Baseball Quiz: Name the nine pitchers who have appeared in
1,000 games. [Hint: #9 on the list pitched from 1972-1994 and
retired at #3.] Answer below.
The Oscars
It’s late…and I’m watching the Oscars even though I want to go
to bed. So just 30 minutes into this perennially boring telecast,
I’m thinking, why the heck don’t they just have a one hour
broadcast and present the big four acting awards plus a
combination Best Picture / Best Director. After all, if it’s Best
Picture, you must have had the Best Director. I’d then fill the
other half hour with interviews with the women in attendance to
check out their outfits.
As for Chris Rock, I don’t care what political party you’re
affiliated with, the first part of his Gap skit on deficits was
hilarious.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……OK, just go up to see that I was
correct. “Million Dollar Baby” and Clint Eastwood both won, as
it’s supposed to be.
Heavyweight Boxing
Two weeks ago I noticed an anniversary, Feb. 16, 1970. It’s
been 35 years since Joe Frazier won the heavyweight title from
Jimmy Ellis. I remember this from my youth but I was trying to
figure out the elimination tournament that was held to set up this
bout. Those of you who followed the heavyweight division back
then, when it was clearly at its best, will get a kick out of
strolling down memory lane. All of these fights, if I recall
correctly, were broadcast on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and
the telecasts helped cement Howard Cosell’s image as a giant in
the medium.
First off, recall that Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title in
the spring of 1967 for refusing to be inducted into the military on
religious grounds. The World Boxing Association then moved
quickly to dethrone him.
That left a wide open field, including Ellis and Frazier. [Ellis
was Ali’s sparring partner and in their amateur days he owned a
victory over then Cassius Clay.] The WBA then decided to have
an elimination tournament for the vacant title.
Eight were chosen: Ellis, Frazier, Jerry Quarry, former champ
Floyd Patterson, Thad Spencer, Oscar Bonavena, Karl
Mildenburger, and Ernie Terrell.
But Frazier opted out and instead chose to fight undefeated
Buster Mathis in the brand-new Madison Square Garden. Frazier
won in 11 rounds and was named champ of New York and five
other states.
The WBA then substituted southpaw Leotis Martin for Frazier.
First round action
Ellis stopped Martin, a heavy favorite, in the 9th round.
Bonavena had a lopsided decision over Mildenburger.
Spencer creamed Terrell in the first round.
Quarry won a narrow, controversial decision over Patterson.
Second round
Quarry TKO’d Spencer in the 12th.
Ellis, again a heavy underdog, won a clear-cut decision over the
cocky Bonavena who had claimed he would knock Ellis out in
two.
So now it was Ellis vs. Quarry, and perhaps just as importantly,
Ellis’s trainer, Angelo Dundee (Ali’s as well) vs. Jack Quarry,
Jerry’s father who occupied his son’s corner. Dundee told Ellis
to avoid following Quarry into the ropes, where Quarry could
employ his devastating counter-punches. Instead, Ellis stood out
in the center and seemingly beat Quarry to the punch each time
Jerry ventured forth. Ellis never went to Quarry. Well, you can
imagine that this turned out to be an excruciatingly dull 15-round
bout as Ellis won the decision. The crowd rained boos down on
the fighters.
Ellis successfully defended his title once, earning a controversial
15-round decision over Patterson. [I forgot how ol’ Floyd was
screwed at the end of his career.] Howard Cosell, calling the
fight, had Patterson comfortably ahead at the end.
Finally, in February 1970, Ellis and Frazier entered the ring to
unify the titles. Frazier pummeled Ellis in a 5th round knockout.
Meanwhile, Ali came back and in the fall of 1970 knocked out
Quarry and Bonavena, setting up the first Frazier – Ali title bout,
March 8, 1971. The buildup transcended sport and before a
sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, and for a purse of $2.5
million, Frazier won a grueling 15-round decision.
The bout took a ton out of both fighters and in January 1973,
after Frazier had defeated two journeymen, Terry Daniels and
Ron Stander, he was in turn pummeled by George Foreman in
Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman dropped Frazier six times before it
was stopped in Round 2.
Frazier then defeated Joe Bugner before facing Ali in their
rematch, Jan. 1974, with Ali winning this time in a 12-round
decision.
Ali defeated Foreman for the title in Zaire and then on September
30, 1975, Frazier and Ali met for a third time in “The Thrilla in
Manila.” Ali won on a 14th round TKO as Frazier’s eyes were
nearly swollen shut and his corner stopped the bout, even as Ali
himself could barely stand. Ali later said “It was the closest I’ve
come to death.”
[Sources: Boxing-Memorabilia.com, Eastsideboxing.com,
ibhof.com]
*One side note. Former heavyweight boxer Jimmy Young died
last Sunday of heart disease at the age of 56. Young lost a
controversial 15-round decision to a battered Ali in 1976. In ’77
he defeated George Foreman in a non-title bout, sending
Foreman into retirement for the first time, but then Young lost a
split-decision to Ken Norton in a WBC elimination match.
Stuff
–Goodness gracious. Check out this headline from Agence
France-Presse.
“British boy crushed to death by giant snowball”
“A 10-year-old boy has died in Scotland after being crushed by a
giant snowball rolling down a hill…
“In what appeared to be a ‘tragic accident,’ the schoolboy was
playing with friends when a ‘giant snowball’ they had been
making rolled down a hill and engulfed him.”
There’s really nothing more to say. Our thoughts go out to the
chap’s family.
–Interesting piece in the New York Times by Bill Pennington on
young athletes and the rapid rise in injuries.
“Dr. Lyle Micheli, a pioneer in the field of treating youth sports
injuries and director of the sports medicine division of Boston
Children’s Hospital, said that 25 years ago, only 10 percent of
the patients he treated came to him for injuries caused by
overuse.” Overuse injuries now account for 70 percent of the
cases he sees; the key factor being specialization in one sport at
an early age “and the year-round, almost manic, training for it
that often follows.”
Pennington writes, “Doctors lament the loss of what has become
a cultural artifact: the playground athlete. Two decades ago,
sports for children were often unorganized, with pick-up games
common in schoolyards and community parks.”
“Children might have played baseball, basketball and football all
in the same day,” Dr. Micheli said. “This was good for their
bodies, which developed in balance. Now young athletes play
sports supervised by adults who have them doing the same
techniques, the same drills, over and over and over.
“By playing one sport year-round, there is no rest and recovery
for the overused parts of their body. Parents think they are
maximizing their child’s chances by concentrating on one sport.
The results are often not what they expected.”
Pennington:
“Doctors are also seeing what could be called the Curt Schilling
effect in their examining rooms. Schilling was the Boston Red
Sox pitcher who underwent a radical medical procedure – a
ruptured tendon sheath in his ankle was sutured in place – so he
could pitch in the postseason last year.”
“ ‘I recently had a mother ask me if there isn’t some kind of shot
or fix-it procedure I could do for her 11-year-old daughter’s
ankle so she could be ready for an upcoming regional
competition,’ said Dr. Angela Smith, an orthopedic surgeon at
the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. ‘I told her that if it were
the Olympic Games coming up, perhaps we could treat this
situation differently. But as far as I understood, her upcoming
competition wasn’t the Olympics.’
“ ‘At this point, the daughter is giggling but the parent is in the
corner crying. I said: ‘This isn’t Curt Schilling in the World
Series. It’s not worth not being able to run anymore for a plastic
gold-plated medal.’”
I remember growing up as a kid. It was the same routine every
day. Play basketball at lunchtime, regardless of the season, and
then football or baseball after school; every single day through at
least sixth grade. Great memories. I feel for some of today’s
youth.
–Just a follow-up on the tiger that was killed near the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday, after I posted the
last column. State officials handled this badly. The concern was
that if the tiger had been shot up with tranquilizers they wouldn’t
have taken effect for about 10 minutes and the animal could have
done anything in the interim. But one veterinarian said a
tranquilized tiger “will run 50 to 100 yards from the source, then
begin to slow” and the time in which it takes a tiger to lose
consciousness can be reduced by over-tranquilizing it. The
whole incident was very sad and something should be done with
the laws that allow Californians to own big cats. [Source:
Amanda Covarrubias / Los Angeles Times]
–Mark R. on the NHL. “The NFL salary cap is $80 million for
53 players while the talk in the NHL was of having one of $45
mm for about 25 hockey players. Television revenues for the
NFL run in the $billions while hockey earned less than $70 mm.
The bottom line is that the poor fans who buy season tickets for
hockey carry the biggest percentage of the cost of the player
salaries of any sport. The owners tried to build a national sport
by expanding out west and down south and they failed! Nobody
but a small group of diehard fans miss the game and the players
still don’t get it. The owners, though, figured out they can’t keep
increasing ticket prices to make up the shortfalls. In short, it’s
over.”
–Johnny Mac on Barry Bonds:
“OK, I’m now convinced. I believe Barry Bonds. I believe
everything Barry Bonds says. I believe that Bonds, alone among
all the great athletes who have played major league baseball, is
the one who drastically improved his production after turning 36.
I believe it is ‘hard work’ that has allowed him to hit 209 home
runs in the four seasons since his 36th birthday, 50 more than
Aaron. In fact, his 209 is more than any player has amassed in
total after turning 36. [Mays: 7 seasons, 118 HR; Ruth: 5
seasons, 149 HR; Aaron: 7 seasons, 201 HR; Ted Williams: 6
seasons, 155 HR; Reggie Jackson: 6 seasons, 138 HR; Mike
Schmidt, 4 seasons, 90 HR; Frank Robinson: 5 seasons, 83 HR.]
“I believe that nobody has endured the scrutiny Bonds has had to
endure. No other profession gets the kind of media attention that
athletes get (unless you are, say, an entertainer or politician, but
no matter…I believe Barry). I believe that Barry has been the
victim of racism, regardless of the fact that he has been voted
MVP 7 times and despite being sired by an all-star, held at
baptism by Willie Mays, and spending his childhood in major
league dugouts. I believe Barry hates publicity, despite the fact
he has personal publicists on his payroll.
“I believe Barry when he says steroids don’t help you, that it’s
not cheating, regardless of the fact that admitted steroid users
include MVP Jose Canseco, MVP Jason Giambi and MVP Ken
Caminitti. I believe Barry, that ‘hand-eye’ coordination is what
makes him great, regardless of the fact that he has chosen to
transform himself (naturally, of course) from a lean 175-pounder
into a 235-pound monster for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I
believe.”
–I didn’t know this…according to the High Plains Journal, goats
normally have no more than two young at a time, so Scott and
Tim Turner of Egypt, Arkansas, were startled to find one of their
herd of Boer goats giving birth to quadruplets.
“Boer goats are the most desirable of the meat goats,” Tim
Turner said.
I wonder when mom is going to tell the kids that fact.
–And also from the High Plains Journal comes the tale of the
exploding river otter population in Ohio. In just the past two
decades, the otter’s numbers have soared from 120 to 4,300 and
now Ohio wildlife officials are proposing a permit-only trapping
season.
The otter was trapped to near extinction in the early 1900s, but
starting in 1986 it was reintroduced. The program has been so
successful, however, that farmers and fishermen are now
complaining. After all, a family of otters can eat half the fish in a
privately stocked pond before the owner gets wind of their visits.
Otter reintroduction programs have been initiated in 21 states
with success in each case. Missouri now has over 10,000 and
allows trapping.
–What a disgrace Temple men’s basketball coach John Chaney
is. Last Tuesday, Chaney sent a little-used 6’8” forward,
Nehemiah Ingram, out on the court against St. Joseph’s for the
express purpose of committing hard fouls. One player, St.
Joseph’s senior forward John Bryant, fractured his arm when he
was pushed to the floor. Ingram, who was just following his
coach’s orders, was hit with five fouls in four minutes.
Chaney, who has been out of control in many respects for years
now, was suspended by university officials for the remainder of
the regular season; three games, at last word. He should be fired.
–Baseball’s Veterans Committee will announce its selection for
the Hall of Fame on March 2 after I’ve gone to post, that is
assuming one or more candidates reach the requisite 75%. But
while Johnny Mac supplied the ballot bios the past few weeks, I
have to make note of a terrific piece by Stan Grossfeld of the
Boston Globe concerning one of those on the list, Roger Maris.
The last time around for the Vet Committee, 2003, Maris
received only 22% but there is a greater appreciation for his
home run record now that the steroids issue has been blown wide
open.
First off, for those who sought to put an asterisk next to Maris’s
61 homers in 1961 because he clouted them in a 162-game
schedule vs. Babe Ruth’s 60 in 154 games (1927); Maris hit his
60th home run in his 684th plate appearance while it took Ruth
689. Then Maris hit #61 the next game on the last day of the
season.
But I found the comments of big time Maris supporter,
basketball’s Bob Knight, of all people, interesting.
“He was the most impressive athlete I know, including
basketball. He was just so unique.”
Knight said Maris’s shyness with the media hurt him. “Maybe
Maris didn’t like the spotlight, but he should be in the Hall.
Absolutely. They should have baseball people choose (Hall of
Famers), not media people. He was universally respected, but
you understand what the media can do.
“You can’t find somebody else who was an MVP twice, who has
played on a World Series winner in both leagues who isn’t in the
Hall of Fame. They say he didn’t hit for a high average. How
many home run hitters were better base runners in the Hall of
Fame? He never threw to the wrong spot. You check it out.
“Remember in ’62 when (Willie) McCovey hit the liner to
Bobby Richardson for the last out (of Game 7 of the World
Series)…well, it was Maris who cut off the ball and held Matty
Alou to third on the (Willie) Mays double.
“(Former Yankee) Moose Skowron told me nobody could break
up a double play better than Maris.”
Son Kevin Maris says Roger’s relationship with Mickey Mantle
(viewed by some to be testy) could not have been better. “They
were best of friends,” Kevin said. “When Dad was sick, Mickey
would call him once a week at least.” When Maris died, Mantle
was a pallbearer and wept openly.
Maris did have his vices, however. As son Kevin said they were
“Camel cigarettes and Schlitz beer.”
–From Harry K. and the CBC, students at Nova Scotia
Community College are now able to earn credit from the Labatt
Beer Institute, connected to Halifax’s Brewery Market. Students
will be trained on everything from the history of beer, to
matching beer choices with different foods, to how to pour it
properly.
Too bad this wasn’t available when I was in school. Something I
may have ‘aced’ to go along with all my ‘gentlemen Cs.’
–LT was asking me the other day what makes a really good
Pilsener beer and I couldn’t come up with a great answer. But,
thankfully, Jordan Mackay of the Los Angeles Times just
happened to do a story on the great Pilseners that are turning up
in the Berkeley area of California. Here are just a few
conclusions.
“Pilseners, with their light-straw to golden colors, small
Champagne-like bubbles and flavors with a refreshing hoppy
bitterness balanced by an underlying malty sweetness, are among
the most beautiful, flavorful and food-friendly beers on the
planet.”
Brewmaster Lars Larsen of Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley
expounds. “All beer can be divided into two categories: ales and
lagers. The difference between them is the kind of yeast – ale
yeasts are top fermenting, while lager yeasts are bottom
fermenting. A Pilsener is simply a style of lager.”
Pilsener was invented in 1842 in the Czech town of Plzen, the
first being Pilsener Urquell, the “original Pilsener.” As Jordan
Mackay writes:
“Before its creation, most beers were dark and cloudy ales, but
simultaneous breakthroughs in the controls of toasting malt,
fermentation temperatures and yeast science allowed for the
production of a clear, golden, beautiful lager….
“But as Pilseners gained in popularity in Europe and the States,
they morphed into the less flavorful, mass-produced light lagers
that proliferate today….
“A high-quality craft Pilsener differs from mass-produced lagers
in several respects. Unlike Miller Lite, a craft Pilsener is made
with a base of 100% malt. Mass-produced lagers are extended
with rice and corn (much cheaper to use than malt).”
Some of the new West Coast Pilseners that Mr. Mackay likes are
Trumer Pils, Lagunitas Pils, Rouge Imperial, North Coast
Scrimshaw, Firestone Lager, Gordon Biersch, and Sudwerk.
–Speaking of drinking, poor Retief Goosen. Two weeks ago, at
the Nissan Open, Goosen missed his Wednesday pro-am tee time
when he overslept. Goosen had just traveled to Los Angeles
from South Africa and didn’t get up until 6:45 when he was
slated to tee off at 6:40. Retief was thus disqualified from the
tournament itself because the PGA Tour has adopted strict rules
on protecting pro-ams, a lifeblood of the tour week. In the old
days, a fair number of pros would blow them off, this after locals
have shelled out big bucks to have their day with a famous
golfer. So last year the Tour adopted the rule that if you miss it,
you are DQ’d from the tournament itself. The night before, in
Goosen’s case, he had made a “rare public appearance” at a
cocktail reception hosted by one of his sponsors, Grey Goose
Vodka. Retief admitted to having one or two before leaving.
–In a few weeks I’m going to be doing a story on Byron Nelson
and his stupendous performance in 1945 when he won 11 PGA
events in a row. But I loved this anecdote I just came across.
Nelson, now 93, is married to a woman 33 years younger. As
Byron explains it, “We’d been married a month in 1986, and she
fixed a nice dinner for us. I said, ‘Honey, I’m not going to have
enough time with you. I want to celebrate our anniversary every
month.’ We just celebrated our 219th month.” [GolfWorld]
–Not for nothing, but David Toms suddenly has 11 PGA career
triumphs, having won this week’s Accenture Match Play
Championship.
–Michelle Wie finished 2nd! in a LPGA tournament in Oahu.
–The New York Mets sold 130,000 individual tickets on Sunday,
a franchise record for the first day. Folks, there were years when
they didn’t draw 750,000 for an entire season. METS FEVER!
CATCH IT!
–Harry Simeone died at the age of 94. Simeone was the
conductor and arranger whose choral singers popularized the
great Christmas carol “The Little Drummer Boy,” which
Simeone turned into a classic in 1958.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/5/66: #1 “The Ballad Of The
Green Berets” (SSgt. Barry Sadler…#1 for five weeks) #2
“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” (Nancy Sinatra) #3
“Lightnin’ Strikes” (Lou Christie…this tune has held up well)
Baseball Quiz Answer: The nine pitchers with 1,000
appearances.
1. Jesse Orosco, 1979-2003…1252
2. John Franco, 1984- …1088
3. Dennis Eckersley, 1975-1998…1071
4. Hoyt Wilhelm, 1952-1972…1070
5. Dan Plesac, 1986-2003…1064
6. Kent Tekulve, 1975-1989…1050
7. Lee Smith, 1980-1997…1022
8. Mike Jackson, 1986- …1005
9. Goose Gossage, 1972-1994…1002
11. Mike Stanton, 1989- …968
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
