Sunday, July 15, 2007
Big Score
Last year, I showed you a picture of the "Jersey Devil" in this post. I'd never heard of this myth until I saw a metal sign depicting the JD at last year's Brimfield Antique Show. Terribly, I didn't buy the sign. Today, we were back in lovely Brimfield, Mass. once again. After a day of walking we arrived at the spot where the Devil sign had been last year. Though all the dealers around her had packed it in for the day, the Jersey Devil lady was still there. I didn't see the sign. I asked her if she had it, and she said she'd just packed it, so she went and got it for me. I'm now, a year late, the proud owner of a metal sign: "Jersey Devil House/Tours and Meals/Open Seven Days/Leeds Point New Jersey." I doubt this is the actual sign from the actual house, but it's pretty cool- and authentic-looking, and it features JD, looking just like he does in the above-linked pic.
But that wasn't my biggest score of the day. I found a tent with a bunch of old scorebooks. I'm not normally big on scorebook-collecting. I have a lot of old ones from games I went to in the 80s, but I like to keep it at that. They're a record of games I attended--I wouldn't want my great-great-grandchildren thinking I went to Fenway in June of '74 or something, especially since I hadn't been born at that point. However, I did see some things mixed in that I couldn't resist buying:
1. An Expos scorebook from 1984. I still can't believe the Expos, to the next generation, will be like the Washington Sentaors are to mine. Plus, it's '84, it's those wacky 'spos with that mysterious "elb" logo (yes, I know it's supposed to be an "M," but I'll always see "elb)...I had to get it.
2. The "Special Red Sox Issue" of "New England Sports Guide" magazine from before the 1976 season. It's got a full-length article with advice for buying Red Sox tickets. It could've been written today (with the exceptions of the prices, the fact that you can't buy season tickets anymore without waiting several years, and that you can actually use a credit card now), with lines like "don't blow it by getting tickets at the last minute," and talk of how parking's not fun and how the Sox don't do cheesy promotions to get people to come to the park. One interesting note: It claims that at that point, the hottest-selling games for the upcoming season were for Oakland, followed by the Yanks and Baltimore. I figure Oakland was a big draw after their three straight A.L. titles from '72-'74, before losing to the Sox in the '75 ALCS. And the Yanks had finished within 10 games of first place only twice in the previous 11 seasons, and had only finished ahead of Boston in three of those. (Remember, the Yanks always did better than the Sox in those days, except in years Yankee fans don't admit existed.)
3. A Boston Herald Red Sox fold-out "wall chart" from 1983, with spaces to place individual stamps of players, which were included with issues of the paper. I wouldn't have cared about this, except that the day before, I'd bought a bunch of Gedman stuff from a website, and decided to add to my cart his '83 Herald stamp just for the hell of it. I didn't know what these stamps were for, and I definitely had no idea I'd find out by seeing the thing they were meant to stick to the next day. So I had to get it, even though I still won't stick the stamp on there.
4. A sheet of six oversize baseball cards, each featuring a member of the '75 A.L. Champs. On the back of each card? One of the "Great Cars of the World." So unsuspecting kids flipped over their Yaz card to learn about the 1899 Stanley Steamer. Okay.
5. A Sports Illustrated from August 11th, 1975. I love the cover. It says "The Baseball Boom," and the picture is a close-up of a crowd. It's clearly from Fenway, and some play has just happened that caused everyone to be immediately pissed. The expressions are priceless. But even if they'd just been sitting there, I'd still be fascinated, as I always am, by those 70s clothes and haircuts. Yes, one kid has a Puma shirt. (Yes, I still have mine.) I haven't even taken the magazine out of the plastic yet. I just keep analyzing that crowd.
Back to reality--we got to listen to much of the game on the Pike on the way home from Western Mass, and I also got to see a lot of the replay. (It's so cool to be up here and have NESN and get to watch exotic things like "the game" and "the replay of the game"!) Dice gets the win despite another far-from-perfect outing, and MDC continues his quest for stardom. 11 up on Toronto, 10 on the Yanks, who won. (Speaking of them, check out this article, sent in by Oriole fan friend of RSF/PT Taylor. That upper deck at the T-Bowl is incredibly steep. I'm surprised this hasn't happened more often.)
Where's Castiglione? It was his two partners tonight. No Joe. First time he's missed a game, by my count, since the Big Bang. Maybe the real reason they gave him two partners is so he can actually take a day off now and again. (My girlfriend's theory: Tito's resting the announcers now....)
Another thing I'm wondering about? No Hot Stove Cool Music concert at Fenway this year? I haven't heard anything about it....
If you get the Sunday Hartford Courant today, look for a blurb about the little project my mom and I are working on. I think there's supposed to be something in there.
I'm at Fenway later today! First time in a while. I'll be in the Monster seats, for the first time with my new camera.
But that wasn't my biggest score of the day. I found a tent with a bunch of old scorebooks. I'm not normally big on scorebook-collecting. I have a lot of old ones from games I went to in the 80s, but I like to keep it at that. They're a record of games I attended--I wouldn't want my great-great-grandchildren thinking I went to Fenway in June of '74 or something, especially since I hadn't been born at that point. However, I did see some things mixed in that I couldn't resist buying:
1. An Expos scorebook from 1984. I still can't believe the Expos, to the next generation, will be like the Washington Sentaors are to mine. Plus, it's '84, it's those wacky 'spos with that mysterious "elb" logo (yes, I know it's supposed to be an "M," but I'll always see "elb)...I had to get it.
2. The "Special Red Sox Issue" of "New England Sports Guide" magazine from before the 1976 season. It's got a full-length article with advice for buying Red Sox tickets. It could've been written today (with the exceptions of the prices, the fact that you can't buy season tickets anymore without waiting several years, and that you can actually use a credit card now), with lines like "don't blow it by getting tickets at the last minute," and talk of how parking's not fun and how the Sox don't do cheesy promotions to get people to come to the park. One interesting note: It claims that at that point, the hottest-selling games for the upcoming season were for Oakland, followed by the Yanks and Baltimore. I figure Oakland was a big draw after their three straight A.L. titles from '72-'74, before losing to the Sox in the '75 ALCS. And the Yanks had finished within 10 games of first place only twice in the previous 11 seasons, and had only finished ahead of Boston in three of those. (Remember, the Yanks always did better than the Sox in those days, except in years Yankee fans don't admit existed.)
3. A Boston Herald Red Sox fold-out "wall chart" from 1983, with spaces to place individual stamps of players, which were included with issues of the paper. I wouldn't have cared about this, except that the day before, I'd bought a bunch of Gedman stuff from a website, and decided to add to my cart his '83 Herald stamp just for the hell of it. I didn't know what these stamps were for, and I definitely had no idea I'd find out by seeing the thing they were meant to stick to the next day. So I had to get it, even though I still won't stick the stamp on there.
4. A sheet of six oversize baseball cards, each featuring a member of the '75 A.L. Champs. On the back of each card? One of the "Great Cars of the World." So unsuspecting kids flipped over their Yaz card to learn about the 1899 Stanley Steamer. Okay.
5. A Sports Illustrated from August 11th, 1975. I love the cover. It says "The Baseball Boom," and the picture is a close-up of a crowd. It's clearly from Fenway, and some play has just happened that caused everyone to be immediately pissed. The expressions are priceless. But even if they'd just been sitting there, I'd still be fascinated, as I always am, by those 70s clothes and haircuts. Yes, one kid has a Puma shirt. (Yes, I still have mine.) I haven't even taken the magazine out of the plastic yet. I just keep analyzing that crowd.
Back to reality--we got to listen to much of the game on the Pike on the way home from Western Mass, and I also got to see a lot of the replay. (It's so cool to be up here and have NESN and get to watch exotic things like "the game" and "the replay of the game"!) Dice gets the win despite another far-from-perfect outing, and MDC continues his quest for stardom. 11 up on Toronto, 10 on the Yanks, who won. (Speaking of them, check out this article, sent in by Oriole fan friend of RSF/PT Taylor. That upper deck at the T-Bowl is incredibly steep. I'm surprised this hasn't happened more often.)
Where's Castiglione? It was his two partners tonight. No Joe. First time he's missed a game, by my count, since the Big Bang. Maybe the real reason they gave him two partners is so he can actually take a day off now and again. (My girlfriend's theory: Tito's resting the announcers now....)
Another thing I'm wondering about? No Hot Stove Cool Music concert at Fenway this year? I haven't heard anything about it....
If you get the Sunday Hartford Courant today, look for a blurb about the little project my mom and I are working on. I think there's supposed to be something in there.
I'm at Fenway later today! First time in a while. I'll be in the Monster seats, for the first time with my new camera.
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Jere, it's me on Sunday morning. I've perused the Hartford Courant sports pages and the front section, and now, at a little after 8am, I am heading back to that pile of newsprint (I like the Courant!) to find that blurb. I'll let you know the section and page number. Would this be about your book to be....a mystery? I read about it at Novy's. I'll be back in 5 minutes. And isn't it nice to be in NESNland?
I know your Mom is famous (HI Mary Ann!), but now, you too. The article is in the Sunday Htfd. Courant's Art section, page G2. Here it is. Congrats! Can I get an autographed copy??
Mom, Son And Mysterious Red Sox
By Carole Goldberg | The Hartford Courant
July 15, 2007
As Red Sox fans used to say: Wait till next year.
That is when Hall of Fame Press will publish the first of a planned series of Red Sox-themed mystery novels by East Haven novelist Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and her son, Jere Smith.
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith had a popular and critical success with her last book, "Girls of Tender Age," a memoir set in Hartford, where she grew up. She also has written a number of mystery novels, and the new series will bring back the character of Rocky Patel, a Boston homicide detective. In addition, she is writing a Civil War novel, one of whose characters is Captain Abner Doubleday, who some believe invented baseball.
Jere Smith is a lifelong Sox fan who began a blog when he lived in New York City called "A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory" at letsgosox.blogspot.com. He now lives in the Boston area.
Hall of Fame Press is run by Dan Doyle, the executive director and founder of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island. He was head men's basketball coach at Kingswood-Oxford School and at Trinity College, where, in his last year, the team ended the season ranked 13th in the country and he was named New England College Coach of the Year. Hall of Fame Press plans to publish several books each year.
Mary Ann and Jere...this sounds so great. My heartfelt best wishes...always. Peter N.
Mom, Son And Mysterious Red Sox
By Carole Goldberg | The Hartford Courant
July 15, 2007
As Red Sox fans used to say: Wait till next year.
That is when Hall of Fame Press will publish the first of a planned series of Red Sox-themed mystery novels by East Haven novelist Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and her son, Jere Smith.
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith had a popular and critical success with her last book, "Girls of Tender Age," a memoir set in Hartford, where she grew up. She also has written a number of mystery novels, and the new series will bring back the character of Rocky Patel, a Boston homicide detective. In addition, she is writing a Civil War novel, one of whose characters is Captain Abner Doubleday, who some believe invented baseball.
Jere Smith is a lifelong Sox fan who began a blog when he lived in New York City called "A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory" at letsgosox.blogspot.com. He now lives in the Boston area.
Hall of Fame Press is run by Dan Doyle, the executive director and founder of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island. He was head men's basketball coach at Kingswood-Oxford School and at Trinity College, where, in his last year, the team ended the season ranked 13th in the country and he was named New England College Coach of the Year. Hall of Fame Press plans to publish several books each year.
Mary Ann and Jere...this sounds so great. My heartfelt best wishes...always. Peter N.
Jere, I'm going to believe that your Jersey Devil sign is really from that house. 1. It makes it even cooler (if possible). 2. I am willing to bet that the house is/was an inn at some point. Did the antique lady have any insight on its history?
I've seen this story on the Travel channel. It's crazy stuff. If weird things start happening to you, I'd get rid of it. ; ) just kidding.
ps: Loving the write-up in the Courant! That's another "Big Score."
I've seen this story on the Travel channel. It's crazy stuff. If weird things start happening to you, I'd get rid of it. ; ) just kidding.
ps: Loving the write-up in the Courant! That's another "Big Score."
A day after I got the sign, the Sox got 11 hits, but only one run. Crazy. It's the sign....
So, I didn't ask her (either year) about the sign. But the reason we thought it might be a phony, is because my girlfriend did get a similar sign from her last year, and we saw that same one this year. Like she mass-produces them. But even if that's the case, the sign's still cool because of the way its made. It's really heavy and it's, like, I don't know, pewter or something? But I thought pewter was light. Um, and the letters all all different, it's not like all the Es are exactly the same, etc.
So, I didn't ask her (either year) about the sign. But the reason we thought it might be a phony, is because my girlfriend did get a similar sign from her last year, and we saw that same one this year. Like she mass-produces them. But even if that's the case, the sign's still cool because of the way its made. It's really heavy and it's, like, I don't know, pewter or something? But I thought pewter was light. Um, and the letters all all different, it's not like all the Es are exactly the same, etc.
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