Great deep dive! I have a friend who lives in the apartments at Cool Ray field. So much fun in the summer watching the games. Also, had to lookup what it means to be nicknamed a mule! Saw a couple of different examples but I like the one about hitting low pitches.
Great stuff! One thing you might consider editing: Mize and cousin Claire were "blood kin." Second cousins. Which means the Big Cat was related to Claire's famous hubby, da Babe, by marriage (Mize used to call him, 'Cousin George.'). And all of that means I know way too much about this stuff because I wrote "Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize." Hope you'll check it out! In the meantime, I'm really loving your blog.
Thank you for reading and for the clarification! The post has been updated on the site, with a link to you book. Always happy to link with baseball writer folks!
Was sitting at the bar in a Sandy Springs Longhorn Steaks one evening and struck up a conversation with an older gentleman. Talked turned to baseball as Braves were on the tv. He asked,
"Ever heard of Luke Appling?"
"Sure. HOF shortstop."
"He was my uncle."
I pulled my jaw off the floor and was then entertained by an hour of great stories.
Great deep dive! I have a friend who lives in the apartments at Cool Ray field. So much fun in the summer watching the games. Also, had to lookup what it means to be nicknamed a mule! Saw a couple of different examples but I like the one about hitting low pitches.
New Jersey has a fifth Hall of Famer! Frank Grant, elected by the 2006 Negro Leagues special committee, is buried in Clifton.
Gah! Thank you! I’ll update the post on the website today.
Great stuff! One thing you might consider editing: Mize and cousin Claire were "blood kin." Second cousins. Which means the Big Cat was related to Claire's famous hubby, da Babe, by marriage (Mize used to call him, 'Cousin George.'). And all of that means I know way too much about this stuff because I wrote "Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize." Hope you'll check it out! In the meantime, I'm really loving your blog.
Thank you for reading and for the clarification! The post has been updated on the site, with a link to you book. Always happy to link with baseball writer folks!
This is a fun clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSFwnBgFRAM
Great piece Jay.
Was sitting at the bar in a Sandy Springs Longhorn Steaks one evening and struck up a conversation with an older gentleman. Talked turned to baseball as Braves were on the tv. He asked,
"Ever heard of Luke Appling?"
"Sure. HOF shortstop."
"He was my uncle."
I pulled my jaw off the floor and was then entertained by an hour of great stories.
Love that! And yeah that clip of 75-year old Appling homering is so great.