TE Jerry Smith: PFHOF Worthy?

Some say former Redskin Jerry Smith deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played in the era when tight ends were first becoming passing targets, as opposed to an extra blocker. Smith was a TE/WR/FL, more receiver than blocker.

Here’s a comparison to other elite tight ends of the 60’s and early 70’s, who monopolized the All Pro awards and Pro Bowl appearances – often a key factor in determining HOF consideration. Based on the stats, these awards seem to set the others apart from Smith. Is this fair?  

A movie might be in the works about Smith's life, according to Variety magazine.

YR..G..rec.yards.avg.TD.rec/yr PB.AP

10 128 336 4817 14.3 31   33.6   7  3 Charlie Sanders HOF

10 139 331 5236 15.8 38   33.1   5  3 John Mackey HOF

12 158 427 5812 13.6 43   35.6   5  2 Mike Ditka HOF

16 210 480 7918 16.5 40   30.0   5  0 Jackie Smith HOF

11 155 305 4358 14.3 28   27.7   2  0 Jim Mitchell (below)

13 168 421 5496 13.1 60   32.4   1  0 Jerry Smith

12 187 512 4859 09.5 21   42.7   2  0 Herschel Walker NFL

Always interesting to compare Herschel to other hall of famers, though Walker didn’t play much tight end, and played in a more pass happy era. Herschel was one of the first running backs to be used as much as a receiver as runner, and one of very few players ever to line up at flanker, split end, tight end, wingback, halfback, and fullback. He also returned kickoffs, and played on kick coverage teams. Unlike Dorsett, Dickerson, OJ, Campbell, and others, it’s Impossible to categorize Herschel as just a tailback. He caught the second-most passes for a rookie in NFL history, setting a Cowboys rookie receiving record in the process.

Legend? Wait For It.

Former Tech Demaryius Thomas announced his retirement yesterday. He cobbled together a decent NFL career, but I was never a fan.

At Tech he was often wide open in Paul Johnson’s run-first offense, though the Jackets’ option QB’s struggled to get Thomas the ball. But when they did, Thomas was known to drop passes, in all three of his seasons on the Flats. Despite the drops, his height and speed made his potential attractive to NFL scouts. Thomas jumped ship just ahead of the NCAA police, who placed Tech on probation because of his misdeeds.

In Denver Thomas continued to be characterized by dropped passes.  Peyton Manning came along and willed Thomas into a better receiver, though Thomas continued to be plagued by the drops – 37 while Manning was his QB. Thomas dropped 57 balls in seven years, including six in eight 2018 games. The Broncos had seen enough...

...it was clear to see he has a problem with dropping the football. Over his eight-year career, Thomas has a catch percentage of 60.8 percent, which is No. 247th over that time frame. That’s to say, of 10 passes thrown his way, six are caught. Not all of those are due to drops, of course. But, this year he has three drops, and he had seven in each of the last two seasons, putting him in the top-three in the NFL.

Desperate for NFL connections, GT responded to the retirement announcement, proclaiming Thomas a “legend.” A Tech fan agreed with the legend designation, dubbing Thomas “the most insanely dominant WR in CFB history” and considered Thomas’ GT career superior to Calvin Johnson. Its unknowledgeable fans like him that give Tech a bad name.

Thomas made the freshman All-American team, made All-ACC one year, and got Tech put on probation. If that makes Thomas a legend, what do you call Calvin Johnson, a 2-time All-America, 3-time 1st team All-ACC, ACC rookie of the year, ACC player of the year, Biletnikoff Award winner, and NFL All-Decade Team member?

Perhaps I’m old school, but words like “legend” and “dominant” are tossed around way to frequently these days. I’m not sure every Heisman Trophy winner can be considered a legend, much less a receiver known to drop passes. Thomas may have been a contributor on an ACC championship team, but he was not the dominant factor, carrying the team on his back.

Receivers are dependent on several factors for their success: offensive scheme, a good QB, good blockers. During Paul Johnson’s term Tech receivers received scant attention from opposing defenses. Thomas was wide open most of the time. Calvin Johnson was the focus of the Tech offense, always double teamed and often triple-teamed – yet at Tech Calvin caught more passes for more yards and more touchdowns (in fewer games) than the legendary "Bae Bae".

rec.yards.TD

120 2339 15 Thomas

178 2927 28 Johnson

Similarly, in the NFL Thomas was one cog on a perennial playoff team, while for much of his career Calvin was the focus of the Detroit offense, setting NFL records despite the double and triple team coverage.

.yr..G...rec…yards..avg.TD.1dwn.AllPro

10 143 724 09763 13.5 63   459     0  DT

09 135 721 11619 15.9 83   552     3  CJ

The word "legend" is defined as “a traditional story sometimes regarded as historical but unauthenticated” and “an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field”, and “very well known.” A synonym for legend is “myth,” Perhaps Thomas is indeed a legend.

https://broncoswire.usatoday.com/2021/01/02/denver-broncos-demaryius-thomas-struggled-with-drops-during-his-career/

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/sports/nfl/broncos/2014/09/14/demaryius-thomas-putting-drops-behind/15619499/

https://www.ajc.com/sports/demaryius-thomas-peyton-manning-georgia-tech/oIBCM5huPRFGWkGaMgth1I/

Extra Innings

Did you see that long eight hole playoff yesterday, at the Travelers? UGA alum Harris English finally sank a birdie putt to win. Poor kid who lost was trying to secure a spot on tour for next year.

Some people keep careful track of so many things over the years. I have my calendars and this blog and yearly calendar spreadsheets where I track certain things – what we ate for supper, which tie I wore, etc. When the kids came along I kept a record of what they did. Ask me what I was doing on a particular day for the past 35 years, and there’s a good chance I can tell you. Hurt knows – in January 1985 it was “went to mall, bought gloves.”

Now the Peachtree Road Race is only once a year. If you run it every year, and you know what year you started, it should be easy to track how many you’ve run, right? This will be my 34th Peachtree (35 if I run both Saturday and Sunday). I can tell you my time, what I wore, and who I ran with for every year.

Years ago this guy I know hadn’t run as many Peachtrees as me (his initials are, oh, I'd better not say). He had posted right there on Facebook how many he’s run, a number less than I had. His words. Makes sense, he’s younger than me. Then one year he’s telling everyone on social media that he’s run a number more than I have. Every year the number grown. He didn’t run last year due to his knee replacement surgery. Get’s my goat.

Friday: assisted with the installation of a new mailbox. Ate takeout from The Golden Nugget. Since I’m allergic to seafood, I ordered a burger, and was pleasantly surprised. Also a baked potato. C got grilled shrimp.

Got to sleep late Saturday morning, well past nine. Assisted with getting the deck pressure washed. Also did laundry. Later we turned on the golf, and I took a nap.

Went to a wedding shower. Met the groom for the first time. Delicious dinner spread: BBQ sandwiches, meatballs, chicken salad croissants, cole slaw, fruit kebobs, key lime cupcakes.

Sunday: slept past nine. Listened to Louie preach. Publix. C went inside and I walked Winnie. Had to stop for gas. Went to one of those super stations with lots of pumps, and when we pulled in we were literally the only car getting gas. As I pumped the gas a few more cars pulled in. When we left I realized why – the station down the street was ten cents cheaper. Cars were waiting in line there. Dang it, I could’ve saved a dollar.

We visited Joel & Charles Norman’s Bellwood Coffee in East Atlanta Village, the new trendy spot a mile east of the zoo. Just missed meeting Charles’ new baby Pete, who had gone to church for the first time earlier in the day. Joel said Saturday was their grand opening, and they were packed. Business was brisk while we were there as well.

Officially met Joel’s wife for the first time. She said they’d met several of the old SPdL gang at a shower recently: Scot Wright, David Deeter, and Ed & Martha Bond. They were all telling Steve Norman stories. I think the Deeter’s daughter lives near them.

Went home and crashed. C went to the grocery. I watched that playoff, which was still on when C got back. Later we had chicken stir fry and English peas.

Got two team members on vacation this week, plus it’s month end, so it will be a busy week. 

Prediction: there will be a death at this year’s Peachtree Road Race. Hope it isn’t me.  

Where are they now: former Falcons kicker Mick Luckhurst. 

https://www.thefalcoholic.com/2021/6/26/22547327/forgotten-falcons-mick-luckhurst

FELIX HERNANDEZ [B-R Bio] was the first 21st century pitcher to toss a shutout in the majors before his twenty-first birthday, on 28-Aug-06. He was 20 yrs & 142 days old. His home run accounted for four runs batted in: GS HR on 23-Jun-2008. It was the first grand slam by a pitcher in 37 years. He sprained his ankle while covering home plate on a wild pitch in the same game, landing him on the disabled list.

Jason Whitlock’s letter to black America, explaining the real purpose of made for TV conflict.

https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/ready-fearless-jason-whitlocks-letter-to-black-america-explaining-the-real-purpose-of-made-for-tv-racial-conflict#toggle-gdpr

Man Behind the Feather

Artwork by Wayland Moore, who designed the iconic Braves feather logo, as well as the royal and white Braves uniforms worn 1972-1976.

I have experienced this to be true...

Thursday C didn’t get home until after 8 pm. She stopped by Chickfila to pick up supper.

I pretty much stayed at my “desk” working late, and doing my nighttime fun stuff: posting to my blog and entering contests. Easier to work on the computer at the table with my full size keyboard and mouse, instead of without them on the couch. Watched the Braves and Jeopardy. Ceil flipped it over to a Hallmark movie. 

Friday morning I slept past my time to start work. Had to hustle downstairs to get logged on. Almost missed a call from my boss. Dreamed I had a key role in a theatrical production. One of the professional actresses complimented my work, though I really had no idea what was going on.

I did not know this...

ZACK GREINKE  [B-R Bio] is a former Gatorade National Player-of-the-Year Award winner and six-time Gold Glove Award winner. He once won a CYA for the KCR who finished 30 games under .500 (65-97) in 2009.  His team-best WAR that year was four times better than that of his next closet teammate. In fact, it led the majors. His 2009 WAR was 10.4. Albert Pujols was second with a 9.7 WAR, and won his third NL MVP. Second on the Royals was teammate Joakim Soria at 2.7. Greinke was the first pitcher to homer in the DH era for his original franchise, on 10-Jun-2005. The DH era began in 1973. Greinke’s home run has been the only one ever hit by any Royals pitcher in the DH Era, in more than 518 total pitcher at bats.

How Critical Race Theory is harmful to society - three articles from a Christian perspective: (1) CRT is not truth-oriented, (2) CRT is inherently and only political, and (3) CRT is a secular version of justice, undesirable for Christians, theists, and even atheists. If your mind is already made up, it won’t hurt you to read this.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/theologicalapologetics/2021/06/3-features-of-critical-race-theory-and-how-they-harm-society-part-i/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/theologicalapologetics/2021/06/3-features-of-critical-race-theory-and-how-they-harm-society-part-ii/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/theologicalapologetics/2021/06/3-features-of-critical-race-theory-and-how-they-harm-society-part-iii/?fbclid=IwAR2NFegFZv0cSzo4iQybd6QLRjVGkIPWYZryZWue0xpE-PTmhc2SJYI5pmI

If I suddenly inherited the Braves, I’d make the following changes: keep Snitker and GM AA. Wear royal every other year for Hank Aaron weekend. Every year make the Sunday alt uni be a different throwback: red pinstripe, powder blue, 82 home, 69 pinstripes, 77 road, 62 big red NOBs, 57 dark tomahawks, Doves, Beaneaters, ABC Crackers, These unis could be tied in with various anniversaries. Replace ATLANTA on the road jerseys with BRAVES. Change the navy road jerseys. Also the red Friday jerseys. Giveaways on weekdays, not weekends (except for kids giveaways) – against non-marquise teams. Giveaways could include: T-shirt of the month, bobbles, special ticket mini-bobbles, caps tied to alt unis, trucker caps. Put Bobby Dews in the Braves HOF. Bring back the Clark Howard dollar tickets.

Bridal Shower

 

Bridal shower this evening for Whitney and Bo,

in Phil & Teresa's backyard.

Below: Beau, Phil, and Zane did most of the heavy lifting.

Always a fun time with Teresa.

Phil has good taste in shirts.

Parents of the bride Chuck (dark shirt) and Jackie (yellow)

with Richard (right).

This morning's eggy-boy.

Splash

One year when I was single I wrote down every movie I watched. Those were the days of the dollar theaters and I’d go quite often with Hurt, Head, and the crew. Watched over 365 movies that year. I went through a phase of watching the movie Splash I don’t know how many times. A girl had just broken up with me and I was down in the dumps. One time I went and watched Splash by myself at the Toco Hills dollar theater. As I was getting out of my car I decided to take a pen and paper so I could take notes. Helped me remember the movie.

You’ve Got Mail used to be on so much that Barney figured out the scenes when Tom Hanks’ dog Brinkley would be appearing, and so Barney would watch the movie with me., and get up close to the TV when the dog was on.  

Not long ago I went through my calendars to compile all the sporting events I had attended. Discovered some things I did that I had forgotten about.

CC SABATHIA  [B-R Bio] passed John Smoltz on the career strikeout list in 2019. Sabathia finished with 3,093, slipping past HOF Smoltz’s 3,084 in 2019, Sabathia’s last season. He joined Yankees in 2009, leading them to their most recent World Series championship, capturing the ALCS MVP along the way. His 19 wins in 2009 and 21 in 2010 both lead all MLB pitchers (tied in 2010 with Justin Verlander & Felix Hernandez). Sabathia struck out Ichiro Suzuki for strikeout number 1,000 on 21-May-2007. His birth name was Carsten Charles Sabathia, Jr. He preferred the initials and was known as “See-See”, “Sí Sí” or “C.C.” by all. To remove any ambiguity, he eliminated the period and the spaces. You’ll now find him under “CC”.

Denison: Jesus told his followers, "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!" (Luke 6:22). Paul was dogmatic: "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). Over the first three centuries of the Christian era it is estimated that as many as two million Christians died for their faith. Journalist John Allen reports that "Christians today are indisputably the most persecuted religious body on the planet." One scholar estimates 90% of all people killed on the basis of their religious beliefs are Christians.

Nike CEO defends his company’s connections with China, a country who jails Muslims, Christians, and people of other religions, manufactures and releases dangerous viruses, spies on our country, and pays off government officials and their families.   

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57606588

El Paso is being called the “New Ellis Island.” Except Ellis Island immigrants entered the country legally, and sought US citizenship.

Toughest Schedules

Georgia Tech has the third toughest 2021 football schedule.

1. Arkansas has to play Bama

2. Nebraska

3. Georgia Tech: UGA, UNC, Mia, Clemson, ND

4. Purdue

5. South Carolina has to play GA, Clemson, FL

6. Mississippi State has to play Alabama

7. Indiana

8. Auburn has to play UGA and Bama

9. Ole Miss has to play Bama

10. FSU has to play Clemson

Tech plays Northern Illinois, Kennesaw, Clemson, UNC, Pitt, Duke, UVA, Virginia Tech, Miami, Boston College, Notre Dame, and UGA. Could be ugly.

The Carolina Panthers are installing Field Turf in Bank of America Stadium, becoming the 17th NFL team to forsake natural grass. Lions, Seahawks, Patriots, Cowboys, Falcons, Giants, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Vikings, Chargers, Texans, and four other teams. Bengals? Ravens? Charlotte is adding a MLS soccer team next year, plus stadium concerts scheduled for Elton John, Garth Brooks, and Billy Joel.

http://a.msn.com/02/en-us/BB1g9Z9R?ocid=se

Jerry Seinfeld is making a Netflix movie about the invention of the Pop-Tart. I just don’t remember the pop-tart joke. I’m looking forward to the Steve Martin / Martin Short / Selena Gomez movie “Only murderers in the Building” on Hulu August 31.

https://deadline.com/2021/06/jerry-seinfeld-netflix-movie-deal-unfrosted-creation-of-pop-tart-directing-starring-cowriter-1234780032/

Top Ten sports logos "of all time". Must be a worldwide thing.

1. Olympic Rings

2. Nike

3. adidas

4. Manchester United

5. Dallas Cowboys

6. New York Yankees

7. Chicago Bulls

8. Premier League

9. Invictus Games

10. Tour de France

Logos I like: Braves feather, Hawks Pac Man. Falcons, Thrashers original road logo, Atlanta Flames. Seahawks. Cardinals (St. Louis and Arizona). Brewers ball in glove. Raiders. Celtics. Jets oval football. New York football Giants. Clemson’s tiger paw. Orioles body bird. Cleveland’s Indian head logo. Braves laughing Indian. Boston Braves Indian chief.

https://www.creativebloq.com/news/best-sports-logos-all-time

My theory is, the less meds I take, the better. I’m guessing that will change the older I get. Currently taking a multivitamin and low dose aspirin. I need to take fish oil. When the vitamin runs out I’ll start back taking vitamin C and D. Plus whatever Ceil has bought that she’s quit taking.

Winnie is doing great in so many areas, but she sure likes to play rough with me. Hopefully that will stop at some point, when she stops teething.

Back at Camp SPdL I used to carry around a yellow legal pad to take notes and write jokes. Did the same thing on all those Living Science trips. Still use one at work.

Wednesday: eggy boy for breakfast. Chicken salad sandwich for supper. Watched the Hawks win. Also some College World Series, and Jeopardy, $100,000 Pyramid, and Card Sharks. Also played on my laptop.

CLAYTON KERSHAW [B-R Bio] a lefty, owns the lowest [career] WHIP of any starting pitcher in the Modern Era. His career 1.0036 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) rate is the best for any starter since 1900, although Jacob deGrom is close behind at 1.0164. (1,000 innings min). Kershaw traveled to Cuba with his former manager, a Hall of Famer, on a goodwill mission sponsored by MLB. Cuba trip was in December 2015. As a Texas high school senior, his record was 13-0 with an ERA of 0.77 at Highland Park HS located in one of Dallas’ “Park Cities”. That same year, he also recorded 139 strikeouts in 64 innings. In one playoff game he pitched an all-strikeout perfect game, striking out all 15 batters he faced. The game was shortened because of a mercy rule. He also hit a grand slam in the same playoff game.

Not sure I’m believing this writer from New York City, amazed at what life is like outside his hometown.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.insider.com_things-2Dthat-2Dsurprised-2Dnew-2Dyorker-2Dabout-2Dmidwest-2D2021-2D6&d=DwICAg&c=UXihhqr7vvdA-hrKyTiC1Q&r=wMWwaEbn9nr4zXI4p6CDP7FGwn1DrBd77MJElrWsP6U&m=y40pCSmmivPZi6Y24m3Ur75ZOr58vXFrM1Wu1BCcxrY&s=CWpBJ_AEuw7zBlgsNGGX5KX8rfzfQU2yrKq4h_SnWA8&e=

One hundred classic movie clips. I’ll have to watch Kramer vs Kramer. Never seen it. The Prince of Tides was a Jeopardy question earlier this week. A great movie moment for me was in Tootsie when Dustin Hoffman took off the makeup.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/594Oxq4c0XA?feature=player_embedded%20

On Growing Up

Today’s passage is from Garrison Keillor’s 2014 book “The Keillor Reader: Looking Back at Forty Years of Stories: Where Did They All Come From? Plain Thoughts on Fatherhood, Writing, Politics, and Age”. The whole book is like this.

Life is good when you finally grow up. You find work you enjoy, buy a car that starts on cold mornings, look for love, sing along with the radio, beget children who nestle on your lap and put their little arms around your neck and kiss you. You put away sarcasm. You mow your lawn, read history, learn to cook a few things well, seek out good shoes, converse with strangers on the bus. You find a hairstyle that suits you.

Your taste changes: time goes by and contemporary art strikes you as ditzy and shallow whereas you are moved by Hopper and Rockwell and Nordic painters of snowscapes. Young Sarah Singer-Songwriter only makes you wonder if she is getting enough fresh air and exercise, whereas a Chopin etrude carries visions of women in lamplight, the forbidden kiss, the whisper of silk, the nobility of kind gestures.

You cross the line into your forties, the mortgage years, and the fifties, when you stand weeping at graduations and weddings, and then in the blink of an eye you land in your sixties and now you’re on Easy Street. You become eminent and learn to har-rumph. And then seventy. A golden age. You are wise beyond knowing, you have embraced moderation and humility, your work is triumphant, you pee like a Palomino pony, and your imagination is more vivid than ever before. One can’t wait to turn eighty and ninety.

College Football, Pro Baseball

Saw this pictorial of college football players who played major league baseball, and decided to run the numbers. Erstad. Phil Bradley. Rick Leach. Brian Jordan. Good players, but not exactly murderer’s row. 

Who had the lowest career average? Who struck out twice as often as almost all the others? Who reached base the least? The great Bo Jackson.

.yr..HR.avg.obp..slg..ops..K%..war

10 018 268 335 369 704 12.6 03.0 Rick Leach

17 369 316 414 539 953 14.8 61.8 Todd Helton

14 124 282 336 407 743 15.6 32.3 Darin Erstad

15 184 282 333 455 788 16.3 32.9 Brian Jordan

09 039 263 319 392 711 16.6 05.5 Deion Sanders

19 521 301 419 555 974 17.0 73.8 Frank Thomas

08 078 286 369 421 790 19.4 18.6 Phil Bradley

17 255 268 352 463 815 22.2 38.4 Kirk Gibson

08 141 250 309 474 784 35.1 08.3 Bo Jackson

In football Bo’s name does not belong next to Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown, and Herschel Walker. Even Gale Sayers and Terrell Davis compiled enough of a resume to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bo’s name belongs on the “what if?” list, with the likes of Marcus Dupree.

I also recently compared Yadier Molina to a few hall of fame catchers. Adding those stats to show hall of fame strikeout rates. Yadi may not strike out much, but he strikes out twice as much as Yogi. 

.BB….K…K%.

704 0414 05.5 Yogi

891 1278 16.7 Bench

759 1113 16.1 Piazza

513 1474 15.4 Rodriguez

849 1386 15.8 Fisk

525 0841 11.5 Molina

NFL's Fastest Man

In the 1987 NFL’s Fastest Man competition, Herschel won his first heat before losing the semifinal to eventual winner Ron Brown. Walker finished with the fourth best overall time.

6.095 Ron Brown

6.149 Phillip Epps

6.159 Willie Gault

6.272 Herschel Walker

6.314 Vance Johnson

6.344 Jerry Rice

6.476 Ernest Givins

6.757 Darryl Turner

Later Herschel raced Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, widely considered to be the fastest man in NFL history. Green won, but it wasn’t a blowout. Green recently ran a fast 40 yard dash despite being 40 years old. Herschel is closing in on 60 years old, but could still hold his own against Green.

Why was Herschel invited to these events, and not his contemporaries like Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, Tony Dorsett, George Rogers, and Walter Payton? Because Herschel was unquestionably faster.

Friday: worked from before 8 am past 7:30 pm. Finished a big project. Stopped by Kroger and the bank on the way home, so it was well after 8 pm when I got home. Ceil had cooked a chicken and rice dish. Watched another one of those Amish Hallmark movies.

Saturday: cleaned upstairs. The rain started earlier than expected, so I got out and speed cut the grass in the rain. Later did laundry. Met M at Grind House for burgers and fries. A good time. Also watched the Jane Austen Book Club, a decent movie starring Emily Blunt.

Sunday: at Passion City Church Louie interviewed former UGA head coach Mark Richt, who has a new book out. C and I split a sub sandwich and chips. Watched the US Open.

EARLE COMBS [SABR Bio] a future Hall of Famer. In his rookie season, 1924, Combs played center field and hit .400 before breaking an ankle sliding home at CLE's Dunn Field on 15-Jun. Combs had a another serious accident in July 1934. On a 100°+-day in St. Louis at Sportsman's Park, he crashed into the outfield wall going for a fly ball, sustaining a fractured skull, a broken shoulder and a damaged knee.  He was reportedly near death for several days, and was hospitalized for more than two months.  The next season he attempted a comeback but suffered another serious injury.  That injury, coupled with the knowledge that the Yankees were set to bring up rookie outfielder Joe DiMaggio the next season, likely influenced Combs' decision to retire at the age of 36. After retiring from baseball in 1954, Combs returned to his 400-acre farm in Madison County, Kentucky. He served as the state banking commissioner during Governor (and former Baseball Commissioner) A. B. 'Happy' Chandler's second administration (1955–1959).