Part of the pleasure in plowing through old sports stories is reading about the future and knowing how things really turned out.
It's like the familiar movie plot where the character time-travels with a handy newspaper so he can bet on last year's big game. Of course, no money was waged in researching this post.
John Hall's column in The Times devoted a section to Tom Lasorda, then a manager in the Dodgers' minor league system, who called the columnist to defend the organization's prospects. Lasorda had been working in the Arizona instructional league.
"Remember these names," he told Hall. "Ted Sizemore, Billy Buckner, Steve Garvey and Bob Valentine. They're all eventually going to be tremendous hits in Los Angeles."
How'd Lasorda do? All four had a big impact on the Dodgers. Three of the four were involved in big trades.
Sizemore was rookie of the year in 1969 but was traded with another player a year later to St. Louis for Dick Allen. Buckner was traded to the Cubs in 1977 in a deal that sent Rick Monday to the Dodgers. Valentine was part of a big swap with the Angels in 1972 that included Andy Messersmith, Frank Robinson and Ken McMullen, among others.
Garvey had the longest career with the Dodgers, leaving in 1982 to sign as a free agent with the Padres.
To be fair, Lasorda didn't pitch a perfect game with his predictions. "Besides the kids, I've also got Bill Sudakis, Willie Crawford and Paul Popovich with me in Arizona and they've been looking great," he said. "Sudakis is for real."
Bill Sudakis, who had knees apparently made from fine china, eventually ended up on the Yankees. He may be best known for a fistfight he got into with fellow sub Rick Dempsey in a Milwaukee hotel lobby in 1974. Bobby Murcer tried to break up the donnybrook (which featured knockout punches, torn clothes and furniture flips) but hurt his arm and broke a finger. The details can be found here: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/1997/07/06/1997-07-06_tough_nut_flaky__feisty_rick.html
Bobby Valentine broke his leg very badly in 1973, just after being traded to the Angels. The injury ruined his career.
Willie Crawford was tremendous local athlete who ended up having a not so tremendous career.
Paul Popovich was a very capable sub at several positions.
Larry Harnisch. The leading Black Dahlia expert and a collaborator in the 1947project, Harnisch has been a copy editor at The Times since 1988. He has appeared on many TV shows discussing the Dahlia case, notably "James Ellroy's Feast of Death."
Join him for a spin through old Los Angeles in the Mirror's radio car. Keep your eyes open for Mickey Cohen and Tempest Storm. It's quite a ride.
The reporter's badge belonged to Sid Hughes (1908-1958), legendary reporter who worked at nearly every newspaper in Los Angeles.
Keith Thursby. Keith has been an editor at The Times in news, sports and design since 1986. The Rams moved to St. Louis on his first day as assistant sports editor of the paper's Orange County edition. He grew up in Norwalk and lives in Irvine.
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Bill Sudakis, who had knees apparently made from fine china, eventually ended up on the Yankees. He may be best known for a fistfight he got into with fellow sub Rick Dempsey in a Milwaukee hotel lobby in 1974. Bobby Murcer tried to break up the donnybrook (which featured knockout punches, torn clothes and furniture flips) but hurt his arm and broke a finger. The details can be found here: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/1997/07/06/1997-07-06_tough_nut_flaky__feisty_rick.html
Bobby Valentine broke his leg very badly in 1973, just after being traded to the Angels. The injury ruined his career.
Willie Crawford was tremendous local athlete who ended up having a not so tremendous career.
Paul Popovich was a very capable sub at several positions.
Posted by: Charlie | November 13, 2008 at 09:37 AM