Delessov Fouts

"The Beatles are a fundamental part of my life . . . [I remember] the double Beatles albums, you know, the red and blue ones, and 'Ticket To Ride' coming on, and just — [snaps fingers] — something about it. Well, everything about it: the sound, the feel, the melody, the words. Hearing that for the first time, just hearing that guitar sound and then the voice, it was instant . . . I can’t really explain what it was that happened, but whatever it was, it was fuckin’ powerful. "It’s actually making me quite emotional now, talking about it. Because it’s that powerful. It’s that beautiful. I hesitate to try and analyze it too much, d’you know what I mean — maybe if I sat down for a while with a pen, and actually tried to express what it meant to me and to the world, I could get close to catching it. But just talking about it now I’d probably pass because I know I’d just end up mumbling, incoherently. "They're so much part of the fabric of my musical mindscape. And cultural mindscape. More so than most other musicians and artists who’ve influenced me, you know, from Shakespeare to Arthur Rimbaud. It’s Lennon and McCartney and the Beatles that probably shaped me in more ways than I’ll ever know." --#PeteDoherty #Libertines #Babyshambles @petedoherty #songwriter #TheBeatles #Influence

"No. 1, I told him to never lie to a player. No. 2, I told him don’t let anyone else sink your ship. If you’re going to go down, do it yourself. That’s the only advice I ever gave him about managing." Tito Francona Sr. "Tito didn't personally attend a ton of games. They made him too nervous and, anyway, he always figured there's enough pressure on his boy, without having his father's eyes watching him from the stand. In his office, you see pictures of his Dad. You see the gloves he has from him and the pictures, and the memorabilia. Terry talks about it all the time! "I love my Dad. I think he's the best Dad in the world." Terry Francona. "I had to teach them how to play. Our closer came into a game with ketchup on his jersey. ‘A fan threw a hot dog at me.’ And we were at home!" Mgr. Terry Francona. "The Great Communicator." Tito and Terry Francona.

"Nobody hit the ball as far as Josh Gibson. I didn't see the one he is supposed to have hit out of Yankee Stadium. But I saw him hit a ball one night in the Polo Grounds that went between the upper deck and lower deck, and out of the stadium. Later the night watchman came in and asked: 'Who hit the damn ball out there?' He said it landed on the 'El'. It must have gone 600 feet." Buck Leonard. "Yes sir, I've seen a lot of colored boys who should have been playing in the majors. First of all I'd name this guy Josh Gibson for a place for sure. He's one of the greatest backstops in history, I think. Any team in the big leagues could use him right now." Carl Hubbell. They were teammates first with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Josh Gibson was the greatest hitter I ever pitched to and I pitched to everybody. There’s been some great hitters – Williams, DiMaggio, Musial, Mays, Mantle. But none of them was as great as Josh.” Satchel Paige Satchel Paige recalled that advertisements used to call them: “The Greatest Battery in Baseball!!" Josh Gibson, guaranteed to knock two home runs Satchel Paige, guaranteed to strike out the first nine men.” “And both of us would do it, too." Satchel Paige would say. "Of course the stories about Satchel Paige are legendary!! And some of them are even true!" Buck O'Neil. "Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson" Griffiths Stadium Art by Graig Kreindler.

"Baseball is like sex. There's never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn't have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: You just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250, not unless he had a lot of RBI and was a great glove man up the middle. You see, there's a certain amount of life wisdom I give these boys. I can expand their minds. Sometimes when I got a ballplayer alone, I'll just read Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman to him, and the guys are so sweet, they always stay and listen. Course, a guy'll listen to anything, if he thinks it's foreplay. I make them feel confident, and they make me feel safe, and pretty. 'Course, what I give them lasts a lifetime; what they give me lasts 142 games. Sometimes it seems like a bad trade. But bad trades are part of baseball!! Now who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake? It's a long season and you gotta trust it. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." Annie Savoy. "Bull Durham." "Frank Robinson" Art by Andrea Lavoie.

"His Mgr. was concerned over Hack Wilson's heavy drinking. "Hack, when I put a worm in a glass of water nothing happens to it. But when I put it in a glass of whiskey it dies. What does that tell you?" Hack's response: "That I'll never get worms from drinking whiskey?" "I never played drunk. Hung over, yes, but never drunk. When I see three balls, I just swing at the middle one." Hack Wilson. "He was built along the lines of a beer keg and not unfamiliar with its contents." Shirley Povich on "Hack" Wilson. The Washington Post. "For a brief span of a few years, this hammered down little strongman actually rivalled the mighty Babe Ruth." Wilson was 5'6", 190 lbs, with an 18" collar and a size 51/2 shoe. Hack STILL holds the record for most RBI in one season, 191 RBI in 1930. No player has gotten within 16 RBI of his mark since Jimmy Foxx, (175) in 1938, only Lou Gehrig (185) and Hank Greenberg (184) ever came close. In 1930, Hack Wilson slugged 56 HR , walked 105 times, slashed .356/.454/.723, a 1.177 OPS and a 177 OPS+.....AND 191 RBI! A man identified only as a “white male” passed away in a Baltimore hospital. No one came forward to claim the body. There was no money for a coffin. No funeral was planned. All that was known is that the man appeared to have died of alcohol abuse. National League President Ford Frick claimed his body. Sending a check for $350, Frick paid for Hack Wilson’s funeral services, including the cost of his coffin. His gray burial suit was donated by the undertaker. It was later determined that Hack Wilson died from complications of Auto-Brewery Syndrome, also known as Gut Fermentation Syndrome. Wilson's 56 home runs with the Cubs in 1930 was the National League record for 68 years and his 191 RBI is a mark yet to be surpassed.

Ray Kinsella: "Are you Moonlight Graham?" Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham: "No one's called me Moonlight Graham in fifty years." Ray Kinsella: "Fifty years ago, for five minutes you came within... y-you came this close. It would KILL some men to get so close to their dream and not touch it. God, they'd consider it a tragedy." Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham: "Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes... Now that would have been a tragedy. This is my most special place in all the world, Ray. Once a place touches you like this, the wind never blows so cold again. You feel for it, like it was your child. We just don't recognize life's most significant moments while they're happening. Back then I thought: "Well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day." Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham treats children in his Chilsom, Minnesota clinic in 1937. Graham made his one and only appearance for the Giants in 1905 as a defensive replacement without a plate appearance, and then became a doctor. His story was popularized by the 1989 film, "Field of Dreams."

"When I was a kid, my Dad would bring me to the ballpark, we'd have a catch on the field, then I'd be hanging in the clubhouse with Pete Sheehy, the clubhouse guy. Mickey Mantle would always come in late, after the whole team was already on the field. When I asked my Dad why Mickey was always late, he shook his head and immediately set me straight. "Mickey's not late," he said. "He just doesn't want anyone to see him putting all those bandages on his legs." Everyone knew Mickey had to wrap the heck out of his knees, but he didn't want anyone to see him do it. He didn't want them to think it was an excuse. He was always hurt and it really gave an inspiration to the rest of the team. They knew how badly he was hurting, so they wouldn't ask out of the lineup if they were hurt. Mickey really led the team by hiding it from them. That was part of Mickey`s greatness, and part of why the Yankees were so great back then. His courage. His toughness. He just wanted to win so badly." Eddie Ford, Whitey Ford`s son.

🙏🌹🕯️🖤🩶 Rest in peace Roderick Darryl Martin  April 7, 1954 – April 2026 An extraordinary man and Raider. You were a key component in our championship seasons. May God comfort his wife Devin and the family.

Rod Martin -Drafted 12th RD 317th overall. -Alum of Alexander Hamilton HS in LA, Warren Moon went there too. -College: USC, 1976 All-Pac-10 tm -First-team All-Pro (1984) -Second-team All-Pro (1983) -2x Pro Bowl -2x Super Bowl Champ 🏆 🏆 -6 defensive TDs #RIPRODMARTIN

"I remember Lou Gehrig taking the lineup card up to the plate that day. When he came back to the dugout, he went over to the water fountain and took a drink. He started to cry. Lou stood there with a towel on his head, taking the longest drink I’ve ever seen anybody take." "Babe" Dahlgren. Yankee Captain Lou Gehrig stuns Tigers Mgr. Del Baker, umpires Basil, Ornsby and Summers, as he informs them he has benched himself, 1938. "I decided last Sunday night on this move. I haven’t been a bit of good to the team since the season started. It would not be fair to the boys, to Joe or to the baseball public for me to try going on. In fact, it would not be fair to myself and I’m the last consideration." Lou Gehrig.

A Monday Night Salute to Rod Martin During the 1970s and '80s, the #Raiders were practically unbeatable on Monday Night Football. Rod played in 20 MNF games during his career, of which the Raiders won 16. Here are some of his greatest Monday Night moments. Rest easy, 53🕯️

"Lou Gehrig was to baseball what Gary Cooper was to the movies: A figure of unimpeachable integrity, massive and incorruptible, a hero. Today, both are seen as paradigms of manly virtue. Decent and God-fearing, yet strongly charismatic and powerful." Kevin Nelson. "Lou Gehrig`s greatest record doesn't show in the book. It was the absolute reliability of Henry Louis Gehrig. He could be counted upon. He was there every day at the ballpark, bending his back and ready to break his neck to win for his side. He was there day after day and year after year. He never sulked or whined or went into a pot or a huff. Lou Gehrig was the answer to a manager's dream." John Kieran, New York Times. "I'm just the guy on the Yankees who's in there every day. I'm the fellow who follows the Babe in the batting order." Lou Gehrig. In 1927, Lou Gehrig had 175 runs batted in. Lou Gehrig batted 60 times after Babe Ruth had cleared the bases that season.

One of my favorite SI covers. Will always appreciate and remember Rod Martin.

Muhammad Ali once referred to Hank Aaron as... "The only man I idolize more than myself."

40 years ago this week, my NFL journey began, selected 3rd overall in the 1986 Draft out of @BoilerFootball. That call from the Houston Oilers (later traded to the @RamsNFL ) changed everything. The game gave me unforgettable moments, lifelong brothers, & lessons in resilience that still guide me today. As we head into Draft Week in Pittsburgh, I’m reminded: the draft is just a beginning. Grateful for every snap.

"I had a good arm and legs. When I would go to spring training, I would never touch a ball for three weeks. Just would do a lot of walking and running. I never did any unnecessary throwing. I figured the old arm had just so many throws in it, and there wasn't any use wasting them. Like for instance, I never warmed up ten, fifteen minutes before a game like most pitchers do. I'd loosen up, three, four minutes. Five at the outside. And I never went to the bullpen. Oh I'd relieve all right, plenty of times, but I went right from the bench to the box, and I'd take a few warm-up pitches and be ready. Then I had good control. I aimed to make the batter hit the ball, and I threw as few pitches as possible. That's why I was able to work every other day. One of the fellows called me 'Cyclone' but finally shortened it to 'Cy' and its been that ever since." Cy Young. "I don't want my picture in any cigarettes, but I also don't want you to lose the ten dollars, so I'm enclosing my check for that sum. Tobacco may shorten a man’s life and interfere with his baseball career, but I guess it hasn’t shortened mine a great deal. I have noticed that where a player starts to quit hitting, it will shorten his career a good deal quicker than tobacco. There ain't much to being a ballplayer, if you're a ballplayer." Honus Wagner. Cy Young and Honus Wagner. Wagner's porch, September 1 1953.

"In the fifth inning of Game 2 of the 1951 World Series, Mickey Mantle's future converged on a routine fly ball. Embedded in the outfield was six-inch round depression, a drain. The cover was made of thin plywood with a rubber coating. According to a former Yankee groundskeeper: “It was wedged in there, below-ground. You had to hit it with your heel, wedge it down real tight. If it wasn’t, a player could trip on it.” After catching a Willie Mays flyball, Joe DiMaggio turns toward Mantle, lying curled in an almost fetal position, kneels beside him, whispering words of reassurance, resting his hand on Mantle’s shoulder. “They’re coming with the stretcher kid.” Mickey Mantle said it was their first conversation of the year. 'I was running so fast; my knee just went right out the front of my leg.' It was so sudden, so painful, so shocking that Mantle soiled himself, “shit my pants,” Mantle would reveal to Jane Leavy. “Must be like giving birth,” he told a friend years later. Mantle played the next two seasons before he had the knee operated on after the 1953 season. I believe it can be safely said he played those two seasons with a torn meniscus at minimum, as he had the meniscus repaired and knee “cleaned out” during the surgery in 1953. At worse, he played the two seasons with what’s called the, “Unhappy Triad”, a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament) and meniscus. Back then, knee surgery was not what it is today. I’m not even sure methodology was in place for this sort of repair without it being career ending. An argument can be made that Mantle played the remaining seventeen years of his career with a torn/semi-healed ACL and MCL. When Mickey Mantle had knee surgery in 1953, there was no established procedure to fix a torn anterior cruciate ligament. It`s believed Mantle compensated for the torn ACL with what orthopaedist`s called “Neuromuscular genius.”

With some time off before his first season as CBS’s golden boy, Jackie Gleason camped out at Toots Shor’s with Frank Sinatra and his celebrity pals. One evening Frank showed up during Jackie’s morning eye-opener with four tickets to the sold-out final playoff game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, was having a tête-à-tête with Toots and Frank, invited the trio to accompany him to the game. Everyone agreed except Jackie, who wanted to stay at the bar and drink, but they finally talked Jackie into it by renting a fully stocked limo. Sinatra recalls: “We pile into that limousine, already feeling no pain, especially Gleason. Jackie guzzled booze all the way to the Polo Grounds and ate most of the food. When we get there, Jackie switches to hot dogs and beer. Comes the last half of the ninth and the fans are going wild. The Giants are behind 4-2 and Bobby Thompson comes to bat. Right at the exact moment, with the crowd screaming, Gleason throws up right on me. Here is one of the all-time classic games that people will talk about and I am right in the stadium and I don’t see Bobby Thompson hit that home run. Only Gleason, a Brooklyn fan, would get sick at a time like that. But that’s not the punch line. On the drive back to Toots Shor's, Gleason keeps muttering to the chauffeur to pull over to the side of the road saying: “Let’s throw this bum Sinatra out of here. He’s smelling up the limo.” Some nights Jackie would show up at the bar with a baseball bat and glove, get loaded, then go hit fly balls to Joe DiMaggio in Central Park in the middle of the night. He also liked to stage fake fistfights with rookie sensation Mickey Mantle, just to mess with Toots’ head." "The Great Drunk: Lushing Large with Jackie Gleason." Frank Kelly Rich. 'The Great One!'

The greatest running back to ever do it. Jim Brown didn’t just dominate — he rewrote the record books in only 9 seasons. Follow @NFLHuddleUp to resurrect legends like him. #NFL 🏈 #History #Football #Browns #Cleveland