Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems

Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems - www.kevindayhoff.com Address: PO Box 124, Westminster MD 21158 410-259-6403 kevindayhoff@gmail.com Runner, writer, artist, fire & police chaplain Mindless ramblings of a runner, journalist & artist: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, technology, music, culture, opera... National & International politics www.kevindayhoff.net For community: www.kevindayhoff.org For art, technology, writing, & travel: www.kevindayhoff.com

Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dayhoff writing essays Sports. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2012

Eagle Archive: Calling all 'well-behaved players' for baseball in Carroll County

Eagle Archive: Calling all 'well-behaved players' for baseball in Carroll County


Eagle Archive: Calling all 'well-behaved players' for baseball in Carroll County




You may have noticed that the Baltimore Orioles have gotten off to a good start so far in the young 2012 season.

Hope springs eternal, and spring makes me eternally hopeful, so it's only fitting to note that baseball was also on the minds of Carroll County readers more than 110 years ago.

On this day in 1899, a local newspaper carried a news story that the local "Westminster Base Ball Club" was looking for a few good baseball players…

"The Westminster Base Ball Club ... desires to win the championship and toward that end desires to have a team composed of good players who will be able to play good base ball, and will take full advantage of the five mile limit in order to obtain the players if they can not be gotten in this city." …

What is that 'five-mile limit' all about? We may need to call upon local historian and Carroll County baseball history expert Dan Hartzler.


[…]

According to Mary Ann Ashcraft, an historian for the Historical Society, "Baseball was a big draw in all parts of the county, and competition between local teams often got very intense…"

[…]

In the April 22, 1899 article that appeared in the now-defunct Democratic Advocate newspaper, it is interesting to review the set of qualifications desired by the Westminster Base Ball Club.

“While no roughness or rowdyism on the team will be permitted, the team will be no kid glove affair, to the detriment of good ball playing, but every effort will be made to obtain a representative club of conscientious, efficient, and well-behaved ball players…

“The team announced last week will be permanent only so far as the members, so announced, are able to play good ball and play regularly.”

Where do I sign up? Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.

When he is not listening to Orioles baseball on WTTR, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at… http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archives-0422-20120418,0,1682881.story

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Recently on www.explorecarroll.com Eagle Archives by Kevin Dayhoff




New Windsor history includes hogs, white elephants and health-giving waters March 24, 2012 By Kevin Dayhoff, http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0325-20120324,0,7033929.story

Eagle Archive: Carroll County Pasta Growers Association faced serious issues in spring 1917, April 1, 2012 by Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/opinion-talk/ph-ce-eagle-archives-0401-20120328,0,7758279.story

Eagle Archive: Minding your manners, the community college, and post office were in the news years ago April 8, 2012 By Kevin Dayhoff

Eagle Archive: Measuring county's wealth in terms of cash, crops and heritage Baltimore Sun By Kevin Dayhoff, April 14, 2012 http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0415-20120411,0,6968390.story Around 1919, a local newspaper took issue with an article in a Baltimore paper that had credited "Yolo County, Calif., with the record of any county in the United States as being the wealthiest." April 15, 2012 http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/04/eagle-archive-by-kevin-dayhoff.html

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April 14, 2012 ...overlooked Carroll county." When he's not bragging about how great it is to live and work in Carroll County…

Eagle Archive: Carroll County Pasta Growers Association faced serious issues in spring 1917 BY KEVIN DAYHOFF, April 1, 2012 ...When he's not celebrating April Fool's Day with his rare "Westminster Imagination" pasta bushes…

Eagle Archive: Shopping for a silver anniversary present for TownMall March 24, 2012 ...around from 1987. Happy birthday to TownMall. When he is not looking for birthday cake in the food court, Kevin Dayhoff

Eagle Archives: New Windsor history includes hogs, white elephants and health-giving waters March 24, 2012 ...to the Public Service Commission." When he is not worrying about chasing hogs and white elephants out of town, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at BY KEVIN DAYHOFF

Eagle Archive: In 1879, it didn't take much to get run out of Westminster March 17, 2012 ...Crapster fined Green $2 and $8 costs, and the State's attorney gave Hines fifteen minutes to leave the city." Kevin Dayhoff is on his best behavior so he is not run out of town. He may be reached at … BY KEVIN DAYHOFF, …

In 1885, Westminster did a little Orioles bird hunting on the diamond February 25, 2012 ...team by a score of 9 to 7." When he's not trying out as a walk-on candidate for Orioles' spring training, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … BY KEVIN DAYHOFF
McDaniel's new Gill Stadium will take its place in college's athletic history February 9, 2012 ...ball ... providing for both men and women." When is not walking in circles on the track at McDaniel College, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … BY KEVIN DAYHOFF …
February 4, 2012 ...They are desperate men and declared that they would not be taken alive." When he not hiding under the sofa, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at BY KEVIN DAYHOFF
Eagle Archive: High school basketball has always been a great remedy for cabin fever January 29, 2012 ...schoolroom in which basketball was conducted." When is he not bouncing a basketball around in the living room, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … BY KEVIN DAYHOFF …
Eagle Archive: Murder and mayhem led to Carroll's last public hanging in 1916 February 15, 2012 ...had assembled as early as the night before to witness the hanging. When he's not stooped over pouring milk, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at … BY KEVIN DAYHOFF …

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Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoffTwitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Saturday, May 15, 2010

A few of the reasons I am not attending the Preakness today.


A few of the reasons I am not attending the Preakness today. And a few reasons I’d like to attend.

May 15, 2010

By Kevin Dayhoff http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/05/few-of-reasons-i-am-not-attending.html

Not withstanding the above picture, a few of the reasons I am not attending the Preakness today… And a few reasons I’d like to attend. I mean it is on the “A” list of Maryland - Baltimore must-attend cultural events.

Check out “Preakness infield through the years,” in the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horse-racing/preakness/bal-preaknessinfield-pg,0,7196896.photogallery. It is a great photo spread.

Ah hem, well, this is not the staid, curmudgeon Preakness – or publication of H. L. Mencken, now is it. I guess that is a good thing – or a whatever.

Oh snap. Ya know, I'd head on down to the Preakness, but I don't seem to have a hat for the occasion.

The bikini contest pictures start at picture number three… Okay, moving on… This looks a Steffenesque view of the Preakness. Photograph number 6 - - Reason number two I did not go to the Preakness; I don't have the legs I never had.

There are perp-walk pictures sprinkled throughout the spread. Seems some folks in the past have misbehaved in the Preakness infield festivities. I’m shocked I tell you, shocked I say.

Me, I liked the hat pictures. No seriously, I really like the horsey-set fashion and hat pictures… Check out picture 33 might be my favorite – among many favorites.

The pics of the U.S. Navy's parachute team, also known as the "Leap Frogs,” are fun.

And yes folks, the day is a veritable sports lollapalooza. The pictures of the volleyball match in the infield start at number 23, followed quickly by some great pictures of ZZ Top. Picture number 29 is pretty cool.

Oh, how sophisticated… No further comment on picture number 49.

The few pictures starting at number 51 appear to portray someone who is hoping to get a Darwin award… The horses are on the track. Some of the horses’ asses may be found in the infield.

Another "Running of the Urinals" pic at 64.

Seems Westminster folks have figured somewhat prominently in the Preakness infield festivities in the past.

In picture number 67 “Aimee Gable of Westminster downs a vodka, cranberry and peach schnapps concoction supplied by Peter Perrine of Lancaster, Pa., on the infield at Pimlico Race Course. Several friends took turns at the spigot on the morning of the Preakness.” I wonder if Ms. Gable gave her Mom a copy of that picture for Mother’s Day?

Picture number 68…Oh, nevermind.

Picture number 80, ugh, just ugh.

Katie Hutchinson may be found in picture number 86 from May 17, 2008.

Between you and me, the photographs are technically and artistically quite good. A news photographer can only take pictures of what they see… I’ve love to attend the Preakness some day if only to take a bunch of pictures. As for the infield, I’m no longer as young as I never was.

Labels: Art Artists Culture Maryland, Dayhoff writing essays Sports, Sports Horse Racing, Sports Horse Racing Preakness, Sports Horse Racing Triple Crown

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Explore Carroll: Which comes first, baseball or digging out my driveway?

EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff (Enlarge) Posted http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/3973/which-comes-first-baseball-or-digging-my-driveway/ 2/21/10 http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm

Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/157t3v or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/410923602/february-11-2010-snow-picture-photo-caption-my [20100211 Moody snow pics UTR]


Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/157uiv or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/410805246/collage-orioles-spring-training-ed-smith-stadium [20100218 BirdsKEDSarasotacollage caption]

I say with a sigh,
With the snow piled so high,
It's time to write about anything I know,
Other than the snow and the cold.
If I may be so bold.

So let's talk about baseball? I'm happy to report that this past Wednesday, the Baltimore Orioles pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Sarasota, Fla.

Carroll County has always had a love affair with baseball. Some of my best memories of growing up in Carroll came from listening to Orioles baseball on WTTR or getting together with friends and family to attend Little League or Babe Ruth games. Baseball has been a favorite topic for many local history writers. And why not? Writing about baseball is fun.

Read the entire column here: EAGLE ARCHIVE: Which comes first, baseball or digging out my driveway?

http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/3973/which-comes-first-baseball-or-digging-my-driveway/ http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm

SCE Which comes 1st baseball digging out driveway sceked Dayhoff Media Explore Carroll, Dayhoff photos, Dayhoff photos sports, Dayhoff writing essays Sports, Sports Baltimore Orioles, Sports Baseball, US st Fl Long Boat Sarasota 2010 Feb

Which comes first, baseball or digging out my driveway? http://www.explorecarroll.com/ http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm

Baseball or digging out driveway http://www.explorecarroll.com/ http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm - http://tinyurl.com/yb9tudo http://twitpic.com/157t3v

Collage Orioles Spring Training Ed Smith Stadium Sarasota http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm-http://tinyurl.com/yb9tudo http://twitpic.com/157uiv

Related: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/02/orioles-manager-trembley-with-evelyn.html Orioles’ manager Trembley with Evelyn Babylon in Sarasota training camp http://tinyurl.com/yh46oxh

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/02/caroline-babylon-of-westminster-md-gets.html http://tinyurl.com/yfduskq Caroline Babylon of Westminster MD gets the autograph of Orioles manager Dave Trembley http://tinyurl.com/yfduskq http://twitpic.com/142s9y

[20100218 OriolesSarasotaTrembleyCB] Dayhoff Daily Photoblog, Dayhoff photos, Dayhoff photos family, Dayhoff photos sports, Sports Baltimore Orioles, Sports Baseball, US st Fl Long Boat Sarasota 2010 Feb, US st Florida 2010 Feb

Interviewing Orioles director of public relations Monica Barlow http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/02/interviewing-orioles-director-of-public.html http://tinyurl.com/yhhqpm9

EAGLE ARCHIVE: Which comes first, baseball or digging out my driveway? EAGLE ARCHIVE By Kevin Dayhoff (Enlarge) Posted http://www.explorecarroll.com/community/3973/which-comes-first-baseball-or-digging-my-driveway/ 2/21/10 http://tinyurl.com/ykabspm

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sarasota Snowbird http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=3620
Kevin E. Dayhoff http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41
Sarasota FL – The Orioles’ pitchers and catchers took the field last Thursday for the first day of spring training in their new training facilities in Sarasota after spending the pre-season the last 14 years in Fort Lauderdale.

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Oriole pitchers and catchers take to the field for the first day of spring training http://tinyurl.com/yb9tudo http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/02/oriole-pitchers-and-catchers-take-to.html

Westminster MD fans join Oriole pitchers and catchers for the first day of spring training http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/02/oriole-pitchers-and-catchers-take-to.html or here: http://tinyurl.com/yb9tudo Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/14999i on my Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/410746018/westminster-md-fans-join-oriole-pitchers-and

*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Tiger Woods was a busy guy

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren briefly pose for a photoshop moment as the blond bombshell moves out of the marital home after being shell-shocked by serial accounts that Mr. Woods may have given as many as nine private golf lessons as to how to use his putter with a casting call for a reality TV show. – Artist-Photographer unknown – probably in hiding… Larger: http://twitpic.com/srqr0


By Kevin Dayhoff December 8, 2009

It appears that golfing great Tiger Woods may have been a busy guy in recent years. According to an article by Sophie Tedmanson in the Times (UK,) “More woes for Tiger Woods as his wife Elin Nordegren moves out” - Larger: http://twitpic.com/srrlz

“[I]t is alleged, “Woods, 33, has been linked to up to nine women - including a British television presenter – since it was first reported he crashed his Cadillac into a fire hydrant outside his home on November 27 after reportedly arguing with his wife.”

“Apparently, the only person who can beat Tiger Woods with a golf club is his wife.”
(There’s more from where that one came from – go here: http://tinyurl.com/yhgeaq8.)

The latest revelations begs the question, when did he ever have time to play golf?

Ms. Tedmanson writes, “Days after the crash Woods was linked to a New York night clubber, other women – including a Las Vegas party girl and a Florida waitress - began to come forward, selling their stories to tabloids with tales of trysts with Woods….”

Is this nuts or what. Have you seen pictures of his wife? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. What could have he possibly been thinking? Or was his putter doing the thinking for him?

According to a December 7 article in the Times (UK) by Jacqui Goddard, “Best man speech could draw Tiger Woods out of hiding”:

“… [T]he golf champion [is alleged to have had] trysts with Rachel Uchitel, a New York nightclub hostess, including flying her to Melbourne for a secret rendezvous with Woods during the Australian Masters last month…

“Holly Sampson, a porn star, today became the seventh woman named as having had an affair with Woods, who has been married to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish model, since 2004.”


Perhaps that explains the mysteries behind his car crash into a tree and a fire hydrant in the wee hours of the morning of November 27, 2009 – The man was delirious with exhaustion.

“Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn’t decide between a wood and an iron." ibid)

Of course, having a five-iron stuck up his behind did not help to improve his driving ability at the time.
Meanwhile the Boston Herald’s “Inside Track” – “‘SNL’ battered over spoof of Tiger Woods spat” - is reporting that “Anti-domestic violence advocates beat up on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” yesterday for a skit poking fun at reports that Tiger Woods was hit with a golf club by his enraged wife, Elin Nordegren.

“‘There’s nothing funny about this story, particularly if violence was part of the events that took place,’ said Rita Smith, president of the National Coalition for Domestic Violence . ‘It diminishes people’s support for victims of domestic violence.’

“Woods, who has been accused of 10 extramarital affairs in the wake of a car crash outside his Florida home Thanksgiving weekend, was skewered in the skit that featured ‘SNL’ regular Kenan Thompson, playing the golf great, and guest host Blake Lively as his angry Swedish wife.”


Whatever, I hardly ever watch Saturday Night Live and find very little about the otherwise popular late-night TV program to be funny.

But you know – the whole sad saga of Mr. Woods' fall from grace by his own Shakespearean personality defect just really isn’t funny.

It is not even just sad – it is a disappointment. It is disillusioning - it’s pathetic and probably a sign of pathology.

Is it more important than the rate of unemployment, the economy or the war in Iraq and Afghanistan? No.

Do I care? Nope.

However, looking at the bigger picture, the gentleman has a social contract with his fans, especially the younger fans, to live-up to his public persona and be the person with the integrity to be a pitchman for various products.

And just as important, what about his responsibilities to the game of golf. He has been the gold standard for the sport. In his star capacity, he has attracted many young players – and viewers – to the game. This cannot be good for golf.

In another Boston Herald piece; this time by Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa, “Face it, Web full of Tiger Woods’ bad lies,” they introduce Mr. Woods:

“Just two months ago, fairway philanderer Tiger Woods told his loyal Facebook friends that he and bride Elin are basically a ‘boring’ couple, a pair of homebodies who like to hang on the couch, watch TV and play video games.

“Ummmm, might be time to update the old profile, Tiger.

“‘I think Elin and I have avoided a lot of media attention because we’re kind of boring,’ wrote the world’s greatest golfer, who is now accused of a string of tawdry liaisons with - among others - a porn star, a cocktail waitress, a Vegas club hostess and waitress in a pancake house.”

Ouch!

It will only get worse. Perhaps the next shoe to drop will be folks selling the tabloids pictures of Mr. Woods in compromising positions in an unflattering context?

Meanwhile, one may only imagine how many more women will come forward alleging to have played with Mr. Woods in the sand trap. (Porn star Joslyn James brings the number of women linked to Tiger Woods to 11 FOXNews; Meet porn star Joslyn James or 'Tiger Woods' alleged mistress No. 'This is so ...)

And one wonders how many of his sponsors will keep him on: Gatorade ends Tiger-themed drinks, says move preplanned USA Today - Michael McCarthy - ‎1 hour ago‎ AP By Michael mccarthy, USA TODAY The first dent in Tiger Woods' gold-plated endorsement portfolio appeared Tuesday as Gatorade said it was dropping its ...; Tiger Woods: Below-par sales doom Gatorade's Tiger Focus Chicago Tribune; Gatorade drops Tiger Woods product FOXNews; Tiger Woods ads disappear from airwaves Boston Herald; and the Wall Street Journal (blog)

As far as his marriage; according to Ms. Goddard:

“The couple are believed to be talking with lawyers over the future of their marriage, after Ms Nordegren discovered that he had been cheating on her and allegedly chased him from the house brandishing a golf club - a confrontation that ended with Woods crashing his Cadillac Escalade into a tree at 2.25am on November 27.”

In the latest installment of this Kabuki theatre morals drama from hell it appears that the sporting magazine “Golf Digest” believes that Mr. Woods ought to embark on yet another tour – a speaking tour about how to multi-task one’s career and marriage; all the while becoming one of golfing’s greats...

Golf Digest has featured Mr. Woods in its upcoming January 2010 edition with a cover headline, “10 Tips Obama can take from Tiger.” Larger: http://twitpic.com/srs5w

At this point, we certainly hope the president is not taking any advice from Mr. Woods because once First Lady Michelle Obama finished with him, having a car crash at 2:25 am would be the least of President Obama’s worries and our great nation would probably be looking forward to how President Joe Biden would solve our nation’s woes.

Ms. Goddard calls to our attention: “The episode has left Woods’s image as a clean-living sports icon in tatters - lending irony to the front cover of Golf Digest magazine’s January issue, which went to press before the sex scandal broke.

“The magazine features a mocked-up picture of Woods acting as caddie to President Obama, to illustrate an article headlined ‘10 Tips Obama can take from Tiger’. The feature, now causing some embarrassment at Golf Digest, suggests that the President, struggling to turn around a recession, could learn the art of ‘the quick recovery’ from the famously adept golfer.”

“‘Woods is a good role model...because he has always been able to pull himself together after setbacks,’ it notes, also observing:

“‘Woods never does anything that would make himself look ridiculous.’”

20091208 d1 sdosmked Tiger Woods was a busy guy Dayhoff writing essays, Dayhoff writing essays Sports, People Woods Tiger, Sport people Woods Tiger, This creeps me out, This is nuts

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/12/tiger-woods-was-busy-guy.html http://tinyurl.com/yecqqxj

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Links:

Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff
Tumblr: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/

Tiger Woods was a busy guy
http://tinyurl.com/yecqqxj http://twitpic.com/srqr0

‘SNL’ battered over spoof of Tiger Woods spat http://tinyurl.com/yecqqxj Boston Herald: http://tinyurl.com/yavwrja http://twitpic.com/srr0c or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/275864639/snl-battered-over-spoof-of-tiger-woods-spat

More woes 4 Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren moves out http://tinyurl.com/yecqqxj TimesUK http://tinyurl.com/ybrblut http://twitpic.com/srrlz or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/275870843/more-woes-4-tiger-woods-as-wife-elin-nordegren

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6948304.ece http://tinyurl.com/ybrblut

Golf Digest features Tiger Woods Jan 2010 w headline “10 Tips Obama can take from Tiger”
http://tinyurl.com/yecqqxj http://twitpic.com/srs5w or here: http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/275877230/golf-digest-features-tiger-woods-jan-2010-w

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6948304.ece

http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/11/10-best-tiger-woods-jokes-on-the-web.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6947872.ece

http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1217364 http://tinyurl.com/yavwrja

*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Monday, April 27, 2009

Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment




Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment

By Kevin Dayhoff April 15, 2009

Photo credit: Published in LOOK, v. 19, no. 4, 1955 Feb. 22, p. 78. Photo by Bob Sandberg: Jackie Robinson swinging a bat in Dodgers uniform, 1954. (19550222 1954 Jrobinson.jpg)

Art: (19880412 283) "Baltimore Baseball" by Kevin Dayhoff

Folks have been asking where they may find my column on “Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment.”

The column appeared in both the Westminster Eagle and the Carroll Eagle: Thoughts turn to baseball and Jackie Robinson Published April 17, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle and Dayhoff: Recalling Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment Published April 15, 2009 by Westminster Eagle

Pasted below is the column as it filed…

My thoughts today turn to one of my very few sports heroes – Jackie Robinson. For it was today, April 15, in 1947, that Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier that had begun in the 1880s.

Wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform with the number 42, Robinson, to paraphrase sports writer William McNeil, made his debut in front of 26,623 baseball fans at the old Ebbets Field. Approximately 14,000 of the spectators in the stands were African-Americans.

The Dodgers won 5-3; however, the real winner that day was all of us.

It was about time. As Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich wrote on March 28, 1997: “Four hundred fifty-five years after Columbus discovered America, white America discovered that blacks could play major league baseball. The first definitive clue was offered by the fifth child of a Cairo, Ga., sharecropper who was selected for the daring racial experiment.”

A brief account by the Library of Congress reveals “Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed a contract with Robinson to play for the team on October 23, 1945. Robinson then spent a year on a minor league team to sharpen his skills.

“Rickey, who called the move baseball's ‘great experiment,’ chose Robinson because of his excellent athletic record and strength of character. The first player to ‘cross the color line’ would have to be able to withstand intense public scrutiny and to avoid confrontation even when met with insults and hostility.”

As an aside, Richey also deserves a special place in history for having the character and insight to make it all happen. According to Povich, breaking the color barrier “had become a cause. Rickey was a former player and later a team president with high morals and a religious bent.”

It is interesting to note that Richey’s strength of conviction caused him, in earlier years when he played the game as an American League catcher, to “steadfastly” refuse to play baseball on Sundays, according to Povich.

Richey’s baseball scouts found Robinson playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in the “Negro baseball leagues” in 1945.

Povich writes that Richey “warned Robinson of the insults and the racial slurs he would hear from both players and fans in every city in the league. ‘I want a player with guts — the guts not to fight back, to turn the other cheek,’ Rickey told Robinson…”

“Rickey's bargain was for Robinson to hold his temper for two years. After that he was his own man, free to combat prejudice any way he saw fit.”

Robinson, by all accounts, endured a great deal of horrific abuse. However, according to the Library of Congress account, “Not only was Robinson able to quell opposition to his presence on the field, but he quickly won the respect and enthusiasm of the fans.”

That same account says that Robinson “retired from baseball after the 1956 season with a lifetime batting average of .311 and the distinction of having stolen home an incredible 19 times. A legend even in his day, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.”

I should note that Robinson is the focal point of one of my three favorite baseball trivia stories – two of the stories happened in April and involve the Dodgers, but do have anything to do with a baseball. The third involves a potato…

The first favorite baseball moment also took place on April 25, 1976. It was that day that outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashed between two men in the Dodger Stadium outfield in Los Angeles and grabbed away an American flag that protesters were about to burn.

The other event, which involves Robinson, is memorialized by a statute in front of “KeySpan Park,” a minor league baseball stadium in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. The statute is of Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese with his arm around Robinson.

Povich got the story behind the statute from New York Times’ writer Bob Herbert. In a game in Cincinnati: “As the crowd heaped abuse on Robinson, Reese called time and walked across the diamond and draped an arm around Robinson's shoulder, standing with him in defiance of the crowd's mood.

“It was at once a sentimental display of friendship for a beleaguered teammate and a resounding rebuke to the lackwits who could not come to terms with Jackie Robinson in a major league lineup.”

Povich notes that Roger Kahn, author of “The Boys of Summer,” said of the scene: “It gets my vote as baseball’s finest moment.”

And mine also.

And oh, the third story occurred on Aug. 31, 1987 and it involves a potato. Who knows the story? Tell us what you know of the “tater caper” in readers’ comments below.

That’s my two cents. What’s yours? Leave any comments here: Thoughts turn to baseball and Jackie Robinson Published April 17, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle and Dayhoff: Recalling Jackie Robinson, the great American experiment

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com.
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Thoughts turn to baseball and Jackie Robinson
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