Birthdays: 6/16

[chicoruiz]

Reds:

Ken Johnson (79) -A Red in the pennant year of 1961. He's most famous for being the only pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter. He did it in 1964 for Houston against the Reds; it was 0-0 into the ninth, but the Reds squeaked in a run on a walk and a couple of errors. The Old Left-Hander got the win.

Others:

Kerry Wood (35) -His strikeout rate of 10.32 per nine innings is the second most of any player with a long career (the Unit is first)...Winning pitcher in the 10,000th victory in Cubs history.

Wally Joyner (50) -Burst onto the scene as a rookie, then went backwards tiny bit by tiny bit every year...Once had a knife thrown at him in the on-deck circle at Yankee Stadium...Now lives in Utah, where he appears occasionally in religious films marketed to members of the LDS church.

Ron LeFlore (64) -His life story is well known to anyone who saw the TV-move "One In A Million: The Ron LeFlore Story" starring LeVar Burton. He's had some money-related issues in recent years. If you can get your hands on a book called I Don't Care If I Never Come Back, by Art Hill, it has a lot of great stuff about LeFlore and the Tigers in general.

Ernie Johnson -Relief pitcher turned longtime Braves announcer. Thanks to cable superstations we all got to enjoy him before his passing in 2011.

Wish Egan -Less known for his pitching career than for his role as a longtime Tiger scout. Signed Jim Bunning, Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout among others...Once went down to the bottom of a coal mine to get a parent's signature on a contract.

[cumberlandreds]

I always enjoyed Ernie Johnson when he was doing Braves games. He told a lot of good stories from those 1950's Braves teams that were very good. He won a world championship 1957 and lost in 7 games in 1958. He's one of many local announcers that should have received the Ford Frick award. He's much in the same vein as Joe Nuxhall. Low key, good guy who never brought attention to himself.

I always remember NBC devoted a pre-game show to Ron LeFlore. I can remember it telling how the Tigers found him in a prison playing baseball and taking full responsibility for him once he got out. His is a very good story. I'll have to find that book and read it.

[Bob Borkowski]

Wally Joyner (50) -Burst onto the scene as a rookie, then went backwards tiny bit by tiny bit every year...Once had a knife thrown at him in the on-deck circle at Yankee Stadium...Now lives in Utah, where he appears occasionally in religious films marketed to members of the LDS church.

ESPN announcer Chris Berman called him Wally "Absorbine" Joyner, a nickname that stuck.