Bicentennial Boogie

A celebration of America in 1976, and a visual supplement to Dan Epstein's new book "STARS ANDS STRIKES: BASEBALL AND AMERICA IN THE BICENTENNIAL SUMMER OF '76" (Published April 29, 2014 by Thomas Dunne Books). http://www.amazon.com/Stars-Strikes-Baseball-America-Bicentennial/dp/1250034388

[bicentennialboogie]

Today in 1976: Veteran Astros hurler Larry Dierker strikes out eight Expos and walks four while tossing a no-hitter at the Astrodome; he also contributes to his teams 6-0 victory by driving in a run with a sacrifice fly. Dierker's feat occurs during one of the Astros' "Foamer Night" promotions, in which the fans receive free beer whenever a pitcher strikes out a batter while a red "foamer light" is illuminated on the Astrodome scoreboard — and Dierker's whiff of Pete Mackanin in the top of the seventh gives the crowd a bonus of free suds to go along with his gem.

[bicentennialboogie]

Today in 1976: Phillies catcher Tim McCarver hits a grand slam off Larry Demery of the Pirates in the first half of a double header at Three Rivers Stadium. However, McCarver inadvertently passes Garry Maddox (who'd been holding up at first base to see if the ball would go out) on the base paths; he's called out, but credited with a three-run single. McCarver calls it "the longest single I've ever hit."

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Reds shortstop Dave Concepcion, shown here taking a cut during the 1976 season. (Note the sweet NL Centennial patch on his sleeve.) One of the greatest shortstops of the artificial turf era, Concepcion batted .281 that year with 28 doubles, seven triples, nine homers, 69 RBIs, 74 runs scored and 21 stolen bases; was elected to as a starter to the All Star Game; won his third consecutive Gold Glove; and hit .357 in the World Series as the Reds swept the Yankees. Not a bad year at all, really.

[bicentennialboogie]

Mets slugger Dave Kingman gives an interview at Dodger Stadium in June 1976, probably about the three homers (and eight RBIs) he knocked against L.A. in an 11-0 Mets victory on June 4. The following night, "Kong" would smash a solo shot — his 21st round-tripper of the year — as part of a 3-1 Mets win over the Dodgers.

[bicentennialboogie]

The first official pitch thrown at the "new" Yankee Stadium, as seen from the right field stands on April 15, 1976. That's Rudy May on the mound, Chris Chambliss at first, Thurman Munson behind the plate, and Twins second baseman Jerry Terrell in the batter's box. Terrell would draw a walk in this plate appearance, then score on a home run by "Disco" Dan Ford. (Photo via http://www.ballparkprints.com)

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Pepe Mangual, who was in the midst of what was shaping up to be the best season of his career with the Expos (hitting .260 with a .403 OBP and 17 stolen bases) when he was traded with Jim Dwyer to the Mets in exchange for Wayne Garrett and Del Unser on July 21, 1976. The Mets' front office, desperate for a gate attraction to replace the injured Dave Kingman, thought that Mangual's presence would bring more Puerto Rican baseball fans to Shea; Pepe flopped badly in New York, though, hitting only .186 with a .259 OBP for the rest of the season. He played only eight more games in the majors after that.

[bicentennialboogie]

Dodgers hurler Tommy John shows off his surgically repaired left arm while pitching to an inmate at California's Soledad Prison in November 1976. John, who'd missed half of the 1974 season and all of 1975 while recovering from Dr. Frank Jobe's radical ulnar ligament replacement surgery, went 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA in 207 innings for the Dodgers in '76, and was named "NL Comeback Player of the Year" by the Sporting News.

[bicentennialboogie]

Pour out a Bicentennial can of ginger ale for Downtown Ollie Brown, who passed away last month at the age of 71. Brown played in 92 games for the 1976 NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies, usually starting in right field against left-handed pitchers. He hitting .254 with a .350 OBP, 10 doubles, 5 home runs and 30 RBIs in 247 plate appearances; one of those homers was a July 25 grand slam off Dave Giusti in a 13-7 victory over the Pirates. RIP, Ollie.

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Rick "Big Daddy" Reuschel, the winningest Chicago Cubs pitcher of the 1970s, who was joined on his 1976 Hostess card panel by Thurman Munson and Bobby Bonds. Big Daddy — who went 14-12 with a 3.46 ERA for the Cubs that season — would have surely cleaned out that Hostess Twinkies box before either Munson or Bonds even had a chance to get in there.

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Hall of Famer and Royals third baseman George Brett, who won his first batting title and made the AL All Star team for the first time in 1976. He also hit .444 in the ALCS against the Yankees, and his three-run homer off Grant Jackson in the top of the eighth in Game 5 tied the contest and set the stage for Chris Chambliss's dramatic pennant-winning blast.

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Hall of Famer Tony Perez, shown here sporting the NL centennial patch during a Reds home game in 1976. It would be the last season in Cincinnati for awhile for the "Big Doggie," who was traded to the Expos in December to make room for Dan Driessen at first base. The Big Red Machine would never be the same.

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Juan Beniquez, a utility man for the Boston Red Sox who was traded to the Texas Rangers in November '75 as part of the deal that sent Fergie Jenkins to Boston. Beniquez, whose '76 Topps card featured some typically ridiculous uniform re-touches (take a close look at the "T" on his helmet and the "buttons" on his jersey), quickly blossomed into a Gold Glove-level centerfielder. In 1976, his 17 assists were the most by any outfielders in the majors, and he led AL outfielders with 410 putouts. (Garry Maddox led the majors that year with 439.)

[bicentennialboogie]

Sweet Bicentennial-themed cover from 1976 Appleton Foxes program. Based in Appleton, Wisconsin, the Foxes were a Class A farm team of the Chicago White Sox. Their '76 roster included two future big leaguers: Fred Howard, who would pitch in 28 games for the 1979 White Sox, and Harry Chappas, who would be billed by Bill Veeck as the shortest player in the majors upon his arrival in the big leagues in 1978 — much to the annoyance of Chappas, who claimed to be a couple of inches taller than the 5'3" that the White Sox listed him at.

[bicentennialboogie]

The ‘76 Atlanta Braves pose for a team pic in front of Chief Noc-A-Homa’s wigwam at Fulton County Stadium. There are two Hall of Famers in the photo: Braves ace Phil Niekro, who’s third from left in the front row, and Braves hitting instructor Luke Appling, who’s second from right in the middle row.

[bicentennialboogie]

Star-spangled birthday greetings to Ron Schueler, who pitched for the Braves, Phillies, Twins and White Sox over the course of his eight MLB seasons, then went on to become a pitching coach for the White Sox, A's and Pirates, and (eventually) GM of the White Sox. Though injured for part of the 1976 season, Schueler still made an underrated contribution to the Phillies' bullpen, posting a 2.90 ERA and three saves in 35 relief appearances, and striking out 43 in 49.2 innings while walking only 16. On September 26, 1976, Schueler also became the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the last MLB pitcher to win a game at Montreal's Stade Parc Jarry?", pitching four scoreless innings in relief of Ron Reed to earn a 2-1 victory over the Expos in their final game at their original ballpark. It was Schueler's only decision of the season.

[bicentennialboogie]

A rare 1976 pic of Hank Aaron with a glove on his hand. During his final season in the bigs, baseball’s home run king spent all of two innings in the field. It happened on August 1, when he took over in left after pinch-hitting for Mike Hegan (and drawing a game-tying bases-loaded walk) during the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians at County Stadium. Hank had one put-out in the game, catching a fly off the bat of Frank Duffy in the top of the ninth. Bill Castro, pictured here in the foreground, allowed the game’s winning run to score on a single by Ray Fosse in the top of the tenth.

[bicentennialboogie]

Birthday badass Ray Fosse, a two-time All Star catcher who'd begun his major league career with the Indians in 1967, was sold back to Cleveland by the A's after the 1975 season, after three seasons with Oakland's "Moustache Gang." The black velvet Indians cap he received from the Topps art department in honor of the deal was probably little consolation.