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.
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.
As an eleven year-old East Bay native in ‘71, Vida became an instant hero. Being a lefty and obsessed with all things baseball, I mimicked his high kick while playing little league and our daily wiffle ball games in the street.
I listened to his entire no-hitter on the radio. So close to a perfect game. There was nothing like the A’s of that era.
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.
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.
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.
As an eleven year-old East Bay native in ‘71, Vida became an instant hero. Being a lefty and obsessed with all things baseball, I mimicked his high kick while playing little league and our daily wiffle ball games in the street.
I listened to his entire no-hitter on the radio. So close to a perfect game. There was nothing like the A’s of that era.
Great piece, Dan.
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.
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.
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. 😎👊🏼⚾️💙