South African fact of the day

A popular South African dish is called Trotters and Beans.

That is made from boiled pig's or sheep's trotters (meaning feet) and onions and beans.

I won't be trying that one.

Printer's Row Lit Fest

Attention society! Rick is leaving the basement this weekend.

I'll be appearing at the Printer's Row Lit Fest on Saturday morning at 11:00. I'm part of a panel discussion about baseball literature, along with fellow authors James Finn Garner, Gary Moore, Robert Goldsborough, and Donald Evans.

I have never gone to the Lit Fest (some author, right?), so I'm not sure exactly where this is, but we'll be at Grace Place/2nd floor. The discussion is scheduled to go until Noon.

Come on out if you're in the area. I have done a few of these panel discussions elsewhere with these particular authors, and we have a great time talking about baseball and the Cubs.

Donald Duck

He made his debut exactly 76 years ago today. He looked a little different, but the voice was there from the start...

Roy Smalley

The former Cubs shortstop had a great arm.

Just ask the people in the seats behind first base. They caught most of his throws.

He was born on this day in 1926.

A new Hawks song

This is funny...



It's catchy too.

South African fact of the day

I'm researching this for my trip to South Africa anyway, so I thought I'd share in case you're interested.

The currency in South Africa is the South African Rand.

The current exchange rate is approximately 8 Rands=1 US Dollar.

Bull Durham

I still love this movie. It came out this week in 1988.

Half Full

Here is an analysis of the Cubs #1 draft pick that makes me feel a little better than the posting below.

It's from Baseball Daily Digest, which compares him to Tim Lincecum.

This analysis was provided before the draft, and he didn't think he would get picked in the first round...but at least he raves about him.

Things you don't want to read

An analysis of the draft, from the Major League expert at sports.com...

"The biggest surprise in the 2010 MLB Draft first round selections was at No. 16 by the Chicago Cubs, who dipped into Division II to take a player. Hayden Simpson was the selection by the Cubs, a nice pitcher at Southern Arkansas that didn't make it on to most of the draft boards of the experts here, on ESPN, or on the MLB Network."

Great. Just great. I'm sure this will turn out fine. Baseball America, by the way, had him ranked 181st.

The Amateur Draft

Tis the season for baseball's amateur draft.

Over the years, it has not gone well for the Cubs.

And that's a very kind way of putting it.

Blogger issues

Sorry for the lack of posts today.

There have been some issues with blogger nationwide. It was completely shut down for about twenty four hours.

Not that I've been checking it every twenty minutes or so to see if it was back up.

I don't have a problem.

I can quit blogging anytime.

Really.

Ferris Bueller

25 years ago this week, John Hughes was filming Ferris Bueller's Day Off in and around Chicagoland. One of the days of filming took place at Wrigley Field...during a Cubs game.

That story is here.

Honoring 3-Finger

The town of Terre Haute Indiana is finally honoring one of their most famous citizens.

One hundred years ago he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, the ace of the Chicago Cubs--a team that had been in the World Series four of the previous five years.

He also had one of the greatest nicknames of all-time, the result of a farming accident in his native Terre Haute.

Three Finger Brown.

Father Knows Nothing

My new Father Knows Nothing column is up. This week's is called "The Birds and the Bees" and it's about finally having "the talk" with my two oldest boys.

You can read the column here.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Andy Masur

I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talk to Andy Masur, native Chicagoan, former WGN Sports broadcaster, and current radio play by play man of the San Diego Padres.

You can read it here.

I'm trying to decide if this is my last Chicago Radio Spotlight before my summer hiatus. I think it is. I do have word out to one more big name personality, but if he can't do it this week, this will be the last one until the fall. More information to follow.

Worst Promotion Ever

On this day in 1974, the Cleveland Indians hosted Ten Cent Beer Night. Needless to say, it didn't go well. This song tells the story nicely...

Wooly Bully

It hit the charts on this day in 1965.

We used to play this at all the Landecker & the Legends shows. Our late friend Tim Weigel used to join us on stage and play keyboards...

1957

On this day in 1957, the Cubs were playing against the Brooklyn Dodgers and their young gunslinger Sandy Koufax.

Wonder what that sounded like on the radio?

Wonder no more.

World Cup

My brother sent me this link. It's a great piece written by an American comedy writer/soccer fan, comparing each of the World Cup teams to American sports teams, in an effort to help non-soccer fans in America better understand.

I highly recommend it.

Pity the Ump

There's a lot of talk today about that poor pitcher in Detroit (Gallaraga) that had a perfect game stolen because of a blown call by the umpire. I feel bad for him too.

But I feel worse for the umpire.

Read this piece in the Tribune. This is a call that will torture him for the rest of his career, and he's already feeling it.

L-O-L-A

On this day in 1970, Ray Davies of the Kinks went into the studio to re-record the lyrics of "Lola" because of a threatened lawsuit. It became Cherry Cola instead of Coca-Cola. But it was still about a one-night stand with a he-she. Great, great song...

A no-no

On this day in 1971, Kenny Holtzman pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. It was a nail biter until the very end--a 1-0 win in Cincinnati.

Holtzman scored the only run of the game himself, after reaching on an error in the third inning. (Glenn Beckert knocked him in with a single). The tough luck loser for the Reds was Gary Nolan, who gave up only five hits, and zero earned runs.

Among the hitters in the lineup for Cinci that day: Hal McRae, Tommy Helms, Lee May, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, and Davey Concepcion.

Everybody Wants To Rule the World

This was the #1 song in the country on this day in 1985. I had to play it every single day (on WPGU in Champaign-Urbana) and eventually got really, really sick of it. But listening to it again this morning, I discovered I can finally enjoy it again. That only took 25 years.

Welcome back Jon Stewart

I'm happy he's back from vacation. I'm guessing BP is not.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Cenac - The Spilling Fields - Oil Leak Containment Ideas
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Rick Reuschel

One of the truly rare good draft picks by the Cubs was made exactly forty years ago this week. They chose a man called Big Daddy--Rick Reuschel.

He would go on to be their best pitcher of the decade.

Thank God I'm a Country Boy

This was the #1 song in this country exactly 35 years ago today. He performed this at Farm Aid ten years later, and I confess I was singing along, even though I'm definitely not a country boy. It was quite a moment...

Jimmie Foxx

The Cubs acquired the future Hall of Famer on this day in 1942.

Of course, his good years were long behind him then.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column. This one is called "Separation Anxiety," and it's about the latest addition to our house.

You can read it here.

Confessions of a Cubs fanatic

No, it's not me (this time).

It's a professor emeritus from Louisiana Tech University.

Memorial Day

For the fallen...

Gale Sayers

One of the greatest players to play his home games at Wrigley Field wasn't even a baseball player.

Gale Sayers turned 67 years old over the weekend.

His greatest game ever was at Wrigley.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Marty Lennartz

I just posted my latest Chicago Radio Spotlight interview. This week I talked to WXRT's jack-of-all-trades, Marty Lennartz.

You can read it here.

Ringo

I just got the June issue of Shore Magazine in the mail. It's the music issue, and contains a back page essay I wrote about my brush with a Beatle.

If you're interested, you can read it here.

JFK

Tomorrow is the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth. I think of JFK every time I drive to a Cubs game.

Read about the Kennedy-Cubs symmetry here.

Congress won't pursue perjury case against Sammy Sosa

It's not because they don't think he lied to Congress.

It's mainly because the five-year statute of limitations has expired.

Papa Bear

He retired as the Bears coach on this day in 1968 after 48 years as their head coach. He finished under .500 only six times, and he won six championships during those years. And though he was nicknamed Papa Bear, he was anything but warm and cuddly. I love this video...

Art Linkletter

He passed away yesterday in Los Angeles at 97. He is survived by his wife of 74 years.

Punky Brewster

On this day in 1986 the final Punky Brewster episode aired. I've only seen one episode of that show. Watch part of it, and see if you can guess why...

BP

The Stones on Shindig!

It's was 45 years ago tonight. They were no Lee DeWyze ratings-wise, but they did OK for themselves...



Also on that show, by the way: Jackie DeShannon, Sonny & Cher and Jimmy Rodgers.

100 years ago

Exactly 100 years ago today, Cubs pitcher Orval Overall threw a one hitter against the Phillies. The only hit came off the bat of Sherrie McGee.

The Cubs were in first place, on their way to their fourth World Series of the past five years.

Overall would sit out the next two seasons in a contract dispute.

A truly mixed marriage

Don't think I've ever seen this before...

Keith Moon

On this day in 1978, Keith Moon played with the Who for the very last time. He died just a few months later. The Who has never been the same.

This video features an isolated Keith Moon drum track...

Fergie's 3000th

On this day in 1982, Fergie Jenkins struck out the 3000th batter of his career (Gary Templeton of the San Diego Padres). He was in his second tour with the Cubs at the time, in the second to last season of his Major League career.

Have you read his book yet? It's a good read...

Music

Music is different things to different people. To you it may be an opera or a symphony. To someone else it might be rock and roll or jazz.

To me it's the sound of Tony LaRussa and Albert Pujols feuding.

It's like Mozart is conducting.

Catalina Island

I just finished reading another good baseball book for those of you that share my love of Cubs history.

It's an Arcadia Publishing book called "Chicago Cubs: Baseball on Catalina Island" and it chronicles the era the Cubs had spring training there. The words by author Jim Vitti are informative, but it's the photographs that really caught my eye.

Look closely at the first one below. That's Stan Hack taking a swing, but that's not the most interesting part of the picture. See that guy bending over, checking the levels on his recording device? That's a Cubs radio announcer from Iowa named Ronald Reagan (in 1936). That same spring he took advantage of the Cubs spring training location (near Hollywood) to make a screen test. The rest, as they say, is history.

The second photo is from one of the first seasons at Catalina. That's Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander on the beach with teammates Bill Killefer and Speed Martin.

(These are republished with permission from the publisher.)

Cool stuff. Check it out here if you're interested.

Tommy Chong

Tommy Chong is 72 years old today. Here is he is accompanying Cheech's protest song about Mexican-Americans. I was a big fan at one time, but it somehow doesn't really stand the test of time, does it?

Let there be lights!

It was seventy five years ago today--the very first night game in Major League history.

The game was played on May 24, 1935, with the Cincinnati Reds defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Cincinnati's Crosley Field.

By the late 40s every team but one had lights.

I guess I don't need to tell you which one that was.

The Tribune Tower

On this day in 1924, the Tribune company broke ground for the building of the iconic Tribune Tower.

Read all about that story here.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is called "And Puppy Makes Six." I think you guess what it's about.

You can read it here.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Pat Hughes

This week's Chicago Radio Spotlight is a special one for me, for obvious reasons. This week I spoke with Chicago Cubs radio play-by-play man Pat Hughes.

You can read the interview here.

The Empire Strikes Back

It was 30 years ago today.

Some of the stars recall that big day.

Bobby Howry?

You can't be serious. He was released by Arizona. When the Diamondbacks were in town, the Cubs lit him up. When he pitched for the Cubs, the whole league lit him up.

And yet, the Cubs just signed Bobby Howry.

Chuck Klein

He's a Hall-of-Famer, and he played on one pennant winner for the Cubs, but he was never as good for the Cubs as he had been in Philadelphia.

On this day in 1936, the Cubs traded him back to the Phillies.

So ended the Cubs career of the Hoosier Hammerer.

Ivy

Meet the newest member of the Kaempfer family. She moved in with us today. Her name is Ivy...

Jimmy Stewart

He was born the year the Cubs last won the World Series, which means he would be 102 years old today. He was also one of the easiest all-time mystery guests on What's My Line...

Babe says bye-bye to Chicago

It happened on this day in 1935, exactly 75 years ago.

E-mails, we get e-mails

MB sent this link to me: Hank Jones, Versatile Jazz Pianist, is Dead at 91

Why did he send the link?

Because Hank Jones played the piano for Marilyn Monroe at JFK's birthday party (video below). Who would have thought that the musician would be the one to live the long full life, while the politician and the actress would both die young.

Big Z coming back to the rotation

I must say, this is not exactly a surprise. Carlos Zambrano will be returning to the starting rotation after he pitches in middle relief a few times.

I still think it was worth a shot, but it didn't work out.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

It happened this week in 1962 at his 45th birthday party. Reminds me a lot of my 45th birthday party...



Marilyn died less than three months later. JFK died 18 months later.

If they were still alive, Marilyn would be 84, and JFK would be 93.

Happy birthday to a great mustache

The Cub attached to this great mustache turns 54 years old today. Happy birthday Luis Salazar.

Looking on the bright side

I've been following the story about the Euro's decline, and while I know this is probably bad for the world's economy, I can't help but consider how this could selfishly benefit me.

If it keeps going down, I may actually be able to afford to take my kids there. I don't want them to be the first generation of Kaempfers to never step foot in the Fatherland.

It would help alleviate my guilt that I never taught them German.*



*That's right, Germans feel guilt too. At least this one does. It's one of my two emotions. (The other one is worry.)

Ryno

Something remarkable happened to Ryne Sandberg on this day in 1990.

He made an error.

That ended a streak of 123 consecutive games played at 2B without making one, a Major League record at the time. (It was recently broken by Luis Castillo of the Mets)

The World Cup

I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but I'm going to the World Cup in South Africa at the end of June. I'm starting to get very excited about this adventure (I'm going with my brother, sister, and cousin).

This is the official song of the World Cup. Not bad at all...

Here come the Hawks

What a hockey game yesterday afternoon. This Blackhawks team is the most exciting Chicago hockey team since the days of Bobby Hull and Tony Esposito.

And I still love this song. I don't care if it sounds like a WCFL jingle from the 1960s. I loved those jingles. 

23-22

On this day in 1979, the Cubs played the Phillies in the ultimate slugfest. The final score was 23-22. Fox 32's Dane Placko was there...

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. This week's is called "Can money buy love?"

You can read it here.

Chicago Radio Spotlight: Roy Leonard

I just posted my latest interview. This week I talked to WGN radio legend, Roy Leonard. We talked about his incredibly interesting 30-year run in Chicago radio.

You can read it here.

DeWyze-a-palooza

I may be hard to reach today, because I'm going to check out DeWyze-a-palooza this afternoon. The motorcade/parade will be just a few blocks away from my house. Mt. Prospect hasn't seen this kind of excitement since Bruce Boxleitner starred in the Scarecrow and Mrs. King. That's right, baby, we've got Boxleitner too...suck on that (insert your suburb's name here). It's an embarrassment of riches here in Dave Kingman's hometown.

Oh snap! Did you see that? I just dropped another name.

Now this is a Cubs fan...

Remember Derick Lehman? We featured him as our JOBC fan of the week back in 2008, when he gave us a tour of his Cubstiva...



Well today he sent me a video of his basement, and let me just say that I'm extremely jealous, even though I know my wife would never consent to letting me do this...

Pet Sounds

It came out on this day in 1966. It's the only Beach Boys album that I can listen to from start to finish. There are a few real gems on that album, including this one...

Dirt

He was a key part of the bullpen in the late 70s for the Chicago Cubs, and his teammates called him Dirt.

Dick Tidrow is 63 today.

Stevie Wonder

He is 60 years old today, and he's been a mega-star since he was a pre-teen. Here he is in 1964 at the age of 14, performing his first hit, "Fingertips." Now that's a child prodigy...

6th grade Gaga

I'm guessing you've seen this, considering that a dozen or so of you sent me the link, but this is a 6th grader doing a performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi." I have a sixth grader living in my house. He plays the piano too, but...sheesh, this kid makes my son sound like...well, a sixth grader.

Jimmy Archer

One of my all-time favorite Cubs, Jimmy Archer, was born on this day in 1883.

I like to call him: The Bionic Cub.

Ernie's 500th homer

It happened exactly 40 years ago today. Hey Hey!

Listen to it here.

(Sadly, I was listening to it then, too.)