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| Gil Hodges Jr. and Joan Hodges |
Monday, November 15, 2010
Gooden, Swoboda, Terry to be honored at the 2010 Gil Hodges Legacy Dinner
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Jay Van Noy, 82, former St. Louis Cardinal and BYU baseball coach
Utah sports legend Jay Van Noy passed away last Saturday at his home in Logan after battling Bacterial Endocarditis. He was 82.
Van Noy was a four-sport athlete at Utah State, competing in baseball, basketball, football and track. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 and was also drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1950. Van Noy chose baseball and quickly ascended through the ranks, making the Cardinals ball club in 1951 only after his second full season in the minor leagues.
Van Noy was called up to the big leagues in June of 1951 after getting off to a quick start in Triple-A Rochester. His results with the Cardinals wouldn't match his Triple-A prowess, going 0-7 with six strikeouts in six games. During a 2008 interview I conducted with Van Noy, he discussed his experiences in a major league uniform.
After his tenure at BYU, he became the director of Logan Parks and Recreation for 17 years. He remained active in baseball by delivering clinics through the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. As we ended our interview, Van Noy shared his sentiments about playing during the 1950s that have been echoed by many of his peers.
"It was the greatest time to come up in baseball," he said. "You came up because you loved baseball. It wasn't commercialized like it is. And the money. When they started paying money and they had money invested in you, it all went down the tubes. We had players that played both sides, offense and defense. It made a great big difference."
More Info -
Aggie Great Jay Van Noy Passes Away - Herald Journal
Former Aggie Jay Van Noy Passes Away - Utah State Athletics
Jay Van Noy Obituary - Cache Valley
Van Noy was a four-sport athlete at Utah State, competing in baseball, basketball, football and track. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 and was also drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1950. Van Noy chose baseball and quickly ascended through the ranks, making the Cardinals ball club in 1951 only after his second full season in the minor leagues.
Van Noy was called up to the big leagues in June of 1951 after getting off to a quick start in Triple-A Rochester. His results with the Cardinals wouldn't match his Triple-A prowess, going 0-7 with six strikeouts in six games. During a 2008 interview I conducted with Van Noy, he discussed his experiences in a major league uniform.
"I pulled a hamstring muscle and that's when they took me up to St. Louis," he said. "They weren't getting the results in Rochester. I was taking my at-bats up there and I was knocking them out of the ballpark. They signed me from there. When you are in that company, it was an honor just to be part of it. They were great baseball people, and they're great individuals, great citizens (Musial, Schoendienst, etc). Nobody tried to cut your throat, they tried to help you. Great people."
Van Noy would continue playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels until 1960. He went on to become the head baseball coach at Brigham Young University, as well as an assistant in basketball and football. Van Noy was proud of one of his accomplishments while coaching at BYU that wasn't necessarily tied to wins and losses. He was instrumental in moving conference championships away from Sundays.
"My club at BYU, won the conference, and district, but we couldn't go to the championships because it was played on Sundays," he said. "We started the negotiations of that rule, so that if the school can't play on Sunday, that they let them play on Monday."
"My club at BYU, won the conference, and district, but we couldn't go to the championships because it was played on Sundays," he said. "We started the negotiations of that rule, so that if the school can't play on Sunday, that they let them play on Monday."
After his tenure at BYU, he became the director of Logan Parks and Recreation for 17 years. He remained active in baseball by delivering clinics through the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. As we ended our interview, Van Noy shared his sentiments about playing during the 1950s that have been echoed by many of his peers.
"It was the greatest time to come up in baseball," he said. "You came up because you loved baseball. It wasn't commercialized like it is. And the money. When they started paying money and they had money invested in you, it all went down the tubes. We had players that played both sides, offense and defense. It made a great big difference."
More Info -
Aggie Great Jay Van Noy Passes Away - Herald Journal
Former Aggie Jay Van Noy Passes Away - Utah State Athletics
Jay Van Noy Obituary - Cache Valley
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Johnny Antonelli a true New York Giant and Army veteran
On this Veterans Day 2010, take a look back at one of the heroes from the last Giants championship team of 1954, Johnny Antonelli. Jim Callaghan of the Wall Street Journal recently caught up with Antonelli, who is 80 and living in Rochester, N.Y.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hall of Famer Goose Gossage receives the MLBPAA Lifetime Achievement Award
Click here to see more photos from the event and read about Gossage reception of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Clyde King | Brooklyn Dodger pitcher dies at 86
Former Brooklyn Dodger pitcher and New York Yankees manager Clyde King died November 2, 2010, in Goldsboro, NC. He was 86.
King made his debut in 1944 during the height of World War II at the age of 19. In a February 2008 interview with King, he described how he broke in with Brooklyn.
"I came right from the University of North Carolina right to Brooklyn at 19, almost 20 years old," King said. "There was a shortage of players at that time. I got to stick right there. I had a wonderful time with the Dodgers. I enjoyed Jackie [Robinson]. Campy caught me in my best year in 1951. We had a lot of good players. [Don] Newcombe, [Dan] Bankhead, among others."
He played seven seasons with the Dodgers and Reds between 1944 and 1953, retiring with a career record of 32-25, including 14 wins during the aforementioned 1951 season. King joined the Yankees organization as a scout in 1976 and served various positions within the organization including pitching coach, manager, and general manager.
During the 2008 interview with King, he reflected on his time with the Yankees as he was about to embark on his annual pilgrimage to Tampa as a guest of George Steinbrenner.
"I was with the Yankees for 33 years," he said. "I stay with Mr. Steinbrenner. He told me not to worry about scouting, just to stay in his box with him. We've done this for the past three years. My wife says he's rewarding me for what I did in the past."
Recommended Reading
A King's Legacy: The Clyde King Story
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| Clyde King / Baseball-Almanac.com |
King made his debut in 1944 during the height of World War II at the age of 19. In a February 2008 interview with King, he described how he broke in with Brooklyn.
"I came right from the University of North Carolina right to Brooklyn at 19, almost 20 years old," King said. "There was a shortage of players at that time. I got to stick right there. I had a wonderful time with the Dodgers. I enjoyed Jackie [Robinson]. Campy caught me in my best year in 1951. We had a lot of good players. [Don] Newcombe, [Dan] Bankhead, among others."
He played seven seasons with the Dodgers and Reds between 1944 and 1953, retiring with a career record of 32-25, including 14 wins during the aforementioned 1951 season. King joined the Yankees organization as a scout in 1976 and served various positions within the organization including pitching coach, manager, and general manager.
During the 2008 interview with King, he reflected on his time with the Yankees as he was about to embark on his annual pilgrimage to Tampa as a guest of George Steinbrenner.
"I was with the Yankees for 33 years," he said. "I stay with Mr. Steinbrenner. He told me not to worry about scouting, just to stay in his box with him. We've done this for the past three years. My wife says he's rewarding me for what I did in the past."
Recommended Reading
A King's Legacy: The Clyde King Story