Whitey Ford just passed away at 91. A Hall of Famer, he was instrumental in the Yankee World Series wins of the fifties and sixties. I saw him pitch for the Yankees once at Tiger Stadium. He was a smaller man and did not throw very hard but exhibited good control and was ahead of the hitters most of the time. That day, he had a no decision against the Tigers, a game the Yanks won in late innings. He played on the mighty Yankee teams that included Micky Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Arroyo, Ralph Terry et al. His delivery was unique and was emulated by teammate Fritz Peterson, he of the wife-swapping fame with Mike Kekich, several years later.
It's hard to envision that he last pitched about fifty years ago. As I get older, I have to refer to my childhood heroes as the late Whitey Ford, the late Gordie Howe, the late Earl Wilson, etc. Tempus fugit.
I remember Ford advertising cigarettes in the fifties on television. That was in the era before the Surgeon-General's report on the Hazards of Smoking. When I was a young lad, I thought that was a little weird, an athlete that smoked. I later saw Warren Spahn and Sparky Anderson smoking in the dugout, so I was even more perplexed.
It's hard to envision that he last pitched about fifty years ago. As I get older, I have to refer to my childhood heroes as the late Whitey Ford, the late Gordie Howe, the late Earl Wilson, etc. Tempus fugit.
I remember Ford advertising cigarettes in the fifties on television. That was in the era before the Surgeon-General's report on the Hazards of Smoking. When I was a young lad, I thought that was a little weird, an athlete that smoked. I later saw Warren Spahn and Sparky Anderson smoking in the dugout, so I was even more perplexed.
