My thanks to several Hot Stove subscribers who sent emails and photos that generated ideas for today’s post.

“Save the K”: As I expected, my promotion of a downtown stadium was not met with unanimity. I had some thoughtful replies and especially liked what these two fans said:

“Iconic, Historic, Beautiful ballpark. Kauffman strong. We have a field of dreams.”

 “Site of the two best Octobers of my life.”

 Amen. I have also loved Kauffman. Went to the first game played there in 1973 (then called Royals Stadium), the Yankees playoffs in the ‘70s, saw George Brett’s last game when he kissed home plate, and marveled with all Royals fans during the four World Series that showed off our ballpark to the world. And oh my, the Denkinger World Series game in 1985 with my 14-year-old son Jason, and a 2015 playoff game with Jason and his 10-year-old son Ian. I had season tickets for many years, mostly used by my Royals-fanatic mother and her friends.

But (of course there is a but) I feel we must recognize that the K is likely to phase out as a “modern” baseball stadium. It is the fifth oldest currently in use. The four older are Fenway, Wrigley and two in Los Angeles. I do not think the K is destined to join Fenway and Wrigley in the “Jewel Box” category within the street grid of a major city. Over the last 50 years, the technology and design features of stadiums have vastly improved.

If the K is to be phased out, where should a new stadium be? Near the eastern suburbs at the Truman Sports Complex? Near the northern suburbs in Clay County? Near the western suburbs in Kansas? You know where I’m going. To the middle. Downtown. In the city street grid like Fenway and Wrigley. I’ll again say, “A rising and vibrant downtown lifts all suburbs.”

 I also heard from another person (let’s call him Tim) who said, “No welfare for billionaires.” That may work fine in major media markets, but most MLB teams play in stadiums financed by public/private partnerships. And of course, we would not have had Kauffman Stadium if that was the test in 1973, when billionaire Ewing Kauffman’s Royals began play at the Truman Sports Complex financed by Jackson County taxpayers. How lucky we were to form a public/private partnership with such a philanthropic and KC-loving billionaire. [Owner Trivia: A past chair of the Ewing Muriel Kauffman Foundation is current Royals owner John Sherman.]

I think a downtown stadium would be awesome for the city. But that’s not my overriding factor. I’m first a baseball fan, and so long as we have MLB baseball I’ll be there – at the K, downtown, somewhere in Kansas or across the river in Clay County. Well, maybe not attending many games at the stadium. I’ll be almost 90 if/when we have a new ballpark and so may prefer to watch on TV. Whatever happens…Go Royals!

Ohtani at the K: Kauffman Stadium looks best when full, and that’s what happened the weekend of June 27-29. The Royals drew 100,436 for the three games with the Dodgers. Some of the draw was for Shohei Ohtani, but it was a nice reminder that KC is full of baseball fans.

And Bob White was there to record it. See the fan with the white hair just above the umpire’s head? That’s Bob with his phone in front of his face…

…to snap this photo of Ohtani leading off with a homer in the first game of the series.

Milgram Legacy – Pro and Amateur Sports in KC: Two recent Hot Stoves included cameos of the late Lester Milgram, a ubiquitous presence in sports in Kansas City. Les was instrumental in the A’s and Chiefs moving to Kansas City. He was also in the middle of the 1967 campaign for the Truman Sports Complex bond issue, and as reported by the Kansas City Star from the election night victory party, “Grocery magnate and super-fan Les Milgram blew his signature trumpet so people would respond with the Chief’s call of ‘Charge’!”

Lester Milgram and the family grocery chain were early key supporters of the Chiefs. From 1964 to 1968, Milgram’s sponsored the Grocery Bowl, a low-ticket-price preseason game. Les was also one of the original Red Coaters, members of the business community who volunteered to solicit season ticket sales.

When an MLB expansion team was granted to Kansas City, Les helped convince his long-time friend Ewing Kauffman to become the owner. They had been classmates at Faxon Elementary School and played baseball together as boys. While in high school, Kauffman worked Saturdays as a Milgram carry-out boy (as proudly proclaimed in the Hi Neighbor! News when Kauffman was named the new owner).

Les became a board member of the Royals and was a founding member of the Royal Lancers who helped sell a record number of season tickets for an expansion team. The Royals MVP award is named after him – the Les Milgram Player of the Year Award (won by Bobby Witt Jr. the last three years). Below, Les with Muriel and Ewing Kauffman.

Lester was also part of the family legacy of promoting amateur baseball. Lester’s nephew Bill Wien sent me this 1926 team photo of the Milgram Brumalts, an amateur team sponsored by Nat Milgram, founder of the Milgram’s grocery chain. Nat is the tall man in a suit in the middle of the photo.

The batboy with the round eyeglasses is Nat’s son, nine-year-old Les Milgram.

I mentioned the distinctive glasses to Bill Wien, and he sent this 1955 photo of Nat and Les wearing similar round eyeglasses. The other person in the photo is former president Harry Truman, a family friend who was cutting the ribbon to open a new Milgram’s store in Independence.

In 1936, Milgram’s became the sponsor of a team in the Ban Johnson League, a high-level amateur league that nurtured many future MLB players. Les became president of the league in 1953 and served in that capacity for 24 years.

Here is a partial list of MLB players who honed their skills in the league (with their team sponsors): Bob Allison (Milgram’s), David Cone (Boyle’s Corned Beef), Chuck Dobson (Guy’s Foods), Paul Lindblad (Feld Chevrolet), Steve Mingori (Katz Drugs), Steve Renko (Feld), Ray Sadecki (Milgram’s), David Segui (Crouch Meat), Rick Sutcliffe (Butternut Bread), Frank White (Feld) and Kevin Young (Lloyd’s). And a special shoutout to Hot Stove friend Bill Wakefield (Katz) who played a good season for the Mets in 1964.

To update the story to the current day, I’ll start with this Truman Library photo from opening day in 1963. In the front row are Harry Truman and A’s owner Charlie Finley. Les Milgram is the smiling presence two rows back, and to his left is his daughter Nancy.

Les Milgram died in 1976 at the age of 58. The Milgram’s grocery chain was sold in 1984. But the Milgram family has continued to sponsor a team to this day in the Ban Johnson League.

And Nancy from the photo above? After her father died in 1976, Nancy became president of the Ban Johnson League and continues to serve in that role – 49 years and counting. Her sister Sally is a vice president and the league’s special events coordinator. Nancy’s brother Nat is Secretary/Treasurer. The best player each year is presented with the Lester Milgram MVP Award (as noted above, the Royals do the same).

The league, now known as the Ban Johnson Collegiate League, will play its all-star game next month at Kauffman Stadium.

Per the league website, there are currently three BJ alumni playing in the major leagues. John Means, now with the Cleveland Guardians, was an all-star in 2019 and threw a no-hitter for the Orioles in 2021. Jason Adam, now with the San Diego Padres, pitched in last week’s MLB All-Star Game. Blake Treinen, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was an all-star for Oakland in 2018 and was a part of the 2020 and 2024 Dodgers World Series championship teams. Seven other alumni are currently playing in the minors, and another two were selected in last week’s MLB draft.

The Milgram family. A century of service to amateur baseball in Kansas City. Thank you!

Congrats to Irv Blond: Today is a special day for my fellow retired law partner Irv Blond. He is joining our octogenarian club. Happy 80^th birthday Irv!

 

Pitch Counting and David Matson: Today, fans are constantly made aware of pitch counts, from the scoreboard at the ballpark to a stat on our TV screens. And we know when a starter gets close to 100 pitches, he’s likely to come out no matter the score.

But back in the 1960s, there was little concern about pitch counts. An exception was Paul Richards, a pioneer in the concept, who became the general manager of the Houston Colt .45s in 1962. He wanted to protect young pitchers and so required managers to bring in a reliever as the 100-pitch count was approached – even if a no-hitter was in progress. In a post last month, Joe Posnanski wrote about this and included a quote from sportswriter Stan Hochman:

“They had a guy sitting in the dugout counting his pitches. He’d get to 95, and then 96-97-98-99-bam, out he’d come. It could be the fifth inning or the seventh inning. The score could be 1-1 or 6-2 or 7-3. Out he’d come.”

 

 In 1968, Paul Richards was no longer in Houston, but his pitch-counting regimen survived. I know this because the pitch counter for the 1968 home games was Hot Stove subscriber David Matson. When David saw the Posnanski article, he couldn’t wait to tell some of his baseball pals that he was (indirectly) in a Posnanski piece. Most of us had heard David’s story before, but now there was specific historical significance.

David was 15 in 1968 and living in Kansas City. He was going to spend a good part of the summer in Houston with his uncle who was a friend of Roy Hofheinz, the local politico who was a co-owner of the Astros and the primary force behind the Astrodome. When the stadium opened in 1965, the Colt .45s had been rebranded as the Astros.

The Hofheinz connection netted David a cool summer job. He became the pitch counter for the Astros home games. Instead of sitting in the dugout, David was given a seat in the press box for counting pitches. He had a phone with a direct connection to the dugout to let the team know when the pitch count hit 90 and then again at 95. A dream job for a young baseball fan.

It was also good timing for David. There was no MLB team in KC in 1968. Charlie Finley had left with the A’s, and the Royals would not arrive until 1969. It was also a golden time for the National League (the Astros moved to the AL in 2013). So, David would have seen Mays, Aaron, Clemente, etc. at the plate and Bob Gibson in the year of the pitcher. And he still has his program from the All-Star Game played in the Astrodome that summer.

Today, David lives in Portland but frequently returns to KC. He remains a Royals fan, and he is usually at or near the top of our 10-member Home Run Derby competition. Last year, when Rita and I were in Seattle to check off #28 on our 30-stadium bucket list, David drove over from Portland to join us. He did not count pitches during the game.

Pitch Count Extraordinaire – Spahn v. Marichal: Paul Richards was GM at Houston from 1962 to 1964. His pitch counting rules were primarily to protect the arms of young pitchers, so I don’t know how he would have handled the Braves Warren Spahn (age 42) and the Giants Juan Marichal (age 25) on a cold and windy night at Candlestick Park on July 2, 1963. Fortunately, the two managers that night let these two future Hall of Famers pitch through the end of a 16-inning game that is often feted as “The Greatest Game Ever Pitched.”

Spahn had been with the Braves in Boston and moved with the team to Milwaukee in 1953. Marichal began his career with the Giants in 1960, two years after the team moved from New York to San Francisco. They both had a high kick in their windup. Juan on the left, Spahn the right (videos here).

The Braves lineup included Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews. The Giants had Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey. But for the first 15 innings, no runs were scored. Two potential home runs were held in by the famed Candlestick wind – a Hank Aaron blast that was caught and a double off the top of the fence by Warren Spahn, a good-hitting pitcher. McCovey hit one high over the foul pole and out of the stadium, but barely foul according to the ump. Willie Mays threw out a Brave at the plate.

As extra innings wore on, both pitchers were tiring. But Spahn almost never came out of games, leading the league in complete games from 1957 to 1963. His manager Bobby Bragan believed in letting his pitchers go as long as they were effective. Giants manager Alvin Dark was more worried about the pitch count for his young pitcher and suggested after several of the extra innings that Marichal come out. Marichal replies have been reported as, “I am not going to come out of the game as long as that old man is still pitching, “Please, please, let me stay,” and “Do you see that man on the mound? That man is 42 and I’m 25.”

 After Marichal retired the Braves in the top of the 16^th, he told Willie Mays that Dark would not let him pitch anymore. Marichal said Willie told him, “Don’t worry. I’m going to win this game for you.”  And he did. Mays hit a walk-off homer to give the Giants a 1-0 victory. After the game, Marichal and Mays in the clubhouse.

Final Pitch Count: Spahn – 201; Marichal – 227.

A masterpiece.

Lonnie’s (and Diana’s) Jukebox – Diana Sullivan Brewer Edition: This edition is dedicated to my life-long friend Diana Sullivan Brewer who passed away on July 4 at the age of 83. Just 49 days earlier, her husband Larry died. I introduced Diana (my high school friend) to Larry (my college fraternity brother) in 1961. I wrote a tribute after Larry died about the four-decade joyride Rita and I had with Larry and Diana, including travel to five continents. After Diana passed, I supplemented the tribute with “Diana’s Jukebox,” reaching back to our high school years.

Above, Lonnie with Diana and Larry (Alaska cruise, 2006). The full versions of the tribute and Diana’s Jukebox are online at my website (click here). Below, some excerpts from Diana’s Jukebox.

Every adolescent generation fondly remembers its own popular music, but we were uniquely blessed because our teenage years coincided with the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. And the music was perfect for dancing on Saturday nights at Teen Town. As Diana and I entered the 8^th grade in the fall of 1954…

“Shake, Rattle and Roll” by Bill Haley and the Comets. A white band’s cover of Joe Turner’s #1 R&B hit.

“Earth Angel” by the Penguins. This doo-wop ballad crossed over from R&B to be a top 10 hit on Billboard’s national pop chart.

“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets. This was released in 1954 but did not become a hit until the spring of 1955 when it was featured in the movie Blackboard Jungle.

As we started our freshman year, some of the early giants of rock ‘n’ roll hit the playlists on radio and at Teen Town.

“Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino.

“Maybellene” by Chuck Berry.

“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard.

Diana and I and our friends were in full rock ‘n’ roll mode, buying records and listening to the radio. The top 40 format was pioneered by Todd Storz who owned several stations, including WHB in Kansas City. But the early WHB playlists did not include the likes of Fats, Chuck and Little Richard. Instead, WHB played covers by white artists, such as Pat Boone, so we switched our dials to KUDL to hear the exciting new artists. WHB ultimately followed.

“Party Doll” by Buddy Knox. A Teen Town favorite in our sophomore year.

“Searchin’” by the Coasters. Their first of many hits.

“Bye Bye Love” by the Everly Brothers. Their first of many hits.

 “Diana” by Paul Anka. As we returned to school in the fall of 1957, this song peaked at #1. Nice touch for my friend Diana starting her junior year.

“That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Buddy was probably the hottest new artist when his debut hit went to #1. Years later for a Van Horn reunion booklet, we were asked to name our favorite song. Diana answered, “Anything by Buddy Holly.”

 

 “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley. Seven weeks at #1.

“Sixteen Candles” by the Crests. This was a good belly-rubber song at Teen Town for our senior year.

The big dance craze was the “West Coast,” and Diana and I were in sync with the shuffle beat that was best for the dance steps. Over the years, on cruise ships and fifties parties or wherever we heard that beat, we got up and did the West Coast. I have proof (from 2006)…

Two of the best West Coast songs that senior year…

“So Fine” by the Fiestas.

“Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison.

And then we graduated as part of the Van Horn Class of 1959.

Thank you, Diana, for all the dances and a lifetime of friendship.

Walk-Off Photos – My Two Favorite Women: Rita was not part of our teenage years – she’s eight years younger. And when I married Rita in 1981, Di and Larry were living in New York. When they moved back in 1984, there was a learning curve that was quickly satisfied. Rita and DI got along famously and became the best of friends. I’ll let the photos tell the story.