San Antonio, the Alamo and the Babe

When I was in seventh grade, I did a report on The Alamo. As part of my project I built a miniature Alamo approximately 12" x 16" using popsicle sticks and miscellaneous materials, possibly clay or plaster. My father was a chemist involved with the development of latex paints so I could create the precise colors one would see in the barren landscapes of South Texas. No photos exist of this remarkable model, only memories.

Santa Claus coming to town, a Texas Ranger riding shotgun.

The Alamo.

General Santa Anna's troops stayed in the hotel next door.

The light from this Christmas tree is what gave away the location
of the Texans who were forced to take refuge at the Alamo.

The slaughter at the Alamo in March 1836 marked one of the starkest moments of the Texas Revolution. After a 13-day siege, Mexican forces under General Santa Anna overran the mission and killed nearly all the Texan defenders, including figures like James Bowie and William Travis. Though a military defeat, the Alamo became a powerful symbol of resistance and sacrifice, rallying Texans with the cry “Remember the Alamo!”  This saga crystalized the mythology of American frontier courage.

Sunset over Mexico. The war that followed culminated in
the Gadsden Purchase.

The Gadsden Purchase (1854) was the United States’ $10 million acquisition of roughly 30,000 square miles of land from Mexico—today’s southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It wasn't really a "purchase" per se.The agreement, negotiated by James Gadsden, went something like this: "You give us this territory and you will have fewer headaches in the future.. Oh, and here's some cash so we tell our people we didn't steal it but bought it fair and square."

Gadsden, a key figure in railroad development, was looking to secure a flat terrain for a southern transcontinental railroad and settle border disputes after the Mexican-American War, This deal finalized the modern continental U.S.-Mexico boundary. Though small compared to earlier expansions, it remains the last major territorial addition to the contiguous United States.

Babe Ruth once played an exhibition game in San Antonio.
While there he stayed at the Menger Hotel.

Ruth and the New York Yankees were on a preseason barnstorming tour and faced the San Antonio Bears at League Park. Contemporary Texas newspapers reported that Ruth thrilled the crowd with a towering home run during the game.

The Yankee's visit to San Antonio took place in 1922, during Prohibition. By this time San Antonio had become known as one of America’s most openly “wet” cities. Speakeasies, back-room saloons, and “soft drink parlors” operated throughout downtown, often with the quiet cooperation of local officials. Smugglers funneled liquor across the nearby Mexican border, soldiers and civilians provided steady demand, and police raids were sporadic. The result was a vibrant but illegal nightlife that flourished despite the letter of the law. The Menger Hotel stood at the heart of the Prohibition-era nightlife zone where many of San Antonio’s back-room saloons quietly operated.

Ruth drank heavily throughout his playing career, often late into the night, even during the season. Teammates and sportswriters of the era documented his frequent binge drinking which was tied to the broader image of Ruth as a larger-than-life figure—big appetites, big personality, and little interest in discipline off the field.

Despite the drinking, Ruth’s natural athletic ability allowed him to perform at an elite level for most of his career. By the mid-1930s, his drinking and partying lifestyle began catching up with him. Sooner or later, all things must pass.

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You probably didn't know where this was going when you began reading here. I didn't either. I was simply trying to create copy to accompany a few interesting photos sent to me by America's Photographer, Gary Firstenberg.

Here's a link to his website. Ye shall be impressed.

www.firstinphoto.smugmug.com

Baseball Trivia of Various Degrees of Significance

Major League Baseball has has tucked another season under its belt and we're headed into the postseason. This weekend the Wildcard Playoffs will eliminate four of the 16 teams in contention for the World Championship. The division playoff will follow and eventually the World Series. 

As I like to say, I've been a baseball fan since my infancy. My parents adorned my crib with four teddy bears, each named after the starting rotation for the then Cleveland Indians who are now the Cleveland Guardians. Three of my four teddy bears became Hall Of Famers. Cleveland had some great teams back then. 

So, to mark the moment... a little baseball trivia is on the menu.

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In 2019 the Washington Nationals won the World Series. Today, only three years later, they have the worst record in baseball. What happened?

What a surprise (for me) to learn that Ty Cobb was only second in most career triples. First place in that category was his teammate Sam Crawford, the only player with over 300 triples (309 total), a record that will likely never be broken.

To give you an idea of how much fear Barry Bonds generated in opposing pitchers, check out these stats. In 2004 he was intentionally walked 120 times, which is 25 more walks than the American League leader in walks. 

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That's nothing compared to this: In 2004 Bonds got on base more times than he had at-bats. Baseball is funny in that way. If you go to the plate and draw a walk, then it is not counted as an at-bat. 

In my first year of Babe Ruth League, for example, I struck out 50% of the time and walked 50% of the time. I hadn't hit my growth spurt yet, so even though I had been a Little League all star, I was not ready for the next level. And yet, based on my record that year my on-base percentage was .500 even though I never once hit the ball into play. My record: 15 walks, 15 strike outs. 

Barry Bonds did hit the ball in play, a lot. And he got on base a lot... in fact, he reached base more times (376) than he had at-bats (373). In addition to those 120 intentional walks he walked another 112 times (by not swinging at bad pitches), plus had 129 hits, was hit by a pitch 9 times and got on base via an error 6 times.

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In 1999 The Sporting News named Ty Cobb as #3 on their list of all-time greatest ballplayers. 

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Pitcher Mickey Lolich played for 16 years and never hit a home run in over 1,000 major league regular-season plate appearances, but in his first ever World Series at-bat in 1968 he homered off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Nelson Briles. He stepped to the plate 452 times prior to his World Series homer, then another 565 after and failed to hit another.
(Source: Mike Lynch on Quora)

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April 23, 199: Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in the same inning. I think the interesting thing is that the pitcher, Chan Ho Park, was still pitching when Tatis came to the plate again with the bases loaded. 

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In 1918, while Babe Ruth was with the Red Sox, he pinch hit in the tenth inning, a runner on base. Back in those days, the game would be over as soon as the winning run crossed the plate, so when Ruth hit a blast out of the park the game was over before he rounded the bases. His homer only counted as a hit, with a run batted in, and not a homer. 

I know that many people think of the Babe as a beefy, somewhat lumbering power hitter loping around the bases. Evidently he had more quickness and agility than we've imagined. Babe Ruth had 10 inside the park home runs in his career, four in 1923 alone!

This season, the big man Aaron Judge finally broke the American League single season home run record. Roger Maris did it '61 with 61. This past week Judge made it 62.

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In 1879, the Cincinnati Gazette wrote, "The baseball mania has run its course. It has no future as a professional endeavor." Maybe some day, but that day is not yet.

Nevada Bob Road Trip Continues: Taking In a Lot of History

Photographer Gary Firstenberg and Nevada Bob Gordon have been on a road trip since nearly forever. They will be in town here (Duluth) the end of this week as we work to finalize Nevada Bob's memoir for publication. Here are some photos from the most recent week on the road.

Looking to add his name to the Declaration of Independence

Touring Baltimore

The Babe was born here.

Outside the Babe Ruth Birth Place Museum

Lobbying for love and peace.

Bob joined an enclave of protesters in front of the White House.

"One Civil War is enough," Bob said, and we all agreed.

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

The Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh

Looking forward to sharing this special tribute 
to a great ball player and human being.

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Related Links

On the Road Again with Nevada Bob Gordon

On the Road With Nevada Bob

Picture of the Day: Roberto Clemente Was My Hero

Important Dates in MLB Baseball History for August

I read this baseball tell-all when it came out
in 1970.

During the course of my lifetime baseball has experienced more than a few disruptions. In 1972 fans missed 86 games because of a players' strike. I was in college preoccupied with other things and pretty much didn't miss it. I know that many serious fans were more than a little perturbed.

Though there were work stoppages in 1973, '76 and '80, no regular season games were affected. But in 1981 713 games were not payed due to yet another strike. In 1985 and '90 there was a strike and a lockout, but no regular season games interfered with. But in 1994 the entire post-season was lost, including the World Series, due to a strike. I think this was turned a lot of people off.

Despite these player vs. management conflicts and numerous substance abuse scandals, there is still a large swath of fans who love the game, its history and statistics and drama.

Sadly, we've been interrupted yet again. Empty stadiums and sports channels trying to fill the void by re-playing great moments from the past don't seem to cut it.

At last MLB has announced 60 game schedule in which teams will play rivals from their own division and games against the corresponding National League division. I'm not sure how the playoffs will happen, since it appears the primary aim is to avoid airports. (I may be wrong, but am speculating.)

Nevertheless, for the sake of nostalgia...  let's look backward at some forgotten dates from the month of August, courtesy Robert Lookup.

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IMPORTANT DATES -- AUGUST 

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August 4, 1982
Joel Youngblood becomes the only Major League player to get hits for different teams in different cities on the same day. He got a hit for the Mets in Chicago (a game-winning RBI) and was traded to the Expos. That night he got a hit in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

Mark McGwire hits another homer. (Photo: Rick Dikeman)

August 5, 1999
Mark McGwire becomes the sixteenth member of the 500 home run club, hitting two home runs -- 500 and 501 -- in a loss to San Diego.

August 6, 1961
Roger Maris played both ends of a double header and never had one fielding chance in right field. The ball never came near him.

August 6, 2001
Cleveland ties Major League record and becomes first team in 76 years to overcome a 12 run deficit to win, defeating the Mariners in 11 innings. (4 hours and 11 minutes.)

August 13, 1906
Jack Taylor of the Cards is knocked out of the box after 188 starts with complete games.

August 16, 1948
George Herman "Babe" Ruth passes away, age 53.

August 17, 1933
Lou Gehrig plays 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott's record of 1307 straight games.

August 18, 1921
At age 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player in Major League history to reach 3000 hits.

August 19, 1951
Eddie Gardel, a midget who played for the St. Louis Browns, appears just once in his entire career, batting against Detroit's Bob Cain, and walked. The strike zone was too small.

August 20, 1908
On this day Al Lopez was born in 1908 to Spanish-American parents in Tampa, Florida. After breaking into the big leagues at age 20 as a catcher, he played for several teams till finishing his career with Cleveland. Lopez went on to become manager of the Cleveland Indians for six years beginning in 1951, a period when the Indians were at the top of their game, including the last time the Tribe reached the World Series (1954).

August 21, 1931
Babe Ruth hits 600th home run as the Yankees beat the Browns 11-7.

August 21, 1883
The Providence Grays beat the Phillies 28-0, the most lopsided shutout in baseball history.

August 22, 1999
Mark McGwire hits his 50th home run, making him the first Major League player to hit fifty homers in four consecutive seasons.

August 31, 1990
The Griffeys make Major League history, leading Seattle to a 5-2 victory over Kansas City. The first father & son to play together in the big leagues.

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"I have never known a day when I didn't learn something new about this game."
--Connie Mack

"It's gonna be a weird season."
--Enny Mann

Related Link
John Updike's poem on Baseball

Important Dates in Major League Baseball for the Month of May

Photo by Daiji Umemoto on Unsplash

By now every fan knows that Major League Baseball has postponed the start of its 2020 season due to the corona virus.  Whether we'll see baseball in May waits to be seen. I know for certain that a whole lot of people will be sorting out the fallout for this decision. When players with contracts in the mega-millions are sitting idle, and tickets aren't being sold, I'm curious what kinds of contracts have been created to address this force majeure. And do season ticket holders get refunds?

In the meantime, this here is a continuation of February 25 blog post highlighting important dates in baseball history for April.

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IMPORTANT DATES -- MAY

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May 1, 1920
Joe Oeschger of the Braves and Leon Cadre of Brooklyn pitch 26 innings in a 1-1 tie. Longest game ever.

May 2, 1939
Lou Gehrig did not play against the Tigers at Briggs Stadium, ending his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. (EdNote: This "Iron Man" record was surpassed 56 years later by Cal Ripken, Jr. who went on to set the current record by playing in 2,632 consecutive games.)

May 3, 1936
Joe DiMaggio plays his first game.

May 3, 1963
Pete Rose hits his first Home Run.

May 3, 1964
Tommy John pitches his first victory.

May 4, 1904
Cy Young (Red Sox) hurls a Perfect Game against the A's, besting Rube Waddell 3-0.

May 7, 1917
Babe Ruth (Red Sox) allows two hits in a 1-0 victory over Walter Johnson. Ruth knocks in the lone run with a sacrifice fly.

May 11, 1917
Pete Schneider of Vernon, CA (Pacific Coast League) hits five homers and a double, driving in 14 runs.

May 12, 1955
Sam Jones of the Cubs pitches no hitter after walking three Pirates in the ninth and striking out three to get the win.

May 14, 1920
Walter Johnson wins his 300th game with a 9-8 win over the Tigers.

May 14, 1988
Jose Oquendo (Cards) becomes the first non-pitcher in 20 years to get a decision, a 7-5 loss to the Braves, when Ken Griffey knocked in two runs with two outs in the 19th inning.

May 17, 1979
Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in ten innings at Chicago when Mike Schmidt hits his second home run of the game.

May 30, 1904
Frank Chance, first baseman for the Cubs, is hit five times by Cincinnati pitchers in a double header, a record. The two teams split.

Related Links
Some Things Have Changed, Some Haven't
Reflections on The Natural
Important dates in baseball history for April.