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**64Cards** · 04-23-2005, 10:59 AM

WB-Glad to hear you made it through everything ok. I know what you mean about the thoughts of mortality, recently turned 50.

As far as my passion for baseball, I came by it by playing with my older brother and neighbors. My brother and the older neighbor brother played against me and the younger brother, my age. I still don't remember how in the world you play BB [this wasn't whiffle or corkball] with 2 players on a team, but we did. When we got a bit older, all the kids in the neighborhood would meet at a empty lot and play pick up games. We played all day in the summer and would meet after school during spring and early fall, usually switching to football games after the World Series. Played for about 6 years in local version of Little League, but always found our unsupervised games were much more fun. The older guys let us little kids play, but felt free to verbally abuse us. Toughened you up quickly and really learned how to properly and colorfully use profanity. Got turned off on bb around age 14 by a manager who was similar to Vic Morrow's character in "Bad News Bears"
Played a little in high school, but wasn't blessed with very good eye-sight, couldn't hit a curve, I was much better at football [a fullback, could really run then]

As far as MLB, what got me initially turned on was the bb cards on the back of Post Cereal boxes. Then I found out they came in gum packages!! I was a junkie for a couple of years, for the cards and that awful pink, hard gum. But I also starting paying attention to Cards radio broadcasts, with Harry Caray and Jack Buck, the greatest team ever, that my Mom usually had on. My dad took me & my brother to our first game, 7/17/62, saw Musial hit a HR to whip the Cubs. Was completely hooked. Parents would take us to Sportsman's Park about 10 times a year, usually for Sunday doubleheaders, since my dad worked most Saturdays.

Besides St. Louis, I've lived in Chicago, KC, Dallas and Atlanta, but have never wavered in my loyalty to the Cards. I'm also a passionate NFL fan, but find I have more of a league interest than devotion to one team, which has changed over the years from the Cardinals, Packers, Steelers, Dolphins, Bear, Chiefs, and Rams. I will freely admit I'm a fair weather football fan, life is too short to root for lousy teams. And I won't root for the Rams again as long as Martz is coach.

I prefer football on TV, but bb is my favorite to watch in person, although seeing the KC Chiefs at Arrowhead was special. I love the history of baseball more than any other sport and this is a great spot to share it.

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addendum on Dad:
Well, it's Memorial Day and I'd like to thank my Dad and all the other ones who served their country. Dad was 29 when the Japs hit Pearl Harbor, he probably could have sat the war out, but enlisted and was inducted on NY Eve, 1941. He was dating my Mom and she was pissed, cause she didn't have a date that night. Served 4 years, flying in USN PBY's. Went by yesterday to Jefferson Barracks Nat. Cemetery and placed flowers on his grave yesterday. I had the privilege of being with him at the end, 2 years ago at the nursing home I stopped by and he was in very bad shape, died about 20 minutes later.

I mentioned earlier about as a kid, playing ball with older kids and first time I was playing, they stuck me in the outfield and I must have dropped or misplayed a dozen balls. was called every name in the book, came home bawling my eyes out. Told my dad what happened, on Sunday [his only day off] he took me up to the playground, told me something about watching the rotation of the ball. He wasn't much of a ballplayer, but he got me to keep my eye on the ball as he hit me fly balls for a couple of hours. I could catch a fly ball and the older guys stopped screaming at me in our sandlot games.

Thanks Dad.
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addendum on Family:
Mentioning women, I hooked up with a wonderful gal about 25 years ago [still looks great,too!] and although we've had our ups and downs, still together, with 2 daughters, 18 & 15. I never had any sisters and I was talking about earlier our neighborhood, it was virtually all guys, for some reason. [Thankfully, there was a lot of gals in surrounding neighborhoods and at school] So living in a household of women has been, at times, a strange existence. They have different priorities and can't understand why I could sit and watch 6 hours of football on Sunday or why on Saturday night I would prefer to watch Fla.-FSU football game, rather than rent a movie, when I say I hate both teams. Or on weeknights, when I prefer watching the Cards game on TV to some nitwit network show. Fortunately, my wife indulges my passions for football, baseball and golf and realizes that I do require some male bonding, which usually involves meeting my buds at a bar and watching sports or going to a game.

Enjoy reading the other posts. You younger guys...man, enjoy yourselves! The time goes by so quickly and there's only so much you can see or do.
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Bill, I agree BB was more popular when we were kids, not necessarily as for measurable things like attendance or TV revenue, but as for interest among kids, what they talked about, etc. I'm a traditionalist about the game, loved the old ballparks, hated AstroTurf, domes, the silly uniform trend, now I hate the pants pulled down to the shoes, not to mention the stinking over- commercialization of the game.

Spent 18 years working for a major airline that will probably file Chapter 11 in the near future. Have been a professional BS artist the last 11, in other words, sales. Maximum amount of $ for least amount of work. The airline thing enabled me to travel and see the Cards in lot of ballparks around the country.
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Pet Peeves:

Ok, here's what's driving me nuts....COMMERCIALS...tv, radio, at ballgames, at movies, not to mention annoying pop-ups on my favorite web-site [HINT,HINT, BBF] I mean I could accept in the old days, watching or listening to a baseball game, there would be a minute break between innings, then back to the game and Harry Caray or Jack Buck would do a few ad-lib mentions about popping open a cold Busch or Bud, but now every single event has a sponsor tie-in, such as someone going out to visit the pitcher, or an argument with an ump, or bringing in someone from the bullpen. Not to mention all the various clutter that's shoved on the screen. In this day of the internet, do we really need the crawler on the bottom of the screen giving us every possible score? How about watching football, a team scores, kicks the PAT, then 3 minutes of commercials, kickoff [usually a touchback] 3 more minutes of commercials. I've got news for these marketing genuises,WE HAVE REMOTES!! only a brain-dead zombie would sit and pay attention to the endless ads for autos, cellphones and fast foods. Oh yeah, plus continous promos for all these new series coming up on Fox, CBS, etc.

On regular tv viewing, spend a lot of time with TCM and FMC, no commercials, which is why I rarely watch AMC anymore. Plus I subscribe to HBO and Cinemax, very same reason. Because I spend I bit of time driving during the week, got the XM sattelite radio, no ads on the music channels.

How about ads they run at ballgames? At the Rams ugly dome, they blast these things over the PA. The cheerleaders stand at solemn attention, as if they were doing the national anthem.
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His Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=452388&postcount=15

Ok, I'm better now.

**julusnc** · 04-23-2005, 11:06 AM

Name: Jeremy

Age: 33

Home: born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina located in the Western NC mountains

Schooling: Candler Elementary grades 1-8
Enka High School grades 9-12
University of North Carolina at Asheville 2 years
North Carolina State University 2 years
(Degree - Masters in Business and Art)

Employment: I have helped my Mother and Father in their self-owned Antique business since I was seven and continue part time to this day. I opened my own sportscard shop in 1984 while still in school and it is my full-time business in 2005. 20+ years and still going strong.

I have been a sports fan since I was very young. Baseball, Football, Boxing and Hockey are sports I enjoy.

Hobbies: Antiques (collect vintage tin toys and vintage movie and TV Cowboy items), Sportscards, Paintball, Board games, Videogames, Comic Books, Trivia, Reading, and of course watching television

Favorite Books: Chronicles of Amber, Glory of their Times, The Name of the Rose, Grapes of Wrath, The Hobbit, True Detctive, Dirty White Boys, The Thin Man

Favorite Movies: The Searchers, The Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Natural, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Dr No, The Untouchables, Blade Runner, Yankee Doddle Dandy, Sgt. York, High Noon, The Wild Bunch, Star Wars, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Dirty Dozen, The Omega Man, The Seven Samurai

Favorite Actors: John Wayne, William Powell, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Jeffery Hunter, Clint Walker, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Charlton Heston, Tishiro Mifune, Cary Grant

Favorite Bands: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Cure, The Eagles, Van Morrison, Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby

Favorite Songs: Spirit in the Sky, Ring of Fire, Yellow Submarine, Paint It Black, Give Me Shelter

Favorite Athletes: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, Frank Thomas, Walter Johnson, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Johnny Unitas, Red Grange, John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Eddie Shore, Gordie Howe, Ted Williams

Just some stuff about little ole me.

- Jeremy

I have several ex-professional athletes in my family. Baseball players and Bowlers.
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I was at NC State for two years and they were productive for my degree. I am a huge NC State baseball, basketball, and football fan.

My love for baseball started in the mid 1970's watching NBC Game of the Week and listening to Mel Allen. My fondest memories are of Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt, Hank Aaron, Tom Seaver, Joe Morgan, etc.

The name of my sportscard shop is Strike Zone.

I was able to meet Charlton Heston back in 1985 at a Planet of the Apes SciFi con in Atlanta, GA. I had my picture taken with him and he shook my hand along with an original The Omega Man movie poster autographed.

I am a Ty Cobb fan but Babe Ruth's ability to pitch and hit amaze me so my vote goes for The Babe.
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**Honus Wagner Rules** · 04-23-2005, 12:24 PM

Name: Adam

Age: 36

Location: San Jose, CA

Team Affilation: SF Giants!!!!!!!!!!!!

I fell in love with baseball through collecting baseball cards about 1977. I had a friend that had just moved across the street from Japan. He always talked about some Giants player named Sadaharu Oh. I grew up in a town called Watsonville which is about 95 miles south of San Francisco. I loved the Giants of course. Willie McCovey came to our Little League banquet in 1979. That was so awesome!!!

My high school years ('82-'86) were a down time for the Giants so I got chided a lot for my Giants' fan fever. In my senior yearbook one teacher referred to me as "the last of the great Giants' fans".

I went to college at Cal Poly Sate University in San Luis Obispo, CA. Immediately the Giants became good, with Will Clark, Matt Williams, and Robbie Thompson. I still remember where I was when the Giants won the NL pennant in 1989. I was washing dishes in the cafeteria on campus. I brought a radio to work and I still remember Hank Greenwald making the call (Sandberg grounded out to Thompson).

I played baseball through little league when I discovered I was a very good distance runner so I focused on that. I was really good in high school. One of my regrets was never trying out for the Cal Poly X-country team. :grouchy

I've always read books. As a kid I'd used to go to the public library and read all kinds of books including baseball books. I remember reading Honig and Ritter's baseball books. There was a book on the history of the World Series that went through the 1972 WS. I memorized every World Series Champion when I was 11 years old!

I am now a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer for Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, CA. (I actually start this job on May 9th) I am getting married in one week, April 30th!!

My favorite players:
Barry Bonds, Honus Wagner, Frank Thomas, Eric Davis, Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins, Rube Wadell, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Jackie Robinson, Sadaharu Oh, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays.
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I ran a 2:03 800 m, 4:26 1600m, and a 9:43 3200m. Aslo ran a 35:02 10K. My track times were form 1986 and the 10 K from 1985...I am moving to San Jose next week. I work in the aerospace industry and I start a new job at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale next month!
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Of course! So would Jim Ryun, Gerry Lindgren, and Marty Liquori. These guys were genetic freaks!! The mid 1960s was a great time for young American distance runners. It's been all down hill ever since for America. Some side info. My high School mile record was set in 1966 at 4:13. It still stands today. My high school x-country and track coach was a teammate of the record holder. He said this guy was the most gifted runner he had ever seen. He ran the 4:13 on very little training.

**tearforamariner** · 04-23-2005, 12:32 PM

Name: Russell

Age: 20

Home: Tacoma, Washington

Schooling: St. Martin's College, Political Science

Employment: Currently unemployed.

Hobbies: Baseball, Football, Poetry, Politics.

Favorite Movies: Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, pretty much anything by Kevin Smith. Office Space, Marathon Man, Goodfellas, Raging Bull.

Favorite Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson.

Favorite Director: Kevin Smith.

Favorite Bands: The Beatles, John Lennon (Solo), Johnny Cash, Nirvana, Dropkick Murphys, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix Experience, REM.

Favorite Songs: Happy Christmas, End of the World, American Idiot, Lithium, Hurt (Cash version), A Boy name Sue, and anything ANYTHING by Jimi.

Favorite Athletes: Carl Yastrzemski, Pat Borders (real life Crash Davis), Steve Prefontaine, Steve Largent, Tom Brady, John Kitna, Rocky Marciano.

**torez77** · 04-23-2005, 12:37 PM

OK, here goes:

Name: Geoff
Age: 27
Born: June 5, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Moved to Weston, Missouri in 1983. Now live in Platte City, MO.

I have my brother to thank for my interest in baseball. My bro played a lot of Little League and in High School. He was never much of a hitter, but was an excellent fielder.
Me? I was NEVER much of an athlete when I was a kid, mostly because I wasn't interested in sports when I was in grade school, so I never practiced. I was always the smallest kid in my class. My interest in sports grew as I got older, but I never possessed any special athletic ability. I participated in Track and Wrestling in High School. I was a decent sprinter in Track. I only wrestled for 1 year, cuz rolling around on the mat with sweaty guys didn't suit my fancy.
Following High School, I began working out vigorously, and added 40 lbs of muscle to my frame. I now weigh 155 lbs with 5% body fat. I used to weigh 115 lbs in High School. No wonder I was always picked on! :o
I now attend college at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, MO. I started in 1999, and am pursuing a Communications degree with a scriptwriting emphasis. I am not currently going this semester, as money's kinda tight right now. I enjoy writing stories and scripts, and am currently (slowly) working on a project that I hope will turn into a movie or TV series someday.

My interest in baseball grew over the years playing computer simulation games with my brother, and I fell in love with baseball statistics. Baseball is NOT my favorite sport to watch! Football and basketball are much more exciting to watch. I do NOT watch today's baseball games. Some of the reason is cuz I lost interest in it with the strike of '94 and am losing more interest by the year as more players take roids. There has also been no player in recent history that is truly captivating, like Michael Jordan in basketball or Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders in football. But in terms of history and statistics, baseball is by far the most interesting sport, and that is why it captivates me, and that is why I'm here on Baseball Fever. I mostly enjoy comparing players, debating who's better, and creating all-time Dream Teams.

Employment: I am currently working at a fitness center in Platte City, training people to work out and get in shape. I'm only working 25 hours a week, though, and am seeking better employment.

Hobbies: Working out, Writing, Surfing the web and Baseball Fever

, Swimming, Videogames, Watching TV, Reading, Big-Boned Women

Favorite Movies: Back to the Future Trilogy, American Graffiti, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Star Wars Trilogy, Jaws, Field of Dreams, The Natural, Somewhere in Time (I like that one too, Bill!), Big Trouble in Little China, Rocky I thru V, Rambo I thru III, The Exorcist, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Superman I & II, and the list goes on and on!

Favorite TV Shows: Wonder Years, Honeymooners, Incredible Hulk, Quantum Leap, Family Ties, Three's Company, Star Trek (original series)

Favorite Songs: Beat It, Real American (Hulk Hogan's theme song in the 80's), Hurts So Good, Satisfaction, Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long, Flashdance, I Love Rock 'n' Roll, All I Need, Jailhouse Rock, If I Can Dream (from Elvis' 68 Comeback Special)

Favorite Musical Artist: Elvis Presley - I was raised on him by my mother. He is my favorite entertainer, period! Other musical artists I like are the Rolling Stones, Motown from the 60's, Led Zeppelin, John Cougar Mellencamp, Michael Jackson (in the 80's), Rick Springfield, Van Halen, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, U2, Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, and the list goes on and on! As you can see, I'm heavily slanted towards 80's music, but Elvis is the King and my all-time fave!

Favorite Actors: Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Michael J. Fox, Mel Gibson, Elvis, Harrison Ford, AH-nold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan

Favorite Athletes: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Hulk Hogan

Favorite Superheroes: As my avatar suggests - Superman! Also, the Incredible Hulk, and Wonder Woman (hubba hubba)

Favorite Sports: WWF Wrestling in the 80's - Hands down the most entertaining sport ever!

Today's wrestling sucks!
Oh yes, and there's baseball (old-time baseball), football and basketball.

Favorite Sports teams: Football - Indianapolis Colts, since I was born there. Used to like Montana-and-Rice-led 49ers, and Sanders-led Lions. Basketball - Chicago Bulls, specifically the Jordan-led Bulls. Baseball - since I don't watch today's game, NONE. Used to be the Royals in the 80's. College football and basketball - Notre Dame and Indiana!

My birth state of Indiana and birthtown of Indianapolis will always remain special in my heart! I'm a Hoosier and proud of it!
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Geoff's Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=476435&postcount=26

That's all I can think of right now!

**leecemark** · 04-23-2005, 01:48 PM

Name: Mark
Age: 45
Born: Michigan, about 50 miles north of Detroit
Now Live: Washington, about 85 miles south of Seattle
Education: History degree from University of Hawaii
Employment: Spent some time in the Navy after college and retired from the Navy Reserve last year. Manage a drug store now.
Hobbies: I used to read alot (mostly fantasy genre and , of course, baseball history, references and novels) , but most of the that time now goes to BBF. Gardening in the summer. Movies in the offseason or offdays/day games during the season. Fortunately, my wife is a baseball fan also - although not a fan of all the time I spend here. I've got 2 year old and 2 month old granddaughters who get most of my free time when I'm not with you guys and sometimes the 2 year old helps me with my posts.
Baseball background: I grew up a Tigers fan. My father and grandfathers were all fans. We went to a few games a year and watched or more often listened (there were only a dozen or so televised games a year in those days) to mst of the rest. Strongest early baseball memory was being at the park for Denny Mclain's 30th win in 1968. Besides being a Tigers fan, I collected cards (a hobby that didn't follow me into adulthood) and played Strat-O-Matic. As some you know, SOM has been replaced by Diamondmind as my game of choice in the computer age.
--I played Little League and American Legion ball and watched from the bench in junior college, but had more love than talent for the game. I was actually better at basketball, but wasn't exactly Micheal Jordan there either.
--I haven't lived in Tigers country for over 20 years and they haven't been an easy team to follow long distance for awhile. I lived in Japan for a few years and Hawaii for longer and didn't really watch alot of baseball in those years. I've lived in Washington since 1995 and the Mariners gradually displaced the Tigers as my team. My wife is a big M's fan and we don't miss many games, although we only get to the park in person a few times a year.
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addendum on Family:
--Bill, I have 2 granddaughters ages 2 years and 2 months. My son is 23. I do feel a little guilty sometimes about the amount of time I spend here, but there are alot of worse vices I could have (and some that I used to in my younger days).
--I share your enjoyment of the Dune series (the books, moreso than the movie versions) and the original Star Wars trilogy. Liked the Lord of the Rings movies even more than the books. Best books I've read recently are George RR Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" series, of which he is a year behind schedule on the latest (and conclusion?).
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**Imapotato** · 04-23-2005, 02:39 PM

Well 1st I am a big Star Wars fan as well Bill, I love the games and such and as a kid, I built Star Destroyers and landscapes with cardboard boxes to go with my action figures (I sold the action figures about the time of the announcement of The Phantom Menace for around 5K)

Ok - On to my very fast mini-bio.

Born in '75.
Grew up VERY poor, and excelled at athletics and was an honor student until puberty when baseball and women became my loves and school work slipped.
My Mom started drinking heavily after marrying my step father, maybe something to do with thinking he would leave...the man was in love with her and 30 years later he is still with her.

Had my 1st. son in '92 at age 17, mother stopped drinking 4 years later when she met him, I call him her Guardian Angel.

A scout came to look at a pitcher we had (Justin Gardner) but was not impressed by his mechanics, and noticed that I called an excellent game, showed him my notes on every one of our opponents and he asked me to come to Mets Rookie Camp during the summer.
Went to Mets Rookie Camp at the end of June, '93.
Met the fabulous 3 (Bill Pulshipher, Isringhusen and Wilson) Pulshiper was a jerk, but this year I would find we suffered from the same mental illness. Mets had a Catcher by the name of Todd Hundley (who only I thought I was better then...and well look now) and so my lite bat, and my wanton to get HBP and walk more then hit was my undoing (only 1 player stole on me in that trial and it was with a man on 3rd). So my defense was spot on...but realized with technology my strength was not a strength at that level...
I hit around .180 with 5 HBP and Pulsipher made me look real silly once.

Joined the Army in August of 1993, at the completion of Boot Camp was sent to Somalia, 2 months after Black Hawk Down...was shot in the left knee, half of my knee is plastic, received Purple Heart and instead of medical discharge got Pool PT and recuperated. Sent to Haiti in '94, Panama in '95, and if I reupped would have been sent to Ft. Bragg and sent to Bosnia instead of Japan where I wanted to go. (A sailor and Marine raped a woman in Okinawa around this time and we had to move our base to an offshore oil rig, maybe some of you remember this.)

Was married in 1994, divorced in '99.

Second Son was born in '98.

Have custody of both my boys.

Worked in various jobs but landed a job at Sealy as HR/Payroll Manager, and thus started my Payroll, HR, Accountant twisting career.

Moved to TX around 2001 or around there, met a woman who played me like a violin and got pregnant in order to collect 18 years of child support (her actions after the pregnacy dictates no other motive.)
So I have 2 sons and a daughter I probably will never see.

In 2003 moved back to NY, my career in shatters....went back to school, and my Stocks have plummeted (had Krispy Kreme stock..yah !) so now I am looking for work.

Recently the Tri City Valley Cats wanted me to tryout, but I can't see myself making a living at my age in the Minors with 2 kids and a child support payment.

Oh and my sons did not take after me in athletic ability, but my youngest has my terrible perfectionist trait.

umm for Music, I like songs more than Artists.
Books, I like The Face by Koontz and Bang the Drum slowly by L'Armour (one of his rare non-western titles).

Baseball book - I am a business guy, so I like the "Economics of Baseball".

I don't like football, basketball all that much, even though with all my anger issues I was quite the MLB in High School, and 6th man in B-ball they were just frustrating to me...Fouls in basketball and penalties in football (yea I was sort of a dirty player). Baseball was one game where the rules fitted me...if a guy tried to bowl me over a pop in the nose with my glove and the ball would make sure he wouldn't do it again...hard slide into second was a given with me.

Favorite Players
Sherry Magee
George Cutshaw
Ty Cobb
Juan Samuel
Garry Maddox
Pepper Martin
Rube Waddell

I guess that's it for me, unless someone knows of any Accounting jobs to offer me

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Well it also shows where some of my weaknesses come into play.
I get along fine with you Bill...(after all I've been through, discussing whether Negro League players were HOF worthy or just decent ballplayers is not a life or death argument) but do NOT change your way of debating me...this is the ONLY Forum I have found that I love for the sake of all involved (yes even RMB and his needling) and wouldn't want anyone to change their perception of how to deal with me because my life has basically stunk. That would be pity, and I never needed that.

I do find I have more patience and open mindeness for my elders and contemporaries then I do for a pseudo-wise 22 year old that thinks they have figured it all out. In fact I despise those people...and will be very blunt in saying so (college was a headache this year) I do have to work on that, and I also realize I am the type of person you either love or hate and there is no in-between.

But I don't expect or want any more respect because of my life, I am quite anti-authority myself after the Army, and was one of the many that spoke out on the War in Iraq, and realized that the Terrorist Attacks of 9-11 did come from how our government treats them as a whole (not exactly well received by blind patriots in this country).

As for the women, well, because of my home life, I always wanted the stable 30 year marriage full of compromise, understanding and perhaps sacrificing excitement for stability, which has led to wrong and hasty decisions. I realize after the last one, it just is not going to happen...but what can ya do?

Even Superman had a weakness, mine is the women I choose.

**Appling** · 04-23-2005, 03:22 PM

My real name is Roger. Born in Chicago (far South Side) in 1935 (I will turn 70 this summer!). Went to Catholic grade school and high school in Chicago, then to Johns Hopkins Univ, majoring in Engineering. (Some of my best friends became doctors, but I could never stand the sight of blood.)

During WWII we always played "War" with the enemy being the "gang" on the other end of our block. I was the leader of "Roger's Gang" but that all ended when the war ended -- and my good friend Marty moved to Chicago from New Jersey. We were in sixth grade.

He taught me and others to play sports -- mostly baseball and football. We all became White Sox fans but in those days we all needed a "backup" team that actually contended for the pennant. Marty's backup was the DiMaggio and the Yankees, mine was Williams, Stephens and the Red Sox. Others like the Musial and the Cardinals. But we all hated the Cubs!

My Dad was a great baseball fan and told me lots of stories about the teams of old -- especially Babe Ruth and the Yankees. He also took me and a couple friends to one or two White Sox games each year but I didn't have much interest until sixth grade (when Marty moved into our neighborhood).

Our gang (I remained the nominal leader but at least five or six were better players than I was) played pickup ball against others kids our age until 8th grade. Then in high school (and when I was home from college in the summer) we played in park leagues. We played slow-pitch softball on Tuesday and Friday nights, then fast pitch BASEBALL on Sundays. We were a great team in softball, usually playing against teams with players in their late 20's or early 30's -- and we usually scored lots of runs and won the league. But baseball on Sunday was different -- we had two good pitchers and a pretty good fielding team, but rarely scored. We won some games by 1-0 or 2-1 but also lost 2-1 or 3-1. We never scored more than one or two runs in a game -- usually with Marty getting on first, stealing second and then advancing on ground outs. I both baseball and softball I played second base and Marty was shortstop. I tried out for our varsity baseball team in college -- but after I ducked from an inside fastball they could get me out easily on curve balls.

About six of us from our softball team formed a league with APBA baseball teams (the APBA MAster Game) and that's where I started my interest in baseball history.

I was married shortly after graduating from college. 48th Anniversary later this year! We have six children (3 boys, 3 girls) and nine grandchildren.
Most of my life I worked in "Quality": Quality Control Engineer, Quality Manager, Reliability Manager, Director of Quality. I worked for only two companies but was transferred a number of times. We have lived in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. Some of those places more than once. Now retired and living in Oklahoma.

Favorite sports movies: Monty Stratton Story; Pride of the Yankees; the Natural.

Favorite music: almost anything from the 1950's. Very little music that I like after the mid-1970's.

Major interest here is college football.
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Originally posted by [email protected]

For those who haven't already done so, I'd like to re-invite all here to mention their Dads/Moms. Was your Dad/Mom your hero/heroine?

Also pet peeves, or what drives you nuts!. Also, your kids, anything more on music, etc. After a little while, I'll add your addenums to your original bios.

Most fitting that I should read this post today (Feb 1). My hero was my Dad, and if he were still alive today would be his 96th birthday. From what others have told me, Dad was a good athlete in his younger days but I remember him only as a scratch-handicap golfer. He would almost always win our church annual golf tournament, and as a city policeman he several times won the Longest Drive contest of their annual tournament. He actually had low gross at the police tournament only once or twice -- but if he could putt like a pro he could have been a pro golfer. The week he died (at age 65, after suffering a severe stroke the year before) he player 18 holes on Monday, 18 holes on Wednesday, and then was hit with congestive heart failure when he got home Wednesday afternoon. He died the next morning.

Dad was ten years old during the 1919 World Series, and the stories he told me of that event pretty well match the story of "Eight Men Out". Living on the South Side of Chicago at that time, Dad's personal hero was Buck Weaver, whom he remembered as possibly the best third-baseman ever. (Either Buck Weaver or Pie Traynor.) Dad helped me appreciate baseball history because he made it live for me.

I first came to appreciate baseball stats as a kid by playing the "Ethan Allen All-Star Baseball Game" -- but even more after my freshman year of college when I ordered my first set of APBA. I bought what was perhaps the very first edition of that game in Fall 1953 or Spring 1954. When I returned home the following summer, four friends and I organized and played a league using the "APBA Master Game" and their All-Time Great Teams. We played baseball on Sunday, slow pitch softball on Tuesday and Friday nights, and APBA the other nights of the week. My team was the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals. Until then I never heard of Ripper Collins!

I have three sons (adults now, of course) and the younger two are still great fans of baseball. Besides playing themselves in high school, they are avid fans of baseball stats and trivia. They learned their grade school arithmetic thru their working with baseball stats. When my younger boys were in 3rd and 5th grade I bought them their first APBA Master Game, and they loved it. They found a use of baseball stats! The game formed the foundation of their understanding of sabermetrics today.

Their older brother "Mike" was in 9th grade at that time, but by then his time was fully occupied with music: school band (French horn); school orchestra (cello) -- and he formed a combo group that played in restaurants in suburban Pittsburgh. In that group Mike played guitar and banjo. (Mike quit playing baseball in sixth grade when I -- as a designated parent-umpire -- called him out on a pitch he still insists was NOT A STRIKE!) Mike also composed music, and his middle-school had a concert "featuring the music of Paul Simon and (my son) Mike. He later earned a full tuition scholarship to college, majoring in voice.

**PumpsieGreen** · 04-23-2005, 07:14 PM

Name: John
Age: 13, almost 14
Live In: New Hampshire

Favorite Sports: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey

Favorite Films (In Order Of Greatness): The Exorcist, Pulp Fiction, The Godfather, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Empire Strikes Back, Halloween, The Terminator, This Is Spinal Tap, Silence of the Lambs, Dirty Harry, The French Connection, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, Waiting For Guffman, Animal House, Rushmore, Chinatown

Favorite Directors: Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Guest

Favorite Actors/Actresses: Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Lee Marvin, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Kate Winslet, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman

Favorite TV Shows: 24, South Park, The Simpsons, Arrested Development, Family Guy, Seinfeld

Favorite Musicians: Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, The Velvet Underground, Chuck Berry, The Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, The Who, U2, The Shins, Green Day, Ray Charles, LCD Soundsystem

Favorite Athletes(Non baseball): Jim Brown, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Tedy Bruschi, Ladanian Tomlinson, Joe Montana, Shaquille O'Neal, Ray Bourque

Favorite Baseball Players: Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, Ted Williams, Yaz, Willie Mays, Pumpsie Green, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas, Kevin Millar
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At 12, I started to really apprectiate cinematic artistry in film. Before then, I'll admit I fell for those "popcorn flicks" with little, if any, real story or true characters, but just with many explosions. However, after seeing "Pulp Fiction" on AMC, which, along with the TV show "24", is my prime inspiration for wanting to go into directing/screenwriting film and television, I began to fully appreciate the greatness of film. Most all of my favorite films of all time, most of them universally critically acclaimed, I saw after age 12, so that was a turning point in my life, I think. I began to realize that film can be a true form of artistic greatness and power, and I think, despite being lofty expectations, that's what I want to do with my life. I just love film, and in my honest opinion, it tells stories greater than books. I really like gangster films, and films that aren't "Hollywood fare", that have implausible instances for the sake of the audience. Truth be told, I love James Bond films, at least the best of the bunch, but I also like films like "Chinatown", where not everything goes the way of the protagonist. Hollywood has lost sight of what makes films great, and I want to help change that. I'd love to see Hollywood return to the way it was in the 1970s, when directors were taking chances and consistently making great films. I know I'll probably have to leave my many friends and family to go to the City of Angels to reach my goal, but I think it's going to be worth it. I saw that you like many foreign directors, such as Fellini and Bunuel (I was surprised to not see Truffaut or Godard with the bunch), and although I haven't really seen any foreign films, I'd like to see "Rififi" and "Bob Le Flambeur", two 1950s seminal foreign gangster films, sometime.

**Kroxquo** · 04-24-2005, 08:18 AM

Just a little not about me.

Keith
Born in Philadelphia, May 11, 1965 - I'm looking at the big 4-0 in a few weeks.

Simmons Elementary School, Horsham PA until 2nd grade which technically should have been first grade, however they skipped me to the second grade for the academic achievement.

Avalon Elementary School, Avalon NJ 2nd grade to 8th grade. My parents moved to the Jersey shore in '72 and we lived there full time for eight years. My Dad taught at Wildwood High School and coached baseball and basketball. During the summer, my parents ran a guest house, kind of like a bed and breakfast without the breakfast. I ended up doing 2nd grade twice to get me back on my age level. While living in Avalon, I learned that I would never be a pro ballplayer when I couldn't get off the scrub team in Little League.

Hatboro-Horsham High School, Horsham PA, class of '83. In '80 we moved back to suburban Philly and I managed to letter in baseball three years in a row while serving as statistician and equipment manager.

Grove City College, Grove City PA, class of '87 B.A. in history and political science

Duquesne University, Pittsburgh PA, class of '90 M.A. in History with a concentration in Museum Studies. While there I wrote a paper on the formation of the National League and how it correlated to the more general trend in American Big Business. This is where I became really aware of William Hulbert. While living in Western PA I became a temporary fan of the Pirates and got to know Three Rivers Stadium quite well. I also met my wife in Grad School. We now have three girls ages 14, 11, and 3 months.

After I graduated from Duquesne, I worked for about a year at Bushy Run Battlefield, a French and Indian War battle site about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh. I then moved to Eckley Miners' Village, a restored coal mining company town outside of Hazleton PA on the western fringe of the Pocono Mountains. I directed all the educational programs there. one of the prgrams I introduced to the museum was the game of townball, an 1850's precursor to baseball. There was an annual game held to show the public what the game was like. I worked at Eckley until 2000.

In April 2000, I moved to Goldsboro NC to take a job as a teacher. I am currently teaching eighth grade social studies and science.

Many of you may have seen me in September of 2002 when I was a one-day champ on Jeopardy! I won $29,801 on that one- day.

Other personal notes -

Music - Classic rock, classical, show tunes (curse you, Mom!)

Movies - Sci Fi, but interested in all genres. Stanley Kubrick and Terry Gilliam are among the best directors ever

Huge fan of the Hitchhikers Guide and Monty Python

**The Dude** · 04-24-2005, 10:53 AM

Name:Will
Age: 25
Home: Born in Milwaukee, WI, but currently living in Appleton, WI

Schooling: Kimberly High School Alumni (2006). Attended University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh for 3 years before deciding it wasn't for me.

My passion for baseball comes from being in a family whom loves baseball and living in a city that loves baseball.

Work: Cellular Business Accounts Manager

Hobbies: Writing. Baseball.

Favorite Books: Lord of the Rings, The Great Gatsby, The Gunslinger, Wizard and Glass.

Favorite Movies: The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, The 3rd Man, The Big Sleep, The Seventh Seal, Inglorious ********, Pulp Fiction, In the Mood for Love, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, The Dark Knight, Sin City,

Favorite Bands: Franz Ferdinand (Post-Punk Revival), The Avett Brothers (Alternative Bluegrass/Folk), Wilco (Alternative Country) & Pink Floyd (Psychedelic/Progressive Rock),

Favorite Type of Music: Post-Punk, Post-Punk Revival, Alt-Country, Bluegrass, Bebop, Big Band

Favorite MLB Players: Richie Ashburn, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Joe Mauer, Craig Counsell, Mike Schmidt, Dustin Pedroia, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Randy Johnson

Favorite NHL Players: Sergai Fedorov, Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara, Teamu Selanne, Tuukka Rask, Miroslav Satan, Chris Pronger, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque

Favorite NBA Players:Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Ray Allen, Andrew Bogut, Carlos Delfino, Chris Anderson, Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Rodman.

Favorite NFL Players: Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Teddy Bruschi, Ben Watson, Mike Alstott, Drew Bledsoe, Adrian Peterson, Tim Tebow.

Favorite Actors: Sean Bean, Robert De Niro, Mark Wahlberg, Humphrey Bogart, Tony Leung, Jeff Bridges, Clive Owen.

Favorite Actresses: Lauren Bacall, Parker Posey, Kate Winslet.

Favorite Directors: Joel & Ethan Coen, Stanley Kubrick, Wong Kar Wai, Sergio Leone, Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow.

Favorite Sports Film: In my opinion, I believe Field of Dreams is THE greatest sports film of all time. To me, it speaks volumes about what baseball is to people. Baseball isn't just a sport like basketball or football. Baseball is to us as Soccer is to the rest of the world. As a child the first thing I learned about was baseball from my parents and my family. Maybe one of the reasons I love Field of Dreams, is the final scene in the film where Ray gets to have that game of catch with his dad. Unfortunately, due to injuries my dad suffered, I've never been able to play a game of catch with him. Even today, every sunday night me, my sisters, my brother in law, and my parents gather on sunday to watch the Brewers in the afternoon and then watch sunday night baseball on ESPN. I think Field of Dreams isn't just about the sport of baseball, like so many sports movies are. So many sports movies just use the sport (wether it be hockey, baseball, football, or basketball) to get a message across or to teach a lesson or tell a story. However, it is Field of Dreams that stands out at the end, as a love letter to the game, it's history, and everything baseball means to everyone who has ever appreciated as much as the people on this forum.
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Wil's Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=452944&postcount=19

**ElHalo** · 04-24-2005, 07:09 PM

Age: 25
Occupation: Attorney
Location: New York

Favorite ballplayers: P. Martin, B. Martin, D. Dean, R. Waddell, R. Hornsby, D. Jeter, D. Strawberry

Favorite movies:: Anything 90's neo-noir (Tarrantino movies, Se7en, Fight Club, etc.); anything with Jimmy Cagney

Favorite Rock Bands: Nirvana, Radiohead, Hendrix, CCR, Smiths

Favorite Rock CD's: Don't really go by CD's, go with songs

Favorite "Greatest Hits" Collections: CCR Chronicle

Greatest Athletes of 20th Century: Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Barry Sanders, Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis

Favorite Basketball Players: Allen Iverson, Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas, LeBron James, Ben Wallace

Favorite Football Runners: Barry Sanders, nobody else close

Favorite Movie Directors: Tarrantino, Hitchcock

Favorite Books:
Lolita, Vladimir Nabakov
Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
The Castle, Franz Kafka

Favorite Rock Geniuses: Kurt Cobain

Favorite Rock Voices: Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Maynard Keenan (Tool, A Perfrect Circle), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), John Fogerty

Men I admire of the 20th Century: Keynes (economist), FDR, Michael Collins (Irish revolutionary), Lyndon Johnson

Technically Best-Made Movies: Silence of the Lambs (best acting ever)

Favorite Rock Tunes:
Brick, Ben Folds Five
Paint it Black, Rolling Stones
Maggie's Farm, Bob Dylan
Where Did You Sleep Last Night, as done by Nirvana
Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash
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Never met my father, never got along with my mother. My grandmother raised me, and was (still is, at almost 82) a saint of a woman.
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Jim's Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=451333&postcount=6

**four tool** · 04-25-2005, 05:05 AM

Mark Szymcik 06/09/1949,

Saving the BB stuff for last.

Grew up in Winchendon, MA. Live in Worcester MA.

Had Hemilitic anemia when i was 2, which made me pretty useless playing sports.
Ordained Catholic priest in 1975, left in 1998, Married 1999
Music: Van Morrison, Beatles, Bare Naked Ladies, Byrds, Neil Young, Dylan, Jimmy Buffet, Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Jefferson Airplane, Nora Jones, Avril Lavigne
Books: History, Science Fiction, (favorite living: Howard Waldrop favorite all time:Tolkien) Sports.

Grew up with everyone singing the praises of Ted Williams, followed BB through the newspapers and SI in the library.

First MacMillian Encyclopedia(1969) was an eye opener. Checked HR list, saw Musial just below Gehrig then looked at ABs and started number crunching! Been dealing with stats ever since.

Old enough to have lived through every Red Sox postseason since 1967.Still get goosebumps when I hear the replay of the final play of the 2004 series--it may sink in someday.

Been to Fenway, Wrigley, Shea, New Comiskey, Griffith, Old Baltimore Memorial

Buddy and I went to Chicago once and saw 4 games in 3 days, two at each stadium.

Been to more minor league games in Pawtucket lately than ML games.
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Am a practicing married Catholic priest--just not practicing in Catholic churches.

I can understand the removal of the ten commandments from the courthouse for a couple of reasons. If they stayed, then because of church/state separation rules, the Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu etc equivalents would also need to be displayed. The whole point of the constitution is to allow freedom for all religions, not to push any one religion or even one religious tradition.

Every religion has the equivalent of the golden rule, IMHO that is what should be posted in public buildings because it covers everyone and even applies to agnostics and atheists.

Anyone who wants to debate religion feel free to email me at [email protected]. I am a very liberal Christian because I focus on Jesus, not on a denomination's take on Jesus. I'm convinced Jesus would not support right wing Christianity any more than He would support the over-regulated churches like the Catholic Church.
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Addendum on Mom/Dad:
DAD/MOM: - Dad was one of my heroes, besides the usual stuff, he also taught us to think. 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, I was cheering Kennedy on (I was in 8th grade) about getting the missiles out of Cuba. Dad said, "We have missiles in Turkey, what's the difference?" And any time he helped with homework, he asked, "But what does it mean?"

Mom raised 7 kids and always kept her sense of humor. One time she told me to stop sitting on my brother and to get up. As I started to rise after getting off Scott, she sat on me.

PET PEEVES: Too many to list: poorly designed websites and user manuals, teachers who believe in busy work, litterbugs, anyone with a major stake in poor companies, ISPs, etc.
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People I admire:

Anyone who can successfully think outside the box:

Gandhi
Robert E. Lee for Chancellorsville et al
U.S. Grant for the Vicksburg manuvers
Napoleon, Hannibal, --lots of generals--I love military history
FDR for trying everything to break the great depression
Jackie Robinson
Amenhotep--first non hebrew Monotheist on record and well before most Hebrews were montheists

Anyone who says I can too--despite race, gender, etc.

Amelia Earhart
Jackie Robinson (yes, both lists)

favorite baseball people, in no order at all

Pedro Martinez--what an incredible record pitching in Fwnway
Teddy Ballgame
The Babe
The Georgia Peach
Earl Weaver
Big Papi
Phat Albert--best hitter since The Splinter
Walter Johnson--how could he win so much playing for the Senators? If he pitched for the Yankees he probably would have broken Cy's win record!
Branch Rickey for breaking the color barrier
Josh Gibson
Satch
Bill "spaceman" Lee
Charlie Finley
Bill Veeck

Casey Stengal
Yogi Berra-AS MUCH FOR THE WHAT THEY SAID AS ANYTHING
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Mark's Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=454533&postcount=21

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Bill and everyone,

I've been teaching teens and yound adults since 2000, and every class has some (note the some, not just one) students who are aware of the Beatles, Hendrix, Clapton, Doors, etc. They all think of them as groups/musicians for the ages, and the fact I saw most of them in their prime--not the Beatles, alas!--gives me lots of credibility in their eyes.

Mark & the Mrs. Who knew he was such a handsome cuss?

**Captain Cold Nose** · 04-25-2005, 05:23 AM

Why not?

Name: Scott
Age: 34
Born: Detroit. Residing in Kettering (Dayton), Ohio.
Occupation: Corporate trainer for large information database. It's how you know. Disc Jockey-services for hire, with trivia my specialty.

Education: West Bloomfield, Michigan public schools. BA-Central Michigan University. MA-Wright State University.

Baseball:Ingrained. My grandfather worked at Tiger Stadium for 40+ years as "the pencil guy". Went to countless games growing up, also spent much time reading all the baseball books he would bring home from his bookstore.

Favorite players: Yaz, George Foster, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Kent Hrbek, Roberto Clemente

Interests outside of baseball: Music, (jazz and rock what I listen to, but as a DJ, I need to listen to everything.) US History, with focus on Presidents, sports in general, books, movies. Road trips.

Favorite musical acts: John Coltrane, The Replacements, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Reverend Horton Heat

Favorite movies: Pulp Fiction, Glengarry Glen Ross, Soldier in the Rain, Wild Bunch, It's in the Bag, Napoleon Dynamite

Favorite actors: Steve McQueen, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, William H. Macy, Marx Brothers

Favorite Authors: Robert Ludlum, Ken Follet, John Steinbeck, Henry James, Douglas Adams, Harry Kemelman, Dick Francis, Loren Estleman

Childhood celebrity crush: Cheryl Ladd

Philosophy: Who am I to judge anybody?

"I've got no idols" Juliana Hatfield.
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addendum on Dad:
It's from my father that I have inherited my work ethic. He worked his way through school in the Buffalo cage at the Detroit Zoo, a job he kept for a couple years after he got on at Chrysler, where he retired in a management role after some thirty years. I might not have appreciated it then, but his hard work helped put two kids through college. I'm not fond of admitting it, but I am starting to become like him as I enter middle age. I certainly have a lot more respect for him, even traveling with him to places like Cooperstown and Gettysburg. Wouldn't have dreamed of doing that ten years ago, that's for sure. I've even started to develop his fear of driving in high places, like bridges and mountains.
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Pet peeves, eh?
Discourteous drivers are my biggest pet peeve. All the states I have driven to seem to have one particualr bad habit that stands out, although bad driving is everywhere. Tailgating to failure to use a turn signal to stopping to turn right or moving halfway into the right lane while turning left.
I cringe when I hear someone say anyways. No such word. And a lot is two words, not the combined alot.
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Scott's Official Opinions:

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=469723&postcount=24

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