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Al Pacino Bares His Soul in "Sonny Boy" A Memoir

I thought I knew all there is to know about Al Pacino, known affectionally as “Sonny Boy’’ by his mother and later friends of his.

After all, not only have I’ve seen most of his epic movies, I’ve been watching the Academy Award winner in television interviews for years, decades even.

What I especially like about Pacino’s television interviews is that he rarely discusses frivolous topics like, for example, being at a Hollywood cocktail party with Martin Scorsese. Instead, he usually discusses how he plies his trade by dissecting the inner-workings of an actor and how he approaches a scene. By getting into the weeds, discussing his own acting methods, the audience comes away with the added benefit of understanding what makes actors tick.

The last really good interview I saw Pacino in was on the Charlie Rose show in 2015.

Here in “Sonny Boy: A Memoir,” Pacino puts away discussing acting methods so he can bare his soul, recounting the good, the bad, and the ugly in an acting career that spans almost 60 years now.

Before meeting with worldwide success in The Godfather (1972), when director Francis Ford Coppola cast him, a relatively unknown actor, over Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Robert De Niro to play the role of Michael Corleone, Pacino, a high school dropout, cut his teeth learning the mechanics of his trade at the Herbert Berghof Studio (120 Bank Street) in Greenwich Village. It was at the Berghof Studio where Pacino met another struggling actor, Martin Sheen. They both shared an apartment together in the South Bronx for a while.

Later, Pacino would hone his acting skills at the Lee Strasberg Actors Studio, a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. This is where he met another young aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman.

The Actor’s Studio helped Pacino pay his $50 rent from the James Dean Memorial Fund and it is where he was able to perform Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill, giving him confidence, enough to stay focused, give up menial jobs and concentrate solely on acting.

As much as he learned from the Berghof Studio and the Actor’s Studio, and from his mentor Charlie Laughton (who introduced him to his favorite poets and novelists), it was Marlon Brando, who, according to Pacino, was the “influence, the force, the originator” of the method acting sweeping through New York in the 1950s and 1960s.

According to Pacino, there was a triumvirate of actors who were the originators of this movement: Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Brando.

"Clift had the beauty and the soul, the vulnerability. Dean was like a sonnet, compact and economical, able to do so much with the merest gesture or nuance. And if Dean was a sonnet, then Brando was an epic poem. He had the looks. He had the charisma. He had the talent,” Pacino so eloquently wrote.

For the record, Pacino’s first professional screen debut was in an episode of the TV police drama, N.Y.P.D. in 1968.

Al Pacino as a youngster, with his mother, Rose Gerard Pacino

Source: "Sonny Boy: A Memoir" by Al Pacino

***

He was born Alfredo James Pacino on April 25, 1940, in New York City to Salvatore and Rose Pacino. His parents split when he was only two; leaving his mother in her early 20s the hefty responsibility of finding a home for young Al and herself while supporting herself doing menial jobs and factory work.

It was a mighty tall order since his mother wasn’t getting any financial support from Al’s father, Salvatore; and there were no court ordered alimony financial assistance either at the time. They lived in furnished rooms in East Harlem before moving in with her parents in the South Bronx.

Though he lost his mother when he was only 22 years old from an apparent suicide, Pacino sprinkles readers with tender memories of his mother throughout his memoirs, as if she never left.

His mother first attempted suicide when young Al was just six years old. He raced home one afternoon, only to see his own mother wheeled out of their Bronx apartment. 16 years later, she tried it again. Al, however, believes, though prone to bouts of depression, she died choking on her pills and not from an intentional suicide.

Pacino wrote that his mother, Rose’s, real tragedy was poverty. She couldn’t get out of the mud.

Interestingly, it was his mother who gave her only son two gifts that served him well and blazed a path for him to meet with success later in life.

First, she frequently brought Al to the Dover Theater, a two-story building on Boston Road in the Morrisania section of the Bronx to watch movies from the balcony. Though Al was young at the time, the movies left a deep impression on him and he when he got home-without any television or playmates-he would often act out the scenes. “I learned at an early age,” Pacino wrote, “to make friends with my imagination.”

The second gift his mother gave him was in steering him away from some bad influences he surrounded himself with in the neighborhood; namely, Petey, Cliffy, Bruce, friends of his, who were getting into scrapes with local police authorities and often causing havoc on every street corner in the South Bronx. Though his mother struggled with depression, she had great instincts and insisted Al stay away from them, his only connection to the world. For the longest time, he hated his mother for this.

Petey, Cliffy, and Bruce, his three closest friends, eventually all died from heroin overdoses. If Al's mother hadn't intervened, her only son could have met the same fate.

It wasn't until Pacino was 52-years old and staring himself in the mirror, thinking about his acceptance speech he was about to deliver at an awards dinner, did he realize, as if being struck by a bolt of lightning, that the only reason he was standing here was due to his mother.

One of the benefits about writing your memoirs is setting the record straight about some misconceptions that have been erroneously floating around for decades.

Many have believed that Al Pacino snubbed the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony because he was upset that he was in the best supporting role category and not in the best actor category with Marlon Brando for The Godfather (1972).

Pacino makes it abundantly clear that wasn’t the case.

“The real truth,” Pacino says, “is I was overwhelmed with the newness of this. I was young, younger than even my years, and I was afraid to go. If you want to be honest--and I don't know if I do--I think I was playing the Garbo card. I was reclusive and I just wanted to be alone.”

Pacino did attend (though he might have wished he didn’t) the 1974 Oscar ceremony, when he was nominated, once again, this time in the best actor category for Godfather II.

On the night of the ceremony, Pacino was drinking heavily and popping Valium. When he got out of the shower, he thought he would go with the wet look. Marty Bergman, his agent and producer, took one look at him and told him he was an idiot and started frantically blow-drying his hair, which made his hair rise higher and higher, looking like he was wearing Abe Lincoln’s stovetop top hat. While he was in his seat at the ceremony, Pacino was still popping Valium.

He never prepared a speech because he didn't think he had a chance against the likes of Jack Nicholson, Jack Lemmon, Robert Redford and Marlon Brando. But then he had a terrible thought. What if they give me the statue just to get back at me?

So, Al started shaking, he was pumped with Valium and scared to death of winning. Just when his anxiety reached fevered pitch--he heard the words: “Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger.” (1973). Pacino wrote that he just smiled and screamed inside with joy. If you watch the presentation on YouTube , Pacino looked cool, calm, and collected, but he was anything but.

The well-seasoned New York actor additionally comes clean on why he agreed to do Godfather III (1990), a film that was met with widespread criticism, many wondering why it was even made at all since it came 16 years after Godfather II.

Pacino admitted he did it solely for the money, because he was flat broke. The film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola, did it for the same reason, he was broke as well.

Pacino said, among other things, Godfather III suffered a severe loss without Robert Duvall, who played the consigliere, Tom Hagen, in Godfather I & II. He never understood why Duvall didn’t want to do Godfather III.

I could have told Al why Duvall refused.

In a 1991 interview on the NBC show “Later” (with Bob Costas) Duvall said that if they had offered him two or three times less than what they offered Al Pacino, it wouldn't have been ideal, but I would have accepted it. When they offered Pacino five times more than what they offered him, it became unacceptable and he refused to be in it.

In describing the many highs of his career, which included nine Academy Award nominations (winning one for “Scent of a Woman” in 1993), Pacino writes about the not so pleasant moments of his career, which usually centered on being broke and falling prey to excessive drinking.

His drinking became out of control after “Dog Day Afternoon” (1976), when fame became too “intense” for him and only got through the day with heavy amounts of alcohol and drugs until his manager and producer, Marty Bergman, finally convinced him he had to give up the sauce. Al surrendered. He started therapy soon after realizing Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) wasn’t for him. From the motion picture “Bobby Deerfield” (1977) on, Pacino had licked the booze.

Pacino never married, but he has four children with three different women. In “Sonny Boy”, Pacino lists most of the actresses he was dating from Jill Clayburgh to Tuesday Weld.

Two times in his career, Pacino lost heaps of money because of crooked accountants; the first time was in the late 1980s, the second time was in 2011, when his accountant was arrested and charged with running a Ponzi scheme and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. “I had fifty million dollars and then I had nothing,” Pacino wrote.

As a result, arguably the most celebrated actor in the world, now in his 70s, was forced to do some really bad films that he declined to mention, just for the cash.

After reading “Sonny Boy’’ I certainly had a stronger appreciation of how much effort Pacino puts into movies once he commits to a project.

During the filming of “...And Justice for All” (1979), there was a courtroom scene in which he wasn’t happy with after seeing the final edit and insisted it had to be redone. He really went to battle with the producers and the director before they agreed to the reshoot.

That happened again in Scarface (1983), involving the famous scene of Tony Montano completely plastered in a black-tie restaurant. The director (Brian De Palma), for budgetary reasons, wanted that scene shot in a Miami nightclub instead of an aristocratic, snobbish restaurant. Pacino exploded and said they were ruining the poignancy of the scene. Studio execs finally agreed to do it Pacino’s way.

And in Godfather II (1974) Pacino wasn’t happy with the original script and started typing out rewrites on his own before the script was collaboratively redone to his liking.

Al also did a number of artsy films, such as “Wilde Salomé” and “Looking for Richard” (both docudramas), for next to nothing or even pouring some of his own money into the project because he believed in the project so much, which might be the reason he ran into cash flow problems a couple times in his adult life.

Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award nine times, finally winning for "Scent of a Woman" (1993)

Photo Credit: Sky News

***

What I admired most about Pacino’s career is that he never gave up on the theater; he started in the theater and to this day is still doing theater or stage productions in one form or another, from Richard III to Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. He could have coasted along, quite comfortably, eliciting big paydays doing motion pictures from major studios, but his attachment to the theater was too great.

At age 84, is there a final act for this South Bronx actor?

He’s hoping to put together a very ambitious film adaptation of King Lear. Pacino mentions he has the director, the screenwriter, the producer, and himself, of course; what he doesn’t have is the financing, not yet anyway.

What a fitting ending that would be to his distinguished career. If there was any actor who was every inch a king, it’s Alfredo James Pacino, Sonny Boy.

--Bill Lucey
[email protected]
March 15, 2025

What to Know About Ukraine

A man walks through the destroyed historic city center of Mariupol, Ukraine

Photo Credit: Maximilian Clarke/LightRocket via Getty Images

***

Since the Ukraine conflict continues to grow more ominous by the hour, I compiled some historical facts about the Eastern European country.

Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was founded about 1,500 years ago by proto-Ukrainian Slavic tribes.

Historically, in December 1922, Ukraine together with Russia and Belarus, and Trans-Caucasian Federation were the founding members of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine is home to more than 100 different national or ethnic groups.

Ukraine's population is overwhelmingly Christian; the vast majority - up to two thirds - identify themselves as Orthodox.

Since the 17th century, Ukraine was divided among three Empires - by Austrians in the West, by Turks in the South, and by Russians in the East.

The Ukrainian national anthem is called ‘Shche ne vmerla Ukraina’ which translates in English to ‘Ukraine’s glory has not yet perished’

Ukraine’s name derives from the Old East Slavic word "ukraina" meaning "borderland or march (militarized border region)" and began to be used extensively in the 19th century; originally Ukrainians referred to themselves as Rusyny (Rusyns, Ruthenians, or Ruthenes), an endonym derived from the medieval Rus state (Kyivan Rus)

At the end of the World War I, Ukraine was divided into two: Western Ukraine became part of Poland and Eastern Ukraine, the larger part was absorbed by into the Soviet Union and renamed the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Both governments imposed their own language and government.

The Second World War claimed the lives of 5.5 million Ukrainians, including at least one million Ukrainian Jews.

Most Ukrainians live in cities (67.2 %). The largest metropolitan area in Ukraine is Kiev (3.2 million), Kharkiv (1.7 million), Donetsk (1.7 million), Dnipropetrovsk (1.5 million), and Odessa (1.1 million). The largest ethnic group are ethnic Ukrainians (78%) and ethnic Russians (17 %).

The state language is Ukrainian, an east Slavic language that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, composed of a mixture of Latin, Greek, and Slavic letters.

The famous Carol of the Bells Christmas carol is based on a Ukrainian folk tune.

In the 8th-10th centuries, parts of what is now Ukraine were ruled by the Khazars, a Turkic tribe which converted to Judaism.

The territory of Ukraine became the site of almost constant warfare between Poles, Muscovites, Ottomans, Tatars, and Ukrainian Cossacks in the 16th and 17th centuries. According to Alexander Motyl, professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark, “the subsequent incorporation of most Ukrainian territories into the Muscovite State and its successor, the Russian Empire, cut off Ukraine from its roots in Europe and had ruinous consequences for Ukrainian religion, language, and culture, which were progressively Russified or banned.”

During the 16th and 17th centuries, tens of thousands of Ukrainians were captured annually and shipped to and sold in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman empire, as slaves.

Ukraine experienced a major cultural, political, and economic revival in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when the charismatic Ivan Mazepa served as leader of an autonomous Cossack polity known as the Hetmanate—until his defeat by Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko, was born a serf in 1814 in a small village south of Kyiv.

Ukraine was the birthplace of many prominent Jews—among many others the writers Joseph Roth, Paul Celan, Bruno Schulz, Sholom Aleichem, Vasily Grossman, Isaac Babel, and Shmuel Agnon. Zionist leader Vladimir Zhabotinsky and former Israeli Prime Minster Golda Meir were also born in Ukraine, as was the founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer.

Twentieth-century Ukraine was the site of two genocides—the Holodomor of 1932-1933, during which millions of Ukrainians were mercilessly killed in an artificial famine engineered by Joseph Stalin and his henchmen, and the Holocaust, which took the lives of millions of Jews. Ukraine suffered 15 million “excess” deaths between 1914 and 1948, due to wars, genocides, and Stalin’s repressive policies.

Ukrainians formed the majority of Soviet political prisoners; they staged revolts in the concentration camps of the Soviet Gulag; they fought bravely against Stalin and Hitler; they resisted Muscovite and Russian imperialism for centuries.

The Ukrainian diaspora in the United States consists of about 1.25 million people, who, while concentrated in the formerly industrial Northeast and Midwest, are found in all 50 states.

Prominent Americans of Ukrainian descent include astronaut Heide Marie Stefanyshyn-Piper, actors Jack Palance, Natalie Wood, Vera Farmiga, and Liev Schreiber, policymaker Paula Dobriansky, Metropolitan Opera singer Paul Plishka, football great Bronko Nagurski, economist Greg Mankiw, inventor Igor Sikorsky, journalist Mike Royko, and writer Chuck Palahniuk.

The first literary tradition of the Ukrainian language was created by Ivan Kotliarevskyi at the end of 18th century and developed at the beginning of the 19th century by the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevechnko. According to Sergei Zhuk, Professor of History at Ball State University, since a publication of Shevchnko's collection of poetry Kobzar in 1940, Ukraine witnessed a rise of nationalist movement which eventually untied Western part (Austrian) and Eastern (Russian) part of Ukrainians in one large patriotic movement, resulting in an independent state in 1991.

A peaceful mass protest, the "Orange Revolution" in 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO.

Ukraine celebrated its 30th anniversary of independence in 2021.

--Bill Lucey

[email protected]

March 6, 2025

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS); Sergei Zhuk, professor of History at Ball State University; Alexander Motyl, professor of political science at Rutgers-Newark; Monica White, Associate Professor of Russian & Slavonic Studies at the University of Nottingham; Robert W. Orttung Research Director, Sustainable George Washington University Research Professor of International Affairs (IERES); “A History of Ukraine: It’s Land and Peoples” by Paul R. Magocsi

MLB Hall of Fame Balloting Snubs

Ted Williams and Casey Stengel pose with their Hall of Fame plaques in Cooperstown, N.Y. , July, 1966

Photo Credit: AP

***

I agree, wholeheartedly, that Ichiro Suzuki should have been voted into the Hall of Fame ballot unanimously, but so too, should the following legends.

Just Remember:

• In 1953, Joe DiMaggio was passed over on his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, coming in eighth with 117 votes out of a possible 264. Interestingly, it wouldn’t be until 1955 (his third try) when Joltin Joe’ was finally elected to the Hall of Fame with 223 out of a possible 251 votes.

• Mr. Chicago, Ernie Banks was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 with only 83.81 percent of the vote (321 votes on 383 ballots).

• Jackie Robinson entered the Hall with only 77.5 percent of the vote in 1962 (124 of 160), just 2.5 percent over the required 75 percent for induction. In that same class, Cleveland Indians flame thrower, Bob Feller, “Rapid Robert,” received 150 out of 160 votes, 93.75 percent.

• Willie Mays was snubbed by 23 voters in 1979 (94.68 percent); and a whopping 52 members didn’t think Sandy Koufax was worthy of the Hall, giving the Dodger southpaw 86.87 percent of the vote in 1972.

• “The Splendid Splinter,” Ted Williams received only 282 of 302 votes in 1966, giving him 93.4 percent of the vote.

• 11 writers, if you can imagine that, left Babe Ruth, “The Sultan of Swat’’ off their HOF ballots, giving him 95.13 percent of the vote.

• Hank Aaron, who belted 755 home runs in his celebrated career, earned 97.8 percent of the vote with nine members of the Baseball Writers Association opting not to vote for him on the 1982 Hall of Fame ballot.

• Ty Cobb collected 222 of a possible 226 votes, a 98.2 percentage.

Knowing these greats were far from unanimous, I think we can live with one sports writer deciding not to vote for Ichiro, as exceptional as he was.

 

--Bill Lucey

January 23, 2025

[email protected] 

Source: Baseball Reference

Presidential Inaugurations: Feats Facts and Historic Firsts

Due to cold temperatures, Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. President, delivered his inaugural address in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Photo Credit: AP

***

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” novelist John Steinbeck wrote in his 1937 masterpiece.

Apparently, the best laid plans of mice and U.S. presidents on Inauguration Day can also go awry.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on social media Friday that his inauguration on Monday will be moved indoors, due to the bone-chilling temperatures and howling winds that is expected to descend on the nation’s capital.

Such unfortunate news comes as a disappointing shock to more than 250,000 ticketed guests that were expected to view the ceremony from the Capitol grounds.

The interior of the Capitol Rotunda will accommodate VIP guests and other dignitaries, but space will be extremely limited.

Reportedly, only 96 people were invited into the Rotunda January 21, 1985 for Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration, when temperatures in D.C. dropped to minus-4 degrees (a record for the date) and only reached 7 degrees at noon.

Alternatively, the Capital One Arena, a downtown D.C. stadium with a capacity of 20,000, will screen the swearing-in live and host the presidential parade, Trump announced.

The 47th U.S. president was hoping to decorate his inauguration with mountains of pomp and pageantry, including being the first president to invite world leaders to the ceremony. Argentine President Javier Milei confirmed he’ll be in attendance.

“America the Beautiful,” will be sung by country singer, Carrie Underwood, accompanied by the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.

The last seven presidential inaugurations, since George H.W. Bush in 1989, have had one or two members of the clergy offering prayers and readings, but Trump’s inauguration is scheduled to have six.

The former New York real estate mogul and reality TV star will be sworn in with two Bibles – one that Abraham Lincoln used at his 1861 inauguration, and a personal one given to him by his mother.

According to The New York Times, Trump raised more than $170 million for his inauguration, a record amount.

Despite the change of plans, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep Donald Trump from being inaugurated on January 20, 2025.

At Richard M. Nixon's second inauguration, January 20, 1973, flags were flown at half-staff in honor of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd U.S. President who died on December 26, 1972.

Photo Credit: AP

***

So, as we inch closer to the inauguration, I compiled some feats, facts, and historic firsts from previous inaugurations.

• Article II, Section 1, clause 8 of the Constitution requires the President to take an oath of office.

• The President is required to recite a specific oath under the Constitution. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution spells out the presidential oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

• The Vice President takes a different oath.

• Trump, a Presbyterian, plans to attend a private pre-inaugural prayer service with his family at St. John’s Episcopal Church, located a block from the White House.

• Prior to Donald Trump beating Kamala Harris, November, 2024, Democrat Grover Cleveland was the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms, from 1885 to 1889, and from 1893 to 1897. Trump served as the 45th U.S. President from 2017-2021.

• On December 30, President Joe Biden announced that in honor of the death of the 39th U.S. President, Jimmy Carter, December 29, 2024, he was directing that all flags of the United States be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds for a period of 30 days from the day of his death.

• Despite Biden's proclamation, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced, recently, that the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate Donald Trump's inauguration. They will then return to half-staff after the inauguration.

• When Richard M. Nixon was sworn in for a second time on January 20, 1973 at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., flags were flown at half-staff in honor of former President Harry S. Truman, who died on December 26, 1972.

• March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first President to be inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in a room now known as the “Old Supreme Court Chamber.”

• Presidents are not required to swear the oath on a Bible, though it's been a custom since George Washington’s inauguration, 1789.

• Rather than a bible, John Quincy Adams and Franklin Pierce placed their hands on a constitutional law book during their swearing in ceremony.

• After the first inauguration of George Washington was held April 30, 1789, his second was held March 4, 1793, and from that time on, March 4 was established as the official Inauguration Day.

• The 20th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1933, moved the date of the inauguration from March 4 to January 20th.

• Several bills were introduced in the 95th and 96th Congresses (1977-1980) to make Inauguration Day a nationwide public holiday, but no further action was taken on any of those proposals.

• In 1909, Helen Taft became the first woman to accompany her husband, William Howard Taft, back to the White House as First Lady.

• On March 4, 1921, President Warren G. Harding became the first president to ride to and from his inauguration in an automobile.

• The first inaugural ball held on inauguration day at Long's Hotel in Washington, D.C., was in 1809 to honor President James Madison.

• For his second inauguration in 1905, Theodore Roosevelt wore one of Abraham Lincoln’s rings.

• President Howard Taft holds two physical distinctions: He was America’s heaviest president, weighing more than 300 pounds. He was also the last president to sport facial hair, his signature handlebar mustache.

• Chief Justice John Marshall, the longest serving chief justice in U.S. history (1801-1835), administered the presidential oath of office nine times.

• When Franklin Pierce was inaugurated March 4, 1853, he became the only president to “affirm” rather than “swear” the office of the president.

• Theodore Roosevelt, sworn in after the death of President McKinley in 1901, was the youngest president at 42. Joe Biden, age 78, was the oldest president to assume office in 2021 before being eclipsed by Donald Trump on January 20, 2025. Trump is 78, a few months older than Biden.

• Most outgoing presidents accompany their successor to the inauguration, a tradition formally begun by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren in 1837.

• In 1801, President John Adams did not attend the inauguration of his successor, Thomas Jefferson. Others, including Andrew Johnson (1869), John Quincy Adams (1829), and Richard Nixon (1974) also didn’t attend their successor’s swearing in.

• Two others, Martin Van Buren (1841) and Woodrow Wilson (1921), were inside the U.S. Capitol signing last-minute legislation but did not attend the public ceremony outside.

• Thomas Jefferson was the first to be sworn in as President in Washington, D.C., March 4, 1801.

• James Buchanan’s (1857) was the first to be photographed.

• William McKinley’s (1897) the first to be recorded by a movie camera.

• Herbert Hoover’s (1929) the first to be on a talking newsreel.

• Calvin Coolidge’s (1925) the first to be broadcast by radio.

• Harry Truman’s (1949) the first to be televised.

• Jimmy Carter’s (1977) the first to feature solar panel heating.

• Bill Clinton’s (1997), the first to be live streamed over the internet.

• Abraham Lincoln’s parade in 1865 was the first to include African Americans.

• Woodrow Wilson’s was the first to include women in 1917.

• January 20, 1965: First use of a bullet-proofed, closed limousine.

• The shortest inauguration speech? George Washington said a mere 135 words after his second inauguration in 1793. The longest? William Henry Harrison, March 4, 1841, spoke for almost two hours (8,445 words).

• Martin Van Buren, March 4, 1853, was the first president to deliver inaugural address without referring to notes.

• Sarah T. Hughes, U.S. District Judge of the Northern District of Texas, became the first woman to administer the oath November 22, 1963.

• August 3, 1923: Oath of office of Calvin Coolidge was given by the president's father, a Vermont Justice of the Peace, after the death of Warren Harding.

• In 1817, James Monroe, the 5th U.S. president, became the first to give an Inaugural Address to an assembled public crowd.

• After his inauguration, Andrew Jackson, who was regarded as the "man of the people" opened the White House to all Americans. Reportedly, a mob of about 20,000 people lumbered through the official residence, breaking and stealing items and leaving mud on furniture.

• James Madison, March 4, 1809, set the precedent of using the United States Marine Band for his inaugural ball.

• John Adams, March 4, 1797, became the first president to receive the oath from the Chief Justice of the United States (Oliver Ellsworth).

• The first inauguration to take place on East Portico of the Capitol was for Andrew Jackson in 1829.

• The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states that no president can be elected to that role more than twice.

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1945 inauguration took place during the Second World War and adopted wartime butter and sugar rations. White House cook Henrietta Nesbitt served simple unfrosted cakes to guests.

• At the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy January 20, 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to read at a presidential inauguration. Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997, Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013, and Joe Biden in 2021—additionally featured poets at their inaugurations.

• In keeping with his down to earth, unpretentious style, Carter used “Jimmy” instead of “James Earl” at his swearing in.

• Unlike Trump four years ago, President Joe Biden will follow examples set by all but five of his predecessors and attend his successor’s swearing-in ceremony. All of America’s living former presidents will attend the ceremony as well.

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), Greg Phillips (Troy University), the Architect of the Capitol (AOC); Council on Foreign Relations; Library of Congress; White House Historical Association; Pew Research Center.

--Bill Lucey
[email protected]
January 17, 2025

Inauguration Resources:

The Avalon Project (Yale Law School): The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents

The White House Historical Association: Presidential Inaugurations

The Library of Congress: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations: A Resource Guide

Readers Treated to a Voyage Around the Queen

Just when I thought I had consumed enough biographies on Queen Elizabeth II, comes another must read, English critic and satirist Craig Brown’s beautifully written and well documented book: “Q: A Voyage Around the Queen.”

Instead of writing the typical cradle to the grave biography, Brown was wonderfully creative in presenting the Queen in short chapters, centered on different topics, such as the Queen’s corgis, PM meetings with the Queen, royal rumors and scandals, etc.

It was really a fascinating way to present the Queen to the public, which underscores on just about any topic under the sun, including prominent individuals in British culture, world leaders, and celebrities--had some connection to the Queen.

Brown points out that in addition to the Queen, others who died in 2022, included: Pope Benedict XVI, Olivia Newton-John, Sidney Poitier, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robbie Coltrane, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pele, Vivienne Westwood, Lester Piggott, Jean-Luc Godard and Hilary Mantel. Of this list, amazingly, only two, "Jerry Lee Lewis and Jean-Luc Godard-had never met the Queen."

The chapter on her beloved corgis is hysterical. Corgis are apparently temperamental dogs, and they would often nip at the ankles of her Majesty’s guests. Her husband, Prince Philip, hated the corgis, they always seemed to get in the way of his path when walking.

At one point, the Queen owned as many as nine corgis at one time. Someone asked her, how do you tell them apart? The Queen snapped back, “do you have trouble telling your children apart.”?

The big joke at Buckingham Palace was the Queen’s true loves in life were her corgis, her horses, Philip, and her children—and in that order.

Craig additionally has a chapter or two dealing with all the Prime Ministers and celebrities she met. The Queen wasn’t much for small talk, she would just say a few words and move on. Some celebs, so nervous about meeting the Queen, got tongue tied and barely got words out of their mouth before she moved on to the next person to shake hands with.

In her meetings with Prime Ministers, the Queen would often pepper her leaders with tough questions about current world affairs. Many were caught off guard and at times found themselves back on their heels, trying to answer her questions in an intelligent, well-informed manner.

Some thought they would charm the Queen and engage her with their personal stories, but before they got into the heart of their stories, the Queen usually rang the bell in the state room at Buckingham Palace, indicating the meeting was over.

Over her 70-year reign, the Queen was exceptionally shrewd in sizing up world leaders. She reportedly told someone that she thought Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, must have some business arrangement with her husband. If she didn’t, the Queen said, Melania would have left him long ago.

The Queen’s death on September 8, 2022, age 96, had a profound impact on so many from Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, to Johnny Rotten (whose real name is John Lydon).

The author does a remarkable job chronicling all the letters, tweets, and messages from all over the world expressing their deep sadness over her death and the profound sense of duty she gave to the United Kingdom so admirably under her reign.

Craig Brown put together a highly entertaining book filled to the brim with facts, figures, and anecdotes, many of which I never knew about Her Majesty, the Queen.

QE2: Fast Facts
• The Queen has met more leaders than anyone in history.
• Visited 117 countries
• Traveled at least 1.3 million miles
• During her lifetime the Queen has sent 307,000 hundredth birthday messages

--Bill Lucey
January 10, 2025
[email protected]

Most Viewed Online Stories of 2024

Syrians chant slogans and wave rebel flags as they gather for Friday prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Photo Credit: Leo Correa/AP. 

***

2024 proved to be a tumultuous year, both on American soil and around the world.

The Israel/Hamas war continues unabated, a bloody confrontation, which originated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas (a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist political organization) launched a land, sea, and air assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Since the fighting began, approximately 1.9 million people, representing 90% of Gaza’s population - have fled their homes over the past year, and 79% of the territory is under Israeli-issued evacuation orders, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

The United Nations additionally estimates that at least 56% of Palestinian civilians killed in the Israel–Hamas war were women and children.

After 61 years of ruthless dictatorship, the Ba'athist Syria regime (officially the Syrian Arab Republic or SAR), came crashing down in early December, when the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, fled Damascus after one of the country's main rebel groups, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, (Liberation of the Levant) launched a surprise attack in November. Syria has been tangled in a crippling civil war for the last 13 years.

On December 13, thousands took to the streets of its capital city, Damascus, to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime.

In March, in the Russian presidential election, incumbent Vladimir Putin was reelected to a fifth term as he continues his quest to heighten his offensive against Ukraine with a vow to wipe the Eastern European country off the map.

Donald Trump delivers victory speech on Election Night.

Photo: Time.com

***

And after four years out of office, Donald Trump, will return to power on January 20th after he was elected for a second non-consecutive term on November 5, the first candidate to do so since Grover Cleveland in 1892, and only the second in American history. The former New York real estate tycoon and reality TV star, won both the Electoral College and the popular vote, becoming only the second Republican to win the popular vote since 1988.

To add a little icing on the cake, the Republicans won both chambers of Congress. The last time the GOP controlled the Senate, House and presidency was from January 20, 2017, to January 3, 2019, Trump’s first term in office.

Before thumping Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz by grabbing 49.9 % of the popular vote in November, Trump was found guilty, on May 30, of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a New York hush money trial, which makes him the first president to be ever convicted of a felony.

But Trump might have been delivered a timely lifeline with other criminal indictments he faces, when on July 1 – in Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts that rely on core constitutional powers, taken while in office, presumed immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts.

On June 11, Hunter Biden, the embattled second son of President Joe Biden, was convicted of three felony counts of possession of a firearm while under influence of narcotics. He would later be pardoned of the conviction by his father, the President of the United States.

***

Gun violence continued to rear its ugly head in 2024.

A Sept. 4 mass school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia left two teachers and two students dead.

While campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump; fortunately, the Republican nominee escaped with minor injuries. Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.

Brian Thompson, 50, CEO of UnitedHealthcare wasn’t so fortunate. He was mercilessly killed by gun shots fired by Luigi Mangion, 26, in Midtown Manhattan on December 4th. The Ivy League suspect hailed from Towson, Maryland.

As of December 14, at least 19,577 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. this year -- an average of almost 46 deaths each day, according to the Gun Violence Archive. 

2024 was also another cataclysmic year for victims of hurricanes, resulting in scores of deaths.

On September 26 – Hurricane Helene, considered the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Maria in 2017, made landfall in Florida as a category four hurricane, resulting in 236 deaths and more than 685 missing across six states in the southeast.

From October 8-11, Hurricane Milton, a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone, made landfall in Florida, where 35 people were killed, six were missing, and 3.4 million people were without power. Between October 8–9, 44 tornadoes touched down across Florida, including three EF3 tornadoes (wind speeds between 136 and 165 mph).

Taken together, five hurricanes made landfall in the continental U.S. in 2024.

In this year’s Fall Classic, the Los Angeles Dodgers made quick work of the New York Yankees in five games of the 120th edition of the World Series, enabling the Dodgers to capture their 8th championship in World Series history.

The fifth game at Yankee Stadium was punctuated with a heightened sense of drama, when the Dodgers made history by bouncing back from a 5-0 deficit during the Series clinching win, the first team to accomplish such a remarkable feat and prevail victorious, 7-6.

Previously in the year, history was again on the Dodgers side when superstar and Japan native, Shohei Ohtani, became the first major league baseball player to become a 50/50 man; that is, belt 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases in a single season.

On June 17, the Boston Celtics conquered the Dallas Mavericks in five games to win their 18th overall NBA championship, surpassing their chief rival in the west, the Los Angeles Lakers, with the most NBA championships.

A week later, on June 24, the Florida Panthers beat Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Finals, to claim their first championship in NHL franchise history.

***

It’s Caitlin’s world, we just live in it.

Iowa native, Caitlin Clark, turned in a sensational rookie year and catapulted the WNBA to new heights. In addition to being named rookie of the year, the “Mad Bomber” tallied the most points by a point guard in a season in WNBA history, recorded the most double-doubles by a rookie guard in WNBA history, and most points by a rookie in WNBA history, among other milestones.

And if those accolades weren’t enough, the slender, dribble happy point guard for the Indiana Fever was named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year on December 12th.

In the entertainment industry, 2024 was a monster year for the atomic bomb thriller, “Oppenheimer,” which came away with seven Oscars, including best actor (Cillian Murphy), best supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.) and best director (Christopher Nolan) at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Taylor Swift’s complete dominance of the music industry was in full swing. Much like the Energizer Bunny; she kept going and going and going. “The Eras Tour” culminated on December 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia after 149 dates, spanning five continents over nearly two years, which grossed an estimated $2 billion in ticket sales, doubling the record set by Coldplay’s 156-date “Music of the Spheres World Tour.”

On September 16--rapper, record producer, and record executive, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was arrested in Manhattan and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

***
To get a better grasp of some of the major stories of the year, I checked in with some popular news websites to see what single story generated the most page views on their home pages.

Here is what some websites reported.

CNN

CNN's # 1 article for 2024 was CNN’s story around Sean Combs / Cassie Ventura following CNN airing the exclusive video of Sean Combs in the hotel.

For 2024, CNN's Election Day live story was #1 with 85 million page views.

FOX News

The most viewed story at FoxNews.com for 2024 was “107 days: Kamala Harris has yet to do formal press conference since emerging as Democratic nominee.”

BBC

According to a BBC spokesperson, “over the year, BBC News Online has seen its innovative live pages, implemented as part of BBC News’ digital-first strategy, act as the primary driver of UK audiences online. Live pages combine live BBC News channel broadcasts, on-the-ground updates, video clips and expert analysis from BBC News correspondents and BBC Verify."

The most viewed stories of the year on BBC News Online included:

General Election results live page

U.S. Election Results Live Page

Southport stabbings live page

UK riots live page

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times' most-viewed story of this year is "The dirty secret of California’s legal weed," an investigation in collaboration with Weed Week reported by LAT's Paige St. John and WW's Alex Halperin:

The Guardian

The Guardian’s interactive on the UK general election result, which saw Labour win by a landslide, was the Guardian's most viewed article this year in terms of page views. This was closely followed by US election results and map. 

The Times and Sunday Times (London)

The most-visited article from The Times and The Sunday Times this year, so far, was 'Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children)

The Daily Beast (American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture).

The Daily Beast’s most viewed story of the year was “Cheryl Hines Brutally Trolled After RFK Jr. Endorses Trump”

The Economist

The Economist's two biggest articles of the year were their interactive poll tracker and their presidential forecast model.

A spokesperson from the Economist said they saw more than 30% more traffic to the model than during the previous election period in 2020. There was a further swell of visitors as results arrived: Wednesday November 6th set an all-time record for traffic on our app and website.

ProPublica (a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City).

ProPublica's top story of the year, measured by views, so far: "Multiple Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses, Campaign" by Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski (published June 3).

The Marshall Project (a nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about inequities within the U.S. criminal justice system.

Measuring web traffic on all of the Marshall Project’s sites, a chilling story about penalizing women who give birth for often false drug tests was their most viewed story of the year.

“5 Things to Know About Kamala Harris’ Criminal Justice Record” was the most viewed article for 2024 on their home page only.

OpenSecrets (a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and lobbying firms and may have conflicts of interest.)

The most viewed stories at OpenSecrets for 2024 included:

Total 2024 election spending projected to exceed previous record

Pro-Trump dark money network tied to Elon Musk behind fake pro-Harris
campaign scheme

Kamala Harris drives record fundraising after Biden exit

New York Magazine

The most viewed stories at the New York Magazine website for 2024 included:

Andrew Huberman’s Mechanisms of Control

The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger by Charlotte Cowles

My Unraveling: I had my health. I had a job. And then, abruptly, I didn’t. By Tom Scocca, the editor of Indignity.

The Divorce Tapes by Beth Raymer

The Lure of Divorce by Emily Gould

Vox (an American news and opinion website owned by Vox Media)

Top stories of the year at Vox, ranked by visitors, included:

Scientists just discovered a sea creature as large as two basketball courts. Here’s what it looks like.

Stop setting your thermostat at 72

January 6 insurrectionists had a great day in the Supreme Court today

The Supreme Court just lit a match and tossed it into dozens of federal agencies: SEC v. Jarkesy could render much of the federal government unable to function.

The Epstein “list,” explained: What the tranche of recently unsealed court documents contains.

Michelle Obama articulated something Democrats have been afraid to say

America is not ready for what comes next: The attempt on Donald Trump’s life has put the republic in peril.

Republicans ask the Supreme Court to disenfranchise thousands of swing state voters: A new Supreme Court case could potentially hand Arizona to Donald Trump. 

Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis, explained: Three months after she disclosed her illness, the Princess of Wales is making a return to public life.

FBI.gov

The most viewed story at FBI.gov for 2024 was “FBI Seeking Assistance Connecting Victims to Samuel Little’s Confessions” (originally published in 2019).

The most popular FBI Story on FBI.gov for 2024 (originally published in 2024) was “Chinese Government Poses 'Broad and Unrelenting' Threat to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, FBI Director Says”

The most visited page on FBI.gov for 2024 other than the home page was their top 10 fugitive list.

Weather.com

The most viewed article from weather.com this year was "Hurricane Milton to Make Destructive Florida Landfall Tonight"

Google

On December 10, Google announced the top searches of the year under multiple categories, including: trending, sports, entertainment, and google maps, among others.

Merry Christmas! and Happy Holidays!

--Bill Lucey
December 16, 2024
[email protected]

Polls Underestimate Trump Supporters--Yet Again!

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

***

Donald Trump won the popular vote by approximately 2.4 million votes, marking the first time a Republican had accomplished such a feat since President George W. Bush won reelection in 2004.

It also means a majority of pollsters have completed the hat trick: for the third consecutive presidential cycle, the polls have missed the mark, vastly underestimating the strength of the former New York real estate tycoon.

The latest election results show Trump with 76,977,118 votes or 49.9% of the vote compared with Vice President Kamala Harris’s 74,479,029 votes or 48.3% of the electorate.

The last election pollsters predicted, correctly, was Obama/Romney in 2012, when Nate Silver catapulted to fame as a wunderkind by correctly predicting not only Barack Obama's victory but the outcome of the presidential contest in all 50 states.

Now, pollsters are about as reliable as a Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback.

Pollsters, of course, much like Donald Trump after losing to Joe Biden in 2020, don’t like to admit defeat.

They now tell us they were right on the money with Harris’ vote percentage (48.3 %) but underestimated the strength of Donald Trump supporters (49.9 %)

Such explanations sound like a badly worded concession speech from a candidate who went down in flames.

Nevertheless, most pollsters continue to argue their polling was not flawed.

Political Scientist, Peter J. Woolley, founding director of PublicMind—an independent public opinion research group at Fairleigh Dickinson University thinks the suggestion that polls have been wrong in the last three presidential elections is a myth.

“Good pollsters,” Woolley says, “are the first to say their work are ‘estimates’ not predictions and not pinpoints. It is media outlets and internet trolls that tend to over-report the accuracy of polls, not good pollsters. Bad pollsters tend to brag about their polls. Good pollsters are always on edge. Good pollsters know that under ideal conditions, one in 20 poll measurements will be ‘wrong.’ Polls are a scientific method of arriving at an estimate. Estimate is the keyword.”

***

Most polls I was following one or two months prior to the election, showed Harris with a one or two percentage lead, including The Washington Post, the New York Times, Nate Silver (The Silver Bulletin) and FiveThirtyEight.

On Election Eve, Silver declared Harris a marginal favorite, though his “gut” told him Trump may pull off an upset.

When I asked The New York Times about misfiring on the presidential election vote totals, a spokesperson for the Times, issued the following statement:

"Polls will never be perfectly precise, nor are they advertised as such, and a main feature of our coverage this year was helping readers understand the uncertainty in the race. We made clear in our coverage that if the polls were off by even a little bit from final vote counts, as they were likely to be, that one of the candidates could sweep all seven battlegrounds."

My big beef isn’t so much the accuracy of the polls themselves, but how certain news organizations attached so much prominence to them.

The New York Times, Washington Post, among others, treated these polls, at least from my vantage point, like they were gospel and glaringly splashed these polls across their home pages as if they're credible and reliable sources of information, or at least that was what the reader was led to believe.

Despite the statement released from a Times spokesperson, I rarely saw these polls accompanied with a warning that they shouldn’t be interpreted as being “perfectly precise.”

To their credit, the New York Times did publish articles explaining how tricky the polls can be in accurately predicting the outcome.

Nate Cohn, of the Times, for example, did underscore two weeks before the election, that pollsters might very well have egg splattered on their face for the third straight presidential election. Cohn went on to explain how different polling methods have been recalibrated over the last 15 years to better gauge the mood of the country.

One pollster who was unquestionably off her game was J. Ann Selzer, president of the Des Moines, Iowa-based polling firm Selzer & Company, which she founded in 1996. Selzer, known as the “Queen of Polling” predicted vice president Harris would win Iowa by three percentage points, 47% to 44. By the time the votes were all counted, Selzer was off by 16 points.

Trump ended up winning Iowa by 13 points, 56% to 43%. Selzer, in turn, ended her polling operation altogether as she tries to defend her reputation, which has been badly bruised since the stunning election results.

While a majority of pollsters may continue to staunchly defend their polls as being within the margin of error, most agree that they need to reevaluate how they gather information from potential voters.

Most pollsters agree that they’re increasingly having difficulty identifying Trump supporters. Democrat voters tend to be more civic minded and usually respond to survey questions from pollsters. Trump supporters, on the other hand, are distrustful of pollsters and the media, and have a tendency not to respond to surveys.

In particular, pollsters recognize the need to expand their polling methods beyond online, text, and phone methods and conduct more mail survey forms. Republicans and conservative voters seem more receptive to surveys sent to them in the mail, preliminary studies show.

The Trump campaign was able to focus on low-propensity voters or voters who haven’t consistently voted in the past and were decidedly less “politically engaged.”

Though pollsters can talk until they’re blue in the face about how close their estimates were to the final tally; a David Brooks column highlighted just how disengaged the Democratic ticket was from the average voter.

Brooks wrote: "In 2024, Kamala Harris did worse among Black voters than Joe Biden did in 2020. She did worse among female voters. She did much worse among Latino voters. She did much worse among young voters."

"She did manage,” Brooks explained, “to outperform Biden among two groups: affluent people and white voters, especially white men."

When I saw the seismic shift of the country going into Trump's column on Election Night, I immediately thought of James Carville's opinion piece in the New York Times (July 8, 2024) when he stressed that Kamala can't be just crowned the nominee without a democratic process. Carville wrote, "it can’t be by anointing Vice President Kamala Harris or anyone else as the presumptive Democratic nominee. We’ve got to do it out in the open."

Nancy Pelosi and her cabal stripped the ball from Joe's hands and force-fed Kamala to the American voters instead of creating a mini-primary (as Carville suggested) where the best and the brightest of the party would vie for the nomination. Pelosi did this because she reasoned-we have our progressive candidate who will easily trounce Trump, a convicted felon, as he appeared to be unraveling at the seams and sounding mentally unstable by the day. This was Pelosi and her inner circle's big opportunity to get a progressive into the White House.

Many are going to argue that this proves the country isn't ready for a woman president. That's just plain wrong. The country isn't ready for a progressive female candidate (Hillary & Kamala, for example) who promoted abortion rights and LGBTQ rights at the expense of traditional working-class issues, like economic growth, reduced grocery prices, affordable housing, while ignoring illegal immigration and the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Democrats have kicked the can down the road on immigration and cost of living for way too long, opting instead for the status quo.

For better or worse, richer or poorer, voters reached a tipping point and opted for a candidate who promised to turn the federal government on its head.

God help us, I think we’re in for a tumultuous four years under Donald Trump when the treasured principles of our Republic will be brought to a severe test, but Democrats have only themselves to blame.

--Bill Lucey
November 25, 2024
[email protected] 

 

Have All Baseball Fans Fully Embraced Shohei Ohtani?

 

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani waves to fans after becoming MLB's first 50/50 man in a historic game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami.

Photo Credit: AP/Wilfredo Lee

***

With nine games left in the season, Shohei Ohtani has ascended to the top of the mountain, having gone where no one has ever gone before in becoming MLB’s first player to crack 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

In Thursday’s game against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani surpassed 50 home runs for the season.

Quite an accomplishment.

Shohei seems to do everything in a big, grand fashion, starting before the season even began, when he signed a monster contract, a whopping 10-year $700 million contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yesterday was no exception. Shohei went large again.

The Dodgers leadoff hitter went to the plate six times, and came away with six hits, including three home runs and two steals with 10 RBIs. In doing so, he became the first player with three home runs and two stolen bases in a game since at least 1900 and the first player since RBIs became official in 1920 with 10 RBIs and five extra-base hits in a game.

The reaction to yesterday’s fireworks was, deservingly so, simply overwhelming.

If you spent any time on social media on Thursday, the feeds on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), among others, was filled with short videos of Ohtani’s majestic blasts.

And to sweeten the pot even more, not only was history made, but the Dodgers clinched a playoff spot, becoming the fourth team to clinch a spot for the 2024 postseason, following a 20-4 pounding of the Marlins at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Fla.

2024 will be the 12th consecutive year the Dodgers have advanced to the playoffs; but it will be Ohtani’s first trip to the playoffs, after seven full seasons in MLB.

Ever since belting his first career home run against Josh Tomlin of the Cleveland Indians on April 3, 2018, as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani has lived up to his grand billing since arriving from Japan.

He now, age 30, has accumulated 222 home runs, 857 hits, and 557 RBI’s since entering the league in 2018.

Not only was history made in Miami on Thursday, but the Japan native additionally became the all-time Dodger single-season record holder in home runs, passing Shawn Green’s club record of 49, set in 2001.

Previously in 2024, Ohtani became only the 6th player in MLB history to have a 40/40 year.

The others are: José Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023).

What’s interesting about the list, is that three of those six players have been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. The tainted list of players doesn’t include Shohei Ohtani.

When you stop and ponder the accomplishment of hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in the same season, it's no wonder that former Dodgers player, Justin Turner, once described Shohei as a “once in a lifetime player.”

Given his unique ability to both pitch and hit so superbly, many describe Ohtani as the "Japanese Babe Ruth;" a Reuters article once described him as, a "Nito-ryu," or two-sword samurai

Over in Japan, the celebration for Ohtani becoming a 50/50 man has been deafening.

According to journalist and infographics designer, Satoshi Toyoshima, “Ohtani’s hometown of Oshu City in Iwate Prefecture hung a banner celebrating 50/50 at its city hall. “

In addition, Japan’s national newspapers issued special editions and handed them out on the streets to ecstatic bystanders.

In 2021, Stephen A. Smith, an ESPN host, apologized after saying that Los Angeles Angels pitching and hitting sensation Shohei Ohtani's use of translators negatively impacts Major League Baseball's popularity.

***

As euphoric as the reaction has been to Ohtani standing alone as the sole member of the 50/50 club, I detect, at times, some animosity here in the United States to his many clouts this year as a member of the Dodgers.

So, I wondered if the whiff of animosity I’m detecting toward him is because he’s from a big market team or because he’s Japanese?

Ohtani was involved with a scandal early in the season when Ippei Mizuhara, his longtime friend and interpreter was found to have made $4.5 million in wire transfers from the slugger’s account to cover mounting gambling debts.

After a thorough investigation, it was determined, the Japanese superstar didn’t have any prior knowledge of the wire transfers to bookmakers and was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Still, I strongly contend many baseball fans are using the scandal Ohtani was involved with as a convenient excuse not to join in the celebration of his accomplishments, like they would the Derek Jeter’s or Cal Ripken Jr’s of baseball.

Hiroshi Kitamura, Director of International Relations at William & Mary disagrees with me.

“I believe that Shohei Ohtani’s quest for 50/50 was embraced widely,” Kitamura said. “If,” Kitamura continued, “there is less enthusiasm towards him than to Cal Ripken or Derek Jeter, that, I think, is because the bases have become bigger and the pitch clock rule has made it easier to steal bases than in the past.”

Kitamura additionally isn’t detecting an anti-Asian animosity.

“In particular,” Kitamura thinks quite the contrary, “the physical strength he displays, day in and day out, is breaking stereotypes of Asian men and is inspiring new groups of fans.”

Leslie Heaphy, professor of sports history at Kent State at Stark, thinks Ohtani is still suffering from the gambling scandal. “For many,” Heaphy thinks, “just the association is enough to view the player with suspicion. I also think people like homerun records more than stolen bases so that may impact some of the lack of attention as well.”

Whether there are pro-Ohtani or anti-Ohtani forces afoot, Steven Wisensale, professor (emeritus) of public policy at the University of Connecticut (UCONN), thinks we should celebrate and appreciate this unique and unprecedented moment in baseball history.

Wisensale believes this is “a huge milestone and one that no one ever dreamed about previously. I will put it up there with Ripken’s streak, Williams’ .406 and DiMaggio’s 56. If he hits the 50/50 mark, I see no one breaking that unless his name is Shohei Ohtani.”

“For people who know baseball and understand the skills that are needed to succeed, such as reaching the 50/50 milestone”, Wisensale argued, “they will honor that player, regardless of his race or ethnicity.”

Despite the gambling incident now in the rear-view mirror, the scandal appears to have left some scar tissue, at least with some fans.

“I believe his gambling scandal that started the year has taken some charm off of Ohtani with fans; I don't think it matters with him not being from the United States,” Andy Billman, professor of film and media studies at the University of New Haven told me. “Ichiro Suzuki,” Billman pointed out, “is proof when he went off years ago in Seattle and was very popular. Also, in today's viewing capacity for sports, I believe the Dodgers being on the West Coast hurts him more.”

But there are some, albeit a minority, who detect whiffs of hostility to foreigners as a reason for not fully embracing Ohtani’s historic milestone.

Rob Ruck, professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh agrees with me that “some of the animosity is because he's from a foreign country at a time when MAGA ("Make America Great Again") has ramped up nativism to an outrageous level.”

Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, thinks Ohtani “wants to be the best player that’s ever played this game.”

It sure will be fun for all baseball fans, fun for the United States, fun for Japan, and fun for the youth of both countries over the next few years to see if the Ōshū, Iwate, Japan native lives up to such top billing.

--Bill Lucey
[email protected] 
September 20, 2024

***

Ohtani: Feats, Facts, & Historic Firsts

• Ohtani was the first Japanese player to hit for the cycle in the major leagues, something he never accomplished in five years in Japan.

• He's been clocked as fast as 3.80 seconds from home to first.

• On July 13, 2021, became the first player elected to the all-star game as both a player and pitcher.

• Closed out the 2023 World Baseball Classic by striking out Mike Trout. He won the tournament MVP.

• July 13, 2024, became the first Japanese player to hit 200 home runs.

• With an all-star HR in 2024, became the first player to hit a HR and get the win in an all-star game.

• Only two other players in MLB history (Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson) hit both 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in any season of their careers. Ohtani accomplished both in the same season.

• When Shohei was 17-years old in Japan, he threw a remarkable 99 miles per hour.

• Ohtani was courted by all 30 MLB teams before reaching agreement with the Los Angeles Angels in December, 2017.

• Ohtani is 6-foot-4, and weighs 215 pounds.

When Baseball was King of New York City

***

Now that we’re in the dog days of August and the pennant races in MLB are heating up, one book I recently devoured might whet your appetite for the postseason.

Novelist, journalist, and historian, Kevin Baker, wrote an entertaining, well researched book about America’s national pastime: “The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of New York City.”

Baker describes how baseball with its origins as a simple country game, first played in cow pastures and rural patches of farm land, eventually migrated to the major metropolises and in particular New York City.

NYC has been the most populated city in the United States since 1790, when it

exceeded Philadelphia.

It continued to grow by leaps and bounds in large part through immigration. The population of NYC was 3. 4 million in 1900; and doubled over the next 50 years, leaping to 7.89 million residents in 1959.

Before the big ballparks were erected, historians tell us early baseball in New York were played in Central Park, the Parade Ground near Prospect Park, Carroll Park in Brooklyn, and open lots and public parklands in New Jersey.

The decade between 1947 and 1957, of course, was christened the golden age of baseball in New York City.

And for good reason.

During that span, the Yankees won nine pennants and seven World Series-five of them in a row. The Dodgers won six pennants and one world championship. Three times they finished second. The Giants won two NL championships and one World Series.

Taken together, from 1947 through 1957, New York teams came away with 13 MVP awards, eight Rookie of the year honors, seven home run titles, five no-hitters, and four batting championships.

The New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the New York Giants—advanced to the World Series every year (between 1947-1957) except 1948, the last year Cleveland won a World Series.

And speaking of Cleveland, Baker’s book has plenty of material that would interest Cleveland baseball fans.

He touches on the 1920 World Series, when the Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) in seven games in a best of nine series, a Series which was especially noted for the first unassisted triple play executed in World Series history by the Indians second-sacker, Bill Wambsganss, who made a leaping catch of a line drive, scorched off the bat of Clarence Mitchell in the 5th inning for the first out; he stepped on second base to retire Brooklyn’s Pete Kilduff for the second out, and then tagged a surprised looking Otto Miller (caught between first and second), squashing a Brooklyn rally and completing the historic feat.

Game 5 of the 1920 Series was additionally noted for featuring the first home run hit by a pitcher in a World Series, Cleveland native, Jim Bagby, of the Indians, who cracked a three-run blast off of Brooklyn pitcher Burleigh Grimes in the 4th inning.

History was previously made in the first inning of Game 5 of the 1920 World Series when Elmer Smith of the Indians smacked the first grand slam in World Series history.

The Dodgers wouldn’t be in another World Series for more than 20 years; Cleveland would have to wait almost 30 years.

Baker devotes a significant amount of space to the Polo Grounds, located between 155th and 157th streets at Eighth Avenue, nestled on the Harlem River in Upper Manhattan, home of the New York Giants of the National League from 1891 through 1957.

The Polo Grounds was additionally the home of the New York Yankees from 1913 to 1922 and New York Mets in their first two seasons (1962, 1963).

Source:  The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

***

In addition to the Giants winning five World Series titles in the Polo Grounds, the stadium is best remembered, sadly, for the place where Cleveland Indians’ shortstop, Ray Chapman, was struck in the head by a pitch thrown by Yankees pitcher Carl Mays on August 16, 1920 and died within hours.

He was only 29 and was the only MLB player killed by a pitch.

Baker provides readers with some fascinating details of Chapman and the submarine pitcher for the Yankees. Mays had a sordid reputation for being erratic with his pitches, some even went so far as to label him, a “headhunter.” In 1917, he led the league in hit batters.

Ty Cobb, in particular, was constantly getting plunked by Mays offerings. Fed up with his wild pitches, Baker wrote that Cobb once laid down a bunt on the first base line and intentionally spiked the back of May's leg, splitting it open and vowing, "The next time you cover the bag, I'll take the skin off your other leg."

Prior to his ill-fated at bat against Mays, Chapman never hit the Yankees submarine pitcher very well; so, the theory goes, the Indians’ shortstop crouched down in the batter’s box, hoping to give himself a competitive advantage in picking up Mays low pitches.  When he was first hit, Chapman stood motionless before quickly collapsing to the ground. The ball hit Chapman’s head with such a force, the ball rolled forward to the pitcher’s mound.

Mays initially thought the ball hit Chapman’s bat, so he rifled the ball to first base, before chaos ensued. When he was carried to the clubhouse, one of the last words heard from Chapman’s mouth was the request that his wedding ring be placed on his finger.

Medical records determined Mays pitch cut a three-and-a-half fissure along the base of Chapman's skull, which drove a piece of bone down against his brain.

Despite being demonized for throwing the pitch that killed and greeted with a cascade of boos on road games, Mays maintained his innocence throughout his career. “My conscience is absolutely clear,” the sulky pitcher once said. He also told the press, “I merely wish to say that I am not a murderer, nor do I take unfair advantage of anyone."

At least 5 other A.L. teams, according to Baker, threatened to boycott games if Mays pitched.

Mays was 26-11 in 1920 and sported a league-leading six shoutouts.

Despite winning over 200 games in his bumpy career, allegations first reported by New York journalist, Fred Lieb, that he threw the 1921 World Series, put the kibosh on any thoughts of Mays being considered for the Hall of Fame when his career ended.

Beginning in 1921, owners of the New York clubs began to see the size of the gate receipts swell. In 1923, the Giants had drawn the largest National League crowd ever, 41,000 for a regular season game; and the 1921 World Series between the Yankees and Giants drew the very first million-dollar gate for the Fall Classic.

1921 would mark the first of 13-Subway Series’ (1921-1956) the Yankees would play against either the Giants or the Dodgers in World Series matchups, driving home the universal impression that New York was, indeed, the undisputed baseball capital of the nation.

After a 44-year hiatus, the New York Subway Series was resurrected when the Yankees defeated in the New York Mets in 5 games during the 2000 World Series.

Baker does a superb job in batting down some myths that have been floating through the annals of baseball history. One is that the New York Yankees adopted pinstripes on their uniforms to cover up Babe Ruth’s bulging waistline. Not true. The Chicago Cubs were actually the first team to wear pinstripes in 1907; then the Giants began wearing them in 1911. The Yankees first adopted the pinstripes in 1912, well before the Babe came on board. They stopped wearing them in 1913 and 1914, then began wearing them permanently, beginning in 1915.

Baker also clarifies the term, “Murderers' Row” used to describe the first six hitters of the 1927 Yankees (Earle Combs, Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel, and Tony Lazzeri) was actually first used to describe the 1919 New York Yankees, though that team paled in comparison to the 1927 Yankees who sported an astounding 110–44 record (.714), captured the A.L. pennant by 19 games, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

For those long-entrenched New York Yankee haters, long stretches of Baker’s book might be awfully hard to swallow, such as this poisonous line: “In a 30-year run from 1923 to 1953, the Yankees met and defeated every NL team but the Braves, they won 16 of 18 World Series and compiling a record of 68-26 in the Fall Classic, for a .723 winning percentage. The only World Series they lost at all in this period were the Cardinals, in 1926 and 1942.”

It gets worse Yankee bashers.

“In the 1930's,’’ Baker reminds us, “the Yankees reeled off consecutive seasons of 102, 102, 99 and 106 victories and lost a combined total of three games in four World Series triumphs. The streak culminated in a 1939 team than many would rank as the best major-league team of all time, ahead of the 1927 Yankees.”

Those kind of nauseating statistics would turn anyone’s stomach, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, who only managed one World Series championship (1955) over their cross-town rivals after losing in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. The Yankees beat the “Dem Bums” again in 1956, the Dodgers final season in Brooklyn, before packing up and dashing off for the West Coast.

Still, those baseball fans who take a dim view of New York baseball teams can at least take heart, that all these feats and gargantuan triumphs Baker writes so eloquently about, are in the past, which took place during a bygone era and have softly faded into the night.

The Yankees, after all, haven’t been in a World Series for 15 years, the Mets for almost 10 years.

I’m sure 28 other teams and their fans in MLB hope it stays that way for another 15 years.

--Bill Lucey

[email protected]  

 August 10, 2024

Hall of Fame Athletes Who Stumbled Coming out of the Gate

Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever’s no. 1 pick in the draft is experiencing some rough spots with her transition to women’s professional basketball.

Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz/Reuters

***

Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball superstar and no. 1 draft pick by the Indiana Fever of the WNBA knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Despite displaying flashes of brilliance, her stats and prowess, so far, shows she’s struggling with her transition to the WNBA.

After 12 games, Clark is averaging 16.8 points, with 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Her three-point bombs, such a big part of her repertoire, have been hit or miss. Her field goal percentage is a pedestrian 32.7.

In her last game against the Washington Mystics, Clark exhibited more of the play many are coming to expect from the West Des Moines, Iowa native. Clark put up 30 points, including seven three-points (tying a rookie record) in an 85-83 win before a sellout crowd (20,333) at the Capital One Arena in Washington. She also had four steals, though her turnovers (8) were again alarmingly high.

Prior to her performance Friday night in Washington, Clark hasn’t connected on more than four field goals all season.

As widely reported, the thin, pony-tailed point guard (fresh from her SNL cameo) entered professional basketball with exceedingly lofty expectations; so, the bar was set pretty high for her before the season even began.

At Iowa, the Indiana Fever’s rookie point-guard ascended to the top of the mountain.  With the Hawkeyes, she compiled 3,951 points over four years — the most ever in NCAA men’s or women’s Division I history. She was the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I play along with setting a single season three-point record.

Prior to the regular season, Clark inked a lucrative ($28 million) endorsement deal with Nike, which raised the bar even more for her in being tasked to live up to everyone’s high expectations.

WNBA arenas are selling out for the first time in a long time all because of Caitlin Clark’s popularity. Journalists are beginning to cover the WNBA for the first time, hoping to catch glimpses of “Caitlin Fever” and report on her every move, both on and off the court.

So far, Clark has hit some speed bumps transitioning to the fast pace of the WNBA, including navigating through sophisticated double coverage defensive schemes, blocking screens, and the mammoth physicality of the game compared with college basketball. She additionally has to adjust to the size of her opponents. With Clark at 6 feet, so many in the WNBA tower over her, making it difficult to make the most of her opportunities and pick her shots.

Most of all, many point to the physical play of the WNBA, which Clark is finding her biggest challenge.

Clark absorbed a hard, flagrant foul by Chicago Sky’s by Chennedy Carter recently, which sparked a great deal of controversy.

Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

***

In particular, Clark has voiced her concern over the questionable officiating (or non-calls) while she gets slapped around like a ping pong ball. “I feel like I’m getting hammered …everybody is physical with me and opponents get away with things that other people don’t get away with” Clark told reporters in a post-game press conference.

The Fever’s beleaguered rookie being targeted as if she were public enemy number 1 hit a boiling point recently in a game against the Chicago Sky’s shooting guard Chennedy Carter who body checked Clark to the ground before the ball was even in play. The referees called it an away-from-the ball foul, later upgrading it to a flagrant foul. Many liken the flagrant foul committed by Carter to a physical assault, since the ball wasn’t even in play.

Others complain Clark is getting preferential treatment by the media because she is white and argue other WNBA players are subjected to the same hard physical play as Clark has been enduring, but no one bats an eye.

Chennedy Carter refused to discuss the aggressive foul on Caitlin Clark during the postgame presser, telling reporters, “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.”

Whether Clark is getting preferential treatment or is indeed being too aggressively hammered, one thing is for certain: many WNBA players aren’t taking kindly for the way she is absorbing so much media attention and ignoring their talents. Many especially don’t like how she has profited so handsomely from lucrative endorsement deals, such as Nike, while leaving others in the dust.

With Clark being left off the U.S. Olympic basketball team heading to Paris, it’s clearly a direct snub or poke in the eye to someone who (in many people’s minds) has been given too much media attention and would likely attract around the clock coverage if she were on the Olympic team. The argument that she wasn’t talented enough falls flat when you compare her stats to other members of the Olympic team.

Undoubtedly, Caitlin Clark is trying to stay professional and composed as she continues to absorb the wrath of jealous and wounded WNBA players who feel they’re being ignored.

Will Caitlin ever become a superstar in the WNBA?

In evaluating Clark’s rookie season so far, I recently heard one ESPN analyst say, “she just doesn’t have it.”

I think Caitlin Clark has a lot of basketball ahead of her before making such a reckless comment as “she just doesn’t have it.”

In all professional sports, there are examples, by the truckload, of athletes who had spectacular college careers, but turned in average or less than average rookie seasons before rising to stardom and even becoming hall of famers.

Dirk Nowitzki, drafted ninth overall in 1998 NBA Draft (by the Milwaukee Bucks) and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks had a rocky start to his career.

In his first professional game in the NBA, Feb. 5, 1999, Nowitzki had only two points, no rebounds and four assists, and was 0 of 5 from the field.

The German born 7-foot guard struggled, mightily, in his first season, shooting 40.5 % from the floor and 20.6% from beyond the arc, while averaging just 8.2 points.

Nowitzki later commented that he tussled mostly with the size and the striking physicality of the NBA during his rookie season.

As is well documented, Dirk Nowitzki had a spectacular NBA career, which included an NBA championship and 14 All-Star appearances with the Dallas Mavericks.

In 2023, he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

NBA guard James Harden is another multi-talented all-star who got off to a bumpy start in the NBA.

Harden caught the eye of many as a college player at Arizona State, making him the third overall pick (by the OKC Thunder) in the 2009 NBA Draft.

But his initial ride into the NBA met with some turbulence. He averaged 9.9 points in his rookie year, averaging only 22.9 minutes on the floor, 1.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, while shooting just 40.3 percent from the field.

When he landed in Houston in 2012, Harden’s career propelled to great heights.  Beginning in his fourth season in the NBA, he averaged more than 20 points for 15 consecutive seasons; and from 2017 through 2019, he averaged more than 30 points per game.

Harden is especially celebrated for scoring 40 points against Phoenix on April 18, 2012, becoming the first reserve NBA player to score 40 points since Dallas guard Rodrigue Beaubois in March 2010.

Harden was a big reason the Thunder advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals, before being defeated by the Miami Heat in five games.

The Los Angeles native was selected as the NBA’s MVP in 2018.

Terry Bradshaw completed just 83 passes in his rookie campaign (1970) for a dismal completion percentage of 38.1 percent.

Photo Credit: Harry Cabluck/AP

***

If ever there was a case of a Hall of Famer who turned in a dreadful rookie season, look no further than quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was drafted as the number 1 pick overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970.

Though the Steelers managed to win five games in 1970, a big improvement from their 1-13 season the previous year, their new field general out of Louisiana Tech had a tough time adjusting to the NFL.

Bradshaw completed just 83 passes in his rookie campaign for a dismal completion percentage of 38.1 percent. Worse still, the Steelers rookie quarterback threw just 6 touchdown passes with an atrociously high 24 interceptions.

Bradshaw, in fact, had 46 interceptions and only 19 touchdown passes in his first two years as a professional football player.

Today, Terry Bradshaw is hailed as one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played the game. He led the Steelers to four Super Bowls over six years (1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979), throwing for 932 yards and nine TD’s.

Bradshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility.

In 1989, Troy Aikman was drafted No. 1 by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Draft.

His first game as a professional football player was a 28-0 drubbing to the New Orleans Saints, a game in which he was intercepted twice, with no touchdowns, two sacks, and a passing rating of 40.2.

Aikman finished the season (interrupted by a broken finger, which sidelined him for five games) with nine touchdowns, 18 pics, while averaging just 5.9 yards per pass.

The Cowboys finished the season with a how low can you go, 1-15 record.

In week three of the season, the Cowboys were crushed by Washington Redskins (30-7), a game coach Jimmy Johnson called “just awful” and replaced his franchise QB with Steve Walsh, both finishing with two interceptions.

Aikman, like many other rookie quarterbacks, discovered how complex the NFL really is compared to college and he struggled with the talent level of opponents and their ability to disguise certain coverages.

When he retired after 12 seasons, Aikman was lionized as one of the most prolific NFL QB’s, leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins, along with being named to the Pro Bowl six times and setting 45 Dallas Cowboys passing records, including the club’s career record for completions (2,898), passing yards (32,942), touchdowns (165) and completion percentage (61.3).

The Oklahoma native was inducted into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Peyton Manning didn’t have the easiest of rookie seasons either with the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. The Colts went 3-13 in Manning’s maiden voyage into the NFL.

After a mediocre passing performance in week 5 of his rookie season, many were questioning whether the Colts would have been better served if they had drafted Ryan Leaf who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers.

As columnists began placing Manning’s rookie season under closer scrutiny, Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas told Conrad Brunner of the Indianapolis Star, "I think people demand an awful lot of these kids, principally because they're talking about tremendous amounts of dollars.” "If I invested $25 or $30 million” Unitas remarked, “I'd want immediate results, and I think that's the biggest problem."

As is well known, Peyton Manning’s diligent work ethic paid off handsomely and he went on to have a remarkable NFL career, which included two Super Bowl wins with two different teams (Colts and Denver Broncos).

Over 18 seasons, Manning passed for 539 touchdowns, 71,940 passing yards, and went to 14 Pro Bowls. He was additionally the Associated Press’s NFL MVP five times along with being selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.

The “Sherriff” was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Baseball, to be sure, has had a few late bloomers as well.

Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson who debuted in 1955 at age 18 struggled in his first few seasons in Major League Baseball.

In his first 60 MLB games from 1955-1957, Robinson hit .178 with a .487 OPS in 161 plate appearances.

He made his first appearance with the Orioles on September 17, 1955, at Memorial Stadium, batting sixth in the lineup against the Washington Senators. He slapped two hits in four at bats. After that game, however, he went into an 0-18 slump at the plate before being replaced in the lineup.

It wasn’t until 1960 when Robinson caught fire, climbing to third in the lineup with a .333 BA and was selected to his first All-Star Game, which would be the first of 18 straight All-Star games for the Little Rock, Arkansas native.

By the time his 23-year career was over, the “Human Vacuum Cleaner” won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, (the most by a position player) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, one of 16 players to have been honored on the first ballot since the inaugural class of 1936.

Sandy Koufax was largely limited to the bullpen in his first few years with the Dodgers due to persistent control problems. He considered quitting after the 1960 season.

Photo Credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame.

***

Some might be surprised to discover Los Angeles Dodgers flame-thrower Sandy Koufax struggled in his first few seasons in MLB and even considered calling it quits.

During his first three years (1955-57), he was mainly confined to the bullpen, pitching only 204 innings, winning 9 and losing 10. He logged more innings from 1958-1960 in which he displayed nothing but mediocrity with 24 wins, 21 losses. And though his fastball showed its blazing potential, he was prone to endless control problems.

1960 was definitely Koufax’s low point, winning 8 and losing 13 games.

In one game during the 1960 season, April 22, 1960, the St Louis Cardinals banged him around for 5 runs in the first inning. He never registered an out, before he was lifted by Walter Alston.

Koufax told New York Times Columnist Joseph Durso (published in 1980) after the 1960 season, "I threw all my baseball stuff away, left the clubhouse and didn't think I'd ever come back. I even went into business, but wasn't crazy about it. Then I decided maybe I hadn't worked hard enough, so I the next spring reported to Vero Beach. Our clubhouse man, Kobe Kawano handed me the gear and said, "I took all your stuff out of the garbage.”

Many were thankful Koufax came back in 1961.

The Brooklyn, NY native led the National League in strikeouts (269 in 1961), and his walks and earned run average shrank appreciably. Between 1963 and 1966, Koufax’s seasonal W-L record during that period was 25-5, 19-5, 26-8, and 27-9. His ERAs were off the charts: 1.88, 1.74, 2.04 and 1.73. Similarly, his strikeouts were out of this world: 306, 223, 382 and 31 during those years. He pitched four no-hitters and one perfect game.

Koufax additionally became the first pitcher (at the time) to reach four career no-hitters on Sept. 9, 1965, surpassing Larry Corcoran, Cy Young, and Bob Feller.

Sandy Koufax, "the Left Arm of God" as he was nicknamed, was officially voted into the Hall of Fame, alongside Yogi Berra and Early Wynn in 1972.

Roberto Clemente had a ho-hum rookie season with a .255 BA, 5 HR's and 47 runs batted in. He walked only 18 times in 124 games when he debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957.

Clemente’s batting average didn’t rise above .300 until 1960 when he sported a .314 BA, 16 HR’s and 94 RBI’s and was selected to his first All-Star Game, one of 14 All-Star appearances before his life ended tragically. The Carolina, Puerto Rico native improved his stats in 1961 even further when he won the first of his four batting championships with a .351 average and 23 home runs.

He captured back-to-back batting titles in 1964 and 1965, hitting .339 and .329 respectively; and in 1967, Clemente had the best year of his career .367 BA and earned yet another batting title.

Clemente was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in March, 1973, just months after his tragic accident in a plane crash, which was traveling to deliver supplies to Nicaragua.

So, with Caitlin Clark being only 22 years-old and having played only 12 WNBA games (with 28 more to play), I think the “Mad Bomber” is entitled to experience some rookie growing pains and learning curves from college before we pass judgement on her caliber of play and what kind of future she’s capable of in professional women’s basketball.

I think it’s a bit premature for an ESPN analyst to say, “She [Caitlin Clark] just doesn’t have it.”

--Bill Lucey

[email protected]  

June 9, 2024

Caitlin Clark Has Rearranged the Media Landscape

Caitlin Clark helped advance the Iowa Hawkeyes to the national championship game in back-to-back seasons.

Photo Credit: Matthew Holst/Getty Images

***

Caitlin Clark Fever, it seems, has taken the country by storm.

We’re in the first round of the NBA playoffs, first month of the MLB season, and it’s NFL draft week, and yet the water cooler talk continues to center on the West Des Moines native who seems to be popping up everywhere, whether making a cameo on “SNL,” on Instagram posts, showing her launching bombs from beyond the arc, signing a lucrative Nike deal (worth $28 million), and even whipping the crowd into a frenzy at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where she saw the Indiana Pacers take a 2-1 lead on the Milwaukee Bucks in a thrilling overtime win Friday night.

The six-foot, dribble happy, elusive guard from Iowa smashed so many records in college that it takes work to keep up with her crown of laurels.

Some of her many milestones include:

• Compiling 3,951 points over four years — the most ever in NCAA men’s or women’s Division I history;
• Recording 1,144 assists and 990 rebounds;
• Breaking the record for 3-pointers in a single season,;
• Advancing to the National Championship game twice; and
• Being named National Player of the Year.

In just 40 games, she became the fastest player in Big Ten history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

If that wasn’t enough, the “Mad Bomber” joined just two other Iowa women’s players who had their numbers retired— Michelle Edwards, whose No. 30 was retired in 1990, and Megan Gustafson, whose No. 10 was retired in 2020.

Clark’s amazing rise to rock-star status came quickly for the Iowa guard.

Imagine, in her first nine games with the Iowa Hawkeyes, games were only available on streaming services, and some games, believe it or not, were played on weekday afternoons.

Three years later, in her senior year, Clark's 137th, 138th and 139th college games became the three most-watched women's basketball games ever: 12.3 million for Iowa's win over LSU (Elite Eight); 14.4 million for Iowa's win over UConn (Final Four); and 18.9 million viewers on ABC against South Carolina (national championship).

Caitlin Clark speaks with reporters after being introduced as the newest member of the Indiana Fever, Wednesday, April 17, in Indianapolis.

Photo Credit: WTHR

***

As is widely known, Clark was the No. 1 draft pick of the Indiana Fever in the WNBA.

Normally, WNBA drafts receive scant attention in the media. This year was different. The draft featured some mighty big stars: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink, to mention just a few of some highly gifted athletes. The draft, covered live from Brooklyn by ESPN, averaged a record 2.45 million viewers, a whopping 307 % increase in viewership over last year.

And it was also the first WNBA draft broadcast in Spanish. Reaching a larger global audience is one of the many challenges facing the WNBA if they hope to be on par with the NBA.

So, it appears the WNBA, founded on April 24, 1996, 28 years ago, has begun a new chapter in its proud history.

Given the way Clark has rocketed to stardom in such a brief time and with so much interest turning toward the WNBA, many argue that the media landscape of the league has been turned upside down.

With Clark and Brazilian center Kamilla Cardoso, of the South Carolina Gamecocks, taking center stage, the women’s national championship game drew a staggering 18.9 million viewers, the most viewers for any basketball game, college or pro, since 2019, according to ESPN. The women’s championship game drew more viewers than the men’s national championship game, which logged 14.8 million viewers.

Many make the point that UConn's Paige Bueckers and Clark have done for women's college basketball what Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did for men's college basketball decades ago. There was suddenly heightened interest in college basketball and March Madness, which spilled over into the NBA.

With basketball stars like Hannah Jump, Cameron Brink and Dyaisha Fair joining Clark in the WNBA on their respective teams, along with veterans Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), and Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), already entrenched in the WNBA, once-dormant coverage of the league may reach towering heights this season.

It’s interesting to note that before Caitlin Clark was drafted, the Fever averaged 4,067 fans at their home games, the second lowest in the league. This year, ticket prices have doubled and a ticket to their home games is hard to come by, though the Fever hasn’t announced ticket sales and which games have sold out. It’s widely believed the Fever’s home opener against the New York Liberty on May 16 will be a 19,000-seat sellout.

A number of major media outlets have responded to the seismic shift toward women’s basketball.

Because of the frenzied popularity of Clark, it’s been announced that 36 of the Indiana Fever’s 40 regular season games will be on national television this year, one more than the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

Shortly after announcing a multiyear agreement with the WNBA, CBS Sports doubled its coverage for the upcoming season by broadcasting eight regular-season games, up from four last year, and for the remainder of its deal, CBS Sports will televise 12 games.

The WNBA previously announced that eight Fever games this year will be broadcast nationally.

ESPN will significantly increase its WNBA coverage.

The WNBA and ESPN announced that there will be 25 national broadcasts during the regular season across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network.

During the season, the WNBA will collaborate with ESPN to present up to 52 games, beginning with the WNBA regular season presented by Google and extending through the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, which will feature up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.

Next month, a new four-part series from Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and Words & Pictures in partnership with ESPN+ will feature exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access documenting elite collegiate women’s basketball stars from this year’s record-breaking season, including Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso and Kiki Rice.

It will premiere on May 11-12 on ABC and ESPN +

For the second straight year, the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will air in primetime on ABC from Phoenix (8:30 p.m. ET) on July 20th.

Additionally, the Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, and Indiana Fever each will be featured on an ESPN platform for eight games.

According to Front Office Sports, the Fever recently struck a deal with Tegna (a digital media and marketing services company) to broadcast 17 of the team’s games on the media company’s over-the-air stations in Indianapolis. The Fever’s home opener against the New York Liberty will be shown on either WTHR, the NBC affiliate, or WALV, the MeTV affiliate.

The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett daily newspaper, is placing itself front and center to cover the Indiana Fever along with Caitlin Clark Fever.

Articles by Fever beat reporter Chloe Peterson have been coming thick and fast from the IndyStar.

Prior to Peterson coming on board last May, the Star devoted limited space to the WNBA, usually assigning an intern to cover the Fever with lots of turnover from year to year and with practically no offseason coverage.

The IndyStar is now devoting additional time and space to the WNBA and sent Peterson, its star Fever reporter, to Brooklyn to report on the draft. Peterson covered the entire 2023 season for the IndyStar.

A spokesperson from The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism website, and the sports department of The New York Times, said the Athletic doesn't like to comment on its upcoming coverage. It does, however, have a page devoted to the WNBA ; and in 2022, the Athletic and Google launched a new Multiplatform program to double The Athletic's coverage of professional women's sports, with an emphasis on basketball and soccer.

The Associated Press is already well-positioned to cover the anticipated increased popularity of the WNBA. A spokesperson for AP said it will provide coverage of every WNBA game, along with features and enterprise stories. Nicole Meir, media relations manager for AP, tells me that "AP’s basketball writer will continue to produce a weekly fixture on the league, ‘Around The WNBA,’ which will include updates on Clark’s season on merit." Much like the Athletic, AP has an entire section devoted to the WNBA. 

Despite all the buoyancy over the media’s newfound interest in women’s athletics, Cheryl Cooky, professor of Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University, interjects with a word of caution.

As positive as increased coverage of the WNBA appears on the surface, Cooky said “some of the impact on broadcast coverage, at least at this point, is quite contained to Clark and the Fever.”

Outside of the niche media platforms, Cooky hasn’t seen much coverage on the upcoming WNBA season and what to expect or look for. “In fact,” Cooky observed, “many sports news media outlets returned to ‘business as usual.’ This aligns with the patterns we identified in our last study (which we are currently updating), where the media employ a ‘one and done’ strategy in women’s sports coverage.”

Other WNBA teams having to move to larger venues (Las Vegas, Washington) when Indiana comes to town, may help to move the needle Cooky thinks, “but again, that remains to be seen.”

Photo: Caitlin Clark going through some preseason practice drills with the Indiana Fever.

Photo Credit: Associated Press/Michael Conroy

***

Timing is everything.

It appears Clark is entering the WNBA at an ideal time. The league will add a team in Golden State (San Francisco) in 2025, bringing the league to 13 teams; and the word is the WNBA wants to expand to 16 teams in the near future. Charlotte, Toronto, and Denver are reportedly among the front-runners. Suitors from Nashville, Philadelphia, Portland, and South Florida have also expressed interest.

Clark coming to the Hoosier State is just what the doctor ordered.

Since the Fever won the WNBA championship in 2012, their 13th season in the WNBA, they have been the worst major professional team in Indy and one of the worst major professional teams in all of North American sports. The franchise is 127-241 with just one winning season during that time and haven’t reached the playoffs since 2016. They only mustered five wins in 2022, a franchise low. The last time they had a winning record was in 2015, nearly 10 years ago. In 2016, they were a .500 team. Since then, they only managed to win more than 10 games twice, finishing well under .500 each year.

In Indiana, Clark will join forces with reigning Rookie of the Year center Aliyah Boston, third-year forward NaLyssa Smith, veteran forward Katie Lou Samuelson, and 2023 All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell.

Clark fills an immediate need for the Fever: a legitimate three-point shooter. Clark shot 37% from three-point land with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Her signature behind-the-back and no-look passes she perfected with Iowa center Monika Czinano will be an additional boon to a Fever team trying to rebuild.

Mitchell, the Fever's guard, was the only player to shoot over 100 3-pointers last season.

The ball is now in the Fever’s court. Let’s hope the West Des Moines native and the rest of her blossoming team rise to the occasion.

--Bill Lucey
[email protected]
April 28, 2024

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The “Caitlin Clark Effect”: Google Searches

• Searches for Caitlin Clark jersey sales spiked 2,550% in the U.S. over the past week.

• It was reported that Clark sold more jerseys following the WNBA Draft than the Dallas Cowboys did all last season.

• Searches for Caitlin Clark Nike shoes spiked 1,500% in the U.S. over the past week.

• Caitlin Clark is the top trending basketball player in the U.S. in 2024.

• Searches for Caitlin Clark spiked more than any other basketball player regardless of gender or league in 2024 in the U.S.

• Searches for Caitlin Clark's first WNBA game spiked 550% in the U.S. over the past week.

• The top three trending sports matchups in the U.S. over the past month all featured Caitlin Clark (Iowa vs LSU, Iowa vs UConn, South Carolina vs Iowa).

Source: Google Press Office

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Additional Resources

• Caitlin Clark Stats: ESPN

• Caitlin Clark Bio/Stats/Overview: Hawkeye Sports

• Caitlin Clark: Career Highlights: Hawkeye Sports 

• Caitlin Clark: College Stats (Sports-Reference)

• Caitlin Clark: WNBA Stats (Basketball Reference)

• Everything You Need to Know About Caitlin Clark (The Cut-New York Magazine).