Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball--And America--Forever (38 page)

31
Sirens and lightning:
Kyles interview.

31
Mason Temple:
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/tn1.htm

32
Martin Luther King’s last speech
is chronicled in many places but none surpasses Hampton Sides’
Hellhound on his Trail
, 139–141.

32
Elvis Presley film at State Theater:
Photo by Ernest C. Withers, exhibited at Memphis International Airport, June 17, 2011.

33
“after you make a touchdown”:
Andrew Young interview, audio for exhibit outside Room 306 of the Lorraine Hotel, National Civil Rights Museum.

33
King assassination:
Kyles interview; Sides, 168–170; “An Assassination Remembered,”
Time
, March 31, 2008.

34
Bobby Kennedy in Indianapolis:
Thurston Clarke,
The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America
, 91–98; audio available on YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zb9EjHXyJc

35
“you can kill the dreamer, but you cannot kill the dream”:
Kyles interview;
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
, a film by Adam Pertofsky (dir.), Rock Paper Scissors with the National Civil Rights Museum, 2008. I’d also highly recommend a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, which has been built around the Lorraine Hotel. The tour includes the apartment building from across the street, where James Earl Ray fired his shots. I was also struck by how a wreath was put on the balcony railing outside Room 306 a few days after King’s assassination and one has been maintained ever since.

35
peanut butter and jelly sandwich:
Kyles interview.

36
in St. Petersburg:
Gibson, 184–185.

36
Boston Celtics:
http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/william-f-bill-russell
; “Sportsman of the Year: Bill Russell,”
Sports Illustrated
, December 23, 1968; John Gardella,
2010–2011 Official NBA Guide;
Russell and Branch, 148–149.

39
Drysdale’s scoreless streak:
Drysdale and Verdi, 163–178; Jeff Torborg, author interview, March 9, 2009.

42
Green Bay Packers:
David Maraniss,
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
, 410–415; Russell and Branch, 111.

43
“a different direction”:
Lamar Hunt, author interview, December 2000.

45
Kennedy assassination:
Clarke, 271–273; YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXuHcQ1Mrqs
; “The Teammates,”
New York Times
, June 8, 1968.

46 “
From here on”:
“the Aftermath—Baseball Takes a Beating,”
Sporting News
, June 22, 1968.

46
Three . . . took matters :
“Compounding a Felony,”
New York Times
, June 12, 1969; “Ballplayers Urge Day of Mourning,”
Chicago Tribune
, June 8, 1968.

46
“Among all the mealy-mouthed statements”:
“Baseball’s Brass Further Tarnished,” Red Smith,
Washington Post
, June 11, 1968.

46
Mets refuse to play:
“Giants Yield to Mets and Postpone Today ’s Game out of Respect for Kennedy,”
New York Times
, June 8, 1968.

47
“You guys are wrong”:
Sporting News
, June 22, 1968; Robert Lipsyte, “The Rebellion,”
New York Times
, June 15, 1968.

47
Pappas-Wagner confrontation:
Milt Pappas with Wayne Mausser and Larry Names,
Out at Home: Triumph and Tragedy in the Life of a Major Leaguer
, 189–190.

47
Frank Mankiewicz sent telegrams:
Associated Press, “Kennedy Aide Applauds Stand of Mets, 4 Players,” June 12, 1968.

47
“We had been working on a trade”:
“Atlanta Gets Pappas in 6-Player Deal,” Richard Dozer,
Chicago Tribune
, June 12, 1968.

48
“Baseball again returned to normalcy–confusion.”:
Sporting News
, June 22, 1968.

48
“disorganized, illogical and thoroughly shabby”:
Ibid.

48
“This is the portrait of a commissioner trying to please everyone”:
“Soft Generals Never Last, Eckert Warned,”
New York Daily News
, June 9, 1968.

48
Dodgers armbands:
National Baseball Hall of Fame research; Tom Shieber, author interview, Hall of Fame, May 15, 2011.

49
End of Drysdale’s streak:
Drysdale and Verdi, 171–174.

49
“there was no escaping the pervasive realities of 1968”:
Gibson, 187.

50
“hogging the headlines”:
Ibid., 187.

50
“infuriated”:
Ibid.

50
“such intensity”:
Briles interview.

50
Gibson’s shutout streak:
National Baseball Hall of Fame research; Bill Francis, author interview, Hall of Fame, July 5, 2011.

52
“ You saw it.”
Gibson, 189.

PART III

53
“have it slip away”:
Dick McAuliffe, author interview, July 15, 2011.

55
“In ’67, we were really”:
Ibid.

55
“The team really grew up last year”:
Sporting News
, March 23, 1968.

55
Lakeland and Tigertown:
http://springtrainingonline.com/teams/detroit-tigers.htm

55
one of the last big-league teams to integrate:
George Cantor,
The Tigers of ’68: Baseball’s Last Real Champions
, 26.

55
Team breakdown:
Ibid., 14.

56
“The door was open”:
Jon Warden interview.

56
Denny McLain incident:
Cantor, 16–17; Mark Pattison and David Raglin,
Sock It to ’Em Tigers
, 111–112; Denny McLain with Eli Zaret,
I told You I Wasn’t Perfect
, 81–82; “Baseball’s Big Scandal,”
Sports Illustrated
, February 23, 1970.

57
orange hair:
Cantor, 17.

57
contacts, Hammond organ, bowling:
“Never Touch a Superstar,” Bill Freehan with Steve Gelman and Dick Shaap,
Sports Illustrated
, March 2, 1970; McLain, 83, 105.

58
“Me? Revel in the media”:
McLain, 168.

58
cortisone shots:
Mead interview; McLain, 127.

59
McLain’s background:
McLain, 13–21; Pattison and Raglin, 109–110.

59
Tom McLain’s death:
“He’d done a lot for baseball, and he’ ll be the first to let you know it,”
Chicago Tribune
, David Condon, October 27, 1968.

60
“clobbered pretty good”:
Lolich interview.

61
Return to Portland:
Lolich interview; “Lolich Tops Premier Win,”
(Portland) Oregonian
, May 31, 1962.

62
Gerry Staley’s instruction:
Lolich interview.

62
Riding motorcycles:
Lolich interview; “Mickey Lolich: Out From Behind McLain’s Shadow,”
Super Sports
, March 1969.

62
“Denny McLain was Denny McLain”:
McAuliffe interview.

63
“Nobody cared”:
The Wild Ride to Super Bowl I,
NFL Films, directors Ray Didinger, Jeff Hillegass, 2004.

63
Super Bowl name:
www.superbowl.com
.

64
No footage exists:
Patrick Pano, NFL Films, author interview, January 11, 2006.

64
“hooked on football”:
Hugh Hefner, author interview, January 14, 2006.

64
“too predictable to be memorable”:
Michael MacCambridge, author interview, January 15, 2006.

64
“bigger, grander”:
MacCambridge interview.

65
Tigers in camp:
Warden interview.

67
“a graduate course in capturing the magic”:
Gillette and Enders, 133.

68
Detroit under curfew:
Warden interview.

68
Riots in Detroit:
http://www.67riots.rutgers.edu/d_index.htm
; Todd Gitlin,
The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage,
245; Kurlansky, 8.

68
Detroit riots:
Horton interview.

69
philosophy of coaching:
Russell, 100.

70
“If we can rebound”:
Roland Lazenby,
Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon
, 262.

70
“Track is really psychic”:
Sports Illustrated
, December 23, 1968.

71
“a fantastic athlete” :
Ibid.

71
“He is an unbelievable man”:
Lazenby, 263.

72
“hated anything (Celtic) green”:
Ibid., 246.

72
Wilt Chamberlain trade:
http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/wilton-n-wilt-chamberlain

72
“Don’t be shy”:
Gates Brown interview; Pattison and Raglin, 3–7.

76
“Don’t worry, Skip”:
Bill Freehan with Steve Gelman and Dick Schaap,
Behind the Mask
, 16.

76
“still in the worst way”:
Warden interview.

PART IV

79
road map:
Horton interview.

80
tour of Detroit:
On the Road with Tom Stanton, September 9, 2010.

80
“follow us on the radio”:
Lolich interview.

80
“best go home”:
Horton interview.

80
Detroit’s shrinking population:
http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/04/report_detroits_population_to.html
;
http://mapscroll.blogspot.com/2009/06/shrinking-of-detroit.html
;
http://www.forbes.com/2007/06/11/ghost-cities-future-biz-cx_21cities_ee_0611ghostcities.html

81
Henry Ford’s old neighborhood:
“Henry Ford’s Detroit Neighborhood Tries Hard to Keep Up Appearances,”
Wall Street Journal
, September 11, 2008.

83
“never really felt any pressure”:
Horton interview.

83
every port of call home:
Ibid.

85
Walking the rails:
Ibid; Grant Eldridge and Karen Elizabeth Bush,
Willie Horton: Detroit’s Own Willie the Wonder,
18–24.