In Memoriam

[Scott Taylor]

He was definitely a T&A guy. lol

also most famous for the cover to Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell.

No idea he did that! Kids these days will never experience the kind of fascination of just staring admiringly at that cover in a record store.

[Iron Maiden]

Character off the field factors in to it, too, though.

Dick Allen was very popular in Chicago. Philadelphia was notorious for some of the fans in bleachers throwing batteries at him. It's why he never took off his batting helmet. Excerpt from Dick Allen: What Could Have Been

So what went wrong?

Well, Allen entered the major leagues as a young and angry individual. He had been mistreated frequently during his stint in the minors. He was booed as the team's first black player and the subject of heavy ridicule and racism. Allen was greeted with signs that said “N*gger go home.” Fans wrote messages on his windshield saying, “Don't come back again, n*gger.”

While he had always been respected for his play on the field—even through his journey in the minor leagues, when Allen's talent was evident—he kept to himself. Allen was a troubled player living in a difficult environment.

The article goes on to say how the fans in Philly unfairly blamed him for the teams collapse in the pennant race with the Cardinals which lead to things tossed at him, etc. the next season. They also blamed him for a popular white player getting traded when he was struck in the shoulder by Frank Thomas (same name, different player) as part of some feud. That didn't help his standing with the Philly fans either. He told manager Gene Mauch he didn't want him released on his account but it didn't matter.

[The Darknight Detective]

Dick Allen was very popular in Chicago. Philadelphia was notorious for some of the fans in bleachers throwing batteries at him. It's why he never took off his batting helmet. Excerpt from Dick Allen: What Could Have Been



The article goes on to say how the fans in Philly unfairly blamed him for the teams collapse in the pennant race with the Cardinals which lead to things tossed at him, etc. the next season. They also blamed him for a popular white player getting traded when he was struck in the shoulder by Frank Thomas (same name, different player) as part of some feud. That didn't help his standing with the Philly fans either. He told manager Gene Mauch he didn't want him released on his account but it didn't matter.

Could he have done things differently? Sure, but what did he do that was that egregious that should exclude him from the Hall forever? Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson he wasn't.

[The Darknight Detective]

Sad. Earlier this year I picked up some old Heavy Metal mags with his art in them. He had such a unique style, all his own, with an incredible sense of how to tell a story through pictures. And, lets face it, a kind of softporn sensibility to his art that was similar to that of Wally Wood.

Oh, his art wasn't for my mother's eyes back in the '70s, that's for sure.

RIP

[Iron Maiden]

Could he have done things differently? Sure, but what did he do that was that egregious that should exclude him from the Hall forever? Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson he wasn't.

I agree. When I saw that he was not in the Hall of Fame as part of some to the articles written about his passing I was shocked. I guess I assume he was and I just never follow those announcements that closely. I remembered what powerhouse he was when he played for the White Sox. Numerous times named to the All Star Team, etc. Makes you wonder about the voters and why they never put him in.

[Joker]

The Hall is voted on by the Baseball Writer Association of America. It's largely the beat writers for the teams, largely local papers etc. You have to have been doing it for at least ten years to get a vote. It's not players, former players, coaches, managers or anyone who plays the game processionally. It's the writers.

You also only get to be eligible for the Hall for a certain amount of time. The voting body only get so many votes per ballot per year. So it is easy to be missed or lose out on your last year on the ballot when a star makes the ballot in their first year. It's not a great system, to be honest.

I'm not saying the writers aren't knowledgeable or valuable voices, but it's an odd and exclusionary choice if you ask me.

All that said, I don't take the Hall, inclusion or omission that seriously.

[The Darknight Detective]

The Hall is voted on by the Baseball Writer Association of America. It's largely the beat writers for the teams, largely local papers etc. You have to have been doing it for at least ten years to get a vote. It's not players, former players, coaches, managers or anyone who plays the game processionally. It's the writers.

You also only get to be eligible for the Hall for a certain amount of time. The voting body only get so many votes per ballot per year. So it is easy to be missed or lose out on your last year on the ballot when a star makes the ballot in their first year. It's not a great system, to be honest.

I'm not saying the writers aren't knowledgeable or valuable voices, but it's an odd and exclusionary choice if you ask me.

All that said, I don't take the Hall, inclusion or omission that seriously.

I agree. The Hall's relevancy has been going downhill since the '60s.

[Zelena]

We lost the legendary Richard Corben. He passed away at age 80 on December 2 following heart surgery.

I remember so long ago when I used to go to the library and then each time I saw this cover, a bulky bald guy and a young woman and just two words: DEN CORBEN…

Rip.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

I just found out that Tommy Lister passed away. 2020 took Debo, Damn.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/enter...rnd/index.html

Rest in piece Tommy Lister.

[Hypestyle]

Country singer Charley Pride, who was recently honored at the CMA Telecast, has died:

https://charleypride.com/country-mus...ies-at-age-86/

Pride, whose rich baritone voice and impeccable song-sense altered American culture, died Saturday, December 12, 2020 in Dallas, Texas of complications from Covid-19 at age 86.

DALLAS, Texas. — Charley Pride, whose rich baritone voice and impeccable song-sense altered American culture, died Saturday, December 12, 2020, in Dallas, Texas of complications from Covid-19 at age 86.

Born a sharecropper’s son in Sledge, Mississippi, on March 18, 1934, Pride emerged from Southern cotton fields to become country music’s first Black superstar and the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“No person of color had ever done what he has done,” said Darius Rucker in the PBS American Masters film Charley Pride: I’m Just Me.

Pride was a gifted athlete who at first thought baseball would be his path from poverty, labor, and strife. But his musical acumen was more impressive than his pitching arm or his hitting skills, and he emerged as one of the most significant artists at RCA Records, with chart-topping hits including “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone,” and “Mountain of Love.” He won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award in 1971, its top male vocalist prize in 1971 and 1972, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

His final performance came on November 11, 2020, when he sang “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” during the CMA Awards show at Nashville’s Music City Center with Jimmie Allen, a modern-day hitmaker who counts Pride among his heroes.

[Zelena]

Country singer Charley Pride, who was recently honored at the CMA Telecast, has died.

Rip, Mr Pride. Your voice was one of the most warm I have ever heard.

[Albert1981]

Rip, Mr Pride. Your voice was one of the most warm I have ever heard.

What a tremendous loss. I am very sorry to hear of this sad news.

[Albert1981]

John le Carré, Best-Selling Author of Cold War Thrillers, Dies at 89

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/b...arre-dead.html

One of the greatest authors of the 20th century passes away. I'm very sorry to hear of this.

[seismic-2]

Broadway and Hollywood dancer, choreographer, and actress Ann Reinking has died at age 71. She is perhaps best known from her appearance in the enormously successful 1996 Broadway version of Chicago, for which she won a Tony award as the show's choreographer. Her other notable appearances include her film roles in the Hollywood musicals Annie (1982), directed by John Huston, and All That Jazz (1979), directed by Bob Fosse. Here is Ann Reinking. dancing in that latter movie.

[The Darknight Detective]

Country singer Charley Pride, who was recently honored at the CMA Telecast, has died:

https://charleypride.com/country-mus...ies-at-age-86/

One of the all-time greats who could sing any stile of country. A childhood favorite of mine, it should be noted he was also a Negro Leaguer (though this was post-Jackie Robinson when the best players were migrating to the majors - still cool!)

RIP

Broadway and Hollywood dancer, choreographer, and actress Ann Reinking has died at age 71. She is perhaps best known from her appearance in the enormously successful 1996 Broadway version of Chicago, for which she won a Tony award as the show's choreographer. Her other notable appearances include her film roles in the Hollywood musicals Annie (1982), directed by John Huston, and All That Jazz (1979), directed by Bob Fosse. Here is Ann Reinking. dancing in that latter movie.

God, I had such a crush on her 40 years ago. She used to do a TV commercial for a local NYC radio station wearing a similar costume like the one posted above. The TV would start to melt when it aired. Those legs and sultry voice!

RIP

John le Carré, Best-Selling Author of Cold War Thrillers, Dies at 89

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/b...arre-dead.html

One of the greatest authors of the 20th century passes away. I'm very sorry to hear of this.

I have read A Perfect Spy and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, as well as all of the TV/movie adaptions of his work. I love James Bond, but Le Carre's spies were the real deal.

RIP