What’s my favorite field, you ask?
That’s easy. Sally
has always been the Field of my dreams.
What, wait, you meant sports field? Oh! Sorry
about that.
You see, back when I was a kid and saw Smokey and the
Bandit, Sally Field got my engine revving.
She was the ultimate to me. Her
beauty was amplified by her chemistry with the studly Burt Reynolds.
And all of that was wrapped in a black Trans Am.
That was 1977.
It was also the year my love affair began with baseball and
the White Sox.
In 1977, the Chicago White Sox
couldn’t catch, run, throw, or really pitch.
They just hit the ball hard and demoralized opponents. They didn’t win
the World Series or even a division title. They were not champions, but they
lived up to another label.
They were the South Side
Hitmen.
As Richard Roeper says in
his book Sox and the City, “Part
of this had to do with the nature of the team:
the South Side Hit Men…were more like a bunch of homer happy 16”
softball players than a typical White Sox team.”
In fact, it was such a memorable summer, there was an entire book of images capturing the magic of that summer.
And it all happened at 35th
and Shields. The grand and glorious Comiskey
Park.
In 1977, when the White Sox
would hit the ball over the wall, it would send the crowd into a frenzy. The crowds were large and loud. The adrenaline and excitement would engulf
you.
Man, I loved that park. My parents took me to several games that
season. They were in their mid-20’s and were in the thick of the celebration,
especially in left field. I do not
remember any specific game or results - just the sights, sounds, and smells.
I can vividly recall the
smells. The smell of the popcorn, of the cigarette and cigar smoke, of the shoe polish at the shoe shine stand on the third base tunnel just outside the men’s bathroom and of the
Falstaff beer.
I remember the Picnic Area, the gold box
seats, the Sox-o-Gram,the Elgin official time clock in centerfield, the Andy Frain ushers, the exploding scoreboard,
the original shower in center field,
Andy the Clown,
Nancy Faust,
Jimmy Piersall, and Harry Caray.
I distinctly recall organist
Nancy Faust playing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” as the Sox home run
hitter came out of the dugout to tip his hat. She also played it to serenade opposing
pitchers when they were yanked from the game.
Of course, the most famous
song she played was “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh inning
stretch. It was the renowned owner of
the White Sox, Bill Veeck, who opened the door to Harry Caray’s trademark
seventh inning stretch rendition of the song.
It all started at Comiskey Park.
While the memories are
etched into my mind, Comiskey Park has now been gone for 25 years.
My new favorite field is, of
course, Howard Park, which brings me to Tuesday night’s contests. (You knew I’d
get there eventually, didn’t you?)
The Cougars hit like the
South Side Hitmen on Tuesday night. And because
it was a doubleheader, we had our own seventh inning stretch between games.
We finished our first seven
innings with an 8 – 3 victory over Valley Lodge and then continued our charge
with a 10 – 0 winner over SlaughterHouse 9.
In the opener, we came out
with three quick runs against Valley Lodge.
Hits by Boom, Rads, Martini and Bobi started the rally. Our opponent pushed a lone run across the
dish to make it 3-1. In the second,
Lipinski crushed a single but no other damage.
Valley Lodge chipped away at our lead with another solo score. Cougars 3-2.
Both team scoreless in the third inning.
Hits by Boom, Joker and Rads tallied two more runs in the fourth
inning. Cougars 5-2. Both teams were scoreless again in the fifth
inning, although Pastor Ted did have a sweet poke to the outfield. In the sixth, Coffey and Kale had back-to-
back doubles, then Flandog laced a single followed by a Joker rope to left
field for three total runs. Our foe
scored one in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-3 Cougars. JD led us off with a hit in the top of the, but
we did not score. We put them down 1-2-3
in the final frame to walk off with a victory.
In the nightcap, we played
SlaugherHouse 9. Both teams went down
1-2-3 in the first inning. In the second we had a score of four with sweet swings by Martini, JD, Bobi, Philthy,
Lipinski and Coffey. We continued moving
the line in the third inning with Flandog, Diamond Dave, Boom and Joker
crushing the Clincher for three more runs.
Cougars 7-0. In the fourth, Li’l
Rads led us off by belting the ball with Philthy, Pastor Ted moving him to home
plate. Cougars 8-0. After being scoreless in the fifth inning,
the Cougars needed two to end the game early. Boom and Joker each had a rip and
Rads singled to make it ten zip. Cougars
win 10-0.
The combined 18-3 night was underscored
by dazzling defense, phenomenal pitching, and a terrific Lipsey family postgame party.
While our play on offense
and defense was impressive, the true highlight of the night was when Li’l Rads sunk
a single in the gap and took a wide and hard turn around first base. His feet came out from under him and by the
time he hit the ground, his drawstringless shorts were at his knees. He managed to pull up his pants and made it
to second on an errant throw. The enthusiastic
crowd loved it and laughed through every second if it.
Sadly, we did not get a picture of Marc in
his underpants but maybe this shot from around 1977 will suffice.
While fields and teams evolve and change, this photo proves that some things
have remained the same. I continue to love
baseball and Marc still loves being in his underpants!
Game Videos
Coming soon!
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