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WFAN (660 AM), also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. WFAN's studios are located in the combined CBS Radio facility in the West Village section of Manhattan; the transmitter is located on High Island in the Bronx, New York.
WFAN pioneered, and has been one of the most successful examples of, the sports radio format. Over the years, WFAN has been the broadcast home to several big names in the world of radio, including the sports-talk team of Mike and the Mad Dog (Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo) and the comedian/shock jock/political commentator Don Imus, whose nationally syndicated Imus in the Morning program previously originated on WFAN.
As a result of the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement of 1941, WEAF became a clear-channel station and could be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. In 1943, the United States Supreme Court, citing antitrust concerns, ordered RCA to sell off one of its radio networks. The company decided to keep the Red Network, and it was rebranded as the NBC Radio Network after the Blue Network was divested to Edward J. Noble.
WEAF's call letters were changed to WNBC in 1946, then to WRCA in 1954, and back to WNBC in 1960. During the 1960s, WNBC relied less on network programming and adopted a talk format, followed by a switch to a middle-of-the-road music sound. The station spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s flipping between the Top 40 and adult contemporary formats, with varying success. By the middle of the 1980s, WNBC played less music and relied more on personality-driven talk programs with hosts such as Don Imus, Howard Stern, Joey Reynolds, Alan Colmes, and Soupy Sales.
In early 1988 General Electric, which now owned NBC through its purchase of RCA two years earlier, announced that it would sell off the NBC Radio division. In February of that year GE made a multi-station deal with Emmis and, in New York, the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale. On October 7, 1988 at 5:30 p.m., WFAN moved down the radio dial to replace WNBC at 660 kHz. The last voice heard on WNBC was that of Alan Colmes, who counted down the seconds to WNBC's demise with the legendary NBC chimes (the notes G-E-C) playing in the background. After 66 years, the long history of NBC radio in New York had come to an end.
In the complicated switch that saw WFAN move to the 660 frequency, the 1050 frequency that was formerly the home of WFAN became that of Spanish-language WUKQ, owned by Spanish Broadcasting System. However, SBS already owned an AM station in the market, Newark-based WSKQ at 620 kHz, and in those days Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules stipulated that companies could own only one AM station per market. As a result, SBS received a temporary waiver to run 1050 while exploring the sale of either AM frequency. SBS chose to keep 620 (it is now WSNR), and 1050 was traded to Forward Communications, which owned WEVD, then at 97.9 FM. After that deal was approved, WEVD's call letters and programming moved to 1050 AM (it is now WEPN and ironically a sports station), and SBS took over 97.9 as WSKQ-FM. The October NBC-Emmis switch also saw Emmis's WQHT (then at 103.5 MHz.) move to 97.1 MHz., which had been the home of NBC's WYNY. Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One, who also acquired the WYNY call letters and its country music format.
In all this, WFAN retired two of the oldest radio call letters from the dawn of commercial radio: WHN and WNBC.
It quickly became apparent that WFAN's gambit of bringing Imus on board worked. Ratings for the morning show were strong, and it was successful to a point in driving ratings for the rest of WFAN's programming day. This model of using a general-interest morning host for a sports talk radio station (especially at launch) has been used at other sports radio stations across the country.
WFAN was also the first station in the country to roll out sports updates every 20 minutes. These updates, called 20-20 Sports Flashes, are now considered an industry standard. When WFAN first started updates were done every 15 minutes. Additionally, in a nod to the former WNBC, update anchors often end their top-of-the-hour updates with the catchphrase "And that's what's happening...", which is how WNBC on-air news readers had ended their updates.
Other programming that WFAN had at its launch included a mid-morning show with Ed Coleman and Mike Francesa, and an afternoon drive time show with Pete Franklin, who in Cleveland had become one of the first polarizing, outrageous talk show hosts. During his stay in New York, Franklin was probably best known for an incident where he used a four-letter expletive on air, in error, when trying to say "All you folks" (he was not disciplined for the incident.)
Running a close second was a 30-second Franklin diatribe on whether he had been offensive – "Do I offend anyone? I'm not here to offend you, dammit!" – that has been replayed ever since, especially on the July 1 WFAN anniversaries.
In a further drive to boost ratings, Imus instigated a feud with Franklin, much as he had with Howard Stern at WNBC in the mid-1980s. Both Imus and Franklin took shots at each other during their shows, Franklin calling Imus "Minus" and Imus recording parodies of radio commercials where he bashed Franklin as a "dinosaur", among other things. Franklin left WFAN in August 1989.
On September 5, 1989, a jointly hosted afternoon drive show with Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo - who had been a weekend/fill-in host to that time - would premiere. The Mike and the Mad Dog show became the defining show of WFAN, one of the most consistently popular radio shows in New York, and one of the most influential sports talk radio shows in the country.
WFAN's broadcast day begins at 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time) with Boomer and Carton, hosted by former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and radio veteran Craig Carton. The midday timeslot is co-hosted by Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. Mike Francesa is the afternoon drive host. The YES Network has been airing a video simulcast of WFAN's afternoon drive program, previously known as Mike and the Mad Dog and now titled Mike'd Up, since March 19, 2002.
On Monday nights during the NFL season, Kimberly Jones hosts a football show leading into the Monday Night Football broadcast, working during the 2009 season with former NFL players Roman Oben. Jones, who is a member of the Yankees' broadcast team on YES, also hosts other shows during the baseball off-season or when regular hosts are on vacation.
Steve Somers hosts during most other evenings, often leading into and following live game broadcasts. Tony Paige works the majority of the overnight shifts. Other overnight hosts include Marc Malusis and Lori Rubinson. Adam "the Bull" Gerstenhaber hosts the weekend evening shows. Another WFAN host is longtime New York rock radio fixture Richard Neer. Ed Randall hosts a radio version of the Talking Baseball show that aired on TV for many years.
WFAN stands out in that all of its sports-talk shows are currently local in origin, not syndicated as is the practice of most sports-talk radio stations (usually except during the morning and/or drive-time periods).
Over the years WFAN has established a tight bond with its listeners, to the point where one of them eventually landed a regular on-air spot. Joe Benigno had been a frequent caller to "The Fan" (especially the Mike and the Mad Dog show) as "Joe from Saddle River", and his calls were typically interesting and insightful. In 1994 he was chosen to host a one-hour show during a promotion where listeners were invited to host a show. The test went well, and he later parlayed it into a regular overnight shift, which started in 1995.
WFAN also features the "20-20 Flash", a one to two minute update on sports scores and news, which occurs every 20 minutes (on the hour, twenty after and forty after). The update team consists of Rich Ackerman, Harris Allen, Mike McCann, Erica Herskowitz, Bob Heussler, Marc Malusis, John Minko and Jerry Recco. The station also employs beat reporters to cover the Mets (Ed Coleman), Yankees (Sweeny Murti), Jets (Peter Schwartz) and Giants (Paul Dottino).
In 2010, the station was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters with the Marconi award for Sports Station of the Year.
Bloomberg L.P.-owned WBBR (1130 AM) is utilized as WFAN's main "conflict" station for Devils games due to scheduling conflicts with the Mets and Giants (some preseason Devils contests have been streamed on WFAN's website due to such conflicts). Either WBBR or Inner City Broadcasting-owned WLIB (1190 AM) will broadcast any Nets games when they and any of the other teams play simultaneously.
WFAN is also a promotional partner of the Yankees, as sister station WCBS has been the team's flagship station since 2002. WFAN has exclusive game-day rights to broadcast at the ballpark. The exclusive access seems to give WFAN an information edge over WEPN, which features Yankees television voice Michael Kay in drivetime. Kay is often forced to do his show from outside the stadium, and then leave an hour before the game to prepare for the TV broadcast. Yankees announcers from YES and WCBS occasionally host shows on WFAN throughout the year, including John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman and Kimberly Jones.
The station is the flagship outlet for Westwood One's NFL and NCAA radio broadcasts, though all local teams have priority, with the exception of NFL playoff games.
WFAN has marketed itself in recent years as the "Flagship Station for New York Sports", but its close partnerships with the Mets and Yankees could easily render it "New York's Baseball Station." Jerry Manuel and Joe Girardi, respective managers of the Mets and Yankees, make exclusive appearances on WFAN during the season. WFAN usually also contracts at least one Giants and one Jets player to make exclusive appearances on the station during the NFL season, as well as Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.
The station was also the longtime radio home for the New York Jets, New York Rangers and New York Knicks (the latter two were inherited from WNBC). Currently, WFAN's primary competition is WEPN, the New York ESPN Radio affiliate, located at WFAN's old 1050 kHz frequency. WEPN carries the three aforementioned teams plus national ESPN Radio programming, all of which WFAN previously broadcasted.
On April 11, 2006, WFAN started streaming live on the Internet. Web streaming of live games, however, is limited due to broadcast rights (Mets and Nets games are offered separately through the MLB and NBA websites as annual subscriptions). As of April 2010 WFAN, along with other CBS Radio stations, stopped streaming live on the Internet to listeners outside of the United States.
On August 15, 2008, Mike Francesa announced during the final broadcast of Mike and the Mad Dog that WFAN would broadcast a new fundraising radiothon. The new fundraiser would benefit both the Boomer Esiason Foundation for cystic fibrosis research, and the Mike Francesa Champions of the Heart Foundation, a new charity created by Francesa. The first radiothon took place in September 2008. ()
In the early 1990s, popular hosts Ed Coleman and Dave Sims had their show cancelled. WFAN then announced that New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica and WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman would co-host the new midday program. The show seemed all set to go when, at the last minute, Berman decided to back out of the show. He cited that he would have to work a near 14-hour day, combining his 10 a.m. start on radio with his 11:20 p.m. report on television. WFAN would not let Berman out of his contract, and as a result, the slot was split into two shows: Lupica hosted from 10 a.m. to noon, while Berman hosted from noon to 2 p.m.. The split format did not work, and eventually Berman's show would be cancelled and Lupica's show soon followed.
WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg, who also worked an evening sportscast, was more than willing to assume the midday show duties. In 1995, he was joined by longtime overnight host Steve Somers. This show, billed as The Sweater and the Schmoozer, featured one of the most famous incidents in WFAN history. It occurred when Salzberg "banned" Eli from Westchester from calling his show due to his comments that Salzberg considered to be inappropriate. Salzberg notoriously said to Somers, during another Atlanta Braves World Series appearance talking about Braves' manager Bobby Cox: "What about Cox, Steve? You like Cox... don't you, Steve?"
In 1999, with the ratings not being what WFAN management expected, the Salzberg/Somers show was cancelled. Initially Somers had been fired with Salzberg, but a large outcry from listeners—including comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a native of Long Island – led to WFAN management giving Somers the evening shift, which (despite frequent pre-emptions for live games) he continues to hold to the present day. In middays, Salzberg and Somers were replaced by Suzyn Waldman and Jody McDonald. Waldman was best known for her work covering the Yankees and Knicks for the station. McDonald, son of a former Mets general manager, was the weekend overnight host before leaving for sister station WIP in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home. Both Waldman and McDonald had their fans and detractors at WFAN.
Waldman would leave WFAN in late 2001, joining the Yankees television broadcast team the following year. She would be replaced by Sid Rosenberg who, despite his shock jock reputation, had an enormous knowledge of sports. Many felt there was great chemistry between McDonald and Rosenberg. However, the ratings still weren't what WFAN expected and in 2004 McDonald was let go, later to join WEPN, Sirius Satellite Radio, and WPEN radio in Philadelphia. Overnight host Joe Benigno would replace McDonald.
Rosenberg was forced to resign from WFAN on September 12, 2005 after being given an ultimatum by station management for not showing up to host the New York Giants' pregame show the day before. Benigno hosted the show solo for over a year, and on January 2, 2007, part-time overnight host Evan Roberts became Benigno's new midday co-host. The pairing continues to consistently out-rate rival station WEPN.
On the April 4, 2007 broadcast of Imus in the Morning, Don Imus made a sexually and racially insensitive comment in reference to the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Imus made the remarks during a conversation with the show's producer, Bernard McGuirk, and Sid Rosenberg (who was on the phone).
Two days after making the comments, Imus issued a public apology. By that time, however, there were various calls for his dismissal, particularly from civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who threatened to protest both CBS Radio and MSNBC (which aired a video simulcast of the program), and to boycott companies who advertised on the program. WFAN offered its hosts and listeners a sounding board for their own feelings and comments, which were both for and against his dismissal. Chris Russo, in particular, expressed his disappointment at Imus for waiting two days before retracting his comments.
Imus was initially given a two-week suspension which was scheduled to begin on April 16, allowing him to work the annual WFAN Radiothon on April 12 and 13. On consecutive days Imus appeared on both Sharpton's syndicated radio show (April 9) and NBC-TV's Today Show (April 10) to reiterate his regret for the remarks. But on April 11, MSNBC announced the cancellation of the video simulcast of Imus in the Morning. The following day, CBS Radio dismissed Imus, at the time leaving WFAN with a very large programming—and money-earning—void in its schedule.
Imus' last WFAN program was aired on the opening day of the radiothon. Imus's wife Deirdre joined his longtime co-host, comedy writer, and news reader, Charles McCord, to anchor the final segment of the radiothon on April 13. Imus revived his program at WABC radio in December 2007, and took his fundraiser with him—with the charities intact—and conducted a radiothon there in May 2008.
From that point on, the 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. time slot was filled by various hosts. McCord and Chris Carlin remained on all the replacement shows as assistance and staff, in similar roles as they were on Imus's show, and the replacement shows continued to be syndicated via Westwood One. Mike Francesa and Chris Russo were the first to fill the spot, hosting for the two weeks (April 16–27) immediately after Imus' firing. Francesa and Russo also worked the shift separate from each other, as did fellow WFAN staffers Richard Neer, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, and Carlin, who worked both alone and with co-hosts, notably Kimberly Jones and Washington Post sports columnist John Feinstein.
WFAN and Westwood One also brought in outside personalities into the slot. Among them were Boomer Esiason, Patrick McEnroe, Geraldo Rivera, Lou Dobbs, and Chicago market sports radio host Mike North. As MSNBC also held its own claim to the slot, the cable network was able to have its own replacement shows simulcasted; these programs were hosted by in-house personalities David Gregory, Jim Cramer, and Joe Scarborough; eventually Scarborough would become the permanent replacement host on MSNBC with Morning Joe.
On September 4, 2007, Esiason took over as the permanent host of the WFAN morning show, with veteran radio personality Craig Carton (previously of WKXW-FM in Trenton, New Jersey) serving as co-host, and Chris Carlin remaining to do sports updates. The new program is not distributed nationally by Westwood One, but has actually outperformed Imus' former WFAN ratings in the New York market in most surveys since it premiered. Charles McCord left the station shortly after the announcement was made and has since rejoined Don Imus at WABC. Carlin was also given his own show in the one-hour time slot immediately preceding Esiason's show. The television simulcast, which had been on MSNBC since the early 1990s, was not immediately brought back; it was not until September 2010 that WFAN reached an agreement with MSG Network to simulcast Boomer and Carton live each weekday; each four-hour show is simulcast live with a condensed one-hour "best-of" program airing later each day and throughout the weekend.
During their 19-year run as WFAN's afternoon drive team, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo had enjoyed a relationship—both on- and off-air—which varied from respect to contempt. The two hosts did not get along well during the early days of their partnership, and had several differences which potentially put their program in jeopardy. In spite of the disagreements, the duo always seemed to patch things up for the benefit of the station and their listeners.
In early 2008, several reports surfaced that Francesa and Russo were on the outs again, and these reports came as both men's contracts with WFAN were in the early stages of renegotiation. On June 22, 2008, sports columnist Neil Best of Newsday reported that the Francesa/Russo relationship had cooled, and they were considering ending their radio show. Francesa, reached by Newsday while vacationing, refused to comment. Russo, doing the show alone on June 23, denied the rumors. But on the June 27, 2008 broadcast, Francesa (working alone as Russo was on vacation) acknowledged the show was at a "crossroad", and could not guarantee the show would last through the summer. Francesa also stated he and Russo had not spoken since reports of their possible breakup came out.
On July 11, 2008, Francesa and Russo reunited for their first show together since news of their possible breakup came out. Both men were coy about their future beyond the summer. Francesa and Russo then continued their normal summer routine of alternating vacation weeks, and on August 5, 2008, they would do their final show together at the New York Giants' training facility at the University of Albany.
On August 14, 2008, Russo reached a mutual agreement with WFAN to let him out of his contract, which ran until October 2009. Russo insisted it was solely a personal decision and said, "This has nothing to do with Mike and I hating each other... This is about doing something different. I'm 48 years old and there are not going to be too many more opportunities to break away. It's time to try something else, but it was a tough decision to make."
At the same time, while Russo left WFAN, Francesa signed a five-year deal to stay at WFAN and continue to host the afternoon drive-time show. On August 19, 2008, Russo signed a five-year contract worth about 3 million per year with Sirius XM to headline a new sports talk channel called Mad Dog Radio on both Sirius and XM satellite radio. Russo said there was nothing WFAN could have done to keep him after Sirius XM provided him an opportunity to not only do a show, but have his own channel, which he could not pass up.
It is worth noting that, for all the success and influence that WFAN has had, its signature Mike and the Mad Dog show experienced limited syndication outside of New York state (the show had been carried over WQYK in Tampa, Florida and WROW in Albany, New York). This was primarily due to a desire by the hosts to keep their show New York-centric.
WFAN once produced some of Fox Sports Radio's programming, notably Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's Saturday show, but the relationship did not last even one year for the same reason that Mike'd Up is syndicated nationally only through the YES Network — the hosts often talk about the NFL on a national basis, but stick mostly to local coverage of baseball. Nevertheless, callers from as far as California and Norway made it to air.
;Jerome from Manhattan Another notable caller is Jerome Mittelman, widely known as "Jerome from Manhattan." A die-hard Yankees and Knicks fan, Jerome is famous for his on-air take-no-prisoners blistering rants and raves, as well as his unique take on the English language. One of his favorite exclamatory phrases is "frickin' frack!" He refers to the bullpen as the "ballpen", and once shouted that the Yankees are "....done! D-O-E-N [sic], DONE!" His relationship status is intriguing enough for Steve Somers to once give Jerome $60 to take a lady out on a date, only for Jerome to keep the money and not go out on the date. Former host Sid Rosenberg once asked Jerome if he was upset that he was not taking his eagerly anticipated trip "....to Colorado?", and Jerome replied, "No, [it was] to Denver." He does "....not like jets. They make [him] seasick." Jerome, when he still called WFAN regularly, was known as being the only caller to have an audio intro, much like those played at the top of each show. Mr. Mittelman's health problems had kept him from the WFAN airwaves on a regular basis from late 2004 until mid 2008; he has recently started to call in more frequently. Occasionally when he calls in to Steve Somers' program, a special introduction is played to the tune of The Twilight Zone.
;Eli from Westchester Eli Strand (1943–2008), known when calling as "Eli from Westchester", was another famous repeat caller. Citing racism as the underlying factor behind any number of sports happenings, he was occasionally banned from calling for periods of time. One of the most famous times he was banned was by former mid-day host Russ Salzberg. However, he was also given an on-air tryout for the job which would eventually go to Joe Benigno. Strand, from Tuckahoe, New York, played college football at Iowa State University and spent two years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints.
;Miriam from Forest Hills Miriam is a blind New York Islanders and New York Mets fan from Queens. The first Islanders game Miriam ever attended became the topic of a Rick Reilly column in Sports Illustrated.
;Dave from Harlem David Paterson, Governor of New York, has been known to call into the station on occasion. He has also used the alias "David from Manhattan."
During the day, WFAN's groundwave signal can be heard faintly as far south as Washington, D.C. and as far north as the I-90 corridor (the New York State Thruway and Massachusetts Turnpike), about 150 miles north of New York City. WFAN can also allegedly be heard clearly on the northern beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks during the day and the southern beaches around Wilmington, NC at night. Signal strength varies depending on factors such as weather and elevation. Still, a good car radio can pick up WFAN cleanly in most of Pennsylvania, at times as far west as central Indiana, and throughout Connecticut, as well as parts of the Philadelphia, Boston, Albany, and Syracuse markets, especially at night (WFAN does not broadcast on reduced power overnight, and thus needs very few affiliate stations for the teams it broadcasts).
Callers from these locations are not uncommon, especially as some of the on-air staffers have backgrounds in those regions (Bob Heussler does radio play-by-play for the Connecticut Sun, Fairfield Stags basketball and has done radio play-by-play for UConn basketball and football, while Chris Carlin handles Rutgers football games), and attended Hobart. Alternatively, the callers listen to the streaming internet feed on wfan.com, or watch one of the station's TV simulcasts ("Mike Francesa" on YES or "Boomer and Carton" on MSG).
Depending on atmospheric conditions, the station can be allegedly picked up as far south as Havana, Cuba. In parts of South Florida after sunset, reception of WFAN is clearer than Miami-based "competitors" including WAXY.
WFAN HD FM simulcasts
WXRK 92.3-HD3 New York, New YorkWJFK-FM 106.7-HD3 Manassas, Virginia/Washington, D.C WOCL 105.9-HD3 Deland/Orlando, FloridaWEAT-FM 104.3-HD3 West Palm Beach, Florida WLLD 94.1-HD3 Lakeland/Tampa, Florida
Category:Radio stations in New York Category:Sports radio stations in the United States Category:Sports in New York Category:Radio stations established in 1922
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| Name | Mike Francesa |
|---|---|
| Caption | Francesa during his show Mike'd Up |
| Birth date | March 20, 1954 |
| Birth place | Long Beach, New York, U.S. |
| Shows | Mike'd Up: Francesa on the FAN |
| Radio station | WFAN, New York City |
| Television station | WNBC, New York City |
| Radio timeslot, m-f | 1 – 6:30 p.m., Monday-Friday |
| Tv timeslot, sundays | 11:30pm [Note: not a hard start time] |
| Show2 | NFL Now |
| Station2 | WFAN & YES Network, New York City |
| Timeslot2 | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Sunday (during the NFL season) |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country |
When he was a studio analyst at CBS Sports, he said the most common complaint he heard was about his New York accent.
ESPN tried to lure Francesa as its studio expert on college football, college basketball and NFL in 1991, but he declined the offer.
Francesa announced on the radio that he quit CBS on April 1, 1993 before the 1993 Final Four began.
In 1990, Francesa began hosting a talk show following Knicks and Rangers games at Madison Square Garden called Live from the Play By Play. The Play By Play is a restaurant in Madison Square Garden. The show featured sports and entertainment figures in a "late night" talk style program.
In 1998, Francesa began a website called mikesports.com, but the project was abandoned and is no longer online.
Francesa auditioned for the Monday Night Football job in 2000 that eventually went to Dennis Miller.
In 2003, Francesa began hosting an 11:30 PM Sunday Night Sports Show on WNBC-TV in New York City entitled Mike'd Up: The Francesa Sports Final. Taking a live hand-off from the end of the WNBC-TV local news, Francesa then launches into in-depth analysis of the weekend games -- with a focus geared towards the New York-area teams. He also interviews notable athletes, coaches, and sportswriters. The show was intended to span the length of the NFL season, but proved so successful that WNBC extended the show to run year-round. Weekend sports anchor Bruce Beck usually fills in when Francesa has the summer off.
Currently a resident of Manhasset, New York. Francesa married his current wife, Rose (whom he usually refers to as Roe), on July 14, 2000 and they have three children, fraternal twins Emily Grace and Jack Patrick, born on January 17, 2005 and Harrison James, born on November 20, 2006.
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| Name | Rod Thorn |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 4 |
| Weight lb | 195 |
| Number | 44, 10, 22 |
| Birth date | May 23, 1941 |
| Birth place | Princeton, West Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Princeton |
| College | West Virginia |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 2 |
| Draft year | 1963 |
| Draft team | Baltimore Bullets |
| Career start | 1963 |
| Career end | 1971 |
| Teams | |
| Coach | |
| Highlights |
Thorn attended West Virginia University, where he was an All-American guard in basketball, as well as playing three seasons on the WVU baseball team.
In the 1963 NBA Draft, Thorn was the second player selected overall, drafted by the Baltimore Bullets. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team, but was traded by the Bullets following his first season. After brief stints with Detroit and St. Louis, he concluded his career as a player with the Seattle SuperSonics (1967–71).
After retiring, Thorn stayed with the SuperSonics as assistant coach and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in political science.
In 1973, former teammate Kevin Loughery hired Thorn as assistant coach of the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association. The Nets won the 1974 ABA championship, led by Julius Erving.
Thorn later became head coach of another ABA team, the Spirits of St. Louis in 1975, but after a 20-27 start he was fired in the middle of the season in December 1975 and replaced by Joe Mullaney for the remainder of the season.
In 1978, Thorn became the general manager of the Chicago Bulls and was instrumental in the team's selection of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. He also selected track star Carl Lewis much later in the same draft, mostly for publicity purposes; Lewis would never play for the Bulls. Thorn served briefly as interim head coach of the Bulls in 1981-82.
From 1986 to 2000 Thorn was the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.
Thorn rejoined the Nets organization on June 2, 2000, and he was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2002 after the Nets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. During the 2010 offseason, Rod Thorn announced he would step down from the Nets' organization.
On August 11, 2010, Thorn was hired as president of the 76ers, taking over the title from Ed Stefanski, who remained with the team as the general manager.
Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:People from Princeton, West Virginia Category:Basketball players from West Virginia Category:Baltimore Bullets draft picks Category:Baltimore Bullets players Category:Chicago Bulls head coaches Category:Chicago Bulls executives Category:Detroit Pistons players Category:New Jersey Nets executives Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:St. Louis Hawks players Category:Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks Category:Seattle SuperSonics players Category:Spirits of St. Louis coaches Category:University of Washington alumni Category:West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball players Category:West Virginia Mountaineers baseball players Category:Philadelphia 76ers executives Category:National Basketball Association executives Category:National Basketball Association general managers Category:National Basketball Association head coaches
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Reby is currently working as on-air talent for Sirius Satellite Radio on the pro-wrestling show, Busted Open. She has also become an on-air host/reporter for the online sports network SportsRev.TV. In 2010, Reby is a featured interviewer and has added commentary work for the MTV2 program, Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors, a show focusing on the transition of lucha libre and related organizations to the United States.
Sky was also interviewed in MTV's True Life: I'm a Sports Fanatic, as the NY Giants Girl, airing on September 19, 2009. The show chronicled Reby's involvement as a fan of the New York Football Giants.
During her 2009 appearance on the Howard Stern Show, she revealed that she is bisexual.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Img alt | A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare. |
|---|---|
| Landscape | no |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Michael Joe Jackson |
| Alias | Michael Joseph Jackson, Michael Jackson, King of Pop |
| Born | August 29, 1958Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2009Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Instrument | Vocals, Piano, Drums, Beatbox, Guitar, Bass Guitar |
| Genre | R&B;, pop rock, electronic |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, musician, dancer, choreographer, actor, author, businessman, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1964–2009 |
| Label | Motown, Epic, Legacy |
| Associated acts | The Jackson 5 |
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In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs including "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B; and rock artists.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him one of the most-awarded recording artist in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, have generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death. His first posthumous album of new material, simply titled Michael, was released on December 14, 2010.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child. Childhood abuse is also known to impair neurobiological development (i.e. impairing the brain circuitry involved in addiction, motivation and incentive) causing increased susceptibility to drug addiction, which he struggled with; in addition to increased susceptibility by the psychological factor of emotional pain relief.
In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first solo album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album, Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B; Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B; Album and Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".
In March 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry, from ad agency BBDO and Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, Alan Pottasch at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Dusenberry later recounted the episode in his memoir, Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising.
On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse. Jackson won eight awards during the Grammys that year. Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the 1984 Victory Tour, headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. He donated all the funds (around ) raised from the Victory Tour to charity. He also co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" in 1985 with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in the U.S. and Africa. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 30 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief. In 1986, "We Are the World" won four Grammys (one for Jackson for Song of the Year). American Music Award directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, but recognised it with two special honors (one for the creation of the song and one for the USA for Africa idea). They are the only AMAs that Jackson won as non-solo artist.
In 1984, ATV Music Publishing, which had the copyrights to nearly 4000 songs, including the Northern Songs catalog that contained the majority of the Lennon/McCartney compositions recorded by The Beatles, was put up for sale by Robert Holmes à Court. Jackson had become interested in owning music catalogs after working with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s: Jackson had learned McCartney made approximately $40 million a year from other people's songs. In 1981, McCartney was offered the ATV music catalog for £20 million ($40 million USD). According to McCartney, he contacted Yoko Ono about making a joint purchase by splitting the cost equally at £10 million each, but Ono thought they could buy it for £5 million each. Also, an attorney for McCartney assured Jackson's attorney, John Branca, that McCartney was not interested in bidding: McCartney reportedly said "It's too pricey" According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale. Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy. Several surgeons speculated that he had undergone various nasal surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips, and cheekbone surgery—although Jackson denied this and insisted that he only had surgery on his nose. Jackson claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he mentioned having a dimple created in his chin. Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body". Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring problem later in life.
During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his two eldest children. Long before becoming romantically involved with her, Jackson relied heavily on Rowe for emotional support. He also relied heavily on Klein, for medical and business advice.
, here in the early stages of the disease]] Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson had disseminated the fabricated story himself. When Jackson bought a chimpanzee called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality. It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although untrue, Jackson did not deny the story. These reports became embedded in the public consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko," which Jackson came to despise. Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli:
Jackson collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: Paris' installation was the last one to close, in 1998. The attraction would later return to Disneyland after Jackson's death in 2010.
In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of the Thriller video. With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated. It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right.
The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, including Thriller. Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2008, the album had sold 30 million copies worldwide. Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B; Single.
The Bad World Tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989. Jackson broke a Guinness World Record when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people. The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii.
Following the illness and death of Ryan White, Jackson helped draw public attention to HIV/AIDS, something that was still controversial at the time. He publicly pleaded with the Clinton Administration at Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research. In a high-profile visit to Africa, Jackson visited several countries, among them Gabon and Egypt. His first stop to Gabon was greeted with a sizable and enthusiastic reception of more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read, "Welcome Home Michael."
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah Winfrey in February 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He grimaced when speaking of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood years, admitting that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, stating for the first time that he had vitiligo. The interview was watched by an American audience of 90 million. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its original release. The Chandler family demanded payment from Jackson, and the singer initially refused. Jordan Chandler eventually told the police that Jackson had sexually abused him. Dr. Chandler was tape-recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, saying, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever ... Michael's career will be over". Jordan's mother was, however, adamant that there had been no wrongdoing on Jackson's part. a fact confirmed in his autopsy. His friends said he never recovered from the humiliation of the strip search. The investigation was inconclusive and no charges were ever filed. Jackson described the search in an emotional public statement, and proclaimed his innocence. On January 1, 1994, Jackson's insurance carrier settled with the Chandlers out of court for $22 million. A Santa Barbara County grand jury and a Los Angeles County grand jury disbanded on May 2, 1994 without indicting Jackson. After which time the Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994. The out-of-court settlement's documentation specifically stated Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and no liability; the Chandlers and their family lawyer Larry Feldman signed it without contest. The Chandlers' lawyer Mr. Feldman also explicitly stated "nobody bought anybody's silence". A decade after the fact, during the second round of child abuse allegations, Jackson's lawyers would file a memo stating that the 1994 settlement was done without his consent. According to a friend of Presley's, "their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A." They stayed in contact every day over the telephone. As the child molestation accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health and addiction to drugs. Presley explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it." She eventually persuaded him to settle the allegations out of court and go into rehabilitation to recover. At the time, the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a ploy to prop up Jackson's public image. The marriage lasted less than two years and ended with an amicable divorce settlement. In a 2010 interview with Oprah, Presley admitted that they spent four more years after the divorce "getting back together and breaking up", until she decided to stop.
The album was promoted with the successful HIStory World Tour. The tour began on September 7, 1996, and finished on October 15, 1997. Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, and grossed up a total of . The show, which visited five continents and 35 countries, became Jackson's most successful in terms of audience figures. During the tour, Jackson married his longtime friend Deborah Jeanne Rowe, a dermatology nurse, in an impromptu ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Rowe was approximately six months pregnant with the couple's first child at the time. Originally, Rowe and Jackson had no plans to marry, but Jackson's mother Katherine persuaded them to do so. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. The couple divorced in 1999, and Jackson got full custody of the children. The divorce was relatively amicable, but a subsequent custody suit was not settled until 2006. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album was certified platinum, but only reached number 24. Later that month, Jackson organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the "Nelson Mandela Children's Fund", the Red Cross and UNESCO.
In 2002, Michael Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. In the same year, Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket") was born. The mother's identity is unknown, but Jackson has said the child was the result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his newborn son onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm, with a cloth loosely draped over the baby's face. The baby was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, causing widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the US, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least units.
In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. Jackson was arrested in November 2003, and was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13 year old boy shown in the film. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In the spring of 2006, there was an announcement that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup called Two Seas Records. However, nothing ever came of that deal, and the CEO of Two Seas, Guy Holmes, later stated that the deal had never been finalized. Throughout 2006, Sony repackaged 20 singles from the 1980s and 1990s as the series, which subsequently became a boxed set. Most of those singles returned to the charts as a result. In September 2006, Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe confirmed reports that they had settled their long-running child custody suit. The terms were never made public. Jackson continued to be the custodial parent of the couple's two children. In October 2006, Fox News entertainment reporter Roger Friedman said that Jackson had been recording at a studio in rural Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known at the time what Jackson might be working on, or who might be paying for the sessions, since his publicist had recently issued a statement claiming that he had left Two Seas.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC broke the story that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. Jackson returned to the United States after Christmas 2006 to attend James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia. He gave one of the eulogies, saying that "James Brown is my greatest inspiration." In the spring of 2007, Jackson and Sony teamed up to buy yet another music publishing company: Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others. Jackson recorded extensively during this period in New York with songwriter and producer will.i.am and also in Las Vegas with producers Akon and RedOne. In March 2007, Jackson gave a brief interview to the Associated Press in Tokyo, where he said, "I've been in the entertainment industry since I was 6 years old, and as Charles Dickens would say, 'It's been the best of times, the worst of times.' But I would not change my career ... While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me."
In September 2007 Jackson was reportedly still working with will.i.am, but the album was apparently never completed. However, in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25 to mark the 25th anniversary of the original Thriller. This album featured the previously unreleased song "For All Time" (an outtake from the original sessions) as well as remixes, where Jackson collaborated with younger artists who had been inspired by his work. Two of the remixes were released as singles with only modest success: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am) and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon). The first single was based on an early demo version, without Paul McCartney. The album itself was a hit, however. In anticipation of Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest-hits albums called King of Pop. Slightly different versions were released in various countries, based on polls of local fans. King of Pop reached the top 10 in most countries where it was issued, and also sold well as an import in other countries (such as the United States.)
In the fall of 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson used as collateral for loans running into many tens of millions of dollars. However, Fortress opted to sell Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, which was a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. This deal cleared Jackson's debt, and he reportedly even gained an extra from the venture. At the time of his death, Jackson still owned a stake in Neverland/Sycamore Valley, but it is unknown how large that stake was. In September 2008, Jackson entered negotiations with Julien's Auction House to display and auction a large collection of memorabilia amounting to approximately 1,390 lots. The auction was scheduled to take place between April 22 and April 25. An exhibition of the lots opened as scheduled on April 14, but the actual auction was eventually cancelled at Jackson's request.
In March 2009, Jackson held a press conference at London's O2 Arena and announced a series of comeback concerts titled This Is It. The shows would be Jackson's first major series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour finished in 1997. Jackson suggested possible retirement after the shows; he said it would be his "final curtain call". The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, stated that the first 10 dates alone would earn the singer approximately . The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record breaking ticket sales: over one million were sold in less than two hours. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG. The concerts would have commenced on July 13, 2009, and finished on March 6, 2010. Less than three weeks before the first show was due to begin in London and with all concerts being sold out, Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest. Sometime before his death, it was widely stated that he was starting a clothing line with Christian Audigier. However, due to Jackson's untimely death, the current status of the label remains unknown.
Jackson's first posthumous single was a song entitled "This Is It" which Jackson cowrote in the 1980s with Paul Anka. It was not on the set lists for the concerts, and the recording was based on an old demo tape. The surviving brothers reunited in the studio for the first time since 1989 to record backing vocals. On October 28, 2009, a documentary film about the rehearsals entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It was released. Even though it ran for a limited two-week engagement, it became the highest grossing documentary or concert movie of all time, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. The film was accompanied by a compilation album of the same name. Two versions of the new song appear on the album, which also featured original masters of Jackson's hits in the order in which they appear in the movie, along with a bonus disc with previously unreleased versions of more Jackson hits as well as a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth". At the 2009 American Music Awards Jackson won four posthumous awards, two for him and two for his album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards total to 26. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 (PDT, 19:22 UTC), arriving three minutes later at Jackson's location. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour after arriving there at 1:13 (20:13 UTC). He was pronounced dead at 2:26 local time (21:26 UTC). Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief. Google initially believed that the input from millions of people searching for "Michael Jackson" meant that the search engine was under attack. Twitter reported a crash, as did Wikipedia at PDT ( EDT). The Wikimedia Foundation reported nearly a million visitors to Jackson's biography within one hour, probably the most visitors in a one-hour period to any article in Wikipedia's history. AOL Instant Messenger collapsed for 40 minutes. AOL called it a "seminal moment in Internet history", adding, "We've never seen anything like it in terms of scope or depth."
Around 15% of Twitter posts—or 5,000 per minute—reportedly mentioned Jackson after the news broke, compared to the 5% recalled as having mentioned the Iranian elections or the flu pandemic that had made headlines earlier in the year. MTV and Black Entertainment Television (BET) aired marathons of Jackson's music videos. Jackson specials aired on multiple television stations around the world. The British soap opera EastEnders added a last-minute scene, in which one character tells another about the news, to the June 26 episode. Jackson was the topic of every front-page headline in the daily British tabloid The Sun for about two weeks following his death. During the same period, the three major U.S. networks' evening newscasts—ABC World News, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News—devoted 34% of their broadcast time to him. Magazines including Time published commemorative editions. A scene that had featured Jackson's sister La Toya was cut from the film Brüno out of respect toward Jackson's family.
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Jackson's casket was present during the memorial but no information was released about the final disposition of the body. While some unofficial reports claimed a worldwide audience as high as one billion people, the U.S. audience was estimated by Nielsen to be 31.1 million, an amount comparable to the estimated that watched the 2004 burial of former president Ronald Reagan, and the estimated Americans who watched the 1997 funeral for Princess Diana.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the event. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read, "We had him," a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou. The Reverend Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children, "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine, cried as she told the crowd, "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine ... I just wanted to say I love him ... so much." Reverend Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. On August 24, several news outlets quoted anonymous sources as stating that the Los Angeles coroner had decided to treat Jackson's death as a homicide; this was later confirmed by the coroner on August 28. At the time of death, Jackson had been administered propofol, lorazepam and midazolam. Law enforcement officials conducted a manslaughter investigation of his personal physician, Conrad Murray. On February 8, 2010, Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter by prosecutors in Los Angeles. Jackson was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
On June 25, 2010, the first anniversary of Jackson's death, fans came to Los Angeles to pay their tribute to him. They visited Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and his family’s home, as well as Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Many of the fans were carrying sunflowers and other tribute items to drop off at the sites. Members of the Jackson family and close friends arrived to pay their respects. Katherine returned to Gary, Indiana to unveil a granite monument constructed in the front yard of the family home. The memorial continued with a candlelight vigil and a special performance of "We Are the World." On June 26, there was a protest march in front of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division at the old Parker Center building and a petition with thousands of signatures demanding justice was delivered. The Jackson Family Foundation in conjunction with Voiceplate presented "Forever Michael", an event bringing together Jackson family members, celebrities, fans, supporters and the community to celebrate and honor his legacy. A portion of the proceeds ere presented to some of Jackson's favorite charities. Katherine also introduced her new book "Never Can Say Goodbye."
The young Michael Jackson owed his vocal technique in large part to Diana Ross. In October 1969, it was decided that Jackson would live with Ross. Not only a mother figure to him, she was often observed in rehearsal as an accomplished performer. He later expressed: "I got to know her well. She taught me so much. I used to just sit in the corner and watch the way she moved. She was art in motion. I studied the way she moved, the way she sang – just the way she was." He told her: "I want to be just like you, Diana." She said: "You just be yourself." But Jackson owed part of his enduring style—especially his use of the oooh interjection—to Ross. From a young age, Jackson often punctuated his verses with a sudden exclamation of oooh. Diana Ross had used this effect on many of the songs recorded with The Supremes.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. Its content focuses on the hardships and public struggles Jackson went through just prior to its production. In the new jack swing-funk-rock efforts "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", along with the R&B; ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs much of his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments over his "fall from grace", while songs like "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are all operatic pop pieces. Invincible found Jackson working heavily with producer Rodney Jerkins. It is a record made up of urban soul like "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" and mixes Hip-Hop, Pop and R&B; in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
A distinctive deliberate mispronunciation of "come on", used frequently by Jackson, occasionally spelt "cha'mone" or "shamone", is also a staple in impressions and caricatures of him. The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". Nelson George summed up Jackson's vocals by stating "The grace, the aggression, the growling, the natural boyishness, the falsetto, the smoothness—that combination of elements mark him as a major vocalist".
The MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award was given to Jackson to celebrate his accomplishments in the art form in the 1980s; the following year the award was renamed in his honor. "Black or White" was accompanied by a controversial music video, which, on November 14, 1991, simultaneously premiered in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500 million people, the largest viewing ever for a music video. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt. It helped usher in morphing as an important technology in music videos.
"Remember the Time" was an elaborate production, and became one of his longest videos at over nine minutes. Set in ancient Egypt, it featured groundbreaking visual effects and appearances by Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson, along with a distinct complex dance routine. The video for "In the Closet" was Jackson's most sexually provocative piece. It featured supermodel Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. The video was banned in South Africa because of its imagery. The song and its accompanying video are a response to the backlash Jackson received from the media after being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form; shortly afterwards Guinness World Records listed it as the most expensive music video ever made at a cost of $7 million.
"Earth Song" was accompanied by an expensive and well-received music video that gained a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video, Short Form in 1997. The video had an environmental theme, showing images of animal cruelty, deforestation, pollution and war. Using special effects, time is reversed so that life returns, wars end, and the forests re-grow. Released in 1997 and premiering at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, Michael Jackson's Ghosts was a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston. The video for Ghosts is over 38 minutes long and holds the Guinness World Record as the world's longest music video.
, set in 1984]] Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius." For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions. Mariah Carey, Usher, Green Day, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake,
Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power".
Shortly after Jackson's death, on June 25, 2009, MTV briefly returned to its original music video format to celebrate and pay tribute to his work. The channel aired many hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week in the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service. At the memorial service on July 7, 2009, founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy proclaimed Jackson as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
In 2010, two university librarians found that Jackson's influence extended into academia, and was detectable in scholarly literature pertaining to a range of subject matter. The two researchers combed through various scholars' writings, and compiled an annotated bibliography of those writings that appeared to meet at least one of several criteria. Among these criteria were appearance in a peer-reviewed journal, and the provision of insight into the nature of "popular icons including Jackson". The bibliography located references to Jackson in research reports concerning music, popular culture, and an array of other topics. The bibliographers identified as their most peculiar finding an argument that certain aspects of chemistry can be effectively taught by altering and imitating elements of Jackson's singing. One of the research librarians later reflected that "the fact that someone would take a Michael Jackson song and co-opt it as a means to convey chemistry concepts just shows the pervasiveness of Jackson's influence".
Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as member of the The Jacksons and in 1984 as solo artist. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also inducted in several other hall of fames, including Vocal Group Hall of Fame (as The Jackson 5 member) in 1999, Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and Hit Parade Hall of Fame (with his brothers) in 2009. In 2010, Jackson was inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (24 only as a solo artist, including the "Artist of the Century", but not the poll of "Artist of the '80s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's passing as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This Is It." Michael Jackson also received a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the United Negro College Fund and also an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University.
Category:1958 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2009 deaths Category:African American dancers Category:African American music Category:African American non-fiction writers Category:African American poets Category:African American record producers Category:African American rock singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American businesspeople Category:American child singers Category:American choreographers Category:American dance musicians Category:American disco musicians Category:American expatriates in Ireland Category:American humanitarians Category:American male singers Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul singers Category:American vegetarians Category:Beatboxers Category:Boy sopranos Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:English-language singers Category:Epic Records artists Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:Grammy Award winners Michael Jackson Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Santa Barbara County, California Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Indiana Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jackson Category:World Music Awards winners Category:World record holders
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| Name | Joe Benigno |
|---|---|
| Birth date | September 26, 1953 |
| Birth place | Garfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Show | Benigno & Roberts |
| Station | WFAN, New York City |
| Timeslot | 10:00 am - 01:00 p.m., Monday-Friday |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country | |
| Web | www.joeandevan.com |
Benigno also co-hosts Daily News Live on SNY.
Benigno often makes light of his uncanny resemblance to professional baseball player Sal Fasano, and Hollywood actor Vincent Schiavelli.
He resides in Old Tappan, New Jersey.
Released his first book in April 2010, titled "Rules for New York Sports Fans."
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Jackie Robinson |
|---|---|
| Alt | Waist-up portrait of black batter in his mid-thirties, in Brooklyn Dodgers uniform number 42, at end of swing with bat over left shoulder, looking at where a hit ball would be |
| Position | Second baseman |
| Bats | Right |
| Throws | Right |
| Birthdate | January 31, 1919 |
| Birthplace | Cairo, Georgia |
| Deathdate | October 24, 1972 |
| Deathplace | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Debutdate | April 15 |
| Debutyear | |
| Debutteam | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Finaldate | October 10 |
| Finalyear | |
| Finalteam | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Stat1label | Batting average |
| Stat1value | .311 |
| Stat2label | Hits |
| Stat2value | 1,518 |
| Stat3label | Home runs |
| Stat3value | 137 |
| Stat4label | Runs batted in |
| Stat4value | 734 |
| Stat5label | Stolen bases |
| Stat5value | 197 |
| Teams | |
| Highlights | |
| Hofdate | |
| Hofvote | 77.5% (first ballot) |
In addition to his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 – the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.
Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first black television analyst in Major League Baseball, and the first black vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
In 1936, Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament all-star team, which included future Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Lemon. In late January 1937, the Pasadena Star-News newspaper reported that Robinson "for two years has been the outstanding athlete at Muir, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball and tennis."
An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist – a character trait that would resurface repeatedly in his life. On January 25, 1938, he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident – along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police – gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism. Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.
After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson transferred to UCLA, where he became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. At a time when only a handful of black players existed in mainstream college football, this made UCLA college football's most integrated team. In track and field, Robinson won the 1940 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the Long Jump, jumping 24'10.5". Belying his future career, baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home.
While a senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum, a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC. In the spring semester of 1941, despite his mother's and Isum's reservations, Robinson left college just shy of graduation. He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA) in Atascadero, California.
After the government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in fall 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears. By that time, however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, drawing the United States into World War II and ending Robinson's nascent football career. As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and the help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War), the men were accepted into OCS. This common military experience spawned a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis. Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943. Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged.
An event on July 6, 1944 derailed Robinson's military career. While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed. After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates, refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalion – where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness – even though Robinson did not drink. After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944. While there, Robinson met an ex-player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. Robinson took the ex-player's advice and wrote Monarchs' co-owner Thomas Baird.
During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interest. The Boston Red Sox held a tryout at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April 16. The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore Muchnick. Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. Robinson left the tryout humiliated,
Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing a black ballplayer. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players, and interviewed Robinson for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club, the Montreal Royals. Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand the inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him. In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily – a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month, equal to $}} today.
Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945. On October 23, it was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season. On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. Robinson was not necessarily the best player in the Negro leagues, and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first.
Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides behind, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League. Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City. On February 10, 1946, Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend, Rev. Karl Downs.
After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus simultaneously became the first black player to openly play for a minor league team and against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s. Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base, allowing him to make shorter throws to first base. Robinson's performance soon rebounded. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson. In his five trips to the plate, Robinson had four hits, including a three-run home run. He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage, Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example), Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an amazing figure by International League standards. In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for the short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils.
Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. Some, notably the St. Louis Cardinals, threatened to strike if Robinson played. After the threat, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson nonetheless became the target of rough physical play by opponents (particularly the Cardinals). At one time, he received a seven-inch gash in his leg. On April 22, 1947, during a game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies players called Robinson a "nigger" from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". Rickey later recalled that Phillies manager Ben Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men."
Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." In 1948, Reese put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends, unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, commemorates this event by representing Reese with his arm around Robinson. Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, who had to deal with racial epithets during his career, also encouraged Robinson. After colliding with Robinson at first base on one occasion, Greenberg whispered a few words into Robinson's ear, which Robinson later characterized as "words of encouragement."
Robinson finished the season with 12 home runs, a league-leading 29 steals, a .297 batting average, a .427 slugging percentage, and 125 runs scored. His cumulative performance earned him the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949).
Following Stanky's trade to the Boston Braves in March 1948, Robinson took over second base, where he logged a .980 fielding percentage that year (second in the National League at the position, fractionally behind Stanky). Robinson had a batting average of .296 and 22 stolen bases for the season. In a 12–7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29, , he hit for the cycle – a home run, a triple, a double, and a single in the same game. The Dodgers briefly moved into first place in the National League in late August 1948, but they ultimately finished third as the Braves went on to win the league title and lose to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.
Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 as a number of other black players entered the major leagues. Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5, 1947) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson.
In the spring of 1949, Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler, working as an advisor to the Dodgers, for batting help. At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. In addition to his improved batting average, Robinson stole 37 bases that season, was second place in the league for both doubles and triples, and registered 124 runs batted in with 122 runs scored.
That year, a song about Robinson by Buddy Johnson, "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", reached number 13 on the charts; Count Basie recorded a famous version. Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series.
In 1950, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. ($}} in dollars). He finished the year with 99 runs scored, a .328 batting average, and 12 stolen bases. and actress Ruby Dee played Rachael "Rae" (Isum) Robinson. The project had been previously delayed when the film's producers refused to accede to demands of two Hollywood studios that the movie include scenes of Robinson being tutored in baseball by a white man. The New York Times wrote that Robinson, "doing that rare thing of playing himself in the picture's leading role, displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star."
Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Walter O'Malley, who referred to Robinson as "Rickey's prima donna". In late 1950, Rickey's contract as the Dodgers' team President expired. Weary of constant disagreements with O'Malley, and with no hope of being re-appointed as President of the Dodgers, Rickey cashed out his one-quarter financial interest in the team, leaving O'Malley in full control of the franchise. Rickey shortly thereafter became general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robinson was disappointed at the turn of events and wrote a sympathetic letter to Rickey, whom he considered a father figure, stating, "Regardless of what happens to me in the future, it all can be placed on what you have done and, believe me, I appreciate it."
During the 1951 season, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman for the second year in a row, with 137.
Despite Robinson's regular-season heroics, the Dodgers lost the pennant on Bobby Thomson's famous home run, known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World, on October 3, 1951. Overcoming his dejection, Robinson dutifully observed Thomson's feet to ensure he touched all the bases. Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully later noted that the incident showed "how much of a competitor Robinson was." He finished the season with 106 runs scored, a batting average of .335, and 25 stolen bases. He finished the year with 104 runs, a .308 batting average, and 24 stolen bases. Sportswriter Dick Young, whom Robinson had described as a "bigot", said, "If there was one flaw in Jackie, it was the common one. He believed that everything unpleasant that happened to him happened because of his blackness." The 1952 season was the last year Robinson was an everyday starter at second base. Afterward, Robinson played variously at first, second, and third bases, shortstop, and in the outfield, with Jim Gilliam, another black player, taking over everyday second base duties.
In 1953, Robinson had 109 runs, a .329 batting average, and 17 steals, He was not dissuaded, however, from addressing racial issues publicly. That year, he served as editor for Our Sports magazine, a periodical focusing on Negro sports issues; contributions to the magazine included an article on golf course segregation by Robinson's old friend Joe Louis. Robinson also openly criticized segregated hotels and restaurants that served the Dodger organization; a number of these establishments integrated as a result, including the five-star Chase Park Hotel in St. Louis.
In 1956, Robinson had 61 runs, a .275 batting average, and 12 steals. Since Robinson had sold exclusive rights to any retirement story to Look magazine two years previously,
Robinson's major league debut brought an end to approximately sixty years of segregation in professional baseball, known as the baseball color line. Robinson's breaking of the baseball color line and his professional success symbolized these broader changes and demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than simply a political matter. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that he was "a legend and a symbol in his own time", and that he "challenged the dark skies of intolerance and frustration." According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robinson's "efforts were a monumental step in the civil-rights revolution in America ... [His] accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities."
Beginning his major league career at the relatively advanced age of twenty-eight, he played only ten seasons, all of them for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Robinson's career is generally considered to mark the beginning of the post–"long ball" era in baseball, in which a reliance on raw power-hitting gave way to balanced offensive strategies that used footspeed to create runs through aggressive baserunning. Robinson exhibited the combination of hitting ability and speed which exemplified the new era. He scored more than 100 runs in six of his ten seasons (averaging more than 110 runs from 1947 to 1953), had a .311 career batting average, a .409 career on-base percentage, a .474 slugging percentage, and substantially more walks than strikeouts (740 to 291). Robinson was one of only two players during the span of 1947–56 to accumulate at least 125 steals while registering a slugging percentage over .425 (Minnie Miñoso was the other). He accumulated 197 stolen bases in total, Robinson has been referred to by author David Falkner as "the father of modern base-stealing."
Historical statistical analysis indicates Robinson was an outstanding fielder throughout his ten years in the major leagues and at virtually every position he played. After playing his rookie season at first base, He led the league in fielding among second basemen in 1950 and 1951. Toward the end of his career, he played about 2,000 innings at third base and about 1,175 innings in the outfield, excelling at both.
On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 42, alongside those of Roy Campanella (39) and Sandy Koufax (32). From 1957 to 1964, Robinson was the vice president for personnel at Chock full o'Nuts; he was the first black person to serve as vice president of a major American corporation. Robinson also chaired the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) million-dollar Freedom Fund Drive in 1957, and served on the organization's board until 1967. He also served as the bank's first Chairman of the Board. In 1970, Robinson established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build housing for low-income families.
Robinson was active in politics throughout his post-baseball life. He identified himself as a political independent although he held conservative opinions on several issues, including the Vietnam War (he once wrote Martin Luther King, Jr. to defend the Johnson Administration's military policy). After supporting Richard Nixon in his 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, Robinson later praised Kennedy effusively for his stance on civil rights. He subsequently supported Hubert Humphrey against Nixon in 1968. He made his final public appearance on October 15, 1972, throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the World Series. He gratefully accepted a plaque honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of his MLB debut, but also commented, "I'm going to be tremendously more pleased and more proud when I look at that third base coaching line one day and see a black face managing in baseball." This wish was fulfilled only after Robinson's death: following the 1974 season, the Cleveland Indians gave their managerial post to Frank Robinson (no relation), a Hall of Fame-bound player who would go on to manage three other teams. Despite the success of these two Robinsons and other black players, the number of African-American players in Major League Baseball has declined since the 1970s.
. Robinson is buried alongside his mother-in-law Zellee Isum and his son Jackie Robinson, Jr.]]
Robinson's eldest son, Jackie Robinson Jr., had emotional trouble during his childhood and entered special education at an early age. He enrolled in the Army in search of a disciplined environment, served in the Vietnam War, and was wounded in action on November 19, 1965. After his discharge, he struggled with drug problems. Robinson Jr. eventually completed the treatment program at Daytop Village in Seymour, Connecticut, and became a counselor at the institution. On June 17, 1971, at the age of 24, he was killed in an automobile accident. The experience with his son's drug addiction turned Robinson, Sr. into an avid anti-drug crusader toward the end of his life.
Robinson did not long outlive his son. Complications of heart disease and diabetes weakened Robinson and made him almost blind by middle age. On October 24, 1972, he died of a heart attack at home in Stamford, Connecticut, aged fifty-three. Many of his former teammates and other famous black baseball players served as pallbearers, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson gave the eulogy.
After Robinson's death, his widow founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, of which she remains an officer as of 2009. On April 15, 2008, she announced that in 2010 the foundation will be opening a museum devoted to Jackie in Lower Manhattan. Robinson's daughter, Sharon, became a midwife, educator, director of educational programming for MLB, and the author of two books about her father. His youngest son, David, who has ten children, is a coffee grower and social activist in Tanzania.
, dedicated April 15, 2009|alt=An eight-foot blue sculpture of a stylized uniform number, 42, set atop a polished interior walkway]]
The City of Pasadena has recognized Robinson in several ways. Brookside Park, situated next to the Rose Bowl, features a baseball diamond and stadium named Jackie Robinson Field. The city's Human Services Department operates the Jackie Robinson Center, a community outreach center that provides early diabetes detection and other services. In 1997, a $325,000 bronze sculpture (equal to $}} today) by artists Ralph Helmick, Stu Schecter, and John Outterbridge depicting oversized nine-foot busts of Robinson and his brother Mack was erected at Garfield Avenue, across from the main entrance of Pasadena City Hall; a granite footprint lists multiple donors to the commission project, which was organized by the Robinson Memorial Foundation and supported by members of the Robinson family.
Major League Baseball has honored Robinson many times since his death. In 1987, both the National and American League Rookie of the Year Awards were renamed the "Jackie Robinson Award" in honor of the first recipient (Robinson's Major League Rookie of the Year Award in 1947 encompassed both leagues). On April 15, 1997, Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired throughout Major League Baseball, the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout one of the four major American sports leagues.
As an exception to the retired-number policy, MLB has recently begun honoring Robinson by allowing players to wear number 42 on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day. For the 60th anniversary of Robinson's major league debut, MLB invited players to wear the number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in 2007. The gesture was originally the idea of outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr., who sought Rachel Robinson's permission to wear the number. After receiving her permission, Commissioner Bud Selig not only allowed Griffey to wear the number, but also extended an invitation to all major league teams to do the same. Ultimately, more than 200 players wore number 42, including the entire rosters of the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The tribute was continued in 2008, when, during games on April 15, all members of the Mets, Cardinals, Washington Nationals, and Tampa Bay Rays wore Robinson's number 42. On June 25, 2008, MLB installed a new plaque for Robinson at the Baseball Hall of Fame commemorating his off-the-field impact on the game as well as his playing statistics.
and planned home of the Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center]]
At the November 2006 groundbreaking for a new ballpark for the New York Mets, Citi Field, it was announced that the main entrance, modeled on the one in Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field, would be called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The rotunda was dedicated at the opening of Citi Field on April 16, 2009. It honors Robinson with large quotations spanning the inner curve of the facade and features a large freestanding statue of his number, 42, which has become an attraction in itself. Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced that, in conjunction with Citigroup and the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Mets will create a Jackie Robinson Museum and Learning Center, located at the headquarters of the Jackie Robinson Foundation at One Hudson Square in lower Manhattan. The main purpose of the museum will be to fund scholarships for "young people who live by and embody Jackie's ideals."
Robinson has also been recognized outside of baseball. In December 1956, the NAACP recognized him with the Spingarn Medal, which it awards annually for the highest achievement by an African-American. and on March 2, 2005, President George W. Bush gave Robinson's widow the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress; Robinson was only the second baseball player to receive the award, after Roberto Clemente. On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced that Robinson was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.
(left) and Dennis Hastert (right).|alt=Black woman holding aloft award presented by President George W. Bush and two other dignitaries]]
A number of buildings have been named in Robinson's honor. The UCLA Bruins baseball team plays in Jackie Robinson Stadium, which, because of the efforts of Jackie's brother Mack, features a memorial statue of Robinson by sculptor Richard H. Ellis. City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida – the baseball field that became the Dodgers' de facto spring training site in 1947 – was renamed Jackie Robinson Ballpark in 1989. The New York Public School system has named a middle school after Robinson, and Dorsey High School plays at a Los Angeles football stadium named after him. In 1976, his home in Brooklyn, the Jackie Robinson House, was declared a National Historic Landmark. Robinson also has an asteroid named after him, 4319 Jackierobinson. In 1997, the United States Mint issued a Jackie Robinson commemorative silver dollar, and five dollar gold coin. Pasadena City College's stadium is named Robinson Stadium for Jackie and Mack.
a The sacrifice fly (SF) as a unique statistical category did not exist in Major League Baseball from 1940 through 1953. Any pre-1954 sacrifice flies by Robinson would be reflected in the sacrifice hit (SH) category.
b Likewise, the intentional walk (IBB) category only became a unique statistic beginning in 1955. Any intentional walks issued to Robinson before that year would be reflected in the walk (BB) category.
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| Name | Craig Carton |
|---|---|
| Caption | Carton (right) with broadcast partner Boomer Esiason. |
| Birthname | Craig Harris Carton |
| Birth date | January 31, 1969 |
| Birth place | New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Show | Boomer and Carton in the Morning |
| Station | WFAN, New York City |
| Timeslot | 6 a.m. - 10 a.m., Monday-Friday |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country | |
| Prevshow | The Jersey GuysSports Guys |
| Web | WFAN.comBoomer and Carton in the Morning Homepage |
Craig Harris Carton (born January 31, 1969) is an American radio personality who currently co-hosts the Boomer and Carton in the Morning radio program.
While in school he worked on the cable television show Views From the Bridge.
Carton left the East Coast for Denver, Colorado, working mostly at KKFN 950 AM, "The Fan". His morning show took off immediately despite never getting along with the program director, Tim Spence. He was the highest rated host in the station's history which resulted in his being offered the morning slot on KBPI Radio. He quickly became the #1 rated local morning show in Denver radio. Eventually he resigned and left Denver to care for his wife who was pregnant with their first child.
In late 2000, Carton became Scott Kaplan's replacement on WNEW's "Sports Guys" morning radio program in New York City. He was a "Sports Guy" for one year. He worked with Sid Rosenberg and Blain Ensley (and briefly with Eddie Ifft) and then just Blain when Rosenberg left. Carton took the show in a new direction, adding stunts as an on-the-air cockfight and "Pastapalooza" in the vein of his idol Howard Stern.
Carton, a New Yorker, then became a "Jersey Guy" on New Jersey 101.5. The afternoon show was the highest rated FM afternoon talk show in America for a full 5 years.
In 2007, Carton departed for a morning opening at WFAN as Boomer Esiason's sidekick when Esiason was hired as the permanent replacement for Imus in the Morning. One year after Esiason and Carton started the Boomer and Carton show, they reached #1 (Men 25-54) in the Arbitron Ratings, something that Don Imus had not achieved since 1993. The show is now set to air on the MSG television network, starting September 14, 2010.
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| Name | Bud Selig |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Allan Huber Selig |
| Birth date | July 30, 1934 |
| Birth place | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Education | University of Wisconsin (B.A.) |
| Employer | Major League Baseball |
| Occupation | Commissioner of Major League Baseball |
| Term | 1992–present |
| Website | MLB Bio |
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998. Selig oversaw baseball through the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, interleague play, and the merging of the National and American leagues under the Office of the Commissioner. He was instrumental in organizing the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He is credited for the financial turnaround of baseball during his tenure with a 400 percent increase in the revenue of MLB and annual record breaking attendance. Following the release of the Mitchell Report, Congressman Cliff Stearns called publicly for Selig to step down as commissioner, citing his "glacial response" to the "growing stain on baseball."
Selig was previously the team owner and team president of the Milwaukee Brewers. As a Milwaukee native, he is credited for keeping baseball in Milwaukee. In 1970, he purchased the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court and renamed them the Milwaukee Brewers after a minor league team he had watched in his youth. The Brewers went to the 1982 World Series and won seven organization of the year awards during his tenure. Selig remains a resident of Milwaukee.
On January 17, 2008, Selig's contract was extended by the MLB through 2012, at which point he plans to retire. Selig made $14.5 million in the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, 2005. Selig graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in American history and political science in 1956. He served two years in the U.S. Army before working with his father who owned a car leasing business in Milwaukee.|Fay Vincent}} Following an 18-9 no-confidence vote, Vincent resigned. Selig had by this time become chairman of the Executive Council of Major League Baseball, and as such became de facto acting commissioner.
His first major act was to institute the Wild Card and divisional playoff play, which has created much controversy amongst baseball fans. Those against the Wild Card see it as diminishing the importance of the pennant race and the regular season, with the true race often being for second rather than first place, while those in favor of it view it as an opportunity for teams to have a shot at the playoffs even when they have no chance of a first-place finish in their division, thus maintaining fan interest later in the season.
Selig suspended Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott for a year in 1993 for repeated racially insensitive and prejudicial remarks and actions. The same year, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was reinstated from a lifelong suspension that was instituted by Selig's predecessor Fay Vincent. Pete Rose has claimed that he applied for reinstatement over the years and received no such consideration. Rose, along with his close friend and former teammate Mike Schmidt (who is a strong supporter of Rose's reinstatement into baseball), met with Selig in 2002, where Rose privately admitted to Selig (two years before going public with his admission) about betting on baseball. Bud Selig was a close friend of the late Bart Giamatti, who was the commissioner when Rose was first banned from the sport in 1989.
As acting commissioner, Selig represented MLB during the 1994 players strike and cancelled the World Series, marking the first time the annual event had not been staged since 1904.
During his tenure the game avoided a third work stoppage in 2002, and has seen the implementation of interleague play.
Whereas in the past, the National and American Leagues had separate administrative organizations (which, for example, allowed for the introduction of different rules such as the designated hitter), under Selig, Major League Baseball consolidated the administrative functions of the American and National League into the Commissioner's Office in 2000. The last official presidents of the NL and AL were Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. and Dr. Gene Budig respectively.
After a dramatic conclusion of the 2001 World Series, less than 48 hours later, Selig held a vote on contracting two teams, reportedly the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos. This action led to Selig (along with former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria) being sued for racketeering and conspiring with Loria to deliberately defraud the Expos minority owners. If found liable, the league could have been ordered to pay as much as $300 million in punitive damages. Selig was eager to settle the case because the judge had previously ruled that the Expos could not be moved or contracted until the case was over. The case eventually went to arbitration and was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
In 2005, Selig faced Congress on the issue of steroids. After the Congressional hearings in early 2005, and with the scrutiny of the sports and national media upon this issue, Selig put forth a proposal for a stricter performance-enhancing drug testing regime to replace the current system. This proposal also included the banning of amphetamines, a first for the major North American sports leagues. The MLB Players Association and MLB reached an agreement in November on the new policy.
In early 2006, Selig was forced to deal with the issue of steroid use.
On March 30, 2006, as a response to the controversy of the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the anticipated career home run record to be set by Barry Bonds, Selig asked former senator George Mitchell to lead an independent investigation into the use of steroids in baseball's recent past. Joe Sheehan from Baseball Prospectus wrote that the commission has been focusing "blame for the era exclusively on uniformed personnel", and failing to investigate any role played by team ownership and management.
Much controversy surrounded Selig and his involvement in Barry Bonds' all-time home run record chase. For months, speculation surrounded Selig and the possibility that he and Hank Aaron would not attend Bonds' games as he closed in on the record. Selig announced in July 2007 when Bonds was near 755 home runs that he would attend the games. Selig was in attendance for Bonds' record-tying home run against the San Diego Padres, sitting in Padres owner John Moores' private suite. Bud Selig did not attend the San Francisco Giants' baseball game on August 7 when Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run; after the event, Selig released a statement congratulating Bonds.
On November 15, 2007, attention was brought once again to Barry Bonds as he was indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection to his testimony before the grand jury regarding the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a San Francisco Bay area lab known to be involved in the distribution of steroids to professional athletes.
On December 13, 2007, former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell released his report on the use of performance-enhancing substances by MLB players. The report names many current and former players who allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs during their career, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagné, and Paul Lo Duca.
Selig has been widely criticized for not taking an active enough role to stem the tide of steroid use in baseball until it had blossomed into a debilitating problem for the industry. Chicago Sun Times columnist Jay Mariotti called Selig the "The Steroids Commissioner." Selig has been called to Congress several times to testify on performance enhancing drug use. Congressman Cliff Stearns said in December 2007 that Selig should resign because of use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball during his tenure.
During Selig's terms as Executive Council Chairman (from 1992–1998) and Commissioner, new stadiums have opened in Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Arlington, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Queens, The Bronx and Minneapolis, with a ballpark in Miami coming in future years.
Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:Baseball commissioners Category:Major League Baseball executives Category:Major League Baseball team presidents Category:Major League Baseball owners Category:American sportspeople of Romanian descent Category:American sportspeople of Ukrainian descent Category:American Jews Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin Category:Milwaukee Brewers owners Category:Milwaukee Brewers executives Category:Milwaukee Braves owners Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
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| Name | Brandon Inge |
|---|---|
| Width | 300 |
| Position | Third baseman |
| Team | Detroit Tigers |
| Number | 15 |
| Bats | Right |
| Throws | Right |
| Birthdate | May 19, 1977 |
| Birthplace | Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Debutdate | April 3 |
| Debutyear | 2001 |
| Debutteam | Detroit Tigers |
| Statyear | 2010 season |
| Stat1label | Batting average |
| Stat1value | .237 |
| Stat2label | Home runs |
| Stat2value | 136 |
| Stat3label | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value | 564 |
| Stat4label | Hits |
| Stat4value | 1,028 |
| Stat5label | Strikeouts |
| Stat5value | 1,109 |
| Teams | |
| Awards |
Sportswriter Jayson Stark described Inge as a "super-utility dervish." In 2006, his diving stop and subsequent throw from his knees to put out Gary Bennett in an interleague game, on June 25 against the St. Louis Cardinals earned him the ESPN defensive play of the year for a third baseman.
Inge played baseball at Brookville High School in Lynchburg, then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was a shortstop and relief pitcher. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in , and currently resides in Saline, Michigan.
He started 159 games at third base in , and led all AL third basemen in errors (23), assists (378) and double plays (42). In 2006, Inge exceeded his 2005 totals with 398 assists. That number broke the Detroit Tigers single season record for assists by a 3rd baseman (previously 389 by Aurelio Rodriguez in 1974) and was only 14 short of the all time MLB record for assists by a third baseman (set by Graig Nettles in 1971). Only five third basemen (including Graig Nettles, Brooks Robinson, and Mike Schmidt) have collected more assists in a season than Inge.
In 2006, Inge showed power during the first half, with his 17 home runs tying for the team lead. His slugging percentage was .463 and he placed third on the Tigers with 47 RBIs. After the All-Star Break, he raised his season average from .221 to .253 and finished with 27 home runs.
Inge became expendable at third base after the Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera in a blockbuster trade with the Florida Marlins. Inge asked management to trade him to a team where he would have a chance to be an everyday player. However, a deal was never made, and the team stated that he would be used as a utility player for the 2008 season. Inge reported to spring training early with the pitchers and catchers. He was named the opening day center fielder after Curtis Granderson was placed on the disabled list.
With the absence of backup catcher Vance Wilson, Inge filled this role for the 13-time Gold Glove winner Iván Rodríguez. Inge took over the catching position full time after Rodríguez was traded to the New York Yankees on July 30, 2008.
On September 27, Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced that he would move Inge back to third base for the 2009 season.
Inge opened the 2009 season as the starting third baseman for the Tigers. He started the season by successfully reaching base 24 games in a row, the longest such streak for the Tigers since 1976. Through the first half of the 2009 season, Inge led the team in home runs with 21 and was named to the All-Star team.
Having received a record 11.8 million votes in the Final Vote, Inge was selected to his first All Star Game, joining teammates Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, and Edwin Jackson on the American League squad. Inge participated in the Home Run Derby and became the eighth player in the history of the Derby to not hit a single home run.
Inge underwent surgery on both of his knees on November 3, 2009. He attended a strengthening and rehabilitation program during the winter. He made a full recovery in time to play midway through spring training, and started at third base on Opening Day of the 2010 season in Kansas City.
On July 19, 2010, Inge was hit on the left hand by a pitch. X-rays revealed a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal. Doctors said it would take 4–6 weeks to heal, however he returned two weeks later.
On August 26, 2010, Inge achieved his 1,000th career hit against the Kansas City Royals.
On September 25, 2010, Inge set the Tigers francise mark for strikeouts with 1,100. In the same game however, Inge had the game winning hit in the 13th inning against the Minnesota Twins.
At the conclusion of the season, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski announced plans to re-sign Inge to a multi-year contract.
Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Toledo Mud Hens players Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Jacksonville Suns players Category:Jamestown Jammers players Category:Baseball players from Virginia Category:Major League Baseball third basemen Category:American sportspeople of Norwegian descent Category:People from Lynchburg, Virginia Category:1977 births Category:Living people
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| Name | Andy Pettitte |
|---|---|
| Width | 300 |
| Team | Free Agent |
| Number | -- |
| Position | Starting pitcher |
| Bats | Left |
| Throws | Left |
| Birthdate | June 15, 1972 |
| Birthplace | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Debutdate | April 29 |
| Debutyear | 1995 |
| Debutteam | New York Yankees |
| Statyear | 2010 season |
| Stat1label | Win-Loss |
| Stat1value | 240-138 |
| Stat2label | Earned run average| |
| Stat2value | 3.88 |
| Stat3label | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value | 2,251 |
| Teams | |
| Awards |
In his major league career, he played for the New York Yankees from 1995–2003. He then signed with the Houston Astros, and played for them from 2004 through 2006. In 2007, Pettitte rejoined the Yankees. He has won five championships with the New York Yankees and is Major League Baseball's all-time postseason wins leader with 19.
Through 2009, Pettitte is ninth among active major league players in win-loss percentage (.629), fourth in wins (229), and seventh in strikeouts (2,150). He is also one of only two active players with at least 200 wins, 2,000 strikeouts, and a winning percentage at or above .600. The other, Pedro Martínez did not pitch in the 2010 season. In addition, he has secured the most wins of any pitcher during the 2000s.
Selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1990 MLB draft, he opted instead to attend San Jacinto College North in Houston, Texas, where he won 8 of 10 decisions. He switched his uniform number to #21, in honor of Roger Clemens, who previously wore that number in Boston and Toronto. His 2004 season, in which he held batters to a .226 batting average, was shortened by elbow surgery.
Pettitte returned to form in 2005 to help the Astros make their first trip to the World Series. His 2.39 ERA in 2005 was a career-best, and 2nd-best in the National League behind teammate Roger Clemens. He was also 2nd in the league walks/9 IP (1.66) and LOB percentage (79.7%; a career best), 3rd in sacrifice hits (15), 5th in wins (17), and 8th in W-L pct. (.654). He held lefties, who over his career have outhit righties when batting against him, to a .200 batting average, had a career-best 4.17 SO/BB ratio.
In 2006, Pettitte went 14–13 with a 4.20 ERA as the Astros missed the playoffs. He led the NL in starts (35), tied for 7th in pickoffs (4), and was 8th in double plays induced (26), and 10th in strikeouts (178) and batters faced (929). He held batters to a .229 batting average when there were 2 out with runners in scoring position.
Pettitte was followed back to the Yankees by former Houston Astros teammate Roger Clemens. Both players left the Yankees after the 2003 season to play for the Astros. In May 2007 Clemens signed with the Yankees as well and joined the Yankees rotation in June. Once again Clemens and Pettitte were pitching for the same team. Pettitte won his 200th career game on September 19, 2007.
In 2007 he led the American League in starts (34), was 7th in batters faced (916), and was 9th in innings pitched (215.3), finishing the regular season with a 15–9 win-loss record. He also had the 5th-lowest HR/9 innings pitched ratio in the AL (0.67).
On November 5, he declined his 2008 option, becoming a free agent. Then on December 1, 2007, Pettitte was offered arbitration by the Yankees. However, on December 3, 2007 Pettitte announced that he would pitch for the Yankees in 2008. On December 7, 2007, Pettitte accepted the Yankees offer of arbitration. He officially signed a one year, $16 million contract with the Yankees on December 12.
On September 21, 2008, Pettitte was the last starting pitcher for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He recorded his 2,000th career strikeout in the second inning, striking out Baltimore Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez. Pettitte ended up getting the victory in the game (a 7–3 win), pitching five innings. Pettitte led the Yankees in innings pitched in 2008 with 204. Over 14 seasons, Pettitte has averaged 158 strikeouts a season, the same number as he accumulated in 2008.
In 2009, the Yankees offered Pettitte a one year, $10.5 million dollar contract, but Pettitte declined because he and agent Randy Hendricks thought the amount was too steep a decline from his $16 million earnings the previous year. On Monday January 26, 2009, Pettitte agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract that was incentive laden. Based on incentives such as innings pitched and days on the active roster, Pettitte eventually had his actual salary reach $10.5 million for 2009. Pettitte began the 2009 season as the Yankees' number 4 starter, behind CC Sabathia, A. J. Burnett, and Chien-Ming Wang, followed by Joba Chamberlain in the 5th spot.
On August 31, 2009, Pettitte took a perfect game through 6 and 2/3 innings when 3rd baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. committed an error on a routine ground ball. The next batter (Nick Markakis), who wouldn't have come up in the inning if not for the error, got a hit to break up the no-hitter.
On October 25, 2009, Pettitte was the winning pitcher as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in game 6 of the ALCS to clinch the series and advance to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. This brought his career total of series-clinching wins to five, breaking the record he previously shared with Roger Clemens, Catfish Hunter and Dave Stewart.
On October 31, 2009, Pettitte drove in his first postseason run during Game 3 of the World Series when he got a single to center field that scored Nick Swisher. He was the winning pitcher for that game.
On November 4, 2009, Pettitte pitched Game 6 of the 2009 World Series on three days of rest. Experts were critical of the decision to pitch the 37-year-old on short rest, but Pettitte again was the winning pitcher in game 6 of the 2009 World Series, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3. He extended his record career total series-clinching wins to six, and extended his record for post-season career wins to 18. He became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to start and win three series-clinching playoff games in the same year. Derek Lowe also won three series in 2004, but with one of his wins coming in relief. Additionally, on September 27 against the Red Sox, Pettitte had been the winning pitcher in the division-clinching game. Pettitte filed for free agency on November 19, 2009. He re-signed with the Yankees on December 9 for $11.75M for one year.
In the first half of the 2010 season, Pettitte went 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA, earning an appearance in the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Andy Pettitte also won the Yankees.com mid-season Cy Young Award.
Pettitte is not expected to begin the 2011 season with the Yankees, though he has not decided if he will play later in the season or retire.
Pettitte has been a part of seven American League pennant-winning teams, one National League pennant-winning team and five World Series championship teams. He holds the record for most wins in postseason history with 19. He is the only MLB pitcher since 1930 to win at least 12 games in each of his first nine seasons.
For his career, Pettitte has a 240–138 win-loss record with a 3.88 ERA and 2,251 strikeouts in innings. He also has never had a losing season in Major League Baseball.
Pettitte is 19–10 with a 3.83 ERA and 173 strikeouts in the postseason (1995–2003, 2005, 2007, 2009-2010), with the most postseason wins in the history of Major League Baseball. He also holds the all-time record for most starts and innings pitched in the post-season (42 and 263.0, through 2010).
He is the second starting pitcher in history to win three series-clinching games (ALDS, ALCS and World Series) in the same postseason (2009). Derek Lowe did the same in 2004, but with one of the wins in relief, and additionally, Pettitte won the game where the Yankees clinched the division.
When Pettitte started Game 3 of the 2009 World Series, he passed Christy Mathewson and Waite Hoyt, with the second most World Series starts. Whitey Ford is in front with 22 starts. Pettitte has played in 8 different World Series (7 with the Yankees, and one with the Astros), and been on the winning end of 19 postseason series - both of which are tops among active players.
During the period from 1995–2009, no major league pitcher has accumulated more victories. His 148 wins from 2000 to 2009 were the most in the decade.
On December 13, 2007, Pettitte was one of several Yankees named in the Mitchell Report. Mitchell and his staff received the information on Pettitte from McNamee, who told them he injected Pettitte with HGH on 2-4 occasions in 2002 so that he would heal from an elbow injury quicker.
On December 15, 2007, Pettitte verified McNamee's claim, admitting to using the HGH on two occasions in 2002, as it was meant to help heal an injury, and not to enhance his performance. Pettitte said he felt an obligation to return to the team as quickly as possible. He denied any further usage of HGH during his career; he also denied use of steroids or any other performance-enhancing drug.
On February 13, 2008, in an affidavit made public as part of a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform, Pettitte admitted to additional injections of HGH twice in one day in 2004, using HGH obtained via prescription for his seriously ill father. Also in this affidavit Pettitte unequivocally recalled being told by former Yankees teammate Roger Clemens in 1999 or 2000 that Clemens had recently received injections of HGH. Clemens claimed during the noted hearing that Pettitte "misremembered" Clemens's 1999/2000 HGH remark, alleging that what Pettitte really heard was Clemens's reporting of his wife's use of HGH at that time, though earlier during this same hearing Clemens denied knowing of any use of HGH by his wife. McNamee corroborated Pettitte's recollection of events.
On February 18, 2008, Pettitte reported to Yankees spring training and apologized to fans for his past drug use. In the press conference, he said the performance-enhancing-drug scandal has put a "strain" on his relationship with close friend and former teammate Roger Clemens.
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