Claiming a Famous Baseball Relative

Hankphenom · #1 02-22-2025, 08:37 PM

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

Balticfox · #2 02-22-2025, 08:47 PM

I shared an elevator at the Sheraton(?) in Montr�al in 1984 or so with a couple of St. Louis Cardinals (Ozzie Smith? vince Coleman? Willie McGee?) who were dressed to the nines for a night out in party town. And boy were they dressed! Thick gold chains over the fanciest suits. No way I could have duplicated their style.

whitehse · #3 02-22-2025, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

I remember that guy. He even said he was honored by the Twins a year or two ago for the 100th anniversary of the Senators championship. Seriously......who would go to that extent to prove he descended from baseball royalty? Geez.

whitehse · #4 02-22-2025, 09:42 PM

My cousin married the son of umpire Augie Donatelli.

That's close enough isn't it?

tireolddawg · #5 02-22-2025, 10:25 PM

Since there are stories not related to family ties I�ll share a funny one. My dad went to an old timers game at Busch Memorial back in the day then went to Stan Musial�s restaurant after. When him and my grandpa were leaving the restaurant Joe DiMaggio was on the curb waiting for a cab to take him to the airport. They stuck around and offered him a ride which he said he�d accept if the cab didn�t show up in 5 minutes. The cab eventually showed up and after Joe got in and rode off my grandpa turned to my dad and said �son, that man was married to Marilyn Monroe.�

todeen · #6 02-22-2025, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tireolddawg

�son, that man was married to Marilyn Monroe.�

I think we all wish we'd been married to her. There are lots of pics with less clothes, but fully dressed, what a beautiful woman. Thanks for improving this thread 100%.

Every thread needs a card...

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

clydepepper · #7 02-23-2025, 12:00 AM

My cousin once had a dust up with Joltin' Joe:

1941 WS Photo - Whitlow v. JoeD a.jpg

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #8 02-23-2025, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todeen

I think we all wish we'd been married to her. There are lots of pics with less clothes, but fully dressed, what a beautiful woman. Thanks for improving this thread 100%.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

From what I've read, I'm not so sure, at least towards the end. Her bathing routine, or lack thereof, would have turned a lot of people away, apparently. She favored covering herself in perfume instead of stepping into a shower.

Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

Balticfox · #9 02-23-2025, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

Brigitte Bardot for me!

Hankphenom · #10 02-23-2025, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

From what I've read, I'm not so sure, at least towards the end. Her bathing routine, or lack thereof, would have turned a lot of people away, apparently. She favored covering herself in perfume instead of stepping into a shower. Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

I'll try to explain her to you: Marilyn was a terrific actress across all genres. She ended up making her mark mostly in light comedy, but for dark drama in some great Film Noir check out "Don't Bother to Knock" with Richard Widmark or "Niagara" with Joseph Cotton where she more than holds her own with those Hollywood heavyweights. Her combination of beauty and overt sexuality ("Seven Year Itch," "Bus Stop," etc.) broke through a VERY conservative time to make that acceptable for generations to follow, thank God, in the way Elvis did with music. If you want to spend a couple of harrowing hours watching one of the great performances ever captured on film, check out her last one, "The Misfits," co-starring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and directed by John Huston ("Treasure of Sierra Madre," etc.) I lived through her time, and I can tell you with absolute assurance that she earned her legend status 100% in her all-too-short time (36 when she died.) Oh, and she also happened to marry Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller ("Death of a Salesman.") As with the aforementioned Elvis, for a combination of ground-breaking talent and seismic cultural change that comes about rarely, there will NEVER be another Marilyn Monroe.

Balticfox · #11 02-23-2025, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitehse

My cousin married the son of umpire Augie Donatelli.

That's close enough isn't it?

Yes. At the Zanzibar Tavern in the 1990's I fondled Chesty Morgan who was once married to umpire Dick Stello.

Hankphenom · #12 02-23-2025, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Yes. At the Zanzibar Tavern in the 1990's I fondled Chesty Morgan who was once married to umpire Dick Stello.

In the mid-1980s, a buddy talked me and my girlfriend into going to see the legend Chesty at a strip club in D.C. I was sitting on the aisle, and when she came down from the stage, my buddy was pointing at me. She came over, stuck her massive, sweaty breasts into my face and wiggled them around for a few seconds. Everybody laughed, including me, but it was pretty gross.

Hankphenom · #13 02-23-2025, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitehse

I remember that guy. He even said he was honored by the Twins a year or two ago for the 100th anniversary of the Senators championship. Seriously......who would go to that extent to prove he descended from baseball royalty? Geez.

Some people will try to get away with just about anything these days! On a more serious note, my grandfather 10 generations back, Oliver Wolcott, signed the Declaration of Independence. Wolcott is my middle name..

bnorth · #14 02-23-2025, 04:26 PM

The best I can get is my brother married Kerry Ligtenbergs cousin.

As a joke I sometimes claim a famous Marine and a kid that was a Menace on TV as uncles.

kmac32 · #15 02-23-2025, 08:57 PM

Not famous but still meaningful, My Great great Uncle Elmer Miller was the first Yankee to ever get a hit in a World Seriesand the first Yankee o ever score a run in a World Series. The year was 1921 and Yes I do have the original copy of his 1919 Contract.

Fred · #16 02-23-2025, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

What, he wasn't a cousin of yours?

Hank, I will always appreciate you getting your mother to sign that copy of the check she endorsed back in the 1940s written to her by your grandfather. It's one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia because of that personal touch.

Hankphenom · #17 02-23-2025, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred

What, he wasn't a cousin of yours? Hank, I will always appreciate you getting your mother to sign that copy of the check she endorsed back in the 1940s written to her by your grandfather. It's one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia because of that personal touch.

Thanks, Fred, it's been one of the great joys of my life to be able to make people happy with small gestures such as that!

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