Fun Facts from Media Guides
Publication Date: July 8, 2003
Catching My Breath
Mostly this week I'm working on gathering pitch count data -- that stuff
don't just jump into the boat, I'm afraid -- but rather than take the
week off I figured I'd throw these out. These are a bunch of unrelated
things that caught my eye as I read through media guides this year. They
may be funny, or interesting, or telling, or completely boring, and they
don't pretend to follow any sort of pattern.
- Stadium capacities are a neverending source of fun. Dedeaux Field at
Southern California, home of the twelve-time national champion Men of
Troy, seats 2500. Tiger Stadium at Grambling State hosts 3000.
- Mark McGwire had an ERA of 2.93 in 53 innings at USC West.
- Southern Illinois' Toby Barnett lists the Australian cricket team
as his favorite professional sports team.
- Xavier's roster comes from twelve states stretching from California
to New Jersey.
- In contrast to our image of interregional play as a modern phenomenon,
Illinois made Southern road trips, usually through Tennessee, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Arkansas, to open each season from 1910 through 1931. They
also toured Japan in the fall of 1928.
- On the LSU list of great athletic alumni from all sports, Albert Belle,
probably the best professional baseball player the school has produced to
date, is omitted.
- Listed attendance for the Southern Mississippi-New Orleans game on
May 4, 1989 was 28.
- In contrast to the Xavier roster, Florida State's roster has
twenty-eight players listed from Florida and two from Georgia, and that's
all.
- In one of those stories that I'd love to hear more about, West
Virginia's alumni game in 1923 was called in the fifth inning after the
death of I. L. Mowery.
- Perhaps unclear on the concept of fast play, Dave Williams, Jr., of
Louisville lists Maya Angelou and Frederick Douglass as members of his
dream golf foursome.
- Fordham was 40-7 in 1860, mostly against local athletic clubs.
- In a heart-warming note to this eclectic music lover, Geno Orsogna
of St. John's lists as his favorite songs selections from Bob Dylan and
Limp Bizkit.
- Earl Woods, now usually referred to as "Tiger's father", was the
first African-American baseball player in Big 7 (later Big 8 and, if
you hold your head right, Big 12) history at Kansas State in 1952.
- Quote exchange of the year, from Miami, Ohio, in response to the
question, "If the entire team were on an episode of Survivor,
who would get voted off the island first and why?":
Justin Farina: "Bachman, he'd cause more harm than good. Although, he
would kill animals if they attacked us."
Brad Bachman: "Farina, because he always gives people massages. That
wouldn't be cool on a deserted island."
David Franco: "Not Bachman. He would be the best guy to have around for
the sake of killing food for the rest of us."
Adam Moos: "Bachman, because he'd try to eat one of us."
Finally, three pictures I really liked and was able to get permission to
use. Click the thumbnail for a bigger version.
UC Riverside
Ross French, SID
Photo by UCR Media Relations
|
Mississippi State
Joe Dier, SID
Photo by Craig Jackson
|
East Carolina
Jody Jones, SID
Photo by ECU Media Relations
|
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