JSngry Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101208&content_id=16282782&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb STATS: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fellebo01.shtml Quote
Van Basten II Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 A favourite of my dad RIP. Quote
Dave James Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 One of the greats. With all this talk about the group of starters Philadelphia has put together, it's reminded fans of some of the great rotations of the past. One of those was the 1954 Cleveland Indians, a group that included Feller. At one point he teamed with Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon & Art Houteman. I'd take those five guys any day. RIP Mr. Feller. Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 92, a good long life. RIP Bob Feller. Quote
ghost of miles Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 My dad has that Feller '56 Topps--also this one from Bowman's 1955 "TV" design set: Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 One of the greats. With all this talk about the group of starters Philadelphia has put together, it's reminded fans of some of the great rotations of the past. One of those was the 1954 Cleveland Indians, a group that included Feller. At one point he teamed with Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon & Art Houteman. I'd take those five guys any day. RIP Mr. Feller. thank you dave. you are so right. 1954 was the first year that young(10 yr. old) aloc took an interest in baseball, and the best. bob was a spot starter and won 9 or 10 games, as i recall. that was probably his last year. the indians won 111 and lost 43 that year, and lost the world series to the n.y. giants in 4. the lineup went smith, avila, wertz, doby,....... Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 this is the second time in a week that it turned out that someone I figured was long gone was still here (well, at least until recently) - the other was Jacques Barzun, still making appearances at age 103. Quote
JSngry Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Posted December 16, 2010 What was Barzun's ERA last season? Quote
Dan Gould Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 Sad news. It seems like it was just a couple of summers ago that I learned that he was still competing in old-timer games. Quote
Dave James Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) thank you dave. you are so right. 1954 was the first year that young(10 yr. old) aloc took an interest in baseball, and the best. bob was a spot starter and won 9 or 10 games, as i recall. that was probably his last year. the indians won 111 and lost 43 that year, and lost the world series to the n.y. giants in 4. the lineup went smith, avila, wertz, doby,....... It's funny how you get imprinted by your first experiences with baseball. When I first got hooked on the Yankees, I was six years old. With respect to Feller, he went 13-3 in 1954 and pitched through the end of 1956. In that year, even though he went 0-3, he still threw two complete games. Feller lost four years to World War II right in the heart of his prime. Over his career, he won 266 games, so with those extra four years, he probably logs about 80-90 more wins. In 1946, his first year back, he went 26-15, pitched 371 innings with 348 strike outs, had an ERA of 2.18 and threw 36 complete games. Seasons don't come much better than that. Edited December 16, 2010 by Dave James Quote
skeith Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 The Pride of Cleveland. He'll be missed. Quote
Patrick Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) The Pride of Cleveland. He'll be missed. Absolutely. RIP Rapid Robert. A couple of months ago I saw an interview with Costas on MLBTV. Obviously taped, but not that long ago. Amazed at how coherent he was, his memory (he knew Ted Williams' BA against him, etc), his life force on full display. I have a signed copy of the windup photo that JS posted at the top of the thread. Edited December 16, 2010 by Patrick Quote
Quincy Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 He was ornery. I've read accounts of his interactions with young fans at autograph signings that probably damaged the psyche of a few them. For that we should be grateful. And testing your fastball vs. a motorcycle is much cooler than using a radar gun. There's a stretch of freeway from Iowa thru Illinois where you can see the signs for the birthplaces of Feller, Herbert Hoover, John Wayne & Ronald Reagan. Those signs are the most memorable part of the miles & miles or corn & soybeans. Quote
Big Wheel Posted December 16, 2010 Report Posted December 16, 2010 He was ornery. I've read accounts of his interactions with young fans at autograph signings that probably damaged the psyche of a few them. Interesting. I used to go to a lot of card shows/autograph signings when I was really little and I think I have a signed ball by Feller in a closet somewhere, but never met him. Ted Williams was definitely among the most ornery of the ones that I remember. The nicest: Johnny Bench and Ernie Banks. Quote
Alexander Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 BUD ABBOTT: Now you've got to get ready for the opening game... LOU COSTELLO: Yeah, I think we're going to play the Cleveland Indians... BUD: Cleveland Indians, eh...? LOU: Uh-huh... BUD: Feller pitching? LOU: Certainly there's a feller pitching...what do you think they'd use, a girl? BUD: Oh, I...I know they don't use a girl...I said, "Feller pitching..." LOU: What feller? BUD: Feller, with the Cleveland Indians... LOU: Look, Abbott...there's nine guys on the Cleveland team...which feller are you talking about? BUD: Feller that pitches...there is only one Feller with Cleveland... LOU: You mean nine Yankees are going to play against one feller? BUD: That's right. LOU: You mean there's no fellers in the outfield? BUD: No! LOU: And there's no fellers in the infield? BUD: No...Cleveland only has one Feller... LOU: Well, this feller must be pretty good if he don't need any other players but himself... BUD: Look, all the players will be out there helping him... LOU: You just said that there was only one feller on the team... BUD: That's right! LOU: Then where did all those other fellers come from? BUD: Why, you idiot...when I say there's only one Feller on the team, I mean that there is only one Feller that pitches... LOU: Well, Abbott...when the manager of the team wants this pitcher, what does he call him? BUD: Feller! LOU: You mean he just hollers "HEY FELLER!" and this guy knows that they mean him? BUD: That's right. LOU: Hoo hoo... BUD: His name is Feller! Feller! Bob Feller! And when I say that there is only one Feller on the team that pitches, that's it...and the feller that pitches is Feller...there's other fellers on the team, but there's only one Feller... LOU: Boy, are you mixed up...oh, you mean the feller that pitches is Feller...and there's other fellers on the team but they aren't fellers? BUD: Now you grasp it... LOU: Yes...I grasp it...but it keeps slippin' out of my hands! Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) BUD ABBOTT: Now you've got to get ready for the opening game... LOU COSTELLO: Yeah, I think we're going to play the Cleveland Indians... BUD: Cleveland Indians, eh...? LOU: Uh-huh... BUD: Feller pitching? LOU: Certainly there's a feller pitching...what do you think they'd use, a girl? BUD: Oh, I...I know they don't use a girl...I said, "Feller pitching..." LOU: What feller? BUD: Feller, with the Cleveland Indians... LOU: Look, Abbott...there's nine guys on the Cleveland team...which feller are you talking about? BUD: Feller that pitches...there is only one Feller with Cleveland... LOU: You mean nine Yankees are going to play against one feller? BUD: That's right. LOU: You mean there's no fellers in the outfield? BUD: No! LOU: And there's no fellers in the infield? BUD: No...Cleveland only has one Feller... LOU: Well, this feller must be pretty good if he don't need any other players but himself... BUD: Look, all the players will be out there helping him... LOU: You just said that there was only one feller on the team... BUD: That's right! LOU: Then where did all those other fellers come from? BUD: Why, you idiot...when I say there's only one Feller on the team, I mean that there is only one Feller that pitches... LOU: Well, Abbott...when the manager of the team wants this pitcher, what does he call him? BUD: Feller! LOU: You mean he just hollers "HEY FELLER!" and this guy knows that they mean him? BUD: That's right. LOU: Hoo hoo... BUD: His name is Feller! Feller! Bob Feller! And when I say that there is only one Feller on the team that pitches, that's it...and the feller that pitches is Feller...there's other fellers on the team, but there's only one Feller... LOU: Boy, are you mixed up...oh, you mean the feller that pitches is Feller...and there's other fellers on the team but they aren't fellers? BUD: Now you grasp it... LOU: Yes...I grasp it...but it keeps slippin' out of my hands! bob signed his autographs with blue ink, the same color as was on a baseball. feller was crusty; many even called him an opiniated arrogant a'hole. i had a huge baseball card collection at that time(400 or 500, as i recall, including sandy koufax (1954?) rookie card when he was a bonus baby. he was a good looking kid. when i was attending a journalism workshop at ohio u. one summer in the late 50s, my grandma BURNED my precious 'junk.' talk about dreams dying. i never restarted it. the cards then were fleer, topps, and bowman, as i recall. i can still taste those hard sheets of cheap bubblegum, where the flavor lasted for about 2 chews. if i could have anything back from my youth, it might be those several hundred cards. Edited December 17, 2010 by alocispepraluger102 Quote
Jazzmoose Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 i can still taste those hard sheets of cheap bubblegum, where the flavor lasted for about 2 chews. There was no gum in those packs; those were just cards that skipped through without ink. Quote
Dave James Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 Long and interesting video interview with Feller from today's NYT: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/12/15/obituaries/1247464008751/last-word-bob-feller.html Quote
AndrewHill Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 He was ornery. I've read accounts of his interactions with young fans at autograph signings that probably damaged the psyche of a few them. Interesting. I used to go to a lot of card shows/autograph signings when I was really little and I think I have a signed ball by Feller in a closet somewhere, but never met him. Ted Williams was definitely among the most ornery of the ones that I remember. The nicest: Johnny Bench and Ernie Banks. He was nice to me when I met him at a booksigning about 20years ago. Even posed for a picture with me. I guess he was in a good mood that day. Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 i can still taste those hard sheets of cheap bubblegum, where the flavor lasted for about 2 chews. There was no gum in those packs; those were just cards that skipped through without ink. Quote
Big Wheel Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 He was ornery. I've read accounts of his interactions with young fans at autograph signings that probably damaged the psyche of a few them. Interesting. I used to go to a lot of card shows/autograph signings when I was really little and I think I have a signed ball by Feller in a closet somewhere, but never met him. Ted Williams was definitely among the most ornery of the ones that I remember. The nicest: Johnny Bench and Ernie Banks. He was nice to me when I met him at a booksigning about 20years ago. Even posed for a picture with me. I guess he was in a good mood that day. Which one, Williams or Feller? Williams was mostly just brusque and impatient in general, I think. Instead of handing you the ball after he signed it he'd kinda toss it toward you on the table in a way that suggested he was there purely for the money and had zero interest in wasting any time talking to a kid. Understandable now after reading about how competitive (i.e., Type A) the guy was. Quote
paul secor Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 From what I saw (and it was from a distance - through newspapers, books, and documentaries), the difference bewteen Feller and Williams was that Williams respected the best of the players who came after him and the players who played in the Negro Leagues and who were never allowed into the Major Leagues. Feller always seemed to view players who followed his time as a threat to his legacy and seemed to find some comments to put them down. (I don't know how he felt about the Negro League players.) Bob Feller didn't need to have that attitude. He was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Quote
Randy Twizzle Posted December 17, 2010 Report Posted December 17, 2010 Time Mag writing about Feller in 1941 Quote
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