World Series Memories (cont'd) - 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

World Series Memories (cont’d)

Continuing last week’s blog about World Series memories, next up is the 1988 Dodgers series against the Oakland A’s. In the first game, with the Dodgers down by a run in the bottom of the ninth with two down, former Tiger and NL MVP Kurt Gibson pitch hit, hobbled by a sore knee. He limped up to the plate, worked the count to 3-2, then blasted a home run over the right field wall in Dodger Stadium to win the game in a walk off, rather limp off! He made his famous fist pump pictured above while rounding the bases. I loved announcer Jack Buck’s claim, “I can’t believe what I just saw!” as Gibson rounded the bases. On that momentum, the Dodgers went on to win the Series 4 games to 1.

When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first-ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics. Before the start of Game 3, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred (having a magnitude of 7.1). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in the Bay Area and killed 63 people. Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake. Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. Game 3 was finally played 10 days later on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four-game sweep.

The next year in 1990, the Reds had a great season, setting an NL record by staying in first place in the division for the entire season or "wire-to-wire", which had been done only one other time, by my 1984 Detroit Tigers. To get to the World Series, the Reds won the National League West division by five games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, then defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, four games to two, in the National League Championship Series. They played the defending champion Oakland A’s in the World Series. My wife and I were in the Bay area at the time, so we attended the 4th game in Oakland to witness the Reds completing a sweep to win the Series.

There was no World Series in 1994, due to players strike that ran from Aug, 1994 to April, 1995. At issue was a proposed salary cap by the owners in concert with revenue sharing to keep small market teams like the Reds solvent. Replacement players were used in regular season games, but Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson was put on an involuntary leave of absence as he refused to manage replacement players. In Cincinnati, one fan paid for a plane to fly over Riverfront Stadium that carried a banner reading "Owners & Players: To hell with all of you!" Arguably, the largest impact was to the Montreal Expos. The strike was considered the start of the franchise's downfall in Montreal, eventually leading to them relocating to Washington, D.C. to become the current Washington Nationals.

The strike left a bad taste in my mouth for years! I literally stopped watching games on TV or attending in person. I have no single baseball memory until 2006 when the Tigers, led by manager Jim Leland, won the AL pennant recording 95 wins during the regular season after 12 straight losing seasons. Maybe that’s what really caused me to lose interest in baseball?

Anyway, the 2006 Tigers re-energized my interest in the game big time. One of the more memorable games during the season occurred on May 20, when visiting Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam that put the Reds up, 6–5, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Curtis Granderson hit a home run that tied the game, and the Tigers won in extra innings. The first round of the playoffs pitted the Tigers against the dreaded Yankees, and the Yankees were held scoreless for 21 straight innings over 3 games. Then to win the AL pennant, the Tigers swept the Oakland A’s, with Maglio Ordonex hitting a walk-off 3 run homer in the 4th game. Here’s a video of that dramatic homer. The ball landed about 3 rows in front of us in left field. What a thrill. But alas, the Tigers bombed in the World Series, losing in 5 games against the Cardinals. Wonder who’s championship ring is being auctioned on eBay for $20k?

In 2012, the Tigers again made it to the World Series, but were swept by the Giants. The highlight of the season was Miguel Cabrera’s triple crown, the first since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat in 1967. Cabrera had a .330 average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI’s. He went on to win the 2012 AL Most Valuable Player Award, the AL Hank Aaron Award and the AL Silver Slugger Award. Also, starters Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer finished first and second among the American League strikeout leaders, with 239 and 231, respectively. You might ask how does a team get swept in the World Series with those two pitchers and a triple crown winner on the team? Tiger fans are still asking that question a decade later!

The 2016 Cubs-Indians World Series was especially memorable as the Cubbies won their first championship since 1908! Many consider the 2016 World Series to be one of the best of all time, due to the underdog story behind both teams, the games being tightly contested, and the series going the full distance. The deciding seventh game, won by Chicago 8–7 in ten innings, was the fifth World Series Game 7 to go into extra innings, and the first since 1997 (which, coincidentally, the Indians also lost).The Cubs became the sixth team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series. Game 7 had a rain delay in the 10th inning, to everyone’s chagrin except me! For I was in a hospital bed after rota-rooter TURP prostate surgery earlier that day and I couldn’t sleep. So watching the World Series into extra innings and after a rain delay was just what the doctor ordered, as I had to get up and walk around the nurses station periodically during recovery, perfectly timed between innings.

With the Cubs winning, the Indians (aka Guardians!) became the owners of MLB's longest active championship drought, which stood at 68 years, and currently stands at 74 years. Their last title came in 1948. Thought maybe this was the year to break the drought, but again the dreaded Yankees rallied from behind to take the ALDS. Next year!

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World Series Memories - 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

World Series Memories

Pirates Bill Mazeroski’s Walk Off Home Run to Win 1960 World Series

With the expansion to 12 playoff teams, the World Series this year is not scheduled to end until early November! That's literally a month later than when the Series occurred during my youth. Of course at that time, there were no playoffs preceding the World Series, as the top team in the American League played the top team in the National League in the World Series as soon as the season ended in late September. Back then all the games were played during the day, however, I can vividly recall the walk off home run by the Pirates Bill Mazeroski in the 7th game at old Forbes Field to win the World Series against the hated Yankees. What a thrill, as I always rooted for the National League team. Here’s a past blog with more memories of that memorable sporting event as well as another historic political event that occurred on the same day.

The very next year in 1961, the Reds won the National League pennant and played the dreaded Yankees who were again in the series. The Reds didn’t do nearly as well as the Pirates, losing to the Yankees in 5 games. My favorite players were St. Henry native Wally Post and Frank Robinson who was traded away to Baltimore a few years later. Big mistake! My hatred for the Yankees originated in the mid-50’s when they won the series seven times during that decade. The only redeeming factor about all those series wins was the baseball cards of the Yankee stars were worth a lot more to my friends than me, as I disliked the Yankee players. That’s why, as my brother reminded me, there’s no way my claim was true in a recent blog that my brother lost a Mickey Mantle rookie card now worth millions of dollars!

My next World Series memory occurred while attending college at General Motors Institute in Flint, Mi when the Tigers beat the Cardinals in 7 games. That’s when I became a Tigers Fan. What a series as the Tigers were down 3 games to 1 with future Hall of Famer Bob Gibson pitching for the Cards. But the Tigers had 30 game winner Denny McLean as well as Mickey Lolich, who won 3 games in the series, including the decisive 7th game against Gibson. Former Yankee Roger Maris was also on that team. Here’s the pitching line from that memorable 7th game. Both pitchers went the full 9 innings.

I watched this game on a small black and white TV in an auditorium classroom with over 200 fellow students all squinting at the small TV. But since the Tigers were winning, we were all ecstatic!

Then came the Big Red Machine in the 1970’s with Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Johnny Bench and Sparky Anderson. What a team that was; so fun to watch. Books have been written about that team, including the one shown above. Someday, I hope Pete Rose gets into the Hall of Fame. My wife’s family had season tickets during that era, so we were able to attend several games a year, including the playoffs and World Series. What a thrill seeing them in action at the old, but new at the time, Riverfront Stadium. It was especially gratifying in 1976 when the Reds swept the hated Yankees coached by feisty Billy Martin.

But it took them 3 years from 1972-74 to get by the vaulted Oakland A’s with their showman owner Charlie Finley and high prices superstars. Then after getting there in 1975, major disappointment in the 6th game with Boston catcher Carlton Fisk famous “stay fair” gesture during his walk-off homer to beat the Reds. Fortunately, the Big Red Machine came back to win Game 7!

The following year in 1977, Martin lead the Yankees to another World Series, and in Game 6, Reggie Jackson, aka Mr. October, hit 3 home runs to lift the Yanks to the title. That was impressive! If that feat were to be repeated, and Aaron Judge could easily do it, his nickname would have to be Mr. November!

To personally witness the 1984 Tigers winning the series was very special and memorable. Seeing Kurt Gibson go 3 for 4, batting in 5 runs with 2 homers in the decisive 5th game was impressive, especially the home run off of A’s ace reliever Goose Gossage. The Tigers manager Sparky Anderson almost choked on his gum when Gibson hit that right field blast to win the Series.

On that high note, look for the rest of my World Series memories next week, starting with the 1990 sweep by the Red of the A’s along more Kurt Gibson highlights in a Dodger uniform.

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Farm Pets - 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

Farm Pets

Dad, Mom & sister Sara with dog Ginger and an unnamed cat ~1985

Growing up on the farm during the 1950s meant we had many farm pets always running around the farm, including dogs, cats and the occasional adopted cow, pig and chicken. Most memorable were the dogs who had a tendency to routinely sneak into family photos. My earliest pet memory actually was our grandmother’s dog, Skippy. She lived on the farm across the road from us, along with my Uncle Bob who farmed the home place and was a bachelor at the time. He had many coon dogs over the years as well, but Skippy was a favorite, a rat terrier with short hair so it didn’t shed all over Grandma’s house. 

Grandma also had a nutcracker in the form of a dog as pictured here that we nicknamed Skippy as well. It was fun playing with the old pot-metal device, especially squeezing my sisters’ fingers in the jaws!

Eventually, my siblings and I were able to convince Mom and Dad we needed a pet of our own, so Brownie joined the family, pictured above in 1959 with my baby brother Luke. But Mom said no dogs in the house, so Brownie and every other dog over the years, stayed outside on the front porch or in the barn. Not once do I ever recall any of our pets coming into the house.

 Little Willow

Speaking of the barn, Dad always kept a bunch of farm cats around to keep the rats and mice under control. But we never bothered to name the cats as they would come and go. To this day, I am not a cat person, however, our son just adopted a kitten he named Willow that we enjoy when he visits.

Spot before his Demise

Our dogs were always males, avoiding any unexpected liter of puppies on the farm. They didn’t seem to last long, as they either ran off, were injured or died in some manner. One named Spot pictured above was run over by a car along SR705 west of Loramie as he was running ahead of me while riding my bike. The driver was a high school kid who stopped to move the dog’s limp body into the side ditch just as I arrived on the scene. Needless to say, I was devastated and held a grudge against him. However, a few years later he unfortunately died from some debilitating disease, so I learned to control my grudges!

Brownie came next as pictured above in this 1960 photo with me and my siblings. Brownie was another short haired rat terrier as Dad insisted so their coat wouldn’t get covered with burrs and matted down. Brownie was a good dog that one day just disappeared. Probable found a female mutt he’d rather hang around with than us kids.

It was about then that we actually had a collie named Lassie after the 1950’s TV show by the same name. The dog took a nip at my sister Ann, so back to the kennel it went after just two days. That dog was smart and could catch and fetch a ball.

Then came Cookie, named after the large round brown spot on her hindquarters that resembled a cookie. He lead a tough life, having first lost a hind leg after running into the mower while Dad was cutting hay, then getting hit in the head with a baseball bat, after which we had to put her down; another sad pet day on the farm.

We also had a dog we named Skippy in memory of our grandmother’s dog after it died. Skippy didn’t last long either, eventually running away to presumably greener pastures. Then after I left home, Mom & Dad had several dogs named Snoopy and Babe pictured above.

Ginger, Reg & Dave 1981

Ginger was another dog with an especially interesting history. One evening in 1978, my wife and I were driving home after catching a movie when we saw this lost little puppy running across the street right in front of our car. I braked and we got out of the car as the puppy came running up to us. We walked up and down the street looking for its owners, so took it home and did the same thing the next couple days, even posting a sign on a telephone pole about the lost puppy, while also checking with the local animal shelter, all to no avail. My wife was pregnant at the time, so we concluded it was a good omen and kept her. We had a fenced enclosed yard so it was perfect for her to roam around. And once our son was born, he and Ginger became best buds.

Dad, Uncle Bob and nieces with Ginger

But by 1984 we were transferred by Ford and moved to a home without a fenced yard, so we left Ginger with Mom and Dad on the farm. It was a sad day for our son, but at least he got to play with Ginger while visiting his grandparents, as did all the nieces and nephews.

Alas, Ginger also suffered a dreadful end, as she swallowed some antifreeze that Dad had drained from a tractor. Apparently the glycol in antifreeze taste sweet to dogs, but is very poisonous. Dad didn’t tell us what happened until years later, as he felt so bad and didn’t want to sadden our son.

In 1989, we moved again to a place with a larger yard so Toby, a Basenji a bark-less dog breed entered our lives. Our 10 year old son really loved that puppy and so did we. It lived until age 14 and was irreplaceable, as we now have no pets and have no plans for any, unless perhaps we find another puppy roaming the streets again! In the meantime, our son’s kitten will suffice when he visits.

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Uncle Gene - 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

The last sibling in my Mom’s family, Uncle Gene, passed away recently at the age of 92. He was quite the character and the subject of several previous blogs that are republished below in his memory. May he rest in peace and deepest sympathy to his family.

Uncle Gene

My uncle Gene called me recently from his home in Sun City, Florida, where he lives with his lovely wife Pat pictured above. It was a beautiful night here in SW Florida, so he called just as the sun was setting. Uncle Gene is 92 years young and is my mother’s younger brother. He's the little guy on the right side of the bench in this 1937 family photo. My mother is in the back row, third from the left. Mom was 20 and Gene was 8.

Gene is in good health and as always, was in great spirits. He is the only family member in the photo still living, so he represents the last connection to my mother. I really enjoy the stories he tells about growing up on the farm in St. Patrick's. He told me his nickname for my mother was Mom, Jr. as she was the designated baby sitter for Gene and his younger brother Pat seated on the left end of the bench.

Here they are riding a horse drawn sled in 1943. The two youngsters would be given their weekly bath by my mother, and Gene recalls always imploring my mother that he really wasn’t that dirty and could hold off on the bath for another week. But Mom, Jr did not relent so into the tub he went.

One of my fondest memories of Gene was at his wedding to his first wife Liz from Coldwater as documented in this previous blogpost. Before marrying Liz, Gene graduated from the University of Dayton with a chemistry degree and also served in the Army during the Korean War. He and his six brothers are all honored at the Sun City War Memorial with a commemorative brick.

After their marriage, Gene and Liz moved to Chicago where he was in the perfume business where he could apply his chemistry degree; however, his gift of gab quickly got him promoted to the marketing department. Mom and my sisters loved the perfume samples (and the stories) he would bring home every time he visited.

On one of his visits, he also brought back his golf clubs, which us kids enjoyed whacking the ball around the farm yard. I was hooked on golf from that moment on as described in this blog. Years later, after retiring and moving to Sun City, Gene would host an annual golf outing for any relatives visiting Florida over the winter. He’d meticulously plan every phase of the weekend-long event, including the grand finale at the local Sun City German restaurant to celebrate a fun-filled weekend and our German heritage. Any of his nieces attending would be given special treatment, as literally he told every one of them multiple times, and still does to this day, that each was his favorite. Nephews not so much, especially when it came to golf competition!

Gene’s team always seemed to win as evidenced by these photos. What a ringer!

There was one year when I did take Gene's money, fortunately having been paired up with his wife Pat.

As the old saying goes, gambling money has no home - except in Gene’s pocket. Now you get some sense of why dad’s nickname for Gene was Slick!

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Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Band of Brothers - 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

Band of Brothers

My uncle Gene and his six brothers were honored recently with a commemorative brick in the newly dedicated Veterans Memorial Park in Sun City, Florida, where uncle Gene lives and my uncle Tony is buried.

The brick shown below in a larger photo, recognized the seven brothers for their services during WWII and the Korean War.

Three of uncle Tony’s grown children were able to also attend the dedication and are pictured below with uncle Gene.

This is a blow-up of the framed newspaper article about the brothers (and one brother-in-law) shown in the photo.

Here are some previous tributes to our greatest generation:

Most read blogpost about Okinawa veteran Vernie Hoying:

http://fishreportonline.blogspot.com/2017/03/daves-midwestern-ohio-memories-from-50s.html

Veterans Day 2015:

http://fishreportonline.blogspot.com/2015/11/daves-midwestern-ohio-memories-from-50s_11.html

Rosie The Riveter:

http://fishreportonline.blogspot.com/2015/11/daves-midwestern-ohio-memories-from-50s_17.html

Even though I’ve written many times about my uncles who served in the armed forces, our gratitude can never be expressed adequately enough to atone for the sacrifices they and all veterans have made to fight for the cherished freedom we all enjoy.

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