Tuesday, July 25, 2023

That's One Small Step For Man...

...And One Giant Swing For The Spitter King.


Alvin Dark, who Charles Finley fired twice, the second time in 1976 for saying that he (i.e. Finley) would go to hell if he didn't mend his ways, was a pretty good major league baseball manager.

And, while he was no Madame Marie when it came to fortune telling, Dark may have been right about Finley, particularly given that the hockey gods had already punished Charlie 'O severely when they moved heaven and earth to make darned sure that Guy Lafleur would never lace up a white skate for his California Golden Seals.

And boy was Dark, who managed major league teams on both sides of the San Francisco Bay, ever right about the swing of infamous spitball pitcher Gaylord Perry when he uttered the following at about the same time that JFK made his infamous 'by the end of the decade' speech while he was then managing Perry, Willie Mays and the no longer New York Giants in the early '60's: 




Imagine that!


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The Riverton Rifle,
Reggie Leach, said that the only good thing about lacing up those white skates in Oakland for Charlie 'O was the free tickets the hockey playing chattel got to A's games at the outdoor Coliseum next door.
Fortune teller ear worm wiggling?...This!


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5 comments:

e.a.,f. said...

thank you for the Springsteen oldie. Never saw him with that look, always with the current look which started in the 1980s. He is truly an amazing artist. Went to see him when he came to Vancouver, by himnself, no band.

RossK said...

e.a.f--

Solo?

When the heck was that - Devils and Dust tour (2005)?

Here's our family's trip to see the entire circus on the Magic tour (2008).


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Danneau said...

It seems that one of Springsteen's strengths is tapping into a sense of nostalgia over deep emotional moments, and it occurs to me that there might be a huge demand for this as our living space gets increasingly less liveable and we feel the need to hang our emotional well-being on the knowledge that it used to be better or that it could have been better or that it may be again better at some future date. It's an interesting, if somewhat ghoulish thought to ponder what might be the ear worm that would take us down the eddy of civilization spiralling down the crapper.
I got to spend Moon Day walking in the redwoods in Santa Cruz with two brothers and a very close friend. I also got to experience first-hand the frustrating glory that was the Giants of 1958-69, though it slowly tapered off and then bled out in a general sense that pro sports weren't worth the attention.

RossK said...

Danneau--

58 to 69 Giants...All that initial excitement and promise almost realized in 1962 that then dissipated into long term middle of the pack mediocrity...Worse, I would think for long term Bay Area folks, was the end of the glory days of the old PCL cross-the-water Seals/Oaks rivalry...

I felt that way about Springsteen when I first really got to know his stuff when the Darkness album came out and then worked my way backward...You can see him flexing that particular strength right from start during the first audition for John Hammond.


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e.a.f. said...

Don't recall what year it was, but it was him with his guitar and that was it, except his son who brought his guitars to him. There was no admittance once the concert started and Roger's arena was only half used because that was the way Springsteen wanted it.
It was an interesting concert and the music was different from what he usually played. It was after Orbison's Black and White Concert, where Springsteen played guitar in the back up band. Forget the name of the other guitar player, but the back up vocals were amazing. From time to time you can still see it on t.v.

After some thought I came to the conclusion Springsteen wanted to see if he could do what Orbison did, just him, the guitar and the stage. There is old film of Orbison on stage with just his guitar and the stage.

Yes, Springsteen is as good as Orbison.