Great messages in this piece, after I got through that sobering bad news paragraph. Three of the items that resonated with me: 1. The mention of Bill Skowron; 2.The back story of Tony Jackson; 3. The message on the plaque at Franklin Field.
Growing up in '50s-'60s as a Yankees fan, I too admired the "Moose. A hard-nosed Chicago kid with a pug face, he could hit to right & right-center with power from that level bat right-side stance. Interesting that HE was your hero rather than any of the "glamour boys" (e.g., Joe D, Mick, Whitey, etc.) of which the Yankees had many.
As a Hoosier kid, of course I dreamed of basketball stardom. Unfortunately, late growth and lack of talent got in the way of my plan. While trying to learn a jump shot in the late '50s, I clearly recall seeing Tony a few times on televised Redmens' games. What a smooth player with the sweetest early jump shot he was!
And that plaque that you saw frequently while playing at Franklin Field— how inspirational, and thoughtful!
I agree with you that LeBron seems like one of the good guys. I hope he has big success in his final chapter in Philly.
I wasn’t among the celebrants at LeBron James’ signing. He couldn’t help Washington when he played for it (74-90 over his two seasons there), and he is apt to be a distraction more than anything.
Your boyhood hero was Moose Skowron; mine was Gil Hodges, the only man except for the Pope that every Catholic church in Brooklyn prayed for when he couldn’t buy a hit in the 1952 World Series.
Nick Altrock did play in a major league game at age 57, but so did Minnie Minoso, who definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. And Satchel Paige started a game for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at 58 (his pitching line: three shutout innings; one hit; one strikeout).
I enjoyed this, Dan, and wholeheartedly agree. Except...for the bit about Trump and Putin. Aside from their respective ages, and that they don't really have a "next career", I don't believe either thinks that way. Even more so, the question, "What have you accomplished that will last?" that might be a corollary to, "Are you the greatest?" would not get an honest answer from either of them.
From reader Terry McDaniel:
Great messages in this piece, after I got through that sobering bad news paragraph. Three of the items that resonated with me: 1. The mention of Bill Skowron; 2.The back story of Tony Jackson; 3. The message on the plaque at Franklin Field.
Growing up in '50s-'60s as a Yankees fan, I too admired the "Moose. A hard-nosed Chicago kid with a pug face, he could hit to right & right-center with power from that level bat right-side stance. Interesting that HE was your hero rather than any of the "glamour boys" (e.g., Joe D, Mick, Whitey, etc.) of which the Yankees had many.
As a Hoosier kid, of course I dreamed of basketball stardom. Unfortunately, late growth and lack of talent got in the way of my plan. While trying to learn a jump shot in the late '50s, I clearly recall seeing Tony a few times on televised Redmens' games. What a smooth player with the sweetest early jump shot he was!
And that plaque that you saw frequently while playing at Franklin Field— how inspirational, and thoughtful!
I agree with you that LeBron seems like one of the good guys. I hope he has big success in his final chapter in Philly.
From reader Robert Zaller:
An interesting column that took me way back.
I wasn’t among the celebrants at LeBron James’ signing. He couldn’t help Washington when he played for it (74-90 over his two seasons there), and he is apt to be a distraction more than anything.
Your boyhood hero was Moose Skowron; mine was Gil Hodges, the only man except for the Pope that every Catholic church in Brooklyn prayed for when he couldn’t buy a hit in the 1952 World Series.
Nick Altrock did play in a major league game at age 57, but so did Minnie Minoso, who definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. And Satchel Paige started a game for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at 58 (his pitching line: three shutout innings; one hit; one strikeout).
I enjoyed this, Dan, and wholeheartedly agree. Except...for the bit about Trump and Putin. Aside from their respective ages, and that they don't really have a "next career", I don't believe either thinks that way. Even more so, the question, "What have you accomplished that will last?" that might be a corollary to, "Are you the greatest?" would not get an honest answer from either of them.
Wait— you mean Trump and Putin like their government jobs and have no further ambitions?