These last baseball tilts before the 4 day “exhibition game” break, include World Series rematches from both 100 and 10 years past.
In 1925, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the decisive #7 on a questionable for playing and certainly for a game of that magnitude, wet Forbes Field, (9-7) vs the Washington Senators, since 1961, the Minnesota Twins.
Ten years ago, the Kansas City Royals, who won their other title 30 years ago, won in 5 games vs the New York Mets.
The Mets won at the Royals while the Twins prevailed at home vs the Pirates in the series opening games last night. Seemingly only the Mets, who are very much in contention, have that this season.
Hazen Shirley “Kiki” Cuyler, a great player, is pictured above.
He delivered the 2 run double, B8 of #7, tuning the last 2 runs of the 1925 (9-7) Pirates win vs the Washington Senators, now the Minnesota Twins.
How’s this? A highway, The Hazen Shirley Kiki Cuyler Memorial Highway, is named for him in Harrisville, Michigan.
The opposing manager in 1925 was Stanley “Bucky” Harris, who did “Title” 22 years later with the Yankees as did another “Bucky,” for them, namely Dent 30 years and much more famously 31 years later, after his huge homer in a one game playoff for 1/4.
Around town, it being New York City, I was fortunate to see “The Last Five Years,” before it closed.
The show was thoroughly enjoyable. Nick Jonas showed his acting chops, giving a fine performance.
‘Twas a nice recall of a relationship that first soared and then soured, so often the case.
Its details illuminate and might help offer perspective if not compromise in the future.
Today at Paley Center 52 West 52nd Street, commencing at 4 P.M. a discussion and look back at “Superman,” the so memorable television show, which starred George Reeves.
My admiration is great for Reeves and then Christopher Reeve, each having played as “The Man of Steel” and the even more entertaining “Clark Kent.”
Jason Robert Brown, pictured above, wrote “The Last Five Years.”
One week before the well past halfway All-Star Game break, 4 teams have at least, fairly sizable division leads, in bids to, at least avoid the extra best of 3 playoffs round.
Detroit (Tigers), sans a W.S. win for 41 years leads its div by 13 plus games with baseball’s best record (57-34).
The defending champion Dodgers who can not blame being swept by the Houston Astros on sign stealing, as they have done in “el” past, do lead their “div” by 7, which in turn is the same lead aforementioned Houston has in its.
Chicago (Cubs), (11-0) Sunday night winners vs St. Louis, evoking the ’34 W.S. #7 final in a Cards win vs Detroit with Dizzy Dean pitching and the fact Mr. Dean hurled in World Series play for both the Cards and Cubs, lead their entity by games.
Top of my head Houston (5-1) to sweep L.A. is the same score by which they won #7 vs them, (both at L.A.) in the 2017 World Series.
George Springer currently with the Toronto Blue Jays, whose (7-0) homestand has moved them 3 ahead of the Yankees and Tampa Rays in their div (in the other East, the closest race this week before, shows the Phils up one plus, with the New York Mets second), led off #7/2017 World Series with a home run in the aforementioned Houston (5-1) win at L.A. to claim the crown.
Springer was that World Series award winner as most valuable player.
Nostalgia: Judy Garland on “What’s My Line”
Today, looking back, a real star is recalled.
Fifty six years after her death, Judy Garland is still remembered as a legendary performer. It is so much fun to see her on television!
I loved her as a youngster in ” The Wizard of Oz,” and as an emerging adult in “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
Among other great feats, she also shined in a heavy dramatic role in “Judgment at Nuremberg.” Of course, many remember her as the ultimate torch singer.
Such a talented person!
Enjoy this appearance, by Judy on “What’s My Line.” Click below to view it.
That is the great player, Alex Delvecchio, an integral and great member of the last 3 Detroit Red Wings title teams before a 42 year title drought that ended in 1997, who died days back at age 93, pictured above.
Perhaps he is headed for a good “above” maybe with Gordie (Howe), Ted (Lindsay) and the incomparable netminder Terry Sawchuk, all 4 with others, part of the 1952 Red Wings who swept through the NHL ‘offs, going (8-0) in the magnificent 6 team NHL.
So limited was the coverage of this great player’s death. Let’s entertain and cite the fact that the (8-0) Red Wings/”Vogues” (ode to an animal) ‘offs feat of ’52 is the reason octopi are thrown on the ice in celebration of Red Wings positive exploits.
Delvecchio won the Lady Byng Trophy for positive sportsmanship three times and his number 10 hangs from the rafters as tribute to him, as a great player on one of sports great franchises.
Octopus or octopi, octopusses, octopedes representing eight/8 and after the ’52 Red Wings did it, the team, the great broadcaster Danny Gallivan called the best and personal favorite, the 1960 Montreal Canadiens also (8-0’d) to the title.
The three plurals for octopus come from the different ways the English language adopts plurals. Octopi is the oldest plural of octopus, coming from the belief that words of Latin origin should have Latin endings. Octopuses was the next plural, giving the word an English ending to match its adoption as an English word. Lastly, octopodes stemmed from the belief that because octopus is originally Greek, it should have a Greek ending.
Two interleague baseball series this week were rematches of past World Series.
Cited here, the Reds/Red Sox series took place in the 50th anniversary year of their classic 1975 W.S. won by Cincinnati (Reds) in 7 games.
The other one, matching the current World champion Los Angeles Dodgers (now 55-32) and the Chicago White Sox (28-58 but ahead of last year’s “pace,” when they finished (41-121), was a rematch of the 1959 World Series, won by L.A. in 6 games.
All four teams involved, each with a history of World Series winning droughts, has a current World Series winning streak.
Boston (Red Sox) top it, having won in their last 4 W.S. appearances, much as they won in their first 5, including the first one played, that in 1903, after an 86 year title drought in which they lost 4 World Series, all in 7 games–thus even in defeat the Red Sox have been tremendous World Series performers.
The ’75 Reds World Series triumph began what is a 3 World Series win skein for the team, after the ’75 title win ended a 35 year title drought.
Chicago (White Sox) won the last 8 ALCS and World Series tilts in 2005, all after a junior senator from Illinois, named Barack Obama, threw out the first ball at game 2 of the ALCS vs the Angels and ended an 88 year drought, sweeping the then N.L. , Houston Astros, who subsequently won their first two W.S. (’17 one hundred years after the White Sox last crown before 2005 and also under Dusty Baker in 2022).
Finally, the Dodgers, a major sports league record losers in their first 7 final rounds/World Series and sans a crown for 32 years (Sandy’s # but alas 2020 in “neutral” does not “crank” it) have won in their last 2 W.S. that one after a 50 game season in 2020, and a tremendous victory through the 2024 season and ‘offs.
The great Tris Speaker, pictured above, played on Boston title teams in 1912 and 1915 before being a player manager on one of two Cleveland (Guardians nee Indians) W.S. winning teams in 1920.
Cleveland’s 77 year(s) (likely and counting as minimum they are way behind in their “div”) sans a crown is baseball’s longest and I believe second only to the football Cardinals (by one year) such streak.
Recently I derived great enjoyment attending a show, performed by the great Fleetwood Mac “tribute band,” “Tusk.
They performed so many of the great songs recorded by “Fleetwood Mac” and their optics and sound was superb.
Additionally, all of the members were very friendly interacting with the patrons.
I highly recommend seeing Tusk perform.
Toward that result: Click below, information, including upcoming performance dates, are shown.
Tusk: The Classic Fleetwood Mac Tribute | 16 YEARS OF
Tonight an interleague series between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox commences at venerable Fenway Park in Boston.
As with many others, the matchup evokes memories of a great (arguably the greatest) World Series contested between the two teams 50 years ago this fall.
The Reds won that series in 7 games, ending their 35 year title drought while extending the Red Sox one to 57, eventually 86 years.
In the deciding game, the great Tony Perez cut into the Red Sox (3-0) lead with a 2 run home run, shown above, with Curt Gowdy in his last NBC lead baseball broadcaster game, calling it.
So often spoken of, it’s #7 of the ’79 World Series and Ed Murray of the Baltimore Orioles, the team trailing (2-1) B8, is having a bad one bids for hero status and sends the superb player, Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who sadly died today at age 74, back in right field.
Parker stumbled, did not fall and made the catch.
“Pitts” got insurance and their last title to date (Murray and the Orioles had their clincher 4 years later, however, none since and so likely neither once winning franchise, will even be close, again this year).
Parker, talked about by Curt Gowdy for years on the once so anticipated NBC Game of the Week, played on another title team 10 years later, with the Oakland Athletics in 1989.
Many remember his great throw in that same year All-Star Game but that is the All-Star Game, a faded exhibition, that has faded to dust, sans the wind (cue Kansas).
The Hall also means less, Parker was to be inducted alive (the “sin” regarding Pete Rose, who spoke of Parker’s excellence in a great, competitive National League could have been avoided), in weeks, now that “honor” will be posthumous.
Maybe Dave, with his great arm, can throw a meteor down, one not to destroy, but change for the better.
Parker as a player was better than most and a joy to watch.
So many years, so many great Pirates hitters (remember the baseball card– “Bucco Belters with Willie Stargell and Donn Clendenon pictured), a viable, contending, at times, champion team) and Dave Parker, pictured above, also a fine all around player, was one of them.
Once under coach Bud Wilkinson, an Oklahoma team, the college football Sooners were a dominant team.
Before that, led by big (over 7 feet tall, which was much rarer then) Bob Kurland, then known as Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, they won 2 straight NCAA basketball crowns in 1945 and 1946.
However, the just completed, more or less superb, Oklahoma City Thunder NBA crown, is the first Oklahoma such and they are the state’s lone major professional sports league team.
Once again, Indiana with two such pro teams is denied their sport, basketball (The college Indiana Hoosiers have 5 NCAA Tournament titles and the Pacers did win 3 ABA such) and the Colts 2006 title clinched in a non descript game in the Miami rain, is that state’s lone crown.
Speaking of Miami, the NHL Panthers, as stated here before won their second straight NHL final vs the Edmonton Oilers (they have dropped 3 straight NHL final rounds after going (5-1) in such, including 5 straight wins) and Miami joins 6 other cities/areas with at least 2 crowns in all 4 major sports leagues (the baseball Marlins and long ago, 52 years those have 52 weeks so you do the math, Dolphins also won 2).
The NBA Heat lead Miami with 3 crowns.
Bob Kurland, pictured above.
