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RIP Bill Buckner
grote15
Posts: 29,535 ✭✭✭✭✭
Passed away at 69.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
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grote15
Posts: 29,535 ✭✭✭✭✭
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Comments
RIP.
Wow terrible news.
When I worked for the Cubs Bill Buckner was a grumpy old man who never seemed to have a smile on his face. I grew up watching him play and when I got a chance to be around him on a regular basis I was shocked by just how much of a PITA he was. But, I soon realized that he always seemed to smell like Ben Gay and other topical pain relievers and saw how much time he spent in the trainers room to get ready for a game there was no doubt my opinion of him changed. The man played in pain, similar to Mantle and probably used as much trainers tape on a daily basis than Mantle did but he never said a word. I think the grumpyness I saw was actually the pain he was feeling yet he went out on the field and gave it everything. I do know he had the respect of all the other players so I am sure they saw what I saw and appreciated his effort. all one needs to do is look at recent video tape of him and see that the man could not walk well and no doubt was still fighting the knee pain he endured in his playing days.
As for his missed grounder with Boston, I do have to giggle a little when I think of that. I remember Buckner and Leon Durham were fighting for the starting first base role with the Cubs in 1984 and the team decided to go with Durham and traded him to the Red Sox early in the season. OF course we know that the Cubs had an incredible year and proceeded to meet the Padres in the National League championship series but their pennant hopes were partially derailed by the fact that Leon Durham let a ground ball go through his legs which would ultimately cost the Cubs that game. I will always remember the quote from Buckner that said if he was playing first base on that team the ball would not have gotten through his legs and the Cubs would have been in the World Series. Prophetic words that that actually let Leon Durham get the last laugh on Billy Buck.
Such sad news as he was still a young man at 69 but this does bring back a flood of memories for me from my time working with the team. Rest in peace Billy Buckner. You were a hero to many.
Its all John McNamara's fault. Dave Stapleton was usually brought in late in close games as Buckner's defensive replacement, including games 1 and 5 in the WS. But for sentimental reasons, he left Buckner in the game so he could be on the field when the Sox closed out the series. Few people remember that, but McNamara was Grady Little before Grady Little was.
RIP, Billy Buck.
All is forgiven
RIP Bill
Schiraldi and Stanley are equally as responsible for that Game 6 loss. Mookie Wilson also said he would likely have beaten Buckner to the bag even if he had fielded that grounder cleanly.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Sad news. I've never heard of the condition that led to his death. Sounds terrible.
"Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a degenerative condition with many similarities to Alzheimer's disease, but it takes hold much more quickly. Dementia develops as nerve cells die or deteriorate, and doctors do not yet know what causes the condition. There is no cure for LBD, but medication can help moderate some of the symptoms. Lewy body dementia is difficult to identify, but a combination of symptoms can assist doctors in their diagnosis."
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
Way too young. I wonder how many years of his life he lost to stress of dealing with the aftermath of 1986? RIP.
RIP
Way too young...RIP
.
RIP.
Still wondering if Bill would have hopped the fence to grab Aaron's 715th home run ball had the entire Braves relief staff not been there to corral it. Would have been interesting if he saw it bouncing around in the pen and decided to go after it.
Here’s how I’ll always remember Billy Buck:
Someone wrote earlier that they worked for the Cubs and thought Billy Buck was a PITA, growing up in Chicago in that era and spending much of my misguided youth at Wrigley in the late 70’s I’ll argue that opinion. Every encounter I had with him was positive, if you want to talk about PITA on those teams you need to bring up Dave Kingman, Mike Vail, and Herman Franks. He did spend more time in the training than anyone else just preparing to play. Some will remember him for one unfortunate play, I remember him as one of the best hitters of that time. RIP
It's funny, going to Cub games as a kid, always had Buckner on my radar for an autograph but never got one. What I remember after all these years was that he seemed to spend a lot of time around trainer Tony Garafalo, talking, joking, etc. I never really put two and two together at that age....just thought they were moustache bro's or something. But with the work he was having done to him, they must have been pretty close.
sad news
RIP
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started
Yep that would have been me who mentioned he was a PITA but as I mentioned, looks, or in this case actions can be deceiving. He was a quiet guy behind the scenes and the way he carried himself could easily be seen as arrogant until you get to know him a bit. Don't get me wrong, I grew up watching Buckner and players from his era on WGN and then getting a job with the Cubs was literally like my baseball cards had come to life. Most, if not all of the other players talked to those who were in my position but Buckner just grunted as he walked by leading me to feel he was just an ass pain. But as the next few seasons moved on I found him to be quiet, accommodating and anything but an ass pain. I then realized the man was probably in pain and spent more time in the trainers room than anyone I had ever seen.
Billy Buck was a decent man and even gave me one of his bats once. HE will be missed by the baseball world.
If you worked for the Cubs in that era would you agree that Mike Vail was a world class jerk?
I don't have any good stories, just a raw card that could use an upgrade.
Kris
My 1971 Topps adventure - Davis Men in Black
You guys ever heard of the Mandella effect (googie/wiki it)? Well my wife had a perfect textbook case of it! She remembers exactly where she was (remember she's from Malden, MA...part of Greater Boston) during that infamous blunder...and she always remembered it being as the end of the Series! Until I set her straight (heck I probably know more about Red Sox (well baseball in general actually) history than she does!) and told her that actually the BoSox had another chance the very next night and, just as they did in 1975's Game 7, spotted themselves a fairly early 3-0 lead but couldn't finish the job. Just to add insult to injury, the Red Sox batter who got the final out in Game 7 of 1986 was our anniversary number (#17).
Then again, it's not like we didn't see the blunder coming:
Dimes: 54S, 53P, 50P, 49S, 45D+S, 44S, 43D, 41S, 40D+S, 39D+S, 38D+S, 37D+S, 36S, 35D+S, all 16-34's
Quarters: 52S, 47S, 46S, 40S, 39S, 38S, 37D+S, 36D+S, 35D, 34D, 32D+S
74 Topps: 37,38,46,47,48,138,151,193,210,214,223,241,256,264,268,277,289,316,435,552,570,577,592,602,610,654,655
1997 Finest silver: 115, 135, 139, 145, 310
1995 Ultra Gold Medallion Sets: Golden Prospects, HR Kings, On-Base Leaders, Power Plus, RBI Kings, Rising Stars