RIP Jimmy Piersall

[Moderator1]

I'm old enough to remember watching him play and hearing asshole fans be abusive toward him. "HEY LOONEY TUNES," **** like that. Asshole fans are not a new thing

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/...illness.html?smid=tw-nytsports&smtyp=cur&_r=0

 

[QYFW]

Didn't he run around the bases backward after hitting his 100th home run?

 

[cisforkoke]

His in-game arguments with Harry Caray about things like making popcorn were legendary.

 

[YankeeFan]

Didn't he run around the bases backward after hitting his 100th home run?

It's mentioned in the link!

Pretty sure it was included in this book I had as a kid:

 

[BTExpress]

I think I remember that photograph above more than any baseball photo taken since.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Two things: my bother had the same damn book and I inherited it. The first chapter was about the collision on the cover of I remember correctly.

One of the nuns at my school somehow knew piersall when he was in the minors. She spoke kindly of him when we read a shortened version of fear strikes out in the fifth grade.

 

[WCIBN]

Jimmy and Harry broadcasting the White Sox games was a must listen back in the days. Here's Jimmy's appearance on Late Night with David Letterman after he was fired by the White Sox (Jimmy's segment starts at 11:08 minutes if you don't want to watch the whole program):

 

[Bronco77]

Lots of memories of him working with Harry Caray in the White Sox booth:

He questioned the wisdom of playing a home game in 35-degree weather and was admonished afterward by Bill Veeck. His comment the next night, when it was 35 degrees again: "Beautiful night for a ballgame, eh, Harry?"

He called Veeck's wife (who, in her defense, was and still is a hell of a lady) "a colossal bore."

He called White Sox players' wives "horny broads."

During an on-air discussion: "Harry, I've got the papers to prove I'm not crazy. What about you?"

During Disco Demolition Night, observing Steve Dahl, the DJ who started the whole thing, on the field: "Look at how out of shape he is. He's fatter than Wilbur Wood!"

He always called Seattle's ballpark "the KingTomb."

Another exchange in the booth -- Caray: "Now that we're on WGN, we can be seen in 47 states." Piersall: "Harry, that means all your ex-wives can watch you."

 

[Starman]

Piersall was a lot of fun a lot of the time, but he definitely had his bitchy moments. Mary Frances Veeck was absolutely anything but boring.

And neither was Piersall.

As far as whether the White Sox wives were horny broads, I wouldn't know. Maybe Piersall did.

 

[DanOregon]

Just learned this year that when he "rounded the bases backwards" - it wasn't 3rd, 2nd, 1st, home - he just ran backwards. Always assumed it was the former before.

 

[cisforkoke]

Just learned this year that when he "rounded the bases backwards" - it wasn't 3rd, 2nd, 1st, home - he just ran backwards. Always assumed it was the former before.

That's because it was poorly written for decades, and no one fixed it.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

It's mentioned in the link!

Pretty sure it was included in this book I had as a kid:

That book was in my school library as a kid. I remember the Piersall chapter.

I also had a book, supposedly written by Mickey Mantle, about baseball stories of courage. Mantle, or rather his co-author, devoted a pretty large chapter to Piersall. It was pretty compelling.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Piersall also was the subject of a famous photo where, when a couple of fans ran on the field at Yankee Stadium, as one fan was about to be caught by police, he kicked him. Photo caught him with full leg extension on the kick.

 

[User 11148]

Shropshire's stories -- in Seasons in Hell -- about their run-ins when Piersall was involved with the Rangers are pretty good.

 

[Steak Snabler]

My favorite Piersall anecdote is an indirect one:

In early 1951, a young Birmingham sports writer named Alf Van Hoose angered many readers when he suggested that the Birmingham Black Barons center fielder from the previous season was better than Piersall, who was then tearing up the Southern League for the white Barons.

The Black Barons center fielder was Willie Mays, whom most white fans had never seen play at that point.

 

[Bronco77]

Shropshire's stories -- in Seasons in Hell -- about their run-ins when Piersall was involved with the Rangers are pretty good.

I especially remember the story in the book about Piersall attending some sort of Rangers meet-and-greet at which Schlitz executives were present as that was one of the team's radio-TV advertisers that year. Piersall walked in, and one of the execs (not knowing Piersall didn't drink) said, "Hey, Jimmy, have a Schlitz." His response was along the lines of, "Hell, no, I don't drink that goat ****." If nothing else, he certainly was spot-on about the quality of Schlitz.

 

[micropolitan guy]

I saw him play for the Senators on April 14, 1963, in a 7-6 win over Boston at old DC Stadium. Came in late as a defensive replacement.

 

[tapintoamerica]

I think I remember that photograph above more than any baseball photo taken since.

Crazy play. Catcher tagged runner with glove while holding ball in right hand. Runner didn't touch plate. Umpire was out of position and didn't see a thing. Runner called out.

Sparky and the umpire were mic-ed up for the Series video. How Sparky didn't go full Earl Weaver on the guy amazes me.

 

[Bronco77]

Column on Piersall's broadcasting style and what made him so interesting to listen to. Safe (and sad) to say there's no way he'd be hired by any MLB team these days. Had an example of that here with the Marlins two years ago -- Tommy Hutton made a few strong but accurate comments about lack of effort by players and Dan Jennings' managerial cluelessness and wound up getting canned by Jeff Loria.

Timid broadcasts could use Jimmy Piersall's brand of truth