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[JohnGelnarFan]

Goosen and Gelnar

I think I did read that he was a boxing trainer,possibly for his brother. I think he also acted in "The Royal Tenenbaums" as a gypsy cab driver.
You're lucky to have been able to watch some of the Pilots play,even in Portland. That must have been fun. I've never been to a AAA game. Was this after his major league playing days? I tried to find something on Gelnar's vision but info on John is kind of limited!

Interesting stuff on the Goose. Yeah I'd heard that he'd done some acting and that he was in "Get Shorty" but I'd never guess where. So now I'll have to watch the movie tonight. Now wasn't he also involved in boxing as a trainer?
I never got to see John Gelnar pitch for the Pilots but did see him pitch with the Portland Beavers in the early 70's PCL. Wasn't he blind in one eye?

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

I think I did read that he was a boxing trainer,possibly for his brother. I think he also acted in "The Royal Tenenbaums" as a gypsy cab driver.
You're lucky to have been able to watch some of the Pilots play,even in Portland. That must have been fun. I've never been to a AAA game. Was this after his major league playing days? I tried to find something on Gelnar's vision but info on John is kind of limited!

Lucky indeed! Actually I lived for some time in Eugene, Oregon in the early to mid 70's and got to watch several AAA games of the Eugene Emeralds when they were the chief farm club of the Phillies. Got to see an up and coming second baseman named Mike Schmidt, a young catcher in Bob Boone, Oscar Gamble, Greg Luzinski, etc.. The PCL of that time was just stocked with future MLB talent up and down. But far and away my biggest thrills were when I got to see an ex-Pilot. Was in seventh heaven the Sunday afternoon I got to see Gelnar pitch. I suspect (being just a kid I don't quite remember) that Gelnar probably already seen his last days in the bigs go by as I don't remember hearing much about him after that. My biggest thrill was the time my dad took me out to see Eugene play the Hawaii Islanders who had just acquired Ray Oyler for about the last two weeks of his baseball life. He never played in the game and I never saw his face in the dugout but for five brief seconds he stood at the top of the dugout steps and I could see his name on the back of his jersey. I couldn't believe it you'd think I'd just seen Willie Mays. Good times though, indeed.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Oyler

I would have felt the same way! Growing up as a Senators fan,I always Idolized "underdog" Types of players. It's too bad that he didn't get into the game but I know that rush that comes with seeing your favorites. One of my favorites on the Senators was an Infielder named Timmy Cullen. He was very "Oyler Like". In 1971,his only season as a starter,he hit .191 but I loved him. I saw him a few years ago at a reunion breakfast and acted like a kid,just being next to him. He was great about it and I have a picture of myself shaking hands with him on my wall(along with a few from his playing days). It was a real thrill and guys like he and Oyler will always have fans as long as wer'e around. Too bad Oyler died so young.

Lucky indeed! Actually I lived for some time in Eugene, Oregon in the early to mid 70's and got to watch several AAA games of the Eugene Emeralds when they were the chief farm club of the Phillies. Got to see an up and coming second baseman named Mike Schmidt, a young catcher in Bob Boone, Oscar Gamble, Greg Luzinski, etc.. The PCL of that time was just stocked with future MLB talent up and down. But far and away my biggest thrills were when I got to see an ex-Pilot. Was in seventh heaven the Sunday afternoon I got to see Gelnar pitch. I suspect (being just a kid I don't quite remember) that Gelnar probably already seen his last days in the bigs go by as I don't remember hearing much about him after that. My biggest thrill was the time my dad took me out to see Eugene play the Hawaii Islanders who had just acquired Ray Oyler for about the last two weeks of his baseball life. He never played in the game and I never saw his face in the dugout but for five brief seconds he stood at the top of the dugout steps and I could see his name on the back of his jersey. I couldn't believe it you'd think I'd just seen Willie Mays. Good times though, indeed.

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Definitely! It's the little things that makes baseball great. Guys like Oyler and Cullen long forgotten by most of the baseball masses can still put a smile on your face and make you feel like a kid again. My favorite Senator was another guy mostly forgotten "The Creeper" Ed Stroud. I don't know why but he and also Del Unser were favorites of mine.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Pilots-Nats

You're right Goosenoggle. That's exactly how our boyhood heroes still make us feel. I have favorites that were Pilots and I never saw them play. A few of them played for the other(or the original Brewers) I have cards,photos and books about them. I think growing up and watching the Nats gave me an appreciation of second division and expansion teams.
Ed Stroud was an exciting player. He was only a starter in 1970 but was pretty steady. He holds the expansion team record for stolen bases in a season(29) Del Unser is my all time favorite. My yahoo and ebay usernames are Delunser2003 and del-unser. We definitely like the same kind of players! :gt

Definitely! It's the little things that makes baseball great. Guys like Oyler and Cullen long forgotten by most of the baseball masses can still put a smile on your face and make you feel like a kid again. My favorite Senator was another guy mostly forgotten "The Creeper" Ed Stroud. I don't know why but he and also Del Unser were favorites of mine.

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Oh man every so often I'll sift through my boxes of childhood baseball cards and come across something like a 1969 Eddie Watt card or Don Wert or someone of that manner and I'm a 7 year old kid again. I've always wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't discovered baseball. I swear I can still smell the residue of the bubble gum stick on some of the cards. Thank you Diego Segui, Greg Gross, etc.. (I could go on forever).

[JohnGelnarFan]

Baseball Memories

My life would be totally different without baseball. I even have a Washington Senators Tattoo on my chest. I have lots of obscure baseball cards from those days. Washington Senators,62-64 Mets and lots of singles. I even have a Ron Santo mistake card that has Don Landrum's name. I have a seperate smaller album with just Pilots cards. I have autographed 8" x 10"s of Wayne Comer and Jim Bouton on my wall as well as a complimentary Avis team photo. I miss that gum smell. Thanks for the memory!

[Aa3rt]

I even have a Washington Senators Tattoo on my chest.

Now that's a fan! I'd said I was going to get a tattoo for both my 40th and
50th birthdays and chickened out both times.

I started collecting baseball cards in 1961-the first year of the American League expansion from 8 to 10 teams, back when cards were a nickel a pack-high finance to a 7 year old. My maternal grandfather had been a Washington Senators fan, mainly due to his admiration for Walter Johnson. He lost his interest when the original Senators left for Minnesota but I adopted the expansion Senators as my team because I was too young to realize the difference at the time.

I too have an album of mainly Senators and Pilots cards-the only Pilot card I'm missing is the Lou Pinella card from the 1969 set. Also the last three years (69-71) of Senators cards (complete) from those heady days when Ted Williams came to DC and taught the Senators how to hit. And those 1974 cards labeled Washington-National League-when we thought DC was going to get the struggling Padres franchise. Little did we realize that it would be 31 more years before major league baseball returned to DC.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Nats Memorabilia

I just wrote you about the tattoo on the Senators page. You have some great cards. I grew up in Silver Spring but my earliest memories are probably around 1968.
I have a few of the Padre-Washington cards too. I have a 1969 Rookie Stars card that has Piniella and Marv Staehle(!) There was a 1969 team reunion in Chantilly,Va. in 1998 and the door prize was a huge wooden plaque with laminated player cards surrounding an aerial view of RFK. My friend won it and gave it to me because he knew how big a fan I was. I had come up from Texas for the event and carried it on the plane with me. The airlines kept it in a closet up front,which was very nice. It was way too large to hold in my seat. I saw the same plaque for sale at "The House Of Cards" in Wheaton after I moved back to the area. It was selling for $350.00. Probably my most prized piece of memorabilia!

Now that's a fan! I'd said I was going to get a tattoo for both my 40th and
50th birthdays and chickened out both times.

I started collecting baseball cards in 1961-the first year of the American League expansion from 8 to 10 teams, back when cards were a nickel a pack-high finance to a 7 year old. My maternal grandfather had been a Washington Senators fan, mainly due to his admiration for Walter Johnson. He lost his interest when the original Senators left for Minnesota but I adopted the expansion Senators as my team because I was too young to realize the difference at the time.

I too have an album of mainly Senators and Pilots cards-the only Pilot card I'm missing is the Lou Pinella card from the 1969 set. Also the last three years (69-71) of Senators cards (complete) from those heady days when Ted Williams came to DC and taught the Senators how to hit. And those 1974 cards labeled Washington-National League-when we thought DC was going to get the struggling Padres franchise. Little did we realize that it would be 31 more years before major league baseball returned to DC.

[StevesBaseball]

I have a couple of never before published photos of Mike Marshall and Tommy Harper on my website if anyone is interested. I'm looking to find more but they are a rare thing...these were shot in July 1969 at Anaheim Stadium. They are in the Brewers/Pilots gallery on the site.

"Steve's Baseball Photography Pages"


Steve

[JohnGelnarFan]

Photos

Great game shots of Harper and Mike Marshall. If you find anymore,let us know!

I have a couple of never before published photos of Mike Marshall and Tommy Harper on my website if anyone is interested. I'm looking to find more but they are a rare thing...these were shot in July 1969 at Anaheim Stadium. They are in the Brewers/Pilots gallery on the site.

"Steve's Baseball Photography Pages"


Steve

[Goosenoggle Slipgear]

Even Pilot pictures are a rarity these days. Anyone who has presented or that have pictures to share are deeply appreciated! Thanks Steve I've never seen those before.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Photos

I E-mailed Steve and he has some for sale on ebay. For the ones that aren't,e-mail him and he'll quote you a price. He says that most 8" x 10"s are between $7-12 dollars for the lesser known players. Stars like Koufax are more.

[StevesBaseball]

I received a couple more today. All fantastic original medium format slides that should yield some fantastic prints.

Here's Tommy Davis in Spring Training 1969. I also have a similar one of Don Mincher and a couple of an unknown pitcher...maybe Gary Bell. It will take a couple days to get all my scanning done and I will post them.


Steve
"Steve's Baseball Photography Pages"

[JohnGelnarFan]

Pilot Photos

This is a great photo of Tommy Davis.Look forward to seeing the others!

I received a couple more today. All fantastic original medium format slides that should yield some fantastic prints.

Here's Tommy Davis in Spring Training 1969. I also have a similar one of Don Mincher and a couple of an unknown pitcher...maybe Gary Bell. It will take a couple days to get all my scanning done and I will post them.


Steve
"Steve's Baseball Photography Pages"