Baseball's Greatest Siblings - The Brothers Three

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This is a baseball story that may never happen again - a tale of three brothers, each of whom made the All-Star team at least twice! See if you can figure out their identity from the clues in 20 lines of prose.

The Brothers Three

Written by Bill Russo

A long time ago in sunny Sicily
baby boys were born to Joe-sep,
all athletes, they totaled three.
told to follow their Dad’s step.

Fishing Poles they were given,
but their need was a bat and glove
so runs batted in could be driven.
For baseball was their true love.



The first to arrive at the plate
was Vince who paved the way.
Though not destined to be great
hard work got him 10 years of play.



Along next came the little professor.
For Boston, Domenic spent 11 years
and almost made the hall of fame
with hits and fielding that showed no fears



Then Joe started giving the ball a ride.
He made us forget both Dom and Vince.
56 straight games he hit as the Yankee pride
who became Baseball’s Crowned Prince

Ladies and Gentlemen: The DiMaggio Brothers

Actually the three Ds were first generation Americans - not immigrants. Their dad, Jo-sep, was born across the water but the boys were birthed in the states. 

 Mama and Papa DiMaggio both became American citizens in the fabulous/war torn 1940s while their sons were soldiering for the States to save the world.

Vince Dimaggio 

Vince DiMaggio 1941 Baseball Card

as listed on Ebay for $75.00 

Vince, the oldest brother toiled for five different National League teams during a ten year career that ended in 1946.  Like his two brothers he was a Centerfielder.

He spent the most time and had his best seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, belting 21 home runs and knocking in 100 runs in 1941.  In the end of season voting, his position matched his homer output,  finishing as the 21st top candidate for Most Valuable Player.  Vince was chosen for the All Star Team in 1943 and 1944. 

Vince started his career with the Boston Braves before moving to the Cincinnati Redlegs two years later. Pittsburgh was his third stop in the Majors and he completed five seasons with the Pirates before his last stand in 1946 when he struggled through 15 games with the New York Giants and six with the Philadelphia Phillies before being downgraded to the Minor Leagues. He continued playing for a few years, progressively sliding down the baseball ladder from AAA to Double A, then B and C. Switching to pitching he ended up winning 14 or 15 games in his final season - for a Class D Ball Club.  

I tried to find Vince's salary history but was unable to do so.  I checked other players with similar records and found they were paid between four and six thousand per year, so it's fair to assume that's what Vince made.  As you'll discover as you read on, his brothers had much larger paychecks.

Dom DiMaggio 

Domenic's 1950 baseball card

Smaller than his brothers, the bespectacled Domenic affectionately was given the nickname "The Little Professor".  He played all 11 years of his major league career in the American League for the Boston Red Sox and finished with a 298 batting average.

Dom had great success in New England.  He hit in 34 straight games - a Red Sox record.  He was always near 300 in batting average, going over it four times.  He led the league twice in runs scored.  He topped all players in stolen bases and triples once each.  He won many awards and topped the leaderboards in several categories.  Baseball historians have speculated that the youngest and smallest DiMaggio would have made the Hall of Fame if he hadn't lost three years to World War Two.  Dom's salary  which was $5,000 in 1940 peaked at $40,000 by 1950 where it remained until he retired. 

Joltin' Joe, the Yankee Clipper

Joe D in 1939

He got a hit in 56 straight games!  The whole country was talking about it. Les Brown and his band had a hit record celebrating Joe and the streak.  

The streak was one of the most celebrated events of 1941 - what a year for baseball.  It was the very same year that Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the very last 400 hitter.  

Almost 80 years later both of those streaks are still standing and experts say it's unlikely that either one will be broken. 

The streak is Joe's main claim to fame, overshadowing his other accomplishments. Until Aaron Judge's remarkable 2017 season, Joe's 29 home runs in his rookie year set the Yankee record. 

He won three MVP awards and usually placed in the top five or 10 players every year.  He retired with a 325 batting average, 36th best in the 100 plus years of major league ball.  He won two batting crowns and twice led the league in Home Runs.  During his 13 years in New York, the team won the World Series 19 times.

For his efforts and his fame, Joe was awarded a contract by the Yankees that made him baseball's first HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR MAN.  It was a lot of money for the 1949, in fact is was the same salary that President Harry Truman made! 

Brotherly Love?

Of the 3Ds, it's generally agreed that Dom was the most engaging, friendly and well liked.  Vince placed second in the personality department and Joe was a distant third.   

Since it was Vince, already an established player, who used his influence to get Joe a spot on a minor league ballclub, you might expect that there would have been a bond between the pair.  It was not the case, Joe is reported to have had little to do with his older brother.

As for Vince, his comment on their relationship was " "If I could hit like Joe and he could talk like me, we'd make a helluva guy."

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 So ends this little overview of the DiMaggio boys.  There actually were nine children born in the DiMaggio household.  I tried to find out some information on the six we don't know about, two of whom were boys.  If you have any information about them that you'd like to share, email me and I'll post it.  My email address is Billrrrrr@yahoo.com

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Tom Brady's Retirement Date Predicted by Ouija Board?

Posted by Bill Russo in the blog "Adventures in Type and Space" on August 3, 2018

Tom Brady's Retirement Date Predicted by Ouija Board?

Pictured below is Professor Mac Arb of the Cape Cod Commission of Pseudo Science.  I wanted to consult him about the future of

pro football's greatest quarterback, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. 

Sadly Professor Arb is just a photograph and he cannot talk, so instead I consulted two sources; time-worn, but very trustworthy.  The Magic 8-Ball and the Ouija Board.

First up was the fabled Magic 8-Ball.  

I asked: "Will Tom Brady retire after the 2018-2019 season?"

The old round whiz quickly delivered its answer which you can read below.......

How to play it safe 8-Ball!  Way to go! I could have gotten the same answer from Coach Bill Bellicose!

Certain that a 'Talking Board' would supply a more definitive response, I summoned the  21st Century Version of William Fuld's great invention - the Online Ouija Board.

 

  With this modern version of the Ouija, all you do is go to the website and ask, or simply 'think' your question and ever so slowly and gracefully the 'Spirit' in the device will spell out the answer.

I did not type in my query or even speak it aloud; by means of thought alone, I wondered: "Will Tom Brady retire at the end of the next football season?"

For a full thirty seconds the Planchette (the little marker thing) did not move.  Then, haltingly it went to the letter W, followed by an equally hesitant trip to the letter O, and then a little faster it moved to the R and then the K.  

It stopped.

The Ouija Board  responded with the word W-O-R-K. While I was puzzling how this applied to Tom Brady the little white 

heart-shaped pointer wiggled.  It moved up a fraction then to the side before finally creeping to the letter D.  Very slowly it communicated a second word: D-E-A-T-H. Again the Ouija pointer became lifeless.

"WORK DEATH" is what it said.   

Though I don't really believe in the Ouija Board (either in its board game form or in its on-line form) I was a bit creeped out.  What does the message mean?

Again it started to move and the next phrase was more inexplicable and bizarre than the first. It said: 

W-A-I-T,  H-A-V-E  M-A-G-N-E-T   B-U-I-L-T.

The full message is:  Work death. Wait, have  magnet built.

I'm open to suggestions as to how the communication applies to 

Tom Brady and what it means.  Work death?  Pro football is a dangerous game.  There have been fatalities in the game but I don't think the meaning has to do with a tragedy on the field.  

I think what the Ouija is talking about is the Brady training regimen. Tom Brady's personal trainer is not associated with the team. This has apparently caused strained relations between the team, its franchise QB, and the training people employed by the Patriots.   

The Talking Board is hinting that Brady should steer clear of the team's training program and stick with his own TB-12 training group.

Work - Death

The Talking Board is hinting that if Brady is forced to dismiss his training team and use the team's group, a very serious injury could occur.

The second part of the board's response is more clear.

Wait, Have Magnet Built

The Ouija Board is perhaps making a health and training suggestion to Tom Brady.  Magnetic Therapy is an alternative health system that uses magnets to alleviate pain and treat other conditions.

Generally the magnets are small and sold as bracelets, rings, and other pieces of jewelry. Magnets have also been built into mattresses and clothing.  

The Ouija Board is apparently suggesting that Tom Brady research and build a much larger system of Magnets - perhaps an entire magnetic room, maybe a magnetic mansion - to ensure his health, longevity, and safety.

Do I believe all this?  Do you believe all this?

I have heard Tom Brady talk about water, which is a large part of his nutrition and training program.  He recommends the intake of massive amounts of water to cleanse the human system.  He drinks in excess of 300 ounces a day.  That's almost 40 full glasses- an amount that could prove harmful to many people.

Noting the same zeal he has for his water, as well as his entire nutrition and exercise program, I can envision Brady jumping full bore into magnetic therapy.  

I suspect however that Tom will never read this blog and will never get this message. It's too bad.  A few magnets in the right places might help him win one more Super Bowl.

New Free Word Trivia Game Gives You 10 Chances to Name the Star

By Bill Russo

Name That Star!

N.T.S. is a little word game where you are given ten clues to guess the identity of a famous person. He or she may be a movie star, singer, politician, or anyone else in the public eye.

 Success in the first guess yields a score of 100.  Each successive clue is worth ten points less, going from 90 all the way down to zero points if you fail to Name That Star!

Segment One:

Here are the clues, in the form of statements by the celebrity:

 (Your Free Clue: This star is a man.  He’s semi-retired but does make frequent public appearances.)

1   1.     “In July 1957, I listened to Elvis on the radio singing “Teddy Bear” by day; while at night I sang on stage with the new group I had just joined - (The Quarrymen).” 

2   2.     “My father gave me a trumpet, but I wanted to play guitar. Being left handed, I couldn’t figure it out until I saw a Slim Whitman poster and realized I could reverse the strings! The people who influenced me included Chuck Berry and Little Richard.”

3   3.     “In 1966 after enjoying great success, I wanted to write a song for a string quartet.  I ended up writing it for a string ‘octet’ and it surprised me when it became a huge hit. A noted critic said the song is "a neoclassical tour de force ... a true hybrid, conforming to no recognizable style or genre of song" I used a woman’s name for the title.”

4   4.     “In 1969 a rumour spread around the world that I had been killed in a car accident and yet I was still seen in my singing group.  People said that I had been replaced by a look-alike.”

5   5.     “The following year, 1970; with bittersweet feelings I left my old group and started a new band.  It was then that my music really ‘flew’ to new heights and directions.”

6   6.     “I can write songs about anything.  I penned some about eggs, pie, and strawberries.  I even wrote one about submarines.”

7   7.     “I am not Ringo Starr and I am not Pete Best, although like those two men, I did play drums on some Beatles songs, including Back in the USSR and the Ballad of John and Yoko.

8   8.     “Like most of the Americans my age, I was highly influenced by Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis.”

9   9.     “I was deeply involved in the Real Buddy Holly Story, a 1985 documentary film.”

1   10.   “I composed and sang ‘Yesterday’, perhaps my favourite of all the work I have done.”

Well that’s it for this installment of Name That Star! How did you do? If you guessed the correct answer on the first clue you score 100 per cent and are a genius.

If it took two guesses, you get a straight ‘A’, and are pretty, pretty smart at the game.

Three guesses is an 80. This would be a “B”, if we were giving letter grades.  It’s okay – but don’t be bragging about it. Try a little harder next time.

If you guessed the Celebrity on the fourth statement, you get a grade of 70.  You passed but just barely.  It’s recommended that you download and listen to Rubber Soul, Revolver, and the White Album for starters.

If it took you five or more clues to figure out that today’s guest celebrity is Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Wings: Go directly to jail.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200. 

But do try again in another edition of Name That Star.

Here in brief are the explanations to the statements ascribed to Sir Paul McCartney:

1. The Quarrymen, fronted by John Lennon, invited fifteen year old Paul to join them in 1957.  The following year George Harrison became part of the band.

2. Mostly self taught, Paul plays surprisingly well and has been considered a top bass guitarist. At the start however, he was confused how he, as a southpaw, could ever learn how to play a guitar.  After he saw that the strings of Slim Whitman’s guitar were reversed, he switched his and soon began making sweet music.

3. Paul’s octet for strings is the quirky and perky, “Eleanor Rigby”.

4. In 1969, it was indeed thought by many people that Paul had succumbed to injuries suffered in the crash of his ‘Aston Martin’ and was secretly replaced by a look-alike. On rapidly growing legs, the false report ran all around the world, only slowing down months later after many ‘live’ appearances and Paul’s personal interview, published in Life Magazine.

5.  In 1970, McCartney left the Beatles and his music soared in new directions with his latest group, “Wings”   

6. Among many other things, Paul wrote about Strawberry Fields Forever and a Yellow Submarine.

7. Statement 7 was designed as a curve ball to throw you off the track.  Ringo and Pete Best were drummers in the Beatles and so was Paul!  He actually did the drum work on at least four of the Beatles releases. He also played piano in some, including Lady Madonna in which he tried to emulate one of his early heroes, Fats Domino of New Orleans, USA.

8. We also tried to fool you in Statement 8, saying: “Like most Americans my age, I was highly influenced by Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis.” The idea was to get you to think that the mystery celebrity was American.  The statement is true – most American teenaged musicians were influenced by those artists; as were many young people from the UK, including Paul and the rest of the Beatles.

9. Paul was both the producer and the host of the Real Buddy Holly Story.

10. We threw you a softball for clue 10 because even if you didn’t figure it out before then, it’s safe to say that everybody in the world knows that Paul McCartney was the singer of Yesterday – the most ‘covered’ song on the planet.  To date more than 3,000 established musicians have recorded the tune, widely regarded as one of the best ballads ever written. 

Thanks for playing.  Play early and play often.

Full Listing of the ingredients in NTS:

Trivia: 100 per cent

Corn: considerable, but not from ears

Sugar: None

There are zero calories in Name That Star!

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Segment Two: is a Segment To be posted at a future date.  Send e-mails to Billrrrrr@yahoo.com.  Write early and often and especially if you have something good to say.

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This Museum is Built Not of Stone Walls, But of Letters

An unusual museum constructed not of stone walls but of letters has been announced by CCA Media, with the release of the Wacks Museum by Bill Russo. 

Admission is free for a limited time to the exhibits which range from the original "Chucky" Devil Doll, a visit to the land of 10,000 Flakes, a ghost town filled with cowboys who ride Model T Cars, a frozen stiff who wasn't, and much more. 

The 40,000 word novella was distributed exclusively on Smashwords before being released to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kindle, Apple and other online retailers. 

How To Unsubscribe from Foreign Emails that You Cannot Even Read

A "How To" on What to Do

when your e-mail account is loaded with advertising in languages  you cannot read and you have no idea

how to unsubscribe from them:

By Bill Russo

So today I spent my morning like many others; with a cup of coffee and a boatload of frustration at my inability to figure out how to delete more than a dozen different foreign advertisements clogging up my inbox.

Some of the emails were from stores. Others promoted specific products.  All were in languages that are completely unreadable to me.  I tried and tried to find something that looked like the English word "Unsubscribe".

I like to clean  my E-mail account on a regular basis and get rid of all the unwanted ones.  It's usually easy to do.  You simply hit "Unsubscribe" and they're gone. 

But what about these foreign e-mails? You can't read them. You can't delete them...they just come back again. How does some company in Finland, Germany, or France get my Email address?

I finally solved this small crisis by researching the foreign words for UNSUBSCRIBE and then scanning the tag ends of the offending communications for words like ABMELDEN (German for unsub), Se desebonner (French), Afmeldon (Dutch) and MALAMONI (Esperanto for unsubscribe). 

It worked. I was able to get rid of half a dozen habitual offenders. 

Here's a few more translations. Finland: Loreta Tilaus, Italian: Annulla l'iscrizione --- or as my Paisan Nonno (Grandfather) would say 'Get Out u Summa ma beech'.

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U. S. President Shares UFO Secrets with Jackie Gleason

UFO SECRETS GIVEN TO

JACKIE GLEASON BY THE

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT?

The gifted Brooklyn native, Jackie Gleason, was one of television's top entertainers from the 1950s to the 80s. He also is the most successful bandleader in the history of music, Music for Lovers Only, which he conducted, spent a record 153 weeks in the Billboard Top Ten. It was just one of dozens of "Mood Music" hits issued by Gleason on Capitol Records.

Most people, even the young set, have heard of Jackie the comic, but few know that he was an avid student of the PARANORMAL. He maintained a massive library of books and engaged in serious research. 

And then there's this. President Richard M. Nixon summoned Jackie to the White House where he shared UFO secrets with Gleason. 

What secrets did the president reveal? According to some sources the President took Jackie to a secure facility and showed him alien bodies. The figures were child-sized with pointy ears. Highly intelligent they possessed smooth, evolved bald heads.

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Facebook Bans Harmless Trump Meme

FACEBOOK BANS HARMLESS TRUMP MEME

As a regular commenter on politics in blogs and on Facebook, I have occasionally attempted humorous memes and cartoons directed at President Donald Trump.  It's my belief that they were harmless and were not malicious.

My most recent meme was preceded with the following comments...

"I don't care if you are Red or Blue or of a transparent hue..

It's satire.   A bit of fun for me and I hope a laugh for you..."

After those two lines I submitted the following meme.  It was not accepted by Facebook.  I tried three times and three times it failed to be transmitted to my newsfeed.  

Dear Facebook

Say it isn't funny.  Say I'm not funny.  But don't say I can't say it!  This is the modern day equivalent of book burning.  What happened to free speech?

Has Facebook been frightened by White House insiders?  Were they instructed to delete anything that  would make Donald Trump look foolish, weak, or old?

Will anyone posting something similar also be blocked?  Am I on a White House list?

If you don't hear anything further from me.  If you read that I was found lifeless with bottles of pills scattered around my corpse - it was not suicide.  

Dial M for Murder!

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