By Jeff Moeller

Do you remember Gene Tenace?

Oakland’s catcher-turned-first baseman won the 1972 World Series MVP, leading the A’s to their first of three consecutive World Championships. Unless you were a die-hard A’s fan, you likely never heard of Tenace, and he did take the baseball world by storm with his .348 average, four homers and nine RBIs in the Fall Classic.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column – reminiscing about sports and pop culture from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond – I’ll take a look at the first baseman MVPs in the Series, as well as some other recognizable first baseman from our time.

Also, who played first for both the Phillies and Mets? What Buffalo Brave won the league MVP? What wrestler - recognized as a tag-team champion - used the “iron claw?”

First and Foremost: Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off, grand slam in MLB history, and he then added a first-inning, two-run homer. For the series, Freeman hit. 300 with four homers and 12 RBIs, and he also played on a bad ankle.

Along with Freeman, there have been four other first baseman who gained MVP honors in the series, and you should remember most of them.

In 1979, Willie Stargell gained the top spot during the Pirates’ “We Are Family” stint, hitting .400 with three homers, four doubles, and seven RBIs. “Pops’” 25 total bases tied Reggie Jackson’s mark in 1977.

You should remember Paul Molitor, who played first, third, and was the DH, and hit .500 against the Phillies in 1993. Molitor had two doubles, two triples, and two homers with eight RBIs among his 12 hits.

Does Steve Pearce ring a bell? He was a career journeyman who found a brief home with the Red Sox. In 2018, Pearce hit .333 with three homers and eight RBIs in the Big Dance. Pearce played one more season with the Sox before he retired.

By the way, the single “We Are Family,” by Sister Sledge reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart, and the song was preceded by their other notable hit, “He’s the Greatest Dancer.” Think back to your disco days.

Other Cornerman: During the 1960s and 70s, some of the other familiar first baseman from our time were the Tigers’ Norm Cash, as the lefty always had a big wad of chewing tobacco; Boog Powell, who looked more like a middle linebacker with his hulking presence; Orlando “Baby Bull” Cepeda, whose contributions were often overshadowed by Willie Mays and Willie McCovey; and Tony Perez, who was a great hitter and an RBI machine.

Others were Lee May, the Reds’ and later Orioles’ power hitter who seemed like an anchor there; Nate Colbert, the huge big swinger on some bad Padres’ teams; and Harmon Killebrew, the home-run machine from the Twin Cities, who also looked like a linebacker.

All of these first sackers were power hitters, who didn’t necessarily hit for average, except Cepeda.

Local Front: As far as the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees, some of the obvious names respectively are Richie Allen, Deron Johnson, Tommy Hutton, and John Kruk; Ed Kranepool, Donn Clendenon, and Keith Hernandez; and Danny Cater, Joe Pepitone, Chris Chambliss, and Don Mattingly. (Anyone remember Danny Cater?)

Hutton was known as a slick fielder and pinch hitter. Chambliss was a great hitter with consistent numbers and was underrated.

One player who spent time with the Phillies and Mets and got overlooked was Rico Brogna, who was a solid hitter and steady fielder.

Thanks to Catasauqua boys’ basketball boss Eric Snyder for his help on the list.

A Forgotten Brave: When you look at the NBA MVPs through the years, there are the familiar names of Chamberlain, Russell, Bird, Johnson, and Abdul-Jabbar.

But do you remember Bob McAdoo? He won the 1974-75 MVP with the Buffalo Braves when he averaged a league-leasing 34.5 points and added 14.1 rebounds.

The Braves finished second in the Atlantic Division with a 49-33 record and lost in seven games in the Eastern Semifinals to Washington.

McAdoo played 14 seasons for seven different teams, his last season was as a Sixer in 1985-86 when he still managed 10.1 points in 29 games as his skills had diminished.

Another Amazing Game: In 1978, Galoob released MVP baseball, one of the many handheld games that hit the market and featured all of the major sports. It was state-of-the-art for us then, and I’m sure many of us had one of these versions from Mattel and a few other companies.

WWWF/WWE Wrap: Each week, I’ll recall a former wrestler from our lifetime.

Do you remember Blackjack Mulligan? He was best known in our circles as a tag-team partner with Blackjack Lanza, and the duo held the WWWF tag-team title in 1975. The 6-6, 345-pound Mulligan was regarded as one of the sports’ larger wrestlers.

He and Lanza also were the NWA tag-team champions and the Texas tag-team champions in 1974. Mulligan and Ric Flair were NWA tag-team champs in 1979. He also once held the NWA and WWA heavyweight championship.

Born Robert Windham in Texas, Mulligan wrestled from 1969-89 and later made some appearances in legends’ matches through 1993. In 1986, he teamed with Andre the Giant, both masked as the “Big Machine.”

His signature move was using the “iron claw,” applying pressure to his opponent’s forehead.

Mulligan had a 1,242-688 record with 232 draws in 2,162 matches. He passed away at the age of 73 in 2016.

Readers Write:

On Songs and Series’

Hey Jeff,

You listed a few songs with “fall” in the title. Here are a few more: “I Fall To Pieces” (Patsy Cline), “Catch A Falling Star” (Perry Como), “Baby, The Rain Must Fall” (Glenn Yarbrough), “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” (Tom Jones), “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” (Spinners), and “I Just Fall In Love Again” (Anne Murray). Those are great songs, otherwise they wouldn’t be in my collection.

I vote to keep the term “World Series.” There have been playoff and World Series games played outside of the U. S. (in Canada). There have been MLB players from Japan, South Korea, Central and South America, and the Caribbean on the rosters. Although a “Super Series” between the US, Japanese, and Caribbean champions sounds nice, there would be a few problems. First, the World Series usually ends at the end of October or the beginning of November. When would they play?

here might be some time if you begin the season in the middle of March and get rid of the Wild Card playoffs. That would cut into the spring training season. Just have the three divisional teams participate in the playoffs (best of five) with the team with the most wins taking a bye while the other two battle it out. The weather could also play a factor, not to mention the tremendous traveling distances involved.

Also, forget about neutral sites. I’m sure all baseball fans would rather watch their team play in the home park. Can you imagine Phillies’ fans being told they have to watch their team on TV playing in a neutral site and not in CBP?? To some fans, that would be similar to cutting off their right arm.

The MLB Players Association would have to be involved. Finally, you’re talking BIG bucks. Would the owners be willing to take a chance on it? So, just keep it the way it is.

Richard Ochs

Walnutport

Editor’s Note: Great thoughts, Richard!

What We Read

Hey Jeff, I always enjoy reading your column in the Catty Press. I’m a week behind but your subject of looking forward to reading the agate page of standing and statistics brought back memories. My brother and I also looked forward to receiving the weekly Sports Illustrated and Baseball Digest.

And the barber shop was a good place to catch up on other periodicals like The Sporting News. I was born in 1959, so it was a different world without the internet.

Thanks for the great journalism.

Paul Albert

Editor’s Note: Paul, I totally agree, and liked the barbershop, too.

Memory Lane: Each week, I’ll recount a former player, manager, coach, or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember Richie Hebner? He was the Phillies’ first baseman in 1977 and 1978, and he hit .284 with 35 homers and 133 RBIs. Hebner. “The gravedigger,” dug graves for his father for 35 years - played 18 years - and was primarily known for his 11 Pirates’ years. Overall, he played 18 seasons, also spending time with the Mets, Tigers, and Cubs. Hebner hit .276 with 203 homers and 890 RBIs.

Final Thought: Never forget some of the Halloween costumes we once worn.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published. Please email tnpsorts@tnonline.com.