This week’s mayoral election revived some memories that took me back to 1979 – five years before Quinton Lucas was born.
Kansas City Mayor’s Race – 40 Years Ago – The Legacy of Bruce Watkins
Hot Stove #101 – The Flurry of Sports in June
Rita and I will be on the road next week for our fourth annual baseball stadium tour. We start in Minneapolis (Target Field) and then hop on our tour bus for games in Milwaukee (Miller Park), Chicago (Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate Fields) and Cincinnati (Great American Ball Park). Full report in Hot Stove #102.
Hot Stove #100 – One Hundred Hot Stoves, Lonnie’s Jukebox and Van Horn 1959
Three big numbers for me this month.
100th Hot Stove.
60th anniversary of high school graduation.
38th wedding anniversary – 19 years in the 20th century and 19 years in the 21st century.
Hot Stove #99 – Free Agent Contracts; The Derby; The Shot; Hamilton in KC (Billy and Alexander)
The month of May is not being kind to the Royals (but the K looked good in this shot posted by Visit KC). So let’s reminisce instead. Plus cover a couple of non-baseball sports highlights. And Hamilton.
Hot Stove Post #98 – Early Season Notes; Arm Surgery; A Great Day in Harlem (and Kansas City)
The first two calendar months of the season are over. The Royals were quite good in March. Not so much in April. We have only small sample sizes, so there is plenty of time for fortunes to change for any of the 30 teams. Keep hope alive.
Hot Stove #97 – Thank You Charles Curry, Alex Petrovic and Charlie Wheeler – Harry S. Truman Sports Complex
Charles Curry. Alex Petrovic. Charlie Wheeler. Three men – county administrative judges – who were instrumental in saving both major league baseball and pro football in Kansas City. The year was 1967. It was the 13th season for the A’s in Kansas City – it would also be their last. The Chiefs had moved from Dallas in 1963, but playing in a retrofitted baseball stadium was not going to work in the long run. These three men held the key.
Hot Stove Short – Vahe Gregorian, Seinfeld and the Royals Bullpen
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Royals bullpen blew leads in two games with Minnesota. As with so many things in life, there is a Seinfeld bit to explain why.
Hot Stove #96 – New York Mets Spring Training with Bill Wakefield, Sidd Finch and Bruce Springsteen
It’s April Fools’ Day. Delay reading this post at your peril.
I have previously written about Bill Wakefield, Sidd Finch and Bruce Springsteen. It’s time to connect the dots. This post is a little shorter than normal, so TL;DR should not be applicable (for those who don’t recall, that’s editor shorthand for too long; didn’t read).
Hot Stove Short – Opening Day and Hamilton
I’ll keep it short. Not even giving it a number.
Just need to make sure everybody saw the big news from the Royals opener yesterday.
Hot Stove #95 – Spring Training, Team Loyalty, Don Newcombe, Birch Bayh and Selina Meyer
Opening day is six days away.
As spring training winds down, it’s a good time to view this 1984 video of Bill Veeck (two minutes). He somehow starts with the Garden of Eden and ends with the notion that spring training is mostly a “con job” to boost regular season ticket sales. As always, living up to his book title, Veeck As in Wreck.