Seattle Mariners Quiz (1977 – 2001): 1) Who was the first
manager? 2) Who was AL Rookie of the Year in 1984? 3) Who
was the AL strikeout champion in 1982? 4) Who threw a no-
hitter in 1993? 5) Who are the only two, 20-game winners in
franchise history? Answers below.
Business Stuff…or, the Stuff of Business
So I’m traveling in New England for a few days and what was
supposed to be a business meeting, to check out an advertising
venture, turned into a disaster. I can’t say anymore than that,
right now, because I’m hoping some folks will come to their
senses, but, anyway, your editor is not a happy camper right now.
But since my little problem involves a newspaper, it just so
happened that I was reading a piece in the current issue of
American Heritage, by the Wall Street historian John Steele
Gordon, concerning the first great newspaperman, at least the
father of the modern daily, James Gordon Bennett.
Bennett was born in 1795 in Scotland, emigrating to the U.S. in
the 1820s, whereupon he worked on various newspapers, up and
down the East Coast.
He was described as being “remarkably ugly,” and having seen a
picture, I can vouch for this, but despite this handicap, on May 6,
1835, Bennett started up the New York Herald with $500 of his
own capital and one employee, him.
By 1835, technology was such that newspapers could finally
churn out thousands of copies, compared to the limited number
before this time. But New York already had about a dozen
dailies, making it difficult for Bennett to get any kind of
traction in the market, so he opted to attack the other
editors, hoping they would in turn attack him, thus gaining him
much needed publicity.
Well, it worked, as the thin-skinned editor at the New York Sun,
the largest daily at the time, took the bait and wrote of Bennett
that his only chance of dying an upstanding citizen “will be that
of hanging perpendicularly from a rope.” The circulation of the
Herald soon began to rise.
James Gordon Bennett was much more than a shrewd editor and
marketer, however, as he is also directly responsible for such
innovations as being the first to cover sports on a regular basis,
as well as having the first general interest daily that covered
business and listed stock prices. He also did some of the first
real tabloid work, including a famous series of stories involving
the murder of a prostitute in a high-profile hotel, the kind of tale
that had been seen as too risky in those days. Readership
skyrocketed. And Bennett was also the first to sign up foreign
correspondents, establishing ‘bureaus’ in London, Rome and
Paris for exclusives. A pretty good legacy, for a really ugly guy.
G.I. Joe
The August issue of Smithsonian celebrates nearly 40 years of
G.I. Joe. The action figure was created in 1964 by Larry Reiner,
an executive at Ideal Toy Co. But the top brass at Ideal balked
at the idea, so Reiner took it to Hasbro, whereupon just one year
later G.I. Joe had sales of $36.5 million.
But by 1968, with hostility toward the Vietnam War growing,
sales were plummeting, and a year later Hasbro abandoned the
little warrior, turning him instead into an ‘adventure’ figure. G.I.
Joe made a comeback with the Gulf War, and now after 9/11 he
is back in an even bigger way.
As for Reiner, he didn’t come out too well. Signing for a flat fee
back in ’64 of $35,000, he failed to negotiate a royalty deal,
which would have made him $tens of millions. It’s enough to
make you want to cry.
[Source: Ed Liebowitz / Smithsonian]
Drink Up
According to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (this is real), those men who are 85 years of age or
older can have 5 drinks a day and live as long as those who don’t
imbibe. But they find no health benefits in drinking for those
under 34.
Specifically, they recommend one ‘unit’ a day up to age 34, 2 to
44, 3 to 54, 4 to 84, and 5 thereafter.
For women, just one up to 44, 2 up to 74, and 3 units thereafter.
By jiminy, I just can’t wait until I’m 85! I’m also having a
problem following the age 44 guideline.
[Source: Nigel Hawkes / London Times]
Haiti’s Scam
Now this really sucks. In Haiti, investors have lost at least $200
million (bet you didn’t know there was even $200 million there,
did you?) in a pyramid-type scheme known as “cooperatives.”
Folks emptied their savings, sold cars, and mortgaged their
homes, then sent it off to these investment rings that promised
returns of 10% a month or higher. Instead, the cooperatives
bought luxury properties, fleets of buses (that were said to be
extremely profitable), or just plain stole it.
What is even worse is that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
sanctioned the deals, hailing them as “people’s capitalism.”
Now, Aristide, scared of public unrest, promises to repay any
losses, but experts note the government can’t possibly do that. It
was back in 1997 that Albania’s economy collapsed under the
weight of a similar pyramid scheme.
[Source: David Gonzalez / New York Times]
Fish Update
–Residents of Singapore are amused at the panic that has been
unleashed in America over the snakehead fish, the man-eater that
can walk on land for up to 3 days. There, the snakehead is a
delicacy, and is mostly cooked in ginger and green apples, the
latter being good for one’s skin.
–But in New Jersey, authorities are now concerned about the
flathead catfish, a voracious monster from Mississippi and the
Gulf of Mexico that can grow to 100 pounds and is now being
found as far north as the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. One
was even caught at the mouth of the Delaware. Of course my
concern is if it mates with the snakehead, the offspring could
probably walk upright and terrorize restaurant goers and small
children alike.
Baseball Bits
–Curt Schilling has become the fastest pitcher to win 18 games
since Randy Jones with San Diego in 1976. Schilling has also
yielded just 18 walks in 169 innings, while fanning 212.
–Of course Schilling’s quest to win 26 or so could be fruitless if
the players strike. According to a New York Times poll, only
14% of those 18 and older said they were interested in baseball
these days, and only another 30% were “somewhat” interested.
This compares to 1998 and the McGwire / Sosa juicefest, when
63% were at least somewhat interested.
–Congratulations to Ozzie Smith on his elevation to the Hall of
Fame. A class act, and the best fielding shortstop of all time.
–The other day I wrote of Baltimore’s Scott Erickson and his
battle with his girlfriend, an altercation where he allegedly
assaulted her, but she, in turn, bit him. Well, on Sunday
Erickson was on the mound and hit Boston’s Manny Ramirez.
Boston pitcher Derrick Lowe then retaliated by hitting Gary
Matthews Jr. and all hell broke loose. I looked but didn’t see
Erickson’s girlfriend participating in the brawl that followed.
Tiger
Last week in New Jersey, they held the U.S. Girls Junior
Championship for girls between 11 and 17 years of age. Now
picture that the course (Echo Lake) was an absolute monster,
measuring at 6,353 yards, par-73. Junior girls! Oh yeah, they
complained, but one 11-year-old, Alexandria Buelow of Palm
City, FL, still shot 87-89. I’m now so depressed that she would
have kicked my butt that I think I’ll throw my clubs out.
Oh, as for Tiger, he had just made his comments concerning
women at Augusta National, or lack thereof, and the little junior
golfers were none too pleased. Said one 17-year-old, “Tiger has
an attitude. It bothers me. He wins too much, and he just needs
to go away for a while.” Ouch! [Greg Bishop / Star-Ledger]
Congrats to Lance Armstrong! I have to be honest, though, I
can’t get into bicycling. I’d rather drive a car…
NASCAR, that is. And congratulations to 46-year-old Bill
Elliott for his win last Sunday at Pocono. Here’s to Steve Park,
as well, for surviving that awful crash.
And while we’re handing out kudos, how about 72-year-old
Arnold Palmer, who this weekend shot 74-75 in a Senior Tour
event (before collapsing in the final round). It looks like his
game is once again rounding into form, so I’m launching a
campaign to get him to reconsider the Masters. He can win it
next year. [This is what happens to the brain when you have a
bad day at work.]
**TV alert. HBO, which has the best sports programming
around, is doing a special Tuesday (10:00 PM ET) on the 1968
Tigers and the riots in Detroit. It promises to be a good one. I
just want to see Willie Horton again. He would have been
bashing 55 homers a year these days.
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/31/65: #1 “(I Can’t Get No)
Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones) #2 “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”
(Herman’s Hermits) #3 “What”s New Pussycat” (Tom Jones)
Seattle Mariners Quiz Answers: 1) First manager: Darrell
Johnson, 1977-80…226-362. 2) AL Rookie of the Year in 1984:
Alvin Davis, 27 HR 116 RBI, at age 23. But, overall, that was
about as good as it got, as Davis finished his career with 160 HR
and 683 RBI. 3) Strikeout king in 1982: Floyd Bannister, 209.
4) Chris Bosio threw a no-hitter in 1993…94-93 W-L for
his career. 5) 20-game winners: Randy Johnson, 20-4 in ’97;
Jamie Moyer, 20-6, ’01.
Opening Day Lineup for the Mariners, 1977
Dave Collins, DH
Jose Baez, 2B
Steve Braun, LF
Lee Stanton, RF
Bill Stein, 3B
Dan Meyer, 1B
Ruppert Jones, CF
Bob Stinson, C
Craig Reynolds, SS
Diego Segui, P
Stanton (27 HR 90 RBI), Meyer (22-90) and Jones (24-76)
provided some clout. But for you Canadians out there, the only
shutout thrown by the staff was by Nipawin’s Dave Pagan, who
also went just 4-9 for his career.
*If you’re ever driving by the Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH,
stop in for the molasses cookies. Someday, I’m going to do a
nationwide tour for the best cookie, period. This is after my
Carolina barbecue tour.
**Lastly, you know the stock market went up on Monday
because of the miners being rescued, not because corporate
profits are rebounding. I have some relatives who were
coalminers about 15 miles from Somerset, PA. They’re what
makes America great, not the asshole CEOs we’re now
rightfully flogging.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
