NFL Quiz: Name the ten to have passed for 40,000 yards.
Answer below.
From Des Moines, Iowa. I arrived here on Tuesday and spent
Wednesday between the State Fair and Bob Feller’s museum in
Van Meter and John Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset; the latter
also being part of Madison County…as in “Bridges of Madison
County” fame. But due to time constraints I put the bulk of this
chat together earlier. So just a few notes on the events of the past
24-48 hours.
–Not being home and having access to my vast baseball library,
I don’t have much to say on the passing of Yankees shortstop
Phil Rizzuto. I wasn’t a huge fan of his, to be perfectly honest,
which had to do with his broadcasting career since that is what I
knew growing up.
Of course what’s more important is the fact Hall of Famer
Rizzuto had the respect of his peers when he played for the
Bronx Bombers, anchoring a team that won five straight World
Series titles from 1949-53, including his own MVP season in
1950. Not bad for a guy who stood 5’6” and weighed in at 150.
Overall, Rizzuto was a Yankee from 1937-96, having gone right
from the ballfield to the booth.
But let’s face it; he was not a great baseball announcer. Yes, I
was a Mets fan and didn’t listen to many Yankees games during
this time, but my friends and I would always say can you believe
Rizzuto?! He couldn’t have cared less about the action on the
field. But he did give us “Holy cow!” and he appeared in a hit
Meatloaf tune; which is more than most of us can say.
–The New York Post’s Mark Cannizzaro put Tiger Woods into
perspective. He has 13 majors and next up among his
contemporaries is Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh; all
with three. To me it’s like a guy hitting 55-60 home runs each
season and second on the list is in the mid-20s; which is basically
the way it was with Babe Ruth during his initial power surge.
–The Red Sox Josh Beckett, 15-5 as I write this, gets more run
support than any starter in baseball…a staggering 7.15 runs per
game.
–You know, sports fans; when the Feds come knocking on your
door…you’re nailed. NBA referee Tim Donaghy learned this
valuable lesson and pleaded guilty to felony counts that could
land him in prison for up to 25 years (though I’m guessing 6-10).
And Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is about to plead guilty in
the dogfighting case. At least one would think so when not only
are there five witnesses ready to testify against him, but three
others have pleaded guilty and will rat on him as well. But
Vick’s sick supporters will continue to cry foul and racism.
–Lastly, an Aussie man was out on his ranch in the outback,
making repairs, when his horse bucked him off, he lost
consciousness, and when he came to he realized he had landed in
a crocodiles’ nest in swampland. The fellow clambered up a tree
and spent seven nights there as crocs took turns watching him
from below. He said at night he could always see two pairs of
eyes at the base of the tree staring up at him.
Because he was in dense growth, it was difficult for him to signal
for his rescuers that had been alerted by his wife. He heard the
army helicopters overhead but couldn’t get their attention until
the 8th day. This is not my idea of fun.
—
I last posted part of the following about four years ago and am
reprinting it now because it has to do with the great Bob Feller. I
do just have to add at his museum in Van Meter there is a display
of the products he used to endorse while pitching with Cleveland
and there was an article from the Des Moines Register from
1940.
“For ball playing alone, not counting indorsements (sic), Feller
probably received between 20 and 25 thousand dollars this year.
He is having a new $25,000 home built for his parents at Van
Meter. Bob neither smokes nor drinks and has refused money to
indorse (sic) cigarets (sic).”
Feller also endorsed the kids’ holy trinity of those days…
Popsicles, Fudgsicles and Creamsicles. Just the thought of eating
a box of these in one sitting brings back great memories…
ignoring the resultant stomach ache, of course.
[I’ll have a thing or two on John Wayne next time, plus all the
action at the Iowa State Fair.]
Baseball and War
[Because of when this was originally written, some of the stats
may be a little out of date, due to pitchers like Maddux and
Clemens moving up the career lists…or Barry Bonds and his
numbers.]
Back on April 14, 1942, World War II was not going well for the
United States and the Allies, but it was Opening Day for the
baseball season nonetheless. What followed was the fact that
over the ensuing four seasons the sport, like other American
enterprises, saw its rosters decimated as players were drafted for
the war effort.
The Times’ Michael Shapiro once wrote of the first game in
’42 between the Washington Senators and New York Yankees.
“When the game was done, people left quickly, anticipating the
air raid blackout set for 9 o’clock that night.”
Well, with the current conflict in the Persian Gulf, I thought it
was an appropriate time to repeat a piece from June 2001, one I
titled “What May Have Been…Baseball and World War II.”
Let’s take a look back at some Hall of Fame baseball careers
…and the years lost to World War II. You talk about Bar Chat,
print this up, baseball geeks, and take it to your favorite watering
hole.
Pitchers
Ted Lyons: Finished his career with a 260-230 mark while
toiling for the Chicago White Sox.
1941: 12-10
1942: 14-6…Lyons was 41 years old and also had a 2.10 ERA.
1943-45: military service. Granted, Lyons wasn’t young, but in
1946 he returned at the age of 45 to go 1-4 for the Sox.
However, consider this. In 43 innings, he walked just 9 and had
a 2.30 ERA. Thus, for the 3 seasons Lyons missed, I give him an
additional 25-30 victories, minimum. Does he get to 300?
Red Ruffing: 273-225…spends most of his career with the Red
Sox and Yankees.
1941: 15-6
1942: 14-7…at age 38.
1943-44: military service.
1945: 7-3
1946: 5-1 at age 42. Does Ruffing squeeze out 27 victories to
reach 300 during the two seasons he lost?
Warren Spahn: 363-245. Spahn came up in 1942 with the
Boston Braves, appearing in just 4 games with no W/L record.
1943-45: military service.
1946: 8-5, pitching just half the season.
1947: 21-10. Would Spahn have blossomed in ’43 or ’44? We’ll
never know. But consider this. He lost 3 ½ seasons to the army
and still finished with 363 career victories, #5 on the all-time list.
He certainly would have passed #3 Christy Mathewson (374) and
maybe #2 Walter Johnson (417).
Bob Feller: To me this is the most intriguing case. Feller
finished his sterling career with a 266-162 mark.
1940: 27-11 with 261 Ks…at the age of 21!
1941: 25-13 with 260 Ks.
1942-44: military service.
1945: 5-3 in half a season.
1946: 26-15 with 348 Ks!
1947: 20-11. Feller conservatively wins 70 over the time he lost.
He then moves past #10 John Clarkson (327) and #9 Steve
Carlton (329). He also fans 700+ (easily) to move comfortably
into the Top Ten in that category, until 2002 when Randy
Johnson zips by, displacing Feller.
Hitters
Joe DiMaggio: Lifetime – 361 HR 1537 RBI .325 BA 2,214 H
1941: .357 BA with 30 HR 125 RBI
1942: .305, 21-114
1943-45: military service.
1946: .290, 25-95…plagued by injuries ’46-’47.
1947: .315, 20-97
1948: .320, 39-155. Joe D. accumulates another 500 hits during
the time he lost, possibly finishing with 420 HR and 1850+ RBI.
[1860 RBI is #10 all time, Mel Ott.]
Hank Greenberg: Lifetime – 331 HR 1276 RBI
1939: 33 HR 112 RBI
1940: 40-150
1941: just 67 at bats.
1942-44: military service.
1945: 13-60 in just 85 games.
1946: 44-127. Greenberg is easily over 440 lifetime homers,
possibly up to 480 or so.
Johnny Mize: Lifetime – 359 HR 1337 RBI
1941: 16 HR 100 RBI
1942: 26-110
1943-45: military service
1946: 22-70 in only 101 games.
1947: 51-138…age 34.
1948: 40-125. What happens with him? 450+ home runs? 1650
RBI? The latter would have gotten him in the Top Twenty
lifetime in that category. You don’t normally think of Mize as an
all-time great, but he was.
And then there’s…
Ted Williams: Lifetime – 521 HR 1839 RBI .344 BA 2654 H
2019 walks 1798 runs scored.
1941: .406 BA 37 HR 120 RBI
1942: .356, 36-137…Triple Crown.
1943-45: military service.
1946: .342, 38-123
1947: .343, 32-114…Triple Crown.
Williams then missed basically all of 1952 and 1953 to the
Korean War. [He had 14 homers over those two seasons.]
So for 1943-45, let’s give him 105 HR and 360 RBI, and another
55 HR and 200 RBI for ’52-’53. [His power numbers were
trailing off by then.]
Williams then ends up with 680 HR and 2400 RBI. In the latter
category, Hank Aaron is #1 all time with 2297 (Ted’s 1839 ranks
him #12).
As for hits, because Williams walked a ton, he would have
averaged about 160 a season…so let’s give him 480 for ’43-’45,
and another 250 for ’52-’53 (he did play 37 games in ’53 with 37
hits). 3380+ hits lifetime would put him #8.
Walks? Williams and the Babe defined the term, long before
Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds. Ted is currently #3 all-time
with 2019. He had 145 walks in both ’41 and ’42, so let’s tack
on 390 for ’43-’45 (just being conservative) and another 225 for
’52-’53. That’s 2600+, a mark even Barry Bonds probably
doesn’t reach.
Finally, runs scored. Ted led the league in ’41 and ’42 with 135
and 141, respectively. Let’s give him 125 per for ’43-’45 and
175 for ’52-’53…for another 550. With 1798 lifetime, he is
currently #15 lifetime. Getting him up to 2350 places him first.
Bottom line, not only was Ted Williams a great American for his
incredible service to his country, but he’s possibly the greatest
ever…and the numbers would have backed it up.
Bob Feller
Following are a few excerpts from a recent interview by Jeff
Idelson of the Baseball Hall of Fame with Feller, who at 88 has
now been a member of Cooperstown for half his life.
HOF: Talk about your childhood and baseball.
Feller: We played on the hog lot and in the barn, before my dad
built a field a quarter mile from the house on top of the hill
overlooking the Raccoon River and all the Oak trees….
I played four years of American Legion ball, where I used to face
Nile Kinnick, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1939 with Iowa. I
became the first Legion graduate to make the Hall of Fame. I
had a great childhood, and the neighborhood kids would catch
me before school started. I also liked to throw a rubber ball off
the roof of the barn and house and catch it when it came back
down.
HOF: You made your major league debut at age 17 in an
exhibition game against the Cardinals in Cleveland, one month
after your junior year of high school ended.
Feller: I was living in a rooming house the Indians paid for, and
pitching in an amateur league, about Class-A level, for
Rosenbloom’s clothing store at 321 Euclid Avenue. In those
days you could buy a three-piece suit, two pairs of pants and a
coat for $25, and have the suit tailored when you went out. The
Cardinals came to town and (Cy) Slapnicka [who discovered
Feller] told Steve O’Neill, the Indians manager, that he wanted
me to pitch the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, or at least give it a
try. O’Neill came out and caught me. I struck out eight batters
and allowed a couple of hits, walks and a run. I met (Dizzy)
Dean and had my picture taken with him.
I was then supposed to go to Fargo to start my career for $75 per
month. Instead, I went to Philadelphia and joined the Indians, the
day before the All-Star Game. I got dressed that first day and
was in the dugout when Connie Mack walked across from the
other dugout. We met behind the batting cage. He stuck out his
hand and said, “Welcome to the American League, Mr. Feller. I
hope you have a good career.”
HOF: You made your first start against the St. Louis Browns in
August and struck out 15 batters. Three weeks later, you struck
out 17, breaking Rube Waddell’s American League record and
tying Dean’s major league mark. Were you surprised with your
success?
Feller: I never had any idea that I would not be a major league
player, from the time I was nine years old. I played third, short
and second and had two left feet and 10 thumbs, but I had a
pretty good arm. If I could catch the ball, I could throw it from
one cornfield to the next. I practiced long-distance throwing
with my dad out in the pasture. I would take a beamish – a grain
bag – to school full of catcher equipment, bats and balls, and we
would play at the noon hour. Baseball was my life, and it still is.
HOF: You threw your first of three no-hitters on Opening Day in
1940. You thought you were lucky.
Feller: I didn’t have all that great stuff that day. It’s not tough to
pitch a no-hitter if you hang around long enough and pitch
enough games. You will always pitch an inning when you don’t
allow any hits – you just have to string nine of them in a row.
There’s a lot of luck in this game. Whether its 10, 50 or 90
percent. I don’t know. But there’s a lot of luck in this game and
in life. Life’s not always fair.
HOF: How did you learn about Pearl Harbor, and did you
hesitate when you chose to enlist?
Feller: I was leaving the farm to go to the Palmer House hotel in
Chicago to sign my contract for the 1942 season. Most of my
contracts were signed based on how many fans we would draw at
home, and how many games I would win. Starting at 15 wins, I
would get $2,500 for every five wins. As I crossed the river on
Route 6 outside of Davenport, Iowa, I heard about Pearl Harbor
on the radio. I had known this day would come since 1939.
I knew Gene Tunney, athletics director for the Navy, Jack
Dempsey, athletics director at the Coast Guard, and I knew Frank
Knox, who was secretary of the Navy. Instead of going to see
Slapnicka, I called Tunney at home on Sunday. He flew to
Chicago Monday, and I was sworn in on that Tuesday. I
reported to boot camp the next day.
HOF: You served aboard the Battleship U.S.S. Alabama. Did
playing baseball, a team sport, help?
Feller: Being in sports had nothing to do with being a good
sailor. We had a baseball team aboard the Alabama. We played
other ships and had the best team in the Pacific. We played in
places like New Hebrides, the Fijis, Ulithi, Kwadule, Eniwetok
and other islands across the Pacific.
In 1944, we crossed the equator 28 times. I was a gun captain.
We did a lot of practicing, like in sports. You play like you
practice. So when we got into a conflict, we had practiced. We
had a lot of very good anti-aircraft gunners. We never lost a man
to enemy action, and we were decorated eight times.
Admiral Nimitz, who ran the Pacific War for the Navy and did a
great job, radioed our ship and asked the captain if I would play
in the Army-Navy World Series in Honolulu. Nimitz wanted to
beat the Army. Well, we were far into the Pacific, stopping in
places like Guam. I told the captain that I wasn’t really in
condition, that we had more important things to do, and I wasn’t
going to go. I asked the captain to wire Admiral Nimitz and
thank him for the invitation, but I told him that I would see him
when the war was won.
HOF: That 1946 season, all 26 wins came on three days rest,
pitching for a team that finished 18 games under .500. In your
15 losses, the Indians scored 16 runs and you were shutout six
times. You pitched your second no-hitter and had two one-
hitters. You struck out 348 batters.
Feller: I pitched 10 shutouts and was shutout six times. The
motto was, “Hey Bob, we got you a run, hold ‘em!” And then
everyone on the bench would laugh. I walked out to the mound,
won some and lost some. I didn’t lose 162 games in my career
by accident. Good competition is what it’s all about, and
baseball is a great game.
HOF: What did you think of Bill Veeck, your owner?
Feller: Bill was not money hungry. He loved baseball, and he
loved the attention. He knew the game, and he brought all the
minor league promotions to the big leagues. He never took
himself too seriously. He loved life. He was a good baseball
man, and he paid his players very well. He didn’t have any
enemies at all. The only mistake he ever made in my book was
putting (3-foot, 7-inch midget) Eddie Gaedel in a game, which
made a mockery of the competition.
HOF: You knew Ronald Reagan for nearly 75 years.
Feller: “Dutch” was recreating games in Des Moines for WHO
Radio, and Wheaties was the sponsor. The year before that, he
was with WOC in Davenport. I got to be very friendly with
Nancy and him over the years. We’d go out for dinner in
California after exhibition games in October. I’d watch him on
location making movies for Republic and Warner Brothers. I
didn’t really care for Jane Wyman, who was a big deal in those
days. She didn’t treat “Dutch” as well as I thought she should. I
visited him many times in the White House, too.
He once sent me a letter from the hospital, after he had broken
his leg playing in a game among actors at Gilmore Field in
Hollywood. He had laid a bunt down and the pitcher tagged him
and knocked him down. He (Reagan) asked for an autographed
baseball for a 9-year-old kid whose dad had committed suicide. I
sent him one signed by the team.
About 30 years later when he was president, I sent him the letter.
He sent a note back asking why I had sent it to him and not kept
it, and I wrote back and said, “Mr. President, I thought you might
make something out of yourself. Someday.” He got a big laugh
out of that.
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/17/74: #1 “The Night Chicago
Died” (Paper Lace) #2 “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (Roberta
Flack) #3 “(You’re) Having My Baby” (Paul Anka with Odia
Coates)…and…#4 “Tell Me Something Good” (Rufus…big fave
of your editor) #5 “Please Come To Boston” (Dave Loggins…
Boston be chokin’ in the AL East!) #6 “Call On Me” (Chicago)
#7 “Waterloo” (Abba) #8 “Wildwood Week” (Jim Stafford) #9
“I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You” (Donny & Marie Osmond)
#10 “Sideshow” (Blue Magic…sleeper tune)
NFL Quiz Answer: Ten who threw for 40,000 yards…
Dan Marino…61,361
Brett Favre…57,500
John Elway…51,475
Warren Moon…49,325
Fran Tarkenton…47,003
Vinny Testaverde…45,281
Drew Bledsoe…44,611
Dan Fouts…43,040
Joe Montana…40,551
Johnny Unitas…40,239
*Peyton Manning is already No. 12 with 37,586 yards.
**As far as TD passes, Dan Marino leads with 420 and Brett
Favre is second with 414. Then it’s a big drop-off to Tarkenton
at 342. Manning has 275 and when he hits 300, he’ll become
just the fifth to do so; John Elway being the other at exactly
300.
Next Bar Chat, Monday p.m.
