Excellent piece and tribute. I grew up near Birmingham and B'ham had a Double-A, A's farm team where Many of the players your card mentions, including Joe Rudi, Bert Camp., Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue played. As a boy between 9-14, I saw them all and remember that time as being richer than I could have appreciated fully then.
It truly was. I remember my Dad shaking his head when management decided to platoon Reggie and not let him face lefties. Rickwood Field, where the old Bham A's played, is still in use--a true historical shrine to baseball. Allen Barra, I believe, write a good history of the park.
Very cool tribute - as smooth as Vida’s delivery. Liked that you mentioned his 1971 cover appearances on Jet, Ebony, and Sport, three key barometers of ‘70s stature I saw noted nowhere else. That in itself says something about how baseball has lost its funk.
Dan, what did my boys with the Foos ever do to you to get compares to Rob Manfred? Otherwise I enjoyed this piece. It never fails to amaze me when I think of just how stacked with talent those 70-75 A’s teams were. What an amazing collection of talent and egos. RIP Vida.
Don’t forget the ‘76 squad, which came THISCLOSE to snagging their 6th straight AL West title before the Royals pulled it out. And we’ll have to agree to disagree on the Foos…
Fabulous post! In the 8th grade, I reworked the lyrics of Sgt. Peppers to convey the bio of Vida Blue....I began with something like "It was 30 years ago today...." to touch on his birth, and I staggered forth from there with promnent mention of his breakout 1971 campaign. I performed it in my English class, since the teacher (Mrs Black) promised an A to anyone who stood and delivered. I did *not* name-check Gates Brown in my version, to my belated neglect.
Gates Brown, Thin Lizzy, Dock Ellis and The Who all mentioned in one piece on Vida Blue. Your stuff is so enjoyable for me to read because it hits all my reference points.
"...but we don’t speak of such unseemly matters here at Jagged Time Lapse." Ha ha ha! Nice one! And I gotta go with Jimmy Bee, man. Despite his whack lyrics and lack of baseball knowledge, that funky groove runs circles around its chicken scratch competitor. 😎👊🏼⚾️💙
Excellent piece and tribute. I grew up near Birmingham and B'ham had a Double-A, A's farm team where Many of the players your card mentions, including Joe Rudi, Bert Camp., Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue played. As a boy between 9-14, I saw them all and remember that time as being richer than I could have appreciated fully then.
Man, that must have been something to see those guys in action in the minors!
It truly was. I remember my Dad shaking his head when management decided to platoon Reggie and not let him face lefties. Rickwood Field, where the old Bham A's played, is still in use--a true historical shrine to baseball. Allen Barra, I believe, write a good history of the park.
Very cool tribute - as smooth as Vida’s delivery. Liked that you mentioned his 1971 cover appearances on Jet, Ebony, and Sport, three key barometers of ‘70s stature I saw noted nowhere else. That in itself says something about how baseball has lost its funk.
Dan, what did my boys with the Foos ever do to you to get compares to Rob Manfred? Otherwise I enjoyed this piece. It never fails to amaze me when I think of just how stacked with talent those 70-75 A’s teams were. What an amazing collection of talent and egos. RIP Vida.
Don’t forget the ‘76 squad, which came THISCLOSE to snagging their 6th straight AL West title before the Royals pulled it out. And we’ll have to agree to disagree on the Foos…
Dear Substack
My son is Fuckin’ nuts, but that kid sho’ can write!🤷🏼♂️
Fabulous post! In the 8th grade, I reworked the lyrics of Sgt. Peppers to convey the bio of Vida Blue....I began with something like "It was 30 years ago today...." to touch on his birth, and I staggered forth from there with promnent mention of his breakout 1971 campaign. I performed it in my English class, since the teacher (Mrs Black) promised an A to anyone who stood and delivered. I did *not* name-check Gates Brown in my version, to my belated neglect.
Amazing!
Gates Brown, Thin Lizzy, Dock Ellis and The Who all mentioned in one piece on Vida Blue. Your stuff is so enjoyable for me to read because it hits all my reference points.
Right on — and thank you!
"...but we don’t speak of such unseemly matters here at Jagged Time Lapse." Ha ha ha! Nice one! And I gotta go with Jimmy Bee, man. Despite his whack lyrics and lack of baseball knowledge, that funky groove runs circles around its chicken scratch competitor. 😎👊🏼⚾️💙
You’re not wrong, my man!