Sports - Remember when?
List your favorite sports memories or things that have changed in sports during your life time:
The NFL had the Runner-Up Bowl, played between the 2 teams that lost in the Semi-Finals
Clyde Potts I remember that NFL Runner-Up Bowl real well ... the Baltimore Colts played in it 1965 and 66 ... beat the Cowboys 35-0 and Unitas led them to a comeback win against the Eagles ... classic Johnny U two-minute drill... a real good game.
I played in a charity basketball game against the Eagles in those days. Played for the Ocean County All-Stars and we were fool enough to think we'd beat "those football players" ... Ben Hawkins scored 46 and after the game they told us we played good "d" on him ... they said against the out-of-shape faculty teams he drops about 60 to 70 on them!
I got knocked to the floor and asked the ref, where's the foul?
An Eagle stood over me and said, "Welcome to the NFL, kid."
Andy Loigu When Bill Bradley played for Princeton, there was no three-point shot. I can only imagine how many he would have tallied had it been in college play.
We played a state game on the court where the New Jersey Americans (the ABA team before they were named the Nets) used to play ... and that three-point line was painted onto the court. I took about four warm up shots from behind and was short on each one ... took a step inside that circle and made five or six in a row ... you can feel the difference, the three-pointer is a heave.
Lest I ever brag about being on a state championship team in 1967, one of the reasons we may have won was because I was forbidden from ever shooting from farther out than 15 feet.
Against the fast athletic teams, we had to pass 10 times before a shot.
In Hoosiers, Norman Dale only demanded four, and those parents thought that was too many.
Back in the 50's we had to play basketball "girls rules" That meant 1/2 court. We did use the entire court, but 3 forwards from the opposing team played on one 1/2 and our guards played on the same 1/2. Our forwards and the opposing teams guards were on the other 1/2. Only forwards were allowed to shoot. Anyone else remember this?
Ms Fishy Yes, I remember that version of the game the girls played.
And, I remember the early 70s, when they started playing the five-on-five game and how impressed I was with how well they played it. Remember the Immaculata Mighty Macs? Not high school, this was a college team in suburban Philly.
If anybody doesn't remember them, google it. They were fantastic.
I interviewed one of their players for a newspaper column and said, "you move like a guy, on the court I mean." She seemed to appreciate me adding the words "on the court" ... it made her smile, anyway. Would have been an awkward moment if she didn't.
http://www.immaculata.edu/themightymacs/history.php
Here's a link for you ... the Mighty Macs.
The Yankees used to play the Mets in what was called the "Mayors' Trophy Game"- it was officially an exhibition game, but took place during a mutual off day when both teams happened to be both in NYC.
Back in the 60's to early 80's- the Yankees and Mets would play this game once a year in New York- and once George Steinbrenner took over the team in 1973- there was a mandate that the Yankees do all they could to win that game- this was before the Yankees vs. Mets became the rather mundane interleague series it has become now.
Back then, it was quite a different deal for an American League team to play a National League team during the April-September portion of the regular season. Quite simply, Interleague play did not exist- making these rather rare exhibition games much more interesting.
With the advent of Interleague play where the two NY teams play each other every season, in games that count- but really don't feel special at all, the whole idea now is rather watered down- George Steinbrenner is gone too- and the Mayors Trophy Game is just now a "remember when"
The Rhyme Animal I was at Yankee Stadium on May 22nd, 1963. In the 11th inning Mickey Mantle hit a ball that hit the decorated facade at top of right field. I remember watching it travel and thinking it was going over the top.
MK I remember watching the Phillies play in Baltimore the Sunday before the regular season started in 1969 ... it was Easter Sunday and someone in the media joked that it was for the Easter Bunny trophy... the game drew about 30,000 fans and the fans cheered Richie Allen ... the guy next to me said "he won't be hearing cheers when he gets to Philadelphia" ... 14 years later I watched the same teams in the World Series.
I remember watching American League baseball without a designated hitter. Roric Harrison of the Orioles, in Sept. of 72, officially was the last AL pitcher to hit a homer before the designated hitter rule took effect ... some trivia only an Orioles' fan would know (or would care).
The DH rule worked out well for Baltimore ... they picked up Tommy Davis (who should have been the NL MVP in 1962 with the Dodgers) ... by 73 he was broken down and nobody wanted him anymore, but he became the best DH hitter in the league in 73, 74 and 75, was a steady bat in the middle of the lineup and helped them win two more division titles.
Paul Blair and Brooks Robinson made sensational plays in that game with the Phillies ... the cynic sitting next to me said "they're crazy, laying out like that in an exhibition game."
I simply responded with, "hey, that's the only way they know how to play. They love playing baseball."
I wonder if guys making today's insane salaries would make plays like that in an exhibition game.
The two longest homers I remember seeing in person both were in old Connie Mack Stadium in Philly ... in 1962 Orlando Cepeda hit one over the clock on top of the scoreboard, which was 450 feet from home plate ... and that ball was still gaining altitude. In 1965, I saw Richie Allen hit one over the light tower in left field.
I saw Tony Clark hit a homer in a Double-A game in Trenton that cleared the tree tops and landed in the Delaware River. He had to hit it that far to make sure Alex Ochoa would not catch it ... yes, I was in the park to watch him play the outfield.
Remember when Astroturf came into baseball? Richie Allen said, "if a cow can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."
Now, baseball has rediscovered natural grass ... the only places that still have the turf are places like Toronto and Tampa, where they don't have the funds to build a new "retro" park.
Remember the NFL World Champs pre Super Bowl, would play the College All-Stars (Seniors) at Chicago's Soldier Field? The game was played in August, to kick off the opening of training camp.
GC Andy (The Walrus)- always like reading your recollections about your past games- nothing better than hearing first person accounts about old stadiums that don't exist and players that really had some color and flair for the game- all good stories- kind of reminds me of when we used to hear you on that AM station on the dial- and you would spin off into stories, or the FM station where you would spin stories on that short lived Sports Talk show they had- good stuff.
One of my fav baseball- "been there-remember that" moments was the rainy misty night back in 1982, when Reggie Jackson made his return to Yankee Stadium with the California Angels. Against a still very good Ron Guidry, Reggie- always a flair for the dramatic- hit a HR into the RF stands in his third at bat of the night.
Me and my buddy, at all of 16 yrs old then, took the bus into NY and the subways to the game, because we were such Reggie fans- we even got seats in the RF stands, so the HR came right at us!
Great night- good memories- (btw the Angels won the game of Reggie's return to NY that night 3-1- the go ahead run on a suicide squeeze bunt by Bob Boone, which scored Reggie from third base- which I told my friend sitting with me would happen one pitch before it did- Angels manager at the time Gene Mauch was well known for that strategy-as you probably remember)
Yeah, I do remember those College All-Stars games They discontinued them when they started becoming blowouts and GMs were worried that their high priced top draft picks were going to get hurt.
Getting back to the monster home runs, I wasn't lucky enough to be there when Frank Robinson hit the only homer that left Memorial Stadium, but they put up an orange and black flag marked "HERE" at the spot where it sailed over and I marveled at it that summer. I saw him hit one in the World Series that year (Sunday was the only day I could go during high school football season) and what I vividly remember is, I was watching Don Drysdale pitching, really firing those fastballs ... and heard the crack of the bat. Drysdale just put his head down and didn't even look ... he knew it was gone ... when I looked up Frank was in his trot rounding second base. Didn't see where the ball landed until I watched the highlight on TV ... there were no scoreboards with video screens in 1966.
Final score, 1-0 and the O's swept the series ... they shut the Dodgers out the last 33 innings of the series ... I think that still is the record.
I took subways to games, too, before I had my drivers' license.
My neighbor was a big Phillies fan and we took the bus to Philly and then took the subway to the ballpark. I went several times just to see Henry Aaron and never saw him hit a home run ... and he hit more of them than any of these guys we've been chatting about.
Funny thing was, the bus would stop at Fort Dix on the way to Philly and pick up a lot of service men ... now I mean no disrespect to our service men, but when we'd come home from the ballpark ... they were really, really drunk ... I could tell some stories, but women and children read this thread and I can't repeat the funny stuff they would say ... and they'd repeat it over and over .... you know how drunks are.
Reggie really was a showman ... I loved him that season he was an Oriole.
I was there on Naval Academy night, when the right field bleachers were filled with midshipmen, just like at the Army-Navy game.
Reggie went out there with a couple of flags and led them in their cheers ... he had to have practiced beforehand to know what to do.
I heard him as an after dinner speaker one time, and he told hilarious stories.
As Darold Knowles once said, "there isn't enough mustard in the world to cover that hot dog."
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