Shelby 1819 Limited Microbrew - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Shelby 1819 Limited Microbrew

Photo by Chett Borchers, my niece's husband

Over Easter weekend, my brother-in-law offered me a can of a new pilsner microbrew pictured above called Shelby 1819 Limited, commemorating the bicentennial of Shelby County. I really liked it because it was a lot less “hoppy” than the typical microbrews. It was brewed by Moeller Brew Barn in Maria Stein and represents their first pilsner. I had written about them and another favorite microbrew, Wally Post Red in this previous blogpost.

Intrigued by the photo on the Shelby 1819 Limited can, after some research I found the following excerpt on the Shelby County website:

"Shelby County was established in 1819 with Hardin, serving as the first County seat. The name Shelby came from General Isaac Shelby, an officer in the American Revolution who was noted for his bravery and honesty, and was elected Governor of Kentucky. The people of the County chose the name Shelby because many of them were from Kentucky and admired General Shelby a great deal”.

General Shelby was quite a leader as evidenced by this statement from his Wikipedia bio:

“Shelby was surveying lands in Kentucky in 1780 when he heard of the colonists' defeat at Charleston. He hurried to North Carolina, where he found a request for aid from General Charles McDowell to defend the borders of North Carolina from the British. Shelby assembled three hundred militiamen and joined McDowell at Cherokee Ford in South Carolina.On the morning of July 31, 1780, he surrounded the British stronghold at Thickety Fort on the Pacolet River with 600 men. He immediately demanded a surrender, but the British refused. Shelby brought his men within musket range and again demanded surrender.Though the fort likely would have withstood the attack, the British commander lost his nerve and capitulated. Without firing a shot, Shelby's men captured 94 prisoners.”

The Shelby 1819 Limited microbrew came about because the County formed a Bicentennial Beer Subcommittee pictured below. The chair of the subcommittee is my old neighbor Tony Bornhorst, standing, and current County Commissioner. My cousin Duane Gaier seated in the vest was also a member. Knowing Tony and Duane, and seeing the smiles on their and the rest of the subcommittee's faces, no doubt they made several road trips to the Brew Barn before settling on the winning name and microbrew! Tough duty!

Save me a six pack!

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Sports - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Sports

Imagine a world without sports - I can’t either! From the youngest age, sports permeates our lives in all kinds of wonderful and imaginable ways. From that first ball your parents put in your crib to the sports memorabilia that might be placed in your coffin, we are privileged to enjoy the many amenities and benefits of sports activity.

My first sports memory was rather unique in that it was badminton! My Mom loved playing the game so we were taught to hold a racket and hit the shuttlecock at a very young age.

Badminton was best played when there was no wind so the shuttlecock stayed on course. We had this special place in our barnyard near a shed that tended to block the wind. That game introduced me to and help develop skills for all kinds of other rackets sports like tennis, paddleball and pickle ball that I enjoy playing to this day, as do several of my siblings.

The family’s badminton net also served a dual purpose for volleyball as well.

Of all the sports I played over the years, most people are surprised to learn that volleyball was likely my best. Since it’s not a high school sport for boys, other than recreational volleyball, it wasn’t until college when I became proficient. As a freshman on our fraternity intramural team, I recall playing with several outstanding setters who could perfectly place the ball above the net for me to spike. My 6’5” frame and jumping ability from basketball really were assets in volleyball. We won the intramural championship all four years in college and also won numerous championships in the Ford recreational league while working there after college. And on summer weekends, we played lots of pick-up volleyball around the pool at our apartment complex and later in the water near our lakefront home.

Without sports, life would be a bore! Whether playing or watching a sport, fun times result. Sports activities are the best form of recreation and exercise in my view because there’s a competition underway that gets the juices flowing and energy level rising.

My passion for sports continues unabated in my 71st year, as I’m usually doing something sports-related every day. Retirement has really help in that regard given my time can now be spent participating in sporting activities.

A routine each day is checking in on Fish Report for the many sports articles and social media posts. What a wonderful service Craig and his fine crew provide for area sports fans. Thanks so much! It’s the perfect way for me to stay connected to and root for my favorite teams back home.

I’m amazed at the competitive play by the teams in the SCAL and MAC. The competition is of such high quality; arguably the best in the state. Take it from me, the teamwork, skills and lessons learned on the playing fields at that critical age will serve every participant very well for the rest of their lives. May each cherish their time playing competitive sports at the high school level. And good luck!

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St. Henry baseball's Dream Team of 1945..

The following is part of a collection of new clippings and pictures submitted by a Fish Report reader on the careers and life of brothers Ed & Wally Post. Click to enlarge.

Click to Enlarge

Sparkyisms - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Sparkyisms

Sparky Anderson was an all time favorite, not only because he was a winner for both the Reds and Tigers, my two favorite teams, but also for his always interesting commentary, which I’ll dub as “Sparkyism’s” in light of last week’s blog on “Yogisms”. Sparky always spoke positively about just about everything; as this was his motto:

“Learn to treat people well — it doesn’t cost a dime.” or as evidenced by this gem: "I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench."

Many of his comments were real exaggerations. For example, here’s some Sparkyisms about players who never quite made it up to his view of their potential:

"Mike Laga will make you forget about every power hitter that ever lived."

"Barbaro Garbey is another Roberto Clemente."

"Mike Ivie has the hitting mechanics of Steve Garvey."

Probably the only negative comment I’d ever hear him speak was after losing a bad game:

"You can’t put a tuxedo on a pig.”

Sparky hated losing but was usually philosophical:

“I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it’s more than there’ll be a tomorrow, it’s that I want there to be a tomorrow. That’s the big difference, I want tomorrow to come.”

And after a rainout:

"It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow.”

Sparky lasted only one season as a player in the majors. Here’s his rookie card:

On his playing career, Sparky commented. "I never hit a home run in the majors. But I took (Don) Drysdale deep. Foul, but deep.” He also said, "I don't know whether I'm a big leaguer or not, but I want to find out, and if I can't do it, then I'll be a minor leaguer the rest of my life.” At age 30 in 1964, Sparky became the manager of AAA Toronto at the time, where he had been playing as a minor leaguer after his one season playing with the Phillies. Five years later he was the Reds manager, leading them to two World Series victories. At the time, the Cincinnati Enquirer headlines read “Sparky Who.”

For sure, we now know who Sparky was.

During his Hall of Fame induction ceremony which began with the audience giving him a standing ovation, Sparky told them, "Please sit down. I learned a long time ago in baseball when they stand up, they’re getting ready to boo."

More Sparkyisms...

Told once he was "one of a kind," Anderson replied: "You know what? That's good. The world couldn't take two of me."

"I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that."

"Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings."

"I once sold used cars," he was fond of saying, "but not many." His honesty compelled him to tell people which ones were lemons.

When asked about John Wockenfuss, a utility catcher with his Detroit Tigers who couldn’t run the bases for his life: "Problem with Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him."

"People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it."

On the designated hitter: "I've changed my mind about it. Instead of being bad, it stinks."

On managing: "A baseball manager is a necessary evil."

His line of admiration about Willie Stargell: "He's got power enough to hit home runs in any park, including Yellowstone.”

One of my favorite Sparkyisms I used with my son when he was a kid, “Pain don't hurt"!!!!

He appeared once on the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati:

My favorite Sparky moment came during the 5th and final game of the 1984 World Series when the Tigers were playing the San Diego Padres. He almost swallows his gum communicating with Kirk Gibson before he hits the series winning home run; click here. Just listen to Sparky go at it in the background. Turn up the volume!

More about last week’s Yogi Berra blog:

Yogi won a record setting 10 World Series championships as reflected in these rings from each series compared to Tom Brady’s six Super Bowl rings.

It’s widely accepted that the cartoon character Yogi Bear got his name from Yogi Berra. But how did Berra become “Yogi” in the first place? As it turns out, Berra (whose first name was actually Lawrence) got the nickname as a teenager playing American Legion Baseball. A friend who had just seen a travelogue about India noticed how similar a Hindu yogi’s cross-legged pose was to Berra’s when he sat on the ground awaiting his turn at bat.

“I’m going to call you Yogi,” Berra’s friend reportedly said. The rest is, well, you know.

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Yogisms - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Yogisms

Last week’s blog about Opening Day ended with a quote from Yogi Berra, which brought about an email from a Fish Report reader suggesting a blog on Yogi’s most famous quotes; so here goes!

Growing up I never really like the Yankees but of all the many famous players, Yogi was the most entertaining with his crazy sayings and self-deprecating humor.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris got all the headlines, but Yogi no doubt kept all those superstars on the team loose and laughing, including when the the Yankee’s creamed the Reds in the 1961 World Series. Reds long-time announcer at the time, Waite Hoyt, was a former pitcher for the Yankees, so he had plenty of stories to tell about those times during the blow-out series. His relationship with the Yankees allowed him inside access that regular broadcasters only dream about.

Speaking of records, the Yankees hold many; the most famous of which is Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak in 1941, a record in my view that will never be broken. For Yogi’s records, check out his Hall of Fame plaque pictured below and this short video tribute about Yogi.

Some more of my favorite Yogisms:

And my all time favorite Yogism:

Next week, I’ll take a look at quotes from another interesting baseball personality, Sparky Anderson; aka Sparkyisms! Stay tuned.

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Opening Day - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Opening Day

Opening Day is a wonderful state of mind, with countless baseball fans recognizing this unofficial holiday as a good reason to call in sick at work or skip from school. My first opening day came in 1973 at the new but now demolished Riverfront Stadium during the era of the Big Red Machine.

My wife and I had just married the fall before and her family had season tickets. For Opening Day, season ticket holders were allotted 8 tickets; the regular 4 behind the Reds dugout accessible to the amenities of the Stadium Club. The other 4, including my seat, were in the upper deck nose-bleed section. But I didn’t care one iota because it was Opening Day and that’s all that mattered. Plus we’d move down to the better seats while my wife’s grandfather, father-in-law and uncles visited the Stadium Club.

Before the game, we caught the tail end of the annual parade in downtown Cincinnati commemorating Opening Day. This year the city celebrated the100th annual parade and the ball club’s 150th anniversary, with Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred serving as grand marshal, with special guest Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench.

The Reds played the Giants on that 1973 Opening Day, but lost 4-1, eventually winning their division and losing the NLCS in 5 games to the Mets. Here’s the box score and ticket stub for the game:

During the next year’s Opening Day at Riverfront, while the Reds were playing the Braves, Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s all time home run record, with newcomer and now Hall-of-Famer Marty Brenneman making the famous call to kick-off his 46 year career broadcasting Reds games. He’s retiring at the end of this season.

I missed that game because by then we had moved to Michigan, where I quickly became a Tiger fan, especially when Sparky Anderson was later fired by the Reds and hired by the Tigers. In April of 1984, I snuck out of work from Ford Motor Company for “a long lunch” and made the short drive to Tiger Stadium for Opening Day, scalping a ticket out front. I was back at work before quitting time and no one, including my boss or wife, were the wiser! The Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 1-0, leading to a 35-5 start, an AL pennant, World Series and many, many pleasant memories.

Experiencing Opening Day was so special. My third and so far last Opening Day was in the year 2000 for the inaugural game at Detroit’s new Comerica Park. I again snuck out of work to see the game, but since it was the first game in the new stadium, I had absolutely no luck scalping a ticket. So improvising, I was able to watch the game from the Detroit Athletic parking deck beyond centerfield circled in the photo below. It was freezing with snow flurries, but I could stay in my car and watch the game with the heater at full blast, listening on the radio as legendary Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell described the Tiger victory.

Hall-of-Famer Harwell would always lead off each Opening day with the following poem: "For lo' the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. Happy New Year, everybody. It’s time for Tiger Baseball”.

In recent years, it’s been a special treat to get a jump on Opening Day by attending spring training in Florida, and especially this year as the Tigers were playing the Red Sox in Ft. Myers while our son was visiting us for a week. Here’s a selfie at Jet Blue Park with a replica of Fenway’s Green Monster in the background.

Fish Report has been including regular tweets about my cousin Jared Hoying's play with the Hanwha Eagles in the South Korean baseball league. Jared's been playing great so far in this new season. He and his wife Tiffany are expecting their second child this summer.

Some Opening Day quotes from famous Yankee ballplayers:

You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.— Joe DiMaggio

A home opener is always exciting, no matter if it's home or on the road.— Yogi Berra

Since both the Reds and Tigers are in rebuilding mode, it will likely be a long season for both teams, so I plan to read these books between the losses:

 

Enjoy the season!

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