Déjà Vu, All Over Again ... maybe it's cause you've seen it before ... first time I wrote about this was way back in the last century ... and later on my short lived "Baseball's Magic Moments" Blog in December, 2007. We've now combined our "Magic Moment Repositories" ... "Baseball" and "Life" into one "Magic Moments" Special Feature ... this is a copy of the Baseball's Magic Moments blog's first Lead Post, presented here for your enjoyment and was itself a magic moment for some of us!
When I was growing up, the little stories told by players, writers and announcers ... and former players ... like Luke Appling and Dixie Walker ... were as much a part of the game for me as was the game itself ... playing, watching, and listening.
They knew how to tell a good story ... always interesting, funny to boot!
"We're always on the outside looking in" ... but those stories were magical ... just hearing 'em made me feel like an insider!
Guess most everyone ever connected with the game has had a good story or ten ... many never told, many lost forever ...
Me, back in my earlier days ... actually, it’s of old Abner himself, ... one I took while we were trying to decide what to call this new game we had done invented. Abner wanted to call it “Cricket” but I didn’t think it would be, since the British were already using that name ... and “Grasshopper” just sounded too Chinese; though the pasture was full of ‘em.
The truth is, we really didn’t have anything good upon which to base the ball game’s name ... which I told some fool reporter. He was new, didn’t take any notes, but I did give him that picture. By the time he got back and wrote the story, he had plum forgot everything I had told him ‘cept the part 'bout “base ball game’s name” ... well, that’s how the game got called baseball and why Abner got all the credit, as I had written his name on the back of that picture ... and why I became a journalist in self defense.
Baseball has certainly changed since we first thunk it up … from cow pastures to gigantic entertainment complexes ...
we don’t see anything like HOF Charley Radbourn’s magical 60 win season with 73 games started, 73 complete games, 441 strikeouts, 679 innings, and a 1.38 ERA ... Old Hoss liked to finish what he started!
Today it’s an international business with little leagues and big leagues ... with unions, agents and multimillionaire players. The game is ever changing ... why there’s even some talk of pitchers being excused from hitting and players taking drugs to help them perform better. Why the next thing we know, there’ll be interleague play, home run exhibitions, and night games at Wrigley!
I'm just a funnin' ... but them things could happen!
One thing that hasn’t and will likely never change … all baseball fans have their favorite stories, their memories ... their magic moments. When I think the game's magic moments, I always think of ...
When I was growing up, the little stories told by players, writers and announcers ... and former players ... like Luke Appling and Dixie Walker ... were as much a part of the game for me as was the game itself ... playing, watching, and listening.
They knew how to tell a good story ... always interesting, funny to boot!
"We're always on the outside looking in" ... but those stories were magical ... just hearing 'em made me feel like an insider!
Guess most everyone ever connected with the game has had a good story or ten ... many never told, many lost forever ...
Me, back in my earlier days ... actually, it’s of old Abner himself, ... one I took while we were trying to decide what to call this new game we had done invented. Abner wanted to call it “Cricket” but I didn’t think it would be, since the British were already using that name ... and “Grasshopper” just sounded too Chinese; though the pasture was full of ‘em. The truth is, we really didn’t have anything good upon which to base the ball game’s name ... which I told some fool reporter. He was new, didn’t take any notes, but I did give him that picture. By the time he got back and wrote the story, he had plum forgot everything I had told him ‘cept the part 'bout “base ball game’s name” ... well, that’s how the game got called baseball and why Abner got all the credit, as I had written his name on the back of that picture ... and why I became a journalist in self defense.
Baseball has certainly changed since we first thunk it up … from cow pastures to gigantic entertainment complexes ...
we don’t see anything like HOF Charley Radbourn’s magical 60 win season with 73 games started, 73 complete games, 441 strikeouts, 679 innings, and a 1.38 ERA ... Old Hoss liked to finish what he started!Today it’s an international business with little leagues and big leagues ... with unions, agents and multimillionaire players. The game is ever changing ... why there’s even some talk of pitchers being excused from hitting and players taking drugs to help them perform better. Why the next thing we know, there’ll be interleague play, home run exhibitions, and night games at Wrigley!
I'm just a funnin' ... but them things could happen!
One thing that hasn’t and will likely never change … all baseball fans have their favorite stories, their memories ... their magic moments. When I think the game's magic moments, I always think of ...
- The Babe’s magical day at Forbes field in 1935,
- Lou Gehrig’s 1939 farewell speech,
- Joe's Streak of 56 and 75 out of 76
- Bobby Thomson’s shot heard round the world in 1951,
- Willie Mays’ amazing catch in the 1954 Series,
- Sid Bream’s famous slide to win the 1992 NLCS, and
- The Red Sox’s amazing 2004 comeback against the Yankees
I grew up in Atlanta and Daddy started taking me to games before I can remember and the Braves have always been my favorite major league team. Of course, it was the Atlanta Crackers that I loved, the one with whom I grew up ... we had great teams in the forties and early fifties with players like Country Brown, Gene Verble, Eddie Mathews, Art Fowler, Dick Donovan and Ebba St. Claire ... with Kiki Cuyler, Dixie Walker and Whitlow Wyatt managing and coaching them ... and with Ernie Harwell and Jim Woods calling the action ... Ed Danforth and Furman Bisher writing it up!
Daddy and Earl Mann, the team’s GM and owner were friends and, though I didn’t know it, they had arranged for me to meet some of my favorite players at the old Ponce De Leon hotel for lunch ... My Magic Moment! But, fate took a cruel hand and on that morning, I had oral surgery involving the removal of one of my upper front teeth ... looked a mess, face swollen and could neither talk nor eat.
As we were driving home down Ponce De Leon Avenue, Daddy asked if I would like to stop by the hotel for a coke and some soup ... and, “who knows, we might see a player or two” ... and so we did. The lunchroom looked empty, except for one large group ... and I was surprised when someone yelled out ... “Mr. Mac!” We went over and there they were ... Mr. Mann, Dixie Walker, Country Brown, Gene Verble, Eddie Mathews, Ebba St. Clair, and Jim Woods too!! They were expecting us ... I was just in awe, meeting my favorite players and with Jim Woods telling how he recreated the away games, and “Country” showing me how to drag bunt.
I really don’t remember many details except that I spilled Coca Cola all over me, trying to drink from a straw ... but later that year, I had another magic moment when Dr. Newton let me sit with the team on “Cracker’s Day” at Druid Hills Baptist Church.
The Braves came to Atlanta in 1966 and I saw us lose that first game to the Pirates, 3-2 in extra innings. Work took me from Georgia to South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee but I've remained a loyal Braves' Fan and followed the team on radio and TV ... we've had some great "play-by-play" announcers with the likes of Milo Hamilton, Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson, Ernie Johnson, Jr. and of course, his dad ... my favorite of all, the "Voice of the Braves", Ernie Johnson, Sr.
Daddy and Earl Mann, the team’s GM and owner were friends and, though I didn’t know it, they had arranged for me to meet some of my favorite players at the old Ponce De Leon hotel for lunch ... My Magic Moment! But, fate took a cruel hand and on that morning, I had oral surgery involving the removal of one of my upper front teeth ... looked a mess, face swollen and could neither talk nor eat.
As we were driving home down Ponce De Leon Avenue, Daddy asked if I would like to stop by the hotel for a coke and some soup ... and, “who knows, we might see a player or two” ... and so we did. The lunchroom looked empty, except for one large group ... and I was surprised when someone yelled out ... “Mr. Mac!” We went over and there they were ... Mr. Mann, Dixie Walker, Country Brown, Gene Verble, Eddie Mathews, Ebba St. Clair, and Jim Woods too!! They were expecting us ... I was just in awe, meeting my favorite players and with Jim Woods telling how he recreated the away games, and “Country” showing me how to drag bunt.
I really don’t remember many details except that I spilled Coca Cola all over me, trying to drink from a straw ... but later that year, I had another magic moment when Dr. Newton let me sit with the team on “Cracker’s Day” at Druid Hills Baptist Church.
The Braves came to Atlanta in 1966 and I saw us lose that first game to the Pirates, 3-2 in extra innings. Work took me from Georgia to South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, Ohio, and Tennessee but I've remained a loyal Braves' Fan and followed the team on radio and TV ... we've had some great "play-by-play" announcers with the likes of Milo Hamilton, Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Don Sutton, Joe Simpson, Ernie Johnson, Jr. and of course, his dad ... my favorite of all, the "Voice of the Braves", Ernie Johnson, Sr.
Today's Internet is a wonderful venue where baseball fans from around the globe can meet, make friends and share their favorite stories, their memories … their magic moments. This is the placeto do exactly that and we hope also to feature favorite stories and memories of players, sportscasters, and others who have helped give us some of ours!
Surely we find a way to encourage both current and former “insiders” (radio and TV sportscasters, sportswriters, players, managers, and coaches from the little leagues to the Majors) to contribute stories and participate in both this and the “Braves and Stuff” blogs ... can you imagine the fantastic stories and insights those folks could share?!
The trouble is that it’s danged difficult for folks like us to gain access to folks like them ... but every journey begins with a single step and everyone is invited to spread the word, especially to any of those wonderful “insiders” whom you might know!
Anyone having stories or special topics they’d like to have featured on the Blog ... need only to let me know ... and, we’d love to have guest hosts from that broad community of “insiders” who would share their memories, stories and magic moments ... and respond to our questions and comments!
You can make it happen!
Short lived maybe, but the Magic Moments shared on that old blog were exactly that ... some were short, some were long .... all were magic ... you be da Judge!
The three longest ... from our Proprietor, the "Most Honorable Southern Jackass," arkansashillbilly" and "jasoninmaine" ... are included in the archives as separate posts.
Actually, the "Hillbilly" shared two ... here's the first and shorter.
Without a doubt, Sid Bream in ‘92 (with the Skip Caray commentary and Joe Simpson chuckling at the end) still sends chill bumps across my arms like no other play in Baseball history. I was 13 years old, sitting in the living room of our old house with my dad, and I nearly rattled the pictures off the walls from jumping up and down. There is a YouTube clip of that play that I have watched over and over.
“There’s a lot of room in right center. If he hits it there we can dance in the streets….The one-one pitch. LINE DRIVE, LEFT FIELD…ONE RUN IS IN!!!! HERE COMES BREAM….HERE’S THE THROW TO THE PLATE…HE IIIISSS, SAFE!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!!” –Skip Caray
From our Mr Gil ...
Good morning Bob, J ... Wonderful story, I am afraid the closest I ever got to meeting my idols was from the standing room only section at old Parker Field when the Yankees came to play their farm hands the Richmond Vees. I still remember though my dad picking up my brother and I from school early that day to take us to the game. Unfortunately, Micky Mantle did not play but we did get to see Yogi.
And Journalist Jimmy Smith ...
is that you, journalist bob? permit this journalist to recount a baseball memory - - - ponce de leon ballpark. atlanta crackers. joe nossek. good player on a bad team. look it up. signed this young fan’s baseball glove. of course, jimmy smith was just a little baby at the time.
Prompting my ...
I remember your having mentioned Joe Nossek in the past, but just assumed he played for the Kampala Crackers, as I don’t remember his having played in Atlanta. I assume that it was in 1964 as I know he played for the Twins ... I know it was a thrill for you, something to forever keep ... and, he is better known that folks might imagine!
... do you still have “the glove“?
I had several “Southern Association” balls, some autographed, but none have survived ... we played with them mostly and they wound up lost in the woods behind our playing field or torn up from excessive use. The ball I had from my magic moment meeting was later stolen, together with an old Hamilton watch, given to me by my father, to whom it had been given when he was a boy.
Jere Pugh's Magic Moment ...
Bob,
I also grew up in Atlanta, and as a young kid loved going to see the Atlanta Crackers play at Ponce de leon park. But, most of my viewing was from the right field area where the train tracks are.
I would climb the wall along Ponce de leon Ave, then shimmy up the bridge trust to watch the game. Sometimes sat on a boxcar, or one of the bulding. I was also one of those kids that hung around the front entrance during the game to catch foul balls that came over the roof of the stadium.
Like you, I thought the world of the “Atlanta Crackers” and had baseballs with autographs, especially the one with Ralph County Brown on it. I was in the Military for 20 years and moved a lot, sadly they become lost over the years. I was in Viet Nam when the Atlanta Braves came to Atlanta. I have always pulled for the Braves, for they represent my hometown.
Prompting me again ... Thanks Jere
You do bring back the memories! I used to walk those tracks from the lumberyard at the end of old Carmel Avenue to that same right field area beyond Sears ... did it hundreds of times, got down inside behind the right centerfield fences a couple of times, but not during the games ... Mama would have killed me, had she known.
I too chased foul balls from outside the front entrance and sometimes down the left field side during the game, at least until the late innings when they opened the gates.
Don’t be a stranger!!
Our resident preacher and Braves' fanatic Matthew, Dad to Walter ... back before he was Dad to Abigail ... wrote
Hey Bob. Great blog ... I have only been around since 1981, so these stories are new to me. As a Braves fan and a history buff, your recollections make for great reading.
My favorite moments were with Grandaddy (my dad’s dad) who introduced me to the Braves in the late ’80s in NE Ark, probably because the Cardinals weren’t on TV (St. Louis fans dominate our area). Anyway, from 1990 till his death in 1997, I spent almost every Friday night at their house, watching the Braves and anything else that was on TV. He worked on TVs, radios, etc. for years, and always had at least two TVs on (muted) and the Razorbacks on the radio. I’ll never forget those times.
Now my son (Walter, named after Grandaddy) is 15 months old, and I have already been teaching him to chop and sing. I’ll show him Sid’s slide, Tommy’s masterpiece in ‘95, and the great ones like Smoltzy, Mad Dog, and even some lesser known heroes like Fransisco Cabrera and Alejandro Pena. Who knows what memories he’ll post in years to come, of the Great Heap or Frenchy.
I warned you ... magical, each and every one!
Surely we find a way to encourage both current and former “insiders” (radio and TV sportscasters, sportswriters, players, managers, and coaches from the little leagues to the Majors) to contribute stories and participate in both this and the “Braves and Stuff” blogs ... can you imagine the fantastic stories and insights those folks could share?!
The trouble is that it’s danged difficult for folks like us to gain access to folks like them ... but every journey begins with a single step and everyone is invited to spread the word, especially to any of those wonderful “insiders” whom you might know!
Anyone having stories or special topics they’d like to have featured on the Blog ... need only to let me know ... and, we’d love to have guest hosts from that broad community of “insiders” who would share their memories, stories and magic moments ... and respond to our questions and comments!
You can make it happen!
Short lived maybe, but the Magic Moments shared on that old blog were exactly that ... some were short, some were long .... all were magic ... you be da Judge!
The three longest ... from our Proprietor, the "Most Honorable Southern Jackass," arkansashillbilly" and "jasoninmaine" ... are included in the archives as separate posts.
Actually, the "Hillbilly" shared two ... here's the first and shorter.
Without a doubt, Sid Bream in ‘92 (with the Skip Caray commentary and Joe Simpson chuckling at the end) still sends chill bumps across my arms like no other play in Baseball history. I was 13 years old, sitting in the living room of our old house with my dad, and I nearly rattled the pictures off the walls from jumping up and down. There is a YouTube clip of that play that I have watched over and over.
“There’s a lot of room in right center. If he hits it there we can dance in the streets….The one-one pitch. LINE DRIVE, LEFT FIELD…ONE RUN IS IN!!!! HERE COMES BREAM….HERE’S THE THROW TO THE PLATE…HE IIIISSS, SAFE!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!! BRAVES WIN!!!!” –Skip Caray
From our Mr Gil ...
Good morning Bob, J ... Wonderful story, I am afraid the closest I ever got to meeting my idols was from the standing room only section at old Parker Field when the Yankees came to play their farm hands the Richmond Vees. I still remember though my dad picking up my brother and I from school early that day to take us to the game. Unfortunately, Micky Mantle did not play but we did get to see Yogi.
And Journalist Jimmy Smith ...
is that you, journalist bob? permit this journalist to recount a baseball memory - - - ponce de leon ballpark. atlanta crackers. joe nossek. good player on a bad team. look it up. signed this young fan’s baseball glove. of course, jimmy smith was just a little baby at the time.
Prompting my ...
I remember your having mentioned Joe Nossek in the past, but just assumed he played for the Kampala Crackers, as I don’t remember his having played in Atlanta. I assume that it was in 1964 as I know he played for the Twins ... I know it was a thrill for you, something to forever keep ... and, he is better known that folks might imagine!
... do you still have “the glove“?
I had several “Southern Association” balls, some autographed, but none have survived ... we played with them mostly and they wound up lost in the woods behind our playing field or torn up from excessive use. The ball I had from my magic moment meeting was later stolen, together with an old Hamilton watch, given to me by my father, to whom it had been given when he was a boy.
Jere Pugh's Magic Moment ...
Bob,
I also grew up in Atlanta, and as a young kid loved going to see the Atlanta Crackers play at Ponce de leon park. But, most of my viewing was from the right field area where the train tracks are.
I would climb the wall along Ponce de leon Ave, then shimmy up the bridge trust to watch the game. Sometimes sat on a boxcar, or one of the bulding. I was also one of those kids that hung around the front entrance during the game to catch foul balls that came over the roof of the stadium.Like you, I thought the world of the “Atlanta Crackers” and had baseballs with autographs, especially the one with Ralph County Brown on it. I was in the Military for 20 years and moved a lot, sadly they become lost over the years. I was in Viet Nam when the Atlanta Braves came to Atlanta. I have always pulled for the Braves, for they represent my hometown.
Prompting me again ... Thanks Jere
You do bring back the memories! I used to walk those tracks from the lumberyard at the end of old Carmel Avenue to that same right field area beyond Sears ... did it hundreds of times, got down inside behind the right centerfield fences a couple of times, but not during the games ... Mama would have killed me, had she known.
I too chased foul balls from outside the front entrance and sometimes down the left field side during the game, at least until the late innings when they opened the gates.
Don’t be a stranger!!
Our resident preacher and Braves' fanatic Matthew, Dad to Walter ... back before he was Dad to Abigail ... wrote
Hey Bob. Great blog ... I have only been around since 1981, so these stories are new to me. As a Braves fan and a history buff, your recollections make for great reading.
My favorite moments were with Grandaddy (my dad’s dad) who introduced me to the Braves in the late ’80s in NE Ark, probably because the Cardinals weren’t on TV (St. Louis fans dominate our area). Anyway, from 1990 till his death in 1997, I spent almost every Friday night at their house, watching the Braves and anything else that was on TV. He worked on TVs, radios, etc. for years, and always had at least two TVs on (muted) and the Razorbacks on the radio. I’ll never forget those times.
Now my son (Walter, named after Grandaddy) is 15 months old, and I have already been teaching him to chop and sing. I’ll show him Sid’s slide, Tommy’s masterpiece in ‘95, and the great ones like Smoltzy, Mad Dog, and even some lesser known heroes like Fransisco Cabrera and Alejandro Pena. Who knows what memories he’ll post in years to come, of the Great Heap or Frenchy.
I warned you ... magical, each and every one!
The Old Barbershop's archives are loaded with Magic Moment stories what done been writen ... my guess is that not many have read them all!
In addition to those housed in the "Magic Moment's" Archive, Mohammad has done went to the mountain and come back with a selection of some of his favorite "Magic Moment" stories that are archived elsewhere ... in other Special Feature locations and in the main Shop. One click and you'll be taken there, wherever it might be!
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