Baseball Quiz: 1) What current pitcher holds the major league
mark for most consecutive hits by a pitcher, season, with 8? 2)
Ted Williams holds the M.L. record for most consecutives times
reached base safely, season, with 16, 1957. [2 singles, 4 HR, 9
BB, 1 HP]. What two hold the N.L. record at 15? [Both did this
in 1998.] 3) OK, only one or two of you will get this one,
maybe. Who holds the M.L. record for most consecutive hits
from the start of a career with six? [1977….alright, think
Boston] 4) What two modern-era players hold their respective
league records for most seasons leading in triples. [Both played
post-1940…one is in the Hall of Fame, the other isn’t.] Answers
below.
Guam…Thurs. AM…so you may be wondering what the heck
I’m doing out here. Yesterday, I traveled to the island of Yap,
Micronesia, for my third visit to see some old friends of mine.
Yap is where I’ve been involved with the Jesuits in building a
church on the tribal island of Rumung. To say it’s a far cry from
the excesses of Wall Street and New Jersey these days would be
more than an understatement.
I’ll reserve most of my commentary for “Week in Review”
because there really isn’t too much in the way of Bar Chat,
especially because there haven’t been any shark attacks here
recently, but for now the 8,000 Yapese on the island (2,000
others on outer islands that fall under Yap State) get by on
coconuts, delicious fruit, and betel nut (a narcotic).
Unfortunately, the rest of their diet is awful and they have
serious health problems here.
But if the beer man makes it in, at least they get their hops and
barley. It was Steinlager (from New Zealand) for your editor,
along with Bud Light that Senator Ted (he’s a representative on
the island) provided for our boat trip to Rumung. [Rumung is the
only one of four main islands not connected by road.]
But in a few hours I take off for Seoul, South Korea, and next
time I’m bound to have some good stuff for you, especially
history buffs. Not sure what beer I’ll be drinking…so stay
tuned! And be sure to catch my next “Week in Review.” On
Saturday the plan is to get to the DMZ, having worked out a tour
beforehand.
In the meantime, I was talking to Sister Joanne on Yap about
Bruno, the alpha-male chimp that led the assault on the workers
at the wildlife sanctuary in Sierra Leone the other day. In all
honesty I think this is the story of the week….a sentiment she
didn’t necessarily share.
According to the BBC, Bruno was the first of over 70 chimps to
be brought to a sanctuary created for orphaned and abandoned
chimps. He then grew into the leader and planned and carried
out the ambush on five foreign workers touring the place. The
chimps killed and mutilated one of the men and the other four
were attacked as well, though I haven’t seen the extent of their
injuries. Suffice it to say, I would expect the survivors to be
having nightmares the rest of their lives.
Bruno and 23 others then escaped, with 8 later returning at last
report.
So think about this. Imagine the communication skills as this
was planned and carried out. Let’s face it….if we see a video put
out by Bruno on the Net one of these days, with a Kalashnikov at
his side, it would clearly be signaling a new global wave of
terror.
I also saw in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that London
and the surrounding environs have 10,000 foxes! [The animal
kind….London has about 2 million of the others.] What kind of
attack are they massing for, eh?
And I see I missed the black bear mauling of a hunter in
Olympia, WA, the other day. The fellow will survive but I don’t
know if this particular bear was in contact with the killer bruin in
the Smoky Mountains.
Here on Guam, the big issue on the wildlife front has always
been the brown tree snakes. I’m returning here next week for a
few days and will update you on the situation at that time as I
plan on getting a tour to see just how bad the situation really is.
[Guam is getting 8,000 more Marines, however, over the next
few years…transferred here from Okinawa. The U.S. military
says it’s all part of a broad realignment. I’m thinking the
Marines are bolstering the forces arrayed against the snakes,
including the hotel grounds workers armed with the latest in
weed-whackers…formidable in their own right.]
So what have I missed in the world of sports? I see Barry Bonds
is up to 710……….bird flu can’t get to the States fast enough.
Also, per my musing about scoring the other day, I just saw that
run production in baseball is up 10% this year, with home runs
up about 25%.
And Colorado’s Todd Helton has been suffering from a
mysterious ailment, with a relative saying he was “very sick.”
Finally, regarding the upcoming NFL draft; in the history of it,
going back to 1936, of those taken first overall only 12 are in the
Hall of Fame. Just 5 of 23 running backs taken first went on to
make it to Canton.
Knowing my time would be limited on the reporting angle this
week with all the travel, I prepared a little piece for you NHL
fans, all six of you; a story I first did about four years ago.
Maurice Richard
[I have been criticized by one of my loyal Canadian readers for
not having enough hockey in Bar Chat. But, I pleaded, I can’t
afford to lose all of my American fans! Alas, Harry K. is right,
so herewith is a piece on “The Rocket.”]
Maurice Richard died May 2000 at the age of 78. Quite simply,
he was the greatest player on the best franchise in NHL history,
the Montreal Canadiens. Even if you don’t like hockey, read on.
There’s quite a story here.
But first here are some of Richard’s career highlights.
–Played for the Canadiens from 1942-1960.
–No. 62 on the AP list of the Top 100 athletes of the 20th
century.
–Still Montreal’s all-time goal scorer with 544.
–First NHL player to score 50, 1944-45 season, and he did it in
just 50 games. No one else scored 50 until 1960-61…Boom
Boom Geoffrion. [For perspective, you need to understand that
throughout Richard’s career, the seasons were only 50 games,
then 60, then 70 when he retired…today they are 82.]
–14 consecutive seasons of 20 or more goals.
–Remained the NHL’s all-time goal scorer from 1952 until his
retirement, and then beyond, when in 1963 he was surpassed by
Gordie Howe.
–Played on 8 Stanley Cup champions during his 18-year career,
including 5 in a row between 1955-56 and 1959-60.
–Scored 82 playoff goals in 133 games, including a record 6 in
overtime.
Born in Montreal on August 4, 1921, Maurice Richard was one
of 8 children. His father was a former semipro hockey player
who worked at Canadian Pacific. Maurice played junior hockey
before entering the Canadiens’ minor league system. After two
years he was called up to the big time in 1942, whereupon
Richard quickly became a huge favorite in Montreal, particularly
among the French-speaking people.
In his second season, some sportswriters were observing Richard
during practice as he skated with blazing speed. One of them,
Baz O’Meara, gave him the moniker “rocket” and it stuck.
There was no more intense player in the history of the NHL than
Rocket Richard. Former linemate Geoffrion added, “As soon as
he would touch the puck, you could feel the electricity in the
crowd. It was amazing to see how people would react – not only
in Montreal, but everywhere he played. There’s never been
another like him.”
Frank Selke, the Canadiens’ GM at the time commented, “When
Maurice is worked up, his eyes gleam like headlights…Goalies
have said he’s like a car coming at you at night. He is
terrifying.”
Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber has written of the adulation
he engendered during his career. It wasn’t just those in the
stands but, throughout Canada, taverns would be packed to listen
to Canadien games on the radio (before television took over).
“The Rocket’s triumphs were the people’s triumphs. His rare
defeats were their defeats.”
Richard used to say, “I’m afraid to let the French people down.”
Rocket (5’10” and 170 lbs.) was continually harassed by the
opposing teams’ goons who were assigned to shadow him. He
quickly learned to retaliate with his fists and stick, engaging in
memorable brawls.
In 1951 he was fined $500 for grabbing referee Hugh McLean
around the neck in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel, having been
angered by a misconduct penalty McLean had given him the
night before.
But it was March 13, 1955 that will long be remembered
throughout the nation of Canada, especially fans of Les
Canadiens, for it was on that day, in a game with the Boston
Bruins, that Richard got into a fight with one of his chief
nemeses, Bruins defenseman Hal Lycoe. After being checked
hard by Lycoe and cut by his stick, Richard went after him.
When linesman Cliff Thompson intervened, Richard then
punched Thompson twice.
Now you have to picture that Montreal trailed first-place Detroit
by only one point with three games to play in the regular season.
For his part, Richard was also leading the league in scoring at the
time, a feat he had never achieved in his illustrious career. So
imagine the fans dismay when NHL President Clarence
Campbell suspended Rocket, not just for the three regular season
games, but also for the entire playoffs.
Four days later, on March 17, Montreal was playing host to
Detroit. Campbell, whose headquarters were in Montreal, was
going to attend the game and sit in his accustomed private box.
Montreal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau and the police chief urged
Campbell not to go. It seems that Campbell had been receiving
a ton of threats in the mail since suspending Richard and many
of the letter writers accused him of ethnic bias against French-
Canadians. Campbell nonetheless ignored the warnings and went
to the game.
The Rocket was also in the stands that day and the crowd turned
surly, not only because of the presence of Campbell, but also
because the Canadiens quickly trailed the Red Wings 4-1 by the
end of the first period.
As described by writer Farber, during the intermission between
periods, “a fan marched up the steps (to Campbell’s box) and
extended his hand for what Campbell assumed would be a
handshake. Campbell stuck out his hand. He got a slap in the
face.”
Farber adds, “Retired Red Wings tough guy Jimmy Orlando had
spotted the fan heading toward Campbell and bounded from his
seat in pursuit. An instant after the slap, Orlando spun the fan
around and socked him in the jaw, scattering teeth like jujubes.”
The fans then started pelting Campbell with vegetables and fruit
(they deserve credit for at least being health conscious), and
someone set off a teargas bomb. A scene of total chaos.
Officials ruled a forfeit and thousands streamed onto Ste.-
Catherine Street outside the Forum. A full-fledged riot ensued
with windows smashed, stores looted, cars overturned, and
newsstands set afire. 137 were arrested and the “Richard Riot”
(as it came to be known afterwards) caused $500,000 in damage,
a huge sum for those days.
Richard went on the radio the next day to urge calm, but it was
too late for the Rocketless Canadiens’ title quest as they lost in
the Cup Finals to Detroit. Richard also lost the scoring title by a
single point (he never did capture one in his career).
One of the other casualties for Montreal after the ’55 season was
Coach Dick Irvin. He was fired because it was felt that he couldn’t
control Richard’s temper. Irvin was replaced by Toe Blake and the
Canadiens went on to win the Cup the next 5 seasons.
The Richard Riot was seen as a catalyst for the rise of
“francophone nationalism” in Quebec. The Globe and Mail had
a recent (2000) comment on this topic.
“(Quebec) in the 1950s was stifled at being for so long a
paternalistic, deeply religious society, a province where the
majority of the French-speaking population toiled for English-
speaking bosses…The Campbell decision struck a raw nerve
among Richard’s French-speaking fans who saw it as one of their
own heroes being unjustly humiliated by a condescending
anglophone boss.”
On March 11, 1996, the fabled Montreal Forum shut its doors.
Richard was on hand and received a huge ovation. Said
superstar Guy Lafleur, “He deserved it. He’s the guy who started
the history of the Montreal Canadiens.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/29/67: #1 “Somethin’ Stupid”
(Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra) #2 “A Little Bit Me, A Little
Bit You” (The Monkees) #3 “Happy Together” (The Turtles)…
and…#5 “I Think We’re Alone Now” (Tommy James & The
Shondells) #8 “The Happening” (The Supremes) #9
“Bernadette” (Four Tops)
Baseball Quiz Answers: 1) Most consecutive hits, pitcher,
season, 8 – Livan Hernandez, San Francisco, 2001. 2) Most
consecutive times reached base safely, season, N.L., with 15 –
Barry Bonds, San Francisco, 1998 [5 singles, 2 doubles, 2 HR, 6
BB] and John Olerud, New York, 1998 [6 singles, 1 double, 2
HR, 6 BB] 3) M.L. record for most consecutive hits from start of
career – Ted Cox, Boston, Sept. 1977, with six.* 4) Stan Musial,
St. Louis, and Willie Wilson, K.C., both led their leagues five
seasons in triples. [Sam Crawford holds the M.L. mark at six,
though he accomplished this feat prior to 1920…not that we are
diminishing Mr. Crawford’s achievement, since he also has the
M.L. record for most career triples with 309, one that could stand
another 100 years, easily.
*Ted Cox’s story is a classic baseball one. He came up that fall
as a 22-year-old highly-touted hitter and ended up going 21 for
58 after the 6 for 6 start….a .362 average. He was out of
baseball four years later, having accumulated just 771 official at
bats and a lousy .245 career mark.
Next Bar Chat…Tuesday.
Shout out to LT!
