F*ck F*ce
According to his bat, William Oliver Ripken was a fuck face. The Fleer Corporation agreed with Billy’s bat, and released this information to the public in 1989 in the form of a trading card.
Immediately regretting this decision, The Fleer Corporation scrambled to hide the opinion of the bat, releasing versions in which the words were scrawled over with a marker, whited out, and airbrushed. On the final, corrected version, Fleer covered up the offensive words with a clumsy black box, the version included in all factory sets.
Years later, Billy admitted to marking the knob of the Louisville Slugger with the expletive as a way to distinguish his batting practice bat from his regular bat. He also claimed he did not intend to use it for the card and expressed the opinion that Fleer was well aware of the obscenity, and not only retained but made it even clearer, in the hopes of benefitting from the publicity the card would receive. The bat was unavailable for question.
Various incarnations of the cover-up. Thanks to Rich Greco for the guest post.
Canseco Header
In 1993, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the head of Jose Canseco aided a long ball hit by Cleveland’s Carlos Martinez for a home run. And for once the Tribe wasn’t the laughing stalk.
video here. Go Tribe.
The Hill
Paying homage to ballparks of old, like Crosley Field, the Hill in deep center field in Minute Maid park in Houston often provides a great fielding challenge. But on May 16th the 90-foot wide incline in center provided an excellent get-a-way for a 27 year old fan celebrating his birthday.
HARMON KILLEBREW 1936 – 2011
Harmon Clayton Killebrew, June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed ”Killer” and ”Hammerin’ Harmon,” was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During a 22-year baseball career in which he played for the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals, he was second only to Babe Ruth in American League home runs and retired as the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter (since broken by Alex Rodriguez). He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Despite his nicknames and his powerful style of play, Killebrew was in fact a quiet, kind man who was not much given to the partying lifestyle enjoyed by his peers. Asked once what he liked to do for fun, Killebrew replied, “Well, I like to wash dishes, I guess.”
Click the image for the truth behind the myth!
More on Harmon and the Minnesota Twins over on NPR.
Click the image for a description! Thanks to Jorge for the tip.
