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09-30-2021, 07:04 PM
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#181 |
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Monday, April 2, 1956 SOUTH ISLAND BASEBALL BLOOMS AGAIN Springtime is breaking out all across the Island and so are the South Island baseball leagues... both the SI Supreme League and the Secondary League got into action again Sunday afternoon with six games... three games in each league. In the South Island Secondary League Littleville, Columbia and Moon Valley posted victories on opening day... the Supermen outscored the Grin Hill Smileys 11-9... newcomer Columbia trimmed the Gull Lake Sailors 6-3... and the Dreamers went extra innings to subdue the Billing Rams 8-4 in 11 innings. |
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09-30-2021, 07:05 PM
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#182 |
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09-30-2021, 07:06 PM
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#183 |
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09-30-2021, 07:08 PM
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#184 |
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10-01-2021, 07:35 PM
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#185 |
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Monday, April 2, 1956 1956 SI SUPREME OFF-AND-RUNNING FOR A BRAND-SPANKING NEW SEASON It wasn't always beautiful baseball, but it was plenty, plenty exciting on the first day of the new season in the South Island Supreme League... last year's top team, the Jackson Jackalopes, kicked off the new year right with an 8-6 victory over the Bar Harbor Acadians... the Pelham Oaks dealt "the new kids in town", the St. Pete Pelicans, a bit of a surprise... the Pels were promoted to the Supreme League this season after winning the Secondary League last year... the Oaks shamed the Pelicans 9-1... not too many people saw this coming... and rounding out a fine Sunday afternoon of baseball on the Island the Delta Stars outgunned the Braxton Bruins 16-11 in an out-and-out shootout. |
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10-01-2021, 07:36 PM
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#186 |
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Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-01-2021 at 07:37 PM. |
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10-01-2021, 07:38 PM
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#187 |
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Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-01-2021 at 07:41 PM. |
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10-01-2021, 07:42 PM
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#188 |
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10-03-2021, 12:47 PM
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#189 |
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MY LIFE IN 1955
EC's Still Survivin' in '55 Opps! EC must digress and correct a dire grievance. I mistakenly advanced to 1956 before I wrapped up 1955. Woe is me... would it help if I rent my clothing? EC is getting forgetful at age 81 writing about his life at age 15... forgot to touch on real life in that era... so away we go with "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat"... a quick recap of the year 1955 in sports. EC is happy to report some great news about my beloved Mobile Bears of the dearly departed and long gone Southern Association... at last report the Bears were not doing so well... in early June they were a dismal and forlorn 19-29 in 7th place, 11 GB... my second-most favored team, the New Orleans Pelicans, were thriving at 27-20 in 3rd place, just 2 and a half games back of the first place Chattanooga Lookouts. At midseason Mobile was still near the bottom and New Orleans was still in the first division (among top 4 teams in an 8-team league)... to make a long story short, the Bears on the last day of the season swept a doubleheader from Chattanooga, winning the first game after being behind 4-1... they needed a 4-run 7th-inning rally to make the Shaughnessy playoffs...Mobile won the second game 4-2... the top 4 teams made the playoffs... #1 played #4 and #2 played #3 in best-of-seven series... also Nashville had to win a twinbill over the Pelicans for Mobile to make the playoffs... the Pels missed out on the playoffs, coming in sixth, but they did finish above .500. Not only was it remarkable that Mobile came from 7th place late in the season to make the playoffs... they had to get beat Mother Nature, too... on the last day of the season, the doubleheader had to be played... the Bears had to win both games... if one gets cancelled, they don't make the playoffs... and guess what?... guess who was at Hartwell Field, the home of the Bears, that fateful and wonderful night... right-o, old chum, EC was there. It had rained for a solid week in Mobile... the field was absolutely soaked and drenched.... it rained in the morning of the game...there is dark gloom and dark clouds over Hartwell Field... to dry the field Mobile burned the infield grass with gasoline and brought in a helicopter from Brookley Air Force Base to hover over the field and try to dry it out... there were puddles all over the outfield... amazingly they play two decent games on a charred diamond and soggy outfield... talk about winning ugly. Mobile upended league champ Memphis in 7 games in the first round... and beat the Birmingham Barons in 6 games in the league finals to qualify for the Dixie Series, which was an annual affair since the early 1900s... the Southern Association playoff champion played the Texas League playoff champion for the Double A championship of Minor League Baseball. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-04-2021 at 03:04 PM. |
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10-03-2021, 10:39 PM
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#190 |
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MY LIFE IN 1955
EC's Tryin' To Survive in '55 It's mid-September and time for the Dixie Series, the Minor League Double A Championship between the playoff winners of the Southern Association and the Texas League... it's special this year... my Mobile Bears will go up against the Shreveport Sports in a best-of-seven game series. I don't have the box scores of the first two games... the New Orleans Times-Picayune didn't include them in the paper... just the scores of the game... however, they did print the box scores for games three and four. EC had the time of his life following this group of Bears, watching them throughout the season at Hartwell Field... seeing them get better and better as the season progressed... seeing them sizzle down the stretch, making the playoffs the last day of the season, upsetting league champion Memphis in the first round and whipping the Birmingham Barons for the Southern Association playoff championship... and then topping the season off by sweeping Shreveport in four straight games and remarkably capturing the Dixie Series... the last time Mobile won the Dixie Series was in 1923 when they defeated the Fort Worth Panthers four games to two... in 1947 Mobile won the pennant, but lost to the Houston Buffaloes in the Dixie Series four games to two. EC was with the Bears every game of the way, either at Hartwell Field or glued to the radio listening to Jack Bitterman and his ticker-tape reports and recreations on WABB radio. EC listened to the first two Dixie Classic games on the radio from Shreveport and then watched the last two before really good crowds at Hartwell Field... 5,000-6,000 at each game... the Bears were lucky to average 1500 a game during the season... sadly Mobile twas not a good baseball town, but the Bears were there for almost 50 years. Mobile won the opener behind Ralph Mauriello, a big hard-throwing right-hander... he blanked the Sports 8-0 on five hits. Game two is one of the greatest games I ever experienced in my life... it was an unforgettable game... Shreveport scored 9 runs in the first three innings and led 9-0... EC was stunned and heartbroken... but, lo and behold, guess who won?... EC's beloved Mobile Bears... we rallied, recovered, rebounded and won the game 10-9 in a huge comeback victory. After that poor Shreveport didn't have a chance... the Bears blistered them 11-6 and 9-2 to sweep all four games. Chris Kitsos SS (.249 BA/7 HR), Dick Young 2B (.266 BA/11 HR/89 R), Ray Shearer CF (.280 BA/7 HR/50 RBI), Jim Gentile 1B (.290 BA/28 HR/109 RBI), Jim Baxes 3B (.293 BA/18 HR/69 RBI), Herb Olson C (.269 BA/12 HR/57 RBI), Ralph Rowe LF (.275 BA/7 HR/49 RBI) and Ted Bartz RF (.272 BA/.12 HR/65 RBI) were really special to me... pitchers were Ralph Mauriello (18-8/2.76 ERA), Earl Mosser (10-6/3.38 ERA) and Connie Grob (11-9/3.41 ERA)... left-hander Fred Kipp joined the team late in the season and went 4-2 as a starter with a really fine 2.34 ERA... Kipp had a season in 1958 with the Los Angeles Dodgers (6-6/5.01 ERA)... Kipp started 9 times and relieved 31 times... Bob Walz (8-7/3.46 ERA/54 games) was the fireman and number one bullpen guy... there were no closers then. Jim Gentile was the best of the lot... he starred with the Baltimore Orioles for three seasons before Hall of Famer Eddie Murray took his spot in the batting order... Gentile hit .302 in 1961 with 46 homers and 141 RBIs... he finished third in the MVP voting... Gentile spent 9 seasons in the Majors with 179 homers, 549 RBIs and a .260 BA. I got to talk to Walz often at Crawford Playground where I played ball... all of us kids thought it was cool to hang out and actually talk to a Mobile Bear player... almost daily, he would sit in the sun with his shirt off at the park during the morning and try to pick up pretty ladies playing tennis on the courts... Walz was a good-looking guy with a body like a Greek god... I think the ladies liked him... Walz was a big reason Mobile made the playoffs... he played another 7 seasons, mainly in Triple A ball... 1955 was his best year, although Walz did well for the Denver Bears in 1959, going 8-8 with a 3.04 ERA in 48 relief appearances... Walz retired in 1960 at age 30. It was a magical season and one EC will never forget. Looking back on it, 1955 was a much better year than I thought it was. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-04-2021 at 03:16 PM. |
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10-04-2021, 12:35 PM
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#191 |
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BROOKLYN DODGERS FINALLY ARE WORLD CHAMPS
The 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won while based in Brooklyn... this was the fifth time in nine years that the Yankees and the Dodgers met in the World Series, with the Yankees having won in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. This Series also marked the end of a long period of invulnerability for the Yankees in the World Series. It was the Yankees' first loss in a World Series since 1942 and only their second since 1926. YANKS TAKE OPENER 6-5 IN NEW YORK Ford is winner with help from Bob Grim in the 9th... Joe Collins cracked two out of the park... Elston Howard also went deep... Furillo and Snider homered for the Dodgers... Don Newcombe lost it. NY GOES UP 2-0, BYRNE BEAT BROOKLYN AT YANKEE STADIUM Tommy Byrne tops Billy Loes 4-2 as the Yanks take two in a row to open the series... Byrne tossed a 5-hit complete game... the lefty also drove in a run in the 4-run fourth frame. DODGERS DRUB YANKEES 8-3 AT EBBETS FIELD Rookie left-hander Johnny Podres handles New York on 7 hits... goes the distance... Brooklyn still trails 2-1 in series... Dodgers smack Bob Turley around good with 11 hits... Roy Campanella homers... limping Mantle also hits one. BROOKLYN BATS BOOM AGAIN, EVEN SERIES 2-2 The Dodgers bats were blazing again in game four in Brooklyn with 14 hits in an 8-5 romp... Campanella, Hodges and Snider led the way with longballs... Clem Labine is winner, Don Larsen, the loser. WHOA, WHAT'S DIS? DODGERS TAKE THIRD IN A ROW AT EBBETS In the fifth game of the World Series in Brooklyn, Duke Snider hits two home runs and Sandy Amoros belted one, too, to help Brooklyn beat New York 5-3... rookie Roger Craig won in his first World Series start... it was the Dodgers' third straight victory at home at Ebbets Field... they now are up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and just one win away from their first-ever World Series title... Bob Cerv and Yogi Berra had homers for the Yanks... Snider also had 4 home runs in the 1952 World Series... only players prior to Snider to have 4 home runs in one World Series were Babe Ruth (1926) and Lou Gehrig (1928). When Duke Snider homered during the 3rd and 5th inning of game 5, he became the first and still the only player from either league with four (4) home runs in two different Series. FORD WINS 2ND SERIES GAME... TIES SERIES AT 3 WINS APIECE At Yankee Stadium Whitey Ford held the Dodgers to 4 hits in a 5-1 triumph to knot the World Series at 3 games each... Ford was on fire with 8 Ks... New York scored all 5 runs in the first inning off loser Karl Spooner, led by Bill Skowron's 3-run blast. PODRES MAKES DODGER HISTORY, FINALLY WIN WORLD SERIES Brooklyn rookie southpaw Johnny Podres allowed 8 hits, but kept the Yankees off the scoreboard in the seventh-and-deciding game of the 1955 World Series... Podres blanked the Yanks 2-0 as the Dodgers got one run in the 4th and 6th innings on a single and sac fly by Gil Hodges... Podres made the lead stand up... Sandy Amoros made one of the greatest catches in World Series history when the left fielder robbed Yogi Berra of an extra-base hit and doubled up Gil McDougald at first base. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Brooklyn Dodgers are the champions of the world." -- Vin Scully, announcing that the Dodgers had won the World Series. "In Brooklyn that day, it was the Liberation of Paris, Vee Jay Day, New Years Day all rolled into one." -- Author Pete Hamill on Brooklyn the day the Dodgers won. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-04-2021 at 03:02 PM. |
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10-04-2021, 03:34 PM
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#192 |
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OKLAHOMA SOONERS TOP TEAM IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The 1955 college football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners win the national championship after going 10–0–0. Although the final poll was taken before the postseason bowl games, Oklahoma played against the nation's other unbeaten and untied (10–0–0) team, the Maryland Terrapins, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and won 20–6. Game summary Maryland scored on a 15-yard touchdown run by Ed Vereb and led 6–0 at halftime. The Sooners took over in the second half, starting with Tommy McDonald's 32-yard punt return that gave them the ball at the Terrapin 46. Seven plays later, McDonald score on a four-yard touchdown run, the highlight being the Sooner offense running 3 plays in 38 seconds. The next Sooner possession used the hurry-up offense again, leading to a Jay O'Neal touchdown sneak to make it 14–6. Maryland tried to narrow the lead, but Jerry Tubbs intercepted a pass at the Sooner 26. Maryland tried to score again in the fourth, even reaching Oklahoma's 30. However, Carl Dodd intercepted Lynn Beightol's pass and returned it 82 yards for the touchdown, sealing the victory for the Sooners. BOWL GAMES In 1955 there were only 6 bowl games, 4 major and 2 minors. #1 Oklahoma whipped #3 Maryland 20-6 in the Orange Bowl in Miami... #2 Michigan State edged #4 UCLA 17-14 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena... #10 Ole Miss nipped #6 TCU 14-13 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas... and #7 Georgia Tech blanked #11 Pittsburgh 7-0 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans... Vanderbilt whipped Auburn 25-13 in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville... and Wyoming bested Texas Tech 21-14 in the Sun Bowl in El Paso. (Special thanks to Wikipedia NCAA Football Information) The final NCAA Associated Press rankings were made on November 28, after the regular season and without consideration of the postseason bowl games. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-04-2021 at 03:39 PM. |
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10-04-2021, 04:06 PM
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#193 |
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POWERHOUSE CLEVELAND BROWNS REPEAT AS 1955 CHAMPS
The NFL title clash was between the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns (9–2–1), the defending league champions, and the Los Angeles Rams (8–3–1), champions of the Western Conference. The attendance of 87,695 broke the NFL championship game record by nearly 30,000. In their sixth consecutive NFL title game, the Browns were six-point favorites. The Browns successfully defended the title and won their third NFL championship of the 1950s in a second straight rout, 38–14. This was the Rams' fourth title game in seven seasons, with one victory in 1951. NFL FINAL STANDINGS |
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10-04-2021, 05:46 PM
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#194 |
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Sorry, folks... there is not very much detailed information about the 1955-56 NCAA Final Four... all I could find was the scores of the games, but very little detail... couldn't find a box score or game recaps.
USF AND RUSSELL WIN 2ND STRAIGHT NCAA TITLE For the second season in a row the University of San Francisco Dons are the NCAA basketball champion... led by Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, #1 USF drummed #6 SMU 86-68 in the NCAA semi-finals, while the #4 Iowa Hawkeyes trimmed #14 Temple 83-76... in the NCAA Finals Russell dominated Iowa 83-71 with 26 points, 27 rebounds and 20 blocked shots... San Francisco went 24-0 in the regular season, Iowa 16-5, SMU 22-2 and Temple 21-3. EC's favorite team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, had a great season, winding up in 5th place in the AP poll... however, the 21-3 regular season didn’t conclude with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament... although Alabama had earned the SEC’s automatic bid, the NCAA had a rule against freshman participation... because the Tide’s starting five had all played as freshmen, they were ineligible... rather than play without their starters, the Tide turned down the bid and it went to Kentucky... Alabama was 14-0 in the Southeastern Conference this year... they beat Kentucky 101-77 during the season, the first time in history any team had done that against the Wildcats and the legendary coach Adolph Rupp... no, EC doesn't think that Jerry Harper, George Linn, Leon Marlaire, Dennis O'Shea, Dick Gunder and the Rocket 8 would have beaten the great Bill Russell and USF, however, I think the Dons would have known they were in a ballgame... the Rocket 8 were a high-scoring bunch averaging 88 points per game... EC has always wondered, "What might have been, if..." NCAA FINAL POLL (Associated Press) Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-06-2021 at 04:35 PM. |
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10-06-2021, 04:33 PM
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#195 |
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MIGHTY MONTREAL CANADIENS DOMINATE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Montreal rolled to a record-setting season in 1955-56... easily won the regular season crown and capped it with the Stanley Cup... the streak of seven straight seasons at the top of the NHL held by the Detroit Red Wings' dynasty came to an end as the Montreal Canadiens were tops. The Canadiens set a new record for wins in a season with 45. NHL Semi-Finals: Montreal 7 New York 1 (Montreal Forum) New York 4 Montreal 2 (Montreal Forum) Montreal 3 New York 1 (Madison Square Garden) Montreal 5 New York 3 (Madison Square Garden) Montreal 7 New York 0 (Montreal Forum) Canadiens won the series 4-1 Detroit 3 Toronto 2 (Olympia Stadium) Detroit 3 Toronto 1 (Olympia Stadium) Detroit 5 Toronto 4 (OT) (Maple Leaf Garden) Toronto 2 Detroit 0 (Maple Leaf Garden) Detroit 3 Toronto 1 (Olympia Stadium) Red Wings won series 4-1 Stanley Cup Finals Montreal 6 Detroit 4 (Montreal Forum) Montreal 5 Detroit 1 (Montreal Forum) Detroit 3 Montreal 1 (Olympia Stadium) Montreal 3 Detroit 0 (Olympia Stadium) Montreal 3 Detroit 1 (Montreal Forum) Canadiens won series 4-1 Leading Scorers |
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10-06-2021, 04:42 PM
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#196 | |
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10-06-2021, 05:27 PM
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#197 |
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BANNER SEASON FOR PHILADELPHIS WARRIORS IN THE NBA
After a season of adjustment to the new 24-second clock in 1954, the NBA flourished with the up-tempo game in the '55-'56 season... the league scoring average surged to 99 points per team per game, and quickness and athletic ability were at an all-time premium.... Bob Pettit, an exciting rookie with the Milwaukee Hawks in 1954-55, took the league scoring title with 25.7 ppg in his team’s first year in St. Louis. Philly and Fort Wayne each won their division finals in five games... powered by Paul Arizin, rookie Tom Gola and veteran Neil Johnston, the Warriors edged past the Pistons in their NBA Finals matchup... Arizin, in particular, fueled the title drive as Philly wrapped up the title in five games, but it was a very close series except for game five... the first four were hotly-contested... George Yardley and Larry Foust powered the Pistons. Longtime power Minneapolis Lakers flopped in the first season without the great George Mikan... the Boston Celtics need help at center... EC thinks it may be on the way next year... yep, EC is clairvoyant a bit... and can see into the future. Here's a little bit of history of the 24-second shot clock: On April 22, 1954, facing a scoring drought of epic proportions, NBA owners voted to implement a 24-second shot clock. The decision changed the league and the game of basketball. Before that vote, the NBA had a problem: a low-scoring, time-killing breed of basketball was taking over the league. Teams tried to get the lead and then hang onto the ball until time ran out. In 1950, the Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18, the lowest scoring NBA game on record. Danny Biasone was the owner of the Syracuse Nationals. Biasone was convinced the problem could be fixed by capping the amount of time a team could possess the ball before attempting a shot. Biasone proposed the rule change at the annual NBA owners' meeting, and the shot clock debuted the following season. In the first game with the new technology on Oct. 30, 1954, the Rochester Royals defeated the Boston Celtics, 98-95. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-06-2021 at 05:42 PM. |
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10-06-2021, 05:50 PM
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#198 |
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Hall Of Famer
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Sorry, folks... my apology... this thread is supposed to be more about the South Island Leagues... I will be sure not to forget to cover real life on a more regular basis and not take so much time away from the the South Island League coverage to catch up.
Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-06-2021 at 05:52 PM. |
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10-07-2021, 10:03 AM
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#199 | |
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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It's amazing to me how different the NBA looked back then. A lot of teams relocated, and it was only a little bit larger than the NHL - 8 teams vs. the NHL's 6. Last edited by jg2977; 10-07-2021 at 10:04 AM. |
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10-07-2021, 12:49 PM
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#200 |
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I'm sure the good old days were not as good as the good old boys remember them... but EC liked 'em much better than today.
I love the simple life of yesterday... I could go without streaming movies, cable tv, cellphones, laptops, social media and 24-hour news and sports... we overcover and over talk everything these days... there is a total glut of information overload... take me back to the days of just 3 TV networks and just one evening newscast when we had journalists instead of personalities and commentators... I was perfectly happy with ABC, CBS and NBC... and "party lines" telephones were fine with me... that's when there would be 2, 3, 4 families on one telephone line... you had different rings for each household... and yes, you had to wait to use the phone until the current party got off... hey, it wasn't that bad... we lived with it... and it must have worked... we survived. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-07-2021 at 12:56 PM. |
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