Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day! Unfortunately, the precipitation of the past few days has flooded fields and swollen creeks and rivers, causing untold consternation among high school athletic directors, farmers, and the general population—seems like we’ve seen this before, doesn’t it?
In case you missed it (and you didn’t miss much!), the Reds’ three consecutive 1-0 losses this past week made baseball history. Since the onset of the “live ball” era in 1920, only the 1960 Phillies had achieved such a dubious distinction. In fact, only six times in Major League Baseball history has such a streak occurred, with the other somewhat hapless teams being the 1908 Brooklyn Superbas, the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators of 1909, and the 1917 Pittsburgh Pirates. Talk about Cincinnati wasting stellar pitching—Carson Spiers, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo all have good reason to consider legal action against their teammates for lack of support!
Things were so bad during the streak of offensive ineptitude that new manager Terry Francona became ill and missed Friday night’s game when the string of 35-plus scoreless innings finally came to an end, albeit in yet another one-run loss, this time to the Brewers by a 3-2 count. I think a majority of Reds Nation experienced the same symptoms as Francona!
That brings us to today’s trivia question—what present-day franchises are the offspring of the Superbas, the Browns, and the original Senators? Answers and more to follow!
Unlike the Mens NCAA semifinals which, were down-to-the-wire nailbiters, the Womens Final Four weekend featured runaway victories in the semis, with first South Carolina thrashing Texas and later UConn dominating UCLA. Any hopes of a South Carolina national title three-peat were dashed in the third quarter of the championship contest when the Huskies went on a roll and never looked back in taking out the Gamecocks 82-59, presenting Coach Geno Auriemma with an unprecedented 12th national title. Must be something in the water of Storrs, Connecticut, as the men’s team won the Final Four in ‘23 and ‘24!!
Work continues on the demolition of Greenville’s venerable Harmon Field bleachers as the home or west stands are pretty well down, joining the demise of the east seating. The stadium was dedicated in 1937, a result of the Works Progress Administration program as the nation started to recover from the Great Depression. For 88 years the stadium was the site of many memorable events that will forever remain in the hearts of Greenville residents and alumni but it was time for its replacement as the infrastructure of the facility was crumbling (1930’s concrete evidently wasn’t the best!) despite efforts over the years to maintain it, and current codes needed to be met to remain viable.
For an update on the new stadium and its 3,500 seat capacity, be sure to listen to the latest Round Table episode here at MyCountyLInk featuring GHS Athletic Director Aaron Shaffer discussing different aspects of Green Wave athletics. The outdoor venues that are home to Greenville sports are second to none for a school of its size!
By the way, the Wave football team didn’t win a home game in 1937 or 1938, the first two seasons played in the new stadium! One other interesting fact—the light standards at the time were between the field and the bleachers, making for some perilous sideline tackles!
And now the answers to the trivia question, which I’m sure has stumped at least a few of you baseball fanatics! Those Superbas became the “Trolley Dodgers” in 1914, eventually shortened to the Dodgers, leading to today’s Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to sunny Southern California in 1958, playing their first four seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving into the present-day gem that is Dodger Stadium. As a side note, those four years in the Coliseum featured a 40-foot high screen in left field as it was only 250 feet down the left field line and 320 to left-center. To make up for it, it was 440 feet to right-center field—made for some interesting baseball!!
And how about those St. Louis Browns leaving the banks of the Mississippi River after the 1953 season and moving to Maryland to become the Baltimore Orioles!
The original Senators (more on that in a second, but remember the old saying “Washington, first in the hearts of his countrymen but last in the American League!”) moved to the Upper Midwest and became the Minnesota Twins following the 1960 season, the Twins name coming from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. To make up for the abandonment of the Nation’s Capitol, MLB granted an expansion franchise to DC in ‘61, becoming the new Senators. However the team never captured the fancy of area residents and the franchise moved after the 1971 season to become the Texas Rangers!
One last trivial fact—the current day Washington Nationals (2019 World Series champions) came into being in 2005 after a period of 34 years with no MLB in Washington. From where did they arise? The old Montreal Expos!!
Enough trivia; let’s all settle back and watch the NCAA championship game between the Florida Gators and Houston’s Cougars, who outscored Duke 25-8 down the stretch, including a 6-0 run in the final minute, to win a thriller 70-67. As for the Blue Devils, you have to make more than one field goal in the last 10:32 of the contest! I was shocked by the inability of Duke to inbound the ball the last few minutes of the game due in no small part to Houston’s outstanding defensive pressure. However, for an elite college program, Jon Scheyer’s team certainly looked disorganized, and the Devils will have all summer to contemplate the one that got away! Stay active and healthy!!
