The 1969 Chronicles: A Sports Writer's Notes  By Stan Isaacs

Chapter 14: Baseball, Gentlemen, Baseball I liked the old ball parks. My favorites were Ebbets Field, Fenway Park, the Polo Grounds and Wrigley Field. The big league owners realized that most fans do, too, and that led to the blending of new and old with the construction of Camden Yards in Baltimore, followed by Jacobs Field in Cleveland and PacBell Park in San Francisco. Hank Greenspan, the longtime San Francisco Giants announcer, had a wonderful idea for the name of the new park in Frisco that was replacing Candlestick Park. He said that the Ralph Lauren Company should buy the rights to name the new park and call it, the Polo Grounds. I loved that, but that would have been too good to be true. My penchant for lists follows the ball park columns and in a way line scores and racing charts are an extension of lists. * * * Columns: Baseball Needs to Keep Its Fenway Funhouse A View of Baseball from a Fire Escape Now Batting, Babe Ruth; Pitching, Sandy Koufax The Best Athletes in the World Let's Bring Back the Linescore Call on Chart Callers: "Have a Way With Words"

Chapters Home Page Introduction 1. The Amazing Mets 2. Yankee Fans 3. Music to My Ears 4. Ali & Friends 5. People Are Funny 6. The Poetry Corner 7. The Glorious Knicks 8. Bill Bradley & Others 9. Horsing Around 10. An Angry Mother 11. Political Baseball 12. Fun and Games 13. The Sweet Science 14. Baseball, Gentlemen   Baseball Needs to Keep Its Fenway Funhouse   A View of Baseball from a Fire Escape   Now Batting, Babe Ruth; Pitching, Sandy Koufax   The Best Athletes in the World   Let's Bring Back the Linescore   Call on Chart Callers: "Have a Way With Words" 15. Some Immortals 16. A Galleria 17. Ladies First 18. The Irrepressible Jets 19. The Sporting Culture Email Stan Isaacs at sibelch@optonline.net Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. — A. J. Liebling