Baseball Quiz: 1) The last three times a player hit 4 home runs
in a game were 1976, 1986 and 1993. Who were the three to
accomplish the feat? 2) Who is the only player to hit 3 homers in
a game, 3 times in a single season? Answers below.
Ralph Stanley
I have to give credit to reader and fellow Wake alum Dr. John for
telling me way back last spring that the soundtrack for the movie
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” was a huge winner, as the recent
Grammy Awards proceeded to confirm with it taking Album of
the Year and numerous other awards. One of those was the song
“O Death,” which garnered Best Male Country Vocal
Performance for bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley.
Ralph Edmund Stanley was born in Big Spraddle Creek, VA
(near Stratton) on Feb. 25, 1927. Brother Carter was born two
years earlier and by the time they were teenagers, the Stanleys
were making their mark on the music scene.
Growing up in a family of musicians (father was a singer, mother
a banjo player of some renown), Ralph and Carter were
influenced by the gospel singing at the local Baptist Church.
Forming the group Lazy Ramblers, they made their radio debut
in Johnson City, TN.
Ralph served 18 months in WW II and upon returning the two
formed the first version of the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946.
56 years later the bluegrass group is still going strong, albeit the
players have changed over the years.
The Stanleys became regulars on the ‘Farm and Fun Time’ show
on a station in Bristol, TN and soon the boys were mentioned in
the same breath as the great legend Bill Monroe. After the
Stanleys signed with Columbia Records in the late 1940s,
however, Monroe, also with Columbia, left the label, saying
there wasn’t room for two bluegrass acts. So things weren’t
necessarily that great between Monroe and Ralph and Carter, but
they soon patched things up. Anyway, after a few albums, the
Stanleys were having a tough time making a go of it, themselves,
but by 1952, after a switch to Mercury Records, they hit their
groove. Carter produced some hits like “Rank Strangers,”
“Mountain Dew,” and “How Mountain Girls Can Love” (never
found this out myself, I have to admit), but the constant touring
was taking a real toll on Carter and he ended up dying in 1966 of
complications from alcoholism.
Ralph was obviously depressed for a long spell, but he eventually
carried on and in the early 1970s his Clinch Mountain Boys
included veterans Curley Ray Cline, Jack Cooke and Roy Lee
Centers, as well as two teenagers, Keith Whitley and Ricky
Skaggs. Whitley and Skaggs would, of course, go on to carve
out successful careers of their own, but after Roy Lee was shot to
death at a party (I don’t think Jayson Williams was there, he
would have just been a child), Whitley returned to Ralph’s group
to sing lead for a spell.
[Whitley would later resume his solo career, marry the daughter
of country legend George Morgan, Lorrie, and then drink himself
to death one day while Lorrie was out touring. His blood alcohol
level was 0.477…holy cow…and it was said he ingested the
equivalent of 100-proof liquor in just two hours. This is why the
official drink of StocksandNews is Coors Light, boys and girls,
because it would take about 25 cans to get you up to that level.
Actually, the preceding is an irresponsible comment from the
editor and the board of directors of StocksandNews may have to
suspend him.]
In 1993, Ralph Stanley, still going strong, produced a two-CD
bluegrass, all-star ensemble, titled “Saturday Night / Sunday
Morning,” which featured the likes of Dwight Yoakam, Bill
Monroe, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Emmylou Harris, Alison
Krauss, and George Jones. The International Bluegrass Music
Association gave it its Recorded Event of the Year Award and,
as a result of this work, Ralph and Dwight Yoakam developed a
close friendship, later scoring a Grammy nomination for best
duet in “Miner’s Prayer,” a tribute to Yoakam’s grandfather.
In 1995 Ralph Stanley II assumed the lead singer-guitar position
in his father’s band and they are still at it today. Actually, I see
they do a ton of touring and on April 12 and 13 they’re at the
Grand Ole Opry, which after Ralph Sr.’s award should be quite a
show as I imagine the stars will be out to honor him.
Ralph is a member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame (Owensboro,
KY).
Richard Green
This guy’s story is kind of fun. Green died the other day at age
91, having been the owner of one of New York City’s biggest
chain of newsstands. He was perhaps best known for his daily
perch in Grand Central Terminal, near the elevators to the Pan
Am Building (now Met Life) in the 60s and 70s. He turned his
business into a multi-$ million dollar operation.
Born in London, he began selling newspapers in New York at the
age of 11. Back then newspapers were 2 cents and a subway ride
was 5 cents. So the enterprising Richard would buy 50 papers,
pay his nickel to ride the subway and sell his 50 papers along the
way. Since no one asked for change he pocketed the difference.
Well, his papers cost him 70 cents, 5 cents for the subway and
he’d make $1.75.
He actually didn’t own his first newsstand, however, until he was
34, and then his big opportunity came along in the 50s, when
skyscrapers started going up all over New York and other urban
areas. Richard went around to the developers with sketches
describing his plans for 2 X 4-foot spaces in the towers and they
bought into it.
Green’s attention to detail was legendary, as in advising his
clerks when it cost 5 cents to ride the subway that each
customer’s change should include a nickel. Eventually, he
owned 120 outlets in New York and dozens more around the
country. So we toast a great American success story, Richard
Green. [Source: Douglas Martin / New York Times]
Stuff
–Boy, from afar Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson’s behavior
these past few weeks was despicable. No wonder the school
bought out his contract. That’s just my opinion, I could be
wrong.
–Sports Illustrated conducted a poll of PGA Tour pros to name
the “least favorite” playing partner and, as expected, Scott Hoch
won, but this time he shared the dubious honor with Garrett
Willis, a 2nd-year pro who obviously didn’t endear himself to his
fellow pros by his actions on the course last year. [Willis’s
course etiquette is an abomination. Hoch, on the other hand, is
just a surly sort…though as a fellow Wake Forest alum, I’ve
always liked him and he has been very generous with his
money.]
The favorite playing partner was a tie between Jay Haas
(ironically, a teammate of Hoch’s at Wake), Nick Price and
Fuzzy Zoeller. [Now having watched Fuzzy during the Senior
Skins, I reached the conclusion that the guy is a royal pain in the
ass.]
–But speaking of surly characters, Colin Montgomerie recently
announced he was not going to play in the U.S. after 2002
because he was tired of being heckled. Boy, this guy sure is
making it hard on himself for this year. As he put it to a fan,
“There’s only one thing worse than losing, and that’s spending
another day in your country.” See ya, Colin. Checkout time is
11:00 AM.
–Can I revise and extend my recent remarks on St. Joseph’s
basketball team and the upcoming NCAA tournament? Like can
I now admit they may not even make the freakin’ thing, let alone
get to the Sweet 16?
–The National Hole-in-One Association estimates a golfer will
make an ace every 12,600 times you tee it up on a par 3. So,
that’s 3,150 rounds, meaning if you played 15 rounds a year,
about what your editor does, it would take 210 years to get one
(which I haven’t). Since my life expectancy is probably just
about 75 (previous life experiences having chopped off a few
from the old table), I’m doomed. Where’s the Coors?
–Sports Illustrated also had the tale of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob
Gibson, who chased a guy in Omaha for 10 miles after the driver
cut him off in traffic. Once he caught up (undoubtedly throwing
high, hard ones out his window all the way), he proceeded to
beat the driver, at least hard enough to earn a citation for 3rd-
degree assault. No word on the extent of damage to the victim’s
car from the baseballs.
–Due to the warm winter, New Jersey’s estimated 1,400 black
bears (another survey says 2,000, believe it or not) are out one
month early. Remember, if you encounter one at close range,
“back up slowly and speak in a calm, assertive and assuring
voice.” Do not ask the question, “So, what do you think of Allan
Houston’s $100 million contract now?”
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/3/62: #1 “Duke Of Earl” (Gene
Chandler) #2 “Hey! Baby” (Bruce Channel) #3 “The Wanderer”
(Dion)
Top 10 US Soul LPs 30 years ago (Feb.)
1. Black Moses – Isaac Hayes
2. The Jackson 5’s Greatest Hits
3. There’s A Riot Goin’ On – Sly & The Family Stone
4. Shaft – Isaac Hayes
5. The Stylistics
6. Quiet Fire – Roberta Flack
7. Revolution Of The Mind: Live At The Apollo, Volume VIII
– James Brown
8. Solid Rock – The Temptations
9. Santana
10. Inner City Blues – Grover Washington Jr.
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) 4 HR in a game: 1976, Mike
Schmidt; 1986, Bob Horner; 1993, Mark Whitten. 2) Sammy
Sosa hit 3 home runs in a game 3 times last season.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday… “Smile.”
