Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963 in Pomona, California) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1986 through 2001.
In his prime, he was perhaps the Babe Ruth of the 1990s. Like Ruth, he was a big man, and a prolific home run hitter; he hit the ball out of the park once in every 9.42 at bats, beating out Ruth for the highest home run ratio in major-league history. Like Ruth, he had begun as an outstanding pitcher. And like Ruth, he was a superb low ball hitter who learned to golf the ball for titanic home runs, balls that sometimes cleared the fences with 100 feet (30 m) to spare. Because of this uncanny ability to hit the long ball, teammates called him "Colossus". Other nicknames of his included "Big Mac," "Big Red" and "The Reptile".
Since he retired, McGwire has kept a low profile. His admission that he used the supplement androstenedione has led to speculation that he also took steroids. Although McGwire had repeatedly denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, he refused to do so under oath when he appeared before the House Government Reform Committee on March 17, 2005. As McGwire said in his opening statement, "Asking me or any other player to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve the problem. If a player answers 'No,' he simply will not be believed; if he answers 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations." When asked if he was asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, McGwire said: "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."
Barring any steroid-related action taken against him by Major League Baseball, McGwire becomes eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in the election of January 2007. Some members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), who vote on the recently-retired players, have suggested that they would not vote for him at all, or at least would not vote for him in his first year of eligibility, due to the steroid controversy
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Friday, December 30, 2005
BABE RUTH- 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER
Babe Ruth, Baseball Player
Born: 6 February 1895
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Died: 16 August 1948 (cancer)
Best Known As: New York Yankee hero and "Sultan of Swat"
Name at birth: George Herman Ruth, Jr.
Babe Ruth is the most celebrated player in baseball history . A home run king and fan favorite, Ruth was the first in a line of iconic New York Yankees which included Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Ruth began his career as a pitcher but moved to the outfield, where he gained fame as a slugger. After the Boston Red Sox sold him to the Yankees in 1920, Ruth became the most famous athlete in America. Ruth's larger-than-life personality (including a prodigious fondness for food and drink) was a hit with fans , and Ruth is often credited with making baseball the dominant American sport of its time. Ruth retired in 1935; he held the single-season record for home runs (60) until fellow Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961, and the career record (714) until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974. In 1948, like Gehrig before him, Ruth had an emotional farewell at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees retiring his uniform number 3. He died of throat cancer two months later.
Born: 6 February 1895
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Died: 16 August 1948 (cancer)
Best Known As: New York Yankee hero and "Sultan of Swat"
Name at birth: George Herman Ruth, Jr.
Babe Ruth is the most celebrated player in baseball history . A home run king and fan favorite, Ruth was the first in a line of iconic New York Yankees which included Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Ruth began his career as a pitcher but moved to the outfield, where he gained fame as a slugger. After the Boston Red Sox sold him to the Yankees in 1920, Ruth became the most famous athlete in America. Ruth's larger-than-life personality (including a prodigious fondness for food and drink) was a hit with fans , and Ruth is often credited with making baseball the dominant American sport of its time. Ruth retired in 1935; he held the single-season record for home runs (60) until fellow Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961, and the career record (714) until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974. In 1948, like Gehrig before him, Ruth had an emotional farewell at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees retiring his uniform number 3. He died of throat cancer two months later.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Back side of Media picture
Frosty's Highlights
FORREST "FROSTY" KENNEDY
Born: March 20, 1926, Los Angeles
Resides: Covina
Batted: Right, Threw: Right.
Height: 5' 11", Weight: 190 pounds.
Kennedy is one of only 11 men in baseball history to hit
60 home runs in a season, and is also one, of only 11 men to have a documented hitting streak of 40 games or longer. He is a charter member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Minor League Hall of Fame, and his statistics are on display in the Babe Ruth Wing at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
In 10 minor league seasons (1948 to 1957) , Kennedy averaged .342.
Kennedy hit 60 home runs for Plainview (Texas) of the Class B Southwestern League in 1956, accomplishing this feat in only 144 games. He hit .327 that year, with 184 RBIs and 151 runs scored.
He is also one of the few men in baseball history to hit over .400 twice. He hit .411 for Riverside of the class C sunset League in 1949, and .410 for Plainview when that city fielded a team in the West Texas-New Mexico League in 1953.
Kennedy had a 40-game hitting streak for Plainview in 1953, part of a remarkable stretch which saw him hit safely in 95 of his final 100 games that season.
A standout in football and baseball at El Monte Union High School, Kennedy then served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. Following his honorable discharge, he played for several semi-pro baseball teams in the area, and also starred on the 1946 El Monte American Legion Softball team, which won 33 of 35 games. While playing on a semi-pro team in Ontario in 1947, Kennedy was signed to a pro contract by Pittsburgh Pirates scout Babe Merman.
His autobiography, entitled "One Step Away: High Times and Hard Knocks in America's Minor Leagues" will be published in the spring of 1998.
Photo courtesy of SGV Tribune.
Monday, November 21, 2005
FROSTYS' FIRST YEAR
1948 – Riverside Dons Evens Park Sunset Riverside Press and Enterprise
April 28, 1948—DONS TRY TROJANS TONIGHT AT EVANS---With a grapefruit circuit record of two wins and one loss, the Dons will be out tonight to add another victory when they meet the USC “B” squad at Evans Park. Game time is 8:15. The starting line-up will mark the unveiling here of a number of new contenders for regular berths. Don Jameson, husky work-horse of the spring session, will be given a whirl at first base. Two other candidates for the job have already flunked out. Neither Bob Albin, big lefthander from Anaheim, nor Jack Allman, local aspirant, has proved themselves capable at handling the first base chores. Butler and Holmes will be tried at center and right field, respectively, and the promising Forrest Kennedy, brand new father of a future don, will be shifted over to left field. Gene LAN Franco will take the mound at the start.
May 1, 1948—DONS LINE UP AGAINST ANAHEIM IN SUNSET LEAGUE OPENER HERE—only two holdovers from the 1947 Riverside dons lineup will take the field against Anaheim tomorrow, when the dons open defense of their sunset league pennant at Evans Park. Game time is 2:15 p.m. –The other seven starters are wearing don uniforms for the first time. At shortstop is half-pint Bobby Astleford, 20, from San Marcos, Calif., bobby stands only 5 ft. 5 in. and has to be careful in a strong sind. He was rated the outstanding prospect in the San Diego Padres’ 1948 baseball school, and conducts himself like an old-timer on the field. Virgil Criscola, on option to the Dons from Tacoma in the Western International, calls Walla Walla, Wash., his home town. He will start at third base. Morley bockman, leftfielder, is 21 years old ands lives in Long Beach. While at Wilson High in the Beach city he starred in baseball, football and basketball. At the University of Nevada he won two letters in baseball and one in football. Hank Bartolomei, of Ukiah, Calif., is another optionee from Tacoma. Hank was a four=-sport man in high school, spent four years in the air Corps. He is 24, and will start at second base. His all-around play has virtually nailed down the second base job. Big Don Jameson will hold down the centerfield spot when the dons meet the Vals. Don is 24, stands 6 ft. 2in., and weighs a neat 200. In 1942 he played for Lake Charles, La., and Avarices, Ga., then spent three years in service, and played with Thibodaux, La., during 1946 and 1947. He attended high school in Middletown, Ind., and went to Indiana University. Forrest Kennedy will play his first game in organized baseball at right field. He is 22, stands 5 ft. 11 in., weighs 180, and makes Puente his home. He became a father a few days ago and has been celebrating at bat ever since. Despite a peculiar, wide-open stance at the plate, he hits a hard ball. On the mound for the Dons will be Gene LAN Franco, a 22-year-old Orange boy. Gene is a six-foot right hander and has shown a world of stuff during the spring grind.
DONS WALLOP ANAHEIM 11 – 2 IN LEAGUE OPENER, Hank Bartolomei Hits Season’s 1st Homer.
May 3, 1948 Monday (Riverside Daily Press) by Bob Weide, sports editor---The Riverside Dons looked like a top-notch ball club yesterday afternoon at Evans Park as they7 opened defense of their sunset League pennant with an 11-2 victory over the Anaheim Valencias. One thousand customers paid to see the Don’s new suits and new faces and the ceremonies that marked opening day. Two four baggers gave Las Vegas a 7-3 victory over Mexicalli in another opener, the blows accounting for five of the winners runs. A crowd of 1520 saw Reno win its opener against El Centro, 9-6. Bill Rogers accounted for Reno’s homer and Varv Ward duplicated the feat for the losers. The Dons, with only a couple of last year’s veterans in the lineup ,M nevertheless looked like the colorful and hard-hitting team manager George Caster promised would fight to retain the sunset title. Anaheim’s five errors—three were by leftfielder dick Faber—helped the don cause immensely. Hank Bartolomei, rookie second sacker, clouted the first Don four-bagger of the season over the left field fence in the bottom of the third inning. The Valencias scored the game’s first run in the second frame, when Second Baseman john Pena crossed the plate on Kenny White’s error, but the Dons struck back with a vengeance in their half of the period. Forrest Kennedy’s double sent Jerry Waitman and Hank Bartolomei scurrying home and put Don Jameson on third as the Dons began a five-run scoring spree. White walked Jameson home, Shortstop Bobby Astlteford singled Kennedy in, and then Whit scored on a catcher’s error. Riverside tallied four runs in the sixth to gain their final edge. Ton Criscola doubled and was pushed home by a leftfielder’s error and Morley Bockman’s single. Waitman’s two-bagger scored bock man, Bartolomei singled, and three Anaheim errors brought Waitman and Bartolmei in. The Valencias loaded the bases with only one man out in the top of the ninth, and it looked like they would narrow the margin, but Anaheim Pitcher Adrian Burd clouted a grounder to Don third Baseman Criscola, who threw to fist sacker Whitman for a double play that ended the game. Press and Enterprise Business Manager Arthur Culver exhibited trophies the newspapers will award to outstanding Dons each month, and Assistant Mayor E. V. Dales tossed in the first ball.
April 28, 1948—DONS TRY TROJANS TONIGHT AT EVANS---With a grapefruit circuit record of two wins and one loss, the Dons will be out tonight to add another victory when they meet the USC “B” squad at Evans Park. Game time is 8:15. The starting line-up will mark the unveiling here of a number of new contenders for regular berths. Don Jameson, husky work-horse of the spring session, will be given a whirl at first base. Two other candidates for the job have already flunked out. Neither Bob Albin, big lefthander from Anaheim, nor Jack Allman, local aspirant, has proved themselves capable at handling the first base chores. Butler and Holmes will be tried at center and right field, respectively, and the promising Forrest Kennedy, brand new father of a future don, will be shifted over to left field. Gene LAN Franco will take the mound at the start.
May 1, 1948—DONS LINE UP AGAINST ANAHEIM IN SUNSET LEAGUE OPENER HERE—only two holdovers from the 1947 Riverside dons lineup will take the field against Anaheim tomorrow, when the dons open defense of their sunset league pennant at Evans Park. Game time is 2:15 p.m. –The other seven starters are wearing don uniforms for the first time. At shortstop is half-pint Bobby Astleford, 20, from San Marcos, Calif., bobby stands only 5 ft. 5 in. and has to be careful in a strong sind. He was rated the outstanding prospect in the San Diego Padres’ 1948 baseball school, and conducts himself like an old-timer on the field. Virgil Criscola, on option to the Dons from Tacoma in the Western International, calls Walla Walla, Wash., his home town. He will start at third base. Morley bockman, leftfielder, is 21 years old ands lives in Long Beach. While at Wilson High in the Beach city he starred in baseball, football and basketball. At the University of Nevada he won two letters in baseball and one in football. Hank Bartolomei, of Ukiah, Calif., is another optionee from Tacoma. Hank was a four=-sport man in high school, spent four years in the air Corps. He is 24, and will start at second base. His all-around play has virtually nailed down the second base job. Big Don Jameson will hold down the centerfield spot when the dons meet the Vals. Don is 24, stands 6 ft. 2in., and weighs a neat 200. In 1942 he played for Lake Charles, La., and Avarices, Ga., then spent three years in service, and played with Thibodaux, La., during 1946 and 1947. He attended high school in Middletown, Ind., and went to Indiana University. Forrest Kennedy will play his first game in organized baseball at right field. He is 22, stands 5 ft. 11 in., weighs 180, and makes Puente his home. He became a father a few days ago and has been celebrating at bat ever since. Despite a peculiar, wide-open stance at the plate, he hits a hard ball. On the mound for the Dons will be Gene LAN Franco, a 22-year-old Orange boy. Gene is a six-foot right hander and has shown a world of stuff during the spring grind.
DONS WALLOP ANAHEIM 11 – 2 IN LEAGUE OPENER, Hank Bartolomei Hits Season’s 1st Homer.
May 3, 1948 Monday (Riverside Daily Press) by Bob Weide, sports editor---The Riverside Dons looked like a top-notch ball club yesterday afternoon at Evans Park as they7 opened defense of their sunset League pennant with an 11-2 victory over the Anaheim Valencias. One thousand customers paid to see the Don’s new suits and new faces and the ceremonies that marked opening day. Two four baggers gave Las Vegas a 7-3 victory over Mexicalli in another opener, the blows accounting for five of the winners runs. A crowd of 1520 saw Reno win its opener against El Centro, 9-6. Bill Rogers accounted for Reno’s homer and Varv Ward duplicated the feat for the losers. The Dons, with only a couple of last year’s veterans in the lineup ,M nevertheless looked like the colorful and hard-hitting team manager George Caster promised would fight to retain the sunset title. Anaheim’s five errors—three were by leftfielder dick Faber—helped the don cause immensely. Hank Bartolomei, rookie second sacker, clouted the first Don four-bagger of the season over the left field fence in the bottom of the third inning. The Valencias scored the game’s first run in the second frame, when Second Baseman john Pena crossed the plate on Kenny White’s error, but the Dons struck back with a vengeance in their half of the period. Forrest Kennedy’s double sent Jerry Waitman and Hank Bartolomei scurrying home and put Don Jameson on third as the Dons began a five-run scoring spree. White walked Jameson home, Shortstop Bobby Astlteford singled Kennedy in, and then Whit scored on a catcher’s error. Riverside tallied four runs in the sixth to gain their final edge. Ton Criscola doubled and was pushed home by a leftfielder’s error and Morley Bockman’s single. Waitman’s two-bagger scored bock man, Bartolomei singled, and three Anaheim errors brought Waitman and Bartolmei in. The Valencias loaded the bases with only one man out in the top of the ninth, and it looked like they would narrow the margin, but Anaheim Pitcher Adrian Burd clouted a grounder to Don third Baseman Criscola, who threw to fist sacker Whitman for a double play that ended the game. Press and Enterprise Business Manager Arthur Culver exhibited trophies the newspapers will award to outstanding Dons each month, and Assistant Mayor E. V. Dales tossed in the first ball.
Friday, October 21, 2005
A night out at a playoff game
Forrest Kennedy, Robert Kennedy(my brother) and Mike Kennedy(my son) at game 5 of the American Leauge game at Anaheim on 10/16/05 CWS won 6-3 to move on the W.S. It rained for most of the game. Fans started leaving in the 7th inning. Not a good night for Angle fans. My youngest son Jim Kennedy took this picture.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
JOE BAUMAN , 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER
Bauman was a minor league slugger who batted .337 and collected 337 home runs and 1057 RBI in 1019 games. First signed by the Braves, he lost four years to WWII, and held out from 1949-51. He won four HR titles in the nine years he played, but only once played above Class A. After hitting 103 HR for Artesia in 1952-53, he won the Longhorn League (Class C) triple crown by batting .400 with 72 HR and 224 RBI for the Roswell Rockets in 1954. The 72 HR and .916 slugging average he achieved that season are all-time pro records.
JOE BAUMAN, DEAD AT 83
Joe Bauman, 83 succumbed to pneumonia, a complication from an Aug. 11 fall during a ceremony to rename the old Fair Park as Joe Bauman Stadium. His single season Home run record lasted 47 years until barry bonds hit 73 in 2001.
JOE BAUMAN, DEAD AT 83
Joe Bauman, 83 succumbed to pneumonia, a complication from an Aug. 11 fall during a ceremony to rename the old Fair Park as Joe Bauman Stadium. His single season Home run record lasted 47 years until barry bonds hit 73 in 2001.
Friday, September 02, 2005
KEN GUETTLER, 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER
Saturday, September 12, 1998
Texas League mark of 62 likely to stay untouched
By David King
San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO -- Ken Guettler, the man who set the Texas League record for home runs with 62 in 1956, might have reached even higher had it not been for some small factors:
-- He suffered through a month-long slump in June, hitting only six the entire month.
-- He struggled at the end of the season, hitting only seven the final four weeks.
-- He had his specially designed glasses pilfered from his locker during a series in Houston, costing him a handful of games there and in San Antonio as he awaited replacements.
Guettler, who died in 1977, played only briefly above the Texas League and never made it to the majors. He hit 330 homers in 15 seasons, but never more than five in a season after his run with the Shreveport Sports in '56.
"I'm not sure what happened to bring on the slide," said Davis Barker, a baseball historian whose specialty is the Texas League. "But it appears to be an almost common thread among many of the post-war minor leaguers who cranked out the 60-plus homer seasons."
He hit three homers for two teams in 1957, five for three teams in '58 and four for two teams in '59.
But his Texas League mark remains unchallenged, probably forever. And it's a mark that he deserved in an era when the ball sailed out of a lot of ballparks.
"Unlike most of the other (records), which took place in smaller parks in light air, Ken's was accomplished in Shreveport's SPAR Park, which was never known as a hitter's park," Barker said.
Hitting in Shreveport probably did hamper his progress, though, since the Sports were not affiliated with a major-league organization in 1956. Also limiting his publicity was the fact that he didn't even lead the minors in homers -- Dick Stuart hit 66 for Lincoln (Neb.) in the Western League in 1956.
Frosty Kennedy hit 60 for Plainview in the Southwestern League that season, including a record 23 in June and 17 more in July.
But beyond his 62 homers, Guettler probably will be most remembered for a midseason incident in Houston, when the Sports were playing the Houston Buffs. The story was retold 10 years later by Clark Nealon in the Houston Post.
"Guettler wore prescription glasses, lens so strong they looked like bubbles," Nealon wrote. "He could get along with less strong glasses off the field, but he was almost harmless as a hitter without his special specs.
"So Guettler was hitting home runs by the bushel about midseason when the Sports checked into Buff Stadium for a big series. Kenny murdered the Buffs a couple of times with homers, then the next morning all the devil broke loose. Guettler's glasses had disappeared, his special glasses.
"(Sports manager Mel) McGaha stormed that the specs had been in Kenny's locker one night, were gone the next when the Sports got to the ballpark. Mel didn't accuse anyone directly, but he wanted everybody around the stadium questioned -- groundskeeper George Myers, crewman Ruey Moore, Manager Harry (The Hat) Walker, even General Manager Art Routzong. All firmly denied any knowledge of the missing specs . . . the impish Walker said: 'I don't know a thing about it, but it was a great idea.' "
Guettler had only one pair, so a replacement set had to be ordered from the factory in Rochester, N.Y. He had to sit out the rest of the series in Houston and at least two games in San Antonio, the next stop on the road trip.
"I still don't know what happened to those glasses and I'd still like to know," McGaha told Nealon. .
Texas League mark of 62 likely to stay untouched
By David King
San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO -- Ken Guettler, the man who set the Texas League record for home runs with 62 in 1956, might have reached even higher had it not been for some small factors:
-- He suffered through a month-long slump in June, hitting only six the entire month.
-- He struggled at the end of the season, hitting only seven the final four weeks.
-- He had his specially designed glasses pilfered from his locker during a series in Houston, costing him a handful of games there and in San Antonio as he awaited replacements.
Guettler, who died in 1977, played only briefly above the Texas League and never made it to the majors. He hit 330 homers in 15 seasons, but never more than five in a season after his run with the Shreveport Sports in '56.
"I'm not sure what happened to bring on the slide," said Davis Barker, a baseball historian whose specialty is the Texas League. "But it appears to be an almost common thread among many of the post-war minor leaguers who cranked out the 60-plus homer seasons."
He hit three homers for two teams in 1957, five for three teams in '58 and four for two teams in '59.
But his Texas League mark remains unchallenged, probably forever. And it's a mark that he deserved in an era when the ball sailed out of a lot of ballparks.
"Unlike most of the other (records), which took place in smaller parks in light air, Ken's was accomplished in Shreveport's SPAR Park, which was never known as a hitter's park," Barker said.
Hitting in Shreveport probably did hamper his progress, though, since the Sports were not affiliated with a major-league organization in 1956. Also limiting his publicity was the fact that he didn't even lead the minors in homers -- Dick Stuart hit 66 for Lincoln (Neb.) in the Western League in 1956.
Frosty Kennedy hit 60 for Plainview in the Southwestern League that season, including a record 23 in June and 17 more in July.
But beyond his 62 homers, Guettler probably will be most remembered for a midseason incident in Houston, when the Sports were playing the Houston Buffs. The story was retold 10 years later by Clark Nealon in the Houston Post.
"Guettler wore prescription glasses, lens so strong they looked like bubbles," Nealon wrote. "He could get along with less strong glasses off the field, but he was almost harmless as a hitter without his special specs.
"So Guettler was hitting home runs by the bushel about midseason when the Sports checked into Buff Stadium for a big series. Kenny murdered the Buffs a couple of times with homers, then the next morning all the devil broke loose. Guettler's glasses had disappeared, his special glasses.
"(Sports manager Mel) McGaha stormed that the specs had been in Kenny's locker one night, were gone the next when the Sports got to the ballpark. Mel didn't accuse anyone directly, but he wanted everybody around the stadium questioned -- groundskeeper George Myers, crewman Ruey Moore, Manager Harry (The Hat) Walker, even General Manager Art Routzong. All firmly denied any knowledge of the missing specs . . . the impish Walker said: 'I don't know a thing about it, but it was a great idea.' "
Guettler had only one pair, so a replacement set had to be ordered from the factory in Rochester, N.Y. He had to sit out the rest of the series in Houston and at least two games in San Antonio, the next stop on the road trip.
"I still don't know what happened to those glasses and I'd still like to know," McGaha told Nealon. .
Saturday, July 23, 2005
ROGER MARIS- 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER
Roger Maris
Height: 6'0
Weight: 197
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Born: 9/10/34
Hibbing, MN
Career Statistics
- Set Baseball's Single Season Home Run Record (61 in 1961)
- 275 Career Home Runs
- Two-time Most Valuable Player in American League (1960 & 1961)
- Led American League in RBI's (1960 & 1961)
- Gold Glove Award Winner (1960)
- Seven World Series (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968)
- Six World Series Home Runs
New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, of Fargo, North Dakota, is best known for hitting sixty-one home runs in 1961. His 61 in '61 set a new major league record, breaking Babe Ruth's previous mark of 60 hit in 1927.
Read more at www.rogermaris.com
Height: 6'0
Weight: 197
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Born: 9/10/34
Hibbing, MN
Career Statistics
- Set Baseball's Single Season Home Run Record (61 in 1961)
- 275 Career Home Runs
- Two-time Most Valuable Player in American League (1960 & 1961)
- Led American League in RBI's (1960 & 1961)
- Gold Glove Award Winner (1960)
- Seven World Series (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968)
- Six World Series Home Runs
New York Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, of Fargo, North Dakota, is best known for hitting sixty-one home runs in 1961. His 61 in '61 set a new major league record, breaking Babe Ruth's previous mark of 60 hit in 1927.
Read more at www.rogermaris.com
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
BOB LENNON- 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER.
Given Name: Robert Albert
NickName(s): Archie
DOB: 9/15/1928
Lennon died on June 14, 2005, at his home. He was 76. His wife, four children and six grandchildren survived. His only surviving sibling, his sister Mary Reynolds, described him as “a gentle, loving man.”
Bob Lennon hit 64 home runs for the Southern Association Nashville Vols in 1954, but his most memorable homer came on April 30, 1957, when he was playing for the Chicago Cubs. "It was what I had dreamed about," he recalled in a 1993 interview. He hit it in Ebbets Field, where he had rooted for the Dodgers as a boy. It was his only major league home run.
Assigned to Daytona Beach of the Class D Florida State League, he played in an exhibition against the Dodgers' AAA Montreal farm club and Jackie Robinson.
Some of his teammates began calling him "Archie" because his Brooklyn accent reminded them of a character on a popular radio comedy, "Duffy's Tavern." The nickname stayed with him throughout his career.
When the season was over, he joined a barnstorming team headlined by the recently retired slugger Jimmie Foxx. He was promised $15 a game, but sometimes got only half that when the crowd was small.
In 1947 he moved up to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the Class B Mid-Atlantic League. After 106 games he hurt his knee - the first of many injuries. "When I look back on it...a lot of things went wrong," he said years later. In his 17-year career, Lennon played as many as 130 games only five times.
The Giants drafted him off the roster of the Newport News, Virginia, Dodgers in the Class B Piedmont League and sent him to Sioux City of the Class A Western League in 1948. In his fourth professional season he was making about $280 a month.
The Sioux City club was playing in Denver on August 16, the day Babe Ruth died. They observed a moment of silence in the ballpark in the Babe's memory. Standing in left field with his cap over his heart, Lennon recalled, "I said, 'Please, lord, let his strength, his home runs... come into my body. The next time up, I hit a home run. I said 'Oh, my god.'"
He moved to Jacksonville of the South Atlantic League in 1949, where he hit just 13 home runs in 553 at-bats. The 1950 season was split between Jacksonville and the Giants' top farm club at Minneapolis in the American Association.
Like many other young ballplayers, Lennon was drafted into the Army when the Korean War began. He missed the 1951 season, but was released before his two-year hitch was up because of back trouble.
In May 1952 he rejoined Minneapolis. He got off to a good start with eight homers and a .295 average in 50 games. But when the Giants called up outfielder Dusty Rhodes from Nashville in July, Lennon was sent down to AA to replace him in the Vols' lineup. With the two teams, he totaled 23 homers in 428 at-bats. He returned to Nashville the following year, hitting 24 homers in 399 at-bats.
In 1954 Vols owner Larry Gilbert changed his batting stance: "I was pretty much a stand-up hitter, with my bat [held high], you know, and I had trouble with the high pitch." Gilbert put him in a deep crouch, "way down with my bat almost right in the catcher's face. I was protected from the high pitch. If I was standing, it would be here [letter-high]. If I was down, I'd be lower and I could come up and hit it good." When he sprang out of the crouch, a letter-high pitch would be waist-high.
He "hit it good" 64 times in 1954. That set a Southern Association record, but did not lead organized baseball.
The same year, Roswell, New Mexico, where a UFO either did or did not land seven years before, was visited by identified flying objects: 72 homers hit by a gas station owner named Joe Bauman for the Rockets of the Class C Longhorn League. Bauman's record for the most home runs in organized ball stood until Barry Bonds hit 73 for the Giants in 2001.
He won the Southern Association Triple Crown and posted an OPS of 1.145. His league-leading totals included 139 runs, 210 hits, 64 homers, 161 RBI, .345 batting average, .734 slugging percentage and 447 total bases. He hit two home runs in a game nine times, three in a game twice and four in a doubleheader, but, in his recollection, no grand slam. He homered once in every 9.5 at-bats. He struck out 97 times in an era when few players fanned 100 times in a season. Despite his dominating performance, he drew only 65 walks.
As he approached Ruth's 60-homer mark, a local television station aired several of the Vols' games. He recalled photographers crowding behind home plate popping flashbulbs every time he batted; they were allowed on the field in those days.
On the season's final day, with his car packed and waiting outside the ballpark, he clubbed three homers in a Labor Day doubleheader. Then he and his wife started driving to New York to join the big club. When he arrived at the Polo Grounds, manager Leo Durocher was annoyed that he hadn't taken a plane.
He was not the rowdy manager's favorite, nor vice versa: "Leo, to me, was a big loudmouth...A lot of the players, they wouldn't say so, but they didn't like him." It probably didn't help their relationship when Durocher introduced the rookie as "Bob Lemon" at a banquet the following spring.
He is buried in Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton, New York
READ MORE AT http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1069&pid=8159
NickName(s): Archie
DOB: 9/15/1928
Lennon died on June 14, 2005, at his home. He was 76. His wife, four children and six grandchildren survived. His only surviving sibling, his sister Mary Reynolds, described him as “a gentle, loving man.”
Bob Lennon hit 64 home runs for the Southern Association Nashville Vols in 1954, but his most memorable homer came on April 30, 1957, when he was playing for the Chicago Cubs. "It was what I had dreamed about," he recalled in a 1993 interview. He hit it in Ebbets Field, where he had rooted for the Dodgers as a boy. It was his only major league home run.
Assigned to Daytona Beach of the Class D Florida State League, he played in an exhibition against the Dodgers' AAA Montreal farm club and Jackie Robinson.
Some of his teammates began calling him "Archie" because his Brooklyn accent reminded them of a character on a popular radio comedy, "Duffy's Tavern." The nickname stayed with him throughout his career.
When the season was over, he joined a barnstorming team headlined by the recently retired slugger Jimmie Foxx. He was promised $15 a game, but sometimes got only half that when the crowd was small.
In 1947 he moved up to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the Class B Mid-Atlantic League. After 106 games he hurt his knee - the first of many injuries. "When I look back on it...a lot of things went wrong," he said years later. In his 17-year career, Lennon played as many as 130 games only five times.
The Giants drafted him off the roster of the Newport News, Virginia, Dodgers in the Class B Piedmont League and sent him to Sioux City of the Class A Western League in 1948. In his fourth professional season he was making about $280 a month.
The Sioux City club was playing in Denver on August 16, the day Babe Ruth died. They observed a moment of silence in the ballpark in the Babe's memory. Standing in left field with his cap over his heart, Lennon recalled, "I said, 'Please, lord, let his strength, his home runs... come into my body. The next time up, I hit a home run. I said 'Oh, my god.'"
He moved to Jacksonville of the South Atlantic League in 1949, where he hit just 13 home runs in 553 at-bats. The 1950 season was split between Jacksonville and the Giants' top farm club at Minneapolis in the American Association.
Like many other young ballplayers, Lennon was drafted into the Army when the Korean War began. He missed the 1951 season, but was released before his two-year hitch was up because of back trouble.
In May 1952 he rejoined Minneapolis. He got off to a good start with eight homers and a .295 average in 50 games. But when the Giants called up outfielder Dusty Rhodes from Nashville in July, Lennon was sent down to AA to replace him in the Vols' lineup. With the two teams, he totaled 23 homers in 428 at-bats. He returned to Nashville the following year, hitting 24 homers in 399 at-bats.
In 1954 Vols owner Larry Gilbert changed his batting stance: "I was pretty much a stand-up hitter, with my bat [held high], you know, and I had trouble with the high pitch." Gilbert put him in a deep crouch, "way down with my bat almost right in the catcher's face. I was protected from the high pitch. If I was standing, it would be here [letter-high]. If I was down, I'd be lower and I could come up and hit it good." When he sprang out of the crouch, a letter-high pitch would be waist-high.
He "hit it good" 64 times in 1954. That set a Southern Association record, but did not lead organized baseball.
The same year, Roswell, New Mexico, where a UFO either did or did not land seven years before, was visited by identified flying objects: 72 homers hit by a gas station owner named Joe Bauman for the Rockets of the Class C Longhorn League. Bauman's record for the most home runs in organized ball stood until Barry Bonds hit 73 for the Giants in 2001.
He won the Southern Association Triple Crown and posted an OPS of 1.145. His league-leading totals included 139 runs, 210 hits, 64 homers, 161 RBI, .345 batting average, .734 slugging percentage and 447 total bases. He hit two home runs in a game nine times, three in a game twice and four in a doubleheader, but, in his recollection, no grand slam. He homered once in every 9.5 at-bats. He struck out 97 times in an era when few players fanned 100 times in a season. Despite his dominating performance, he drew only 65 walks.
As he approached Ruth's 60-homer mark, a local television station aired several of the Vols' games. He recalled photographers crowding behind home plate popping flashbulbs every time he batted; they were allowed on the field in those days.
On the season's final day, with his car packed and waiting outside the ballpark, he clubbed three homers in a Labor Day doubleheader. Then he and his wife started driving to New York to join the big club. When he arrived at the Polo Grounds, manager Leo Durocher was annoyed that he hadn't taken a plane.
He was not the rowdy manager's favorite, nor vice versa: "Leo, to me, was a big loudmouth...A lot of the players, they wouldn't say so, but they didn't like him." It probably didn't help their relationship when Durocher introduced the rookie as "Bob Lemon" at a banquet the following spring.
He is buried in Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton, New York
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My family
I posted some pic's, old and new. My grandparents (jans mother and father): Elden and Lou Olson. My mother (married first to Forrest (Frosty) Kennedy and then to Les Briley. My sister La Nona Hoke (Kennedy). My two brothers, Richard and Robert Kennedy. My daughter Rochelle Kennedy. My two sons James and Michael Kennedy.
Frosty also had two sons by his first wife. Bill Kennedy and Dan Kennedy.
Frosty also had two sons by his first wife. Bill Kennedy and Dan Kennedy.
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