07-25-2009
( Reply#: 3431 ) |
seejay2 |
Milwaukee Braves! Eddie Mathews was my fave. After that, I lost all interest in the 'business sports'.....Cj |
07-25-2009
( Reply#: 3432 ) |
Tom J |
Yeah, CJ, after free agency baseball never was the same.
It used to be that you knew who your players were going to be from one year to the next. Players played their whole careers with one team, unless they were traded. I believe most of the players in those days were playing as much for the love of the game as for the money.
Tomster |
07-26-2009
( Reply#: 3436 ) |
duane |
Since we were on the "southside" of Chicago, we were southsiders and the Sox were our team. But I actually ended up going to many more Cubs games than Sox games (our church's Holy Name Society seemed to be Cubs fans and my Dad would always take me along). So lots of great memories of Wrigley Field. My memories of the old Comiskey Park were mostly that the hallways behind the seats smelled like urine!
But to this day, I still remember Danny Cater, Tommy Agee, Moose Skowron, Smokey Burgess, Louis Aparicio, Pete Ward. |
07-26-2009
( Reply#: 3437 ) |
cartoonguy |
"GO CUBS!
Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ron Santo... |
07-27-2009
( Reply#: 3439 ) |
diskojoe |
I'm a Sox fan myself, RED Sox that is [:D]
Anyway, I enjoy hearing Shep's stories about the White Sox & I looked up their history during his kidhood in baseball reference.com. Although I was thrilled to discover that Jimmy Dykes & "Banana Nose" Zeke Bonorma did exist, the team wasn't as bad as Shep made them out to be.
Also, do any of you remember Disco Demolition Night (the 30th Anniversary of which just passed) or when the Sox wore shorts as their uniform in the late 70s?
Finally, congrats on that perfect game last week. |
07-27-2009
( Reply#: 3440 ) |
duane |
Didn't the death to disco gathering turn into a riot (if the newscoverage is to be believed)?
Not only did Bill Veck have them in shorts, but didn't he also sometime put a midget in the lineup because of his very small strike zone? |
07-27-2009
( Reply#: 3441 ) |
diskojoe |
Yes, that Disco Demolition Night did end up as a riot & the game was forfeited. As for that midget, Veeck did that when he owned the St. Louis Browns in the '50s. |
07-29-2009
( Reply#: 3443 ) |
Tom J |
Looks like I still have my uncanny ability to jinx a team that I root for. I had just decided to get back into White Sox baseball again this past weekend, and they dropped three out of four at Detroit and have lost two in a row at MN. The Sox are 1-5 since I started following them again!
I have been a Reds fan off and on over the last few years, since they are the closest major league team to my current location here in KY. The Reds fans at work always get upset with me when they find out that I am back on the bandwagon, because it inevitably sends the Reds into a skid.
Tom |
08-10-2009
( Reply#: 3500 ) |
BobK |
I've always been a White Sox fan but love Wrigley Field. I now wish them both well because they both must do well for a cross town series.
Bob |
08-10-2009
( Reply#: 3503 ) |
Joel357 |
Cubs; Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Adolpho Phillips, the Niekros,Billy Williams |
08-17-2009
( Reply#: 3601 ) |
ChuckR |
I am new member so bear with me and any mistakes. Born in Hammond 1939, lived on Waltham then Jefferson streets. Attended Edison (1953) and Hammond High (1957). Fell in love with baseball in 2nd half 1940's and adopted White Sox as my team when Jack Onslow was manager and only 8 teams in each league. Loved Go Go Sox of 1950's and favorite players then were Nellie Fox (#2) and Sherman Lollar (#10). Still call it Comiskey Park to this day. Why Sox and not Cubs? Sox had better record for 9 of 10 years in 1950's, 8 of 10 in 1960's, 6 of 10 in 1970's and, for the past 25 years have had better record 15 of those years. Love the Sox but, love baseball just as much. |
08-17-2009
( Reply#: 3604 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckR
I am new member so bear with me and any mistakes. Born in Hammond 1939, lived on Waltham then Jefferson streets. Attended Edison (1953) and Hammond High (1957). Fell in love with baseball in 2nd half 1940's and adopted White Sox as my team when Jack Onslow was manager and only 8 teams in each league. Loved Go Go Sox of 1950's and favorite players then were Nellie Fox (#2) and Sherman Lollar (#10). Still call it Comiskey Park to this day. Why Sox and not Cubs? Sox had better record for 9 of 10 years in 1950's, 8 of 10 in 1960's, 6 of 10 in 1970's and, for the past 25 years have had better record 15 of those years. Love the Sox but, love baseball just as much.
Welcome, Chuck! So glad you have joined us. Please keep up the posting; you are doing fine.
What block of Jefferson did you live on? If you went to Edison, you must have been a little south of me. I was on Woodward, which is two blocks east of Calumet and is only one block long, the 6400 block.
You are ten years my senior, so we probably wouldn't know many of the same people. You have already mentioned some places that are near and dear to me, like the theaters in downtown Hammond, so keep it up!
Good to know that you are a Sox fan. How about those '59 Sox that went to the World Series? Too bad they got beat. :(
Tom |
08-17-2009
( Reply#: 3605 ) |
ChuckR |
Thanks for the welcome Tom. When I was around 4yrs old we moved to the 6600 block of Jefferson, stayed there in a house that our grandfather built in the 20's and moved just north of Hammond High when my father died when I was 12. Edison and the school board let me finish 8th grade at Edison even though I must have been in the Maywood district. In my Soph yr at HHS we moved back to Jefferson and I stayed there until graduation in 1957 afterwhich I enlisted in the Navy for 3yrs. Got out early so I could start college, attending Valparaiso and finally getting my degree from Indiana. Am now retired and living in Lombard,IL in condo...let someone else do the lawn and shoveling,right? Will check to see what memories other members have from time to time. This should be fun. |
08-17-2009
( Reply#: 3606 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckR
Thanks for the welcome Tom. When I was around 4yrs old we moved to the 6600 block of Jefferson, stayed there in a house that our grandfather built in the 20's and moved just north of Hammond High when my father died when I was 12. Edison and the school board let me finish 8th grade at Edison even though I must have been in the Maywood district. In my Soph yr at HHS we moved back to Jefferson and I stayed there until graduation in 1957 afterwhich I enlisted in the Navy for 3yrs. Got out early so I could start college, attending Valparaiso and finally getting my degree from Indiana. Am now retired and living in Lombard,IL in condo...let someone else do the lawn and shoveling,right? Will check to see what memories other members have from time to time. This should be fun.
Chuck:
This thread is supposed to be about Sox vs. Cubs, so I am going to start a whole new thread on the subject of the intersection of Calumet and 165th Street. You lived just two blocks south of there, and I was two blocks east of there. We ought to have some memories in common about the businesses that were located on or near that corner. Join me in that thread and let's reminisce!
Tom |
12-07-2009
( Reply#: 4120 ) |
Jay |
I first became a Cubs fans strictly because they always played day games and I could watch them on television. Then 1969 happened. That is the year when the Cubs were in first place from the beginning until the final month. Unfortunately, during that final month of the season, the first place Cubs began to loose more than win while the second place Mets began to win more than they lost. So when the season ended, not only was the Mets now in first place, but they went on to win the World Series as well.
After the Cubs broke my heart in 1969, I tried switching to the White Sox. But my heart was no longer in it. As a result, I gave up on following professional baseball all together. |
12-16-2009
( Reply#: 4206 ) |
emttt |
Sox fan here! Yes Disco Demolition did end in a riot. For those who are interested Steve Dahl, the man, the myth, the radio legend behind Disco Demolition is doing a daily podcast. You can subscribe to it on itunes or listen at dahl.com |
12-23-2009
( Reply#: 4286 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
The WHITE SOX, of course.
Here's two cool family photos---On Saturday, September 19th, 1959, my dad took brother big Mike and me to the "Go-Go" White Sox game with Detroit; this was three days before the Sox would clinch the pennant in Cleveland.
Since our dad was a Chicago radio personality, he had certain special privileges at Comiskey Park. So, about a half-hour before the game started, the security dudes escorted us down onto the field by the Sox (3rd-base) dugout. Our dad then said to us: "Go on over to the dugout and talk to the players." We were stunned. "Go on, don't be afraid, they won't bite you." Then he whips out his trusty old Argus camera and starts shooting, as Mike and I sheepishly tip-toed to the dugout. The players totally ignored us. You can clearly see Nellie Fox with his huge chaw of tobacco crouching on the dugout ledge, and catcher Earl Battey (in jacket) on the right.....TOTALLY ignoring us!
I still remember the helpless feeling...totally in awe of these guys.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/Sox5930001.jpg[/IMG]
Ultimately, dad came to our rescue and a professional photographer showed up to get some excellent shots of us and the players. We have a great one of us in the dugout with Little Looie Aparicio, PLUS this
cool shot of us with starting pitcher Bob Shaw (middle) and 1st Baseman Earl Torgesson on the right. Torgesson was a fine player who was near the end of his career at this time; he had been bumped from the line-up late in the season when the Sox acquired "Big Klu" Ted Kluzewski as their big gun for the pennant stretch. Note the dazed look on my kisser.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/Sox590001.jpg[/IMG]
Sox lost the game that day to Detroit 5-4, but a least we got to see Al Kaline in action.
1959 was an amazing year---without any reason to suspect that we'd be interested, our mother decided to start buying us baseball cards in April of that year. Soon I was almost obsessed with the sport, and Mike and I learned to play, collected the cards, and followed the teams; and wouldn't you know it....not only did the Sox take off for the World Series that year, but my dad was able to get us into the park and onto the field to meet the players in person; it was almost TOO MUCH for my 8-year old brain to comprehend!
MY favorite player was good old Sherm Lollar, and Mike liked center-fielder Jim Landis. We never got to meet either of them, though. But what a year...what a time!
Larry r |
12-24-2009
( Reply#: 4295 ) |
Tom J |
Larry:
Thanks so much for sharing those pictures and the story! I grew up a Sox fan, too, and I still remember the disappointment when the Dodgers beat the Sox in the 1959 World Series.
Getting to meet the players in person would definitely have been a highlight of my life, and it sounds like it was for you.
I only got to go to a handful of games over the years during my childhood, because Dad worked so much. He took me places and did things with me as often as he could, but he worked two jobs to support us, so those times were limited.
Thanks for "screwing up" again, Larry. :)
Tom
|
12-24-2009
( Reply#: 4296 ) |
Tom J |
1959 Chicago White Sox
Most Games by Position
C Sherm Lollar (122)
1B Earl Torgeson (103)
2B Nellie Fox (156)
3B Bubba Phillips (100)
SS Luis Aparicio (152)
LF Al Smith (84)
CF Jim Landis (148)
RF Jim McAnany (63)
SP Dick Donovan
SP Barry Latman
SP Billy Pierce
SP Bob Shaw
SP Early Wynn
RP Rudy Arias
RP Ray Moore
RP Jerry Staley
CL Turk Lown |
12-24-2009
( Reply#: 4298 ) |
Tom J |
Larry:
Here's the box score for that game you went to when the Tigers beat the Sox 5-4. It was on Saturday, September 19, 1959. It doesn't copy and paste very well, but you can still read it. The inning by inning scoring doesn't copy and paste to a readable result at all.
Baseball Almanac Box Scores
Detroit Tigers 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Game played on Saturday, September 19, 1959 at Comiskey Park I
Detroit Tigers ab r h rbi
Yost 3b 4 2 3 0
Harris 1b 3 0 1 0
Kuenn rf 5 1 2 2
Kaline cf 4 1 1 1
Maxwell lf 4 0 1 0
Bolling 2b 4 0 0 1
Berberet c 3 0 1 1
Lepcio ss 3 0 0 0
Chrisley ph 1 0 0 0
Veal ss 0 0 0 0
Foytack p 4 1 1 0
Narleski p 0 0 0 0
Totals 35 5 10 5
Chicago White Sox ab r h rbi
Aparicio ss 5 0 1 0
Fox 2b 5 2 2 0
Goodman 3b 4 1 1 0
Esposito pr,3b 0 0 0 0
Cash ph 1 1 1 2
Kluszewski 1b 5 0 3 0
Lollar c 3 0 0 1
Smith lf 4 0 2 0
Rivera rf 4 0 1 0
Phillips cf 4 0 0 0
Donovan p 1 0 0 0
Latman p 0 0 0 0
Moore p 0 0 0 0
Hicks ph 1 0 1 0
Staley p 0 0 0 0
Torgeson ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 38 4 12 3
The Sox were down 5-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. Norm Cash homered with a man on to bring the Sox to within a run, but that was the way it ended. |
07-07-2011
( Reply#: 6639 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
I knew I had this pic somewhere around the house. HERE HE IS ~ the great White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio ~ (photo taken on the same day as the others posted above); Comiskey Park (Sox dugout), Saturday, September 18, 1959...the year of the "GO-GO WHITE SOX! (They lost to the Tigers that day, but went on to win the AL pennant on Tuesday, Sept 22 in Cleveland...air raid sirens and all).
That's my dad Mike Rapchak holding (his trusty Argus camera that snapped most all of our great family photos), my brother Mike, and me on the right--in our matching jackets and "hood" hats. Of the four of us, only Luis and me are still around, sadly.
LR
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/LuisAparicio0001.jpg[/IMG] |
07-07-2011
( Reply#: 6642 ) |
Tom J |
Larry, you are coming up with some GEMS today! Thank you for sharing this great pic.
I'm sure sorry that your dad and your brother are no longer with us.
Tom |
07-08-2011
( Reply#: 6644 ) |
seejay2 |
I was stuck on the Milwaukee Braves, Eddie Mathews in particular, but I have no pix at all...Cj |
07-08-2011
( Reply#: 6646 ) |
Roger D |
Oh, you poor misguided children!!! The ST. Louis Cardinals all the way. Especially former Cubie the GREAT LOU BROCK.[;)][:D] |
07-08-2011
( Reply#: 6648 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Yeah, Eddie Matthews was great - in '59, the trio of Matthews/Aaron/Joe Adcock was amazing (I still remember the day when Adcock hit 4 homers in a single game). In St Louis it was STAN the MAN Musial who held all us kiddies in awe.
LR |
07-11-2011
( Reply#: 6654 ) |
LegulusQ |
Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I'm a Cubs fan. Mainly because my Dad was a Cubs fan, and his Dad was a Cubs fan. (Actually, most people I know that follow them say they are a Cub fan). I remember my Grandpa hated Jack Brickhouse so much that he would watch the games with the TV sound off and listen to Jack Quinlan on the radio!
My favorite all-time player was "sweet-swinging" Billy Williams! I once saw Billy hit four or five home runs during a double-header at Wrigley.
I remember being heartbroken the day Kenny Hubbs died in the plane crash. He was destined for big things had he lived.
I actually got to play softball at Wrigley during the summer of the baseball strike (1979-80?). We had a team at the school where I was teaching at that time, and we played a game against the Cubs' management. We played backwards, as it were, with home plate out at the 400 sign in center field. We had fans sitting along the "first base line", actually the left field home of the Bleacher Bums! One of their guys came up in the bottom of the 1st inning and hit an absolute rocket out to center field! I had never seen anybody hit a softball like that, and was quite amazed. Then when we went in to bat, I looked over and discovered the reason why: they were using the Cubs' hardball bats! So I snuck one of them over to our side (Keith Moreland's signature bat actually), and leveled the playing field. I ended up hitting one out of the ballpark to left field, actually the stands along the right field foul line! Ahhh, the glory days, as Bruce Springsteen sings! But I can tell my kids that I hit one out of Wrigley Field, even if it was in the "wrong direction"!
Craig |
07-12-2011
( Reply#: 6655 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Craig--
We're talkin' LUIS APARICIO here, for Pete's sake!
PS. For years, we owned 1960s Sox pitcher Frank Bauman's personal FUNGO bat...now THAT was a fun way to hit flyballs to your friends...watching them scattering all over the place trying to field them.
PPS. We hated Brickhouse, too. I still have a cassette recording of him from a 1978 game, wailing and moaning when his favorite "Brucie" Sutter's split-fingered fastball failed and the Pirates battered him in a late-inning comeback. Even the WGN newscaster, Marty McNeeley--who was showing the clip from the game at night---mocked Jack's embarrassing melt-down.
Larry |
07-12-2011
( Reply#: 6657 ) |
seejay2 |
Love 'em or hate 'em, personalities like Brickhouse and Caray added a lot of character to the broadcasts that cannot be be replaced.
Kinda like replacing "Curly" with Joe Besser...Cj |
07-12-2011
( Reply#: 6659 ) |
Roger D |
Bob Anderson, former Cubs pitcher, grew up in Hessville close to where I lived. While he played for the Cubs he stored his car in my best friend's garage during the season while on the road. |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6660 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
The real heyday of Chicago baseball announcing in my opinion was the period when Caray and Jimmy Piersall were teamed up with the White Sox; few people seem to remember them. In fact, Caray is remembered almost exclusively as the Cubs announcer, which is bizarre--he was with the Sox for 10 years or so, and when Piersall joined him, it was totally nuts---you never knew what they would say next. But it was still very informative, because Piersall was such a knowledgeable guy. I think the Piersall/Caray era with the Sox was 1977 ("South Side Hitmen" summer) to '83, when a drunken Jerry Reinsdorf called them "scum of the earth" on camera while celebrating the Sox playoff win that year. That was the end for them.
[V]
LR |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6661 ) |
seejay2 |
Like the old man used to say:
"Money talks;bull**** walks"...Cj |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6662 ) |
tom w |
Piersoll and Carey.What a couple of nuts, well ONE anyway for sure. Not too far off subject, do you remember Lou Boudrow and his interview with Eric Nesterenko? And of course the day that someone climbed under Fahey Flynn's desk and Faheywas off the air for a few days. Thanks for more memories guys. Tom W |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6663 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
I heard a "secret" Boudreau interview where he was having a ball egging on somebody (was it Durocher?); whoever the interviewee was, it was a hilarious, foul-mouthed tirade that had Lou cracking up so bad he could hardly ask the questions.
I also heard an old Brickhouse tape--he was doing some off-season, winter broadcasting somewhere (maybe during his football years?). He didn't know he was being recorded, and he was bitching and moaning to his assistant about the cold, the long hours, lousy pay, unheated booth, etc. It was outrageous and hilarious at the same time. You NEVER would have expected old mild-mannered Jack to have it in him, but his "off-mike", ballistic tirade proved that he could match ANYBODY in terms of foul-mouthed swearing and cursing![}:)] A real classic---I just wish I could remember who owned the recording that I heard.
LR |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6664 ) |
tom w |
Lou had a after-game interview each game. He usually stayed with guys like Hull, Stapleton. Makita etc. Nester was not a skilled communicator. He only interviewed him once that I remember.Lou was trying to think up something to talk about so he asks Eric something like "Suppose you are in a situation where you have the puck and no one has cleared the blue line and you are two on one. What goes thru your mind?" Eric looks down for a minute then looks at Lou and says "I guess I just want to get the puck outta there." Lou choked and the cameraman laughed so hard, the picture shook and they went to commercial. Thats how I remember it anyway. Tom W
|
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6665 ) |
Roger D |
Harry Caray was with the St. Louis Cardinals for years before coming to the Cubs. The rumor was that he was sleeping with Bing Devine's wife (He was the Cards VP). He was fired and run out of town, so the story goes. |
07-13-2011
( Reply#: 6666 ) |
tom w |
In my post above,I mentioned Fahey Flynn. It wasn't him, it was Len OConner. My apology to the Flynn family. Tom W[xx(] |
07-14-2011
( Reply#: 6667 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
I'm sure Lou Boudreau had more than one interview that turned crazy. The one I heard was definitely baseball (I think it was Durocher, who was really going berserk as Lou egged him on), but I'm sure it wasn't a live interview---Lou never would have survived as an announcer if it was on the air. It was clearly after they were off the air, and Lou was just having a good time being naughty. I'll try to find it and the Brickhouse winter/football melt-down. They might be posted on-line.
LR |
07-14-2011
( Reply#: 6680 ) |
tom w |
Yeah. you are right Larry. The only reason we remember the hockey stuff is we had every hockey game on in our joint on Hohman Ave. We gave a free drink for a hat trick and some of the players dropped in from time to time cause Patty Stapleton lived in Cal City.
Do you remember the incident with Len OConner? I just happened to see that one. It was one of those unrehursed things where you sit and watch the screen and scratch your head and say "Did he just say what I think he said?" Hilarious. tom w |
07-14-2011
( Reply#: 6681 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Tom-
I didn't see the Len O'Connor thing, but I'm vaguely aware of it.
I'm curious---give us the details!
Larry |
07-14-2011
( Reply#: 6682 ) |
tom w |
As I remember. If you saw Len back then, he was one of the serious newsmen like Hugh Hill and a very young Walter Jacobson. Very "Ace Crime Reporter" melodramatic. Anyway Len was sitting behind his desk reading his political comments when he started shifting his position and kept on reading. Then he stopped and quickly shifted and glanced off to the side and said "Now" and immediately continued reading. It was now obvious that something was going on and he was very mad. Suddenly he threw his papers down and pushed back his chair and looked under his desk and said "Now G-- D---it." You could then hear some people laughing off camera. the whole thing was over in a few seconds. Suddenly there was a commercial. Hilarious. Tom W |
07-15-2011
( Reply#: 6685 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
But what was actually going on?
Larry |
07-15-2011
( Reply#: 6686 ) |
Tom J |
I think he was just taping his commentary and something upset him. I heard that he was watching at home and realized too late that the station was airing the wrong "take." That's what he gets for taking the Lord's name in vain. |
07-16-2011
( Reply#: 6688 ) |
tom w |
That's more than I ever heard, Tom. I never knew any more than I wrote above. Glad you are feeling better, Tom. Tom W |
