San Francisco 49ers Quiz (1946 – 2000): 1) Passing yards,
game? 2) TD passes, season? 3) How many Super Bowls did
Bill Walsh win? George Seifert? 4) Whose #70 was retired?
[Hint: Think 60s.] Answers below.
Bo Belinsky
[The following is rated ”R” and contains some sexually explicit
and politically incorrect material.]
Never did an athlete get more out of one stellar performance than
Bo Belinsky, the former pitcher who died the other day at the age
of 64. Or as Belinsky himself so aptly put it, “I think I have
gotten more publicity for doing less than any player who ever
lived.”
Born in Manhattan and raised in New Jersey, Bo Belinsky had a
tough childhood, spending much of his time hanging out in pool
halls. But he had a ”live” left arm and after toiling in the minors
for a spell, he found his way to the expansion Los Angeles
Angels. In just their second season, 1962, the Angels made a run
at the pennant, finishing 3rd with a 86-76 record, and rookie Bo
Belinsky was a major cause of the excitement in L.A.
On May 5, 1962, Bo pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore,
becoming at the time just the 8th major leaguer to pitch a no-no in
his rookie season. Throughout the game the Orioles bench kept
reminding him, “Hey, Bo, you got a no-hitter.” Finally, he induced
Dave Nicholson to pop out to end the game and Belinsky was in
the record books. The next day the city of Los Angeles was in
love with him, thanks largely to the fact that the famous
columnist Walter Winchell had been in the stands and he was
captivated by Belinsky”s performance, as well as Bo”s reputation
for being a night owl.
Winchell not only wrote him up in his columns, but he took Bo
to all of the Hollywood parties, introducing him to a bevy of
starlets. Now Belinsky wasn”t one to turn down an opportunity
so he dated Ann Margret, Tina Louise, Juliet Prowse, Connie
Stevens and Playboy Playmate Jo Collins (to whom he was later
briefly married). Then he got engaged to the bodacious
Mamie Van Doren, who was, shall we say, one of the real sex
kittens of her era. [The engagement didn”t last, but the PR was
immeasurable.]
Oh, the Angels players themselves had it made. After games, all
of the celebs would come into the dugout to chat with Bo and his
teammates, including the other real playboy of the team, pitcher
Dean Chance. Jonathan Winters would perform his act in the locker
room, leaving the guys in stitches, while Winchell introduced his
lady friends to the boys of summer.
Unfortunately for Belinsky, after his no-hitter he had limited
success. Actually, he had virtually none, finishing up his injury-
riddled career with a hideous 28-51 mark.
1962: 10-11 3.56 ERA
1963: 2-9 5.73
1964: 9-8 2.87
1965: 4-9 [Philadelphia]
1966: 0-2
1967: 3-9 [Houston]
1968: Injured
1969: 0-3 [Pittsburgh]
1970: 0-0 [Cincinnati]
Oh, but he had a blast. Winchell even introduced Belinsky to J.
Edgar Hoover, who took a liking to Bo (not in that way, mind
you, as we”ve since learned about the former G-Man), and Frank
Sinatra also let Bo pal around with the Rat Pack.
But it was his time with the ladies (thanks in no small part to his
friendship with Hugh Hefner) through which Belinsky earned his
reputation. The real troublemaker, however, was Dean Chance
(who would have a far more successful career, going 128-115).
Bo and Dean shared a room on the road but it was Bo who
received most of the publicity because he was single at the time,
while Chance was married. Dean recalled that “when we got
caught at 5 o”clock in the morning with those crazy broads, Bo
took all the blame. He said, ”The kid here had nothing to do with
it.” That”s what I call a friend.” [Dean Chance is arranging
Belinsky”s service at Dodger Stadium, the site of his no-hitter –
the Angels shared Chavez Ravine with the Dodgers back then –
on Thursday.]
Back to the no-hitter, with the final out Belinsky”s teammates ran
out to greet him and all Bo could do was point to the stands and
say to his catcher, Buck Rodgers, “Hey, look at the blonde with
the — —-.” [Sorry, guys, I don”t want to lose my International
Web Site Association license.]
Belinsky”s manager in Los Angeles, Bill Rigney, was always on
Bo”s case, as you can imagine. With regards to his relationship
with Van Doren, Bo recalled that “Rigney made a big deal of it.
Everybody has bad games and nothing is said. If I had a bad
game he would mention Mamie”s name and suggest that if I
didn”t go out with Mamie maybe I would win more games. I felt
like telling him if I got more runs and the guys behind me played
better, maybe I”d win more games.” [Bo actually had the gall to
say something like this after losing a contest 14-0.]
And there was this account from teammate Vic Power. “There
was a party when Bo hadn”t shown up yet and one of his
girlfriends was waiting for him in a darkened bedroom. A player
would knock on the door. She”d call out, ”Who is it?” He”d
answer, ”Bo Belinsky,” and this went on.” [Once again, folks,
there is a lot more to this story, but I”ll let you use your
imagination.]
Oh, Belinsky was cocky, that”s for sure. One of Bo”s other
famous lines was, “My only regret in life is that I can”t sit in the
stands and watch me pitch.”
This weekend, upon hearing of Belinsky”s death, Mamie Van
Doren, who stayed close to Bo, said, “It was a wild ride, but a lot
of fun.”
But perhaps Belinsky put it better himself. Reflecting on his life
last June, he said, “We spend the first 40, 50 years satisfying our
egos and the next 20 or 10 trying to wipe the slate clean. I”m at
that second stage.” Unfortunately, he probably wasn”t finished.
Jay and the Americans
Here is that rare group that largely stayed together for a decade.
Formed in 1961 back in Brooklyn, NY (where all the members
were born), John “Jay” Traynor, Howie Kane (b. Howard
Kirshenbaum), Kenny Vance (b. Kenny Rosenberg), Sandy
Yaguda (b. Sandy Deane.geezuz, don”t any of you guys use
your real name?!) and finally, Marty Sanders (who kept his),
united to produce a clean-cut vocal sound. Within a year they
had a #5, “She Cried,” but then Jay Traynor left and was
replaced as lead vocalist by David Blatt, who, in keeping with
the others, changed his name to Jay Black. Well, they had a
solid string of hits the rest of the decade, many of which are
personal favorites of your editor.
Only In America (#25) 9/63.I thought this was higher. It
deserves to be.
Come A Little Bit Closer (#3) 10/64.super
Let”s Lock The Door (And Throw Away The Key) (#11) 11/65
.super
Cara Mia (#4) 6/65.super
Some Enchanted Evening (#13) 9/65.super
Sunday And Me (#18) 12/65.Neil Diamond”s first hit as a
songwriter
Crying (#25) 6/66
This Magic Moment (#6) 1/69.super
Walkin” In The Rain (#19) 1/70.absolutely awesome version.
“Only In America” was originally recorded by the Drifters but
the label decided not to release it, so the vocals were erased and
Jay and the Americans were added to the original tracks. Jay
Black, who had some of the best “pipes” in music history, tried a
solo career in the 70s and had a minor hit in Europe, “Love Is In
The Air,” which John Paul Young later turned into a #7 here in
the States (1978). Later, Jay became best known for his
association with some “wise guys,” if you catch my drift.
Actually, he loved hanging out with John Gotti and crew, not that
there is anything wrong with that. I mean, after all, I think we
all tolerate a hijacked truck loaded with fur coats far more easily
these days than a ”dirty bomb,” right?
And one last tidbit; in the early Seventies, Donald Fagen and
Walter Becker were part of Jay and the Americans” backup band.
They would, of course, become Steely Dan. And now you
know.the rest of the story.
Stuff
–The great billiards player, Irving Crane, died at the age of 88.
Known as the “Deacon,” Crane accumulated 7 world
championships and, boy, were they spread out (”42, ”46, ”55, ”66,
”68, ”70, ”72). Those of you who grew up with the classic “Wide
World of Sports” certainly remember Crane and his duels with
Willie Mosconi. Mosconi, however, got the better of him 8 of 10
times when they were playing for the world title.
Crane grew up in upstate New York and attended Hobart College
for two years before announcing he was going to be a
professional pool player. It was real tough breaking through into
the tournament circuit back then, but after awhile he finally did
because he was beating all comers at a pool hall in Rochester.
Word got around the kid had game.
Known for his gray hats, gray coats and expensive suits, Crane
had to supplement his meager pool income by selling cars most
of his life. Lastly, he is perhaps best known for an as yet to be
matched feat. Back in 1939, he ran 309 straight balls in an
exhibition (calling each shot). Your editor”s all-time record is 6
or 7.
–Eddy Curry: Curry, the 18-year-old center for the Chicago
Bulls, is one of the 6 high schoolers who were drafted this year
in the NBA. Sportswriter Dave D”Alessandro had the following
account in the Star-Ledger, concerning the fact that Curry was a
father, but he didn”t know who the mother was.
“No joke,” writes D”Allesandro. “He said his son”s mom is a
”former girlfriend.” Uh, not quite: The mother is actually his
present wife, and there was a marriage in February – with a ring
and witnesses and all of that stuff – to prove it.”
Curry”s wife, Korie, said when questioned on the matter, “You”d
have to ask Eddy – I don”t even know him anymore.” Korie was
just served divorce papers. “This is all because of the NBA.
New people, new everyone. It”s a crazy situation. I just don”t
want people thinking I”m a groupie.” We feel sorry for you,
Korie. But you should have added “new dirtballs.”
–Back in 1996, the late Walter Payton was doing some volunteer
work for a Chicago high school when he noticed some of the
athletes he was working with were in awe of his Super Bowl XX
ring. So he handed it to Nick Abruzzo, saying he could have it
for a few days, but he never got it back.
Everyone speculated that it was stolen or misplaced, but it never
showed up at a pawn shop, for example. Now it”s finally been
found, in a couch owned by a Purdue University student, Phil
Hong. It seems that Hong took the couch from the family of his
friend, Joe Abruzzo, when the Abruzzo family was throwing
furniture out. Nick Abruzzo is two years older and when Nick
and his buddies were playing with the ring, somehow it got lost
in the sofa and was never recovered.
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/29/69: #1 “Come Together /
Something” (The Beatles) #2 “And When I Die” (Blood, Sweat
& Tears) #3 “Wedding Bell Blues” (The 5th Dimension)
*O.C. Smith passed away the other day at the age of 65. Smith
sang the 1968 hit, “Little Green Apples” (#2), which won a
Grammy for Song of the Year. In the early 60s, Smith was lead
singer for the Count Basie Orchestra.
**I”m really embarrassed. I”ve been listening today to Shelby
Lynne”s “I Am” album. Man, it”s awesome. Where have I been
all this time?!
San Francisco 49ers Quiz Answers: 1) Passing yards, game: Joe
Montana, 476 (1996). 2) TD passes, season: Steve Young, 36
(1998). 3) Super Bowls: Bill Walsh won 3 (”81, ”84, ”88);
George Seifert won 2 (”89, ”94). 4) #70 was worn by Charlie
Krueger, the defensive tackle / end who played from 1959-73, all
with San Francisco.
Congratulations to my Wake Forest Demon Deacons for
finishing 6-5 in football. Those who keep saying Rutgers
shouldn”t be playing Division I-A need to take a look at what new
Wake coach Jim Grobe accomplished this season. Wake is a
much smaller school than Rutgers, for starters. Now we have to
make sure we keep Grobe!
Next Bar Chat, Friday. Some stuff that is bound to tick off 95%
of you.
