Seeing the Past from the Present

In spite of the hiccup caused by a dispute between the owners and players, the 2022 baseball season is underway, although about a week late. Early one day last season, I was waiting for the train to take me to the market, when a teenage boy wearing a Cleveland baseball jersey, carrying a baseball glove and accompanied by his dad, walked onto the platform to wait for the train to take them downtown for a game that day (I don't now recall the visiting team that day).

I couldn't help but think of my dad and me, and sometimes my older brother, heading to Cleveland Municipal Stadium for games in the 1960s and early 1970s. My dad would never say "We're going to the stadium for the game," but rather, "We're going to the ballpark," the term he always used. Anyway, I briefly talked with the father and son about the then new season, and it was like having a conversation with my dad and myself, but 60 years ago.

 

I suppose we all reminisce about times gone by, and some seek almost desperately to hold onto the past, perhaps often at the expense of the present and the future. This episode of "The Twilight Zone" fits right into the idea of the past: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-visit-to-past.html   

Back in the 1960s ... my uncle, my dad's brother, was visiting us from Connecticut, where he and his family lived back then. I believe it was the last game of the season for us the day this picture was taken. Just think, "I coulda been a contender," but Marlon Brando made that line famous before I had a chance.

WORD HISTORY: 

Jersey-The origin of this word is uncertain, although it seems to go back to one of two possibilities, both of which have to do with the name of one of the Channel Islands, which is a British Crown Dependency; and thus, it is not a constituent part of the United Kingdom nor of any of the UK's component parts, with many perhaps first thinking of England. First off, there is an argument that the name "Jersey" is simply from a French pronounced form of Latin "Caesarea," which was rendered in French as "Césarée," and then which supposedly became "Gersui" in the French spoken by the descendants of the original Normans in England, then this became "Gersey," before the form "Jersey." Others believe the name comes from Old Norse, and indeed, the Norse sailed and raided along the western European coast, the English coast and among the Channel Islands. The idea is, the Norse called the island "Geirrs Island;" that is, with the Norse form coming from "geirr" and "ey," words from Germanic. "Geirr" comes from the same Germanic source that gave English "garlic, garfish, Oscar" and the verb "gore," and its basic meaning is "spear, spearhead," and in the verb gore meaning, "to be pierced or stabbed by a spear or other sharp object (usually an animal horn)." Old Norse "geirr" meant "spear," and it was also used as a male name. "Ey" goes back to Old Germanic "awjo," which meant "meadow area by a river or stream, the lower level of land near a river or stream;" thus, "a floodplain," with the further meaning "island." The Germanic form gave Old English "ieg," which meant "island," and it gave Old Norse the previously mentioned "ey," also meaning "island." The Norse forms of "Geirr" and "ey" then supposedly became "Gersui," "Gersey" and "Jersey," in succession. Whatever the case, the use of "jersey" (small 'j') for a garment for the upper body is from the island name, seemingly because such garments were commonly worn there, but when this really came into use for the garment name is unclear to me, as some have noted the name was originally applied to the particular cloth made on Jersey and then used for the garment, but there is a huge gap in possible beginnings of the term dating from the 1500s to the first half of the 1800s. This may be because the original cloth was named this in the 1500s, and then that transferred to the name for the garment, but with the "athletic shirt" meaning, which is still common today, first being used around the mid 1800s in the U.S. The U.S. state of "New Jersey" was also named after the island in the second half of the 1600s, as one of the big landowners in the region was from the island of Jersey (he had been given land in America by England's King Charles II). In every day lingo, "New Jersey" is often shortened to just "Jersey."

Damn Yankees, Bedeviling Movie with Tab Hunter

I first saw this 1958 film when it aired on television, likely in the 1960s, but I really can't recall the year. It "may" have been first shown on one of the network movie nights, which were popular back in the 1960s and 1970s, as NBC, ABC and CBS all had such movie nights at some point in those days (there were no true cable stations back then). The networks would broadcast movies for their initial television showing that had been main features in movie theaters when they were released. I saw the movie again later a couple of times on local television, which was common after films had been shown once or twice on network television, and then these movies would often be rented out to local television stations.

The movie opens with a man watching a baseball game on television at home, as his wife, Meg, played by American actress Shannon Bolin, sits sewing. After a little while, the wife asks, "Is Washington winning, dear?" The husband answers, "No... Those damn Yankees." This brings the opening credits. Hm, "Those damn Yankees..." I've heard that said a few times in my life... a few thousand times! But I don't believe I ever said it myself, because I always said much worse than that. Hahaha! Actually that's not true, although perhaps in the heat of the moment I may have uttered something about the Yankees or some other opponent, my most scornful and curse filled lines would have been directed at my own Cleveland Indians team, a team that's deservedly had Cleveland fans utter more profanity laced statements ..... well, let me put it this way: if you think the transcripts of the Watergate tapes had a lot of messages of "expletive deleted," think again.

Anyway... we learn the man's name is Joe and Joe is a middle-aged guy, played by American actor Robert Shafer, who loves baseball and the Washington Senators. * Joe walks out onto his porch talking to himself about his team and how he wishes Washington had a power hitter. He wants a power hitter so much, he's willing to sell his soul for a player who can hit the long ball. When Joe turns around, there's a man standing behind him on his porch, a Mr. Applegate, played by American actor Ray Walston (later known for his role on "My Favorite Martian" in the 1960s). Applegate discusses Joe's desire to add a power hitter to the Washington ball club, and he takes up Joe's offer to trade his soul for that power hitter, especially since Joe always wanted to be a baseball player himself. Applegate tells Joe to come along with him, and he'll make him the greatest baseball player ever. Joe is convinced, especially when a couple of neighborhood ladies walk by, but they can't see Applegate, who is in plain view to Joe.** Now Joe knows that Applegate is legit, ah, illegit...oh, whatever the hell it is! Joe does get an escape clause; that is, he has until September 24 to get out of the deal; otherwise, Applegate gets his soul. (NOTE: In those times there were no playoffs, as there were no divisions, only 16 major league teams; 8 in the American League and 8 in the National League. Let me check my math.... let's see... 8 + 8 is ...ah, wait until I take my shoes off to use my toes... yep, 16! There was only the World Series, which was played between the two pennant winners; that is, the teams with the best record in their respective leagues. The World Series typically started within the first few days of October. In 1958, the year the film was released, the World Series actually began October 1.)

Applegate "changes" Joe from a guy of about 50 to a guy in his early 20s and he later tells the Press Joe is from Hannibal, Missouri, actually the hometown of Joe's wife, Meg. They go to the ballpark, where the Senators are practicing, and Applegate is able to get the Washington manager, played by American actor Russ Brown, to give Joe, who uses the name "Joe Hardy," a chance to swing the bat in practice. Joe proceeds to knock several pitches out of the park. The manager can't ignore such power, and he offers Joe a contract. Joe plays superbly and the Washington Senators begin to become a team to be reckoned with. Some wonder how such a great player just appeared from nowhere, but everyone is so happy, the questions are put aside, by most, except by some in the Press, especially a woman reporter, played by American actress Rae Allen.

In the meantime, Joe's wife misses him, and no matter how pessimistic her friends are about his return, Meg believes he'll come back. Joe decides to go and see her (remember, he's totally unrecognizable), and he tells her he heard she has a room for rent. After consulting with her friends, Meg agrees to rent Joe her husband's den. One of the neighbors recognizes Joe as Washington's new baseball savior, but it means nothing to Meg without her husband to tell her about the Senators. Applegate comes by and tells Joe to stay away from Meg and to concentrate on baseball, so the Senators can beat the Yankees, but it is Joe's love for Meg that upsets Applegate; after all, love is not the inspiring emotion in Hades. To pry Joe from his wife, Applegate promises to get Joe "a real sexy baby," but Applegate doesn't understand, and could never understand, Joe's love for Meg. Applegate goes to a phone booth and drops a good many coins into the slot to call Lola. I guess it took so many coins, because any call to the "infernal regions" is a long distance call.*** Applegate tells Lola about Joe and puts her on the case to seduce him to make Joe forget his wife. Applegate is happy that Washington fans are now brimming with hope since Joe's play has inspired the team. With people so hopeful, Applegate wants to pull the rug out from under the team at the last moment, which will bring despair to the fans, and despair, along with some suicides and heart attacks, is what will make the devil... ah, Applegate, happy.

The Press keeps asking questions about Joe, bringing Applegate to portray himself as a newspaper man from Joe's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, where he says everybody is proud of Joe.

Lola fails in her attempt to seduce Joe, as he proves to be a kind and respectful young man who only wants to get home to his wife. So Applegate feels he'll have to take matters in hand himself. Applegate goes to Joe's neighborhood and tells some stories, since Joe is living in the same house with Meg. He figures the gossip will force Meg to make Joe leave, and it does. The season is near its end, with only two games left, and Washington needs to win just one of the two games to win the American League pennant, but September 24th has come too. In the meantime, Lola joins Joe's fan club and she finds she is more than a little fond of Joe.

The lady reporter goes to Applegate to tell him she just came back from Hannibal, Missouri, where nobody knows Joe Hardy. Applegate deliberately drops a hint that Joe's name might not really be Joe Hardy, and he also drops the name Shifty McCoy, who the reporter finds out was a player who had thrown a game (that is, deliberately lost the game in exchange for some gain, usually money) in the Mexican League, but he'd been caught at it and nobody ever heard of him again. She naturally wonders if Shifty McCoy has resurfaced as Joe Hardy. The reporter digs up the old story and a new story about Joe Hardy hits the headlines. The baseball commissioner calls a hearing and Joe struggles to explain why no one in Hannibal knows him, but Applegate steps in and says he has someone flying in who actually knows Shifty McCoy. Applegate has to keep Joe busy until the escape clause is no longer valid, then Joe's soul is his and he plans to have Joe throw the game, just as he had Shifty McCoy do a few years earlier.

A tribute is held for Joe by various fan organizations, and Lola performs in one of the acts during the tribute. Washington fans are behind Joe and so is the team. Some believe the whole thing was instigated by the New York Yankees to thwart Washington's drive for the pennant. Meg and her neighbors are upset by the allegations against Joe and they decide to testify that they DO remember Joe (they were all originally from Hannibal). Other witnesses brought in from Hannibal by the newspaper say they don't remember Joe Hardy. At Applegate's, Lola tells Applegate she feels sorry for Joe, and Applegate has Lola repeat over and over, "Never feel sorry for anybody." Joe comes to see Applegate to tell him he wants to use the escape clause, that he now realizes that there is something more important than being a hero. Applegate tells Joe he needs to speak up at 5 minutes until midnight, and if other people are present, the two of them will go out of sight and Joe will be changed back to himself. Joe leaves and in order to rehabilitate Lola, whose feelings for Joe have seen her losing her devilishness, Applegate gives her the assignment to think of three dirty tricks, "and they'd better be good," he tells her.

At the hearing, Meg and the two neighbors come in and tell the commissioner they want to testify that they knew Joe in Hannibal. Meg even talks to one of the witnesses who testified against Joe, trying to make him remember Joe. Meanwhile it is nearly midnight and Joe grabs Applegate so he can exercise the escape clause. Meg takes Joe by the arm and the clock begins to strike midnight and Applegate smiles. It's too late, Joe's soul will belong to Applegate. Joe goes out and sits by himself, but Lola comes to him and tells Joe she gave Applegate pills that will knock him out until after the game is over, so Applegate can't cause Joe to lose the game for the Senators. Joe asks Lola what she had been before Applegate took her soul. She says, "I was the ugliest girl in Providence, Rhode Island." Joe calls them "two lost souls," and he gives Lola a kiss and off they go to a club for drinking, singing and dancing (hey, this is a musical).

The game is well underway, but Applegate awakens when the game is in the 7th inning, with Washington leading 1 to 0. Applegate quickly changes and takes Lola with him to go to the game. He tells Lola he knows she doped him, but he wants to know why. She says, "Because I love him," which is enough to make Applegate sick. The two get to the game, where it is the 9th inning, and Lola thinks it's too late for Applegate to use Joe to lose the game for Washington, but he tells her he will change Joe back to his former self, a statement that causes Lola to turn to leave, but Applegate changes her back to her former self, an ugly witch of a woman. The Yankees get a hit and have a runner at first, with two outs, and the very dangerous Mickey Mantle comes to bat. Mantle hits a long drive to center field. Joe runs back, but Applegate now changes him back to his old self, and the now much older man falls to the ground, then struggles enough to put his glove up and to catch the ball for the final out. Washington wins and Applegate is as hot as the Devil... ah, as mad as hell... ah, he's plenty angry. Joe runs through a door in the center field wall and disappears. Everyone wonders what has happened to Joe, and we hear speculation on the radio that a possible answer is about "foul play" by a group of New York gamblers who lost a bundle on the game. Joe goes home to Meg and who appears but Applegate. As Joe and Meg embrace, Applegate rants about how Joe has cheated and robbed him. He then disappears. 

* The Washington Senators were one of the original teams of the American League in Major League Baseball. They were also called the "Nationals," at times. This team has no historical connection to the present Washington Nationals, as the original Washington team moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season, and became the Minnesota Twins, but it was immediately replaced by a brand new Washington Senators team (termed an "expansion team," because the American League then "expanded" to ten teams from eight teams). This team moved to Texas in 1972 to become the Texas Rangers, and it wasn't until 2005 that the Montreal Expos team moved to Washington to become the Washington Nationals that Washington DC again had a major league team, but it was now in the National League. Try not to be too confused, but I'll understand if you have trouble; after all, I lived through all of these changes and I have difficulty keeping track. 

** One of the ladies is played by American actress Jean Stapleton, who later became famous for her portrayal of Edith, the wife of Archie Bunker in the popular CBS television comedy series, "All in the Family."   

*** I guess I need to explain to younger people today, that in the past there were public landline telephones all over the place (no cellphones back then, AT ALL), usually in booths (some with wooden frames, some with metal frames, but both with lots of glass panes) with folding doors. There were standard charges for local calls, a dime when I was a kid, and if you called outside what was considered your local calling area, the cost of the call escalated according to its distance. You had to deposit the amount of the call into the coin slot, and such a call required the assistance of an operator. No credit card slots back then, but they did change that later. I can't quite remember, but I'll guess by 1980, but I don't believe all public phones had even changed by then. Even long distance calls made from home required an operator, and perhaps even more than one, as an operator in your home community might well connect you with an operator in the area you were calling. Understand, these things gradually changed over time, with metro areas seeing changes faster than in rural communities, but it took time for "direct dial" long distance calls to become nationwide. "Direct dial long distance" was when you didn't need an operator to connect you to the number, but you simply dialed it yourself and you were connected.


Photo is of Warner Home Entertainment DVD

WORD HISTORY: 
Seduce-This prefixed word, the main part of which is related to "duke" and "duct," words of Latin derivation borrowed by English, and it is distantly related to "tow" (as in, "tow your car"), a word going back to the Germanic roots of English, but connected to the previously mentioned words through Indo European. The "se-" goes back to Indo European "sed," a pronoun form which meant, "itself," ^ but also prepositionally meaning, "off to itself, by itself;" thus also, "apart." The main part of the word goes back to Indo European "deuk," which meant, "to lead, to guide, to draw or pull along" (that is, "to cause to move along"). This gave Latin "ducere," with the same meanings. These were combined in Latin as "seducere," literally meaning, "to lead off to itself;" thus, "to lead off, to lead away from," thus, "to lead astray." It was borrowed into English in the early 1500s, initially with the meaning, "to lead someone away from allegiance to an authority," its meaning at the time in Latin. Within just a few decades, it also took on the meaning in English, "to lure a woman into giving herself over for sexual purpose," but it wasn't long before the "luring" could be from either gender.  

^ For those familiar with German, the reflexive pronoun "sich" is from the same Indo European form, which gave Old Germanic "sek." Old English, Old Saxon and Old Frisian all changed, however, to use forms of the personal pronouns, in English: "itself," "himself," "herself."  

"Bang the Drum Slowly," Young Robert De Niro

One of my favorite movies is "Bang The Drum Slowly." When I was in college many years ago, one of the nearby movie theaters had matinee specials, I believe it was on Wednesdays. I had a long spell between classes then, and I'd frequently take in the matinee special. That's how I saw this movie. It wasn't really advertised, nor did it have any big names in starring roles (at that time), but it was about baseball, and I loved baseball; plus, if I remember right, the matinee special only cost fifty cents (remember, that was 1973 pricing and money value). One of the main actors in the movie went on to become fairly well known years later in the first several seasons of "Law and Order;" this was Michael Moriarty, who played Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone on the television series. The other main actor became a Hollywood staple and is known to anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for decades; that actor is Robert De Niro. The movie was based on a novel written in the mid 1950s by Mark Harris,* and the movie prompted me to read the book. I believe I bought it in paperback, which in those times was likely 50 or 75 cents, but don't trust my memory.

The movie centers around a mediocre major league baseball player, a catcher, Bruce Pearson, played by Robert DeNiro, who is a bit slow on the uptake, and the target of many jokes from the other players. He receives a death sentence diagnosis from doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota (he is from Georgia). His roommate during the season, a star pitcher and an insurance salesman, Henry Wiggin** (played by Michael Moriarty), had accompanied Pearson to Minnesota, and he wants to give his friend a final season. Pearson's diagnosis makes Henry look at Bruce in a whole new way, causing him to forget the poorly educated farm boy, the non-hip, mismatched clothes, the poor hair style and the incessant tobacco chewing (and spitting) of the forlorn catcher. Maybe he doesn't really forget, but he comes to see that these things aren't actually so important after all, and that a hip image can't save a person from one of the experiences common to all living things .... death.

The team, from New York City, but given the fictional name, the "New York Mammoths," is expected to be one of the top teams in baseball, and a possible World Series champion. Henry, also known by the nickname, "Author," because of his writings,*** plots to keep Bruce on the team as spring training begins, and he also tries to get the players to stop making fun of Pearson, but he dares not tell them why; knowing full well that the team manager, Dutch, played by Vincent Gardenia, would never put a dying player on the roster. The thing is, by accident, Dutch hears that Pearson and Wiggin were in Minnesota over the winter, and he tries to find out why, which leads to some hilarious scenes and dialogue, as the cantankerous and dry Dutch tries to unravel the story of the two players. Yes, while the basis of the story is about a dying man, the story is also part comedy, and Vincent Gardenia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dutch.**** At one point, Dutch utters a great line in reference to himself, "When I die, the newspapers will write in their headlines, 'Sonofabitches of the world have lost their leader.' "

I can't go further without giving away too much of the story and, therefore, ruining the movie for those who haven't seen it. The movie combines seriousness, comedy and sadness, all in one. If I remember right, then "Today Show" movie critic, Gene Shalit, gave the movie a special mention, as a film worth seeing, even though it then had no major stars, but the movie helped showcase De Niro's and Moriarty's talents, thus aiding their careers. Check this movie out, it will make you laugh, and it just might make you shed a tear.   

*There was also a television production of the book done in the 1950s, starring a then little known actor from Cleveland ... Paul Newman.

** Remember, the book was written in the 1950s and the movie was made in the early 1970s, both before anything like the astronomical player salaries of more recent decades. Players often had, and needed, off season jobs to supplement their incomes.

*** Pearson always mistakenly calls him "Arthur."

**** Gardenia appeared occasionally on CBS's hit comedy series, "All in the Family," in those days of the early 1970s. He played Frank Lorenzo, the husband of Edith's friend and neighbor, Irene, who was a feminist and a Catholic, who drove Archie up the wall.  

Photo of the Paramount Home Entertainment DVD

"

WORD HISTORY:
Death-This word is closely related to "dead" and "die," both from the Germanic roots of English, but with "die's" use in English perhaps coming from Old Norse(?) "Death" goes back to Indo European "dheu," which meant "to die." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "dauthos," which meant, "the state of being dead, not being alive, death." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the noun "deaþ" (þ="th"), with the same meaning. This later came to be spelled "death." Relatives in the other Germanic languages, many of which mean "dead": German "Tot," ^ Low German Saxon and Dutch "dood," West Frisian "dea," Danish and Norwegian "død," Icelandic "dauði" (ð, also essentially equivalent to "th") and Swedish "död."

^ The high Germanic dialects underwent what are called "sound shifts," and one of those shifts often made the "d" sound into a "t" sound; thus, Low German and Dutch "dood," is rendered in standard German, which is heavily based on Old High German, "Tot," a grammatically masculine noun; thus, "der Tot." Interestingly, many German dialects use the "d" spelling, with even southern Bavarian having "doud." 

A Sad Time Of Year

First published 9-30-14 (Note: I am re-posting this on 9-29-19, and this is the last day of the regular season. This year the Cleveland Indians will not be in the playoffs. When I was a kid, there were no playoffs, because there were no divisions, but rather the top National League team and the top American League team simply faced off in the World Series.) 

My major passion as a kid was baseball. I played it, listened to it on radio and watched it on television, although in those times, the late 1950s through the 1960s, televised games were not as common as today, although besides games televised by the teams on local stations, the fans could get special television treats if their favorite team was participating in the "Game of the Week," carried by NBC on Saturday afternoons. I lived and died with the Cleveland Indians ... okay, I died, but there was always next year, so I kept hope alive. I knew every player's uniform number, his batting average and his other stats. The last game of the season was always a sad time for me, as the days to spring seemed to move more slowly than I could eat broccoli or turnips... okay, maybe the days weren't THAT slow; then again, let me think about that. Gradually the leaves emptied from the trees, the north winds brought snow and cold temperatures, but then, just as gradually, the snow began to melt, the winds began to warm, the Indians went to spring training at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, and my spirits soared, as I knew it wouldn't be long before I heard the familiar voice of longtime Indians' broadcaster Jimmy Dudley say, "This is your old friend Jimmy Dudley." And his wonderful Virginia accented voice couldn't have come at a better time, because I had finally finished that damned broccoli.

WORD HISTORY:
Sad-Notice how the meaning of this word, closely related to "sate" (once also spelled "sade"), has changed in English. It goes back to Indo European "sa(h)," with the notion of "satisfaction, having enough." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sathaz," which indeed meant "sated;" that is, "full, satisfied, enough." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "saed," with essentially the same meaning, but also the extended meaning "weary (of/with)," from the notion of being full. The idea of "weary from being full" then expanded in the 1300s to the primary meaning it has retained ever since, "unhappy." In case you were wondering, both "sad" and "sate" are related to "satisfy," but this word, from the same Indo European source as "sad/sate," came from the Latin branch of Indo European, and it was borrowed by English via French, a heavily Latin-based language. As for "sad," its Germanic relatives are: German "satt" (full, well fed, but also "smug," and the comparative form is "satter," formed just as English "sadder," and the superlative "[am] sattesten,'' similar to English "saddest"), Low German "satt" ("full, not hungry," but notice the comparative form is "sadder" and the superlative is "saddst," very much like English "sadder and saddest,"), West Frisian "sed" (full, sated), Dutch "zat" (sated, but also "drunk;" that is, "full of alcohol"). To be quite honest, modern forms of "sad" or "sate" in the North Germanic languages, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish, at least forms that are used somewhat, seem to be lacking, although Old Norse had a form,"saethr" (actually "saðr" in old style). So it seems North Germanic forms are archaic (for example: Norwegian "sat" and Icelandic "sethja").