Tag Archives: 1970s

Remembering Bobby Murcer And A Good Day At The Plate

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Bobby Murcer: 40 Years Ago Today, April 11, 1973

Baseball Murcer vs Indians 4 11 73

Bobby Murcer vs. Cleveland Indians April 11, 1973

On this date, Wednesday, April 11, 1973, the New York Yankees were at home against the Cleveland Indians and playing their fifth game of the year. They had lost their first four.

Bobby Murcer batting clean-up went 3 for 4 with a double and two singles and scored two runs in a Yankee 4-0 victory.

It is sometimes hard to believe that decades have passed on events that seem like they occurred only a few years ago.

Growing up in the Bronx, my two favorite Yankees were Ron Blomberg and Bobby Murcer. It was a little easier to root for Murcer because he was in the line-up a lot more than the oft-injured Blomberg.

Murcer was probably the best position player on those late 1960’s, early 1970’s Yankee teams which were generally not very good.  Until Thurman Munson, Lou Pinella, Chris Chambliss, Graig Nettles and others joined the Yankees, the team had few bright spots.

Because of their shared Oklahoma heritage and other vague similarities, some fans were expecting (unfairly) for Murcer to be the next incarnation of Mickey Mantle and carry the team to the playoffs.

No player should have that burden placed upon him. Murcer had solid season after solid season, but he knew that he was never going to be the next Mickey Mantle.

Bobby Murcer was traded in a shocking blockbuster deal after the 1974 season and missed out on being a member of the Yankee world championship teams of 1977 and 1978. He returned to the Yankees in 1979 and did get into a World Series in a losing effort against the Dodgers in 1981. Bobby Murcer retired after 1983 and became a Yankee TV and radio announcer. Beloved by many fans and players in baseball, Murcer contracted a brain tumor and died of cancer at the age of 62 in 2008.

Some interesting notes concerning this April 11 game –

It was a day game. Why play night games in New York in early April? So the temperature can drop an additional 25 degrees and fans and players can freeze? MLB and the teams didn’t try and maximize attendance figures by playing in conditions not conducive to baseball (see current November World Series as an example).

The attendance was 5,059. (Which is the rationale that now most weekday games are scheduled as night games.)

The game was completed in two hours and 29 minutes.

Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game two hit shutout, striking out six but walking eight.

Indians starter Gaylord Perry also went the distance. Perry ended up with 19 wins and 19 losses in 1973 and pitched 29 complete games. That is four more complete games than the top five (Verlander, Dickey, Hernandez, Peavy and Harrison) complete game leaders combined for in 2012.

All three of Bobby Murcer’s hits were to left field. Murcer generally could not stand hitting against Gaylord Perry and constantly complained publicly that Perry was cheating by loading-up the ball. For his career Murcer batted .232 against Perry.

SCTV – The Funniest TV Show Of The Late 70’s / Early 80’s

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John Candy and Cast Lampooning Leave It To Beaver

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Joe Flaherty

Canada’s SCTV (Second City Television) was one of the most brilliant comedy sketch shows ever created. The ensemble cast featured John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy,  Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Tony Rosato, Martin Short and Dave Thomas.

Early in the series, actor, writer and director Harold Ramis was also a major contributor to the show. Harold Ramis wrote and sometimes appeared in many of SCTV’s bizarre scenarios. Ramis appears in the sketch below as Whitey.

Ramis would go on to do Animal House, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack helping to shape modern comedy.

Airing weekly on late night television from 1976 -1984, the show never achieved critical mass appeal but had a strong cult following.

Having been off the air for nearly 30 years most people under the age of 35 have never seen or heard of SCTV. That’s a shame. Because even though there are some obscure references to celebrities, shows and movies of the past, the comedy holds up pretty well today.

Deadpan and Over The Top Comedy

Here is a sample of one of the funnier sketches from 1977. It’s a take-off of the stereotypical 1950’s All-American family TV show Leave It To Beaver. John Candy plays “The Beaver” in Leave It To Beaver 25th Anniversary Party.

For those who want to experience SCTV, seasons 4 & 5 which aired on NBC are available on DVD. Continue reading →

A Look Back: The 10th Anniversary Of Marilyn Monroe’s Death

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1972 Press Photo- At Marilyn Monroe’s Crypt

As today is the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, it is interesting to compare the elaborate ceremonies of today, with the understated manner in which a handful of fans sent flowers on August 5, 1972 on the tenth anniversary of her death.

The press photo reads:

8/5/72 Beverly Hills, CA. Motorcycle escort officer Si Mason of Westwood, Calif. looks over the many flowers sent to actress Marilyn Monroe at the Westwood Memorial Cemetery. 8/5 ten years ago, marks the anniversary of her death. The 36-year old actress was found dead in her Brentwood home of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills. (UPI)

When Lyrics Meant Something – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and “Ohio”

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May 4th Marks the Anniversary of Four Kent State University Students Murdered For Protesting The U.S. Invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War

Do today’s songs have meaning?

One of the things I am confronted with in the 21st century is the degraded state of music today, especially lyrically. Do people really listen to the lyrics of songs and give them any serious thought?  Or are the majority of songs being written not worthy of deep examination?

In the 1960’s and 70’s music listeners certainly did pay attention to the words being sung. They pored over lyric sheets which were inserted into LP albums with artwork that was meant to be contemplated, pondered, discussed, interpreted and argued over. Beginning with the shift to CD’s in the late eighties with their micro-printing of lyrics Continue reading →

Marty Springstead Demonstrates How To Eject A Manager

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Marty Springstead, Former American League Umpire, Dies At 74 (January 17, 2012)

Major league baseball umpires are beloved by their families and friends, but are generally not appreciated by the fans. When longtime umpire Marty Springstead died after suffering a heart attack on January 17th in Sarasota Florida, I felt sad that one of the more memorable baseball names that I heard throughout my childhood was gone. As a fan, I appreciated Marty Springstead’s umpiring skills  and not just because he would consistently eject Orioles manager and longtime Yankee nemesis Earl Weaver from ballgames during the 1970’s and 1980’s, but because he was from the old school of umpiring and was not flamboyant.

Springstead umpired in the American League from 1966-1985. He went on to become an executive and supervisor of umpires from 1986-2009. He worked in three All-Star Games and three World Series. He also got to be behind the plate for two no-hitters, but missed the chance for a third. He would have been calling balls and strikes on June 1, 1975 when Nolan Ryan pitched his fourth no-hitter, but he took off to be with his wife who was having a baby.  People who knew Springstead said Marty was funny and a great storyteller.

But managers who got under his skin would not see that side of him while he was on the field. Springstead was a very good umpire who took his job seriously and didn’t take flak from players, coaches or managers.  Twice during his career Springstead led the league in manager ejections.

I was among the 10,670 long suffering Yankee fans who attended the ballgame shown in the photo below.

At Yankee Stadium on Saturday, August 26, 1972, the Kansas City Royals had already scored two unearned runs in the third inning, and were leading two to one. There were two outs and Yankees pitcher Rob Gardner had a 1-2 count on Kansas City Royals slugger John Mayberry with two men on base. It looked like Gardner would get out of the inning. Continue reading →

AC/DC Riff Raff – Live in Glasgow 1978

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Bon Scott and Angus Young With A Blistering Version of Riff Raff

Rock n’ roll was meant to be dangerous and a live performance should reflect that.

In the late 70’s as AC/DC were on the way to conquering the world with a relentless tour schedule and knockout performances, they filmed a few shows for posterity. This one at The Apollo Centre Theatre in Glasgow Scotland on April 30, 1978 does not have great footage, nor is the sound quality all that good. What is exceptional is the dynamic tension that is displayed in this show. AC/DC is ready to blow any other band off the stage. And you can feel it. Continue reading →