An Auto Racing Giant

NCAA Basketball Quiz: Granted, for older folks who also happen to be hoops junkies. More ‘Name that coach’. 1) Who coached Minnesota to a No. 10 AP final ranking [poll is after regular season ends, not tourney] with a 20-4 record in 1973? 2) Who coached Syracuse to a No. 14 final rank in going 22-4, also in ’73? 3) Who am I? In 1977, 78, and 81, each year I led Utah to a final ranking of No. 14…and then each year lost a 2nd round NCAA tourney game. 4) Who coached West Virginia to a 25-4 regular season mark, and No. 17 AP ranking, in 1989? 5) That same year, who coached Ball State to a No. 18 ranking in going 28-2? Answers below. 

You’ll have to indulge me on this one. Thanks to my older brother being a huge auto racing fan, growing up he dragged me along into the sport and I’d like to think I knew as much about it as any, say, 10-year-old in the country at the time. After all, as I’ve noted before, in 1968 the two of us were in the pits during the time trials for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, inches away from the likes of Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart [Jimmy Clark had died months earlier.] And my brother and I forced our father to take us to the great Can-Am races at Watkins Glen and Bridgehampton, where McLaren and Hulme rotated winning that championship, 1967-70. [Talk about traffic jams after the races at these two locations…what a nightmare for dear old Dad.] But what a great era…simply the best ever for racing. 

A big part of the success of the sport then was of course the Indy 500. In the 60s, the only way you could tell what was going on there was to listen for updates on the radio, unless you were near one of the few theaters showing it on closed-circuit. [ABC’s Wide World of Sports didn’t show the race until the following week, before they introduced same-day, live coverage later.] 

And so it was that we learned of the heartbreak of Lloyd Ruby at Indy. Ruby, hero of Wichita Falls, Texas, died Monday at the age of 81 of cancer. 

Following World War II, Ruby was a standout midget car driver in the southwest, while still in his teens, who then competed in Formula One and lead Ford’s international efforts, winning both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966, with co-driver, Englishman Ken Miles, when those two races, along with the 24 Hours of LeMans, were huge events. Ruby missed LeMans that same year because the light plane in which he was riding crashed on takeoff from an Indianapolis airport. In the 1967 Sebring race, Ruby shared the ride with A.J. Foyt, Miles having died in a testing accident at Riverside, Calif. Forever after, mention of Miles’ name brought tears to Ruby’s eyes. 

From Donald Davidson / Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

“The hugely respected and much-beloved Ruby competed in 18 consecutive Indianapolis 500 Mile Races between 1960 and 1977 but never was able to pull off what had always seemed to be the inevitable victory. He led the ‘500’ in five out of six starts between 1966 and 1971, only to have something either break or else delay him in some fashion while in a commanding position. 

“ ‘He should have won the ‘500’ two or three times,’ 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones said. 

“Ruby led for a career total of 126 laps, the seventh-highest number by a driver who never won. He finished 12th or higher in 11 different starts, his best finish third with a front-engine car in 1964. He qualified in the first three rows seven times…. 

“Ruby won seven USAC National Championship races, including three at Milwaukee, two at Phoenix and one each at Trenton, N.J., and Langhorne, Pa…. 

“Nobody outside of racing could ever possibly have guessed Ruby’s occupation. He was casual beyond belief; red-flag situations at race tracks and the inevitable rain delays never seeming to bother him – because they didn’t bother him.” 

Ruby was so relaxed that during the endurance races, while other drivers stayed up all night, drinking coffee to stay alert when they weren’t behind the wheel, Ruby set up a cot behind the pit and instructed the crew to wake him 15 minutes before the scheduled driver change. 

Dan Gurney said of Ruby, “A soft-spoken Texas lead foot with enormous natural talent. He was not a self-promoting type; he was humble….He was a potential winner every time he got behind the wheel.” 

“In 1969, Ruby was leading Andretti at the halfway point. With about a two-lap lead, he pulled in for his last pit stop. 

“ ‘He’s topping off his tank so he can finish the race,’ (biographer Ted) Buss said. ‘One of his crewmen pats him on the helmet, giving him the go-ahead, and the car lurches forward.’ 

“ ‘But they had not disengaged the fueling hose, and it tore the gas tank completely out of the car,’ Buss said. ‘He would have won that race easily.’ 

“A year later, after his engine blew out in several previous qualifying runs, Ruby finally qualified. For the big race, he had to start in the last row. Fifty laps in, he took the lead. On the 52nd lap, smoke billowed out of his engine, and he was finished. 

“Another year…Ruby was leading with five laps to go. ‘That’s like a first-and-10 at the 1-yard line,’ Buss said. ‘He broke a camshaft and he was out.’"

“As word of Ruby’s death spread Tuesday morning, many of his longtime friends gathered at his shop in downtown Wichita Falls to grieve and swap stories about the former Indianapolis 500 race-car driver…. 

“Devout Ruby fan Joe Raines, who knew Ruby personally for almost 40 years, said ‘Lloyd Ruby lived his life with core values of honesty, loyalty and integrity. He provided a good life for his family by racing cars that frightened their mechanics in an era of frequent driver fatalities. He never boasted of driving into turns at over 200 miles per hour, or beating the best the world had to offer. 

“ ‘Lloyd was one of Wichita Falls’ greatest athletes and ambassadors. He could build anything, fix anything and cook anything, all exceptionally well. He treated everyone with respect and everyone respected him, everywhere. He was a unique individual, a legend in his own time. He was truly a man’s man. He loved his family and his fellow man. And when it came time, he died with dignity.’” 

“It also says something of the man that with all the years of his success, and, for a while, his considerable income, he never moved away from the place of his birth. Some of his closest friends were those with whom he had grown up and gone to school. A visit to his home likely would entail a casual drive around town, cruising by the location of his old school, a malt shop or two, a drugstore and his favorite watering hole, a very down-to-earth establishment frequented by powerful townsfolk and city officials who were just as unpretentious as Ruby himself.” 

Biographer Ted Buss said, “He was never one to kick tires and scream. He always shrugged and, with his huge Texas drawl, said it was just one of those things.” 

“The memories of slow-talking, fast-driving Lloyd Ruby, either in a race car or leaning up against a wall, arms folded, cowboy hat tipped slightly forward and one Western boot crossed in front of the other, toe to the ground, will not soon fade.” 

Baseball Hall of Famer Kell died at the age of 86. A 10-time All-Star, the third baseman’s best seasons were in Detroit when he hit .343 in 1949 and .340 in 1950, part of a streak that saw him hit .300 eight straight seasons. For his career he batted .306 with 2054 hits and 870 RBI. Kell also did radio and television for the Tigers for almost 40 years, including 20 with broadcast partner Al Kaline. He had a distinctive, authoritative Southern baritone. 

Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press 

“The busiest place around in those days must have been the lobby of any hotel where the Tigers were staying, because Kell would talk to folks there and share the experience with his viewers: ‘You know, Al, I was talking with Virgil Trucks down in the HO-tel lobby last night.” 

Kell was a little like Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner…full of malapropisms, often mixing up names or simply forgetting them. And as Drew Sharp wrote, “Who can forget when Mark Fidrych went to the mound on May 15, 1976, against Cleveland at Tiger Stadium?” 

Kell told color man Al Kaline, “That kid looks a little squirrely out there, Al.” 

John Lowe / Detroit Free Press 

“Kell entered the final day of 1949 fighting for the batting title with Boston’s Ted Williams, well on the way to becoming an unsurpassed hitting legend. If Williams had won that batting title, he would have done something no one else had ever done: win a third Triple Crown (leading the league in hitting, homers and RBIs). 

“But Kell edged Williams in a race so close it had to be carried out one decimal place further than the traditional three places typically used to measure batting average: 

“Kell .3429. Williams .3427. 

“In the season’s final game, Kell was due to bat in the bottom of the ninth against Cleveland fireballer Bob Feller. If Kell made an out against Feller, he would lose the batting title. But with Kell on deck, the batter hit into a game-ending double play, and Kell had the batting title. 

“ ‘I was so happy I threw my bat high in the air and ran for the dugout,’ Kell recalled. 

“Kell’s feelings about the batting title subsequently became mixed. 

“ ‘I didn’t know it at the time, but it prevented (Williams) from winning the Triple Crown,’ Kell told the Boston Globe. ‘To tell you the truth, that whole thing bothered me. The next spring training, in fact, I told Ted that. I felt awful about it.’ 

“ ‘But Ted, he was so gracious about it. He said, ‘Look, you won it fair and square. There’s nothing to feel sorry about. You went 2-for-3 (on the final day) and I went hitless, that’s it. What’s to feel sorry about?’ That was Ted, gracious and always generous.’” 

And get this. How many times do you think George Kell struck out in 1949 while winning the hitting crown? Try 13. 13! In 522 at bats! The following year, when he hit .340, he struck out just 18 times in 641 ABs. For his career, George Kell whiffed only 287 times in 6702 plate appearances. Yes, no batting champion has ever struck out fewer times in the history of the game. [Since records have been kept, going back to 1910.] 

As we watch the NCAA b-ball tournament, we have to put up with the replacement for Billy Packer, Clark Kellogg, as Jim Nantz’s sidekick.  

The Washington Post’s Norman Chad, on Kellogg’s “alternate language,” such as the lane is “the paint,” the basket is “the rack,” the foul line is “the charity stripe.” 

“For Kellogg, the shortest distance between two points is a circumlocutious statement. He favors multisyllabic words, like ‘perimeter’ and ‘interior’ and ‘circumlocutious’; heck, he’s got to love ‘multisyllabic’ because, well, it’s multisyllabic. 

“In short, Kellogg butchers English, obfuscates the obvious and makes simple points seem elaborate – all for our entertainment value! Frankly, he might call himself a ‘mangled linguistic savant.’” 

Following are some examples of what Kellogg would say is his “body of work.” 

“All of the words between quotations are Kellogg’s, unexpurgated; all the words after are mine, unenthralled: 

“ ‘Duke has done a masterful job of controlling pace and tempo.’ ‘Pace and tempo’ always go together, you know, like ‘Tango & Cash.’ 

“ ‘Basketball is meant to be played with rhythm and flow.’ Of course, without rhythm and flow, you can’t control pace and tempo. 

“ ‘The speed and length of LSU has really caught Butler off-guard.’ LSU is faster and taller than Butler. 

“ ‘He gets a little pseudo-penetration.’ It’s the illusion of penetration…. 

“ ‘In every aspect of the game for the last two months he has been terrific as an overall player.’ He plays well…. 

“ ‘He got the chicken wing out.’ That’s an arm…. 

“ ‘That shows you a little ‘yelium’ right there – he rose and floated.’ I fell and sank…. 

“ You get to the buffet line like that, typically you are going to find something you like.’ Believe it or not, this regards second-chance shots…. 

“ ‘You’ve got to find him, then you feel him, then you take him for a ride.’ I’m not quite sure he was still talking basketball here.” 

*For the record, I didn’t pick up on this last time but the surviving Sweet 16 in the tourney represents the most elite field since the adoption of seeding in 1979, leading off with a record 14 top-four seeds. All No. 1s, 2s and 3s remain…pretty remarkable. 

—Curt Schilling announced his retirement. What an interesting, and great, career. Hall of Fame worthy? Should be…not first ballot…but consider he went 216-146, an outstanding win percentage; fanned 300, three times; was a three-time 20-game winner; had a sterling career ERA of 3.46 (for this steroid era); and, perhaps most importantly, was a spectacular 11-2 in 19 postseason starts, including 4-1 in World Series action for three winning teams…Arizona and twice at Boston. 

If Don Drysdale is in at 209-166 (and 3-3 in the Series), then Schilling is in. 

–No, I didn’t watch an inning of the World Baseball Classic, but heard enough about it and was glad one of my favorite players, Ichiro, led Japan to victory with four hits in a 5-3, 10-inning final win over Korea, including a decisive two-run single in the tenth. 

But William Rhoden of the New York Times had a piece concerning Team USA and how they had their eyes opened up by the play of international squads like Japan and Korea. 

“Japan did the little things, they said, and the United States did not. Japan played with basics and fundamentals; the United States did not…. 

“Players repeatedly referred to the Japanese team’s attention to detail as if it were a foreign concept or a long-lost art. The refrain makes you wonder whether the United States might have lost more than a baseball game on Sunday. 

“Brian Roberts, the team’s second baseman, said: ‘When you play Japan, when you play Korea and those countries, they’re going to play fundamentally sound baseball. They’re going to do all the little things. You have to focus on the fundamentals. Americans, we probably don’t do as good a job of that as they do at times.’ 

“Rollins added: ‘They don’t worry about the big things. They didn’t worry about trying to drive the ball out of the ballpark. When you put the ball in play, you can find holes.’ 

“Didn’t Wee Willie Keeler say something like this nearly a century ago when he said, ‘Hit ‘em where they ain’t’? It was as if the United States was being reintroduced to a game it invented. The American game, for better or for worse, has moved to lavish new stadiums and supports lucrative player contracts. It is built on power and entertainment – a deadly combination, we’ve discovered, in an era of performance-enhancing drugs.” 

–We note the passing of former NBA ballplayer Howard “Butch” Komives, 67. Komives died of head trauma suffered in a fall at home. 

Back in the 1963-64 college basketball season, Komives led the nation in scoring, 36.7 ppg, while performing for Bowling Green. The prior two years he was on the same team as future NBA superstar Nate Thurmond. In ’62, Bowling Green finished No. 8 in the country. 

Drafted by the Knicks, Komives had his best professional season in 1966-67, when he averaged 15.7 points and 6.2 assists. 

But Butch Komives is best known for being part of one of the great trades in sports history. On Dec. 19, 1968, the Knicks traded Komives and center Walt Bellamy to the Pistons for forward Dave DeBusschere; a deal that enabled the Knicks to move Willis Reed to center, and the Knicks went on to win their two titles in 1970 and ‘73. 

[As for Nate Thurmond, one of my all-time favorites, in the nine years between 1964-65 and 1972-73, he averaged at least 16 rebounds in all but one season, and at least 16 points, including 1967-68 when he averaged 20.5 points and 22 rebounds per contest! But of course he was in his prime during the same era as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell and thus overshadowed.] 

–Chris K. passed along a L.A. Times story by Mark Heisler on his prospective NBA draft list. [My side comments, except in the case of Jeff Teague.] 

1. Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
2. Ricky Rubio, Spain
3. Jordan Hill, Arizona
4. Ed Davis, North Carolina
5. Hasheem Thabeet, UConn
6. James Harden, Arizona State
7. Jeff Teague, Wake Forest… “Great athlete, deadeye shot. Skeptics say he’s a pint-sized shooting guard. Admirers think he can handle point in a structured system.” 

[Mr. Heisler clearly wrote his comments before Wake’s loss to Cleveland State, where Teague showed a total lack of heart.] 

–I don’t know all the details of Matt Lauer’s bicycle incident with a deer that caused a shoulder injury, but we do know he was riding with a helmet on as he flipped over his handlebars in avoiding the animal. He may not have landed on his head, but when I first heard the story I thought, thank god not another Rodney Rodgers. 

–Speaking of riding a bike, Lance Armstrong clearly forgot how to ride his as he crashed and broke his collarbone in a race in Spain, thus jeopardizing his bid to compete in the Tour de France; though while the fracture is more serious than first thought, Armstrong said his plans to race in the Giro d’Italia in May, let alone the Tour, which starts in July, remains “very doable,” in his words. [Not that I really give a damn.] 

–While I haven’t ordered wine from GTS Vineyards (George Thomas Seaver…baseball great), I’m on the mailing list and I got a kick out of this option. 

“Deliveries in the Napa Valley will be made by GTS and his two Labrador Retrievers, Bandy and Major (if Major is behaving himself) free of charge.” 

That would almost be worth the price. [12 bottles…$900] 

–Speaking of the Mets, with the new stadium, Citi Field, the New York Times notes the food offerings will be significantly upgraded, as one would hope. Yes, as reported by Glenn Collins, fans will be able to get pulled-pork sandwiches! Repeat…Mets fans will be able to devour pulled-pork sandwiches! Why it’s enough to make this barbecue sandwich maven contemplate season tickets. [Only one problem…and this coming from a guy who can eat 8 pulled-pork sandwiches at a NASCAR race…at Citi they will cost $9. So I’m thinking I’ll have to empty one of my coffee cans of coins before hitting the ballpark.] 

Other food entries, incidentally, include “dog bites” (Kosher hot dogs coated in matzo meal with brown mustard for $11), spare ribs seasoned with Kansas City rub ($10) and shrimp rolls – using a Martin’s potato roll (yummm) – with shoestring potatoes ($14). 

Union Square Café (Manhattan) restaurateur Danny Meyer is overseeing the food efforts at Citi Field.  

–New York Post: 

Ah yes, the divorce trial of United Technologies’ Chairman George David, 66, and his 36-year-old wife, Countess Marie Douglas-David. Mr. David contends Marie would drag him to bed against his will. 

“I recall one instance when she was very forceful, and I declined, and she exploded,” said David. 

Andrea Peyser / New York Post 

“Marie Douglas-David says her reluctance to take her husband’s $36 million and skedaddle has nothing to do with greed, but her hubby’s fetishistic sexual control. 

“Douglas-David, the Swedish countess, told me yesterday he filed for divorce from her regularly as a method of control and as a kind of weird sexual foreplay. 

“He filed for divorce four times during their loopy, seven-year marriage. But the separations ended, sometimes hours later, with bouts of crazy sex. 

“He also, she says, became something of a baby Nazi. As her biological clock ticked down, he taunted her with, ‘If you improve and behave, you can have in-vitro fertilization.’” 

Andrea Peyser calls this megadivorce trial “the biggest thing to hit Sweden and Connecticut since the invention of the herring. 

“Blond, beautiful and with a biological clock that’s ticking like a nuclear weapon, Douglas-David, 36, won’t settle for the $36 million or so promised in the post-nuptial agreement with her rich, elderly husband.” 

I’m thinking with her biological clock ‘ticking like a nuclear weapon,’ this could be next season’s plotline for “24.” 

“There’s a saying that goes: ‘All good dogs go to heaven.’ We have a new one: ‘All good dogs that go to Oprah’s go to heaven.’ Winfrey’s newest pup, a cocker spaniel named Ivan, died of parvovirus, a gastrointestinal disease. It had lived with her for only a weekend. Last year Oprah lost another cocker spaniel, named Sophie, to kidney failure. The year before that, her golden retriever, Gracie, choked on a ball. This is obviously very sad, so how about going for a new species of pet, Oprah. Try cockroaches. Nothing can kill them.” 

–With each anniversary, the dwindling band of surviving POWs from Stalag Luft III continues to bitch and moan about some aspects of the movie “The Great Escape,” which glorifies their own exploits. As reported by Fran Yeoman in the London Times, they still have a bug up their butts (that’s me…not Yeoman) over Steve McQueen and his motorbike. 

“We were not impressed when that film came out,” said Reginald Cleaver, 86, a flight engineer who had been shot down over the Netherlands and who helped to make disguises for the escape. “The bits about the way the tunnel was dug and how things started was quite accurate, but the later bits were nonsense. The Americans played no part in the escape. To have Americans riding motorbikes was ridiculous.” 

Geezuz, get over it. Without Hollywood no one would have ever known your story. 

On the other hand, the few survivors went back to the site of the prison the other day, at Zagan, in western Poland, and honored their 50 comrades who were executed on the order of Hitler as a deterrent to others. The survivors watched the film at Zagan and say the first half depicting life in the camp is authentic, but they keep going back to McQueen’s character. 94-year-old Alfie Fripp said, “McQueen glamorized it, he made fun of the whole situation. It was serious for the people that went through it.” 

Note to self: If I live to 94, may I not be bitter…except over the Mets’ collapses in 2007 and 2008…and Chris Paul’s days at Wake Forest. 

–A good friend of Bar Chat, Bud E., was once profiled for setting a New York State ultra cycling record in 2005…the North to South, 310 mile, course from Rouse’s Point near the Canadian border to the New York / Connecticut line near Greenwich…20 hours 9 minutes. [Actually, Bud deserves the full name on this one…Eichorn…Bud Eichorn.] 

As in Bond…James Bond. Only Bud is having quite a problem these days at his Somers, New York retreat. [Upper Westchester County.] You see, Bud is under attack from wild turkeys…turkey vultures, specifically…that are nesting in the trees surrounding his compound. One of Bud’s cats has had some chunks taken out of it and anytime Bud is outside, the turkeys follow him…stealthily…preparing for the final assault on his home and person. They are not smiling. No, instead they are scaring the heck out of him. Be brave, Bud. At least you know you can always speed away and probably outlast them over 300 miles. Just make sure the tires are properly inflated for the quick getaway. And whatever you do, don’t try to hide out in a phone booth, a la Tippi Hedren. 

–In my ongoing attempt to pump New York City tourism, if you’re a James Gandolfini fan, he is getting rave reviews for a new comedy on Broadway that opened up last weekend, “God of Carnage.” Check it out. 

–LAKELAND, Fla. (AP)… “An eighth-grader was suspended from riding the school bus for three days after being accused of passing gas. The bus driver wrote on a misbehavior form that a 15-year-old teen passing gas on the bus Monday to make the other children laugh, creating a stench so bad that it was difficult to breathe. The bus driver handed the teen the suspension form the next day. 

“Polk County school officials said there’s no rule against flatulence, but there are rules against causing a disturbance on the bus. 

“Whether he did it or not, he might have gotten off easy. A 13-year-old student at a Stuart school was arrested in November after authorities said he broke wind in class.” 

I’m guessing a popular song down Florida way is Archie Bell and the Drells’ “Tighten Up.” 

–The next DJ to talk over the introduction to Junior Walker & The All Stars’ “What Does It Take,” the best single intro in rock history, should be sent to Guantanamo without any chance of appeal. The other night I’m listening to XM’s 60s channel and DJ “Motormouth” takes a call from a woman who requests this song and I’m immediately thinking, “[Expletive]…bet he talks over the whole intro,” and thus he did. Add this to my list of things I’ll be bitter about should I live to be 94. 

–Steve D. attended one of the two Springsteen rehearsals held at the Asbury Park Convention Center, Monday and Tuesday. 2,200 hard-core fans at each, with tickets, announced just days before, going in two minutes. Bruce raised about $400,000 for charity. 

Of course these were no normal rehearsals for his upcoming tour. Try a 23-24 song set. Steve added that Max Weinberg’s 19-year-old son, Jay, is phenomenal. 

Top 3 songs for the week 3/27/71: #1 “Me And Bobby McGee” (Janis Joplin) #2 “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” (The Temptations) #3 “She’s A Lady” (Tom Jones….woh woh wohhhhh!)…and…#4 “Proud Mary” (Ike & Tina Turner…can’t stand this one) #5 “For All We Know” (Carpenters) #6 “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” (The Partridge Family) #7 “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye) #8 “Help Me Make It Through The Night” (Sammi Smith) #9 “One Bad Apple” (The Osmonds) #10 “What Is Life” (George Harrison…my favorite of his…I miss the guy) 

*Last chat I had “The Rapper” by The Jaggerz in the top ten list. Jeff B. remarked that when he was in Tampa for the Super Bowl, he was driving around with his brother when the song came on, they were singing it (adult beverage effect I presume) and when it was over they agreed, “What a piece of crap.” 

NCAA Basketball Quiz Answers: 1) Bill Musselman coached Minnesota in 1973. 2) Roy Danforth coached Syracuse that same year. 3) Jerry Pimm coached Utah. 4) Gale Catlett coached West Virginia in ’89. 5) Rick Majerus coached at Ball State. 

Note: I’m invoking my 24-hour rule on the UConn recruiting allegations.