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Sports Then and Now



Calls To The Hall: The Morals Of Cooperstown 5

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Rick Swanson

When it comes to electing the upcoming class into the baseball Hall of Fame, we are going to either change the record books or let in everybody that cheated.

The fact that Roger Clemens is up for nomination is going to cause us to see who really gets in and who is left outside looking in with Pete Rose.

Watching Clemens when he was in New Britain, CT in 1983, there was talent on the mound, that had Cooperstown in my mind instantaneously.

That day when he threw a shutout to win the Eastern League Championship, I said “someday I will see him win the World Series for Boston.” When I went to Game Six in 1986, my dream was close to coming true.

He won 192 games in a Red Sox uniform and nobody has worn his number 21 since he left for Toronto in 1997.

The greatest pitcher in Red Sox history, and he threw it all away for a syringe a decade later

How could using PED’s in the 1995-2007 era be any different than those that used greenies from the 50’s until 2011?

We let Gaylord Perry in the HOF and he admits he cheated from day one.

Craig Nettles even had super balls come out of his bat, and how many times has cork been found inside one?

Cap Anson might have been the biggest bigot of his era, and he kept color out of baseball for 64 years, but baseball let him into Cooperstown.

Tom Yawkey did not have a man with color on his team until Pumpsie Green a decade after Jackie Robinson, but he too is enshrined.

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Natalie Niekro Takes Message About Aneurysm Awareness to MLB Network 69

Posted on November 06, 2009 by Dean Hybl
Joe Niekro's memory lives on through the Joe Niekro Foundation.

Joe Niekro's memory lives on through the Joe Niekro Foundation.

On the day that would have been her father’s 65th birthday, Natalie Niekro will honor the memory of her father, former major league baseball star Joe Niekro, by telling a national audience about the importance of awareness about and funding for aneurysm research.

Since starting the Joe Niekro Foundation, Natalie Niekro has been a one-woman crusade to ensure that the tragic death of her father from a brain Aneurysm in 2006 helps save the lives of others who unknowingly suffer from Aneurysms.

After raising $450,000 earlier this year by hosting the first-ever Knuckle Ball at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Natalie set her sites on other ways to use the notoriety of her father’s baseball career to help the cause.

Throughout the last week of October, the Joe Niekro Foundation and the Arizona Fall League teamed up for “Aneurysm Awareness Week.”

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Joe Niekro: Daddy’s Little Girl Knuckles Up for Aneurysm Research 1

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Todd Civin
Joe and Natalie Niekro

Joe and Natalie Niekro

It’s funny how life sometimes brings you down a path you didn’t plan to walk down. You welcome its existence and take the first step with a slight sense of trepidation.

You assume you know where you are headed but often times have no idea what is in store. You walk slowly and instead of finding what you hoped to find, you find something far more magnificent.
  • Vintage Athlete of the Month

    • Mickey Lolich: 1968 World Series Hero
      October 2, 2024 | 3:00 pm
      Mickey Lolich

      The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the most celebrated pitchers in Detroit Tigers history and will forever be remembered for his heroic performance in the 1968 World Series.

      Mickey Lolich is remembered for his durability, resilience, and ability to deliver in clutch situations. Known for his powerful left arm and an almost superhuman capacity to pitch complete games, Lolich etched his name in baseball history with his stellar performance in the 1968 World Series, leading the Tigers to a championship. His career, spanning from 1963 to 1979, was defined by consistency, longevity, and an unyielding competitive spirit. Lolich may not have the same level of fame as some of his contemporaries, but his achievements on the mound have earned him a lasting legacy in the annals of Major League Baseball.

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