At the moment we’ve got a noisy but otherwise harmless thunderstorm rolling through here. (The cheery asterisk denotes Howdygram headquarters in Mesquite.) I’m not sure why this map doesn’t indicate the storm that’s overhead … we’ve got lightning, thunder and major boomers going on, but the map only shows rain! Incidentally, if you zoom in, I’m the seriously uncomfortable senior citizen in a fresh pink nightie, typing at high speed in a hospital bed with lemonade. I’m freezing my ass off, though.
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With a key infield position at second base — Santo to Kessinger to Beckert to Banks — Glenn Beckert was intensely popular with Cubs fans and his fellow teammates.
“Glenn was just a really, really fun guy to be around,” former teammate Billy Williams said Sunday. “He and (Ron) Santo and myself liked to do a lot of stuff together. Just enjoy life, man. We spent 10 or 12 years together. You didn’t find that too much. It was a team that was real close, and we stayed close over the years.”
Ned Colletti, a former Wrigley Field “bleacher bum” who went on to become a Cubs executive in the 1980s and 1990s, said in a text message: “Beck was the glue that helped meld together four Hall of Famers. He was the prototypical second hitter followed by three straight Hall of Fame hitters (Williams, Santo and Ernie Banks). He rarely struck out. He could move a runner, played the game the right way.”
Beckert won a Gold Glove Award in 1968 and was selected to the NL All-Star team in 1969, ’70, ’71 and ’72. “Glenn Beckert was a wonderful person who also happened to be an excellent ballplayer,” the Cubs said in a statement Sunday. “He was a mainstay at second base for the Cubs for nine seasons from 1965 to 1973, earning a spot on four All-Star teams and a reputation for one of the toughest at-bats in the league as evidenced by his low strikeout rate. Glenn more than held his own playing alongside future Hall of Famers and won a Gold Glove for defensive excellence at second base in 1968.
I spent a lot of time at Wrigley Field with my sister in 1969, back when the Cubs were reaching for the pennant and a box seat behind third base only cost $3.75. We’d ride the #10 bus to Howard Street, take the “el” train to Addison and always try to arrive at the ballpark in time for batting practice. Watching Glenn Beckert play has always been an important part of that memory!
It’s time for a nice juicy nap now. Sam and I are getting ready to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) starring Patricia Neal and Michael Rennie as Klaatu, the alien. We love this movie and it’s definitely one of our all-time favorites.
Thank you for reading this. Please do me a favor and remember the Alamo, okay? You don’t have to get too carried away … a simple, polite little wave is more than enoug right now.
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