WOW ... how times have changed!
384292611.jpg)
Dboneesq
Posts: 18,219 ✭✭
...................Taken from DEADSPIN.COM.....................
Here's Willie Mays, MVP, Eating Breakfast In His Little Apartment
In 1954, Willie Mays was 23 years old. That year he hit 41 home runs, had a .345 average, and was the National League MVP. And here he is, at his rented apartment in a Harlem walk-up with his landlady, one Mrs. Goosby, looking protectively over his shoulder as he eats.
So, to repeat: National League MVP. Tiny walk-up rental in Harlem, complete with a stunning brick-wall view.
Jayson Werth (to choose one random very, very highly paid contemporary ballplayer) will make $16,000,000 this year.
Just putting it out there.
Here's Willie Mays, MVP, Eating Breakfast In His Little Apartment
In 1954, Willie Mays was 23 years old. That year he hit 41 home runs, had a .345 average, and was the National League MVP. And here he is, at his rented apartment in a Harlem walk-up with his landlady, one Mrs. Goosby, looking protectively over his shoulder as he eats.
So, to repeat: National League MVP. Tiny walk-up rental in Harlem, complete with a stunning brick-wall view.
Jayson Werth (to choose one random very, very highly paid contemporary ballplayer) will make $16,000,000 this year.
Just putting it out there.
STAY HEALTHY!
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
0
Comments
What about the picture (if someone could post it) of Willie Mays playing stickball in street with kids. I think that was after a World Series game.
Would any of todays ball players do such a thing......
email bcmiller7@comcast.net
Funny to me that "When it was a Game" they were more professional and respectful of the game
Now that it's more of a "Profession" they treat it like a Game...and as if we're all lucky that they bless us with their talents for the low, low price of millions/year
I still love my sports, but I've lost most my love for most modern players. Fortunately, there are still a few old-schoolers, thank goodness.
As I heard the other day on ESPN...paraphrased...
Players today will celebrate as much or more for a deflected pass in the first quarter, than the old-timers did after winning a Championship.
Make Mine Vintage!
<< <i>A friend told me when he was growing up in the late 60's, he would see Oakland A's players around town in Alameda, about 10 minutes away from the ballpark. Players like Mike Hershberger and Bert Campaneris would see him with his cap on, and offer him a ride to the game! The separation between players and fans was almost nonexistent in the not too distant past. >>
Even as recently as the late 70s there was little separation. My wife's uncle is a die-hard Giants fan, and grew up around the team's wretched 70s. Tickets were dirt cheap and as a kid he'd head over to the 'Stick after school and see the games. Afterwards, he and his friends would often go down to the player's entrance and be granted access to the clubhouse to meet the players and eat any food that was still on on the spread.
WTB: 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longevity: Ryan Jensen #/25
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle
<< <i>Players today will celebrate as much or more for a deflected pass in the first quarter, than the old-timers did after winning a Championship. >>
You sure about that?
<< <i>
Players today will celebrate as much or more for a deflected pass in the first quarter, than the old-timers did after winning a Championship.
>>
That's the common refrain, as people tend to overly romanticize the supposed "good ole days" but they just aren't true. What is true is you have vastly more media coverage of all sports now than they ever did back in the day, so you get to see each and every outburst.
<< <i>
<< <i>
Players today will celebrate as much or more for a deflected pass in the first quarter, than the old-timers did after winning a Championship.
>>
That's the common refrain, as people tend to overly romanticize the supposed "good ole days" but they just aren't true. What is true is you have vastly more media coverage of all sports now than they ever did back in the day, so you get to see each and every outburst. >>
I agree 100%.
Not to change the subject, but the same is, inaccurately, said about society in general. There were just as many, if not more murderors, rapists, etc in the "good ol days" as there are now. The difference is simply that anything that happens in any part of the world is now common knowledge to everybody. If news/technology was the same in the "good ol days" as it is now......I would bet some serious cash that things were worse.
Just my opinion of course.
<< <i>That could be a reason, another could be the fact that, even though he was a superstar admired by millions, he still had a very difficult time buying a house in most neighborhoods in San Francisco. Which is very disturbing, considering the way San Francisco has prided itself as a cradle for tolerance and liberalism. >>
I just finished reading a Willie Mays biography and you are totally incorrect. He had trouble buying a house in ONE neighborhood, a fairly large (for the time) uproar developed in support of Willie, he was offered homes in several other equally upscale areas, and eventually got the house he originally wanted.
"Willie's Time" was so much better.
DaveB in St.Louis
Players today will celebrate as much or more for a deflected pass in the first quarter, than the old-timers did after winning a Championship.
>> I agree with this 100% because it is true.
That's the common refrain, as people tend to overly romanticize the supposed "good ole days" but they just aren't true. What is true is you have vastly more media coverage of all sports now than they ever did back in the day, so you get to see each and every outburst.
I never saw Drew Pearson or Lynn Swann or Fred Biletnikoff run 10 yards down field, bend down and make his own first down wave after catching a 3 yard pass in the first quarter of a 0 - 0 game.
Do you remember Deacon Jones or Dick Butkus or Merlin Olsen sacking a quarterback and then dancing around quaking their legs while the quarterback was slow to get up?
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.
<< <i>Another thing, not that its better this way but there is no way in hell youd have ever had a QB like RG3, Wilson, Kapernick back in the sixties and seventies. They would have been mauled! Probably wouldnt make it through half of one season. >>
I don't think thus is accurate. RG3 is bigger than most linemen who played during that era and possesses the same athletic talent and ability that any other player who succeeded back then at the NFL level as well. Players with that kind of ability are going to thrive and adapt to whatever the playing field around them consusts of. It's easy to romanticize the players of the past but the players of the present are just as talented, if not more so, due to advances in training and conditioning.
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.
<< <i>I dont think players today know what real pressure is. Just an opinion of course. Hard to feel bad for a pro athelete that has a contract that states he gets his money no matter what. >>
You think that's honestly true?
Today's athletes, especially superstars, are under 24 hour a day scrutiny; they have unending media coverage peering into every parts of their lives; they have social media where anonymous fans are free to bash them at every turn; they have multiple, 24 hour a day media outlets more than happy to throw them on the fire if it means ratings.
No, if anything, today's athletes are under infinitely MORE pressure than ever.
<< <i>Another thing, not that its better this way but there is no way in hell youd have ever had a QB like RG3, Wilson, Kapernick back in the sixties and seventies. They would have been mauled! Probably wouldnt make it through half of one season. >>
No, the reason would be that minorities were never given a chance to be a quarterback in the 60s and 70s. In addition, you don't think Kaepernick, at 6'4", 230 lbs, and unbelievable fast wouldn't have made it? Give me a break. Dick Butkus played 6'3", 245, so I think that Kaep would have had no problems whatsoever.
1985fan,
Yes I dont believe that players today know what real pressure is, they dont stress about what normal people stress about. 24/7 scrutiny doesnt change the fact that there childrens grand children never have to work if they dont want to! These guys are playing a game and getting paid crazy money to do it, yes I know the league has a minimum and not every player makes big big dollars but do you really think the bulk of them give a crap what you or I think of them. Yes they get thrown under the bus then they jump in there 200,000.00 dollar car and drive to there 45 room house CMON! Most of there problems come from them being spoiled and just plain stupid.
<< <i>Yes I dont believe that players today know what real pressure is, they dont stress about what normal people stress about. 24/7 scrutiny doesnt change the fact that there childrens grand children never have to work if they dont want to! >>
None of us have to work if we don't want to. For children and grand children of NFL players, that has little to do with their income they earned from playing. Average NFL salary is $2 million. Average career length is four years. If they have just one child and one grand child, that means the money from their NFL career does provide about $25 000 per year for each of them after taxes. That is pretty good (though I wonder how much inflation will take out of that by the time the grand kids are working age)
But it does mean there is a lot of pressure on them to reach that average level. For everyone who exceeds that average salary and career length how many will fall short?
I will prerequisite this by saying that there ARE players who were/are so talented that the era would not matter.
Here is an example----RG3 would have an equal or better chance of succeeding in the 60s with their rules. He is in better physical condition than any qb who played in that era, and more physically talented than anyone who played the qb position at that time.
Lets flip the coin now....would Lambert, Butkis etc be in the hall of fame today if they had to rely on their talents alone in todays nfl? How good would Lambert be today in a league where you cannot touch the qb?
How dominant would a Ronnie Lott be with todays rules? How many great corners from the 60s and 70s could not even play in the league with todays rules?
The argument goes both ways. I say there are a lot of players from that time period who could not even be practice squad players in todays league. In the 60s and 70s you could be a hof player if you were good at hurting other players.....not today.
My question for you is why does RG3 get the advantages of todays modern advancements in training and players of the 60's and 70's dont when you make the comparison. Do you believe that elite players from that era wouldnt train the way players today do if given the equipment, supplements and advantages they have now? Of course he is in better condition he's never had to have a real job in the off season!
<< <i>Ive worked at my current profession for 19 years and had a salary of 19K to start and its at 75K now. The stress of my everyday life during those 19 years would have been greatly offset if I had a wage even double that let alone what these guys make. >>
And what would your stress of everyday life be if your salary was triple, but your job security was only one-fifth as strong?
<< <i>Black00SS,
My question for you is why does RG3 get the advantages of todays modern advancements in training and players of the 60's and 70's dont when you make the comparison. Do you believe that elite players from that era wouldnt train the way players today do if given the equipment, supplements and advantages they have now? Of course he is in better condition he's never had to have a real job in the off season! >>
Ill answer that with a question. Why do the players of the old days get the advantage of no holds barred rules when you make the comparison?
You said RG3 would get killed if he played in that era. I am saying players from that era would not make it in the nfl today as well with the rules/conditions as they are.
RG3 is a great athlete I wouldnt never argue anything other than that but to say he'd run over Dick Butkis back in the sixties is a little much dont you think. If Dick Butkis was given every advantage that RG3 was given as far as conditioning and modern pharmiciticuls are you telling me that he'd play at 250ilbs?
<< <i>So your saying that not being able to hit a QB is harder than being able to? You said in a prior post that Lambert wouldnt be the same if he couldnt hit the QB like he could but he still has to get to him to hit him right? I dont understand your point about the rules. Are you saying that football is more physical now than it was then? I'll give you that its a faster game but you also have to take into consideration things like the field conditions players today play on manicured fields not the mess of the sixties and seventies. The rules also keeps players from being as physical as they would be if they wernt in place alowing RG3 and others to run all over the place. How often do you see a QB get bumped or shoved or take a hit and get up and wine and moan asking wheres the flag?? I havent even gotten into the rules in place now to allow for the crazy offensive stats that people love these days.
RG3 is a great athlete I wouldnt never argue anything other than that but to say he'd run over Dick Butkis back in the sixties is a little much dont you think. If Dick Butkis was given every advantage that RG3 was given as far as conditioning and modern pharmiciticuls are you telling me that he'd play at 250ilbs? >>
Come on man, in the 60's and 70's you could launch yourself at a defenseless receiver, and clothesline him over the middle......kinds of takes the athletic talent out of the equation. You could be the best route-runner in the NFL, and have your career ended in the blink of an eye. Average at best players were regarded as "legends" in those days because they could make up for a lack of talent by head-hunting. How many of these players built their careers on things that are illegal in todays league? The head slap, the clothesline, launching, etc. etc. etc.
As far as quarterbacks go, in the 60's and 70's you could come off the edge and blindside the quarterback 5 seconds after he threw the ball down the field. Are you saying this did not effect the game? I think a QB/receiver would be a little more cautious/jumpy, etc. knowing the defense is literally allowed to try and decapitate them on every play.
Now, I ask you again.....would Jack Lambert be one of the most dominating players in the league TODAY if we were to put him in a time machine and line him up this Sunday, with the rules as they are and the speed as it is? Would RG3 have just as good of a chance at surviving in the league as Terry Bradshaw if we put him in a time machine TODAY and transported him to the late 70's? He would be "targeted" in that time period for sure, as all good players were.
Also, I never said RG3 would run over Dick Butkis. You said he would not survive in the 70's.....I said with his superior conditioning, he would have just as good of a chance as player who's training was a case of beer before kickoff. The same is not true if you took a 1970's player AS THEY WERE and lined them up this week in the NFL. The players would run circles around them, and when they resorted to trying to injure the other players, they would be suspended and fined.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
<< <i>You continue to argue that todays players are just bigger and stronger without allowing that a great athlete in any era would take advantage of the advantages available to them to get bigger or stronger. I ALSO never said that RG3 COULDNT QB in the 60's all I said was he couldnt be the same QB. If you give the greats of this era there due and say they could play at any time in history why wouldnt you do the same for the greats of the past. My first posts on this thread where about how the game has changed and how it was differnt from the game I saw growing up. I never intended this to evolve into which generation had the better player's argument because CMON MAN!!!!!..... wouldnt you agree that you have to take the greats of the game and compare them on how they played against there peers and account for the differnces in rules, conditions and evolution of the game. No need to get upset I'm just a fan that liked the game better 25 years ago although that doesnt keep me from being glued to my couch on Sundays. >>
Not arguing, or upset at all. I do believe it was you that started with the "RG3 would get mauled, and not last 1/2 of a season" argument. You do make a good point however, all we can do is compare the athletes to their peers, account for the differences in rules, conditions, and evolution of the game. We also have to compare how scrutinized the players of today are, and how their every move in monitored. Players back in the day could do whatever they wanted, and not have it on the front page of the NY times the next morning.
Players were not followed around by news media, journalists, they were not drug tested, its no wonder they were more willing to be more "people friendly" in those days. With the amount of money the NFL is making, I think the players are paid what they should be paid. Sports is one business where the WORKERS actually reap the same benefits as the pencil pushers as far as pay goes. Do you honestly believe Tom Brady should only make 100,000.00 a year, when the team is making money selling his name on jerseys, his pictures, and he is putting 75,000 fans in the stadium every week?
Lets be honest here too.....I don't think Jack Lambert was bagging groceries in the offseason. The average salary in the NFL in 1975 was 56,000.00 which is over 250,000 in todays dollars. Bradshaw made nearly 400,000 a year which is about 3.2 million a year in today's dollars.
Not a bad living in the 70's either....
<< <i>HOLY CRAP ... and it all began by showing where Willie lived due to the lack of players sharing in the money that the owners made. LOL >>
Probably politically incorrect to say this but I'm never running for offer so what the say hey....
The players were better off on the plantation. They were well taken care of and not put under
the stress of players today. Travel was easier to manage, and life was simpler.
If this sounds a lot like slavery... that's because it was.
DaveB in St.Louis
No, it wasn't. Not even close. What it was, was a restricted market run by rich owners, operated like a country club, where membership had to be approved by all the other members.
Plus if RG3 was a QB back in the seventies he'd be on TV selling cigarettes not those five dollar foot longs! C'mon man you gotta give me that one. He would have more than likely trained the same way Lambert, joe Greene, Harris and every one else did.
<< <i>I agree with you on the media comment as well although I don't see how that causes undo stress on a man making 10 million a year. Nowadays any press is good press because it just sells more jerseys and gets them more endorsements anyhow. Players were more inclined to be protected by writers back then cause they seemed to be closer and now they can't wait to write negative crap. >>
You're kidding, right? You don't see how having your name trashed in the media would cause you stress, regardless of salary? For example, you think it was easy for Kobe to face those rape allegations, with every media outlet in the country doing all they could to get in his face and try to get him to break? You think that press was 'good press'? You think it sold jerseys and endorsements?
Grace came a few times, Sosa before he got big, but almost always Randy Meyers (who would ride a 3-wheel bicycle as he knew he'd get pickled). They were all nice and down to earth to us, but were generally suspicious of people who approached them (i.e. men). Love the Mays pic!
Bosox1976
America's have very short attention spans if you haven't noticed, has Kobe suffered because if that issue much, NO he's still loved still talked about as one of the best ever and YES his jersey still sells. The youth in America just think he's cool. More of a statement about society today than anything else.
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.