Alumni in the Pros MAY '05

French Rage · May 09, 2006, 10:48:57 PM

[quote billhoward]but there are many more where you wonder why he didn't call it a career two years before he did.[/quote]

See : Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards

RichS · May 10, 2006, 05:03:24 PM

I saw Willie at Shea in '73 and it hurt to watch. Even worse was his misplay(s) in the '73 series against Oakland, if I recall correctly.

Al DeFlorio · May 10, 2006, 07:10:17 PM

[quote RichS]I saw Willie at Shea in '73 and it hurt to watch. Even worse was his misplay(s) in the '73 series against Oakland, if I recall correctly.[/quote]
I don't remember the specifics of where, when, or against whom, but I remember some very embarrassing misplays. For a Giants fan who watched Willie at the Polo Grounds in the early 50s, they were simply unbearable to watch. Say hey!

fullofgas · May 10, 2006, 10:09:15 PM

Babe Ruth played hockey? ::nut::

KeithK · May 11, 2006, 01:40:24 PM

[quote fullofgas]Babe Ruth played hockey? ::nut::[/quote]Yeah and for Cornell too. Didn't you know that?

Roy 82 · May 11, 2006, 04:20:30 PM

Oh sure. And next you will tell us that Pop Warner had a Cornell connection too.

ugarte · May 11, 2006, 04:56:08 PM

[quote billhoward] Babe Ruth was lousy at the end and people still remembered him[/quote]
I just noticed this. Ruth's last part-year in Boston wasn't very good, but his last full season in NY, at 39, his BA/OBP/SLG was .288/.448/.537.

Fat? Sure. Drunk? Probably. Lousy? Hardly.

KeithK · May 11, 2006, 05:12:15 PM

[quote ugarte]I just noticed this. Ruth's last part-year in Boston wasn't very good, but his last full season in NY, at 39, his BA/OBP/SLG was .288/.448/.537.

Fat? Sure. Drunk? Probably. Lousy? Hardly.[/quote]In context, the league average in 1934 was .279/.351/.399. He was still 4th in the league in OBP and 5th in OBP, both due significantly to his 3rd best 104 BB. Although he was clearly in decline in '33 and '34, the numbers still show that he was a valuable player.

billhoward · May 11, 2006, 11:17:47 PM

[quote Al DeFlorio][quote RichS]I saw Willie at Shea in '73 and it hurt to watch. Even worse was his misplay(s) in the '73 series against Oakland, if I recall correctly.[/quote]
I don't remember the specifics of where, when, or against whom, but I remember some very embarrassing misplays. For a Giants fan who watched Willie at the Polo Grounds in the early 50s, they were simply unbearable to watch. Say hey![/quote]

Maybe if the pros had had better retirement plans back then, there might have been a trace less reason to try to draw a big league salary one more year before it's off to being a greeter to high rollers at Mohegan Sun.

Ken Dryden timed it just right. In and out in, what, eight years. So was he, will he be, Cornell's greatest athlete-who-did-something-with-his-life-also ... our Bill Bradley? I suppose Brud Holland '39 (Al, was he a classmate or did he graduate a year early?) had an amazing career after football, too. Ed Marinaro was amazing on the field, but Hill Street Blues isn't Parliament or the Senate.

Anna '03 · May 13, 2006, 12:36:13 PM

Cute article about hockey sticks in the Times, and great mention of Nieuwendyk toward the end.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/sports/hockey/12sticks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Drew · May 13, 2006, 07:56:52 PM

I read it on the commute into the city on Fri, great story about Nieuwendyk (sp? don't kill me on it). I had the pleasure of watching him play while at Clarkson. Pro, total pro hands down, we all knew it back then.

Rich S · May 13, 2006, 08:41:12 PM

many similarities between Joe N. and Taylor, on and off the ice.

The Rancor · May 14, 2006, 08:19:22 AM

dustin brown has 4 goals, and a hat trick, in the World Championships. he plays well against international competition.

Trotsky · May 16, 2006, 12:14:10 PM

[quote RichS]I saw Willie at Shea in '73 and it hurt to watch. Even worse was his misplay(s) in the '73 series against Oakland, if I recall correctly.[/quote]

Mays made an error in game one of that series as the starting CF. I don't recall the details. My primary memory of Willie during the series is that he pinch ran (!) in game two, took over in the outfield, and then got a hit during the Mets' big rally in the 12th inning.

jkahn · May 20, 2006, 04:58:10 PM

One alum whose team is still playing is Sabres assistant coach Brian McCutcheon '71. During the 2nd period of today's game, the by-the-bench announcer, Joe Micheletti, commented on the active and excellent job that Brian was doing changing the Buffalo D, especially tricky as they were down to 5 defenseman starting the 2nd period and because of the longer change during that period.