The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 27, 1979, Registration Issue, section C, Page Page 5C, Image 49
A fond\
By Joe Scalers
Special to th? Gamecock j
I d like to share with you my <
tribute to a man I've admired for
his loyalty, his devotion, and his
competitive spirit since 1969. The
man is number 15, the captain of
the New York Yankees for as long
as I'll live, Thurman Munson.
If there is one statement that can
describe what Munson meant to
the Yankees and the fans, it is what
appeared on the scoreboard at
Yankee Stadium this nast Fridav
It read: "Our captain and leader
has not left us--today, tomorrow,
this year, next...Our endeavors
will reflect our love and admiration
for him."
Following the announcement,
Yankee fans reflected Thurman's
competitive spirit by not crying or
giving him the traditional moment
of silence, but rather bv eivine him
a nine-minute standing ovation.
This is the love we had for this
man.
I remember Thurman Munson in
1969 very well. He came up from
the minor leagues late in the
season and at the time the Yankees
were losers. I remember I laughed
at him and wondered how the
Yankees were ever going to be
winners again with a pudgy catcher
named Thurman.
Munson said he would show us
and we laughed. Never did I dream
then, that years later I would be
stuffing close to 1,000 votes in the
all-star ballot box for that pudgy
catcher.
You see, Thurman did show us,
and it didn't take long. In 1970,
Thurman was the American
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showed us with his cat-like speed
when he would beat the batter out
of the box on a bunt. He showed us
with his quick release that picked
runners off first and second base
like flies and gunned down runners
trying to steal.
He showed us with his clutch
hitting, especially to the opposite
field. Most of all, he showed us with
the desire and hustle th?.t made up
for the grace that he lacKed.
To us bleacher bums, the poor
fan who pays a dollar to sit on a
wooden seat, Munson became a
symbol for the little man, just as
Billy Martin is.
Thurman always wanted to be
the best and he was very sensitive
about this. During his whole career
he was constantly fighting for
recognition against Johnny Bench
and Carlton Fisk. Bench played on
a winner while Munson played on a
loser.
Fisk had three advantages over
Munson. Fisk was attractive,
played on a winner and had a short
left field in Fenway Park to hit
against. When Thurman finally did
win, he had to compete with his
own teammate, Reggie Jackson,
for recognition.
The rivalry between Fisk and
Munson will be forever remembered
in baseball history. It was
not that they hated each other but
that each wanted to prove he was
better than the other. This made
the feud between the Yankees, the
Red Sox and the fans more intense.
H a 1W' H W'-*' 1
Farewell
A Clemson-Carolina game is
nothing if you've ever been to a
Yankee-Red Sox game and watched
the competition between
Thurman and Fisk. This fierce
competition spread from the field
into the stands with the fans
backing their favorite catcher with
their fists in the grandstand or
their pencil at the ballot box. This
was baseball at its very best.
Thurman was the best and a
tribute to him comes from the
baseball arguments. It was always
who was better, Munson or Bench
or Fisk. Never once in my life have
I heard Bench being compared to
Fisk. It was always Thurman vs.
them.
SPORT magazine this year rated
Munson tops in most of the
categories for catchers. It's a
shamp thp pntirp rniintrv HiHn't
realize Munson's great talents.
Munson was a sensitive man and
refused to talk to the press. This
fact depicted him as being unsociable.
Ask the fans if this was
the Munson they knew. He always
went out of his way to talk to the
fans and sign autographs. He
refused to talk to reporters
because if he was going to win any
awards, it would be because he
earned them on the field.
LOW
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Thurman was a loyal man, both
to his family and to the Yankees. In
the end, his loyalty cost him his
life. He asked to be traded several
times so that he could be close to
his family. If he had been traded he
might still be alive today, but I
doubt if he would have been happy
in anything but Yankee pinstripes.
Thurman belonged nowhere else
but Yankee Stadium. In fact, when
his knpps trnnhlpH him this vpnr hp
said that he would play any other
position in order to remain a
Yankee.
Many now feel that the Yankees
will fold for the rest of the season. I
doubt that very much because that
is not the Yankee way and it is not
the way Thurman would have
wanted it. If the Yankees go down,
it will t>e like tne world champions
they are.
We will all miss that grumpy
looking man with the little kid
inside him. We will always be
grateful to Thurman for keeping
up the winning tradition of the New
York Yankees. If there is one thing
I regret not doing while you were
alive, Thurm, it's not stuffing the
ballot box more.
Editors noU>: Scalera is a student Supreme
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