Comments by "Itinerant Patriot" (@itinerantpatriot1196) on "4 Pro Sports Teams that barely existed..." video.

  1. I remember the Seattle Pilots for one reason. Joe Sparma, a starting pitcher for my team, the Detroit Tigers, carried a no-hitter against them into the ninth inning. He gave up a hit and that was the end of that but the game was carried by the local station and would have been the first no-hitter I had seen, on TV or anywhere. Joe was known for being wild and I don't recall how many walks he gave up but he came close. Staying with the Detroit theme, who could forget the Detroit Wheels of the old WFL. They were bad even by WFL standards of the day. They were so bad the group of 32 owners gave up about midway through their one season in 1974 and the league took them over, charging each other franchise $60,000 to cover their expenses. They finally folded with six games remaining and held a draft for any team that wanted any of the players. I think maybe six guys got picked up by the other clubs. Interestingly, Mike Illitch, Little Caesar pizza magnate and future owner of the Red Wings and Tigers was part of the original Wheels ownership group, his first foray into professional sports. One thing, the Wheels made people feel a little bit better about the Lions. Not much, but a little.
    6
  2.  @johnwhite5485  You were there??? That's awesome! That Tiger team was the team of my youth, the team that made me fall in love with the game. You're the first person I have, well kinda met, who remembers that game. Not even my friends do. Way cool! Thanks for getting back to me. Old Joe was a bit on the wild side. Former starting QB for the OSU Buckeye's, but we didn't hold that against him once he was a Tiger. He started the pennant clinching game in 68, but he didn't get along with the manager Mayo Smith so Smith basically benched him for the World Series that year. He died young, heart problems. Sad end really. But he did get a ring. The good old Pilots. I imagine I had a few baseball cards from that team, I bought a lot of packs trying to complete my Tiger collection as well as the collectables from the 68 Series. Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA, Denny McClain's 31-6 record, Mickey Lolich pitching three complete games in the Series, beating Gibson in Game 7, the year of the pitcher. Way cool.
    2
  3.  @johnwhite5485  Indeed I do. Mickey Lolich jumping into Bill Freehan's arm at the end, even Gibson striking out 17 of the local heroes in Game 1. The riots of 67 did a number on the city, the Tigers brought us together in 68. What a time. I remember thinking at the time that Seattle got jobbed after only one season. I was happy when you got the Mariners. Ken Griffey Jr. What a stud. He went off on Sparky Anderson in 1990 for intentionally walking him one series damn near every time he came to the plate. They kissed and made up later. Sparky had a real soft-spot for the kid, considering he was always hanging around the clubhouse of the Big Red Machine. Best of luck this season, unless it's against us.
    1