1984: The Tigers and the 35-5 start

Back in 1984, the Detroit Tigers got off to a 35-5 start.    That's winning 87% of your first 40 games.

The Tigers ended up with 104 wins.   They beat KC in the ALCS and defeated San Diego in 5 games in the World Series.   

Great team.

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1984: Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, and Don Drysdale elected to the Hall of Fame

On this day in 1984, Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale, were elected to The Hall of Fame.

Aparicio was a great shortstop born in Venezuela in 1934:  .262 batting average, 2,677 hits and 506 stolen bases in 2,599 games.  He was an excellent defensive shortstop.

Killebrew was born in Idaho in 1936 and became one of the best power hitters of our generation:  573 HR, 1,584 RBI, AL MVP 1969 and several HR titles. 

Drysdale was born in California in 1936 and played his entire career with the Dodgers:   209 wins, 167 complete games and a 2.95 ERA.  In 1968, he pitched 58 straight scoreless innings including six straight shutouts.

They were great.

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1917: We remember Father Flanagan and Boys Town

It's one of my favorite stories, and movies, too.   

On this day in 1917, Father Edward J. Flanagan, a 31-year-old Irish priest, opened the doors to what we would later call "Boys Town".

Years later, the story was made into a movie.  What a great movie it was!

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“Shane” the 3rd best Western ever?

Had a little time and watched “Shane”, a movie that I had seen bits and pieces of many times before.    

It was great.    

Shane is played by Alan Ladd.  He meets Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) and his wife, Marian (Jean Arthur) who are small farmers in Wyoming.    He learns that there is a campaign of intimidation against the farmers.    

What a great movie.    The rest is up to you.    Watch it!  

“Shane” is # 3  in the American Film Institute’s Top 10 Westerns.     By the way, # 2 is “High noon”, another one of my favorites.

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1983: Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal elected to the Hall of Fame

Brooks Robinson and Juan Marichal were elected to The Hall of Fame on this day in 1983.     

Robinson broke into the majors with the Orioles in 1955.   He played his last game in 1977.   Along the way, he won 17 Gold Gloves for his work as a third baseman.   He was a great clutch hitter, a very tough out when the game was on the line:   .267 career average, 268 HR & 1,357 RBI, 2,484 hits in 2, 986 games.    He hit .303 in the post season with 22 RBI in 39 games.   Robinson was the 1964 AL MVP and 1970 World Series MVP. 

Marichal pitched his first game in 1960 and played until 1975.   He pitched primarily with the Giants but did finish his career with Boston.    Marichal's numbers were spectacular:  243 wins, 244 complete games, 52 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA.   He did not win the Cy Young Award in large part because he was competing with Koufax so many times.

Two of my favorite players!

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John Wayne and "El Dorado"

It's time to watch another John Wayne movie.    

"El Dorado" is from 1966 and it includes Robert Mitchum and James Caan.   In this movie, Wayne plays a gunfighter who gets in the middle of a fight over water.

It is a good movie.   Wayne is "Cowboy # 1" in my book.   

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1981 and Steve Carlton set NL mark for K's

The great Steve Carlton made some National League history on this day in 1981.   Carlton set the NL mark for K’s!

Over an amazing career, Carlton 329 games with a 3.22 ERA.   He also completed 254 games with 4,136 strikeouts.   His best season was 1972:  27-10, a 1.97 ERA, 30 complete games, 8 shutouts and 320 strikeouts.   The amazing thing is that he pitched for a team that won 59 games.   It may have been the greatest pitching performance ever.

Great pitcher.   Maybe the best lefty after Koufax with all due respect to Randy Johnson!

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We remember Hugo Montenegro (1925-81)

Hugo Montenegro was born in New York on this day in 1925.   He spent some time in the US Navy and then started writing and arranging music in the 1950’s.     We remember him for all of those Western film themes, such as “The good the bad and the ugly”.

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Leadership Reagan style and the air controllers

Like many of you, I am yearning for presidential leadership.  I want a president who leads and sets the tone.

32 years ago yesterday, President Reagan once again demonstrated that he understood leadership and presidency:

"On August 5, 1981, President Ronald Reagan begins firing 11,359 air-traffic controllers striking in violation of his order for them to return to work. The executive action, regarded as extreme by many, significantly slowed air travel for months.

Two days earlier, on August 3, almost 13,000 air-traffic controllers went on strike after negotiations with the federal government to raise their pay and shorten their workweek proved fruitless. The controllers complained of difficult working conditions and a lack of recognition of the pressures they face. Across the country, some 7,000 flights were canceled. The same day, President Reagan called the strike illegal and threatened to fire any controller who had not returned to work within 48 hours. Robert Poli, president of the Professional Air-Traffic Controllers Association (PATCO), was found in contempt by a federal judge and ordered to pay $1,000 a day in fines.
On August 5, an angry President Reagan carried out his threat, and the federal government began firing the 11,359 air-traffic controllers who had not returned to work. In addition, he declared a lifetime ban on the rehiring of the strikers by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On August 17, the FAA began accepting applications for new air-traffic controllers, and on October 22 the Federal Labor Relations Authority decertified PATCO."

Don't you miss presidential leadership?

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1981: Bob Gibson elected to Hall of Fame

In 1981, Bob Gibson was the only player elected to the Hall of Fame.   

As a young man in Omaha, Gibson excelled at baseball and basketball in high school.   He played college basketball at Creighton University and had a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters.   

In 1957, he signed with the Cardinals, and made his big-league debut in 1959.

His 17 years with St. Louis were awesome:  251 victories, 255 complete games, 3,117 strikeouts, 56 shutouts, and an ERA of 2.91.        His 1968 season may have been the greatest modern pitching performance:   22-9, 13 shutouts, 28 complete games and an unbelievable 1.12 ERA!  And he won game 7 in the 1964 & 1967 World Series!

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