What a card: This card arrived after possibly Milt Wilcox's most triumphant season. After 14 years in the major leagues, Wilcox returned to the World Series in 1984, for the first time since his rookie year in 1970, and won Game 3 against the Padres.
My observation on the front: Must be a warm day there in Detroit.
More opinion from me: I've always had trouble connecting the early Milt Wilcox (Reds, Indians, clean shaven) with the later Milt Wilcox (Tigers, mustache). They almost seem like two different people.
Something you might know: Wilcox won 17 games for the World Series champion Detroit Tigers. But two years later, he was out of baseball.
Something you might not know: Wilcox now runs a dock-jumping dogs organization called "Ultimate Air Dogs," which you've probably heard before. But did you know the reason UAB came to be was because of a dog named after Wilcox's Tigers' manager, Sparky Anderson? The dog, Sparky Anderson-Wilcox, died on Nov. 11, 2011 at 11 years of age.
My observation on the front: I wonder if Milt's "greatest baseball thrill" was rendered obsolete by the fact that he WON THE WORLD SERIES IN 1984.
The blog wants to speak now: The Ballgames and News categories are updated.
So Wilcox's dog Sparky who was named after #11 Sparky Anderson died on 11/11/11 at age 11. Freaky!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite yet disappointing baseball memories occured with Wilcox on the mound. He lost a perfect game with two out in the ninth on 4/15/83 when when White Sox pinch hitter Jerry Hairston grounded one through the 2b/1b hole.
I was at that game and remember it was cold and I booed Hairston when he singled up the middle. So close to history. I still have the ticket stubs and the memory.
ReplyDelete