Rip Jim Piersall

conor912 · #1 06-05-2017, 12:23 AM

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/234322...es-away-at-87/

My grandfather used to tell me stories about "Loopy" Jimmy Piersall. Definitely one of baseball history's lesser known but equally entertaining characters.

bgar3 · #2 06-05-2017, 07:42 AM

I was at Yankee Stadium when fans attcked him in right field. One of the first players to help him was Mantle, all the way from the dugout. Very impressed.

brian1961 · #3 06-05-2017, 12:07 PM

Thanks bgar3, I had never heard that story about Mickey coming to Jim's aid. Very moving.

I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Jim Piersall. The movie "FEAR STRIKES OUT" was so disturbing. His father was so dominating and rough on him, and Jim could never seem to please him. Karl Malden did a fine job of portraying Jim's father, as did Anthony Perkins as Jimmy. He truly overcame a lot of damaged emotions and bad memories. I'm certain his loopy behavior was a safety valve to let out all the anger and frustration that was pent-up inside of him, and to calm him down.

He was a colorful character, as a player and from what I've read, as an announcer. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but had moved away before Jim entered the White Sox broadcast booth.

RIP dear Jim. May God help his grieving family and fans.

---Brian Powell

bbcard1 · #4 06-05-2017, 12:16 PM

He was the general manager for the Roanoke Buckskins, which was a Redskins pro football farm team in my area.

drcy · #5 06-05-2017, 01:23 PM

I'm bipolar as with Piersall, though don't exhibit loopy behavior and my dad was nice. My theory is that Joan of Arc was bipolar. Numerous famous creative types, artists and original thinkers, such as Mark Twain and Van Gogh, were bipolar.

bgar3 · #6 06-05-2017, 01:45 PM

Brian, I trust my memory only so far so I looked up the attack on Piersall. September 10, 1961, my 12 th birthday. Doubleheader vs Cleveland. What I got wrong was Piersall was in center, the fans came from right field line area, and Mantle came to his aid from first, not he dugout. Anyway, it was amazing.
According to an online account Piersall decked one of the guys and, although not mentioned in the article, I recall Mantle kicking the other guy in the ass. The article also mentioned Piersall's father had died just 5 days before.

Mark · #7 06-05-2017, 05:33 PM

I became acquainted with Jimmy while listening to him and Harry Carey do White Sox games in the late 70's and early 80's. Those were probably the most entertaining sports broadcasts that I have ever heard. Where else does the color man rib the play-by-play man about being drunk on the air and where else does the play-by-play man jokingly reply by asking the color man if he has been taking his medications? It was must listen/ must watch. Seriously, he and Harry made a great contribution to the game.

cardsfan73 · #8 06-06-2017, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian1961

Thanks bgar3, I had never heard that story about Mickey coming to Jim's aid. Very moving.

I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Jim Piersall. The movie "FEAR STRIKES OUT" was so disturbing. His father was so dominating and rough on him, and Jim could never seem to please him. Karl Malden did a fine job of portraying Jim's father, as did Anthony Perkins as Jimmy. He truly overcame a lot of damaged emotions and bad memories. I'm certain his loopy behavior was a safety valve to let out all the anger and frustration that was pent-up inside of him, and to calm him down.

He was a colorful character, as a player and from what I've read, as an announcer. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but had moved away before Jim entered the White Sox broadcast booth.

RIP dear Jim. May God help his grieving family and fans.

---Brian Powell

Mr. Piersall himself distanced himself from that moving stating that it portrayed a lot of things that never actually happened.

�I hated the movie,� Piersall wrote in his memoir. Perkins, he said, gave a fine performance but looked foolish trying to play baseball. He maintained that the movie included events that had never happened, and that he had never blamed his father for his breakdown."

I was a huge fan of his work with Harry Caray on the White Sox broadcast. Alas he was a little to honest when expressing his criticism of the team which rubbed a lot of players and some of the front office the wrong way and he was fired.

He was also the manager of the Class A Orangeburg Cardinals team that had a young Catcher by the name of Randy Poffo who would later go on to fame as Professional Wrestler Randy Savage! Can you imagine the "Macho Man" & Jimmy in the same locker room?

Tom Hufford · #9 06-06-2017, 09:57 PM

As Todd mentioned earlier, Jimmy was the General Manager of the minor league Roanoke Buckskins football team, 1969-71. (I couldn't remember the years, so I Googled it!)

So, it must have been about 1970 when I was in Roanoke (not far from where I lived), and thought I'd stop by and pay Jimmy a visit. I didn't have an appointment or anything, just stopped in at the team office - he was there, and he seemed happy to have a visitor.

We must have sat and talked about two hours. I told him I didn't know a whole lot (or cared much) about football, so he asked me about Roanoke. I was about 20, so how much could I tell him. But I did tell him that the Red Sox had a farm team there in the 1940s-early 1950s, which he remembered, then I mentioned some of the RoSox players, and we talked about them.

And he went into great detail telling me that the old hotel/office building where the Buckskins office was, had been used as a bordello back in the 1930s-40s. He said lots of folks he had met since he came to town had told him about that.

Then he signed a few cards that I'd brought along, and he pulled a few photos out of his desk drawer and signed them for me, too. All in all, a nice way to spend an afternoon. And he sure seemed like a great guy.

RIP, Jimmy!

vintagesportscollector · #10 06-09-2017, 08:01 AM

'53 Batting Order card with Piersall batting leadoff.

IMG_3383.jpg

tjb1952tjb · #11 06-10-2017, 02:26 AM

I was fortunate enough to see Jimmy play with the Angels toward the end of his career.......1965, 1966. I remember him being very entertaining, and quite humorous. His acrobatic pre-game fielding in center field was a real treat to watch......always made my dad and I laugh. Thanks for the memories. RIP. My only Jimmy Piersall baseball card...........

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