Today was “truck day” – the Red Sox equipment truck began its journey from Fenway Park for the nearly 1,500-mile trip to the Sox Spring Training home in Fort Myers, Florida. Only in Boston would “truck day” be an event!! It is exciting for me that spring training will soon be here. And today got me thinking about baseball in general and the players that have touched my life in a special way.
Although I have been an avid baseball fan for more than forty years, I have never been particularly impressed with most athletes and jocks. I know that it takes a great deal of dedication and perseverance to become great at a sport. But so many become so full of themselves, filled with a sense of entitlement and perception of being far more important than they really are. They often lose touch with who they are and where they came from. It is not really their fault. After all, we create them, often turning a blind eye as they receive perks and privileges through our educational system and in everyday life. They earn exorbitant salaries and are surrounded by many young women and girls whose judgment disappears in their mere presence.
My first real experience witnessing this almost godlike treatment of an athlete was in high school where Brian “Dukie” Walsh was touted by so many locals as the athlete with the best chance of making it to the NHL. This was during the Bobby Orr era and hockey insanity was alive and well in Boston. Dukie was a year older than me but wound up in a few of my classes. He even stole my Religion test right off my desk to copy my answers! I remember him talking about how his grades were inflated so that he would be accepted to an elite school with a top hockey program. Unfortunately for Dukie, injuries prevented him from attaining his dream, but it was an eye-opening experience to see how he was treated compared with everyone else.
Over the years I have enjoyed watching various athletes but have admired very few. Sure there were those that I just enjoyed watching for whatever the reason (not necessarily because they were the best) - Gary Waslewski, Gary Allenson, Butch Hobson, Rick Burleson and Ed Westfall to name a few. But there are only a few players that I can really say made me stand up and take notice and that I can honestly say I truly respected both as players and men. I am sure there are hundreds of athletes that have made a difference but these are the ones that have touched my heart. The first one was known as the “gentle giant.” The others I will include in future writings.
Gentleman Jim was handsome, 6’ 5” and mild-mannered. When interviewed he was rather quiet and clearly intelligent, a graduate of Stanford University. He loved baseball but his dream was to study medicine or dentistry. He won the Cy Young Award in 1967 and I loved watching him pitch (or hearing him pitch with my radio tucked under my pillow since only weekend games were televised). I was only ten and just beginning my love of baseball. While lots of kids loved Yaz and Tony C, for me there was something very special about Jim Lonborg. He embraced charitable and humanitarian causes quietly and with no fanfare. He adopted several Vietnamese children and his priorities were all in the right place. After a skiing accident he was never the same pitcher but he was definitely the first athlete I can honestly say that I adored. I was so nervous when I accidently met him that I remember scaring the crap out of him when I came up from behind him! He shook my hand and I remember never wanting to wash it again! After retiring, Jim Lonborg graduated from Tufts Dental School and is still a dentist. It is very cool that he was able to achieve two dreams – both a baseball and dental career.
As this is becoming very lengthy, I will continue this post on another day. Happy Truck Day Red Sox Nation!!!!
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