You don’t get involved in something that takes up four years of your life without some funny, wacky things happening. This is one of those stories, and I swear, it’s 100% true! When I first started my”Why The Hall Not” campaign for Whitey in 1991, he sent me a note. It basically said he appreciated my effort on his behalf, and obviously he couldn’t get personally involved. He closed the note by saying he hoped I wasn’t wasting my time, but he did think I was ” beating a dead horse”. In other words, it was a lost cause. Rich Westcott, the publisher of Phillies Report, was kind enough to offer me a free ad, in his publication. Seeing I had no money for advertising (my campaign was as low budget as you could get), I jumped at the chance. I had a friend who had a horse farm in Delaware County, raising miniature ponies, about the size of a Great Dane. I had this brilliant idea, that I would slap a “Why The Hall Not” bumper sticker on the side of this little pony, and use the photo with a headline reading “This Horse Ain’t Dead Yet”, then give the reasons why Whitey belonged in the Hall. The day the ad printed I was going to go down to the Vet to see Whitey and Harry in the broadcast booth. Before I left home, my friend called in a panic. He asked if the ad was printed? I proudly said yes. He said I’ve got bad news. The horse ( ironically enough named Lucky), had gotten out of the barn in the middle of the night, fell into the swimming pool and drowned. I asked my friend if he could get me a few of Lucky’s little horse shoes. I picked up the shoes, and headed to the stadium. When I got up to the booth, about an hour before game time, Harry & Whitey were there. I showed them the ad, and they both rolled laughing, Whitey knew I used his line. Then I told them about Lucky, and we were in fact “beating a dead horse”. I threw Lucky’s little shoes up on the counter, and I thought Harry was going to pee himself. “Hard to Believe Harry”, but absolutely true……………..jim d.
The Ballad of Lucky the Horse
First Interview Tonight !!
I just got back from the first interview for the book. It will air tonight on CBS 3 at 11:30. Beasley Reece did the interview for CBS 3 SportsZone, and was a very nice guy. I also want to thank everyone who stopped by my booth in Media, Pa today. Everyone seems to be interested in the book, hopefully it won’t disappoint. The Phils are back in town starting tomorrow for 10 games, so I’ll be posting when I can………………jimmy d.
TV Interview Sunday Night (6/5/2011)
Here’s two items you many find of interest. This Sunday June 5 I’ll be at the Media Art Festival in Media, Pa. from 9AM until 4PM I’ll be set up right on State Street, not far from the legendary Plumstead Inn ( a favorite watering-hole of Harry the K and Tug McGraw ) I’ll have some original photographs from Cooperstown, and other great Phillies items. After I leave Media, I’m headed into Philly to do an interview for the book with SportsZone on CBS 3. The interview will air at 11:35 Sunday night. Check to see where CBS 3 is on your cable system. It looks like the book will be in stores and available online in about two weeks. Thanks to everyone, for your kind sentiments……….jimmy d.
This is a " Why The Hall Not ? " promo I made back in 1991
The Autograph (July 20,1957)
There was nothing extraordinary about the Phillies in 1957. They did have two good rookies in first baseman Ed Bouchee and pitcher Jack Sanford. Sanford won the Rookie of the Year award, and Bouchee came in second that year. It was also the year the Phils broke the color barrier, eleven years after the Dodgers and Jackie Robinson. If you were a Phils fan back then, your choice for a star player was either ace pitcher Robin Roberts…..or the speedy hitting machine, centerfielder…Richie Ashburn. I was an Ashburn fan. My first game at Connie Mack Stadium to see the ” Fightin’s ” live was July 20, 1957. Before the game started my Dad, with my brothers and me in tow, got us down near the Phils dugout. With an autograph book, that I had bought at Woolworth’s the day before, I got my first autograph…….Richie Ashburn. The whole experience lasted all of about a minute, but to a young fan it was an event that would impact my life some 34 years later. As it turns out, it also impacted the life of my hero Richie Ashburn. I’ve included a picture of that first meeting between me and Richie back in 1957. I’ll be posting more stories, photos and more soon…………………..jim donahue
That's me facing the camera and Whitey 1957
Richie Ashsburn…why the hall not? ….(the beginning )
As you may know, the book about my campaign to reinstate Rich Ashburn back on the Hall of Fame ballot, and his eventual election to the Hall will be out mid-June. I’ll be posting stories, anecdotes, and updates concerning book signings, as the summer progresses. Let me just say at the outset. I’m not a writer. I’ m just an average baseball fan, and I was as a kid, a giant fan of Richie Ashburn the ballplayer. As an adult, I was a giant fan of Rich Ashburn the writer and broadcaster. Quite often in life, you create an image of a person, whether they’re a celebrity, actor, athlete, etc. and then you get a chance to meet that person, and it’s disappointing. Let me assure you of this……Rich Ashburn always was the real deal. He was always the same genuine, funny, unpretentious guy you knew on television and radio. At the beginning of my campaign to get Whitey back on the Hall of Fame ballot, I didn’t know Whitey, I didn’t know anyone at the Phillies, or at the Hall of Fame, or anyone in the media. If there was ever a poster boy for failure it was me. Through it all, I never lost track of one thing. Whitey was a Hall of Famer !! He had all the stats, it was just making the HOF voters see what all of Whitey’s many, many fans already knew. My next post will be about my first meeting with Rich, when I was eight, at Connie Mack Stadium. Thanks for reading, and keep checking in ! I’ve inserted a photo I took in Cooperstown on Whitey’s induction day. He often said, it was one of the happiest days of his life…………………….jim donahue
Richie Ashburn: Why The Hall Not? book 