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Thread: Birthdays: 6/8

  1. #1
    Member chicoruiz's Avatar
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    Birthdays: 6/8

    Lots of good stuff today...

    Reds:

    Scott Ruskin (49) -A 14th-round pick by the Reds in 1981; he didn't sign but the Reds eventually got him in 1992 as part of the regrettable Wetteland trade. After his playing days he went back to college and got a degree in computer science.

    Del Ennis -Soft-spoken RF for the "Whiz Kids" Phillies of the early 1950. During the years Ennis was active, only Musial drove in more runs in the NL...A Red in 1959 at the end of his career...After retiring, he ran a bowling alley and owned racing greyhounds, which he named Whiz Kid Ennis, Whiz Kid Ashburn, and Whiz Kid Roberts.

    Others:

    Don Robinson (55) -Pirate righty who won 109 games, but is better remembered for his hitting; he was a career .265 hitter with 13 homers. In 1984 the Pirates actually started him in left field for a game, and responded by going 1 for 3.

    George Brunet -Lefty who pitched for 9 teams in 15 years. Most of the interesting stuff about him, however, happened before and after that. He was the minor league career leader in strikeouts at one point; for all I know he may still be. He's also remembered for a stretch when he was pitching for Little Rock in which he went 59 1/3 innings without his teammates scoring a run for him...After his big league career, he went to Mexico and had a long career there; he holds the Mexican League record for career shutouts even though he didn't start until he was in his mid-30s. All in all, he played professional baseball every year from 1953 to 1985.

    Eddie Gaedel -Height: 3'7", jersey number: 1/8...Eddie died in 1961 after being beaten badly in a bar fight...His great-nephew was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2008. He's 6'4".

    Van Lingle Mungo -Fireballing Dodger pitcher of the 1940s; now remembered mostly as the title of a great song by the wonderful jazz pianist Dave Frishberg (if you haven't heard it, you need to). When Dick Cavett had his talk show, he had Frishberg on as a guest one night, and he invited Mungo on also, just for fun. Frishberg recalls that all Mungo seemed to care about was whether he was entitled to make any money from the song. Frishberg informed him that it was highly unlikely that he would ever see a dime from the song, and the "the only way he could get even was to write a song called "Dave Frishberg" and take his chances. He said he was gonna do it, but I haven't heard it on the radio..."

    Seriously, if you like that sort of thing, check out Dave Frishberg on ITunes or whatever. "Van Lingle Mungo" is great, but so is "My Attorney Bernie" and a lot of other stuff...
    "In baseball, you don't know nothin'"...Yogi Berra


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  3. #2
    6 months of heartbreak Bob Borkowski's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    An especially good entry today, chico. Thanks.

    Unless I'm mistaken you began these 'Birthday' posts right around 7-21-11 and it will be interesting to see how you proceed into your 2nd year. Will you have to alter your approach somehow in order to avoid repetition? Not sure what your thoughts are.

    In any event, please don't stop the posts. Lots of us here appreciate the time and effort you put into your daily research on these...you present lots of details I have never heard before.

  4. #3
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Borkowski View Post
    In any event, please don't stop the posts. Lots of us here appreciate the time and effort you put into your daily research on these...you present lots of details I have never heard before.
    Amen! Thanks to chico for a great read that I look forward to each day.

  5. #4
    Member SirFelixCat's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Me

  6. #5
    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Quote Originally Posted by SirFelixCat View Post
    Me
    Happy Birthday!


    Thanks Chico! These are great reads everyday.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

  7. #6
    Redsmetz redsmetz's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Quote Originally Posted by chicoruiz View Post
    Van Lingle Mungo -Fireballing Dodger pitcher of the 1940s; now remembered mostly as the title of a great song by the wonderful jazz pianist Dave Frishberg (if you haven't heard it, you need to). When Dick Cavett had his talk show, he had Frishberg on as a guest one night, and he invited Mungo on also, just for fun. Frishberg recalls that all Mungo seemed to care about was whether he was entitled to make any money from the song. Frishberg informed him that it was highly unlikely that he would ever see a dime from the song, and the "the only way he could get even was to write a song called "Dave Frishberg" and take his chances. He said he was gonna do it, but I haven't heard it on the radio..."

    Seriously, if you like that sort of thing, check out Dave Frishberg on ITunes or whatever. "Van Lingle Mungo" is great, but so is "My Attorney Bernie" and a lot of other stuff...
    Just saw Mungo's birthday as I tore off my Page a Day calendar this morning.

    From a 2007 thread I put up
    HEENEY MAJESKI
    JOHNNY GEE
    EDDIE JOOST
    JOHNNY PESKY
    THORNTON LEE
    DANNY GARDELLA
    VAN LINGLE MUNGO

    WHITEY KUROWSKI
    MAX LANIER
    EDDIE WAITKUS
    JOHNNY VANDER MEER
    BOB ESTALELLA
    VAN LINGLE MUNGO

    AUGIE BERGAMO
    SIGMUND JAKUCKI
    BIG JOHNNY MIZE
    and
    BARNEY MCCOSKY
    HAL TROSKY
    AUGIE GALAN
    and
    PINKY MAY
    STAN HACK
    and
    FRENCHY BORDAGARAY
    PHIL CAVARRETTA
    GEORGE MCQUINN
    HOWARD POLLET
    and
    EARLY WYNN
    ROY CAMPANELLA
    VAN LINGLE MUNGO

    AUGIE BERGAMO
    SIGMUND JAKUCKI
    BIG JOHNNY MIZE
    and
    BARNEY MCCOSKY
    HAL TROSKY
    JOHN ANTONELLI
    FERRIS FAIN
    FRANKIE CROSETTI
    JOHNNY SAIN
    HARRY BRECHEEN
    and
    LOU BOUDREAU
    FRANKIE GUSTINE
    and
    CLAUDE PASSEAU
    EDDIE BASINSKI
    ERNIE LOMBARDI
    HUEY MULCAHY
    VAN LINGLE

    VAN LINGLE MUNGO
    And the song itself: Van Lingle Mungo - YouTube
    “In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"

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  8. #7
    6 months of heartbreak Bob Borkowski's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Quote Originally Posted by redsmetz View Post
    Just saw Mungo's birthday as I tore off my Page a Day calendar this morning.

    From a 2007 thread I put up


    And the song itself: Van Lingle Mungo - YouTube
    Thanks for the post and the video.

    I'm curious about the fact that on the video at 1:14 the name of Hal Trosky is sung but the pic is Bob Feller. Later, at 2:04, when Trosky's name is sung for the second time a different pic is displayed (of the real Hal Trosky I suppose).

    Just looking at the photos of some of these guys takes me for a nice ride down memory lane.

  9. #8
    Member marcshoe's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    I love the piano in that piece too.
    It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.

  10. #9
    Member marcshoe's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Funny, I did an image search on google for Hal Trotsky and that same Bob Feller picture was one of the first results. When I clicked on it, though, it was clearly identified as "bob-feller.jpg".



    I hadn't seen that picture before, but it really captures Feller's attitude.

    Anyway, the real Hal Trosky didn't look anything like Feller.



    A much more pleasant looking fellow. Not a bad hitter, either.

    Back when I was in high school, after I read "The Glory of Their Times" I picked up another couple of oral histories picking up where that great book left off: "Baseball When the Grass was Real" and "Baseball Between the Lines". Dad accidentally burned them when he cleaned out the building where I was storing them. I'd love to read them again, and I see now that they're on Amazon. Maybe it's time to look again. These pictures make me want to get back into reading about that time.
    Last edited by tixe; 06-09-2012 at 12:56 PM.
    It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.

  11. #10
    6 months of heartbreak Bob Borkowski's Avatar
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    Re: Birthdays: 6/8

    Great pic of Feller, marc. The look in the eye, the curl of the lip!


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