Crash Davis - I Believe (Edit) (Bull Durham)In 1927, Ruth hit 60 home runs in a single season. That record stood until Roger Maris broke it 34 years later.
In 1941, "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" was recorded by Les Brown and his big band, not yet renown, just three weeks after The Yankee Clipper's 56-game hitting streak came to an end. The previous summer, Brown had hired 16-year-old Doris Day to be his female vocalist, but when she left less than a year later to marry a trombone player, Les needed a new girl. Betty Bonney got the gig, and although her age was a guarded secret, rumor had it that this mature, sassy voice could have actually belonged to a 14-year-old.
"Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" streaked up the charts to #12, and it even sounds like the actual voice of Joltin' Joe that answers Betty Bonney in the beginning of the song. But maybe not. Joe says it ain't so!
Between May 15 and July 17,1941, DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive games. This unprecedented achievement has not been matched since.
In 1939, after playing in 2130 consecutive games, Gehrig is no longer able to play. His streak, long thought to be the one untouchable baseball record, lasted until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it 56 years later.
In 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants finished the season tied for first place. In the final game of a three-game playoff, the Dodgers were leading 4-2 in the ninth inning when Thomson hit a three-run home run off Ralph Branca to capture the pennant for the Giants. This remains one of the most dramatic home runs in baseball history.
On July 15, 1954, "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" was recorded in New York City by The Treniers. Willie Mays helped out on the vocals, and the orchestra was directed by Quincy Jones. The Trenier brothers, like Mays, were from Alabama, but unlike Willie, they prospered for many years without hits. The Treniers weren't just singers but performers, a real nightclub act, appearing in four 1950s rock 'n' roll movies including "Don't Knock The Rock" and "The Girl Can't Help It."
In 1962, Willie put out a record himself on the Duke label. ("My Sad Heart" / "If You Love Me"). But while Mays said hey, the public said nay, and that was the end of his recording career.
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In the eighth inning of the first game of the 1954 World Series, with the score tied 2-2 and two men on base, Vic Wertz of the Cleveland Indians hit a ball to the deepest part of center field in the Polo Grounds. Mays ran back, caught the ball over his shoulder and threw home to hold the runners. The Giants went on to win the game and the series. This is generally considered to be the greatest catch of all time.
"Willie, Mickey & The Duke" is one of 30 different versions of "Talkin' Baseball" recorded by balladeer Terry Cashman. There's a version for every major league team except Seattle (as of 1989), and this baseball "anthem" can be heard on radio, television, and at ballparks from coast to coast. Cashman originally sang doo wop with The Chevrons in the '50s, and wrote "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" for Spanky & Our Gang in the '60s. In the '70s, Terry produced Jim Croce and also had a hit himself with Cashman & West ("American City Suite").
"Willie, Mickey & The Duke" has sold around 500,000 copies.
When the 1956 baseball season got underway, Teresa Brewer was a 24-year-old pop singer, and Mickey Mantle was a 24-year-old popular swinger--for the New York Yankees. Teresa's hits included "Music, Music, Music," "Let Me Go Lover," and "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl." As for the Mick, he had hits of his own, winning the Triple Crown that year (.353 average, 52 home runs, 130 RBIs). It was only natural that they would combine for what Coral Records billed as a "vocal duet"--"I Love Mickey."
"Take Me Out To The Ballgame" was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth, who had never seen a major league baseball game and wouldn't see one until 33 years later. He wrote the song in 15 minutes after seeing a poster on a New York City subway which beckoned one and all to see a ballgame at the Polo Grounds. Norworth's friend, Al Von Tilzer, set the words to music, and thus an American classic was born.
There have been many versions of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," and in 1949 MGM released a movie with the same name, starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly. In 1982, Bruce Springstone (lead vocals by Tom Chalkley) released "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." It's a Bruce Springsteen parody; a rock 'n' roll boss recording--without The Boss.
In 1947, Robinson broke the color barrier that had long kept African-Americans from competing in the Major Leagues. Robinson was also the first recipient of the Rookie of the Year Award that year. He went on to hit .311 for his career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962.
accompanied by Steal Away
Robinson died October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut. The epitaph that appears on Robinson's grave stone is one that he wrote for himself. It reads: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
In 1972, rookie pitcher Bill Slayback started his first game for the Detroit Tigers and, after flirting with a no-hitter for seven innings, beat the New York Yankees. That was the highlight of a brief three-year big-league career which earned him a 6-9 record. But in 1973, Slayback and Tiger play-by-play announcer Ernie Harwell hooked up to write "Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry)."
In 1981, Ernie Harwell became the first active announcer to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 1989 was Ernie's 30th season as the voice of the Tigers and his song-writing total reached 200, of which "Move Over Babe" is one of 46 recorded.
(It's only appropriate that "Move Over Babe" was released on Karen--number 714.)
Studs Terkel - The New York Times quote
accompanied by When You And I Were Young, Maggie
At the start of the 1974 season, Aaron hit his 714th home run in Cincinnati to tie Babe Ruth's career mark. In a game played in Atlanta on April 8, 1974, Aaron hit his record 715th home run off Dodger pitcher Al Downing. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs.
Singer-songwriter Steve Goodman made a name for himself in 1972 when his song "The City of New Orleans" became a hit for Arlo Guthrie. The spotlight was on New Orleans, but Chicago native Goodman had his heart on his own hometown, more specifically, Wrigley Field. Steve was a Cubs fan who, three years earlier, had suffered when the Cubs blew the pennant to the '69 Mets. It was also '69 when the public discovered Steve had leukemia.
Goodman continued to write and perform through the years, and in 1984 it appeared Steve would finally see the Cubs win. He was even invited to sing the national anthem at Wrigley Field before the first game of the playoffs. But Steve Goodman didn't get to sing or see his Cubs clinch. The Cubs' magic number was 3 when Steve died in a Seattle hospital at age 36. A few weeks after his death, "The City of New Orleans" was a hit again, #1 on the country charts for Willie Nelson. But that was not "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request."
"Who's On First?" was performed in 1945 by Abbott & Costello in the movie "Naughty Nineties." Although Bud and Lou didn't create "Who's On First" (author unknown), they repeated it numerous times through the years on various radio and TV shows. Joe DiMaggio even participated when it was performed on the "Colgate Comedy Hour." It's a hall of fame comedy classic, so Bud & Lou, let's play ball.