Kirk Gallaway Posted Wednesday at 07:13 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 07:13 AM A little break from conspiracies.Maybe? Maybe the first black athlete to be truly accepted by America? I tried to add some other great players from other teams from the greatest era of baseball..And some other people. With the links, just "open link in new tab." All my history of baseball starts with Willie Mays. At 19 years old in Minneapolis Di Maggio Bros. Mays, Mantle https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/four-of-baseballs-great-centerfielders-are-shown-here-as-news-photo/515492276 Mays playing stick ball with kids NYC early 50's Mays Clemente , Aaron (great photo) 1962 3M Mays Mantle, Maris https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/slugging-outfielders-before-an-exhibition-game-at-yankee-news-photo/154786843 Cecil Williams Willie Mays Bill Graham Joe Alioto Jerry Garcia Carlos Santana 1964 Mays Koufax Mays Ali Mays, Marichal Johnny Callison? at mid 60's All Star game?? Mays Frank Robinson Mac Covey https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/san-francisco-giants-legends-willie-mays-frank-robinson-and-news-photo/1298780359 Aaron Bench Koufax Mays SF. Giants 1962 Harvey Kuhn Orlando Cepeda Willie Mays Willie Mac Covey Mays Newsome Mays Tim Lincecum https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tim-lincecum-of-the-san-francisco-giants-stops-to-meet-with-news-photo/1321957766 Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry Willie Mays Willie Mac Covey Juan Marichal Orland Cepeda RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Cole Posted Wednesday at 12:57 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 12:57 PM Just so KG will not be accused of being off topic The JFK Half Dollar, Willie Mays connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Bartetzko Posted Wednesday at 02:18 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 02:18 PM Thanks for the change of pace. I lived in LA growing up and the Dodgers/Giants rivalry was classic. Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Koufax, Drysdale.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Gallaway Posted Wednesday at 04:00 PM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 04:00 PM (edited) 1 hour ago, Nick Bartetzko said: Thanks for the change of pace. I lived in LA growing up and the Dodgers/Giants rivalry was classic. Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Koufax, Drysdale.... Yeah Nick, that was/ is quite a rivalry! Didn't Vin Scully grow up a Giant fan in New York? You remember this song from Danny Kaye? It was a bit our parents crowd's style for us in the early years of R&R! But we up north do remember the Hiller Miller Halleruhjah Twist. Edited Wednesday at 04:06 PM by Kirk Gallaway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cory Santos Posted Wednesday at 05:48 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 05:48 PM This has to be moved to a different forum. Rules are rules. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted Wednesday at 06:47 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 06:47 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted Thursday at 02:33 AM Share Posted Thursday at 02:33 AM Wille Mays and JFK Jr. I wonder if Dad ever saw him play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Bartetzko Posted Thursday at 03:19 AM Share Posted Thursday at 03:19 AM 11 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said: Yeah Nick, that was/ is quite a rivalry! Didn't Vin Scully grow up a Giant fan in New York? You remember this song from Danny Kaye? It was a bit our parents crowd's style for us in the early years of R&R! But we up north do remember the Hiller Miller Halleruhjah Twist. Not sure about that, Kirk. I loved listening to Vin and did so for many years. It was also quite the experience to go to a game at Dodger stadium and listen to Vin there as so many of the fans brought radios to the game. Watching the games at Candlestick on TV was always a treat with the wind blowing. No such thing as an easy catch on a windy day. I remember the Danny Kaye song well.... RIP to the "say hey kid".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Gallaway Posted Thursday at 03:24 AM Author Share Posted Thursday at 03:24 AM On Oct, 16 1962, The SF Giants lost game 7 of the World Series to The New York Yankees. That evening JFK went on TV telling the public of surveillance spotting missiles in Cuba, the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A little known fact, Willie Mays played winter ball in Cuba. He played on the same team with the person in the photo below. And that person is Tommy Lasorda ,the eventual manager of the Dodgers, who died in 2021. https://cubacenter.org/news/2021/01/08/remembering-tommy-lasorda-a-great-friend-of-cuba/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Gallaway Posted Thursday at 04:08 AM Author Share Posted Thursday at 04:08 AM 32 minutes ago, Nick Bartetzko said: Not sure about that, Kirk. I loved listening to Vin and did so for many years. It was also quite the experience to go to a game at Dodger stadium and listen to Vin there as so many of the fans brought radios to the game. Watching the games at Candlestick on TV was always a treat with the wind blowing. No such thing as an easy catch on a windy day. I remember the Danny Kaye song well.... RIP to the "say hey kid".... Nick, How about that picture of Tommy Lasorda? Scully was, I found it. Born in the Bronx and raised in Manhattan, Scully discovered his love of baseball at age eight when, watching the 1936 World Series, he sympathized with the New York Giants as they lost 18-4 to the Yankees. From then on, he was a devoted Giants fan. We got the reciprocal . We only watched 9 games a year during the regular season, and those were the away games at Dodger stadium. I remember Drysdale had an all time streak of 56? innings of shutout ball over 6 starts and it was late in a tight game, and the Giants had the bases loaded threatening to end the streak, and Drysdale was a brushback pitcher. He ended up hitting Dick Dietz , the Giant catcher, and that would have forced in a run the tying run and stopped the streak but the umpire interceded and claimed Dietz deliberately let the ball hit him! Do you remember that? Anyway The streak was preserved and the Dodgers won the game. I had a radio show and in the 90's and interviewed Dick Dietz , who was then the minor league coach in a Giant farm club in San Jose. I asked him about it. Obviously he thought we got a raw deal. Personally I had never seen that ruling before, and to me, it didn't look any more intentional then any number of pitches that hit the wrist of batters. Oh well, water way under the bridge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Bartetzko Posted Thursday at 05:02 AM Share Posted Thursday at 05:02 AM 37 minutes ago, Kirk Gallaway said: Nick, How about that picture of Tommy Lasorda? Scully was, I found it. Born in the Bronx and raised in Manhattan, Scully discovered his love of baseball at age eight when, watching the 1936 World Series, he sympathized with the New York Giants as they lost 18-4 to the Yankees. From then on, he was a devoted Giants fan. We got the reciprocal . We only watched 9 games a year during the regular season, and those were the away games at Dodger stadium. I remember Drysdale had an all time streak of 56? innings of shutout ball over 6 starts and it was late in a tight game, and the Giants had the bases loaded threatening to end the streak, and Drysdale was a brushback pitcher. He ended up hitting Dick Dietz , the Giant catcher, and that would have forced in a run the tying run and stopped the streak but the umpire interceded and claimed Dietz deliberately let the ball hit him! Do you remember that? Anyway The streak was preserved and the Dodgers won the game. I had a radio show and in the 90's and interviewed Dick Dietz , who was then the minor league coach in a Giant farm club in San Jose. I asked him about it. Obviously he thought we got a raw deal. Personally I had never seen that ruling before, and to me, it didn't look any more intentional then any number of pitches that hit the wrist of batters. Oh well, water way under the bridge! Geez, Kirk, I sure didn't recognize Tommy Lasorda. I believe he had a restaurant in the South Pasadena area where I used to work. I absolutely, positively remember the Drysdale Dietz incident. I had never seen it called and don't think I've seen it called since. Dietz was just tight on the plate and didn't make an effort to get out of the way. Even if he had, it might still have hit him. Hit batter...go to first, except in this particular game. It was a bad call and I was a Dodger and Drysdale fan. Speaking of horrible calls, the worst one ever was the safe call on the last out of Armando Galarraga no hitter. Everyone in the stadium, except the guy that counts, saw the runner was out. Umpire Jim Joyce admitted the blown call and apologized.... How interesting you had a radio show and spoke with Dietz. He was part of an unforgettable moment in baseball history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted Thursday at 05:33 AM Share Posted Thursday at 05:33 AM (edited) I was a poor kid growing up in Pacific Grove, Ca. from the mid-50's through the late 60s. I was never able to go to Candlestick Park in San Francisco to see a game back then. But, a few friends and I would listen to their games on a transistor radio on weekends and during the summer just knocking around our little town. We of course grew up listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast the games and those two guys made these games so exciting sounding. We knew we were living at a time when baseball was big and loaded with superstars. Our Giants had Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Gaylord ( he must have given his parents hell for that name ) Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Bobby Bonds...just loaded. Every time Mays came up to bat Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons would take on an almost second coming reverence demeaner, as if any second Mays might perform one of his hitting miracles ( a home run ) and when he did both of these guys would go absolutely bananas yelling "Tell It Bye Bye Baby!" ...or "You Can Tell It Goodbye" and all you would hear for a minute or so was the stadium crowd cheering wildly. Really exciting...even listening to it on a tinny sounding little radio! Mays had an energy about him. When he came up to bat the entire crowd hushed and watched his every move. And it was this way in every ballpark in the country. Fans of other teams knew Mays was simply one of the greatest players in baseball history...and they liked, respected and appreciated him. In 1970, a group of young fellows I worked with organized a trip to Candlestick Park to see the Giants and I luckily got to go with them. The date was May 23rd, 1970. I was 18. Wow! My Giants ( and especially Mays) did their thing...in spades! Mays four hits including two home runs, McCovey two home runs, Kenny Henderson home run, Bobby Bonds 3 hits and a couple of stolen bases! The Giants scored 16 runs that day! I almost peed my pants with cheering excitement! But hold on to your hat ... the Giants LOST the game! 17 to 16! The San Diego Padres did just as well. Nate Colbert two home runs, Ceto Gaston two home runs and others! The game went into extra innings. Most of the 25,000 fans had left by the end of the game. Hoarse from yelling during every explosive back and forth inning. By the time of the last inning there were maybe just 1 or 2 thousand fans ( it got windy and cold ) huddled behind home plate. During that last inning and just for fun to check out the stadium, I walked all the way up to the highest seat in the park and sat there all by myself. I didn't know if the game was broadcast to the San Diego area but if it was I would think the TV camera may have seen me up there. I contemplated doing something ... well... teen age wild to give the San Diego Padre TV watching fans something really exciting to see if they did. Anyway, the Giants FIRED their head coach "Clyde King" the very next day after that fiasco of a game! And to think Juan Marichal "started" as the Giant's pitcher...before being bombed out himself. My next game at Candlestick I sat in the Giants radio broadcast booth with Hank Greenwald and Dave Glass. It was my 34th birthday ( 9/21/1985) and this was a Giant game gift package someone purchased for me on the SF public broadcast station KQED during one of their fundraising drives. They also flashed a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE BAUER " greeting to me on the stadium scoreboard during the seventh inning stretch. Before the game I had lunch in the Stadium Club and drank so much vodka I was smashed the entire rest of the game in the radio booth. The radio announcers saw how out of it I was and purposely didn't mention me except once on the radio as a big birthday present person. Hank Greenwald asked me if I was enjoying the game and all I could utter was the most slurring "Ishh.. hick...ishh pretty good...hick!" My wife stayed home and listened to the game on the radio and heard me make a fool of myself as I mentioned with that one question from Hank Greenwald and my totally sloshed answer. By the way, the Dodgers won that game that day ... 11 to 0! Mays never ever seemed to talk or act like an angry black man. He was the same affable, friendly, fun and patient person to everyone. Every baseball fan in Northern California loved the guy. Including me. Below see the actual Giants Team box score from the May 23rd,1970, 17 to 16 score Giants-Padres game I described above. San Francisco Giants ab r h rbi Bonds rf 8 2 3 2 Hunt 2b 8 2 3 3 Mays cf 6 3 4 4 McCovey 1b 8 1 2 4 Henderson lf 7 2 2 1 Dietz c 6 1 2 0 Fuentes 3b,ss 6 2 3 0 Lanier ss 3 1 1 Edited Thursday at 04:12 PM by Joe Bauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Bartetzko Posted Thursday at 08:13 AM Share Posted Thursday at 08:13 AM 2 hours ago, Joe Bauer said: I was a poor kid growing up in Pacific Grove, Ca. from the mid-50's through the late 60s. I was never able to go to Candlestick Park in San Francisco to see a game back then. But, a few friends and I would listen to their games on a transistor radio on weekends and during the summer just knocking around our little town. We of course grew up listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast the games and those two guys made these games so exciting sounding. We knew we were living at a time when baseball was big and loaded with superstars. Our Giants had Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Gaylord ( he must have given his parents hell for that name ) Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Barry Bonds...just loaded. Every time Mays came up to bat Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons would take on an almost second coming reverence demeaner, as if any second Mays might perform one of his hitting miracles ( a home run ) and when he did both of these guys would go absolutely bananas yelling "Tell It Bye Bye Baby!" ...or "You Can Tell It Goodbye" and all you would hear for a minute or so was the stadium crowd cheering wildly. Really exciting...even listening to it on a tinny sounding little radio! Mays had an energy about him. When he came up to bat the entire crowd hushed and watched his every move. And it was this way in every ballpark in the country. Fans of other teams knew Mays was simply one of the greatest players in baseball history...and they liked, respected and appreciated him. In 1970, a group of young fellows I worked with organized a trip to Candlestick Park to see the Giants and I luckily got to go with them. The date was May 23rd, 1970. I was 18. Wow! My Giants ( and especially Mays) did their thing...in spades! Mays two home runs, McCovey two home runs, Kenny Henderson home run, Bobby Bonds 3 hits and a couple of stolen bases! The Giants scored 16 runs that day! I almost peed my pants with cheering excitement! But hold on to your hat ... the Giants LOST the game! 17 to 16! The San Diego Padres did just as well. Nate Colbert two home runs, Ceto Gaston two home runs and others! The game went into extra innings. Most of the 25,000 fans had left by the end of the game. Hoarse from yelling during every explosive back and forth inning. By the time of the last inning there were maybe just 1 or 2 thousand fans ( it got windy and cold ) huddled behind home plate. During that last inning and just for fun to check out the stadium, I walked all the way up to the highest seat in the park and sat there all by myself. I didn't know if the game was broadcast to the San Diego area but if it was I would think the TV camera may have seen me up there. I contemplated doing something ... well... teen age wild to give the San Diego Padre TV watching fans something really exciting to see if they did. Anyway, the Giants FIRED their head coach "Clyde King" the very next day after that fiasco of a game! And to think Juan Marichal "started" as the Giant's pitcher...before being bombed out himself. My next game at Candlestick I sat in the Giants radio broadcast booth with Hank Greenwald and Dave Glass. It was my 34th birthday ( 9/21/1985) and this was a Giant game gift package someone purchased for me on the SF public broadcast station KQED during one of their fundraising drives. They also flashed a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE BAUER " greeting to me on the stadium scoreboard during the seventh inning stretch. Before the game I had lunch in the Stadium Club and drank so much vodka I was smashed the entire rest of the game in the radio booth. The radio announcers saw how out of it I was and purposely didn't mention me except once on the radio as a big birthday present person. Hank Greenwald asked me if I was enjoying the game and all I could utter was the most slurring "Ishh.. hick...ishh pretty good...hick!" My wife stayed home and listened to the game on the radio and heard me make a fool of myself as I mentioned with that one question from Hank Greenwald and my totally sloshed answer. By the way, the Dodgers won that game that day ... 11 to 0! Mays never ever seemed to talk or act like an angry black man. He was the same affable, friendly, fun and patient person to everyone. Every baseball fan in Northern California loved the guy. Including me. Below see the actual Giants Team box score from the May 23rd,1970, 17 to 16 score Giants-Padres game I described above. San Francisco Giants ab r h rbi Bonds rf 8 2 3 2 Hunt 2b 8 2 3 3 Mays cf 6 3 4 4 McCovey 1b 8 1 2 4 Henderson lf 7 2 2 1 Dietz c 6 1 2 0 Fuentes 3b,ss 6 2 3 0 Lanier ss 3 1 1 Great post, Joe. Losing 17-16...yikes. I loved watching Mays and McCovey and his big, looping swing. Mac sure hit some shots off of Drysdale. As to your vodka misstep, at least the announcers were gracious and you had a good time 🍹 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Gallaway Posted Thursday at 09:08 AM Author Share Posted Thursday at 09:08 AM 3 hours ago, Joe Bauer said: I was a poor kid growing up in Pacific Grove, Ca. from the mid-50's through the late 60s. I was never able to go to Candlestick Park in San Francisco to see a game back then. But, a few friends and I would listen to their games on a transistor radio on weekends and during the summer just knocking around our little town. We of course grew up listening to Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons broadcast the games and those two guys made these games so exciting sounding. We knew we were living at a time when baseball was big and loaded with superstars. Our Giants had Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Gaylord ( he must have given his parents hell for that name ) Perry, Orlando Cepeda, Barry Bonds...just loaded. Every time Mays came up to bat Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons would take on an almost second coming reverence demeaner, as if any second Mays might perform one of his hitting miracles ( a home run ) and when he did both of these guys would go absolutely bananas yelling "Tell It Bye Bye Baby!" ...or "You Can Tell It Goodbye" and all you would hear for a minute or so was the stadium crowd cheering wildly. Really exciting...even listening to it on a tinny sounding little radio! Mays had an energy about him. When he came up to bat the entire crowd hushed and watched his every move. And it was this way in every ballpark in the country. Fans of other teams knew Mays was simply one of the greatest players in baseball history...and they liked, respected and appreciated him. In 1970, a group of young fellows I worked with organized a trip to Candlestick Park to see the Giants and I luckily got to go with them. The date was May 23rd, 1970. I was 18. Wow! My Giants ( and especially Mays) did their thing...in spades! Mays two home runs, McCovey two home runs, Kenny Henderson home run, Bobby Bonds 3 hits and a couple of stolen bases! The Giants scored 16 runs that day! I almost peed my pants with cheering excitement! But hold on to your hat ... the Giants LOST the game! 17 to 16! The San Diego Padres did just as well. Nate Colbert two home runs, Ceto Gaston two home runs and others! The game went into extra innings. Most of the 25,000 fans had left by the end of the game. Hoarse from yelling during every explosive back and forth inning. By the time of the last inning there were maybe just 1 or 2 thousand fans ( it got windy and cold ) huddled behind home plate. During that last inning and just for fun to check out the stadium, I walked all the way up to the highest seat in the park and sat there all by myself. I didn't know if the game was broadcast to the San Diego area but if it was I would think the TV camera may have seen me up there. I contemplated doing something ... well... teen age wild to give the San Diego Padre TV watching fans something really exciting to see if they did. Anyway, the Giants FIRED their head coach "Clyde King" the very next day after that fiasco of a game! And to think Juan Marichal "started" as the Giant's pitcher...before being bombed out himself. My next game at Candlestick I sat in the Giants radio broadcast booth with Hank Greenwald and Dave Glass. It was my 34th birthday ( 9/21/1985) and this was a Giant game gift package someone purchased for me on the SF public broadcast station KQED during one of their fundraising drives. They also flashed a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE BAUER " greeting to me on the stadium scoreboard during the seventh inning stretch. Before the game I had lunch in the Stadium Club and drank so much vodka I was smashed the entire rest of the game in the radio booth. The radio announcers saw how out of it I was and purposely didn't mention me except once on the radio as a big birthday present person. Hank Greenwald asked me if I was enjoying the game and all I could utter was the most slurring "Ishh.. hick...ishh pretty good...hick!" My wife stayed home and listened to the game on the radio and heard me make a fool of myself as I mentioned with that one question from Hank Greenwald and my totally sloshed answer. By the way, the Dodgers won that game that day ... 11 to 0! Mays never ever seemed to talk or act like an angry black man. He was the same affable, friendly, fun and patient person to everyone. Every baseball fan in Northern California loved the guy. Including me. Below see the actual Giants Team box score from the May 23rd,1970, 17 to 16 score Giants-Padres game I described above. San Francisco Giants ab r h rbi Bonds rf 8 2 3 2 Hunt 2b 8 2 3 3 Mays cf 6 3 4 4 McCovey 1b 8 1 2 4 Henderson lf 7 2 2 1 Dietz c 6 1 2 0 Fuentes 3b,ss 6 2 3 0 Lanier ss 3 1 1 Joe, I was expecting a thoroughly human and entertaining account of your experience with baseball and you didn't let me down! I'm going to talk a little inside Bay Area for just for a second. You were in the booth with Hank Greenwald? Greenwald was very funny and entertaining! It seemed they were always looking for someone to go with him. Ho-ly cow! David Glass? ehh .....though adequate. Do you remember Phil Stone? He was bad! I never liked Joe Angel's style but apparently he' was around for a long time. with the Orioles. I think we have about as good a combination of 4 announcers in TV and Radio as anywhere. But Krukow and Kuiper are getting old. Mike Krukow has a rare debilitating illness that I understand could only get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted Thursday at 12:07 PM Share Posted Thursday at 12:07 PM (edited) 9 hours ago, Ron Bulman said: Willie Mays and JFK Jr. I wonder if Dad ever saw him play? He did indeed. At least this once anyhow. At the first 1962 All-Star Game (when JFK threw out the 1st pitch). Sorry for this awful video quality, but that was beyond my control.... Edited Thursday at 12:10 PM by David Von Pein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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