We're So Proud

A few weeks ago I did a blog post called "We're So Proud" on one of my other blogs. Basically it consisted of two YouTube videos that were captured here in east Tennessee.

Here's a WSP story that's sports related. The local hockey team, the Knoxville Ice Bears, champions of the SPHL, met the Fayetteville FireAntz in Knoxville late last week. There's been bad blood between the two teams all year, but it erupted on Saturday evening.











The League suspended 7 players and 2 coaches.

Here's the story from the Ice Bears' website.

Our local paper, the Knoxville News Sentinel, carried a few stories about it.

The local Fayetteville paper, the Fayetteville Observer, also ran a story.

The two teams face each other this weekend in the first round of the playoffs.

Yep. We're so proud.

Early Wynn Jersey Card

Looking out on ebay a few weeks ago I came across this Early Wynn relic card.

2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic, Classic Memorabilia, Early Wynn (card # CM-EW)

Early Wynn spent the 1937-1941 seasons in and out of the minors. He made his Major League debut in 1939 with the Washington Senators. He enlisted in the Army in 1944 and spent the 1945 season serving the US. In December of 1948 he was traded to the Cleveland Indians where he spent the next nine seasons. In December of 1957 he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. Five years later he was released. In June of 1963 he re-signed with the Indians. He got one win that year. It was his 300th.

Over his 23 seasons, he had five seasons winning 20 or more games. Six seasons he had a losing record. He ended up with a 3.54 ERA and 15 Saves. He started 612 games and had 290 complete games. 47.3 percent.

He made it to the World Series twice. In 1954 Cleveland lost to the New York Giants. In 1959 Chicago lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. During those two series, he gathered a 1-2 record.

He was an eight game All-Star and won the 1959 Cy Young Award, the 1959 Sporting News Major League Player of the Year and the 1959 Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year.

He was not to be trifled with while at the plate. During 1,903 plate appearances he batted .214 including 17 Home Runs and 173 RBI. On the base path he was never caught stealing and pilfered one base. I guess if one doesn't attempt to steal, one can't get thrown out.

He ended his career with 2,334 Strike Outs. In both 1962 and 1963 he was the oldest player in the American League.

The writers elected him to the Hall of Fame on his fourth ballot, in 1972. After his playing days he did some coaching and even managed a minor league team. After that he hit the broadcast booth until the early 1980s.

He died in 1999 at the age of 79.

Back to the card. Big weave, a bit of staining. Good enough for me. I won the auction with a bid of $1.04. Shipping was $3.25. You do the math.

Huggins & Scott Auction Followup

The Huggins & Scott two day auction concluded earlier this week.

Let's see what how the items I selected turned out...

Lot 137

Johnston Cookies Complete Set of cards with Display Poster

Opening Bid: $400

Final Bid: $600

Lot 11

1887 Old Judge N172 Amos Rusie

Opening Bid: $300

Final Bid: $1,700

Lot 86

1912 S110 Baseball Silk Pillowcase

Opening Bid: $1,200

Final Bid: $1,300

Lot 564

1910 Williams Caramel E103 Ty Cobb

Opening Bid: $200

Final Bid: $700

Lot 127

Esskay Meats Bob Alexander Complete Box

Opening Bid: $7,500

Final Bid: $16,000

Not bad. More than I carry around in my wallet, but not bad.

Back to School

My wife attended Milligan College in east Tennessee. Attended and graduated.

It is a beautiful campus. I've visited their library only once, and that was during a reunion a few years back.

Today I virtually visited them. I sent an email off to the Archives and Special Collections, P. H. Welshimer Memorial Library asking if they had any info on the three professional players that attended Milligan.

In very short order I received scans of yearbook pages with photos (and more) of the men in question.

Who, you might be asking yourself, are these men? Have I heard of them?

We'll start with the second question first. Perhaps one of them. Probably not the other two.

And the answer to the first question is:

1. Dale Alexander
2. Joe Price
3. Horace Ozmer

Dale Alexander played for the Detroit Tigers from 1929-1932 and the for the Boston Red Sox from 1932-1933. In 1929 he led the AL in hits (215) and Games Played (155). In 1932 he led the AL in Batting Average (.367) and finished his career with a .331 lifetime BA. He played first base, occasionally stepping into left field.

1933 Goudey, Dale Alexander (card #221)

Joe Price played with the 1928 New York Giants. One game. He played center field and had one at bat. He struck out. The Giants beat the Phillies, 14-3.

Horace "Doc" Ozmer played with the 1923 Philadelphia Athletics. He, too, played in one game. He pitched for two innings, giving up one earned run. He did record a strike out. The Athletics lost to the St. Louis Browns, 14-3.

I've asked permission to reuse the images that the MC archivist graciously sent over, so you'll have to wait until I get those to see more of Dale, Joe, and Horace.

Image Credit: this ebay auction

I pulled the trigger

and joined SABR.

The Society for American Baseball Research.

How will this affect my collecting habits? We'll see.

Bisbee Ball

I received this baseball from my parents. I think that it was for my birthday at the end of last year. Or maybe Christmas. They're close. The dates and my parents.

It holds four autographs.

Sam Kitterman

Frank Lucchesi and Pete Vucurevich

Charlie Metro

What do they have in common? They were all part of the 1947 Bisbee Yanks, the Class C farm team for the NY Yankees. More info on that team can be found here (including a team photo).

My folks live the next town over from Bisbee, Arizona, which is home to Warren Park, the oldest professional ballpark in the US.

Mom and Dad, thanks for the piece of history.

Follow up

Last week I finished reading another baseball book.


The sad thing (well, maybe it isn't sad) is that I started this book last year. Not in December, but last May.

I've read a slew of other books during these past 10 or so months.

• The Baseball Uncyclopedia
• Power, Money, & Sex
• Schoolboy, Jim Tugerson, Ace of the '53 Smokies
• The Last Commissioner
• The Best of Spitball
• Every Pitcher Tells a Story
• Tales from the Dodger Dugout
• Baseball Between the Lies
• misc other non-sport books

It took me that long to read one book while I managed to read at least seven sports related books, hundreds, if not thousands of blog posts, news articles, magazines, technical reports and a mess of Caroline's library books. Now, how do I rationalize this?

Because I wanted to savor it. The Donald Honig Reader is actually a collection of two of his books (Baseball When the Grass Was Real and Baseball Between the Lines) and excerpts from two others (The October Heroes and The Man in the Dugout).

Honig coaxes memories from over 50 players and managers in this collection. It is one side of the conversation, but one can almost hear the leading questions being asked. They remain silent though. It is very similar to Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times. I don't know which came first and I don't think that one was copying the other. They both are great.

Interviewees include: Burleigh Grimes, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Grove, Bob Feller, Tommy Henrich, Ralph Kiner, Mickey Vernon, Enos Slaughter, Monte Irvin, Robin Roberts, Lloyd Waner, Joe Sewell, and scores more.

I have seen on various blogs that this is the year of vintage. You want vintage? Read this book. The interviewed participants will share with you what baseball was really like.

It annoys my wife that I have four or five books that I read at a time. My guess that this one really annoyed her because I've had it around for so long. Well, now the the stack by the bedside has changed. I've put Honig's tome back on the bookshelf and replaced it with David Jamieson's Mint Condition.

It arrived in the mail on Saturday, and I've already started reading it. This is not my official review, just a quick notice. Jamieson has a fluid writing style and the subject matter is near to my heart. It makes for a very easy read.

Now, I'm off to bed to read another chapter.