prost – 51 of 199
Fangio – 24 of 51 [Obviously the best, and they didn\’\’t have
nearly as many races as today\’\’s schedule contains.]
Mansell – 31 of 187
Stewart – 27 of 99
Clark – 25 of 72
Next Bar Chat, Friday. Further tales from the deep…and a little
more history.
