ED NOTE: On June 8,
2011, news came to the McCarty Metro that former Detroit Tiger and
star of game 7 of the 1968 World Series Jim Northrup passed away. He
was 71 years old.
Jim Northrup was a good outfielder who played significant percentages of his time in all three outfield positions.
In the 68 World Series, manager Mayo Smith made a bold decision and moved regular center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop to replace the weak-hitting Ray Oyler.
An excellent streak hitter and catalyst for Detroit during the 1960s, Northrup was a power hitter who had good strike-zone judgment and a short, quick stroke. In the field, he had a decent arm, a quick release and good accuracy.
Northrup led the 1968 Tigers in hits and RBIs, hit five grand slams, broke up three no-hitters, and had the game-winning triple off Bob Gibson in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series.
Northrup had his most satisfying season in 1968 as he played a key role in the Tigers’ World Series Championship. Northrup played 151 games at all three spots in the Detroit outfield in 1968, including 103 games in right field, many in place of the injured Al
Kaline. But Northrup’s principal value was as a batter. Northrup led the 1968 Tigers in hits with 153 and in RBIs with 90. He was among the American League leaders with 90 RBIs (3rd in the AL), 57 extra base hits (4th in the AL), 259 total bases (5th in the AL), and 29 doubles (5th in the
AL). Northrup also hit five grand slams during the 1968 season, four in the regular season. The first came in May. Then, on June 24, 1968, Northrup hit grand slams in consecutive at bats in the 5th and 6th innings. This made him one of only 13 players (through July 28, 2009) to have hit 2 grand slams in one game, and the first to do so in consecutive at-bats. Five days later, Northrup hit another grand slam, becoming the first major league player to hit three grand slams in a single week. (Larry Parrish later accomplished the feat in 1982.) Northrup’s fifth grand slam came in Game 6 of the 1968 World Series, fueling a 13-1 blowout win for
Detroit. In addition to his grand slam in Game 6, Northrup had the key hit in Game 7 off St. Louis Cardinals’ ace Bob Gibson. After striking out 17 batters in Game 1, and pitching a complete game victory in Game 4, Gibson held the Tigers scoreless through the first six innings of Game 7.
Northrup, who had a solo home run against Gibson in Game 4 to account for the Tigers only run off the ace thus far in the Series, came to bat with two men on and two outs in the 7th inning. Northrup hit a triple over center fielder Curt Flood’s head, as Norm Cash and Willie Horton both
scored. Bill Freehan followed with a double to score Northrup, and the Tigers won Game 7 and were World Series Champions.
Northrup played all 7 games of the 1968 World Series, with a .536 slugging percentage, 8 RBIs, 7 hits, 4 runs scored, and 2 home
runs. In a 2001 interview, Northrup concluded: “Winning the World Series had to be the highlight of my baseball
career. Northrup placed 13th in the 1968 American League Most Valuable Player voting.
In his 12-year major league career Northrup batted .267, with 153 home runs, 610 RBIs, 603 runs, 218 doubles, 42 triples, and 39 stolen bases in 1392
games.
Jim Northrup died June 8, 2011, passing away after a seizure. Longtime friend Bill Wischman said Northrup had been recently admitted to an assisted living facility in Holly, Michigan, 20 miles from his home in Highland. Northrup had been in poor health for some time and had been at the home for about a month because of Alzheimer's disease. In addition to having Alzheimer's, Northrup also battled rheumatoid arthritis for many years, Wischman said. "As ill as he was, he never complained," the friend said. Northrup is survived by his wife Patty; children
Kamil, Azaria, Jim, Paige and Kate; and seven grandchildren.
.
9323
SUSSEX
By Mike McCarty
Someone hooked
up chains to my old house, tied ‘em to a pickup, and tore down the front
wall last month. But the perp could not tear down one thing – my memories of
growing up at 9323 Sussex in Detroit.Let’s
start from the bottom up:
THE
BASEMENT: . Foot hockey games with Dad
and my brothers (which usually ended in a fight). That red-and-white tiled
floor. Creighton Ishi bumping into
the pole in the dark. He may have seen more stars than that pattern on
the wall. Famous
re-creation of wrestling matches, usually involving The Shiek. La-la-luu!
THE
KITCHEN / DINING ROOM: . Mom making fried chicken.
Give me a leg every time. Dipping bread into grease in
pans on the stove, and eating it. Hey, there were no FDA warnings. Crowded around the table. I
was one of the “big guys,” which meant I didn’t have to sit on
the piano bench. Mom and Dad serving our food,
and Dad strafing the table with the salt shaker.
MOM
AND DAD'S BEDROOM: . Don’t know much about it;
didn’t go in there.
Still the same: At least the red and white tile is.
THE
'LITTLE GUYS' BEDROOM: . Don’t know much about it, because
there was no reason to go in that first-floor room in the back of the house.
Except for when we knelt there as Mom led us in the rosary during Lent.But when we heard Dad listening to a TV hockey game in the living room,
we managed to inch closer to the door and multi-task – pray to God and
listen to the announcer.
THE
FRONT PORCH: . A tiny slab of cement, where Dad
would listen to the radio on a hot summer night. Where my brothers and I and our
friends played “Big League Manager” baseball, a game with a spinner and
cards. Each of us managed a team. (I had the Philadelphia Phillies. Go Clay
Dalrymple and Johnny Callison!) And if we were so bad that Mom was
forced to make THE CALL, we would stand on the porch – holding a bag of
clothes – waiting for a truck from the Bad Boys Home to come and pick us up
and take us away. Somehow, that truck never came. Whew!
THE
LIVING ROOM:
Laying on the carpet with my socks up against the heat register on a
cold day. (Fortunately, I have no sense of smell. Or maybe it’s the reason
I can’t smell.) Watching “Lunch With
Soupy,” “Superman,” “Fury,”
and Johnny Ginger’s “The Three Stooges” on our trusty B&W
TV. We had to go to the UHF dial to get the Red Wings and Channel 50
reporter Woody Willis. Watching and listening to Mom
play the piano – boogie-woogie, standards, you name it. Dad coughing because he
laughed so hard on the couch. One of the TV episodes that triggered it
was “Leave it to Beaver,” when Eddie Haskell became terrified on
the roller coaster.
THE
BACKYARD:
. The cherry tree, the bushes,
and the swing set with the sky scooter. D.J. taking stitches after
the scooter hit him in the nose. Words to live by: “All
cherries are good, except for the bad ones.”
THE
'BIG GUYS' BEDROOM:
A
living room window view: Snowmen were safe at 9323
The remodeled attic/barracks had two bunk beds and a “Hollywood” bed. One
bunk was mine and Dennis’ (I had the top) and the other bunk belonged to D.J.
(top) and Larry. And Rick had the single bed, which had a cheap plastic
covering on the headboard. Surely that’s how the Hollywood celebrities
slept. Showing my abdominal strength by
making a bridge with my body belly up, and seeing how many encyclopedias my
brothers could stack on it. One St. Nicholas Day, seeing
Santa’s hand throwing hard candy up the stairs at me.
.
THE McCARTY METRO
ARCHIVES
JULY 2001
.
THE
4TH OF JULY
A beautiful summer day, great food, awesome fireworks, and several injuries. All in all, it was a typical 4th of July celebration at Mom's house. Present for the annual event were Steve, Kristen & Megan, Kelly, Margaret, Austin, Brad, Chris & Chrissie, Rick, Kevin, Erin, Dennis, Ashley & Adam, and of course, the hostess with the mostess.... Jean McCarty.
The fireworks were plenty. A dazzling ground assault was provided by Rick and the aerial assault provided by Mom. Injuries were minimal, as hospital officials have upgraded the conditions of the 3 lighters from critical to just stupid.
Some notable other 4th celebrations around the country.
The Lebanon, Tennessee display hosted by Larry McCarty was a huge event. The fireworks display lasted approximately 5 minutes and finished promptly by 5:30 pm so spectators could rush home and catch Hee Haw by 6.
The Valencia, California display was a bit of a let down. Disc Jockey, Jerry McCarty, realizing no one actually purchased fireworks for the evening, proceeded to toss sparklers and flash paper in the air, while Kathlene and Dana stomped on balloons to simulate the explosions.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan fireworks made national headlines when an unidentified local newspaper columnist rode his bike to the fireworks display, crashing into the electrical detonation booth, and prompted what spectators could only describe as "a near nuclear holocaust"! Mike is now resting comfortably at home.
Kristen and Megan enjoy a
train ride with Dan Dan the Choo Choo Man. Dan Dan was waiting for
some little kid to pull his finger finger so he could make his
choo choo noise.
THE SAVAGE PAGE!
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look
like the following...
There would be: 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, and 8 Africans.
52 would be female, and 48 would be male. 70 would be nonwhite, and 30 would be white.
70 would be non-Christian, and 30 would be Christian. 89 would be heterosexual, and 11 would be homosexual.
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the US.
80 would live in substandard housing, 70 would be unable to read, 50 would suffer from malnutrition, 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth, 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education, 1 would own a computer
ED NOTE: Due to my research, these are some of the other amazing conclusions that I
found. If we could expand the McCarty's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the
following...
.
Only 10 would would think that the Steve and Kristen's "SWAMI" video
bit was funny.
. 10 would have the misfortune to be in a bike accident, then another bike accident, then back their cars over a fire hydrant, getting in another bike accident, pull their cars over a curb and park on a lawn, getting hit on the head by a hockey puck, all while writing for a city newspaper. Interesting!!!
. 100 people would think that
all LC Production videos are just too gosh darn long
. 20 would be members of the Knights of Columbus, and 10 of them like it so much that they drink there often and become Deputy Grand Knight.
.
Believe it or not, same as the world population, only 89 would still be heterosexual.
AMAZING!!!!
. 10 people would be living overseas, and would be certain that they are God's gift to the 52 females of the world.
. 80 would be, or are going, bald. (saved by Mom and DJ)
. About 30 or so do not talk to the 10 of me.
. 50 will admit they are not golfers, 40 will say they are (but can't), while only 10 ever really could golf.
. All 100 just love the McCarty Metro!
.
A
METRO PHOTO BLAST
Dennis Devine, Debbie MacDonald, Larry McCarty
BILLBOARD
TOP HIT SONGS
GUESS THE
YEAR THESE SONGS WERE HOT
.
Believe
- Cher
Every Morning - Sugar Ray
Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
All Star - Smash Mouth
That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain
In the
cartoon series "The Flintstones", the Stone Age setting allowed for gags and word plays involving rocks and minerals. For example,
travel to "Hollyrock," a parody of Hollywood, usually involves an "airplane" flight — the "plane," in this case, is often shown as a giant pterosaur. The last names "Flintstone" and "Rubble", as well as other common Bedrock surnames such as "Shale" and "Quartz", are in line with these puns. So are the names of Bedrock's celebrities:
Cary Granite (Cary Grant), Stony Curtis (Tony Curtis),
Ed Sulleystone (Ed Sullivan), Ann-Margrock (Ann-Margret),
Foot hockey games with Dad
and my brothers (which usually ended in a fight).
The Lebanon, Tennessee display hosted by Larry McCarty was a huge event. The fireworks display lasted approximately 5 minutes and finished promptly by 5:30 pm so spectators could rush home and catch Hee Haw by 6.
Only 10 would would think that the Steve and Kristen's "SWAMI" video
bit was funny. 
