Black History: Jack Roosevelt Robinson... You Might Know Him Better As...

But you probably know him better as Jackie Robinsson.

JACK ROOSEVELT "JACKIE" ROBINSON (1919-1972)

The first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era when he made his 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and ended some sixty years of baseball segregation.

Robinson went on to have an extraordinary baseball career and in 1962 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He not only battled racism in sports, but also he was an officer in the highly segregated U.S. Army during World War II.  I'll write about his WW II career in my Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blog.

Some More 2020 Deaths, October-December: Gibson, Morgan, Dinkins, Maradona, Prowse, and Johnson

DEATHS IN OCTOBER

BOB GIBSON, 84

Baseball Hall of Famer and dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher.  Died October 2.

JOE MORGAN, 77

Hall of Fame second baseman became the sparkplug of the dominant Cincinnati teams of the mid-1970s.  Died October 11.

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DEATHS IN NOVEMBER

DAVID DINKINS, 93

Broke barriers as New York City's first black mayor.  Died November 23.

DIEGO MARADONA, 60

Argentine soccer great who scored the "Hand of God" goal in 1986 and led his country to that year's World Cup title.  Died November 25.

DAVE PROWSE, 85

British weight lifter-turned-actor who was the body of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.  Died November 28.

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DECEMBER

RAFER JOHNSON, 86

Won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy's assassin in 1968.  Died December 2.

Some More 2020 Deaths in August and September: Trump, Thompson, Rigg, Hibbert, Brown and Sayers

AUGUST

ROBERT TRUMP, 72

President Donald Trump's younger brother.  Died August 15.

JOHN THOMPSON, 78

Hall of Famer who became the first black coach to lead a team, Georgetown, to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  Died August 30.

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SEPTEMBER

DIANA RIGG, 82

British actress whose career stretched from the 1960s spy series  "The Avengers" to the fantasy juggernaut "Game of Thrones."  Died September 10.

TOOTS HIBBERT, 77

One of reggae's founders and most beloved stars.  Died September 11.

TIMOTHY RAY BROWN, 54

He made history as "the Berlin patient," the first known person to be cured of the HIV infection.  Died September 29.

GALE SAYERS, 77

Running back who entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and whose fame extended beyond the field for decades thanks to a friendship he had with a dying Chicago Bears teammate.  Died September 23.

Al Spalding-- Part 2 Baseball Hall of Fame and Dem Stats

He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 by the Veterans Committee.

And here are some unbelievable stats for him:

He played with the Boston Red Stockings from 1871 to 1875 and with the Chicago White Stockings (Cubs)in 1876 and 1877.  In 7 years, his pitching stats (Record and ERA):

1871---      19-10    3.36
1872 ---     38-8      1.85
1873---      41-14    2.99

1874---      52-16    1.92
1875---      54-5      1.59
1876---      47-12    1.75

1877---         1-0      3.27

Overall      252-65    2.13

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BATTING:

1871          .271
1872          .354
1873          . 328

1874          .329
1875          .312
1876          .312
1877          .256

Pretty Impressive Stats.  --Cooter

Death of Baseball's Willie McCovey in 2018-- Part 2

In his MLB debut, Willie McCovey only went 4-for-4 with two triples, two RBIs and three runs scored in a 7-2 win against the Phillies (who were no doubt saying, "Who was that guy?").  This started a stretch where the Giants won ten of twelve games.

McCovey batted .354 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs, five triples and nine doubles on his way to winning NL Rookie of the Year.

Said Hall of Famer Hank Aaron:  "You knew right away he wasn't an ordinary ballplayer.  he was so strong, and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone.  There's no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren't bothering him all the time and if he had played in a park other than Candlestick."

McCovey had attended games at the new AT&T Park as recently as the final game of the season.

I Sure Remember Him.  --Cooter

Death of Baseball's Willie McCovey in 2018-- Part 1: "Stretch"

WILLIE McCOVEY  1938-2018

From the November 1, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "A sweet swinging Hall of Famer" AP.

Willie McCovey was called "Stretch" for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms.  he died October 31 at age 80.

He played first base and left field during his career with the San Francisco Giants and was a career .270 hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs in 22 major league seasons, 19 of them with the Giants.  He also played for the Padres and Athletics.

His major-league debut came at age 21 on July 30, 1959, after tearing up the Pacific Coast League that year.  He played alongside that other "Willie", Hall of Famer, and that would be Willie Mays into the 1972 season when Mays was traded to the Mets in May of that year.

I well remember his playing days.  He was always a threat to my Cubs.

Stargell, Mays and Marichal.   Wow.

Team of Dreams at Iowa's Field of Dreams Sunday

While in Galena, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, this past week for Liz and my 45th wedding anniversary, I saw plenty of advertising for this event in Dyersville, Iowa.

They are having quite an array of hall of fame retired baseball and even football players there to play a softball game and sign autographs.  And the best thing to me, I recognize all their names, something I can't say with today's players where I do well just to know the White Sox and Cub players.

Here is the list of attendees:

Cal Ripken, Jr
Wade Boggs
Jose Canseco
Tom Glavine
Mark Grace
Steve Carlton

Ozzie Smith
Rickey Henderson
Jack Morris
Alan Trammel
Fred Lynn

And football players:

Thurman Thomas
Dick Butkus
Jerry Kramer

And, Olympic skater Bonnie Blair.

That Would be Really Neat To See All These People.  --Cooter

World War I and Major League Baseball-- Military and War Plant Workers

From Baseball Reference.

World War I shut down the minor leagues of baseball one by one and caused Major League Baseball to shorten its 1918 season, ending it at Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd.

Notable players who missed playing time because of military service in World War I included Hall of Famers Grover Cleveland Alexander, Red Faber, Jud Wilson and Harry Heilmann.  A number of players also worked in wartime-related industries as War Plant Workers, particularly in steel mills and shipyards, and also missed playing time as a result.

War Plant Workers worked in industries supporting the war effort and were thus ineligible for the draft.

--Cooter

All-Time Bears Running Backs-- Part 2: Sayers and Nagurski

3.  GALE SAYERS--  (1965-71)  Sayers played only 68 games in his career limited by knee injuries in 1968 and 1970 but became the youngest Hall of Fame selection.

Sayers scored a rookie-record 22 touchdowns, including six in one game against the 49ers.

4.  BRONKO NAGURSKI--  ((1930-37, '43)  A fullback and defensive tackle, Nagurski left football for pro wrestling, but returned for the 1943 season and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the championship game.

He was a seven-time All-Pro.

Bronko Nagurski.  If That Is Not a Great Football Name, I Don't Know What Is.  --CootBronc

Cubs Home Opener Today-- Part 3: Retired Numbers

Here is a list of Cubs retired numbers...all greats. Amazing how many of these number are from those great late 60s teams.

#10-- Ron Santo

#14 Ernie Banks

#23 Ryne Sandberg (manager of the Phillies who the Cubs are playing today and should have been the Cubs MANAGER!!!!)

#31 Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

Love Those Cubs. --Cooter