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Old Sport Shorts: Would you spend $10 for a place in Baseball History? #11

February 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

The Fort Wayne Kekiongas back in 1871 invested $10 in the newly formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP).  It evolved from the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), with the decision to legitimately pay players, a practice that had been going on under-the-table for years.  The original organization had its first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857, and grew to over 400 members by 1867.  These included teams from San Francisco and Louisiana.  By 1869, clubs desiring to pay their players were free to declare themselves professional.  The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional team established in a new league of twelve, but issues involving championship procedures and player regulation, added the additional “P for Professional” in the NABBP alphabet soup to start the 1871 season.  For the next two years the NAPBBP oversaw the game of baseball, before state and regional associations took over these responsibilities.

As a side note, it was the NAPBBP (National Association) in 1867 that established in its rules to bar any club “composed of one or more colored persons.”   This racist attitude was fueled by Chicago’s Cap Anson, who played for Rockford against the Kekiongas in 1871.  Thirteen years later in 1884, Anson’s White Stockings (or Colts) had won three consecutive National Association titles and was playing Toledo. Moses Fleetwood Walker, their mulatto catcher, was the target of Anson’s prejudice, when he stated, “won’t play never no more with the nigger in.”  Unfortunately, his attitude at the time was further enforced by the leagues in 1897.  Detroit’s Ty Cobb was another great player who allegedly was a racist when it came to baseball.  It wasn’t until April 15, 1947 that Dodger’s owner Branch Rickey introduced Jackie Robinson, who finally broke the baseball color barrier, and led the integration of the sport.

Native Americans also faced baseball’s color barrier, so it’s ironic that any team be named after Indian terminology. The word Kekionga means “Blackberry Patch” in the language of the Miami Indians who settled at where the St. Joseph River flows into the St. Mary’s River to form the Maumee River.  Today the city of Ft. Wayne is known for the “Three Rivers,” Johnny Appleseed, and General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.  It’s also known for a sports heritage that includes the Kekiongas, the NBL Champion Zolner Pistons (who moved to Detroit), the Ft. Wayne Daisies All-American girl’s professional baseball team, and the Men’s and Girl’s 1944 World Champion Zolner Pistons softball teams.  It’s currently home to three minor league sports teams:  Fort Wayne Comets hockey of the ECHL, Mad Ants of the NBA Development League, and the Tin Cups of baseball’s Midwest League.

Baseball history was made on May 4, 1871 when the Kekiongas beat the Cleveland Forest Citys 2-0 in the very first professional baseball game.  It was that $10 franchise fee into the NAPBBP and a coin flip, or maybe a rainout of the Boston vs. Washington D.C. scheduled opener as another account suggests, that earned this place in baseball lore.  Bobby Matthews pitched the shutout that was rained out in the top of the 9th inning.  Matthews was one of several players recruited by the Kekiongas from a mid-season break-up of the Maryland Club of Baltimore.  He’s credited for inventing the spitball and being the first master of the curve.  He went on to play five seasons each in the National Association, National League, and American Association, becoming the only pitcher of over 100 games to win at least 50 in three different major leagues.  Deacon White, who collected 3 hits against Matthews, was the other historic player in that first game, who’s 22-year career ended as playing owner of Buffalo’s Brotherhood team.

Jim Foran, who came from the Philadelphia Athletics (1869) and Troy Haymakers (1870) led the Kekiongas in hitting at .348 for the 1871 season.  Catcher and Manager Bill Lennon, also part of the migration of Kekionga players from Maryland is credited with throwing out the very first major league baserunner attempting to steal.  Harry Deane took over the managing duties from Lennon after he deserted the Kekiongas in mid-June.  His claim to fame was a substitute player for the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1870, filling  in for an injured George Wright at shortstop.  He played center field during his brief stint in Fort Wayne, and eventually joined the Baltimore Canaries for 46 games in 1874.

Prior to their historical game with the Forest Citys, the Kekiongas played the legendary undefeated (57 victories and one tie) 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings twice.  The Red Stockings employed all paid players legally according to the NAPBBP rules established that year.  The Red Stockings, of course, won both games 86-6 and 41-7 respectably.  Baseball in Ft. Wayne was organized in 1862 as the Summit City Club.  In 1866, following the Civil War, a second team, the Kekionga Baseball Club of Fort Wayne emerged.  In the years to follow, the Kekiongas played Summit City, Sydney (Ohio), Peru, Toledo, Kendallville, and tried to schedule games with LaPorte and other surrounding teams.  It was apparently hard to find competition, and when game was finally scheduled the visiting club would often be treated like royalty.  Eventually, the opportunity to join a league was worth the $10 and the chance to play regularly.  It is ironic that the Kekiongas who were never a very good team, often “reorganizing” to lure opponents into thinking they were playing an improved team, got this honor to play the very first game on their home field where the lavish grandstand was known as the “Grand Dutchess.”

What’s in a name?

In addition to the Kekiongas and Forest Citys, the other 1871 professional teams included the New York Mutuals, Chicago White Stockings, Boston Red Stockings, Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Olympics, Troy Haymakers, and Rockford Forest Citys.  All were recognized in the standings only by their nick-name, not the city where they resided.  The nick-name “Forest City” was obviously quite popular, with two clubs of the same name in the same league.  Of all these teams, only the Chicago White Stockings survived attrition and continuously played in the same city into today’s game.  The Chicago White Stockings name stuck through 1889, becoming the Colts (Anson’s Colts) through 1905, along with “Orphans” and “Remnants,” as the media referred to them following the departure of Anson.  The name “Cubs” surfaced around 1902 and gained the popularity necessary to earn its official place in 1906 throughout today. The White Stockings, according to some sources, were also called the Panamas, Rainmakers, Spuds, Trojans, Microbes, and Zephyrs before the Cubs name finally stuck.

The Philadelphia Athletics won the 1871 title winning 21 games.  The Chicago White Stockings finished two games back, followed by the Boston Red Stockings.  The Kekiongas only won seven games out of the 19 they played, with no victories over these top three teams in the league.  It was their final season, with rumors of the team moving to Brooklyn to become the Dodgers.  This was, in fact, a question in the game Trivial Pursuit – so it has to be true!  There are some connections to Brooklyn, including the two teams from Brooklyn that joined the National Association in the place of Ft. Wayne and Rockford the following year, but only one Kekionga player joined a Brooklyn team.

Kekiongas no more 1872-1875

The 1872 season included eleven teams.  The Kekiongas and Rockford Forest Citys were out and the Baltimore Canaries, Middletown Mansfields, and two teams from Brooklyn (Eckfords and Atlantics) were in.  The Mansfields existed only that year but featured future Hall of Famers Asa Brainard, who was a star pitcher for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings and also played for the Canaries and Olympics, plus catcher Jim O’Rourke, who moved on to Boston.  Tom Carey and Bobby Matthews moved from the Kekiongas to the Canaries, while their teammate in Ft. Wayne, James McDermott went on to pitch for the Brooklyn Eckfords.  Other stars in the league included Cap Anson of the Athletics, and Deacon White of the Forest Citys.  The Washington Nationals did not win a game, and folded after a short season along with the Olympics.

1873 reverted back to 9 teams with the loss of the Nationals, Olympics, Mansfields, Eckfords, and Forest Citys.  The Washington Blue Legs, Elizabeth Resolutes, and the Baltimore Marylands joined.  The Blue Legs would lose all 6 games they played, and the 1874 season would add the Hartford Dark Blues and Philadelphia Whites to an 8-team league.  Boston would win it again with 52 victories, up from 43 the year before.   They would go on to win 71 in 1875, the final year of the NAPBBP.  Newcomers would be the St. Louis Brown Stockings, The New Haven Elm Citys, the St. Louis Red Stockings, the Philadelphia Centennials, and Keokuk Westerns, growing the league to a record 13 teams, even though the franchise fee had doubled to $20.  Hall of Fame bound players included George and Harry Wright from Boston, Pud Galvin from St. Louis (the first pitcher to win 300 games), and Candy Cummings of the New York Mutuals.  It should be noted that even though the Kekiongas only made it through year one of the league, their pitcher Bobby Matthews did manage to win 297 games (just short of the magic number), had eight 20 win seasons, and won 42 games in 1874 for the New York Mutuals, although it was not enough to get him in the Hall of Fame.

1875 marked the end of the NAPBBP (National Association) and the formation of the National League by William Hulbert, a Chicago businessman. As a baseball enthusiast and officer with the Chicago White Stockings, he was upset with the dominance of the four-time National Association Champion Boston Red Stockings and their alleged conspiracy against the success of “Western” clubs.  Furthermore, he was tired of contract jumpers, like his shortstop Davy Force, who was trying to get more money from the rival Philadelphia Athletics.  To get even, he signed future Hall of Famers Albert Spalding, Deacon White, and Cap Anson, among others, to move to Chicago.  In the process, he formed the new National League on February 2, 1876. The new league consisted of the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics, and St. Louis Brown Stockings.  Included in his plan was limiting membership to cities of over 75,000.  This would have affected a small time club like the Kekiongas had they been able to stay together. Absent from the former National  Association were The Brooklyn Atlantics, New Haven, Philadelphia Centennials, and Keokuk (Iowa) Westerns.  Keokuk was another small-town team that had gone out of business after a 1-12 record.  Their catcher “Paddy” Quinn had made his major league debut with the Ft. Wayne Kekiongas in 1871 and ended his career with the Chicago White Stockings in 1877.  New Haven and the Centennials were both one-season teams, while the Atlantics continued to play independently after not being invited to join the National League.

The New National League 1876-1900

White and Spalding, plus Cal McVey and Ross Barnes, two more of Hulbert’s acquisitions, led the Chicago White Stockings to the 1876 pennant, ending the dominance of the Red Stockings.  Spalding started his Sporting Goods business in Chicago and Hulbert became President of the White Stockings and the National League.  He eventually was recognized as a Hall of Fame inductee himself in 1995, nearly 125 years later. But in 1877, the Hartford team moved to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Hartfords, the New York Mutuals and Philadelphia Athletics dropped out of his league, and the Red Stockings became simply the Reds.  Unfortunately for Hulbert, Boston (renamed the Red Caps) jumped back on top, while the White Stockings finished next to last.

In 1878, Blues and Grays joined the league, as Indianapolis, Providence, and Milwaukee respectively fielded teams.  The Red Caps and Reds finished first and second, while the White Stockings finished at .500 and in fourth of only six teams.  Finally, a league resurgence occurred with the addition of the Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Blues, Syracuse Stars, and Troy Trojans.  By 1880 the White Stockings and Hulbert were back on top of the now 8 team league, including the Worchesters from Worchester.  Cincinnati would leave for the newly forming American Association, replaced by the Detroit Wolverines. The revolving door at the bottom of the league would continue, but the White Stockings prevailed for back-to-back-to-back crowns 1980-1982.

1882 was the year baseball’s American Association got its start, known as the “Beer and Whiskey League,” consisting of “River City” teams from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville.  Many of these teams had left, or were asked to leave, the “puritanical” National League because of gambling, religion, and alcohol related issues.  It’s ironic that the new league was abbreviated to “AA.”  As the two leagues competed for players, it was decided that beginning in 1884 the winner of the NL would meet the winner of the AA in a Championship game.  This innovation set the stage for what would eventually become the  World Series of 1903.  The first AA league winner was the Cincinnati Reds, but it was the 1884 New York Metropolitans that lost the first “World Championship” to the Providence Grays of the NL.  The series would continue until 1890, with the only NL loss by the Chicago White Stockings of 1886 to the St. Louis Browns.  There were several ties.

The New American League 1901 and the World Series

In 1901, the National League’s modern rival, the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, was founded. By then it had been 30 years since the Kekiongas hosted the very first National Association professional game and 25 years after the first National League season.  I guess the question is when does baseball history start.  Does it start with the Knickerbocker era back in 1842?  the Doubleday myth back in 1839? Or 1947 when the game was finally integrated?  Cap Anson was a competitor.  I think his prejudicial words were designed to give him a better chance to be a star and claim a championship by simply excluding an entire race.  It is the judgement of organizations like Major League Baseball and The Hall of Fame as to what should be recognized as baseball history and who should be recognized for firsts in the sport?  There are those that believe that organized baseball began with the National League in 1875.  These were essentially the exact same players and teams that played in the National Association of 1871, and its predecessor the NABBP of 1857.  The baseball genealogy then extends back to the Knickerbocker leagues of 1842, and maybe even to that game in Cooperstown in 1839, when Abner Doubleday was at West Point.  I feel it extends back to the first time that a club connected with a projectile with the object being to hit it as far as you can – if you can hit it.  As we try to give credit to this unknown moment in history, let’s also give credit to that $10 investment that the Ft. Wayne Kekiongas made to the NAPBBP, when playing baseball became a career, worthy of statistics, rather than a pastime.

Starting in 1903, the best team from each league began competing against each other in the World Series.   The first “World Champions” were the Boston Americans – not Red Stockings, Red Sox, Red Caps, Braves, Beaneaters, Somersets, Pligrims, Collinsites, Bostonians, or Plymouth Rocks.  They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three – isn’t that an eight game series?  They did it again in 1904 over the New York Giants, and three more times before 1918.  They then waited 86 years.  I’m sure Harry Hulbert would be happy.  No wait – his Cubs would have to wait 108 years.  The Fort Wayne Kekiongas never won a World Series and probably wouldn’t have even if the opportunity existed.  Please don’t take away there one claim to baseball history – the very first game.

Old Sport Shorts: Goat Stew #10

February 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

For every hero,

It’s a shame.

There’s a goat,

To take the blame.  

In 1961, Tracy Stallard surrendered Roger Maris’ 61st Home Run.  He started his career with for the Lafayette, Indiana Red Sox – members of the Midwest League.  Being a goat in this case, means never being forgotten.  He claims to not have grooved the pitch.  I happened to grow up in Indiana, so every connection with my home state and the game of baseball is important to me.  Here are some stories that may ring of importance to you:

Guy Bush gave up Babe Ruth’s last two home runs.  He hit Babe himself in Game 4 of the 1932 World Series, then gave up two hits and one earned run in a Cubs loss to the Yankees.  His goat-like stats in that series:  0-1 record, 14.29 ERA, and gave up nine earned runs in less than six innings of work.

“Rookie Fred Merkle’s “Boner” on September 23 1908 resulted in a one game playoff on  October 8, 1908 for the NL Pennant.  That rematch was won by Hoosier native Mordecai Brown, who then went on to win the World Series against the Tigers.  Sorry – I snuck in that Indiana reference again.  Mordecai was also the 1920 pitching coach for the Indiana Hoosiers baseball team, where he claimed a state championship.

Merkle had singled, putting a runner on third.  When Al Bridwell hit the apparent winner into center field, Merkle failed to touch second base as fans rushed the field, thinking the Giants had won.  Instead the Cubs’ Johnny Evers retrieved the ball and claimed the Merkle force-out, a decision enforced several days later with the game ruled a tie.  “Merkle’s Boner” was arguably the most controversial decision in the history of the game.

Another “boner” belongs to Boston’s Bill Buckner, who’s ground ball fielding error in game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the Met’s proved to stink of goat.  It was the 10th inning with two outs, after three singles and a wild pitch put Mookie Wilson in position to win the game.  His slow dribbler down the first base line went between the legs of Buckner, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run from second base.  Perhaps the greater “boner” was made by Boston manager, John McNamara, who chose not to relieve the ailing Buckner with the defensive replacement Dave Stapleton as he had in games one, two, and five.  Boston was one out away from winning the Series for the first time since 1918, with a three game to two advantage before that ugly sequence led to a game 7.  Boston then “rebounded” to lead the decisive 7th Game  3-0, until the bottom of the 6th when the Mets scored three runs off Bruce Hurst.  Prematurely, Hurst had already been named World Series MVP before that improbable comeback in Game 6.  It was just another example of how the game of baseball turns a hero into a goat in just a blink of a horned mammal’s eye.

In the 1988 World Series, Oakland Athletics pitching ace, Dennis Eckersley, made a hero of Dodger pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson.  On the other hand, maybe it was Gibson who made a goat out of Eckersley as they faced each other in the bottom of the 9th of Game One?  Gibson, who was not expected to play due to injuries in both legs, limped to the plate with two outs and in dramatic fashion hit the game winning homer on a full count.  He would not make another appearance in the series, but his Dodgers claimed the World Series title four games to one.   Eckersley would redeem himself in the 1989 World Series by winning Game 2 and getting the save in a Game 4 sweep of the Giants.  Then, he would go on to win the Cy Young and MVP in 1992 by posting 51 saves – hero once again.

It was Eckersley who coined the phrase, “walk-off homer,” when describing the Gibson blast of 1988.  However, perhaps the most famous World Series “walk-off” occurred in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski won it for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the New York Yankees.  To this date, it is the only time that a Game 7 has ended on a homer, and in this case the goat was Yankee starter Ralph Tracy.  It was also the only series in history where the MVP award did not go to a member of the winning team.  Instead, Bobby Richardson, of the losing New York Yankees received the honor.   Ralph Terry, ironically, went on to become the MVP of the 1962 World Series, despite continuing his goatish struggles the previous year, giving up a two-run homer to Cincinnati’s Gordy Coleman in Game 2, plus a 3-run homer to Frank Robinson in Game 5 of the 1961 World Series.

Known as the “Shot heard round the world,” Brooklyn Dodger pitcher, Ralph Branca, gave up another historic “walk-off” to New York Giants outfielder, Bobby Thomson, to win the National League Pennant in 1951.  It was the decisive blow in this three-game tie-breaker playoff series to determine who would eventually lose to the “third” New York baseball team, the Yankees in the 1951 World Series.  Thomson had also homered against Branca in Game 1, so in retrospect, maybe the goat was Dodger’s coach, Clyde Sukeforth, who apparently instructed manager Charlie Dressen to go with Branca?  Or was the true hero of the game a “cheater” who admittedly relayed stolen signs from Branca to Thomson?

With this thought in mind, other “cheaters” have taken a “seat of shame” on the outside of baseball’s Hall of Fame.  Two of the best-known examples are “Shoeless Joe” Jackson and Pete Rose, who turned heroic careers into goat stew.  Not to mention those who cheated through the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Please have a seat next to the goats outside.

Perhaps the greatest “boner,” the “goat of all goats” in baseball, occurred off the playing field.  On April 6, 1987, Al Campanis, the Los Angeles Dodgers VP and GM, was invited to appear on the ABC Network news show, “Nightline” with Ted Koppel.  The appearance was to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of when Jackie Robinson finally broke Baseball’s color barrier.   Companis was also a friend, teammate, and roommate of Jackie Robinson, having come up together with the Dodger minor league team, the Montreal Royals.

Koppel’s question to Campanis was as to why there had only been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball.   Campanis answered:  “I truly believe that they may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager. ”  He then went on uncomfortably, digging an even bigger hole in race relations. Needless to say, he conveniently resigned from the Dodger’s organization two days later, as civil rights groups showed their outrage.  Campanis’ comments literally set baseball relations back forty years, mimicking the exact same ridiculous attitudes that prevailed pre-Robinson about the baseball skills of black attitudes.  In defense of Campanis, many of his peers have suggested that he was known for butchering words, and that what he really meant was  “lack of experience” instead of “necessities.”  However, unlike many of the players who had “a goat moment” found a second chance – Campanis never did.

Ralph Branca, who was the “goat” to Bobby Thomson’s heroic homer, was at least one time a hero on the field himself.  It was Branca who lined up beside Jackie Robinson on Opening Day of 1947.  Other teammates refused.  In all fairness, Al Campanis did agree to be Robinson’s roommate – the very first interracial roommates in all of baseball.  Does that make Campanis less of a goat?

The game’s greatest hero, the Bambino, had his own curse that lasted from 1918 until 2004.  That’s only 86 years, compared with the Chicago Cubs’ “Curse of the Billy Goat,” that kept them from winning the World Series for 108 years. Now granted, both curses didn’t really get started with each team’s last World Series victory.  The Red Sox curse supposedly started in 1920 when Ruth was traded to the Yankees, while the Cubs curse allegedly began in 1945 by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis.  The point is that both curses lasted a really long time, and thankfully both have finally ended.  It comes as no surprise that the Cubs lost that 1918 series to the Red Sox, but did manage to break Ruth’s 29 1/3 scoreless inning streak that stood for 43 years – another really long time.

I love a really good “goat” story and there are many surrounding Major League Baseball.  I’ve tried to highlight a few throughout this particular collection of baseball memories.  I would also be remiss if I did not bring up the name of Steve Bartman, who in my opinion has been unfairly judged as a “goat” in this long, painful process of making our Chicago Cubs heroes again, at last.   Finally, I would also like to take credit for ending the “Billy Goat Curse” by sitting in the top row of Wrigley Field for the game 5 victory, and then having lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern the next day.  I could literally feel the curse lift as we left the tavern in a giddy state.

Old Sport Shorts: Who Was That Masked Man? #5

January 24, 2017 / / 0 Comments

“Now batting for the Chicago White Sox, catcher #10 Sherm Lollar.”  Those words meant a lot to me and to probably thousands of other kids my age, as we crowded around the black and white TV set to watch the 1959 World Series.  It was a rare treat to watch a baseball game on television.  I remember being discouraged, the Dodgers already led the series two games to one, and the Sox were down 4-0 in the top of the 7th when Lollar hit a 3-run homer to tie the score and win my heart.

With the recent announcement and well-deserved induction of catcher Ivan Rodriguez into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, it reminded me how much the responsibilities of that position have evolved through the years.  Catchers do so much more than just “catch” in today’s game, and to compare the output of modern day catchers to their predecessor’s decades ago is not a fair assessment of accomplishment.  Sherm Lollar was one of the greatest catchers of his era, and deserves Hall of Fame consideration.

A catcher is a special type of athlete.  It’s up and down from an uncomfortable squat inning after inning, it’s often guiding and supporting a star pitcher, and it’s being involved in every play.  Arguably, no one touches the ball in a game more than the catcher, and no one on the field has a better view of the field of play.  They are the field generals and often go on to be managers and coaches.  It’s just another reason why these masked men, like Sherm Lollar, deserve more respect from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

As of January 2017, there were 317 Hall of Famers, including 220 former major league players.  Other players, managers, and executives have been added to recognize the “Negro Leagues.” Baseball is a team game of nine positions.  Mathematically, there should be approximately 25 players per position, 36 if you combine outfielders into a single position.  However, with even the addition of Ivan Rodriguez, there are only 15 major league catchers in the Hall (plus 3 from the “Negro Leagues”).  I feel this is the first injustice. Ask yourself these questions.  What would a pitcher be without a catcher?  Or the seven other teammates on the field, for that matter?  By comparison, there are 77 pitchers that have been inducted.  The other half of the battery deserves more attention.   Or, just call it the Pitcher’s Hall of Fame, since they are one out of three players enshrined.

We don’t judge pitchers based solely on their hitting skills.  We judge them on their ability to pitch, so the main criteria for a catcher should be their defensive skills.  Although, this is where the game has evolved.  Today’s catchers can do it all, and their statistics now make them more competitive with other stars of the game.  In simple terms, however, pitchers pitch and catchers catch – that’s the way the game was designed.  Let’s give more credit to those who are fundamentally sound behind the plate like Sherm Lollar.

Who’s one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time?  Take off your mask Sherm Lollar – with a .992 fielding percentage, a ML record in his era.  He also caught a ML record-tying six pop-ups in one game.  Look at the statistics chart at the end of this article.  It compares the 15 players in the Hall, plus the three “Negro League” inductees and potential inductees, with Lollar’s career.  Only Elston Howard, also not in the Hall of Fame, has a higher FP at .993, but he did not play as many years or in as many games as Lollar.  Jorge Pasada ties Lollar, but also played 4 fewer years and 270 less games.  He is also not yet in the Hall of Fame.  Granted, they were both better hitters, but my point is recognizing the ability to catch and throw out batters.  After all, taking away runs from others is equally as important as scoring runs.

John Sherman Lollar had better stats all around than fellow White Sox Hall of Famer, Ray Schalk, with the sole exception of stolen bases.  His timing was unfortunate, since he was overshadowed in his playing days by Yogi Berra in every category but On Base Percentage (OBP).  Sherm did somehow manage to get on base despite being very slow afoot.  Realistically, however, most Hall of Fame catchers are statistically inferior to Berra, especially in RBIs where he’s the leader of all Hall of Famers at that position.  The six-foot-one-inch tall, 185-pound Lollar spent 12 years with the Chicago White Sox and was an excellent receiver who threw out base stealers with regularity (46.18%).  He’s ranked seventh on the all-time best list in this category.  Only three Hall of Famers were better, including soon to be inducted Ivan Rodriguez.  Sherm was a seven-time American League All-Star (nine games), and was considered one of the best catchers and recognized as a team leader during the 1950s. In 1957, he received the first Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the catcher’s position in the major leagues, and went on to earn two more of these awards.  His best offensive season was 1959, the year of the World Series runner-up “Go, Go Sox”, in which he hit 22 homers and had 84 RBIs.

Lollar began his career at the age of 18 in 1943, with the then minor league Baltimore Orioles. He was the league MVP in 1945, hitting .364 with 34 home runs.  He was then sold to the Cleveland Indians where he made his major league debut on April 20, 1946, but asked to be sent back to the minors so he would have more playing time.  On May 8, 1946, wearing uniform #12, he had the honor of catching a complete game victory for Hall of Famer Bob Feller and scored on a Feller sacrifice fly.  After the 1946 season, he was traded to the Yankees and wore #26, competing with Yogi Berra for the starting job and ultimately helping the winning effort in the 1947 World Series, going 3 for 4 with two doubles. The Yankee coach, Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey, ultimately felt that Berra’s left-handed swing was more suitable for Yankee Stadium than the righty Lollar.  Then, a serious hand injury sealed his fate, leading to a 1949 trade to the St Louis Browns.   He joined the White Sox in November of 1951 and wore #45 for the first year before claiming #10, a number that I fondly adopted throughout my uneventful Little League and Media League softball years.

After his 18 years as a player that ended on September 7, 1963 with the Sox, his career went full circle, back to the Baltimore Orioles where it started, this time as Bullpen Coach from 1964 to 1968.   In 1966, he was part of their World Series Championship season, earning his second ring.  He subsequently coached for the Oakland Athletics in 1969 and managed their minor league affiliates, The Iowa Oaks and Tucson Toros in the Seventies.

John Sherman Lollar was born on August 23, 1924 in Durham, Arkansas and died in Springfield, Missouri on September 24, 1977 at 53 years of age.  He’s buried in Rivermonte Memorial Gardens.  One final baseball honor was bestowed on September 30, 2000 when he was selected to be a member of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team.  He is currently eligible to be identified as a Golden Era ballot candidate when the committee meets again in December 2020.

Sherm Lollar is admittedly my baseball hero.  I was never a catcher, but I love the game of baseball and its history.   I never had the pleasure to meet him, but when I saw him hit a home run in the 1959 World Series against the Dodgers, he had my attention.  I was eight years old and his #10 became my lucky number for life.  I have a growing collection of Sherm Lollar baseball cards, so he will always be in my Hall of Fame.  He’s one of many players, including other catchers, that have not earned the respect of the Baseball Writer’s and/or Golden Era committee.

I strongly feel there should be more balance by position in the Hall of Fame.  I also feel there should be greater emphasis on catching and throwing, when comparing those who excelled as catchers.  Sherm Lollar was one of the best at both fielding and throwing runners out from behind the plate.  Also, his lifetime .264 batting average exceeds both Ray Shalk and Gary Carter, plus an OPB that outperforms nearly half of Hall catcher inductees.   Sherm Lollar is certainly one of several great catchers of all time that should be added to the list of those already enshrined.  If not, I’ve made my point and exposed the man behind the mask -my baseball hero – #10.

Name Inducted Years played Games Avg, OBP SLG Hits HR RBI RUNS SB FP RANK/NOTES
Mike Piazza 2016 17 1912 .308 .377 .545 2127 427 1335 1048 17 .989
Johnny Bench 1989 17 2158 ,267 .345 .476 2048 389 1376 1091 68 .987
Yogi Berra 1972 19 2120 .285 .350 .482 2150 358 1430 1175 30 .989
Roger Bresnahan 1945 17 1446 .279 .386 .377 1252 26 530 682 212 .965
Roy Campanella 1969 10 1215 .276 .362 .500 1161 242 856 627 25 .988
Gary Carter 2003 19 2296 .262 .335 .439 2092 324 1225 1025 39 .991
Mickey Cochrane 1947 13 1482 .320 .419 .478 1652 119 832 1041 64 .985
Bill Dickey 1954 17 1789 .313 .382 .486 1969 202 1209 930 36 .988
Buck Ewing 1939 18 1315 .303 .351 .456 1625 71 883 1129 354 .934
Rick Ferrell 1984 18 1806 .281 .378 .363 1692 28 734 687 29 .984
Carlton Fisk 2000 24 2499 .269 .343 .457 2356 376 1330 1276 128 .987
Gabby Hartnett 1955 20 1990 .297 .370 .489 1912 236 1179 867 28 .984
Ernie Lombardi 1986 17 1853 .306 .358 .460 1792 190 990 601 8 .979
Ray Schalk 1955 18 1762 .253 .340 .316 1345 11 594 579 177 .981
Josh Gibson 1972 17 107 351 Stats not available
Biz Mackey 2003 25 40 297 Stats not available
Louis Santop 2006 15 Stats not available
Ivan Rodriguez 2017 19 2267 .301 .339 .475 2605 295 1217 1253 124 .991
Jorge Posada NO 14 1482 .277 .380 .477 1379 221 883 762 16 .992
Elston Howard NO 15 1605 .274 .322 .427 1471 167 762 619 9 .993
Thurman Munson NO 11 1423 .292 .346 .410 1558 113 701 696 48 .982
Sherm Lollar
 NO 18 1752 .264 .357 .402 1415 155 808 623 20 .992
Bold type indicates #1 in category

Old Sport Shorts: Baseball Notes #2

December 16, 2016 / / 0 Comments

-Chicago White Sox spitball pitcher Ed Walsh beat Cubs ace, Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown, known as “Three Fingers Brown,” in Game 3 of the 1906 World Series,   It was a series the Cubs were heavily favored to win, having won 116 games that year.  Brown was born in Nyesville, Indiana in 1876 (Oct. 19) and died in Terre Haute in 1948 (Feb. 14).  He was a two time World Series champion for the Cubs in 1907 and 1908.  It would be 108 years later, in 2016, that the Cubs would win another World Series.  Brown was also the pitching coach for the 1920 Indiana Hoosiers baseball team.  He was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949.

-The Fort Wayne Daisies  was a professional baseball team that played from 1945 through 1954, during the war years, in the All-American Girls Baseball League. The Daisies made the playoffs every year from 1947 to 1954, and finished in first from 1951-54, but never won a championship,

-May 4, 1871 the very first Major League game was played in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The Ft. Wayne Kekiongas defeated the Forest Citys (Cleveland) 2-0 in the inaugural game of the National Association (player-organized – that later became the National League).  The decision to play the game in Ft. Wayne was the result of a coin flip, and a rain-out of the originally scheduled opener between Boston and D.C. made this game historically first. The game ended early with rain in the top of the 9th.  The Kekiongas paid a $10 league franchise fee to be part of baseball history.   Bobby Matthews, who’s credited with developing the spitball and was first to have his pitch curve away from batters, pitched the shutout and went on to win 297 games.  The Kekiongas did not make it through the season in this their final year since forming just after the Civil War.

The word Kekionga means Blackberry Patch in the language of the Miami Indians who settled at where the St. Joseph River flows into the St. Mary’s River to form the Maumee River.  Today the city of Ft. Wayne is known for the “Three Rivers,” Johnny Appleseed, and General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.  It’s also known for a sports heritage that includes the Kekiongas, the NBL Champion Zolner Pistons (who moved to Detroit), the Ft. Wayne Daisies All-American girl’s professional baseball team, and the Men’s and Girl’s 1944 World Champion Zolner Pistons softball teams.  It’s now home to three minor league sports teams:  Fort Wayne Comets hockey of the ECHL, Mad Ants of the NBA Development League, and the Tin Cups of baseball’s Midwest League.

-Eddie Cicotte of the 1906 Indianapolis Indians threw for what is believed to be the first time, a pitch gripped with the knuckles.  He then refined it into “The Finger Nail Ball” (Baseball Magazine article in 1908) that was more controllable.  He was suspended by the Chicago White Sox late in the 1920 season for his role in the “Black Sox” gambling scandal the year before.

-Albert Von Tilzer  – Indianapolis native (434 S. Illinois) composed “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” It was a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song with lyrics written by Jack Norworth.  Both had apparently never attended a baseball game.  It was played for the first time at a ballpark in 1934 at a Los Angeles High school and later that year in the 4th game of the World Series at Sportsman’s Park, now Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

-Amos Rusie, “The Hoosier Thunderbolt” was born May 30, 1871 in Mooresville, Indiana.  His major league debut was on May 9, 1889 with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League.  He spent the next eight years with the New York Giants from 1890 to 1898, and and his final year with the 1901 Cincinnati Reds.  The Giants traded him in 1900 for then unknown Christy Mathewson, who would play for them for 17 years as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history.

Rusi’s fastball speed, estimated to be in he upper 90s, and inherent wildness eventually led to an 1893 rule that changed the 50 foot pitching distance from the rubber to home plate to the modern day 60 feet.   His delivery was so erratic  that in 1890 he set a record of walking 289 batters.  The rule change came about when he hit Hughie Jennings with a fastball in the head in 1897.  Rusie was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 by the Veterans Committee.

-Hank Aaron played briefly in Indianapolis for the Clowns before his contract was sold to the Milwaukee Braves in 1952 for $10,000.

-The Hoofeds – Hoosiers of the Federal League – were the 1914 champions of the short-lived rival league that folded just before Major League Baseball was exempted from antitrust laws.  Two future Hall of Famers played in Indianapolis that championship season – third baseman William Boyd McKechnie and outfielder Edd Roush.

The 1884 Hoosiers, for instance, hosted a Toledo Blue Stockings team with two African-American players – brothers Moses Fleetwood Walker and Weldy Walker – more than 50 years before Jackie Robinson broke the modern baseball color barrier.

The earliest-known African-American player in organized baseball, John “Bud” Fowler, whose playing days date to 1878, later played for teams in Indiana.

-The Indianapolis Blues of the three-year-old National League called the city home in 1878. The Indianapolis Hoosiers played in the precursor to the American League in 1884, and another Hoosiers team was fielded in the National League from 1887 to 1889.

-In 1967, Satchel Paige appeared with the Globetrotters in Chicago and played with the Indianapolis Clowns for $1,000 a month.

More from Scott Tartar article:   http://www.theindianalawyer.com/little-known-indiana-baseball-roots-rediscovered-in-lawyers-exhibit/PARAMS/article/35211
I just bought this book from author Chad Gramling:

https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Fort-Wayne-Images/dp/073854129X

Historical Baseball Blunders:

For every hero,

It’s a shame.

There’s a goat,

To take the blame.  

In 1961, Tracy Stallard surrendered Roger Maris’ 61st Home Run.  He played for the Lafayette, Indiana Red Sox, also members of the Midwest League.  Being a goat in this case, means never being forgotten.  He claims to not have grooved the pitch.

Guy Bush gave up Babe Ruth’s last two home runs.  He hit Babe himself in Game 4 of the 1932 World Series, then gave up two hits and one earned run in a Cubs loss to the Yankees.  His goat-like stats in that series:  0-1 record, 14.29 ERA, and gave up nine earned runs in less than six innings of work.

“Rookie Fred Merkle’s “Boner” on September 23 1908 resulted in a one game playoff on  October 8, 1908 for the NL Penant.  That rematch was won by Hoosier native Mordecai Brown, who then went on to win the World Series against the Tigers.

Merkle had singled, putting a runner on third.  When Al Bridwell hit the apparent winner into Center, Merkle failed to touch second base as the fans rushed the field thinking the Giants had won.  Instead the Cubs’ Johnny Evers retrieved the ball and claimed the Merkle force-out, a decision enforced several days later and the game ruled a tie.  “Merkle’s Boner” was arguably  the most controversial decision in the history of the game.

Another boner belongs to Boston’s Bill Buckner, who’s ground ball fielding error in game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the Met’s.  It was the 10th inning with two outs, after three singles and a wild pitch put Mookie Wilson in position to win the game.  His slow dribbler down the first base line went between the legs of Buckner, allowing Ray Knight to score the winning run from second base.  Perhaps the greater boner was made by Boston manager, John McNamara, who chose not to relieve the ailing Buckner with the defensive replacement Stapleton as he had in games one, two, and five.  Boston was one out away from winning the Series for the first time since 1918, with a three games to two advantage before that ugly sequence led to a game 7.  Boston the went on to lead the decisive 7th Game  3-0 until the bottom of the 6th when the Mets scored three runs off Bruce Hurst, already named World Series MVP before that improbable comeback in Game 6.  Just another example of how the game of baseball turns a hero into a goat in just a blink of an eye.

In the 1988 World Series, Oakland Athletics pitching ace, Dennis Eckersley, made a hero of Dodger pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson.  On the other hand, maybe it was Gibson who made a goat out of Eckersley as they faced each other in the bottom of the 9th of Game One?  Gibson, who was not expected to play due to injuries in both legs, limped to the plate with two outs and in dramatic fashion hit the game winning homer on a full count.  He would not make another appearance in the series, but his Dodgers claimed the World Series title four games to one.   Eckersley would redeem himself in the 1989 World Series by winning Game 2 and getting the save in a Game 4 sweep of the Giants.  Then, he would go on to win the Cy Young and MVP in 1992 by posting 51 saves.

It was Eckersley who coined the phrase, “walk-off homer,” when describing the Gibson blast of 1988, but perhaps the most famous World Series “walk-off” occurred in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski won it for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the New York Yankees.  To this date, it is the only time that a Game 7 has ended on a homer, and in this case the goat was Ralph Tracy.  It was also the only series in history where the MVP  did not go to a member of the winning team.  Instead, Bobby Richardson, of the losing New York Yankees received the award.   Ralph Terry, ironically, went on to become the MVP of the 1962 World Series, after giving up a two-run homer to Cincinnati’s Gordy Coleman in Game 2, plus a 3-run homer to Frank Robinson in Game 5 of the 1961 World Series.

Known as the “Shot heard round the world,” Brooklyn Dodger’s pitcher, Ralph Branca, gave up another historic “walk-off” to New York Giants outfielder, Bobby Thomson, to win the National League Pennant in 1951.  It was the decisive blow in this three-game tie-breaker playoff series to determine who would eventually lose to the “third” New York baseball team, the Yankees in the 1951 World Series.  Thomson had also homered against Branca in Game 1,  In retrospect, maybe the goat was Dodger’s coach, Clyde Sukeforth, who apparently instructed manager Charlie Dressen to go with Branca?  Or was the true hero of the game a “cheater” who admittedly relayed stolen signs from Branca to Thomson?   Or is that just smart baseball?

With this in mind, other “cheaters” have taken a seat on the outside of baseball’s Hall of Fame.  Two of the best known examples are “Shoeless Joe” Jackson and Pete Rose, who turned heroic careers into goat stew.  Not to mention those who cheated through the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.

Perhaps the greatest “boner,” the goat of all goats in baseball, occurred off the playing field.  On April 6, 1987, Al Campanis, the Los Angeles Dodgers VP and GM, was invited to appear on the ABC  Network news show, “Nightline” with Ted Koppel.  The appearance was to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of when Jackie Robinson broke Baseball’s color barrier.   Companis was also a friend, teammate, and roommate of Jackie Robinson, having come up together with the Dodger’s minor league team, the Montreal Royals.

Koppel’s question to Campanis was as to why there had been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball.   Campanis answered:  “I truly believe that they may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager. ”  He then went on uncomfortably, digging an even bigger hole in race relations. Needless to say, he conveniently resigned from the Dodger’s organization two days later, as civil rights groups showed their outrage.  Campanis’ comments literally set baseball relations back forty years, mimicking the exact same ridiculous  attitudes that prevailed pre-Robinson about the baseball abilities of black attitudes.  In defense of Campanis, many of his peers have suggested was known for butchering his words, and that what he really meant was  “lack of experience” instead of “necessities.”  However, unlike many of the players who had “a goat moment” usually got a second chance – Campanis never did.

Ralph Branca, who was the goat to Bobby Thomson’s heroic homer, was at least one time a hero on the field himself.  It was Branca who lined up  beside Jackie Robinson on Opening Day of 1947.  Other teammates refused.  Al Campanis agreed to be Robinson’s roommate – the very first interracial roommates in all of baseball.  Does that make Campanis less of a goat?

The game’s greatest hero, the Bambino, had his own curse that lasted from 1918 until 2004.  That’s only 86 years, compared with the Chicago Cubs “Curse of the Billy Goat,” that kept them from winning the World Series for 108 years. Now granted, both curses didn’t really get started with each team’s last World Series victory.  The Red Sox curse supposedly started in 1920 when Ruth was traded to the Yankees, while the Cubs curse allegedly began in 1945 by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis.  The point is that both curses lasted a really long time, and thankfully both have finally ended.  Ironically, the Cubs lost that 1918 series to the Red Sox,  but did manage to break Ruth’s 29 1/3 scoreless inning streak that stood for 43 years – another really long time.

I love a really good “goat” story and there are many surrounding Major League Baseball.  I’ve tried to highlight a few throughout this particular article.  I would also be remiss if I did not bring up the name of Steve Bartman, who in my opinion has been unfairly judged as a goat in this long, painful process of making our Chicago Cubs heroes again, at last.   Finally, I would also like to take credit for ending the “Billy Goat Curse” by sitting in the top row of Wrigley Field for the game 5 victory, and then having lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern the next day.  I could literallyu feel the curse lift as we left the tavern in a giddy state.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Practicing for Retirement #1

September 19, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Practicing for Retirement

Retirement is not something you can jump right into – it requires hours of practice.  This is especially true if you don’t have hobbies, play a lot of golf, or have the big bucks for travel.  In my situation, let’s also add a younger spouse that will probably continue to work for the next five or six years.  Her travel time will be limited compared to mine.  Plus, we enjoy traveling together, so compromises will need to be made.

How do I transition from the only thing I was ever good at – my professional career to a leisurely retirement?

Let’s start with a poem. It’s about the only hobby I currently have – writing humorous words of wisdom that rhyme.

Retirement coming,
Will the funds be there?
Or will we hear?
The cupboard is bare.

Something to look forward to,
Or something to dread?
Which will it be?
As I look ahead.

Is Social Security,
About to run out?
There certainly is,
A lot of doubt.

Invest and save,
For sixty-six years.
The market goes down,
And it all disappears.

The nest egg is broken,
Is the yoke on me?
The leaves have dried up.
On my money tree.

My Bucket list,
May have a hole.
Sunrise tomorrow,
Is my daily goal.

Those savvy investors,
Will travel at will.
But my only wish,
Is to never be ill.

Money in the bank,
Is one form of wealth.
But given a choice,
I’ll take good health.

Jobless hours,
To fill every day.
Volunteering to do,
Card games to play.

Sudoku, Crosswords,
Reading to do.
I might even try,
To learn something new.

It can’t be that hard,
To fill the time gap.
If you don’t have a hobby,
You just take a nap.

I’ll try retirement,
Until it’s all spent.
And then re-hirement,
May be the requirement.

Is it still retirement,
With part time work
When a former leader,
Is now just a clerk.

Where did the time go?
I’m sure I’ll say.
As exhaustion sets in,
At the end of each day.

Your daily to-dos,
Number only one.
And the day’s soon over,
But you’re only half done.

johnstonwrites.com
Copyright 2011

I’ve had too many friends die on the verge of retirement.  Too many more are in such bad health that they have to retire, and others who will never “get” to retire.  Retirement is supposedly a privilege, something that we’ve worked for all our lives, and a transition that definitely needs to be practiced.  I suggest that a lot of this practice should take place between the ages of 65 and 66, in that difficult year between getting that full Senior Citizen discount and finally collecting Social Security payouts.  Practice makes perfect…right? Since this poem was written over 5 years ago, you see where I’ve been practicing for some time.   Like all great skills, retirement does take practice.   Fortunately, I have a job where I can still work, gradually cutting back on hours, until I seamlessly move into retirement.   If I want to play golf, read a book, see a movie, or write, I simply just don’t let the job get in the way.  I just won’t make as much money – another adjustment that I’m going to have to make.  At this point in my life, retirement is my priority and I’m going to find a way to enjoy it – dammit!

I’m practicing right now when I should be working.  There is a certain sense of guilt that I feel, not putting 100% effort into my career as I’ve done my whole life.  It might even have been 150%, as I hoped to achieve that next level of success.  I had to be on time.  I had to be on top.  I had to win.  Can I just give that up?  No, it will take practice.  I now have to somehow win at retirement.  Maybe travel more than anyone else, read more than anyone else, or perhaps find the secret of life before anyone else does.  It sounds exhausting!

It will require a lot of practice.

I’m additionally challenged with a younger spouse that will no doubt resent my retirement on certain days, wishing that she could be like me.  I’ve tried to assemble a schedule of what a typical week of retirement would look like – so I can practice some of these.

I would start every day with a run, as I have for the last eight years.  I’m a lifetime member of the United States Streak Running Association (USSRA).  No, we don’t run naked through the streets.  Their website is www.runeveryday.com.  It’s comprised of other O.C.D individuals like myself who find a way to run a mile….every day…without fail.  I feel better when I go to the website, knowing their are others who are way more obsessive about this than I am, and some of them are retired.  One thing we all have in common is to find a  way not be on their retired running streak list!

I would also continue to have dog duty every day – another common thread with my current work day.  Perhaps, in retirement, I would take them on longer walks – so they are also concerned about my retirement, and will it interfere with their life of retirement?

I would write two mornings each week, along with laundry on Monday and vacuuming/dusting on Fridays.  I guess I won’t be looking forward to Fridays any more, while Mondays will still be a drag.  I’ve been practicing these skills for the last couple years but I’m still not even close to my wife’s expectations for these duties.   It used to be I would just intentionally screw them up – feigning total incompetency – so that I wouldn’t have to do them.  With her continued work schedule, I’m going to have to get really good at this.  Plus, try to develop some kitchen skills that I’ve also avoided most of my life.  I will need to learn to prepare at least one meal a week, even though she does enjoy doing the cooking.   I’ll also try to do the dry cleaning, food shopping, and other errands that she has somehow managed to do all these years.  I’m really not retiring after all, just starting my own maid service.  Yes, retirement is going to take practice.

We’ve already downsized and moved into a condo, so I guess these were the first steps into retirement.  Yard work will not be part of my retirement.  I will go outside to run and take care of the dogs, and I might do some small hikes and some skiing.  These physical activities,  I have planned for Tuesdays.

We’ll continue to enjoy date nights on Wednesday where we try out new restaurants.  The rules include dinner for just us two with no repeats.  I might also add a date lunch on Fridays to enhance the attention I pay to my working wife (Sugar Mamma).  Every retired person should have one of these luxuries, since pensions, social security, and IRAs only stretch so far.

I may do some volunteering, although this can be a lot like working.  You have to show up at a certain time, cooperate with other people, and leave without an adequate paycheck.  This may require a lot more practice than I think, but Thursday afternoons would fit in my retirement schedule.  I’m also thinking about monitoring some classes at the local colleges.  I like the idea of history classes and being around young people, yet I don’t want to be perceived as a “creepy old man” checking out the young chicks.   Do we have to do homework?  Who will I take to Homecoming?

Museums will also give me a chance to explore the past and put my life in perspective.  I’ve done some practicing here and I find it difficult to really take my time.  I seem to be in a hurry, unable to absorb the treasures around me.  I just want to be done – more practice is in order.  The same thing happens when I travel and even dine.  It’s like I’m in some kind of a race to complete a scorecard of activities or just move on to the next item on life’s list.  I will need to slow down, enjoy my meals, smell the roses, and be more attentive of the beauty that surrounds me.  All I hear are car horns, hurried footsteps, and frantic voices.  I’m worried that I will be unable to shift gears, change speeds, and savor life.  How do you practice this?

Movies and books will be an important part of my retirement plan.  In order to practice, I’ve made a list of the top 100 movies of all time, and have started the process of watching those I haven’t seen (or at least think I haven’t seen).   I remember when video stores still existed and were a ritualistic Friday night stop.  Too many times I would pick out a movie, start to watch it, and slowly begin to realize that I had already seen it.  One of the “sad” benefits of growing older, is forgetting that you’ve already watched a particular movie and getting to watch it again.  As a result, the flow of movies will never end throughout retirement.   There are also many classic novels that I haven’t read, so this should be an added benefit of leisurely time – if I can practice sitting still long enough?

Critical refection on these movies and books will keep my mind active and engaged.  A friend once told me to look for the 5 T’s when evaluating any story.  Does it capture your attention with Tears, Tots, Terriers, Terror, and Tits?  Does it make you cry, involve children and animals, scare you, or arouse you?  Most of the great movies and books incorporate all five elements.  I’ll keep these in mind as I continue to practice keeping me busy and you engaged in my writing.

Weekends and evenings with my wife should remain the same, unless I somehow project the perception that I’m a bum with no job and useless around the house.  If this be the case, retirement won’t have changed me a bit and all of this practice will have gone for nothing. 

Watching sports is the most critical component in my retirement plan – whether this is on TV or in person.   Living on the West Coast, I get my games earlier, so it does not screw up my afternoons or evenings, and many times I can enjoy a game while having lunch.  With the Cubs success, baseball has become my favorite sport, at least until college basketball starts.  The difference is that baseball often leads to napping, particularly during innings two through six.  I’ve been practicing watching sports all my life, utilizing  radio, mobile score updates, multiple TV screens, streaming, and fantasy games to excessively multi-task.  Baseball, in particular, brings back many childhood memories, and the enjoyment of collecting cards and stale bubble gum.

Every kid has a favorite player, typically someone who has achieved greatness in his or her sport.  Unfortunately, mine appears to be Hall of Fame caliber through my eyes only.  I will write more about #10 Sherm Lollar, Chicago White Sox catcher, in a separate post that I will call the “Case For Sherm.”  Somehow Sherm had a powerful influence on my mediocre sports career – maybe I should have gone with Mickey Mantle like everyone else?  Mickey seems to be the centerpiece of every baseball card collection.  I recently started a Sherm Lollar baseball card collection, just to be different.  I figured it would cost a lot less money, as an effort to practice the art of card collecting that I started as a youth.

I seem to be more of a completest than a collector, as I continue to practice patience, an important ingredient in the successful retirement formula.  My mother and grandfather left me a stamp collection, and my childhood neighbor got me into coin collecting and baseball cards.  So, the idea of getting back into collecting is deeply rooted in those enjoyable childhood years, long before working and retirement ever entered my mind.  It would be great to get back there, collecting Coca-Cola bottle caps from around the world, sea shells, butterflies to be mounted, leaves to be identified.  The only problem is that, as a child, I was never good at practicing anything.  As a result, I wasted some potential skills that I could have used in retirement like learning to play the piano or saxophone.  Both of which I refused to practice and therefore never learned to play.  See what happens when you don’t practice?

I could have completed my penny collection or my baseball card collection if I had just stuck with it.  Family, career, and other priorities got in my way.  Is there still a chance to go back in time and finish what I started?  That may be just what retirement is for – trying to be a kid again, although with less energy and more patience.  I’m ready to give it a try.

Practice To be continued……

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