Chris Welch is a music journalist, reviewer and critic with Melody Maker, famous during the 1960s and 1970s for reporting on the rise of such bands as The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, If, Cream and Jeff Beck. During that time he also reported on the UK jazz scene.

Career[link]

Welch, a former local newspaper reporter, joined the Melody Maker in 1964. He was later assistant editor of Musicians Only, editor of Metal Hammer, and a contributor to The Independent and Rhythm magazine. He has written books on rock several music personalities, including Jimi Hendrix, Yes, Steve Winwood, Black Sabbath, John Bonham, Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant, and Cream. He has also written liner notes for many rock albums.

Published works[link]

• Black Sabbath ISBN 0-86276-015-1 (1982)
• Led Zeppelin: The Book ISBN 0-86276-113-1 (1984)
• Paul McCartney: The Definitive Biography ISBN 0-86276-126-3 (1984)
• Power and Glory: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant ISBN 5-551-35290-0 (1985)
• Def Leppard: An Illustrated Biography ISBN 0-86276-263-4 (1986)
• Take You Higher: The Tina Turner Story ISBN 0-491-03951-4 (1986)
• The Tina Turner Experience ISBN 0-86379-138-7 (1987)
• Cream: Strange Brew ISBN 1-898141-80-0 (1994)
• The Complete Guide to the Music of Genesis ISBN 0-7119-5428-3 (1995)
• The Who: Teenage Wasteland ISBN 1-898141-18-5 (1995)
• Dazed and Confused: The Story Behind Every Led Zeppelin Song ISBN 1-85868-340-8 (1998)
• Changes: The Story Behind Every David Bowie Song, 1970-1980 ISBN 1-85868-810-8 (1999)
• Cream ISBN 0-87930-624-6 (2000)
• John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums (with Geoff Nicholls) ISBN 0-87930-658-0 (2001)
• Ginger Geezer: The Life of Vivian Stanshall (with Lucian Randall) ISBN 1-84115-679-5 (2002)
• Peter Grant: The Man Who "Led Zeppelin" ISBN 0-7119-9195-2 (2002)
• Yes: Close to the Edge ISBN 0-7119-9509-5 (2003)
• Genesis: Complete Guide to Their Music ISBN 1-84449-868-9 (2005)
• Pink Floyd: Learning to Fly ISBN 1-898141-70-3 (2006)

External links[link]

• Backbeat Books Cream biography article
• World Cat bibliography
• http://neildaniels.com/Welch.html interview

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Chris Matthews
Matthews at the 2011 Time 100 Gala.
Born	Christopher John Matthews (1945-12-17) December 17, 1945 (age 66) Somerton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Ethnicity	Irish
Education	College of the Holy Cross
Occupation	News anchor and political commentator
Notable credit(s)	Hardball with Chris Matthews The Chris Matthews Show
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Kathleen Matthews
Relatives	Montgomery County, PA County Commissioner Jim Matthews (brother)

Christopher John "Chris" Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American news anchor and political commentator known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC. On weekends he hosts the syndicated NBC News–produced panel discussion program The Chris Matthews Show. Matthews makes frequent appearances on many other NBC and MSNBC programs. On March 22, 2009, Matthews renewed the contract for Hardball with Chris Matthews through 2012.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

Matthews was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Irish American parents and is a Roman Catholic.^[2] He attended La Salle College High School. He is a 1967 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and did graduate work in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[3][4]

Matthews served in the United States Peace Corps in Swaziland from 1968 to 1970^[5] as a trade development adviser.

Career[link]

Political career and views[link]

When Matthews first arrived in Washington, D.C., he worked as a police officer with the United States Capitol Police.^[6] Subsequently, he served on the staffs of four Democratic members of Congress, including Senators Frank Moss and Edmund Muskie. In 1974, he mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in which he received about 24% of the vote in the primary.^[7] Matthews was a presidential speechwriter during the Carter administration and later worked for six years as a top aide to longtime Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill, playing a direct role in many key political battles with the Reagan administration.

Matthews in October 2007

Despite having worked for Democrats, Matthews has said, "I'm more conservative than people think I am.... I voted for George W. in 2000."^[8] Salon.com has called him the "most conservative voice" on MSNBC's primetime lineup.^[9] Matthews has been accused by media watchdogs^[10] of having panels of guests that skew to the right and of supporting Republicans in his own questions and comments.^[11][12] Conversely, he is also often criticized by conservatives for his opposition to the Iraq War among other stances he took against the Bush administration.

On the April 14, 2008, edition of The Colbert Report, Matthews alluded to a possible run for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. When directly questioned by Stephen Colbert about his intentions, he stated that there is a difference between celebrities and those who work for the people, and it's a greater thing to work for the people. He also said that his boyhood dream was to be a senator. Four days later, on April 18, 2008, Matthews told Bill Maher that he has "made a commitment to covering politics in a liberal way, starting in 1987, and [he is] honoring that commitment, not getting involved in it."^[13] The seat in question was the one held by Sen. Arlen Specter, whose term in the Senate ended in January 2011. On November 28, 2008, Fivethirtyeight.com and The Politico reported that Matthews had been in contact with senior staffers of Barack Obama's campaign about a possible run.^[14][15] On January 7, 2009, The New York Times reported that Matthews told his staffers that he would not run for the Senate.^[16] On May 25, 2009 Chris Matthews appeared on Charlie Rose where he stated that he was intending to run for Specter's Senate seat in 2010, stating, "I could see myself winning the Democratic primary and I could see myself going on to face Arlen in the general [election]," but that he felt he had to decide between being a journalist and being a politician once Specter became a national figure by supporting the stimulus.

While discussing proposed healthcare reform on the December 17, 2009, edition of Hardball, Matthews stated, "The Republicans will know they have lost.... Let them keep score and it's easy. It's complicated when liberals get to keep score. We're always arguing. Well, I'm a liberal, too."^[17][18]

Author and talk show host[link]

Matthews during a special edition of Hardball

Matthews worked in print media for 15 years, spending 13 years as Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner (1987–2000) and two years as a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Matthews covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa, and the Good Friday Peace Talks in Northern Ireland. In 1997 and 1998, his research in the National Archives produced a series of exclusives on the Nixon presidential tapes. Matthews has covered American presidential election campaigns since 1988.

In 1997, Matthews began his own talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which originally aired on CNBC but is currently on MSNBC. Hardball features pundits and elected officials as guests.

In 2002, The Chris Matthews Show began airing in syndication. The show is formatted as a political roundtable consisting of four journalists and Matthews, who serves as the moderator. He is estimated to earn more than $5 million a year. He also wrote a book called Hardball.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Matthews has been married since 1980 to Kathleen Matthews, who anchored News 7 on WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C., before accepting a position as an executive vice president with J.W. Marriott. The couple have three children: Michael, Thomas, and Caroline. His brother Jim Matthews, a Republican, is a county commissioner in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

In 2002, Matthews was hospitalized with malaria, which he evidently contracted on one of his visits that year to Africa.^{[citation needed]} He has also had other health problems, including diabetes (which he acknowledged having on the Hardball broadcast of December 7, 2009) and pneumonia.^[20]

Criticisms and controversy[link]

Matthews and his wife Kathleen at the 2010 Time 100 Gala.

Liberal blogger Glenn Greenwald has called Matthews "the most vivid example of all that is wrong with political coverage," saying "[H]e’s endlessly obsessed with personality-based politics and likes to promote the strong, masculine tough guy who you can have a beer with, versus the nerdy loser. And he has a cast of characters who go on his show, like Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, who gush over the maleness of the Republican candidates and warn Democrats about how that has real appeal to American voters. Most political reporters judge candidates on the basis of the likeability factor—Matthews is just more explicit about it."^[21]

Others have criticized Matthews for talking too much on air, not letting his guests talk, and often talking over and interrupting them. One who also worked in the Carter Administration has written: "Generally in those days Chris was a relatively quiet person around the White House, and in meetings or briefings would frequently say very little, or nothing at all. I guess he's making up for lost time—or 'lost talk'—now. Nevertheless, I'm a big fan of his show, always fascinating without fail—at least if you're a political junkie."^[22]

The progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America named Matthews its 2005 "Misinformer of the Year," citing statements he made in support of President George W. Bush.^[23]

On January 9, 2008, the morning after Hillary Clinton's surprise victory in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, Matthews appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe program and said of Clinton,

The comments were criticized by such media figures as Bill O'Reilly, Joy Behar, and Gloria Steinem.^[24][26][27] They also resulted in protests outside NBC's Washington, D.C., studios as well as a joint letter of complaint to NBC from the National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority, and the National Women's Political Caucus. Matthews apologized for the comments on the January 17, 2008, edition of Hardball.^[27]

After Matthews and Keith Olbermann made controversial on-air comments during the 2008 Republican National Convention, NBC News correspondent David Gregory replaced them, but Matthews and Olbermann continued working as analysts.^[28] On November 4–5, he teamed with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, David Gregory, and Keith Olbermann to cover the presidential election.

On February 12, 2008, during MSNBC's coverage of the Potomac primary, Matthews had this to say about then presidential candidate Barack Obama:

This led some on the political right to assert that both he and MSNBC were biased toward Obama.^[30]

On November 6, 2008, he was a guest on the MSNBC television program Morning Joe, wherein he stated, "I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work." Host Joe Scarborough asked if that was his job as a journalist. "Yeah, that’s my job. My job is to help this country," Matthews replied.^[31]

On December 1, 2009, preceding Obama's speech announcing a troop increase in Afghanistan, Matthews criticized the president for choosing the United States Military Academy as his venue, referring to it as "the enemy camp."^[32] Soon after, Matthews apologized for his remarks, saying, "[To] the cadets, their parents, former cadets, and everyone who cares about this country and those who defend it: I used the wrong words and worse than that I said something that is just not right and for that I deeply apologize."^[33]

In January 2010, in Matthews's comments after President Obama's first State of the Union Address, he said, "You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour."^{[34][35][36][37][38]} The next day, on the Rachel Maddow show, Matthews clarified his remarks, saying, "I think he’s taken us beyond black and white in our politics, wonderfully so, in just a year."^[39]

Bibliography[link]

• Matthews, Christopher (2011). Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-3508-9. 
• Matthews, Christopher (2007). Life’s a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success (1st ed. ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6528-8. 
• Matthews, Christopher (2002). American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-4086-3. 
• Matthews, Christopher (2001). Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think (1st ed. ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86236-0. 
• Matthews, Christopher (1999). Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told By One Who Knows the Game (1st Touchstone ed. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84559-8. 
• Matthews, Christopher (1996). Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81030-1. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Matthews

• Hardball with Chris Matthews
• The Chris Matthews Show
• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Booknotes interview with Matthews on Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America, June 9, 1996.
• Chris Matthews on Charlie Rose
• Chris Matthews at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Matthews collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Chris Matthews in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Chris Matthews at the Notable Names Database

Jack Welch
Born	John Francis Welch, Jr. (1935-11-19) November 19, 1935 (age 76) Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S.
Residence	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Professor at the Jack Welch Management Institute Author
Known for	Former CEO of General Electric
Net worth	$720 million (2006)[1]
Spouse	Carolyn Welch, Jane Welch, Suzy Welch

John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr. (born (1935-11-19)November 19, 1935) is an American chemical engineer, business executive, and author. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001. During his tenure at GE, the company's value rose 4000%.^[2] In 2006 Welch's net worth was estimated at $720 million.^[1] Welch is the founder of the Jack Welch Management Institute, an educational institution established in 2009.^[3]

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Jack Welch was born in Peabody, Massachusetts to John, a Boston & Maine Railroad conductor, and Grace, a homemaker.

Welch attended Salem High School and then University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He is a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

He received a M.S. and Ph.D at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960.^[4]

Welch joined General Electric in 1960. He worked as a junior chemical engineer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at a salary of $10,500. While at GE, he blew off the roof of the factory, and was almost fired for doing so.^[5] In 1961, Welch planned to quit his job as junior engineer because he was dissatisfied with the raise offered to him and was unhappy with the bureaucracy he observed at GE. Welch was persuaded to remain at GE by Reuben Gutoff, an executive at the company, who promised him that he would help create the small company atmosphere Welch desired.^[6]

Welch was named a vice president of GE in 1972. He became senior vice president in 1977 and vice chairman in 1979. Welch became GE's youngest chairman and CEO in 1981, succeeding Reginald H. Jones. By 1982, Welch had dismantled much of the earlier management put together by Jones.

Tenure as CEO of GE[link]

Through the 1980s, Welch sought to streamline GE. In 1981 he made a speech in New York City called "Growing fast in a slow-growth economy".^[7] Later, in an interview with the Financial Times on the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009, Welch said, “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world. Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy... your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products.”^[8] Welch worked to eradicate perceived inefficiency by trimming inventories and dismantling the bureaucracy that had almost led him to leave GE in the past. He closed factories, reduced payrolls and cut lackluster old-line units.^[9] Welch's public philosophy was that a company should be either #1 or #2 in a particular industry, or else leave it completely. Welch's strategy was later adopted by other CEOs across corporate America.

Each year, Welch would fire the bottom 10% of his managers. He earned a reputation for brutal candor in his meetings with executives. He rewarded those in the top 20% with bonuses and stock options. He also expanded the broadness of the stock options program at GE from just top executives to nearly one third of all employees. Welch is also known for destroying the nine-layer management hierarchy and bringing a sense of informality to the company.^{[citation needed]}

During the early 1980s he was dubbed "Neutron Jack" (in reference to the neutron bomb) for eliminating employees while leaving buildings intact. In Jack: Straight From The Gut, Welch states that GE had 411,000 employees at the end of 1980, and 299,000 at the end of 1985. Of the 112,000 who left the payroll, 37,000 were in businesses that GE sold, and 81,000 were reduced in continuing businesses. In return, GE had increased its market capital tremendously. Welch reduced basic research, and closed or sold off businesses that were under-performing.

In 1986, GE acquired RCA. RCA's corporate headquarters were located in Rockefeller Center; Welch subsequently took up an office in the now GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The RCA acquisition resulted in GE selling off RCA properties to other companies and keeping NBC as part of the GE portfolio of businesses. During the 1990s, Welch shifted GE business from manufacturing to financial services through numerous acquisitions.

Welch adopted Motorola's Six Sigma quality program in late 1995. In 1980, the year before Welch became CEO, GE recorded revenues of roughly $26.8 billion. In 2000, the year before he left, the revenues increased to nearly $130 billion. The company had gone from a market value of $14 billion to one of more than $410 billion at the end of 2004, making it the most valuable company in the world.

At the time of his retirement in 2001, Welch received a salary of $4 million a year, followed by his retirement plan of $8 million a year, which included GE's $80,000 per month luxury apartment in Trump Tower (New York City), free food and wine, access to a $300,000 per month B737 corporate jet, VIP tickets to the Metropolitan Opera, the Knicks, Wimbledon, the US Open (tennis) and the Red Sox, an office and a secretary in the GE building and a limousine with driver.^[10] In 1999 he was named "Manager of the Century" by Fortune magazine.^[11]

There was a lengthy and well-publicized succession planning saga prior to his retirement between James McNerney, Robert Nardelli, and Jeffrey Immelt, with Immelt eventually selected to succeed him as Chairman and CEO. Nardelli became the CEO of Home Depot until his resignation in early 2007, and until recently, was the CEO of Chrysler, while McNerney became CEO of 3M until he left that post to serve in the same capacity at Boeing.

Criticism[link]

Some industry analysts claim that Welch is given excessive credit for GE's success. They say that individual managers are largely responsible for the company's success.^[12] For example, GE Capital, under Gary C. Wendt, contributed nearly 40% of the company's total earnings while NBC, and Robert C. Wright worked to turn the network around, leading to five years of double-digit earnings growth. Some say that Welch did not rescue GE from great losses as the company had 16% annual earnings growth during the tenure of his predecessor, Reginald H. Jones. According to Businessweek, critics of Welch have questioned whether the pressure he places on employees may have lead them to "cut corners", which may have contributed to controversies over defense-contracting, or the Kidder, Peabody & Co. bond-trading scheme in the early 1990s.^[6]

Welch has received criticism for a lack of compassion for the middle class and working class. By his actions during acquisitions and wholesale shutdowns of GE business units Welch proved that his technique of only keeping the units your company is "good" at you can maximize ROI for the short term.^{[citation needed]} Welch has stated that he is not concerned with the discrepancy between the salaries of top-paid CEOs and those of average workers. When asked about the issue of excessive CEO pay, Welch has said that such allegations are "outrageous" and has vehemently opposed proposed SEC regulations affecting executive compensation. Countering the public uproar over excessive executive pay (including backdating stock options, golden parachutes for nonperformance, and extravagant retirement packages), Welch stated that CEO compensation should continue to be dictated by the free market, without interference from government or other outside agencies.^[13] In addition, Welch is a vocal opponent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.^[14]

Post-GE career[link]

Following Welch's retirement from GE, he became an adviser to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and to the chief executive of IAC, Barry Diller.^[15][16] In addition to his consulting and advisory roles, Welch has been active on the public speaking circuit, and co-wrote a popular column for BusinessWeek with his wife, Suzy, for four years until November 2009. The column was syndicated by The New York Times.^[16][17] In 2005, he published Winning, a book about management co-written with Suzy Welch, which reached #1 on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list,^[18] and appeared on New York Times' Best Seller list.^[15][16] Since January 2012, Welch and Suzy Welch have written a biweekly column for Reuters and Fortune.^[19][20]

Personal life[link]

He had four children with his first wife, Carolyn. They divorced amicably in April 1987 after 28 years of marriage. His second wife, Jane Beasley, was a former mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer. She married Jack in April 1989, and they divorced in 2003. While Welch had crafted a prenuptial agreement, Beasley insisted on a ten-year time limit to its applicability, and thus she was able to leave the marriage with an amount believed to be around $180 million.^[21]

Welch's third wife, Suzy Wetlaufer, co-authored his 2005 book Winning as Suzy Welch. Wetlaufer served briefly as the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Review. Welch's wife at the time, Jane Beasley, found out about an affair between Wetlaufer and Welch. Beasley informed the review and Wetlaufer was forced to resign^[22] in early 2002 after admitting to having been involved in an affair with Welch while preparing an interview with him for the magazine.

On January 25, 2006, Welch gave his name to Sacred Heart University's College of Business, which will be known as the "John F. Welch College of Business".^[23] Since September 2006, Welch has been teaching a class at the MIT Sloan School of Management to a hand-picked group of 30 MBA students with a demonstrated career interest in leadership.^[24]

In 2009, Welch founded the Jack Welch Management Institute, a program at Chancellor University that offered an online executive MBA degree. The institute was acquired by Strayer University in 2011.^[25] Welch has been actively involved with the curriculum, faculty and students at the online business school since its launch.^[3][26][27]

On March 11, 2010, Welch appeared as himself in the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the hit NBC sitcom 30 Rock. In the episode, he governed the sale of NBC Universal to a fictional Philadelphia-based cable company, Kabletown, a parody of the actual acquisition of NBC Universal from General Electric by Comcast in November 2009.

Opinions[link]

Jack Welch identifies as a Republican.^[28] He is also a global warming skeptic.^[29] Yet he has said that every business must embrace green products and green ways of doing business, "whether you believe in global warming or not...because the world wants these products."^[30]

See also[link]

• Vitality curve

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Jack: Straight From The Gut, (ISBN 0-446-69068-6)
• Winning by Jack and Suzy Welch - HarperCollins (April 2005), (ISBN 0-06-075394-3)
• Winning: The Answers by Jack and Suzy Welch - Harper 2006, (ISBN 0-00725264-1)
• Jack Welch and the GE way : management insights and leadership secrets of the legendary CEO by Robert Slater (ISBN 0070581045)
• The New GE: How Jack Welch Revived an American Institution, (ISBN 1-55623-670-0)
• Jacked Up: The Inside Story of how Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World's Greatest Company by Bill Lane - McGraw Hill (2008), (ISBN 978-0-07-154410-8)
• At Any Cost: Jack Welch, General Electric, and the Pursuit of Profit, (ISBN 0-375-70567-8)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jack Welch

Official[link]

• Official website

Articles[link]

• IMNO Interviews Jack Welch Nov 2004

Videos[link]

• Jack Welch Interview with Bill Hybels at The Global Leadership Summit 2010
• Jack Welch on Leadership
• April 27, 2005 - Mr. Welch speaks about creating candor in the workplace at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
• April 12, 2005 - A Conversation with Jack Welch at MIT Sloan School of Management
• October 16, 2001 - Mr. Welch speaks at the Kellogg School of Management
• 2000 (?) - Mr. Welch at the Fairfield University-Charles F. Dolan School of Business
• September 12, 2005 Mr. Welch speaks at the Rotman School of management in Toronto
• Jack Welch talks about Leadership and the State of Corporate America at UCLA Anderson School of Management
• October 16, 2001 - Jack Welch at University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

Other[link]

• Bio for Jack Welch as featured speaker at the 2011 World Business Forum

Nelson Augusto Norman (born May 23, 1958, in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop, minor league coach and manager. He played all or part of six seasons in the major leagues between 1978 and 1987.

Playing career[link]

Pittsburgh Pirates[link]

Norman was originally signed as a 16-year-old amateur free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1975. He made his professional debut with the minor league Gulf Coast League Pirates that year, batting .262 in 61 games. He made his way through their farm system quickly, and by the end of the 1977 season he was playing for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. That offseason, he was traded to the Texas Rangers as part of a four-team trade that brought future Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven to the Pirates.

Texas Rangers[link]

1978: MLB debut[link]

Norman started the 1978 season with the Tucson Toros. In mid-May, starting shortstop Bert Campaneris was injured, and Norman was called up to the majors to back up replacement Jim Mason. He made his major league debut on May 20, three days before his 20th birthday. He entered the game in the sixth inning after the Rangers had pinch-hit for Mason. He played three innings in the field, handling one chance on defense, before he was lifted for pinch hitter Mike Jorgensen.^[1] Two days later, Norman made his first start and got his first major league hit.

When Campaneris was activated in early June, Norman returned to Tucson. He spent the rest of the season there, batting .284 with 76 RBIs. He returned to the major leagues in September, finishing his first season with nine hits in 34 at bats.

1979: Starter[link]

In 1979, Norman won the starting shortstop job in spring training, beating out both Campaneris and newcomer Larvell Blanks, who had been acquired from the Cleveland Indians over the winter (Campaneris would be traded to the California Angels) in May). Norman played in 147 games, but batted just .222 with just 12 extra base hits in 343 at bats.

1980–81: Back to the minors[link]

Norman opened up the 1980 season as the starting shortstop again. However, by the end of April, he had lost the job to Pepe Frías, who had been acquired from the Atlanta Braves over the winter. In May, the Rangers signed Bud Harrelson to back up Frías, and Norman, who was hitting .219 in 17 games, was sent down to the minors. However, due to injury, he played in just 28 games for the Charleston Charlies, and did not play in the majors again that year.

Once again, the Rangers acquired a shortstop over the winter before the 1981 season. This time, it was Mario Mendoza, acquired in a trade from the Seattle Mariners. Norman started the season in the minors, playing for the Wichita Aeros. He batted .246 in 115 games, and earned a September call-up to the Rangers. He played in just seven games, going 3-for-13 at the plate. After the season, the Rangers traded Norman back to the Pirates for pitcher Víctor Cruz.

Back to the Pirates[link]

Unfortunately for Norman, the Pirates already had Dale Berra entrenched as their starting shortstop. During spring training, Norman was beaten out for the backup job by minor league veteran Jim Smith, and for the second consecutive year he opened the year in the minors. After batting .270 in 134 games for the Portland Beavers, Norman was again called up in September, but this time played in just three games. He started the final game of the season, going 0-for-3.

In 1983, Norman was demoted to Double-A. He played the entire season with the Lynn Sailors, where he was moved to second base for most of the year. He batted .268 and had a career-high (at any level) of five home runs. In 1984, he was back in Triple-A with the Hawaii Islanders, where for the first time in his career he was not the full-time starter, splitting time in the middle infield with several other players. At the end of the year, he became a free agent.

Orioles and Expos[link]

He signed with the Baltimore Orioles, and spent the 1985 season playing second base. After hitting just .186, he was traded during the offseason to the Montreal Expos for fellow minor league veteran Steve Baker.

Norman finished his playing career in the Expos organization. After his abysmal 1985, he was returned to Double-A again in 1986 with the Jacksonville Expos. He spent his last three seasons as a player with the Indianapolis Indians before retiring in 1989. He did get to play one final game in the majors on April 29, 1987, starting at shortstop against his old team, the Pirates, and going 0-for-4.

Post-playing career[link]

After his playing career ended, Norman remained in the Expos organization as a minor league coach. In 1992, he was named manager of the Gulf Coast League Expos, where he managed until 1994. In 1995, he moved to the Braves organization, where he managed the Macon Braves. In 2001, he secured his first major league coaching job as the infield coach for the Boston Red Sox. In 2007, he served as a coach for the Swing of the Quad Cities. From 2008 to 2010, he was the manager of the Dominican Summer League Cardinals, although he was replaced for part of 2009 by Claudio Almonte.

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the group's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP Foster the People and their debut album Torches. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by frontman Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth.

The track received considerable attention after it was posted online in 2010 as a free download, and it helped the group garner a multi-album record deal with Columbia Records imprint Startime International before they had issued a commercial release. The song became both a crossover hit and a sleeper hit in 2011, as it received significant airplay on modern rock and contemporary hit radio stations. The song spent eight consecutive weeks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, making it the first Billboard Alternative Songs number-one single to crack the U.S. top 5 since Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" in 2009. The song was widely praised by critics, and it has been licensed for use in a wide range of popular media since its release. "Pumped Up Kicks" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.