New York City Marathon Quiz: 1) How many times did
Norway”s Grete Waitz win: 5, 7 or 9? 2) Who won on the men”s
side from 1976-79? 3) Who won on the men”s side from 1980-
82? Answers below.
Lee Greenwood
I”ve got to tell you, I can”t get enough of “God Bless The USA”
these days. And the other night when Greenwood performed his
song at Yankee Stadium, I thought it was a super moment. So
who is Lee Greenwood? Well, for starters, he is a survivor and a
great example of perseverance.
Melvin Lee Greenwood was born in the Los Angeles area on
October 27, 1942 and raised in Sacramento. He started playing
the sax at age ten and was in various high school bands when,
deciding to forsake a music scholarship, he headed to Las Vegas
where he hoped to make some good connections. For almost 20
years, however, Lee Greenwood labored in obscurity, acting as
bandleader, performer and songwriter, by night, and blackjack
dealer during the day.
The thought was that with all of the headliners passing through
town, surely, someone would notice him and then he could enlist
their aid. Alas, it wasn”t until the late 70s when he received
some help from Kenny Rogers, who then recorded one of
Greenwood”s tunes, and in 1981 Lee released his first album
with MCA. By 1983 he was suddenly a big star, accumulating 7
#1”s on the country charts from ”83-”86 (his first two were
“Somebody”s Gonna Love You” and “Going, Going, Gone”).
Greenwood won a Grammy for his #7 “I.O.U.” and garnered
back-to-back CMA male vocalist of the year awards in 1983 and
84.
But, of course, he is best known these days for his late ”83
release, “God Bless The USA,” which was used extensively by
supporters of both Ronald Reagan and George Bush (41) during
their presidential campaigns, as well as being a substitute for
“Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the 7th-inning stretch.
Until recently, Greenwood had settled down to perform almost
exclusively in Sevierville, TN, at the Lee Greenwood
Theater, which he opened in 1996 with former President Bush
and Barbara Bush in the audience.
But way back in the early 60s, there was an incident that could
have turned Greenwood”s career in a totally different direction.
He was traveling with a band that broke up in New York City,
sending Greenwood back to Las Vegas; the bandmates
subsequently re-formed the group. the Young Rascals. and
now you know, the rest of the story. [Sources: The Encyclopedia
of Country Music; Country Music: The Encyclopedia.]
Ferris Fain
Fain, who died the other day at age 80, was probably the most
obscure two-time batting champion, having won back-to-back
crowns for the A.L.”s Philadelphia Athletics in 1951 and 52. For
his 9-year career (1947-55) he hit .290 with only 48 HR and 570
RBI. A typical year was .280-.290 with 70-80 ribbies, but then
out of nowhere he put together .344 and .327 to capture his two
hitting titles. [His power #”s were pitiful, however. 6 HR-
57 RBI in ”51, just 2-59 in ”52.]
But why would I write anything more on Ferris Fain? Well,
because it”s Bar Chat, and Ferris Fain was a notorious drinker.
And he not only drank up a storm, he loved to fight. So much so
that he broke his hand near the end of the ”52 season in a
nightclub brawl and then did the same thing the following year in
another bar fight.
Former teammate Eddie Joost had this analysis, “Ferris Fain was
his own worst enemy.There were many things the players
didn”t like about him. No one drank as much. He wouldn”t
drink every day, but occasionally he”d overdrink and wouldn”t be
as attentive on the field.”
Another teammate, Gus Zernial, said, “He wanted to fight
someone all the time.” And from Bill Wilson, “Ferris drank
more than his share. With Ferris you might not see him for a
couple of days. He was a wild one.”
But Fain continued his wild ways after he left baseball. In 1985
he was arrested for growing marijuana and sentenced to house
arrest. Then in 1988 his home was raided and police found over
400 marijuana plants, whereupon Ferris was thrown in prison for
18 months. Kind of pitiful, if you ask me. [Sources: Richard
Goldstein / New York Times; “We Played the Game,” edited by
Danny Peary]
Just Stuff
–What? You mean to tell me that Miss Cleo”s psychic hotline is
a scam? Yes, folks, it”s true. But as Adrienne Rhodes of the
Consumer Protection Board put it, “This so-called ”psychic”
service appears to be a scam to keep people on the telephone for
as long as possible.” Appears to be? No ship, Sherlock.
–Art Wall, RIP. The PGA golfer who looked like everyone”s
grandfather passed away at age 77. Wall won 14 times on tour,
including 4 events in his career year of 1959. That was the year
he also won the Masters by birdying 5 of the last 6 holes to erase
a 5-stroke deficit in defeating Cary Middlecoff by one shot.
Wall was 4-2 in 3 Ryder Cup appearances (”57, ”59, ”61) but is
perhaps best known for his 40, count ”em, 40 aces in
competition! And for you ACC folks out there, he”s a Duke
grad. [I just pray that someday I”ll get my first ace. Then I can
pack it in and say I”ve had a successful life. Because, at the end
of the day, that”s what it”s all about, sports fans!]
–Those of you who eat a lot of “nutrition bars” may want to
check out ”consumerlab.com” for its findings. 30 bars were
tested for levels of fat, carbohydrates, proteins, cholesterol and
sodium. Only 12 conformed to their labels” claims. [Newsweek]
–Public Service Announcement: “Couple finds wayward emu
on their farm.” Yes, from the AP and High Plains Journal comes
the following:
“Anyone missing an emu in northeast Nebraska might check
with Dean and Kim Thies.
“The Thies discovered the 10-foot, ostrich-like bird Oct. 5 in a
hay field on their farm northwest of Pilger.
“The bird, sometimes raised for meat (I thought that was the only
thing it was raised for.that”s all I would raise it for.know
what I”m sayin”?), would allow Mr. Thies to get within 10 feet
before running.
“The Thies left their farmstead Oct. 6 for a local high school
football game. When they returned home, the emu was gone.
“It was last seen heading west. [This should put it currently
around Cheyenne, Wyoming.]
“Anyone spotting the bird should call local authorities and
should not approach it or try to apprehend it, officials said.
“The bird can be dangerous because it kicks forward with
powerful, sharp-clawed feet, and its long neck provides a
powerful peck from far away.”
Sounds like a pretty good anti-terrorist tool.
–This is sad. France”s Regine Cavagnoud, Super-G skiing
champion, died Wednesday from injuries suffered in a Monday
training run on a glacier in Austria. Both the French and German
ski teams were on the same slope and there was a horrible lack of
communication between the two. Cavagnoud came down off a
slight rise and slammed into Markus Anwander, face first. She
died of severe brain injuries. At last word Anwander was in
critical condition, having undergone spinal surgery. It was the
first fatality of a World Cup skier since 1994 when Austria”s
Ulrike Maier died in a downhill race.
–Harry K. just passed along this Halloween tale from the
Anchorage Daily News. It seems that on Wednesday evening
two kids were trick-or-treating with their father when they were
run over by a bull moose. Aside from cuts and bruises, the
children are alright (though I imagine they will have nightmares
for the rest of their lives). It turns out the father and the kids
were cutting across a yard when they stumbled on the moose that
was simply lying on the ground.
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/3/62: #1 “He”s A Rebel” (The
Crystals) #2 “Only Love Can Break A Heart” (Gene Pitney.
great tune) #3 “Do You Love Me” (The Contours)
New York City Marathon Quiz Answers: 1) Grete Waitz won 9
times: 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88. 2) Bill Rodgers won
from 1976-79. 3) Alberto Salazar won from 1980-82.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
