VintageSeattle.org

I dug this artifact up a week too late for Shipley’s piece on Sick’s Stadium. Searching around my archives for past Ebay purchases, I found this 1970 baseball ticket for the Pilots vs. A’s game. And you thought modern day ticket prices were outrageous! So who won the game, you’re wondering. Well, no one — it was never played. By the time May of 1970 came around, the Pilots were already gone. Click for higher res.

Seattle Pilots vs. Oakland Athletics, baseball ticket, May 20, 1970. Sick’s Stadium, Seattle.

Seattle Pilots vs. Oakland Athletics, baseball ticket, May 20, 1970. Sick’s Stadium, Seattle.

Bringing back Old Sport category for some Mariners memories. Player O The Week awards go to pitcher Shane Rawley. He rocked the M’s powder blues from 1978 through 1981 and went to the all-star game in 1986 as a Phillie. Wikipedia tells us that Rawley now operates a sports bar in Florida. Click for high res on Shane.

Shane Rawley, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1979.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week is back and honors are going to former Mariners shortstop Craig Reynolds. He was selected to the MLB All-Star Game in ‘78 and ‘79 and these days can be found as an associate pastor of a megachurch in Houston. Click for higher-res.

Craig Reynolds, Seattle Mariners, Shortstop, Topps, 1978.

Ok Seattle sports nerds, it’s time that the Old Sport category got in on the action around here. I received this autographed 8×10 as a Christmas present this year. It shows 1969 Seattle Pilot Diego Segui at what looks to be a “take your children to work day.” Diego’s son, David Segui also played in the major leagues — so i wondered if that was his John Hancock over on the right. He was born in 1966 so this picture would put him at three years old. He did wear the number 21 and this autograph looks to be similar. I think the mystery is solved. Any sports nuts that can confirm this? Diego Segui played his last season in Seattle with the Mariners and son David also spent a year in Seattle.

Seattle Pilots Cuban born pitcher Diego Segui and children, 1969.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week award goes to Akin from this 1910 “mouthpiece cigarette” baseball card. All we can piece together from Akin’s card is that he was a mean, if not sullen, bunter. You couldn’t let ol’ Baby Face Akin’s baby face fool you — he meant business and he meant to bunt. All the time.

Akin, Seattle N.W.L.

Obak Mouthpiece Cigarettes. “Surpass Imagination.” Base Ball Series 175 Subjects Selected From Pacific Coast And Northwestern Leagues. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

After getting romped 44-6 last week by the Giants, the Hawks are looking to regroup today against the Packers. Perhaps they need only look back for inspiration — namely to punter Herman Weaver. Or you may remember him by his nickname… “Thunderfoot.” So how did he get this wickedly awesome nickname? I’ll let his website thunderfoot18.com explain:

Herman “Thunderfoot” Weaver, Seattle Seahawks, Punter, Topps, 1978.

I know this isn’t directly Mariner related, but they are playing the last game today at Yankee Stadium before it is torn down. I grew up on the east coast going to games at the 85-year old “House That Ruth Built” and wondered why in the world this wasn’t a protected historic landmark. Turns out, the 1970’s got it (alternate article here). The Stadium’s 74-75 renovation has been called “unsympathetic.” The Yankees themselves have never asked for a landmark designation because to people like George Steinbrenner, profit will always trump history. Now with that bit of negativity out of the way, let’s check out our Vintage Seattle Player O The Week: Skip Jutze. He was part of the first Mariners season of baseball in 1977 and is known for having hit the first grand slam in M’s history. (Hard) Hats off to you, Skip.

Skip Jutze, Seattle Mariners, Catcher, Topps, 1978.

Old Sport is back, old sport. In this week with Player O The Week honors is pitcher Glenn Abbott. The M’s drafted him in 1976 during expansion and he stuck around longer than any other player from that first season (77-81). After all these years, he has landed back in the Pacific Northwest as pitching coach for the Portland Beavers (see modern day photo here). Click on the thumbnail for a full-res look at Glenn’s 1979 Topps card.

Glenn Abbott, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1979.

Like his Northwestern League brethren before him, Miller is our honorary Vintage Seattle Player O The Week. He was a crafty ballplayer — during windup you never knew if he actually had a ball in his mitt or not. The card comes from the 1910 OBAK mouthpiece cigarette collection. Click on the image for a larger version.

Miller, Seattle, N.W.L. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Obak Mouthpiece Cigarettes. “Convenient Sensible.” Base Ball Series 175 Subjects Selected From Pacific Coast And Northwestern Leagues. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

This just in… the Sonics are history. They are moving to Oklahoma City. That one Championship year in 1979 will not be forgotten, nor will the fact that the Supersonics were the city’s first professional sports team. As much as I’m trying to be positive about the team’s legacy, this latest lawsuit and settlement is a sad and pathetic whimper of a closing chapter. In fact, it’s not a far cry from the Seattle Totems last days. With that said, can another NBA team in Seattle really work? Let’s have a look at the home of the Sonics, Key Arena (formerly Coliseum 21, built for the 1962 World’s Fair). Click on the thumbnails and pour out a “foty ounce” for our Sonics.

Coliseum 21 the fabulous theme building of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Featured in this World of Tomorrow are fascinating predictions of how man will work, live and play in the year 2000. This unique pavilion rises as tall as an 11-story building.

Coliseum 21 at night. Color photo by Mike Roberts.

The Seattle Coliseum, home of the Seattle Totems ice-hockey team, was built for the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, and after thorough remodeling, is now an impressive arena for indoor-sports like ice-hockey, basketball, boxing, and an ideal hall for national conventions. It has a flexible seating capacity of up to 18,000 and reaches a height of 110 feet in the center. Color photo by Max R Jensen.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Bill Stein of the 1981 Mariners. He played major league ball from 1972 until 1985 with the Cardinals, White Sox, Mariners, and Rangers. According to his Baseball-Reference.com entry, Stein played every position except except pitcher, catcher, and center field. The utility man retired from baseball in 1994 and currently lives in Texas. Click!

Bill Stein, Seattle Mariners, 3rd Base, Topps, 1981.

To break this season’s curse I think the Mariners need to bring back the 1980’s button-up shiny jacket. Once you check out this 1981 Jim Beattie card from Topps, you’ll see what I mean. With that said, Jim Beattie is our Vintage Seattle Player O The Week. In ‘82 he pitched 19 consecutive scoreless innings and threw the first M’s one hitter in ‘83. After hanging up the shiny jacket, Beattie went on to serve as Director of Player Development for the Mariners (1990-1995), was GM of the Expos (1995-2001), and acted as Executive VP of the Baltimore Orioles (2003-2005). Not bad for an ex-jock with a University of Washington M.B.A.

Jim Beattie, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1981.

We’re going way back, back, back for this week’s Vintage Seattle Player O The Week — all the way back to 1910. Straight from the Northwestern League comes Pennington of the Seattle ballclub. The card is not in the best shape, but we can still make out the words “marvelous blend” (it is lacking the verbiage of Spencer’s card). Give it a click. Until the Mariners start producing this year, we’re going to have to keep going back nearly a century.

Front: Pennington, Seattle, N.W.L. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Back: Obak Mouthpiece Cigarettes. “Marvelous Blend.” Base Ball Series 175 Subjects Selected From Pacific Coast And Northwestern Leagues. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Enrique Romo. He was a Mariner from 1977-1978 before being traded for none other than Mario Mendoza. So, you could call Romo an “enabler.” He pitched just six years in the majors before failing to show up for spring training with the Pirates in 1983. After failed attempts to locate him, he was released. As the Romo Phone Home Blog (Pirate fan site) asks… where are you Enrique Romo?

Enrique Romo, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1978.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week Jerry Don Gleaton is back from the 1982 season showing us that it’s ok for major league ballplayers to go ahead and use that middle name. Jerry Don was only with the M’s from 1981-1982 and after retiring from playing in 1992 he went on to scout for the Detroit Tigers. He is currently coaching at Howard Payne University and still has the ’stache.

Jerry Don Gleaton, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1982.