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Wednesday, March 6, 2019

The New Stadiums of the 1960's


TRIVIA QUESTION: What was the cost of Dodgers Stadium when it was built?  

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:When the 1967 Angels acquired Don Mincher they also picked up 1B/OF Len Gabrielson for insurance. He only played in a few games before being shipped across town to the Dodgers for the Super Minor Leaguer of the Century, Johnny Werhas. Werhas played half of his major league career in 1967 for the Angels, finishing with a lifetime record of 198 AB's, two homers and .173 BA in 89 career games. Gabrielson would have a couple of his best years with the Dodgers before finally retiring after the 1970 season.


In case you were counting there were a total of 11 new Major League Baseball Stadiums making their debuts in the 1960's. It seems pretty remarkable when you consider until 1960, there were only 16 big league teams in existence. Granted, of the 11, five were built directly for their new expansion teams, three were built as those expansion teams grew older and more profitable, and three were built for teams who moved from other cities. Only one, Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis was for a long term existing team.
                                                                (Busch Memorial)
New stadiums needed to be constructed for expansion teams. Colt Stadium was the place debuting for the Houston Colt .45's while Jarry Park became the new home of the Montreal Expos. The expansion San Diego Padres played their home games in Jack Murphy Stadium.
                                                                   (Dodgers Stadium 1962)
When the Braves fled Milwaukee for Atlanta the new park was Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. The Giants saw the opening of "the Stick" which was Candlestick in San Francisco a couple of seasons after leaving New York. Dodgers Stadium broke ground in 1959 after the team moved from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The club occupied the new ballpark starting in 1962.

It would be a couple seasons before the expansion Mets moved into newly constructed Shea Stadium and then came the ninth Wonder of the World; The Houston Astrodome in 1965 for the Astro's who changed their name from the Colt .45's. 


                                                                  (Shea Stadium 1964)
The situation with Robert F. Kennedy Stadium (RFK) in Washington and Texas Arlington is a little convoluted. The original Senators moved to Minnesota, so the new Senators, an expansion team, moved into the new DC Stadium (later named RFK after Kennedy's assassination). They stayed there until they moved from Washington to become the Texas Rangers in Arlington. While the Rangers did not come into existence until the 1970's, the stadium was actually built in the 1960's, so we must include it in the list. The new Washington Nationals would eventually play at RFK decades later. 

There were a lot of firsts. The biggest of which was the first indoor domed stadium; the Astrodome. It was the kind of stadium the Dodgers Walter O'Malley wanted to build in Brooklyn and which would have kept the Dodgers in New York. When he couldn't get it, it sealed the deal to moved to Los Angeles. 
                                                                     (Houston Astrodome)
The Astrodome truly was a wonder. It opened the door to something new; synthetic turf or Astoturf due to the lack of sunlight.  But you could play without the mosquitoes which plagued Colt Stadium, and you could actually play in rain and cold weather. Below is a list of stadiums opened in the 1960s.

Arlington
Atlanta Fulton County
Colt 1962
Astrodome
Jarry Park 
Shea 1964
Busch Memorial 1966
Jack Murphy 1967
Candlestick 1960
RFK 1961
Dodgers Stadium 1962
 

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Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Super Duck

                                                   (TEASE: Check out the two videos below.)

TRIVIA QUESTION:  When the 1967 Angels traded Norm Siebern to the Giants the picked up a guy they thought could help out around the outfield and back up Don Mincher at first. Turns out he played a handful of games before being shipped to the Dodgers for another super minor league player. Who were those two players involved in the Dodgers/Angels swap?

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  When the Angels released Joe Adcock at the end of the 1966 season, and traded the Twins for Don Mincher, it essentially ended the career of the "other" Angels first baseman; Norm Siebern. Siebern, the lefty hitter, got more playing time than Adcock the right handed slugger in 1966. Siebern batted 336 times in 1966 while Adock batted 231 times.  Mincher's arrival opened the door for younger players and Siebern was shipped off to San Francisco.

 If ever there was a super utility player in the 1960's, it was Dick Schofield, better known as Ducky, or just the Duck. He arrived in Pittsburgh from the Cardinals and before his 1960's career was over, he'd play for six different teams, while in his overall career; seven teams. He had three seperate stints with the club which originally signed him; the St. Louis Cardinals.
Schofield's best season was 1960 when he filled in late in the season for MVP Dick Groat as the Bucs went onto win the National League Pennant. He hit .333 in just over 100 at bats. He matched it in the World Series, going one-for-three against the Yankees as Groat returned to start for the Pirates. 

As a fielder during that memorable season he was adequate in 23 games at shortstop, committing six errors. However, teamed with all-star Bill Mazeroski he did participate in 16 double plays. The Duck fielded flawlessly at the other infield positions when he filled in.
In his only three seasons as a regular, 1963-1965, he batted .246 twice and .209 in the other lackluster year in which he spent most of it with the Giants, after having been traded for Jose Pagan in a swap of shortstops. Pagan would move to third base in Pittsburgh, Schofield remained mostly at short. He did continue to shift around the infield and actually in 1969 played a few games in the outfield. 

San Francisco would sell him to the Yankees who traded him to the Dodgers for Thad Tillotson and after his release the Cardinals picked him up once again. In the same year St. Louis sent him to the Red Sox for Gary Waslewski before going back to the Cardinals for Jim Campbell. He finished out his career with Milwaukee.
Perhaps his greatest achievement in baseball, aside from his longevity and ability to be the Super Utility Player, was his linage. His son, Dick had a good major league career also as a shortstop, and his grandson Jayson Werth did as well. One of the now many three generation baseball families.


                                                               "SPECIAL OFFER"
You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book
"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"
for $15 Shipping Included 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 


Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column. It has been appreciated. 

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/

 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.     


Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Joe Adcock - Slugger Extrordinaire

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TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1967, the year after Joe Adock retired as a player, the Angels traded for their new first baseman; Don Mincher. It also ended the Angels career of another player, the player with whom Adcock shared first base. Who was that left handed hitting first baseman ?  

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: In 1968 Don Drysdale set a new scoreless innings streak of more than 58 consecutive innings. When the streak finally came to an end Dodger announcer Vin Scully told his audience "of all the people who had the chance to end this streak, the great players, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron, it finally comes to an end with Howie Bedell." Bedell, playing in his second and final major league season came to bat as a pinch-hitter for the Phillies and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the streak ending run. It was his ONLY RBI in seven at bats in 1968. 

 While Joe Adcock arguably had his best games in the 1950's, it was a career which carried into the 1960's which led the slugging National Leaguer into true respectability. In the 50's he had a four-homer game, he got the hit (read here a home run turned into a double) which destroyed Harvey Haddix's 13 inning perfect game and he smashed the longest home run to date in the Polo Grounds. He also hit a career high 38 dingers in 1956. However, one can conclude it was the 1960's which really capped his career rather than sending him off to obscurity.
Playing for the Milwaukee Braves for most of the decade before playing a single season in Cleveland and finishing up the final three years of his career with the Angels, Adcock was mostly a platooned first baseman at this point. He had his share of injuries but with the Braves he had to compete with some pretty good first sackers, too. 
A vocal and aggressive guy who crowded the plate, Adcock was a dead pull hitter. Along with the Polo Grounds homer, he hit other tape measure shots including blasts at Connie Mack Stadium and Ebbetts Field.
                                                                   (The Polo Grounds)
While in 1960-61 he was the first baseman, starting in 1962 the Braves began using other players more often at the position. Tommy Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and finally in 1963 the club sent Big Joe to Cleveland to make way for Gene Oliver. It was a trade where the only real name player was Adcock. A year later he was dealt by the Tribe to the Angels. 
He started the 1960's at age 32 when most players were beginning their retirement run. Not Adcock. He was just getting his second wind. from 1960-1962 he hit 25, 35 and 29 home runs. While his average fell from .298, .285 and finally .248, he drove in 277 runs over the span. Over the final four years he still hit 66 homers while serving in strictly a platoon role, batting about 1200 times.

In his final season with the Angels before being released into retirement, at age 38, he still managed to bat .273, and hit 18 home runs in 83 games. Of his 63 hits, 31 went for extra bases. And perhaps the most amazing stat of all when it comes to the big slugger; in 17 seasons and 1959 games, he NEVER Struck out 100 or more times in a single season. Despite all of that, 336 home runs and a lifetime BA of .277, he only made the all-star team once; 1960. 

He would return to the Indians for one season in 1967 as the manager. His club finished in eighth place at 75-87 and the fiery Adcock was ejected on three separate occasions.  It marked the end of his professional baseball career. He died in 1999 at age 71.


"SPECIAL OFFER"
You can get a signed paper back copy of the above book
"Tales of My Baseball Youth - a child of the sixties"
for $15 Shipping Included 
Use PayPal to brillpro@prodigy.net or contact us at the same email for other payment. 


Thank you to those of you who purchased my book after reading this column.

Also: Please check out our new Western Short Film. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iron-gun-western-feature-film/#/

 
Please share this blog with your friends and colleagues and leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you have one. Thank YOU VERY MUCH!! Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.