#10 Mary Lou Retton

SSOMG realized today that among the first 10 sports stories, we had not included anything about a female athlete.   It is time to fix that.  Although it may seem an oversight, keep in mind that during my generation, the sports scene was dominated by male athletes.   There were few sports at the professional level thatContinue reading “#10 Mary Lou Retton”

#9 Vin Scully

When I was growing up things were different. In the early 1960’s when I was following baseball very closely, we had a black and white TV.  That was not the color of the TV; it was the color of the transmission; black and white.  This was before color TV.  Not only that, but there wasContinue reading “#9 Vin Scully”

#8 Bill Bradley

So, I have a confession to make.  I am not a book reader. Maybe I was when I was 8 or 10 years old, but since then it has been a struggle. I am quite sure Bill Bradley has read a lot more books than me.  In fact he has written a lot more booksContinue reading “#8 Bill Bradley”

#7 Warren Harding

No, not that one; Warren G. Harding was the 29th president of the United States.  I looked rather quickly, but I could not find any mention of Harding’s involvement in the sports world. No, the Warren Harding I am talking about is the one who was commonly referred to as Batso, who spent much ofContinue reading “#7 Warren Harding”

#6 Jim Gilliam

Baseball statistics and baseball stories just go on and on. Some players are stars, and we all know their names. Others are the support cast, and we don’t always remember their names, and how important they were to help the stars become the stars. Jim Gilliam is the answer to a few baseball riddles thatContinue reading “#6 Jim Gilliam”

#4 USC vs. Notre Dame, 1974

Once in awhile you get lucky. I was born and grew up in Southern California in the 1950’s and ‘60’s and 70’s.  Lucky enough; could have been North Dakota, or Siberia for that matter. As a result I grew up an LA Sports fan.  At that time LA had some of the best professional andContinue reading “#4 USC vs. Notre Dame, 1974”

#3 Dennis Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley was named to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.  That’s right, he was that good.  He also was named Number 98 in the top 100 Greatest Baseball Players by the Sporting News in 1999…yes, he was that good….one of the best relief pitchers of any era. Dennis grew upContinue reading “#3 Dennis Eckersley”

#2 Roger Maris

It was a race; A race like no other. From April to October of 1961, Roger Maris was in the race of his life. The race included some formidable opponents: It was a race against teammate Mickey Mantle to be the first to hit 61 home runs.  It was a race against a legend, BabeContinue reading “#2 Roger Maris”

#1 Joe Nuxhall

On June 10th, 1944, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall pitched the 9th inning of a very one-sided loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.  The Reds lost the game 18-0.  Joe got two outs, but gave up 5 walks and two hits.  He was pulled after a wild pitch.  It would be his last pitch inContinue reading “#1 Joe Nuxhall”

Introduction to Sports Stories of My Generation

03-24-2020 So, here I sit at the kitchen table.  I have seen enough of the news for today regarding the Coronavirus. The sun is starting to go down, and I realize that normally I would have the Padre game on, at least before dinner, just to stay in touch with baseball…but no games today. NoContinue reading “Introduction to Sports Stories of My Generation”