Pages

Friday, July 24, 2020

Phil Jackson & Satchel Paige

 
Did you know: while playing American Legion baseball in the Dakotas, Phil Jackson once hit a double off barnstorming Satchel Paige. Jackson was a lefthanded pitcher. Led his college team in strikeouts and other categories. The Dodgers were interested in signing him, but Phil concentrated on basketball. Jackson’s college coach was Bill Fitch.

Still little to report. Turkey quesadillas for lunch. Black bean nachos for supper. Watched two mote movies: The Weatherman, with Nicolas Cage.
Also Hitch, with Will Smith and Kevin James. Very good.
The last three nights I've also watched sections of The Source Code, a great movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farminga.

Wednesday: watched the Braves game as well. Austin Riley is looking good. Fans keep focusing on him hitting a wall after a month or two in the big leagues last year, but even the best players are prone to struggle as rookies. Good to see him drive the ball to the opposite field.

In addition to work, Thursday night I folded some laundry, did some cleaning, and got ready for my lake trip departure. Getting picked up at noon. The lake is just northwest of Blairsville, just south of the North Carolina line. West of Young Harris, east of Blue Ridge. Slightly quicker to take 575. Taking 400 takes a little longer. Will return late Sunday afternoon. We’ll probably grill out one night, and go out to eat the other night. Going with the three guys from our long time small group: Steve went to GT. It’s his cabin. My other friend Reid. Also Lee, who is driving. A few weeks ago Ceil went up to the lake with the other wives. Steve was there to drive the boat.

Tried to swing a golf club. My wrist still hurts.

HACK WILSON [SABR Bio] was the first National League player to hit two home runs in an inning in the twentieth century - 2 HR playing for NYG on 01-Jul-1925, 3rd inning off PHI’s Clarence Mitchell & Jack Knight. Wilson enjoyed a five-year period where he averaged more than 140 runs-batted-in per season. Wilson’s RBI production 1926-1930 averaged 142 RBI per year: 109, 129, 120, 159 & 191 – the all-time single-season record. Babe Ruth said that his 60 HR record would be broken but that this one wouldn’t. No one has come within 25 of that mark since 1938.

Wilson aspired to be a professional boxer but it was as an amateur pugilist in a 1929 game that he decked a pitcher on the opposing bench. For good measure, he knocked out the pitcher’s teammate later that night at the train station. In an often exaggerated account, Wilson clocked CIN pitcher Ray Kolp during the game on 04-Jul-1929 then clobbered Kolp's teammate Pete Donohue that night at the train station. Commissioner K.M. “The Scowl” Landis in January 1930 formally banned all major-league ballplayers from boxing for money.

No comments:

Post a Comment