In my many adventures trying to find cheap stuff, I bought this box of SI's for $10.
Here are some of the highlights that I read on the Royals
Fred Pateck Quotes
Pateck's answer on how it feels to be the shortest player in the majors, "A heckuva lot better than being the shortest player in the minors."
When asked, "What's your home run pitch?", he stated, " I don't know. I don't hit enough of them."
Sounds like Pateck could give Getz some advice
Cheerleaders
The new girl cheerleaders were cheerless --- "People got mad when we stood up to cheer," said one. "They said they could not see the game"
Royals cheerleaders. Really. I searched for 15 minutes for some images online with no success. Help me here. I have to see these an image of these cheerleaders.
Crazy Carl Taylor
And Outfielder Carl Taylor went on a dreadful tear. Irked when Umpire Jerry Neudecker said he trapped, rather than caught, a Brooks Robinson line drive, Taylor charged the ump. Teammate Cookie Rojas intervened and was punch in the jaw for his trouble. Two nights later, Taylor took himself out of a game with the Orioles, burned his sweat shirt in the club house and disappeared. He turned up in Sarasota, Fla., where he said his mother was sick and he was sorry.
How have I never heard of Carl Taylor. Here are his career highlights, IMO:
Professor Canton
Kansas City starter Bruce Dal Canton, who is doing a research project on major arm ailments for a master's degree.....
I don't know who is the bigger nerd ... him for writing it or me for wanting to read it.
Amos Otis at 3B
...he [Otis] would solve the team's [Mets] chronic third-base dilemma. The drums rolled and trumpets blew, but when the season began, Ed Charles was at third and the publicized Otis was on the bench.
Amos Otis at 3B? In 1969, he played a total of 3 games at 3B. He had 3 assists and 1error. 2 years later he won a Gold Glove in CF with the Royals.
Innovation and the Royals
... the Royals turned it [a pitching machine] around and aimed it at their infielders. It throws a ball at exactly the same spot every time, and the fielders move closer or farther away, perfecting their technique with various bounces. And because the bounces are uniform, the players' reactions can be measured and compared. For trickier bounces, the staff used a curve ball pitching machine.
But what about the scouts?
0 recs | 34 comments
I love runnin into
old shit like this I’ve got an issue of “High Times” from june of 85 with what appears to be George Brett on his knees snorting the third base line, along with an arcticle about how the Royals aren’t the only team that partys, I ‘ve got a few of these old sports illustrated mags as well they aren’t worth much but you can’t beat sitting down and reading some those arcticles.
Kansas City Keith - February 13, 2012
Kansas City Keith - February 13, 2012
IIRC, up to 10 Royals were supposedly connected with the coke scandals of the 80s....any relatively legitimate rumors or suggestions to whom the other 6
devil snifferes may have been, outside of Aikens, Wilson, Blue, and Jerry must have been hipper than he looked Martin. Some fairly big names back then, don’t remember the outrage being that outraged, but who knows. Dave Parker? Tim Raines? Gary Carter? Keith Hernandez? During the Reagan years? Surprised they still had careers.
Nighthawk at the Diner - February 14, 2012
I thought Mayberry was supposed to be one
I thought he was traded because he was partying and doing blow before Game 5 of the 1978 ALCS.
RoyalsRetro - February 14, 2012
1980s cokeheads/Mayberry
It seemed like the entire Pirates’ roster was indicted. Dale Berra, Rod Scurry, Parker, etc.
BTW, Mayberry was too hung over/stoned to play competently in Game 4 (afternoon game) of the 1977 ALCS. Herzog benched him in Game 5.
RoyalsFan - February 14, 2012
I would guess other teams had the same problem as the Pirates
it was just that prosecutors in Pittsburgh happened to bust a player (I think John Milner was a first) who was willing to take an immunity deal to testify about other players, who in turn took deals to testify about others.
Gopherballs - February 14, 2012
U.L. Washington was rumored at the time.
Of course, Lonnie Smith wasn’t in KC yet when that all went down, but his problems before he came here were well documented. And from things I’ve heard, I don’t think it stopped then.
Rufus R. Jones - February 14, 2012
That explains a lot about Lonnie's defensive play in LF
Brett never got mentioned?
Nighthawk at the Diner - February 14, 2012
Darrell Porter
Forgot about him. Cocaine claimed his life.
RoyalsRetro - February 14, 2012
How many trips to the john did it take you to read through them all?
Tracer Bullet 82 - February 13, 2012
Amos Otis
on his experiences at third base:
2X2L - February 13, 2012
As a fan of Patek
I always thought he was a little too fascinated with the home run. I have no numbers to back this up, but in my memory every time he got one, it seemed like he would spend a week trying to get another one, ending up with alot of warning track fly outs before going back to hitting the ball on the ground and using his speed.
KHAZAD - February 14, 2012
didn't he use a really heavy bat?
buddyball - February 14, 2012
Awesome stuff
You probably know this, but all of SI’s archives are available online in the SI Vault.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/
Carl Taylor = Jeff Franceour’s long lost dad?
RoyalsRetro - February 14, 2012
oh, i bet you searched for cheerleader images online
Freneau - February 14, 2012
/also guilty
Freneau - February 14, 2012
I used to own the swimsuit issues spanning about 15 years
Ms. Buddyball did not approve
buddyball - February 14, 2012
It was some tough work
I found some decent overflow images.
Jeff Zimmerman - February 14, 2012
Hey, we need to get our fix somewhere
It’s been ages since you posted any pics of small-town Midwest high-school cheerleader squads from a Royals Radio Affiliate.
cmkeller - February 14, 2012
my biggest source of self-hatred is not doing more radio profiles...
need to write some soon/but this month is brutal for me
Freneau - February 14, 2012
I have a 1970 team yearbook
I’ll have to look for images in there, but I can’t recall seeing any before.
RoyalsRetro - February 14, 2012
Never wandered through the Royals HOF?
There are a couple pictures of “The Royalettes!” in there. They might even have a uniform on display if memory serves.
ElChupanibre - February 15, 2012
Memory serves well indeed...
Uniform in upper left, along with a couple pictures…
ElChupanibre - February 15, 2012
Amazing work!
Loose Seal - February 15, 2012
Sweet.
Jeff Zimmerman - February 15, 2012
BTW, I just looked through my old Yearbooks
No mention (nor image) of any cheerleaders in the 1970 or 1971 Yearbook. But the 1972 Yearbook mentions “Independence teenager Gaye Leslie” (of whiom there is a picture, though not a great one) and “the Royalettes” (of whom there are no pictures).
Maybe I’ll check some later yearbooks, but since the Sports Illustrateds in question are from 1970-1971, the likelihood is that any pictures in later Yearbooks aren’t specifically the ones referred to in the SIs.
cmkeller - February 14, 2012
Update
The 1973 Yearbook contains no mention of any entertainment which involves feminine bodies on display.
The 1974 Yearbook once again mentions Gaye Leslie (now referred to as a “young lady” from which I gather she celebrated her 20th birthday some time between the publication of the 1972 yearbook and this one), including a better picture, and she has been partnered with the un-depicted Kristy Waisner. There is also a picture of a “pretty usherette” to make the process of parking one’s rear in Royals Stadium more pleasant. No mention of “Royalettes” or anything sounding like a cheerleading squad.
The 1975 Yearbook has nothing.
From 1976 through 1982 there were no Yearbooks, instead the Royals published “Grand Slam” magazine, of which I’ve seen two distinct versions per season. I could continue my search in those, but we’re already 4 years removed from the titular Sports Illustrated articles.
cmkeller - February 14, 2012
Question on the Royals Rookie League Pioneer League team in Idaho Falls
Yesterday, the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming reported that an "unnamed Pioneer League" team will be visiting Casper in May to see if they want to re-locate to Casper in 2013. The Rockies’ team was there since 2001, but they grew tired of minimal fan support and moved the team to Grand Junction, CO for 2012. The location is vacant, but the team looking to move there is unknown.
Might it be the Idaho Falls Chukars? It would make the most sense for the mystery team to be from the South Division just due to travel purposes, as the other four teams in the league are all in Montana. Orem and Ogden are both in Utah and share proximity, and they aren’t all that far from Grand Junction either. Idaho Falls seems like the more likely candidate to move in the division. Has there been any noise that the Royals are displeased with their location in Idaho Falls?
Probably unrelated, but the franchise that moved to Casper for 2001 and became Rockies property was the Butte Copper Kings, an Royals affiliate from 1982-83.
Andrew T. Fisher - February 14, 2012
Casper is spitting distance from Grass Creek - this is gonna be WAR!
Loose Seal - February 14, 2012
They play in a fairly new stadium and are mid to top of the league in attendance
My guess would be the Helena Brewers who draw about a third of the Chukars attendance and play in a 70 year old stadium.
RoyalsRetro - February 14, 2012
Good to know
I didn’t delve that deep into research, but that difference in stadium age certainly supersedes divisional reasoning
Andrew T. Fisher - February 14, 2012
They should have changed their name to "Handbaskets"
cmkeller - February 14, 2012
Like it
hawkinscm87 - February 14, 2012
I've Been Making
Jokes about making handbaskets in Helena for years.
philofthenorth - February 14, 2012
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