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Posts Tagged ‘Willie Mays’

Casey At The Bat- Both Sides of the Story

Posted in Biographical, Favorite Things, Video, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2014| 2 Comments »

Baseball The First 100 Years Album CoverBaseball season has snuck upon us again and it remains one of my favorite times of the year.  I had my first taste yesterday, watching the Mets squander a lead then lose in extra innings to the Washington Nationals as I worked in the studio.  It felt pretty good. I have written many times over the years here about my affection for the game and how its history and its folklore is woven into the mesh of our country.

One of my favorite things to listen to when I was a kid was an album called Baseball: The First 100 Years .  It was from 1969, the year that marked professional baseball’s first century, and I can’t remember if I got it in Cooperstown or at Shea Stadium.  But I would play it over and over, listening to the calls of the great plays and great games of the past.  Willie Mays’ over the shoulder catch.  Bobby Thompson’s epic 1951 home run that ended with perhaps the most famous sound clip in baseball history– The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! 

Mighty Casey Has Struck OutIt had Abbott & Costello with their classic bit Who’s On First?, which still makes me laugh even though I’ve heard it a thousand times.  There were songs about Joltin’ Joe and Say Hey Willie and  the classic Take Me out to the Ballpark. And, of course, there was a recitation of Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem Casey At The Bat.

I’ve heard many versions of Casey At The Bat over the years.  Some are goofy, some are dead serious and some are emotionally overwrought, especially some of the earliest ones that featured stage actors who exaggerated every feeling and syllable in the poem.  They are all good fun but I prefer a more straight approach.  Today I am featuring a version with the wondrous voice of James Earl Jones followed by a version from another wonderful voice, Garrison Keillor, giving the other side of the story, speaking in a strong Bostonian accent.  Casey was obviously a Yankee in this version.  It’s pretty funny and sends me into the season with a smile.  Hope it does the same for you.


 

 

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42

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, Influences, Neat Stuff, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2013| 3 Comments »

jackie-robinson-1956_April 15 means a couple of things to some people.  Of course, there is the unpleasant connotation of it as being Tax Day, the due date for income tax filing here in the USA.  But for the baseball fan, it is a date that marks the first day a black player took the field as a major leaguer, when a special player ran out to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1947.   This young black man was athletically gifted, smart and tough-minded.

That player was of course Jackie Robinson.

Major League Baseball now honors him on this day every year, Jackie Robinson Day, with every player on every team putting aside their own uniform numbers to wear his number 42, which is now retired throughout baseball. Currently, only Mariano Rivera wears the number 42 on his back  and after he retires at the end of this season, no player will ever wear the 42 on their back again outside of this day each year.

Retiring a number is a sacred thing in baseball.  A player’s number has an almost mystical connection with the fans.  Growing up, everyone knew that Babe Ruth was 3,  Lou Gehrig 4, Mickey Mantle 7, Willie Mays 24, Hank Aaron 44 and on an on.  Whenever I see the number 45 all I see is my hero Bob Gibson on the mound. And everyone , even Mariano Rivera fans like myself, knows that the 42 belongs to Jackie Robinson.

There is also a new movie out that bears that number and it tells the story of Robinson’s initial turbulent year with the Dodgers.  I haven’t seen it so I can’t really comment other than to say that it is a story that every child should know.  It is a remarkable story of self restraint and strength in the face of institutionalized hatred, one that made possible the  broader changes that took place in our country in the civil rights movement in the decades after Robinson’s first day on that field in 1947.

From what I have read, the biggest complaint is that the movie doesn’t really give a full accounting of Robinson’s life. Jackie was a legendary collegiate athlete at UCLA, lettering in four sports– football, basketball, track and baseball.  He was the NCAA champion in the Long Jump and could have easily played professional football.  Of course, that was impossible because  the NFL was segregated at that time as well.

Nor does it detail his military career which is of interest mainly for Robinson being court martialed for refusing to sit in the back of an Army bus at Ft. Hood, Texas.   He was eventually acquitted of all charges by an all-white panel of officers  but it was an incident that foretold of his strength and willingness to enter the fight in taking on the segregated major leagues.

Nor does it address the health problems that led to his early death.  He suffered from diabetes and was nearly blind when he had a heart attack that ended his life at the age of 53.  It was much too early for this remarkable man’s story to end.

As I said, it’s a story that every child should know and celebrate.

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Rocking Is Their Business

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, Video, tagged , , , , , , on December 30, 2012| 3 Comments »

The TreniersThere was a now little known band called The Treniers that began performing in the 1940’s.  Led by twin brothers, Cliff and Claude, they were known for their raucous live shows that featured their considerable talents as musicians, dancers and comedians.  They were simply entertainers.

They were also one of the first bands to use the term rock and roll in their songs and acted as a bridge between the pop and swing of the 40’s and the first fledgling footsteps of rock in the 50’s.  They appeared on a number of early television shows as well as in a few 50’s rock movies with Alan Freed, the legendary DJ who brought rock and roll to the mainstream, such as The Girl Can’t Help It.

Personally, I only knew of them from a novelty song they cut in the 50’s called Say Hey!, which was a tribute to the great Willie  Mays, whose trademark was the phrase Say Hey!  It was on an old record I practically wore out as a kid about the history of baseball and was also featured on the Ken Burns Baseball documentary.  But reading a book by Nick Tosches on the unsung heroes of early rock, I was introduced to them and began seeking their work online.

They were an interesting case, immensely talented  but never having the huge recording careers one might expect.  You see, their energy came from the interaction with an audience, from  the reactions of the excited and dancing crowds before them .  That  never fully translated in the recording studio where the only audience was a handful of engineers.  The recordings could never capture the joy and force of their live shows, for which they became famous.  In fact, they performed for over 55 years  in Las Vegas and other places as an act with at least a few members of the family still in place.

Here’s a great early clip of them from the Colgate Comedy Hour in 1954.  It was hosted by the still partnered comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who were both huge fans of the Treniers.  It’s a wonderful bit of music and comedy that features some wild dancing that makes me understand what the French see in Jerry Lewis.

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