RIP Whitey Ford

[Carcounter]

Mr Ford and his wife lived a few miles from me, and in the 1970s were pretty involved with local youth baseball. He would attend many of the high school games but always watch from his car, because he didn't want his presence to distract from the kids playing the game.
For many years, he ran a batting cage/ party room and he was there the majority of the time. He said since his name was on the building, he didn't want to disappoint anyone who came to see him.
Later in life, he sunk a lot of money into a theme bar/restaurant filled with his personal memorabilia that failed in a bit over a year. Being a lifelong Yankee, he wasn't used to failure and it affected him badly.
Although he lost a fortune on it, I think he felt worse for the staff that lost their jobs.
He retired before I got into baseball, but I remember his 1965 Topps card, as that was the first year I collected them.
Rest in peace, and have fun throwing to Thurman.

From Astoria Queens if I'm not mistaken.

[billryan]

He grew up on 34th Avenue in Astoria. By coincidence, I lived on 34th Avenue in both Flushing and in Jackson Heights.
At some point, he moved to Lake Success, a short bike ride from our house in Mineola. We'd ride by his house on a regular basis but I never saw him there.
My friends father cleaned his oil tank every yearin the early 1970s before switching jobs. In the late 1980s, my friend approached Mr Ford at a baseball card show and mentioned it. Whitey made it seem like his father was his best friend, and signed a baseball for him at no charge.

[olds442jetaway]

Yes RIP “ Little Joe” another one of the greats all the way around. Back in the 1950’s, when on the family farm in Virginia during summer, in the evening I would listen to the Reds on my Great Grandfather’s big stand up radio from the 1930s with him. No tv then. That was his team. I tend to associate things with numbers so I will always remember Little Joe’s batting average from 1975 when they took the Series. 327. At the time I had a 63 impala ss convertible with a built 327 motor. It is just the crazy way I remember things. I could bore the gang with reciting the cu in dislacements of all the 50’s and 60’s V8 engines, but I won’t. So many baseball greats lost within the last year or so.

[billryan]

Joe Morgan was the best player in baseball for a number of years. He won two MVPs but if the writers back then used the metrics that are used today, it could easily have been four. Morgan could walk and steal second like no one of his era.
Rest in Peace.

[OTABILL]

You know what is eerie? Bob Gibson died the day the St Louis Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs, Ford the day the Yankees were eliminated, and Joe Morgan, who played for 9 years with Houston before being traded to Cincinnati, the day the Astros lost the first game of the ALCS. Would have even been spookier if Joe died the day the Reds were eliminated.

[olds442jetaway]

As long as we are still talking baseball greats, my all time favorite pitcher to watch was Warren Spahn. Led the Braves to a series win in 1957 and got the Cy Young award that year. Being a Lefty both batting and hitting, had a lot to do with me liking his styly of trying to fool the hitter on what was coming next. He had two no hitters and on and on. It’s not important, but I managed a 312 batting average in the Junior Majors. Poor right eye vision kept me from going further. The 312 Ford V8 engine came out in 1956. Made famous in the TBird. Started playing sand lot baseball in the same year. Crazy how I identify events with engine cu in displacements. I am a lifetime lefty as well. Just not in politics. He hee.