Right now at this very moment, it is 7:15 a.m. on May 28, the day after Memorial Day. During the previous 24 hours, I have lost and found my wallet, had holds put on and removed from all of my credit and debit cards, ate too much and by the way, my computer crashed.
I would like to wish myself a happy, happy, Memorial Day. See boys and girls, I lost and found my wallet, now ain’t that “a you know what.” I remember; folks please don’t become aggravated with my constant referral to the word “remember” because now at age 60 that is a very, very important word to me.
There are many folks that are now whining about the Pittsburgh Pirates being 11 games over .500. Their perverted logic points out that during the past two seasons the play of the Pirates has been “volcanic” prior to the All-Star break but has fizzled like a car full of damp illegal firecrackers after baseballs annual showcase.
Right now there is a serious dogfight in the National League Central division with a mere 2.5 games separating the first place St. Louis Cardinals from the third place Pirates. All of the Pirates loyal fans have been pining just for the team to finish above the .500 mark but “yinz” need to dig just a little deeper in regards to the Pirates history because they have not always worn the label of “lovable” losers.
According to MLB.com “the Pittsburgh Pirates have completed 126 seasons in Major League Baseball since joining the National League in 1887. Through 2012, they have played 19,339 regular season games, winning 9,767 and losing 9,572, for a winning percentage of .505.”
There have been many seasons that the Pirates have finished far above the breakeven point. I “remember” (and I am old enough to) Mr. Mac from Forbes Field. Mac as he was affectionately known was the older Black man who issued the work permits for all of the young people to get summer jobs at Forbes Field as “concessionaires.”
He was old and salty and did not seem to like anyone. The only time that I ever recalled seeing him smile was when we turned in loot and went to grab more food to sell to the Pirates faithful. I vividly “remember” one time that he was staring at the money so hard I thought he was having a seizure; no this temporary loss of focus was more like “semi-orgasmic.”
I would swear that this “cat” had “dolls” made from dollar bills at home waiting to greet him do you know what I mean?
No, the Pirates were not always at the bottom of the barrel, more often than not they were at or near the top of the MLB food chain, peanuts, get your peanuts here.
I used to be the hunter, now it seems as if I am always hunting for something. What’s up “Doc” is no longer just a glib greeting. I “remember” when the only time I saw a doctor was on the street or when I was visiting the hospital to see an older relative or friend, boy how times do change.
A few of the Boston Bruins hockey club members are whistling as they walk past the graveyard really contemplating the dubious task of facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL eastern finals. Some even saying that Pittsburgh is relative to the NBA’s Miami Heat; star studded and almost invulnerable, well at least on paper anyway.
I am old enough to “remember” the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL.
Murray Hall was the star back in the 60s when we received free tickets at the Boy’s Club of Pittsburgh to attend a few AHL hockey game.
I like GM/Coach “Baz” Bastien with his eye patch. Hell, with that black patch covering his right eye he was so cool I thought he should’ve been managing the Pittsburgh Pirates as opposed to have played and coached the Pittsburgh Hornets.
According to NHL.com in 1945 “Bastien was sent by the Maple Leafs to the Pittsburgh Hornets, their top professional affiliate. He spent the majority of four seasons with the Hornets. He was named to the league’s first All-Star team in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and also won the Hap Holmes Memorial Award for fewest goals against in 1948 and 1949.
Personal tragedy befell Bastien on September 30, 1949, at Maple Leafs training camp in Welland, Ontario.
On the third or fourth shot he faced that day the puck struck his right eye. The damage to his eye was severe to the extent that it needed to be removed. Bastien’s playing career was over, and he would wear a glass eye for the rest of his life”
I “remember” fifty cent skates rentals after the Hornets games were over at the Civic Arena.
Lest we forget Pittsburgh has not always been at the top of the professional hockey food chain but the Pittsburgh Penguins are will forever remain part of the historical and geographic gene pool of the blue collar city of Pittsburgh.
Wikipedia again points out that: “first played in Pittsburgh in 1895, ice hockey grew in popularity after the Duquesne Gardens opened in 1899. In 1901 the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL), a semi-professional ice hockey league based in Pittsburgh in the early 1900s, may have been involved in the first trade involving professional hockey players. In 1907, the WPHL was the first league to openly hire hockey players. The league played its games in three Pittsburgh hockey arenas, the Gardens, the Schenley Park Casino and the Winter Garden at Exposition Hall. The Casino, which was destroyed by a fire in 1896, had the first artificial ice surface in North America.”
See boys’ and girls’ before you can “remember” you have to “member.” Peace……
(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741.