Few cities in America celebrate their sporting past with the enthusiasm seen in Baltimore. That?s why it?s so puzzling as to why the Orioles have chosen not to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their first world championship in 1966.
Two years ago, the club celebrated its 50th anniversary, having arrived in town from St. Louis in 1954. There have been other notable anniversaries: In 1974, the club was just 20 years old, and then-PR maven Bob Brown produced a yearbook that included a “Where are they now?” section on every player in the club?s history. They brought back Bob Turley and Clint Courtney, the battery from the first game, and Courtney re-enacted his home run, the first big league dinger hit at Memorial Stadium. Clint would die barely a year later.
There were similar celebrations held for 25, 30 and 40 yearsof Orioles baseball, with players of the past returning for another bow in front of the Baltimore faithful. Back when old timer?s games were still in vogue, the Orioles would connect them to an anniversary. In 1976, the 10th anniversary of the first world championship, the 1966 club faced a 1966 team of All-Stars, with everyone wearing vintage flannel uniforms supplied by Brooks Robinson?s old sporting goods store. In 1986, the ?66 club played the ?66 Washington Senators, a game that featured Moe Drabowsky throwing an orange during a Fred Valentine at-bat. Fred made solid contact, too.
It?s hard to fathom why anyone in an upper management position with the Orioles would think that a 40-year salute to the 1966 club would be a bad idea, especially with so many of that year?s players alive and in outstanding health. The nine-season losing skein could be forgotten ? for a day, anyway ? and there might be some inspirational value to having the heroes of the past back in black and orange.
The quarter-century of Orioles baseball from 1960 through 1984 left a legacy that?s difficult for any club to live up to. Many local fans came to believe it was their birthright to win 90 games every year, which has made the post-1997 struggles so difficult to endure. Those fans who came along too late to appreciate the excellence of the Orioles under the ownership of Jerry Hoffberger have only highlight films ? no high-definition video ? to check out. We?ve got a couple of generations of fans who think that, unless they saw it on SportsCenter, it didn?t actually happen.
It?s too late at this point to put something together, and really, that?s what it would look like ? something thrown together at the last minute. It didn?t have to be this way. I know from multiple sources that numerous suggestions were made last winter to commemorate the occasion, but most fell on deaf ears. One source told me that they were given a terse “We?re not in the banquet business,” when suggesting a 40-year celebration, which would seem to indicate that the current administration doesn?t care to recall anything that happened before they got there.
What a shame.
Listen to Phil every Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1300. He can be reached at [email protected].
