Good
evening, 919 Gang. From our store of knowledge: Michael Grant asked about the
San Diego Conquistadors, and here's the answer.
BARRY BLOOM writes:
The Q's were in the old ABA and signed
Wilt Chamberlain. But because of a playing contract with the Lakers he was
forced to only coach. They played at the Civic Center, and I saw them only once
there in 1974 with Doctor J playing for the Nets and the Stilt on the bench for
the Q's. It was weird watching them play with the court situated on the stage
and fans only on one end of the theater. Jack, Len Bloom (coincidently my late
dad's name) bought the team, moved it the Sports Arena and renamed it the
Sails. They folded after one season and in 1976 four ABA teams were absorbed by
the NBA.
The Rockets played in the NBA and were
owned by Bob Breitbard, who also had the lease on the arena. He sold them to
Houston interests in a fight with the city over a few $100,000 of parking
revenue.
The Clippers were the original Buffalo
Braves. In a weird swap and sale that would never happen today in the NBA ,
owner John Y. Brown of the Braves swapped the club for the Boston Celtics owned
by Irv Levin, a Los Angeles native. Levin moved the Braves to San Diego and
renamed them the Clippers. The league, in its wisdom, decided to shuffle the
players of both teams in the swap and in very Clipperesque fashion, San Diego
got the raw end of the deal. It got even worse when the Clippers signed an
injured Bill Walton as a free agent. Under the rules at the time, Commissioner
Larry O'Brien gutted the Clippers sending two of their best players to Portland
in compensation. Walton, with a broken tarsal navicular bone in his foot,
couldn't play anyway.
Levin went bankrupt, and that's when Donald Sterling came in,
buying them for little cash while assuming their debt for pennies on the
dollar. In 1982, I was hired by the Tribune's Tom Cushman and replaced Nick
Canepa as the Clippers beat writer. Nick went over to cover the Chargers. I
think Nick and the Cush will agree with me that The Donald was the worst person
in sports we 'd ever encountered. To this day, that assessment still stands for
me. It took 30 years, but DTS finally is getting his just deserts.
----------------------------------------------------
JIM GOLDSBOROUGH writes:
Kitty Genovese. I doubt there is one
of us who doesn't know her name, a symbol, like Betsy Ross, of Americana. Fifty
years ago this month the NYTimes broke the story of the poor murdered girl.
Sociology books were written, college courses held, a novel written: "Is
This the Way that Women Die," a movie made based on the novel: "38
Witnesses" -- all because of that NYTimes story.
"For more than half an hour 38
respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a
woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens," the Times wrote.
Abe Rosenthal the Times executive
editor who ordered and supervised the story, wrote his own book about it. Kitty
Genovese became the symbol of American apathy, indifference, cowardice, a
shameful symbol that traveled the world. And now, thanks to more investigation,
more witnesses, more books, it turns that it didn't happen like that at all.
There weren't three attacks; 38 was an invented number. Someone who heard Kitty
scream opened his window and shouted at the murderer, who fled the scene. Two
people called the police. Kitty disappeared into her apartment building. Two
people saw the murderer return and follow her in, one drunk, one terrified. Two
people, not 38, did nothing. Nicolas Leman, reviewing the new writing, looks at
Rosenthal's troubled personal life and concludes: "Rosenthal's convictions
about the crime were so powerful that he was impervious to the details of what actually
happened." A lesson in reporting.
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PAMELA DUGAN writes:
In Monday's 919 edition, Jack Gregg
mentioned Pony Garner as one of Agness Underwood's reporters. ["She had
been a Marine and was a toughy. Pony got thrown in jail, and Aggie sent two
reporters to bail her out. Word was that on release, Pony beat them up."]
That sounds like Pony. I worked with her in the early '80s at The Fresno Bee,
where her byline was Eleanor Garner Hannah. She had quit drinking by then so
maybe had mellowed a bit, but she didn't suffer fools. She and I were often at
odds, but then she could turn around and do something incredibly thoughtful.
She was my only non-related hospital visitor when I had back surgery in 1983,
and she brought me tulips because "I've never known anyone to be allergic
to them." She died in 1997 in Visalia, where I believe her daughter lived.
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JACK
GREGG writes:
Thanks to David Farmer for filling out
my feeble efforts on the Los Angeles AP bureau. The Pete Arthur I mentioned
went on to run the AP bureau in New York. Once in LA, after a huge earthquake,
Pete came to work in his pajamas. In the afternoons, the AP staff moved from
the Herald Express building to the LA Times. However, one member was sent to
the Examiner to see if that paper had anything worthwhile the Times had missed.
That staffer often was me, and I met many a character on that paper — especially
Jimmy Richardson, the city editor who marched around the city room wearing a
Civil War rebel cap. For a time, Fred Kinne left the Tribune and went back to
the Examiner, I believe as managing editor.
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TOM CUSHMAN writes:
Rick Smith is correct in his
recollection that Jim Ryun was ushered into newspaper photography by Rich
Clarkson. While covering meets where many of Ryun's high school accomplishments
occurred Rich became aware of Jim's withdrawn personality that was an
ever-increasing problem due to his prominence at such a young age. So, Rich
became a friend, interpreter, guide during media sessions,
unpaid-agent-of-sorts and undoubtedly was vital in helping Ryan cope with what
became an international stage.
However, unless memory has deserted me
as so frequently happens these days their association began with the Topeka
Capitol-Journal, not the Wichita paper.
Rich and I became good friends, not
though Ryan, but because of mutual buddy, Johnny Keith, who became a media
legend as Sports Information Director at Oklahoma during the Barry Switzer era
of the 1970s when the Sooners acquired national championships and NCAA
probations on an almost equal basis. I won't get into details of some of the
evenings Clarkson, Keith, and I shared--in case the statue of limitations might
still be involved.
However: the Ryun association
certainly provided Clarkson with a boost into prominence nationally. He
eventually formed his own company which became very successful -- he was a
regular as official photographer for the NCAA at many of its events, including
Final Fours. Haven't seen him for several years but when I last did his
business was headquartered in Denver and he had a spectacular home in the
Denver suburbs. Talent was the ultimate reason for his success but the Ryun
association certainly gave him a boost.
---------------------------------
MAUREEN
SHEA writes:
I've returned from a family visit to
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, home to white sand beaches and aqua gulf water. I
had booked my hotel reservation months earlier, paid in full, only to learn
when I arrived that I had been bumped by a large military booking. I stood my
ground not willing to back down and be placed in an inferior room or a "companion"
hotel in the middle of nowhere. Four front-desk people scrambled to help
because I was not about to take no for an answer so I was offered the penthouse
the first night and then moved to another oceanfront room for the remainder of
my stay. I am usually a docile person but after flying all day I wanted to pull
teeth from the front desk person who wanted me to disappear.
I had layovers in Atlanta Hartsfield
Airport which is huge but very well laid out. Love the trains which move
between terminals. And there really is such a thing as southern charm -- people
are friendly and have lovely manners.
It's good to be home but very sad
flying into San Diego County viewing how very brown it is. When I departed Fort
Walton Beach this morning there were flood warnings. I haven't seen rain that
hard in San Diego for years.
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CHUCK BOYD writes:
My birthday came with a surprise - my
long -awaited 12' x 20' x 6' steel carport "unwrapped present" was
delivered.
Several months ago, I had shopped
around and found the steel carport I wanted for my garage-less back yard.
It took a few days for the proper
paperwork to be sent back and forth and I realized the local merchant I had
visited actually was only an agent for a company up in Mt Airy, North Carolina.
I had paid a 10% deposit.
After a couple of weeks, I finally had
the contract and read that I needed to obtain a local building permit. There
went more weeks as bureaucracy ground its wheels slowly.
A few days before my birthday I got a
call and was told it would be delivered at noon on Monday. This was almost two
months after it was ordered.
As everyone knows, Denny's gives you a
free GRAND SLAM breakfast on your birthday so I was forced to shift my meal
planning to the afternoon.
The trailer, filled with large and
long pieces of steel, backed into my yard about 10 a.m. and three seasoned
fellows started unloading and placing parts on the ground.
I had staked out where it was to go so
the base rails were positioned and securely anchored. The steel skeleton began
to form almost immediately. Each man had duties, and precise timing brought
everyone to the right place with the right pieces and tools. There were no
wasted motions. Nobody stopped for coffee.
They finished and drove off after one hour
and 32 minutes. Yikes.
I now had a place to park my car, and
they were on their way to erect another one. I noted that parts still on the
trailer, indicated the next one would have windows and walls.
If any Gang members are contemplating
such a shed, this one cost around $900, and I couldn't be happier. Just don't
need it in a hurry.
REBER: The common practice around here is to
build a frame similar to yours and cover it with heavy canvas. A neighbor built
such a shelter for his boat a couple of months ago. A couple of weeks back,
when we had tremendous winds, that canvas was shredded. So he re-covered. We
had really tremendous winds again today. I haven't checked to see if his
shelter still is there. You have the better plan.
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SUZANNE MACK writes:
Looks like it is going to very warm
for a few days. Michael Grant's story of the soda machine reminded me of the
one that was just outside the door of the office inside the Bradley Stables. I
was only allowed the occasional soda and picked orange Nehi. I was a little kid
then so I don't remember exactly where the stables were located but I'm
thinking maybe Florida canyon near Balboa Park. I do remember the name of my
instructor, a guy named Christy, and the two horses I usually rode. ...Bill and
Gracie.
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REBER: Tonight we send Happy Birthday (April 30)
wishes to Larry Ross and Marcus Stern.
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REBER:
A link I forwarded recently once again proves you can't believe everything you
see on the Internet.
BOB ELLEDGE writes:
I meant to write last night but
forgot. In the 50s clips, when it showed a handful of coins, the Ben Franklin
half-dollar was minted in 1965. I can't remember for sure exactly, and I didn't
want to watch it agan being busy with retrement and all, but it definitely was
not minted in the 50s.
JIM OKERBLOM forwards:
Wild gorilla encounter
(extraordinary!!!)
You
can tell that the guy was stunned (and elated) by his experience.
This is a great video of the
silverback gorilla and his family coming into camp for a visit.
DIANA MORTENSON forwards:
Do
you have any idea what a Scottie Pinwheel is?
TIM
WILSON forwards:
Perfect timing.
P.O. Box
2239
Ramona,
CA 92065
U.S.A.
