On September 4, 1993 I took my son (then age 9) to what I consider to be the greatest athletic feat I have ever seen.  It was the Yankees versus the Indians at Yankee

Yankee Stadium Matinee, ltd ed litho

Stadium and Jim Abbott, born with one arm, pitched a no-hitter against one of the best hitting teams in baseball.  Nobody ever seems to talk about it.

As a hoot in about the 4th inning I said to my son, “Abbott hasn’t allowed a hit yet, but let’s not jinx him.”  So instead of talking about it I suggested we wink every time he got an out.  Wink wink wink wink wink wink wink wink… When Carlos Baerga, who hit .321 that year,  grounded out to short to end the game, the place went nuts.  When we got home, my wife said to our son, “I don’t ever want to hear you say, ‘I can’t.’”

It was the second no-hitter I attended.  On my 18th birthday, June 4, 1964, I went with

Dodger Thirty-Two, ltd ed litho

a friend to Connie Mack Stadium to see my beloved Phillies play the Dodgers.  Sandy Koufax against Chris Short (remember the 1964 Phillies: Short and Bunning and then start running- collapse).  Koufax was damn near perfect that day. He faced the minimum. He walked Dick Allen who was promptly erased by a double play, and he never allowed another runner.

Someone else shared both of those no-hitters with me, Frank Howard.  Howard had won the game for Koufax with a 3 run homer in the 6th, the only runs of the game.  He was also the the first base coach for the Yankees in 1993.   Me and Frank Howard. Frank Howard and me. However, back to Jim Abbott.

Does anyone care to comment on a greater athletic feat than Jim Abbott’s no-hitter?

No Hitter Box Score June 4, 1964 Connie Mack Stadium

Name Pos AB R H RBI Willie Davis cf 4 0 0 0 Maury Wills ss 4 0 1 0 Jim Gilliam 3b 4 1 1 0 Tommy Davis lf 4 1 2 0 Frank Howard rf 3 1 1 3 Ron Fairly 1b 1 0 0 0 Ken McMullen 1b 3 0 1 0 Wes Parker rf 1 0 1 0 Doug Camilli c 4 0 0 0 Dick Tracewski 2b 3 0 1 0 Sandy Koufax p 3 0 1 0 Totals 34 3 9 3 Name Pos AB R H RBI Cookie Rojas cf 3 0 0 0 Johnny Callison rf 3 0 0 0 Dick Allen 3b 2 0 0 0 Danny Carter lf 3 0 0 0 Gus Triandos c 3 0 0 0 Roy Sievers 1b 3 0 0 0 Tony Taylor 2b 3 0 0 0 Ruben Amaro ss 3 0 0 0 Chris Short p 2 0 0 0 Ed Roebuck p 0 0 0 0 Ray Culp p 0 0 0 0 Bobby Wine ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 26 0 0 0 Hitting & Fielding Notes Doubles: Tracewski, Parker. Double Play: Philadelphia 1. Error: Allen. Home Run: Howard. Left On Base: Los Angeles 4, Philadelphia 0.

Line Score Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Los Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 9 0 Philadelphia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Name IP H R ER BB SO Sandy Koufax (W) 9 0 0 0 1 12 Name IP H R ER BB SO Chris Short (L) 6.2 8 3 3 0 4 Ed Roebuck .1 0 0 0 0 0 Ray Culp 2 1 0 0 0 2

Vintage NL Ballparks, poster

Growing up in Philadelphia in the 1950s as a pre-teen, I only had a chance to go to one of these ballparks, Connie Mack Stadium (aka Shibe Park). I must have gone 100 times, always trying see Robin Roberts pitch.   The other big issue was who was in the starring cast of the road team.

I think I must have seen all of the stars of the day.   The big question was, “Who is going to beat the Phillies this time?”  I remember thinking, “Oh no, not Stan Musial again.” …or Willie Mays, or Duke Snider.  Being the oldest of 10 grandchildren, my wise grandmother figured the way to her grandchildren’s heart could be through baseball, and the 2 of us went together all the time.

And as much as we loved the Phillies, it was always a thrill to see Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks or Henry Aaron come to town.  It was a great time to love baseball, and little did I know at the time I would have a career publishing ballpark art. -Bill Goff

The Lee brothers, Cliff and Ut of  Phil Lee’s branch of the family help the Phightins to  take games one and 5 of the World Series! But before game 5, a Philadelphia paper erroneously(?) ran an ad congratulating the Phils for back to back World Championships.  I am hoping it was prescient.

As a life long Philadelphia Phillies fan, it couldn’t be more gratifying that the cosmic tumblers might be clicking once again. I don’ think I’ve ever seen better clubhouse chemistry than with the 2009 Phils.

As a four year old, I first became aware of Phillies fever in 1950 when the Whiz Kids won the pennant. Let me jump off for a second here.  The New Phillies could easily be called the Biz Kids as they always seem to take care of business;  or maybe the Fizz Kids because they are popping a lot of champagne; or maybe the Sizz Kids because of the sizzle in their bats and arms.  But enough of that. I have no specific memories of the 1950 season, but I remember vividly how disappointed I was 2 years later when my father came home with 2 tickets for the 1952 All-Star Game at Shibe Park (soon to be renamed Connie Mack Stadium)

and informed me that my mother, not at all a baseball fan, was going with him, not me. To this day I do not understand.

The Yankees swept the Phillies 4-0 in the 1950 World Series and I am hoping for a little payback– after 59 years. But first the Yankees put away the Angels, no easy task.  I am a bit conflicted.  As a marketer of NY Yankees lithographs, I want them to succeed. I certainly hoped they beat the Angels.  When they get to the team of my childhood, loyalty trumps avarice. -Bill Goff

Vintage Yankee Yarn

Yankees v. Phillies

Robin Roberts v. Joe DiMaggio

The history, though not recent, is there. It will be updated shortly with another outcome. Intriguing!