Comments on: The Banter Gold Standard: Bear Bryant’s Miracles http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/ Development site for Bronx Banter Blog's upcoming look and feel Sun, 19 May 2013 22:08:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Bama Yankee http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300970 Bama Yankee Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:04:25 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300970 Thanks Sliced. Thanks Sliced.

]]> By: Sliced Bread http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300965 Sliced Bread Tue, 08 Jan 2013 00:32:55 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300965 Great article, Alex, and great stuff, Bama. Good luck tonight! Great article, Alex, and great stuff, Bama.
Good luck tonight!

]]> By: Ara Just Fair http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300961 Ara Just Fair Mon, 07 Jan 2013 22:30:11 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300961 Cool article. Go Irish! : ) Cool article. Go Irish! : )

]]> By: Bama Yankee http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300960 Bama Yankee Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:52:14 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300960 Right around the time this article was written, the Yankees actually stopped off in Tuscaloosa on their way back from Spring Training (might have been in 1978). They played an exhibition game against the Bama baseball team. Here's a great picture of Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner and Coach Bryant on the field before the game: http://capstonereport.com/cover/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bert-bank.jpg I had a great online discussion once about that exhibition game with a reporter who was there. Here's some of what he relayed to me about the game: "The Yanks were coming off the World Series championship where Reggie hit 3 homers against the Dodgers. Reggie only batted once in the game and I think he grounded out. Coach Bryant came walking up the right field line at the stadium while batting practice was going on and went straight to Reggie and they talked a pretty long time. If I'm not mistaken, Yanks won 6-0. Fran Healy ... if you remember him, you're a REAL Yankee fan ... hit a home run in the game. Catfish Hunter pitched the first eight innings. I was sitting right behind home plate and it was like watching an artist at work to see Cat pitch. I literally have seen big Little League kids who threw harder (although the ball was probably getting up there faster than it looked), but there was not one pitch in the same place and there was not one pitch on the white of the plate, it was all on the black. Cat threw eight perfect innings, those college kids didn't know what to do with that stuff. Sparky Lyle pitched the ninth and I think he gave up one hit. The thing about Catfish in that game, I bet he didn't throw 90 pitches in the eight innings. Those college boys just had no clue what to do with that kind of stuff. Plus if I'm not mistaken, the game was right at the end of camp, they were heading north to start the season so Catfish may have needed the work. FYI, Elston Howard Jr. was on the Bama team that year and his dad was still coaching with the Yankees." Like I said, all of that was from a reporter who was at the exhibition game. I thought some people might like to read about it. Anyway, thanks again Alex for posting the article about Coach Bryant. Right around the time this article was written, the Yankees actually stopped off in Tuscaloosa on their way back from Spring Training (might have been in 1978). They played an exhibition game against the Bama baseball team. Here’s a great picture of Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner and Coach Bryant on the field before the game:
http://capstonereport.com/cover/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bert-bank.jpg
I had a great online discussion once about that exhibition game with a reporter who was there. Here’s some of what he relayed to me about the game:
“The Yanks were coming off the World Series championship where Reggie hit 3 homers against the Dodgers. Reggie only batted once in the game and I think he grounded out. Coach Bryant came walking up the right field line at the stadium while batting practice was going on and went straight to Reggie and they talked a pretty long time. If I’m not mistaken, Yanks won 6-0. Fran Healy … if you remember him, you’re a REAL Yankee fan … hit a home run in the game. Catfish Hunter pitched the first eight innings. I was sitting right behind home plate and it was like watching an artist at work to see Cat pitch. I literally have seen big Little League kids who threw harder (although the ball was probably getting up there faster than it looked), but there was not one pitch in the same place and there was not one pitch on the white of the plate, it was all on the black. Cat threw eight perfect innings, those college kids didn’t know what to do with that stuff. Sparky Lyle pitched the ninth and I think he gave up one hit. The thing about Catfish in that game, I bet he didn’t throw 90 pitches in the eight innings. Those college boys just had no clue what to do with that kind of stuff. Plus if I’m not mistaken, the game was right at the end of camp, they were heading north to start the season so Catfish may have needed the work.
FYI, Elston Howard Jr. was on the Bama team that year and his dad was still coaching with the Yankees.”

Like I said, all of that was from a reporter who was at the exhibition game. I thought some people might like to read about it. Anyway, thanks again Alex for posting the article about Coach Bryant.

]]> By: Alex Belth http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300958 Alex Belth Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:05:37 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300958 Yeah, it was an instance where the writer including himself worked because he's such a fish out of water down there and also because it added a different angle to a piece on a subject who'd been written about to death. Price is an accomplished screenwriter and well-respected novelist, by the way. Real New York guy. Yeah, it was an instance where the writer including himself worked because he’s such a fish out of water down there and also because it added a different angle to a piece on a subject who’d been written about to death.

Price is an accomplished screenwriter and well-respected novelist, by the way. Real New York guy.

]]> By: Bama Yankee http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2013/01/07/the-banter-gold-standard-bear-bryants-miracles/#comment-300955 Bama Yankee Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:20:12 +0000 http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/?p=97239#comment-300955 That was GREAT!!! Thanks for posting it, Alex. I've never read that before...of course, back then if I'd gotten a copy of Playboy, I doubt I'd read the articles... ;-) Notice how the author calls the Crimson Tide the New York Yankees of football and how Coach Bryant says a "large percentage of Alabamans consider the Yankees their baseball team". Well, that explains how I became a Yankee fan while growing up in Alabama. I never got a chance to meet Coach Bryant but everyone who I know that did all have a similar experience to what the author shared in this piece. People who were curious why Coach Bryant's players would run through a brick wall for the man, after meeting him, almost instinctively start looking for their own brick wall to tackle. That was GREAT!!! Thanks for posting it, Alex.

I’ve never read that before…of course, back then if I’d gotten a copy of Playboy, I doubt I’d read the articles… ;-)

Notice how the author calls the Crimson Tide the New York Yankees of football and how Coach Bryant says a “large percentage of Alabamans consider the Yankees their baseball team”. Well, that explains how I became a Yankee fan while growing up in Alabama.

I never got a chance to meet Coach Bryant but everyone who I know that did all have a similar experience to what the author shared in this piece. People who were curious why Coach Bryant’s players would run through a brick wall for the man, after meeting him, almost instinctively start looking for their own brick wall to tackle.

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