Bat Rattler!
Esposito, the old White Sox, who backed up Aparicio and Fox from the bench, recalls this one that involves a kid, a rookie catcher with the Tigers who had been working in the bullpen, a benchwarmer, and in the late innings as the game was winding down, he comes in and sits in his favorite place on the bench in the back corner of the dugout.
It’s Academic
Punch, medical doctor and ESPN NASCAR analyst retired, recalls the day Lou Holtz recruited a benchwarmer who came to him with some very valuable talents.
Put Me In Coach
Terry Gannon, nationally known sports personality was a major contributor to NC State University’s 1983 national championship team. But as a freshman he rode the bench with limited playing time.
Touch ‘Em All
Here are a few more bench warmer classics from the King of the Major League Pine Riders---Sam Esposito.
Fits Like A Glove
Later, at the end of his career playing with Kansas City, Sam Esposito and Hawk Harrelson were great friends and golfing buddies.
Lights Out
Then, there was the one Sam told about the secret light in Cominsky Park. A Sox bullpen/bench coach named Del Wilbur was a world class sign stealer.
NC State Bench Goes from Warm To Hot
In the summer of 1954 one of America’s slickest basketball coaches hosted a recruit that would have made his team a contender for a national championship. Everett Case, known as the Old Gray Fox, had come south in the 1940s to NC State University and brought along something that would change the region and in fact nation---big time college basketball.
Hot Rod Falls Back On Lakers Bench
In 1963 Hot Rod Hundley was coming to the end of his career and doing some pine riding for the Los Angeles Lakers. Fred Shaus, his old West Virginia college coach, was the Lakers Coach that year and the Lakers had just picked up Dick Barnett, one of the great NBA shooters of the day.
A Windy Sunday in Philly
Lee Elia had his introduction to major league baseball as a middle infielder, a .200 hitter, who warmed the benches of the Chicago Cubs and White Sox in the early 1960s.
Ask A Benchwarmer
In 1943 Sam Narron, a backup catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had logged his share of bench time, found himself actually off the bench and starting a game for his old manager Billy Southworth.
Casey At The Bench
There are Casey stories that Bob miller, a Mets relief pitcher, loves to tell. That first year, 1962, Casey Stengel--- who in his day was a much better ball player than a lot of people remember---was the Mets manager. Of course, he had been a great manager and had won all those championships with the Yankees.
Birdie Benchie
Can professional golfers be benchie’s? Well, when you consider the number of PGA professionals who, over the years, have had to fight for a player’s card, beg for tournament invites, then play their tails off on Thursdays and Friday’s just to make the money cut.
Benched Career
M.L. Carr, would become a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), then the head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics.
Two For The Show
Charlie Bryant wasn’t a benchwarmer. However, he did spend a number of years seated next to one of the NCAA’s finest bench jockeys.
Hale To The Chief
Don Hale, a wire service reporter for United Press International, went on to an award-winning career, establishing nationally recognized innovative and creative public relations programs as a VP at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Texas and Georgia State.
Benchwarmer Makes His Mark
Mike Pesavento a left-hander who pitched for NC State in the early 80’s came from the same area, Joliet, Illinois, as Terry Gannon, one of the stars of NC State’s National Championship basketball team.
Bench Rebound
Peter Fox will be remembered by many as ESPN’s Founding Executive Producer. The good news is that we should prepare to be entertained and informed when his book ESPN The Early Years is published.
A Master’s Moment
When it comes to Notables sharing stories when you get one personally from Furman Bisher, the award-winning writer, who wrote dozens of books, and covered sports for basically every national magazine in the country you probably have a good one.
Best Seat on the Bench
In the writing of Pen Men: Baseball’s Greatest Bullpen Stories Told by the Men Who Brought the Game Relief, Bob Cairns had the pleasure of spending time with some of the game’s great pranksters.