Here are Verne Lundquist and Byron Nelson to get us ready for the Byron Nelson Golf Classic at Preston Trail Golf Club, which starts Thursday, May 6, 1976, in Dallas.
This tournament probably won't merit any too much flow in the comments, but I couldn't let those two clips get by without commemoration here.
Byron Nelson wrap: Mark Hayes, a 26-year-old from Stillwater, Oklahoma, claimed the first of his three career PGA Tour victories. The big hubbub in this tournament came in Thursday's first round, when Jack Nicklaus was penalized on Hole 1 for carrying too many clubs in his bag. Nicklaus finished eight back of Hayes and tied for eighth.
ReplyDeleteSo far in 1976, here are the big stories in golf:
ReplyDelete1. Johnny Miller won the Tucson Open and the Bob Hope Desert Classic, for his 16th and 17th wins on tour.
2. Ben Crenshaw won the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and the Hawaiian Open, back to back, for his 2d and 3d wins on tour.
3. Hubert Green won three tournaments in a row: the Doral-Eastern Open, the Greater Jacksonville Open, and the Sea Pines Heritage Classic. Those are his 9th through 11th wins on tour.
4. Nicklaus won the TPC, which was his 60th win.
5. Raymond Floyd ran away with the Masters, which was his 7th win on tour.
6. Lee Elder picked up his second win by capturing the Houston Open.
In June, the USGA will hold the U.S. Open in the Deep South for the first time, as the USGA honors Bobby Jones by playing the U.S. Open at the Atlanta Athletic Club. As it turns out, 1976 will be a big year for the State of Georgia -- probably its biggest year ever, and certainly its biggest since Gone With the Wind was released.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point. I was listening to a radio interview from Connecticut with Jimmy Carter this morning, and, man, I like that guy. I didn't know about this flap he had with a former McGovern speechwriter, so I've got to look into that a little more.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Reagan is starting to roll. Check out these results:
DeleteMay 1: Texas (Reagan 66.4, Ford, 33.4)
May 4: Georgia (Reagan 68.3, Ford, 31.7)
May 4: Indiana (Reagan 51.3, Ford 48.7)
That Indiana result was a game-changer, as Reagan broke through in Ford's Midwestern base. So far, Reagan has won in NC, TX, GA, and IN. Ford has won IA, NH, MA, VT, FL, IL, WI, and PA. Both men are also racking up delegates through state conventions. According to the New York Times, Reagan has 387 delegates to 314 for Ford, with 328 uncommitted. Next week (May 11), we will get the results from NE and WV.
We've got a limited slate of games on today, May 10, 1976, so I was hopeful that we might get Angels at A's for Monday Night Baseball on Channel 3. No dice, however, so I'll have to be satisfied with YouTube user "RJL Network" replaying this Nolan Ryan-Paul Mitchell matchup with some dice game. So far, I'm pretty satisfied--the A's are leading, 1-0, in the third; plus, it appears ol' RJL N. might be a Dolphins fan!
ReplyDeleteInstead, ABC has sent Werner Wolf, Bob Uecker and Bob Prince to St. Louis for Dodgers at Cardinals (Burt Hooten vs. Pete Falcone).
ReplyDeleteRJL, by the way, is a totally compelling broadcaster.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles is coming off a three-game series in Philadelphia that pitted the National League leaders as of Friday. The Dodgers won the first game, 10-8, for their 12th win in a row. But then the Phillies won by 6-4 Saturday and by 10-3 Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI watched all three of these games over the last three days on BackToBaseball.com and pretended I was in Philadelphia for an early Bicentennial celebration. We’re still almost two months out from Independence Day, but the Philadelphia Daily News on Saturday, May 8, had more than a half page of agate-type Bicentennial Attractions open to the public that day.
The Liberty Bell at Third and Market streets was free to go see, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Independence Hall at Fifth and Chestnut and Betsy Ross’s house at 239 Arch? Same.
ReplyDeleteThose are regularly available, well-known sites, of course. As for a special events, how about Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, narrating “The Ballad of Valley Forge” to the accompaniment of the Pottstown Symphony and 300 singers at the natural amphitheater in Valley Forge State Park? As for lesser-known possibilities? There were special exhibits on American Indians and Chinese immigration at the University Museum at 33rd and Spruce? That was open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and cost $1. The Civic Center Museum at 34th St. and Civic Center Boulevard offered “Design for Fun,” with displays on historical entertainment and sports. That’s $1.50 for adults and 75 centers for kids under 13. Or you could see works by Picasso, Rubens, Van Gogh and Degas at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 26th Street and the Parkway. That was $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children under 12 six days a week or free on Sundays.
On the other hand, you could just go to Opryland.
DeleteNow it's on to St. Louis for the Dodgers and me and Monday Night Baseball ...
ReplyDeleteThrough six innings, Falcone had allowed just one Los Angeles hit, and the Cardinals led, 1-0. But then he walked Dusty Baker to open the top of the seventh and gave up a home run (not to Steve Garvey, who struck out) (and not to Ron Cey, who struck out) to Joe Ferguson.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I figured "Joe Ferguson" to be one of the world's most popular names because we had this guy on the Dodgers and the quarterback of the Bills. But, as far as I can say for sure, we haven't had one since.
The Cardinals retake the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Don Kessinger, the shortstop acquired from the Chicago Cubs, doubled and came home on Lou Brock's double. Then, Brock scored on a single by second baseman Vic Harris, also over from the Cubs.
ReplyDeleteWell, for that matter, so was Brock over from the Cubs, but that was several years earlier.
The Dodgers get nothing in the top of the eighth, and then they bring on Mike Marshall in place of Hooton. In doing so, they left Henry Cruz, the pinch hitter for Hooton, in right field and subbed out Ferguson. I would've left in the guy who hit the home run an inning ago, but I'll bet Walter Alston doesn't care what I think.
ReplyDeleteHe won four World Series: 1955, 1959, 1963, and 1965. All other Dodger managers combined have won three: 1981, 1988, and 2020.
DeleteNothing for St. Louis in the bottom of the eighth.
ReplyDeleteThe Cardinals' new pitcher is Eric Rasmussen, who has a new name. He was Harry Rasmussen before this season and had his name legally changed. The story goes that he liked "Eric" more than "Harry." So do I.
ReplyDeleteBaker walks to open the ninth, and this time it's Cey who homers him in: 4-3, Dodgers, with one out!
ReplyDeletePardon me. Apparently, Walter Alston does care what I think because he left Ferguson in, after all. Cruz remained in right field, but Ferguson moved to catcher. Steve Yeager sat down.
ReplyDeleteIt's three up and three down for the Cardinals in the ninth, and, with the Reds idle on this Monday night, the Dodgers move back into a tie atop the N.L. West. The win goes to Marshall; the loss, to Harry Rasmussen.
ReplyDeleteThere's no way his parents let him stay up to finish the game on a school night, but I do wonder about this Channel 3 broadcast's impact on my best neighborhood baseball friend, Rodney, who was 7 at the time. Before TBS came to Paducah and turned them all into Dale Murphy nuts, Rodney's parents were giant Cardinals fans, and it seemed like they went to multiple games in St. Louis every summer. But Rodney was a Dodgers guy--and especially Ron Cey and Steve Garvey.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the broadcast does not appear to be available on YouTube, so I followed this game via the diamond animation at sublime BackToBaseball.com.
ReplyDeleteWhat terrific fun! I had been looking forward all day to watching this game tonight, and it totally paid off. Also, I got to play dodgeball with the church youth group tonight, and that was fun, too, even though I was horrible. Sports and games are the best.
ReplyDeleteHappy Bicentennial from Johnny Cash.
ReplyDeleteLast night's game that I followed on BackToBaseball.com was Tigers at Yankees. And now to Yankee Stadium P.A. person Bob Sheppard for today’s linesup …
ReplyDeleteHere are the Tigers in Manager Ralph Houk’s batting order:
ReplyDelete1. Ron LeFlore center
2. Alex Johnson left
3. Willie Horton designated hitter
4. Rusty Staub right
5. Jason Thompson first
6. Aurelio Rodriguez third
7. John Wockenfuss catcher
8. Tom Veryzer short
9. Gary Sutherland second
Detroit’s pitcher today is Dave Roberts.
Billy Martin’s Yankees:
ReplyDelete1. Mickey Rivers center
2. Roy White left
3. Thurman Munson catcher
4. Chris Chambliss first
5. Lou Piniella designated hitter
6. Otto Velez right
7. Graig Nettles third
8. Willie Randolph second
9. Fred Stanley short
This will be my third 1976 Yankees game that I’ve followed so far this season, and, for the third time, New York’s starting pitcher will be Ed Figueroa.
He did seem to pitch a lot. Between 1976 and 1978, he started 101 games for the Yankees, and went 55-30.
DeleteAttendance is 12,123 at Yankee Stadium for this Tuesday evening, May 11, 1976.
ReplyDeleteJust a great, fun lead by Red Foley in the May 11 New York Daily News:
ReplyDeleteThe go-go Yankees left the Golden State ga-ga by winning five of six in Anaheim and Oakland to complete their lengthy four-city, three-state tour with a 7-3 record. They hope to stay in high gear for the six-game homestead against Detroit and Baltimore that begins tonight.
“And we should have won all six at California and at least two in Kansas City,” said the irrepressible Billy Martin following Sunday’s 12-inning, 4-3 loss to the A’s.
While preparing his game plan for tonight’s series opener against the Tigers at the Stadium, Martin paused to reflect on his blessings. Though satisfied with virtually all segments, he particularly glowed over the Yankees’ newly-adopted run, sheep, run game.
“It makes things happen, doesn’t it?” he grinned, reminding how the gung-ho tactics of Mickey Rivers and Willie Randolph, among others, helped build several road victories while tearing down enemy morale.
“Go-go,” “ga-ga,” “high gear,” “six-game,” “game plan,” “glowed over,” “run, sheep, run game,” “he grinned” and “gung-ho” all in four paragraphs … it’s not simply the lure of alliteration and near-alliteration, because it doesn’t do it with every letter. But there’s something special about a pileup of lead hard Gs that really perk up a thing, I do believe.
I see that I failed to put the American League standings in a comment earlier, so here they are going into the May 11 games.
ReplyDeleteEast
Yankees 15-6
Brewers 10-7, 3 games back
Tigers 10-9, 4
Indians 10-12, 5.5
Orioles 9-13, 6.5
Red Sox 6-14, 8.5
West
Rangers 15-6
Royals 11-8, 3
Twins 10-10, 4.5
A’s 12-13, 5
White Sox 7-11, 6.5
Angels 10-16, 7.5
Yankees haven't made the post-season since 1964, and really haven't come close.
DeleteSo, as we've already discussed this season, you can see that the Yankees are good and that, though they don't yet have the man (he's currently an Oriole), they have put together several of those men who are going to start winning Yankees World Series again pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteThe Tigers last won the World Series in 1968, and they'll next win it 1984. So here we are smack in the middle of that span.
ReplyDeleteSince winning 103 games in 1968, the Tigers have been in fairly steady decline: 90 wins, 79, 91, 86, 85, 72 and 57 in the successive seasons since. It is going to be a pretty steady ascent to 104 wins in 1984: 74 wins, 74, 86, 85, 84, 60 (of 109 games in strike-shortened 1981), 83 and 92 from 1976 through ’83.
ReplyDeleteThere are remnants from the last World Series: Horton, reliever John Hiller, catcher Bill Freehan and outfielder Mickey Stanley were on both the 1968 and '76 Tigers. And Horton, especially, is a key guy on both. He was the April 1976 A.L. player of the month, even.
ReplyDeleteNone of the 1976 big-league Tigers will be around for the 1984 party, but several of the studs-to-be are already in or very soon to be in Detroit's organization. Of the top 12 in Baseball Reference WAR for the 1984 Tigers, catcher Lance Parrish came in the 1974 draft; second baseman Lou Whitaker and third baseman Tom Brookens came in 1975, and shortstop Alan Trammel and pitchers Jack Morris and Dan Petry are coming in the June 1976 amateur draft.
ReplyDeleteNow here's Yankee Stadium organist Toby Wright with "I Can See Clearly Now."
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I want to say about the 1976 Tigers is that four of their starters in this game--LeFlore, Thompson, Wockenfuss and Veryzer--were former Evansville (Indiana) Triplets. I'm sorry to say that I have very little family history with the late Triplets of famous Bosse Field. They didn't come to be until 1969, not long before my parents, younger brother and I took off for Chicago and then Paducah. (Most of my family's Evansville-baseball lore had to do with the later Evansville Braves, also of famous Bosse Field. My dad talked about having a widow aunt who rented rooms in her home, near the stadium, to Braves, and I swear I thought the big one he always mentioned was Eddie Mathews. But it turns out Mathews never played in Evansville, and now I feel like my whole life has been a lie. Maybe he said Del Crandall.) But in the years since the Triplets' disappearance, I have come to hold that element of Evansville history in fond esteem. ("Tito Puente's gonna be dead, and you're gonna say, 'Oh, I've been listening to him for years, and I think he's fabulous.'") So I'm rooting for LeFlore, Thompson, Wockenfuss and Veryzer in particular in this game at Yankee Stadium.
ReplyDeleteNo here's Tony Wright with "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."
ReplyDeleteNow, not no. Toby, not Tony.
DeleteThis game was scoreless after five innings. Then Ron LeFlore singled, stole a base and came home on Alex Johnson's single in the sixth, and then Graig Nettles homered in the seventh. So now it's 1-1, headed to the eighth inning.
ReplyDeleteNow here's Toby Wright with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life."
ReplyDeleteFigueroa is still going strong. In the eighth, he gets in a little trouble when LeFlore reaches on a two-out error, and then Johnson gets on on a hit by pitch. But then Figueroa retires hot Horton, and it's still 1-1 going into the bottom half.
ReplyDelete"Saturday Night"! I honestly don't think I've ever heard this song and not loved it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why Ralph Houk gave Dave Roberts the hook a couple of innings ago. He seemed to be doing great. But, anyway, Hiller is the one who gave up the Nettles homer and now has walked Roy White to start the home eighth ...
ReplyDeleteThurman Munson singles ... Chris Chambliss singles, scoring White ... 2-1, Yankees, and no out ...
ReplyDeleteHiller's out, and Houk moves on to former-Triplet, Steve Grilli. Lou Piniella bunt sacrifices Munson in to make it 3-1, but then my old Evansville peep gets out of the inning.
ReplyDeleteAnd now back to Toby Wright for one last number before the top of the ninth (even if the Tigers tie it up, I've run out of Toby Wright videos). It's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"!
ReplyDeleteRusty Staub leads off, and "Le Grande Orange" (from the French Canadians when he was with the Expos) comes through! A double!
ReplyDeleteStaub advances to third and then comes home on sacrifices, but now there are two outs. Houk sends out a pinch-hitter, ex-Triplet Dan Meyer, and he singles!
ReplyDeleteEVANSVILLE!
Veryzer--as previously reported, another former Triplet--also singles, and now we have Tigers on first and second, with two out and Detroit trailing, 3-2. Will Billy Martin continue to stick with busy Ed Figueroa?
ReplyDeleteHouk sends up, as scheduled, Gary Sutherland (not an ex-Triplet). He's going to end up a career .243 hitter, and he's going to be done in Detroit in 1976 after hitting just .205 through 42 games. According to my baseball cards, Houk could've gone to Bill Freehan or Ben Oglivie, among other Tigers (not to mention ex-Triplets Bruce Kimm and Chuck Scrivener). But, no, here comes Sutherland ...
ReplyDeleteWild Figueroa pitch! Triples on second and third!
ReplyDeleteOH, MY GOSH, SUTHERLAND SINGLES HOME MEYER AND VERYZER!
ReplyDelete4-3, Tigers ...
And still Figueroa pitches on, striking out LeFlore to end the top of the ninth. Oh, my! Evansville, sports and internet, HOORAY!
ReplyDeleteEX-TRIPLET GRILLI, NOW MY ALL-TIME-FAVORITE EX-TRIPLET, RETIRES THE SIDE! Down go the Yankees!
ReplyDelete