DavidsonCats.com

Are you sure we are ready for a full reopening? I suggest that we start with Phase 1, no politics and wear a mask, and if we are successful at Phase 1, we can remove our masks.

Politics should be off limits anyway: too much low-hanging fruit.

There are enough sports-related antics to keep us entertained.

Refusing to talk about it is condoning it.

Some forums are better than others.

Lenny Dykstra sued Ron Darling for defamation. The judge tossed the suit saying Dykstra’s reputation is so bad he basically can’t be defamed.

Dykstra lashed out at the judge (he’d been paid off) and Darling (he committed the biggest fraud in sports history by faking his cancer and chemo treatment).

Dykstra also ripped Dale Murphy and his “loser son” after the younger Murphy was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by Denver police while participating in a peaceful protest. Dykstra said he has proper respect for the men in blue. He left out the part about his felony conviction and fairly lengthy prison sentence.

You can’t make up some of this crap!

Trivia Q? What do the college Ron Darling and the college Frank Viola (DC season ticket holder and father of a DC volleyball coach) have in common?

It’s obscure, and it’s late, so I’ll provide the answer in the next post. If you don’t want to know yet don’t scroll any further.

Smoky Joe Wood, long time ML pitcher, then ML outfielder, then long time head coach at Yale said the best college baseball game he ever saw was a 1-0 13 inning game between St John’s and Yale. Viola and Darling each threw complete games. Viola and St Johns came out on top.

Frank Viola was surprised to hear Jack McDowell was coaching the Queens baseball team at a basketball game this year.

He did not know Wood was at that game where he faced off against Darling.

Wood had a short career as a pitcher. He hurt his arm trying to pitch too soon after injuring this thumb. When he had to retire as a pitcher, he returned as an outfielder when WWI started and healthy players had to work or fight. He wasn't healthy and couldn't be drafted.

He was the coach at Yale from '23-'41. Yale announced they were ending their baseball program due to WWII. Wood resigned and moved to California to start golf driving ranges with his brother. They made a fortune because people couldn't travel or buy cars, but had money to spend. The Woods went to estate sales to buy the golf clubs for customers to use.

Yale did not drop their baseball team. They hired Red Rolfe, a Dartmouth grad, to coach. Many thought Yale wanted to get rid of Wood because he had a rough exterior. He was linked to scandals in the '10s. Wood's dad was an attorney who graduated from Penn.

Wood returned to New Haven after WWII ended.

Walter Johnson said there isn’t a man alive who throws harder than Smoky Joe Wood. Wood had a 34-5 record one season with an ERA under 2.00. If he hadn’t hurt his arm he would probably be in the HOF. His pitching stats are great, but for less than 10 seasons. He hit .273 which ain’t bad, but doesn’t get an outfielder into Cooperstown. Personally I think his ability to stay in the majors as an OF after pitching so well is a plus.

He was 34-5 in 1912. He led the league in ERA in 1915, but his arm was in terrible shape.

He badgered the Red Sox into releasing him. He was signed by the Indians, but couldn't pitch any more. He sought his own medical exams from the best MDs in the country. They told him his arm was being held in place by tendons as thin as spaghetti. The medical reports were shown to his draft board and he was judged unfit for military service.

He told the Indians he was returning to play in 1918. He made the team and started in the outfield. When the regular Indians returned in 1919, he was still useful. He helped them win the World Series in 1920 and played through '22. He started at Yale in '23.

His lifetime batting average was .283. Much of his career was in the dead ball era, so his batting average was depressed, but his ERA looks better than it was.

I just watched a clip of Rudy Giuliani and Piers Morgan getting into it. Man, Rudy has gone bonkers. Must be that no fat yogurt.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/stone ... -dhp-feeds

I feel dumb. I've been using that word incorrectly my whole life. I hope that my ancestors aren't too hurt by my ignorance hundreds of years from now.

"The living ancestor of the Confederate general was pleased to hear that a longstanding Jackson statue in the Virginia capital was finally coming down."

Or maybe I just didn't understand how very long some people live.

Jackson married one of the daughters of Davidson's first President, Robert Morrison. Several of Morrison's daughters married Confederate generals.

He was killed by Confederate troops, so the North should consider him a hero.

citycat wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 02, 2020 9:44 pm

Jackson married one of the daughters of Davidson's first President, Robert Morrison. Several of Morrison's daughters married Confederate generals.

Stephen Ramseur courted one of them, but she was the daughter who wound up not marrying one. I visited Ramseur's grave and Morrison sites as part of my Lincoln County historical tour. My DU classmate Rick Ramseur is some kin. I found They Married Confederate Officers interesting reading, as would most Davidson enthusiasts.