With even one eye shut and one ear covered it would have been hard to miss all of the acrimony expressed by and toward our elected representatives in recent days. And, some are saying, that this is unprecedented—this loss of civility, this frank hatred, including acts of vandalism and threats of murder.

Many are decrying the failure of some Republican politicians to rebuke the hate-mongers in an unconditional and decisive fashion, as Republican Representative John Boehner has: “I know many Americans are angry over this health insurance bill, and that Washington Democrats just aren’t listening. But, as I’ve said, violence and threats are unacceptable. That’s not the American way. We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change.”

Well, unfortunately, angry words and angry actions are really nothing new in “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” You will find them on both the political left and the political right within living memory: the violent “Weather Underground” of the Vietnam War era, The Black Panthers, the lynchings of blacks in the period between the end of the Civil War and the passage of Civil Rights legislation, the hate crimes against gays, the gauntlet of verbal abuse shouted at black children trying to integrate the schools of Mississippi and Alabama in the mid-20th century, the bombing of abortion clinics; the Oklahoma City bombing; the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy; and on and on.

But, every so often in the midst of all this angst—this stuff that makes one despair about the human condition—someone stands up and does something remarkable; something that makes you proud to be an American, and hopeful about the future of the human race.

Turn the page of your history book back to 1947 and to Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first black man permitted to play in the Major Leagues in the 20th century. What follows is heavily dependent upon (and quotes from) Jules Tygiel’s Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy.

—

Robinson faced a revolt by some of his own teammates who attempted to organize a petition against him. Kentucky-born Pee Wee Reese, who was to become a great friend and supporter of Robinson, later remembered, “In the park that I grew up in, there were no blacks allowed. Blacks got in the back of the buses, they had a special fountain to drink from. I don’t guess that I ever shook the hand of a black person.” Reese expected Robinson to fail because white people in his part of the country always believed that Negroes had no guts.

“You hear this all your life, you believe it.”

The petition died aborning because most of the players would have no part of it, and because of threats from management. But the bigoted sentiments were still there for Robinson to deal with. His teammate Kirby Higbe was asked on a radio interview how he’d come by such a strong arm. His answer? From pelting Negroes with rocks.

Dodger manager Leo Durocher laid down the law: “I don’t care if a guy is yellow or black, of if he has stripes like a f___in’ zebra. I’m the manager of this team and I say he plays.”

The Philadelphia Phillies were the worst of the race-baiters. Led by Alabaman Ben Chapman, the Phillies showered unspeakable derision on Robinson in their first series with the Dodgers early in the 1947 season.

According to Harold Parrott, “At no time in my life have I heard racial venom and dugout abuse to match the abuse that Ben sprayed on Robinson that night. Chapman mentioned everything from thick lips to the supposed extra-thick Negro skull…(and) the repulsive sores and diseases he said Robinson’s teammates would become infected with if they touched the towels or combs he used.”

Chapman knew that Robinson couldn’t fight back because of the disruption that would cause, the very thing that many predicted and used as an excuse to defend the segregation of the Major Leagues. Everyone soon came to know that Robinson, who received varsity letters in four sports at UCLA, was a sitting duck. “Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin,” Robinson later said. “But I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment…The whole thing was bigger than me.”

One teammate thought that Robinson, the sole black on the field, was the loneliest man he had ever seen. Red Barber, the Dodger’s radio announcer, said that Robinson was the only man he had ever seen who could actually play better when he was angry.

The death threats flooded in—the people who wrote that they would be carrying a rifle into the ball park to kill him. Opponents tried to spike him, pitchers threw at his head and body. Even his Southern teammates received hate-mail for allowing themselves to take the field with a “n____r.”

But Robinson’s teammates stood up to Ben Chapman and the Phillies. Fellow Alabaman Eddie Stanky called Chapman a coward. Meanwhile the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team plotted a May strike against Robinson and the Dodgers. Ford Frick, the National Baseball League President, quashed the strike and faced down the Cardinals:

If you do this you will be suspended from the League. You will find that the friends you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts. I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter strict retribution. They will be suspended, and I don’t care if it wrecks the National League for five years. This is the United States of America, and one citizen has as much right to play as another.

The National League will go down the line with Robinson whatever the consequence. You will find that if you go through with your intention that you will have been guilty of madness.

—

As I said earlier, we have been here before, in this dark place in America that seems to surface especially in difficult economic times or in times of change, of which we have both just now. America is changing today, just as it was changing in 1947, and that metamorphosis brings out the worst in some of us. But the courage of people like Jackie Robinson, and the decisive confrontation of unfairness by people like Ford Frick, are heartening.

At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey made an impassioned speech in advocacy of a strong civil rights plank that failed to become a part of the Democratic Party’s platform in that year’s election. His words are worth remembering, as he recalled the founding of the nation in 1776:

To those who say, ‘we are rushing this issue of civil rights,’ I say we are 172 years late. To those who say, ‘this issue of civil rights is an infringement on states rights,’ I say that the time has arrived for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of state’s rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.

—

Eventually most of Robinson’s skeptical teammates and competitors came to think differently and act differently than they had, at least to the point of accepting that blacks had as much right to play the “Great American Pastime” as they did. Still, the animosity did not end immediately.

As noted by Stuart Miller in the April 25, 2010 New York Times, Robinson continued to be the target of pitched balls in those days before batting helmets. In his first eights seasons he was lower than third in HBP (Hit By Pitches) only once. Moreover, the handful of blacks then in the National League—people like Monte Irvin, Sam Jethroe, George Crowe, Billy Bruton, Ernie Banks, and Hank Thompson—were similarly treated. In the American League, Larry Doby, Luke Easter, and Minnie Minoso found it no different.

Time passed, the hard-line bigots left the game, and others who were more open and less shocked and offended by integration took over the field of play. When Ernie Banks joined the Chicago Cubs in 1953, management saw to it that he join the club at the same time as (and roomed with) Gene Baker, so as to avoid the issue of having one black man and one white man live together.

It took 10 years from the time of Robinson’s debut for the Philadelphia Phillies to allow a black man into a Major League uniform, with the Detroit Tigers behind them. The last to integrate was the Boston Red Sox squad in mid-1959.

Along the way America changed too, for the better. And one must believe that the voices of the fulminating, frustrated few on the political landscape today will eventually be replaced by those who are less self-righteous and more in control of their emotions.

As a therapist it is impossible to do my work without believing that people can change.

It doesn’t always happen, of course.

But it happens more than enough to keep pitching.

]]> http://zellspinstripedblog.com/2010/02/04/pinch-hitting-at-the-lohud-yankees-blog-mel-allen-the-voice-of-the-yankees/ Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:00:38 +0000 Kevin Rozell http://zellspinstripedblog.com/2010/02/04/pinch-hitting-at-the-lohud-yankees-blog-mel-allen-the-voice-of-the-yankees/

This blog post is a piece I wrote for the “Pinch Hitter Series” over at The LoHud Yankees Blog. I want to thank Yankees beat writer Chad Jennings for giving me the opportunity to participate. I have a great appreciation for the rich history of this great franchise, and I thought it would be great to pay tribute to one of it’s finest characters. Here is the uncut version of my entry:

“Hello there, everybody!” That’s one of the many catchphrases you might have heard by Melvin Allen Israel during his Yankees broadcasts. He was born on February 14, 1913, in Birmingham, Alabama. His love for the game of baseball as a young boy would play a big role in his life.

The future sportscaster attended the University of Alabama where he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity as an undergraduate. He served as the public address announcer at Alabama football games. In 1933, Birmingham’s WBRC was in need of a new play-by-play announcer and Alabama coach Frank Thomas suggested Israel to fill the position. It was his first job behind the microphone. Israel’s first broadcast was Alabama’s home opener that year, against Tulane. He went on to earn a law degree from Alabama, but that wasn’t a major priority in his life. His boyhood love for baseball led him to become first a sports columnist and then a radio announcer.

Soon after graduating from Alabama in 1937, Allen took a train to New York City for a vacation, and he never turned back. While on vacation, he auditioned for the CBS Radio Network as a staff announcer. They already knew about him, as the network’s top sportscaster, Ted Husing, had heard many of his Crimson Tide broadcasts. They hired him at $45 a week. In his first year at CBS, he announced the crash of the Hindenburg. CBS suggested that Mel go by a different on-air last name, so he chose Allen, his father’s middle name. He legally changed his last name to Allen in 1943. That week’s vacation became 60 years. He settled in New York and lived in the metro area for many years.

In 1938, Mel landed his first major league baseball assignment, as a color commentator for the World Series. Not long after that, Wheaties wanted Allen to replace Arch McDonald as the voice of the Senators, but Washington’s owner Clark Griffith wanted Walter Johnson behind the microphone. McDonald was moving to New York as the first full-time radio voice of the NY Yankees and NY Giants. His big break came in June 1939, when Garnett Marks, McDonald’s partner on Yankee broadcasts, twice mispronounced Ivory soap as “Ovary Soap.” He was fired and Allen replaced him. McDonald went back to Washington after only one season, so Allen became the Yankees and Giants lead announcer. He was able to do the work for both teams because only the home games were broadcast.

Among Allen’s many catchphrases, there was also “How about that?!”,”Going, going, gone!” on home runs and “Three and two. What’ll he do?” His trademark home run calls, “Ballantine Blasts” and “White Owl Wallops,” were ads for beer and cigars. Mel famously lost his voice during the 1963 World Series, in which the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in a four-game sweep.

Allen recounted a memory that occurred during his first full season as the announcer of the Yankees. Lou Gehrig had been forced to retire the previous year due to the disease he was fighting, which later turned out to be fatal. Gehrig spoke to Mel in the team’s dugout and said, “Mel, I never got a chance to listen to your games before, because I was playing every day. But I want you to know they’re the only thing that keeps me going.” Allen waited until Gehrig left the dugout, then broke down in tears.

Mel’s stint with the Yankees and Giants was interrupted in 1941, when there was no sponsor for both the Yankees and Giants and they went off the air. The broadcasts resumed in 1942, and Allen took over his old positions. In 1943, he entered the U.S. Army during World War II. While in the service, he broadcast on The Army Hour and the Armed Forces Radio. After the war, he did Yankees games exclusively because team’s road games were also part of the broadcast schedule. His gold standard was the Yankees. He was famously dubbed the “Voice of the Yankees” baseball team and worked for them from 1939 to 1964. Allen all together called 22 World Series on radio and television, including 18 in a row from 1946-1963. When the Yankees didn’t appear in the Fall Classic, he was called upon anyway to be the play-by-play man (which only happened four times in 18 years).

In 1964, he was fired at only 51-years of age. Back in September of that year, the Yankees informed Allen that his contract would not be renewed. Baseball Commissioner Ford C. Frick honored the Yankees request to have Phil Rizzuto join the broadcast crew instead. Allen had missed a World Series for which the Yankees were eligible for the first time since 1943, and only the second time since he began calling baseball games in 1938.

The Yankees received tons of letters from angry fans about Allen’s absence from the series. The team issued a press release announcing Allen’s firing, and he was replaced by Joe Garagiola. The Yankees never gave an explanation for Allen’s firing, and all you heard were rumors. Some of the rumors included that he was homosexual (because he never married or had any children), an alcoholic, a drug addict, had a nervous breakdown or the medications he was on affected his on-air performance. Some said that the heavy workload didn’t allow him to take care of his health. Years later, Allen said he was fired under pressure from the team’s longtime sponsor, Ballantine Beer as a cost-cutting move because they had poor sales for years. Mel left the Yankees and broadcasted games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1965 and the Cleveland Indians in 1968. He didn’t commit to either team full-time though. In 1977, he started “This Week in Baseball”, which was a show consisting of the past weeks baseball highlights.

Eventually, the Yankees allowed him to perform as a speaker at special Yankee Stadium ceremonies. He did Old-Timers’ Day, which he originally handled when he was the lead announcer. Even though Frank Messer (who joined the club in 1968) took the emcee’s role, Allen called the exhibition game between the old timers. He was also able to take part in the number-retirement ceremonies. He worked for the Yankees again from 1976 to 1985 and was brought back to the Yankees’ on-air team as a pre/post-game host for the cable telecasts with John Sterling. He also started called play-by-play again. Mel announced Yankees cable telecasts on SportsChannel New York with Phil Rizzuto, Bill White, Frank Messer, and occasionally, Fran Healy. Allen made several appearances on Yankee telecasts and commercials into the late 1980s. In 1990, Allen called play-by-play for a WPIX Yankees game to become baseball’s first seven-decade announcer.

Awards and Accolades

• Inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1972.
• 1978 – Mel was the first recipient (with Red Barber) of the Ford C. Frick Award
• Inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
• Inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
• Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
• Ranked #2 by the American Sportscasters Association in its list of the Top 50 Sportscasters of All-Time (January 2009).

It’s about 71 years ago that Mel Allen first stepped behind the microphone for the New York Yankees. His knowledge of the game and his Southern charm was a big part of his popularity, especially from 1949-1964, when almost every October meant World Series time in the Bronx. He witnessed Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Roger Maris’ record breaking 61 home runs, Lou Gehrig’s famous speech (he actually introduced him) and also introduced the stricken Babe Ruth at his sad 1948 goodbye. He dubbed DiMaggio “Joltin’ Joe,” Tommy Henrich “Old Reliable,” and Phil Rizzuto “The Scooter.”

For a quarter-century, Allen’s voice defined sports radio and television. Variety Magazine called his among “the world’s 25 most recognizable voices.” He did numerous broadcasts for the World Series, All-Star Game, Rose Bowl, Movietone Newsreels, and other marquee events. After all that, he is best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees.

Mr. Allen moved to Greenwich, Connecticut in his later years and died on June 16, 1996. Years after his death, he is still promoted as having been the “Voice of the New York Yankees.” On July 25, 1998, the Yankees dedicated a plaque in his memory for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The plaque stands in the new ballpark today and it calls him “A Yankee institution, a national treasure.”  

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0020827/, http://www.museum.tv/rhofsection.php?page=160, http://espn.go.com/classic/s/moment010616_mel_allen.html

Bragan was from Alabama and got to the majors in 1940 as a shortstop with the Phillies. He played 597 games over 7 seasons, the last four years with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He spent most of his time as a backup shortstop and catcher. For a career he hit .240 with 15 home runs and 172 RBIs. He was one of the Dodgers players who signed the infamous petition to keep Jackie Robinson off the Dodgers prior to the 1947 season. After his playing days ended he served as a manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 and 1957, for the Cleveland Indians in 1958, and for the Braves (both in Milwaukee and Atlanta) from 1963-1966. He had a .481 winning percentage as a manager and never finished above 5th. 

“Hold it,” I hear you say, “this guy was a marginal player, a failed manager, a racist, and he’s a hero of yours? What gives?”  Let me tell you.

I once heard an interview with the Dodgers radio play-by-play man Red Barber, also a Southerner, in which he acknowledged his racism in 1946 and then commented that in terms of race Jackie Robinson ”matured” him. Bragan was never that eloquent, but I think he might have agreed with the sentiment. Within a few weeks of Robinson’s arrival in Brooklyn, Bragan had changed his mind about Robinson. He saw him as a superior player, as a good person, saw the abuse the man took, and saw Robinson’s response to it. Somewhere along the line, Bragan had an epiphany and decided that he was wrong and that Robinson, and by extension black Americans, was OK. He became one of Robinson’s best friends on the Dodgers, later served as an honorary pallbearer at Robinson’s funeral. I’ve seen a picture of Bragan and Rachel Robinson embracing. As a manager he became known as a sympathetic ear and something of a mentor to black and Latin ballplayers, most specifically Roberto Clemente. He solidly backed Hank Aaron in the rush to the home run record.

Most of us, me included, have a lot of trouble finding an internal flaw. We tend to ignore them and when confronted with one fall back on “it’s not my fault” or “who, me?” or some such response. Bragan didn’t.  He confronted his racism head on, saw it’s evil, and changed his ways. Then he became a supporter of that which he’d previously despised. Quite a change for anyone. That makes him a hero of mine. Rest in peace, Bobby.

————————————————————————————–

The 10 biggest hits of the 2009 regular season

AL East outlook: Yankees, Red Sox still setting the pace

Betcha $13 million Johnny Damon doesn’t retire this offseason

Stat Of The Day: Yanks Team Of The Decade

As Spring Training approaches, the sounds of baseball are making their return to Florida and Arizona.

But fans will really know the 2010 season is at hand when their favorite broadcasters return to the airwaves with the debut of the exhibition season.

For many, the National Pastime is incomplete without the voices and descriptions of the men and women on radio and television. And during the first week of February, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will honor the best of the best with the announcement of the winner of the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters.

The 10 finalists for the 2010 Frick Award will be considered by the Frick Award Committee, which consists of the 15 living Frick Award winners and five historians. The Committee consists of past honorees Marty Brennaman, Jerry Coleman, Gene Elston, Joe Garagiola, Ernie Harwell, Jaime Jarrin, Milo Hamilton, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Dave Niehaus, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Lon Simmons, Bob Uecker and Bob Wolff – and historians/columnists Bob Costas, Barry Horn, Stan Isaacs, Ted Patterson and Curt Smith.

The 10 finalists for the 2010 Frick Award are: Billy Berroa, Skip Caray, Tom Cheek, Jacques Doucet, Lanny Frattare, Graham McNamee, Jon Miller, Joe Nuxhall, Herb Score and Dave Van Horne. Bios of each of the 10 finalists are being posted daily at www.baseballhall.org.

The 2010 Ford C. Frick Award winner will be honored at Hall of Fame Induction Weekend July 23-26 in Cooperstown.

Craig Muder is director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The bubbling world of social networking is getting even busier at the Hall of Fame.

The baseball season ended a month ago and we’re over 100 days away from Opening Day, but the Hall’s Facebook site started buzzing this morning and most likely will remain at a fever pitch through the end of the month.

Why? Fan voting started for the 2010 Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. The people are speaking and they are letting us know which broadcasters deserve to be honored with legends like Mel Allen, Red Barber, Vin Scully and Jack Buck. Growing up in Kansas City, 2007 Frick winner Denny Mathews provided the soundtrack to my summers. And now fans of this great game can make their voices heard on Facebook.

From now through Dec. 31, 2009 at 5 p.m. EST, fans will choose three broadcasters to be placed on the final ballot. They and seven other finalists and will be voted on in January and the 2010 honoree will be announced in February.

In order to vote, please visit the Hall of Fame Facebook page at www.facebook.com/baseballhall. Frick voting is listed under the polls tab at the top of the page. Fans must have a Facebook account and must be logged in to cast a vote, but voting is unlimited. Vote totals appearing on the site may not be current.

• Vote for the Frick Award on Facebook
• Overview of Frick Award
• Press Release
• Bios for qualified active broadcasters
• Bios for qualified retired broadcasters

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Long Ball by Tom Adelman — In his debut as a baseball writer, Tom Adelman deftly reconstructs the 1975 season and World Series, which pitted the underdog Boston Red Sox against Cincinnati’s famed “Big Red Machine.” The author also provides an excellent look back at the advent of free agency and how it was beginning to change the game.

Ball Four by Jim Bouton — What is literally a day-by-day chronicle of the 1969 Seattle Pilots season functions more like a hilarious memoir of baseball in the ’60s. Bouton’s stories about Mickey Mantle and the fun-loving Yankees left him ostracized from the organization for decades and drew harsh words from then-Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

Stengel: His Life and Times by Robert W. Creamer — I only recently read this book, but wish I had done so sooner. From Casey Stengel’s upbringing at the turn of the century to his playing days in the National League to his management of the 1950s Yankee dynasty, Creamer proves he is one of the sport’s best biographers.

Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams — Co-authored by the two San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporters who first broke the story, this quick and engrossing read details the steroids scandal which implicated Barry Bonds, BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) and several medal-winning Olympic athletes.

Summer of ’49 by David Halberstam — This is one of three terrific baseball books Halberstam wrote prior to his untimely death in 2007, but it is far and away the best of the bunch. No other book I’ve read has examined the importance of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams on their respective teams, and “Summer of ’49″ takes an excellent look at the baseball press corps to boot.

October Men by Roger Kahn — Like Halberstam’s work, this is yet another in a long line of books about the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, and this might just be the best. Kahn has a very colorful cast of characters with which to work (including Bucky Dent, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner and Don Zimmer) and does great justice to the 1978 season.

Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Leavy — One of the best baseball biographies out there, Leavy’s book is a fascinating study of the reserved left-hander who led the Los Angeles Dodgers to glory in the early 1960s. From his youth in Brooklyn to his preemptive retirement in 1966, Koufax remains one of the most intriguing figures in baseball history.

The Bad Guys Won! by Jeff Pearlman — I remember looking at this title in the bookstore and thinking it must be about one of the recent Yankee teams, but I was wrong; it’s about their cross-town rivals, the New York Mets, and Pearlman tells with great detail the story of their 1986 bad-boy championship squad.

The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S. Ritter — Right on the front cover, no less authority than the late Red Barber calls this “The single best baseball book of all time.” First published in 1966, Ritter’s work uses in-depth player interviews and a terrific collection of photos to chronicle baseball early in the 20th century.

The Pitch That Killed by Mike Sowell — Though this book examines one of the most tragic incidents in any sport, it is nonetheless a page-turner and a compelling read. Sowell not only reviews the events leading up to Ray Chapman’s fatal beaning, but also the three-team race for the American League pennant in 1920, which included Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker.

Tommie Agee, centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the 1969 world champion New York Mets, died of a heart attack Monday at age 58, too young. I last saw Agee about 15 years ago, in the offices of New York’s Queens Borough President, where he was trying to find funding for a program for the underprivileged. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Agee embraced the city that embraced him, and as an alumnus of baseball before free agency, he needed to earn a living after his playing days and opted for a town where he remained a famous name.

Agee was the offensive leader on a team that won an unlikely championship with pitching and defense. After Agee sparked a victory over the Chicago Cubs, the team that looked to be running away with the National League’s Eastern Division in the summer of 1969, Chicago’s pitcher threw at Agee’s head in his first at bat the next day. Agee dove headlong into the dirt to avoid the bean ball, dusted himself off, and tripled, a symbolic moment that showed the Mets would not go away.

In Game Three of the 1969 World Series, Agee had what might have been the greatest day in Series history. (And as a 13 year old cutting school for a seat in the upper deck at the first fall classic game ever at Shea Stadium, it was certainly my greatest day in World Series history.) Agee homered leading off against the Baltimore Orioles’ Hall of Fame pitcher and underwear model Jim Palmer, then singlehandedly made that run stand up. In the fourth inning, Agee sprinted, back to home plate, to catch a slicing drive high above his head, backhanded, that saved two runs. In the seventh inning, his diving catch on the warning track with the bases loaded saved at least three runs. The Mets won 5-0, for a 2-1 Series lead, and put the Orioles away within 48 hours to win a most improbable championship.

But this Commentary is not about Tommie Agee or the indomitability of the human spirit that made the 1969 Mets the flesh and blood version of the little engine that could. Agee’s grabs drew immediately comparisons with the greatest in World Series history: Sandy Amoros’ mad dash in 1955 through a vacant leftfield in Yankee Stadium to pull in Yogi Berra’s bid for an opposite field home run; Brooklyn’s Al “Gionfrioddo goes back, back, back and makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen; oooh, doctor,” as Red Barber called it, to pluck Joe DiMaggio’s drive in 1947 (in a rare display of emotion on the field, DiMaggio kicked the dirt as he rounded second base, his sure home run transformed into out number three); and what is generally regarded as the greatest robbery ever, Willie Mays—whose 1972 acquisition by the Mets ran Agee out of town temporarily—on Vic Wertz in the 1954 classic.

Tie game, eighth inning, two men on. Indians slugger Wertz already has three hits off Giants’ starter Sal Maglie, so New York manager Leo Durocher calls for a relief pitcher, lefthander Don Liddle. Wertz says he never hit a ball harder, into the vast expanse of the Polo Grounds’ centerfield, where the fence was nearly 500 feet from home plate and the steps up to the clubhouse were in play. Mays chased down the drive like a wide receiver, made the catch with his back to the infield about 460 feet from the launch point, then threw a strike that kept the runner on second from scoring. Many witnesses (including Mickey Mantle worshipper Bob Costas) place Mays’ play in the realm of the impossible; there is no way a ball hit that hard and far could be caught.

The lesson for investors doesn’t come from Mays or Wertz, but from the pitcher, Liddle. After the catch, the Giants manager Leo Durocher went to the mound to remove Liddle, since he’d given up a blast that would have been a home run in any other park, including Yellowstone. As was the custom in those days, Liddle waited on the mound until his replacement came in from the bullpen. When the new pitcher reached the mound, Liddle offered these words of encouragement: “I got my guy.”

Sometimes the bottom line doesn’t quite get to the bottom of things.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.

JOHN STERLING

I was amused to read an Associated Press story today by a writer who had the naivete to suggest that John Sterling is a successor to Mel Allen. It is true that Sterling has a job analogous to Mel’s old job, but he’s about as much a successor to Mel as I am a successor to St. Stephen.

The writer refers to Sterling as “the voice of the Yankees,” which is what Suzan Waldman calls Sterling when she introduces him on the radio broadcasts. Frank Messer, who took over when Mel was inexplicably fired, had the grace to always introduce Mel as “the only real voice of the Yankees.”

Sterling and some other baseball broadcasters today are like carnival barkers. I had to laugh the other night when he was making his usual complaints about all the noise in the Blue Jays stadium. What about the noise he makes on the air during every game? Every home run is “high” and “far” whether it’s high and far or not …. and some fly balls are “high” and “far” that aren’t home runs at all. Anyone can find an old Yankee broadcast on the Internet and hear the difference between that and Mel’s mellow “going, going, gone.” And that’s to say nothing about the contrast between Mel’s “and the ballgame is over” and Sterling’s “theeeeeeeee Yankees win!!!!!!” Whenever I hear that I chuckle about the critics who used to call Mel a “homer” — meaning a Yankee partisan.

MEL ALLEN

The quality of baseball broadcasts isn’t helped any, of course, by the fact that almost every word that comes out of the announcers’ mouths is commercialized. The fifteenth out is sold, the call to the bullpen is sold. It won’t be long before there’s a sponsor for every time Nick Swisher looks up at the sky to make sure God is still there. “This look to the heavens is brought to you by ….” Announcers like Mel and Red Barber had it easier; they could talk about baseball for whole half innings at a time. But frankly, I’d rather hear Mel pitching White Owl cigars or Ballantine ale then listen to Sterling shrieking,  ”the Melkman delivers … that’s the Melky way!”

The AP report says Swisher likes that stuff.

He would.

The AP story is at the following link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jUoeWQsFlz_CsbkUuN-rVb6x3AGgD9B72ASG2

Filtration. Separation. Solution. win Quiz Cash contest for August despite their silly team name.

After months of trying and several second-place finishes, the team originally known as The Outsiders finally claimed the brass ring. Going by the name Filtration. Separation. Solution., the team cruised to a 17-point win over two-time defending champs Dirty Dixies and earned the crown as Quiz Cash champs for August.

The Dixies claim they were handicapped by team members leaving for vacation during August and vow to take back the title and the $150 cash prize. But they’ll be challenged by several teams that posted strong scores, including Chasin’ Trivia, Roger the Cabin Boy, Farty Towels and Guys & Dolls.

Farty Towels and Filtration. Separation. Solution won the free rounds of beer.

Last week I asked what word could be used in place of “album” to describe music that is downloaded. Lynette from Guys & Dolls suggested “DigiTraxx.” I liked her answer the best so her team picked up 2 bonus points. Other suggestions I liked included: Mubla (album spelled backwards and pronounced like Dracula would say it), a dub, an iAlbum (since Apple is slowing taking over the world), digital vinyl and ELP (electronic long play). Thanks to all who participated.

Trivial tidbits from the night included:

• Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote in all elections. The right was established in 1869 when Wyoming was a still a U.S. territory. Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington and California were the next states to allow women voters.
• Documentary film maker Michael Moore and former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry are Eagle Scouts.
• When Sanford’s favorite son Red Barber called the play-by-play for the first Major League baseball game broadcast on television on Aug. 26, 1939, there were only about 400 television sets in the New York metro area.

Final standings for August:

1. Filtration. Separation. Solution. – 364 points
2. Dirty Dixies – 347
3. Chasin’ Trivia – 343
4. Farty Towels – 333
5. Roger the Cabin Boy – 325
6. Guys & Dolls – 301
7. I am John Gault – 227
8. Golden Girls Tribute Band – 200
9. We Suck – 162
10. Not Coming In Last – 78
11. Trapezoid Walrus – 68
12. Drunk in the Corner – 61
13. Puddle Jumpers – 58
14. Team of Slackers – 35
15. Suck It Trebek – 26
16. MotherBoy – 23

• The Lakers are the only NBA team whose primary home jersey color isn’t white. It’s gold. However, since the 2002-03 season the team has worn white jerseys on Sunday and holiday home games.
• Roger Clemens was the first pitcher in history to strike out 20 batters in a 9-inning major league game, and he’s the only pitcher to do it twice.
• Seat belts became mandatory equipment on U.S. cars on March 1, 1968.
• The first big league baseball was game televised Aug. 26, 1939. The Cincinnati Reds played the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field. Sanford’s Red Barber, the Dodger’s play-by-play announcer, called the game for the NBC television audience. 
• Red Barber, who started in professional career in Cincinnati, was also behind the radio mike during the first ever night game when the Phillies played the Reds on May 24, 1935
• The airport code for Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, is SUX.
• President Gerald Ford played on two national championship football teams while attending the University of Michigan.
• At the ripe old age of 81, Clara Peller once served as the commercial spokesperson for Wendy’s (She was the “Where’s the beef?” lady.)
• It was Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” that caused Tom Cruise to dance around in his tighty whities in the movie “Risky Business.”
• From 1982 to 1993, Paul Shaffer was the leader of the “World’s Most Dangerous Band.”

All Major Leaguers wore the No. 42 yesterday in honor of one man. It’s amazing to me that a number can be retired throughout a sport to honor just one person. But then the accomplishments of Jackie Robinson are far beyond amazing.

I recently finished reading Jonathan Eig’s book Opening Day, about Robinson’s first season in the Majors. Let me just say this — I knew what he accomplished was hard, but I really had no clue. The truth about Robinson’s first season goes way beyond anything I ever knew beforehand.

The hatred he faced in the early part of the season is nothing I can even comprehend. Death threats — something Hank Aaron also received while chasing the Babe — were just the tip of it. He had really had no friends other than his wife and infant son. Players threatened to stop playing, thinking the game would continue without Robinson and other black players.

I was born after the Civil Rights Movement, so for me to try to understand the environment is tough. The book, however, gave me a good clue. One of Eig’s main sources was Jackie’s widow, Rachel Robinson. Between the research Eig did in newspapers and interviews with Rachel, the book painted a picture for me that I can more fully appreciate.

I had the good fortune to say hello and shake Rachel’s hand in November when the Hall of Fame dedicated the Character and Courage statues in the lobby of the Museum. Eig was also there that day and participated in a Voices of the Game event with Roberto Clemente‘s sons. I learned that day that baseball can mean so much more. The game follows the ebb and flow of the nation.

A lot of things have been said about why Branch Rickey signed Robinson. Regardless of the original reason, Robinson became an icon not just for African-Americans but for people throughout the country. He was Martin Luther King Jr. before the Civil Rights Movement had a face. Malcolm X charted Robinson’s batting average while listening to Red Barber on the radio.

The Robinsons were celebrated but were also outcasts. They lived a fairly secluded life, but Jackie may have been the most recognizable face in America — and most certainly was the most recognizable African-American next to Joe Louis.

His success that first season proved a color line should have never been drawn. He carried the team for parts of the season, and he made thousands of people instant Dodger fans. His style of play made the game a thrill ride. It was aggressive, it was fast-paced and it was exciting.

Babe Ruth changed the game with the home run, but Jackie Robinson revolutionized it. He opened the door, and talent flooded through. Larry Doby was in the Majors by July. Dan Bankhead joined the Dodgers for the playoff push. But Jackie was first. He faced unreal circumstances and showed he could flourish. The bravery, skill and spirit he displayed are attributes that we can admire.

Robinson deserves every bit of appreciation we can gather. He is immortalized here at the Hall of Fame in the Plaque Gallery. The month of November has been designated Character and Courage Month to celebrate Robinson and two players he shared those characteristics with — Clemente and Lou Gehrig. Their statues in the lobby serve as year-round reminders of traits we should all aspire to exhibit. The entrance to the Mets’ new ballpark, Citi Field, was dedicated to him. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda replicates the entrance to Ebbets Field where Jackie broke the color barrier. His No. 42 hangs in every ballpark, and yesterday it was on the back of every player to take the field.

Trevor Hayes is the editorial production manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Wednesday night, trail-blazing Montreal maestro Kent Nagano will lift his baton to conduct what is perhaps the world’s first symphonic ode to hockey. Meant to transport Montrealers back to the glory days of the Canadiens and the Montreal Forum, the Hockey Legends concert features an original score, Les Glorieux, punctuated by organ music, a jarring period buzz or two and some spoken-word performances by none other than hockey stars Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu, Guy Lafleur and Henri (Pocket Rocket) Richard. Nagano commissioned Quebec composer François Dompierre and writer Georges-Hébert Germain to create the piece, which will be performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal at Places des Arts concert hall….

Now, there have been a fair amount of baseball-themed symphonic pieces (including Robert Russell Bennett’s “Dodger Symphony,” with a cameo at the premiere by Red Barber himself), but this is the first I’ve heard of an ode to hockey in the concert hall. California native Nagano explained that it all came about as part of his ongoing effort to Get To Know His New Country:

Nagano began to immerse himself in hockey culture shortly after arriving to head the OSM in September, 2006, studying televised games and reading the biographies of legendary National Hockey League greats. But the conductor didn’t really get Canada’s hockey addiction until he attended his first live game: “It was so exciting to be in a jam-packed arena,” Nagano recalls. “I was impressed by the ferocity of the crowd’s emotions. There was such a personal investment and identification with the players. And the mood can change very, very quickly.”

Seems Nagano’s idea hit a responsive chord with the home-town crowd…Not only did they sell all 3,000 seats to the concert; the demand was so great that they also opened up the dress rehearsal to the public. The rest of the program? First Period: Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben ( A Hero’s Life) Second Period: Erik Satie’s Sports et divertissements ( Sports and Entertainment). Third Period: Dompierre’s Les Glorieux. No word on whether the Zamboni came out between pieces at the Place des Arts….

PS. Maybe there’s not a lot of symphonic music devoted to hockey, but there’s an entire site (Canadian, natch) devoted to music for hockey games….

Three time Emmy Award winning Washington, DC anchorman, Julian Barber, died of congestive heart failure at his home in Alexandria Wednesday, November 12. He was 75.

Barber was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and began his broadcasting career in 1949 at WSTS in Southern Pines, North Carolina. From there he went to WAYS in Charlotte.

From 1950 to 1952, he served in the Korean War as an Army war correspondent for the Far East Network. In that capacity, Mr. Barber broadcast the first official messages on behalf of General Matthew Ridgeway to enemy Korean forces during the UN armistice negotiations.

After receiving an Honorable Discharge, he accepted the job as news director of WGIV in Charlotte, NC and then moved up to a position as an anchorman at WSJS-TV in Winston-Salem, NC.

He came to Washington in 1956 and began a 15-year career as a television correspondent and anchor at WTOP-TV (channel 9) and WRC- TV (channel 4).

For 11 years Julian Barber was the top-rated TV news anchor in the Nation’s Capital. He hosted Washington’s first hour-long TV news program as well as hosting weekly interview programs, special event programming, documentaries, and political debates. He also made numerous personal appearances as Washington’s most outstanding and best-known television personality.

Julian Barber received three Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as top anchor.

After leaving Washington in 1971, he continued his work as a correspondent and anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago. He returned to Washington in 1974 as an anchor for the Mutual Broadcasting System.

He served as Senator Harrison “Jack” Schmitt’s (R-NM) press secretary from 1979-1983, then as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense until 1990.

Barber retired from the Small Business Administration in 1995.

He is survived by five children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

. A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 21 at 2pm at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 1301 Collingwood Rd, Alexandria VA. He will be buried at Arlington Cemetary at a later date. Julian’s children are: Robert Barber, Marguerite Barber, Melanie Fagan, Tamatha Hickman and Justin Barber.

Julian (R) at Thurmont in 1999

He was one of the first and finest TV newsmen in the country. He was also the funniest man I ever knew.

By Lee Shephard

I first met Julian in 1953. He had just returned from serving in the Army in Korea. Prior to being drafted into service he was an up and coming announcer/dj at WAYS in Charlotte, North Carolina. Julian’s evening record show was extremely popular among Charlotte’s teenagers, because it was a “dedication” show…something new at the time. (You know, “this one goes out to Ann…..from Ed……who thinks she’s cute….” etc…….)

When he returned from the war, WAYS……….said they didn’t have a job for him anymore. (I think that was illegal, but Julian didn’t fight it, he simply went to another station in Charlotte, WGIV, and got hired there as the “news director.” (WGIV was started right after WW2 by a couple of Army veterans. The call letters stood for WE ARE GI VETERANS. So the little station was a perfect match at the time for Julian.

WGIV “sounded” big on the air, but it was a very small station, a thousand watt day-timer. The only place where there was room for the AP wire (remember those old clunky teletype machines?) was in the bathroom. So that’s where they put it. Julian often said that It gave new meaning to “And now, a bulletin from the WGIV NEWSROOM.

”

It’s not often that you get to meet your hero, much less work with him and get to know him. I was the high school DJ at WGIV when Julian joined the staff as news director. I had admired him from afar for quite some time, but to be in the same studio and watch him work, was a thrill this 15 year old radio wannabe….will never forget. My father got to know Julian too, because since I was underage I had to be driven back and forth to work. My dad once said to me that I would meet all kinds of people in the radio business, but that I wouldn’t go wrong if I patterned myself after Julian Barber. And he wasn’t just talking about broadcasting. Julian was a man of great character. And of great humor! It was rare when he didn’t greet you with some kind of truly humorous story, or a laugh out loud slant on some mundane subject. And he was NEVER at a loss for words. I have seen him eloquently praise people he thought deserved it, totally off the cuff, bringing the audience almost to tears…without using a single note. Last time I saw him I told him that he was my hero when I was 15 years old…..and frankly, he still was. Julian’s response was, “well that just proves that you don’t have any better sense now, than you did 50 years ago.”

Julian once told me that his love for broadcasting began when he was a young boy and his uncle let him sit in the press box at a baseball game………while he broadcast the game. His uncle was a pretty good broadcaster too. His name was Red Barber.

-Lee Shephard

To be continued………….