From The 15 Vault – Even More Little-Known Beantown (and Foxborough) Sports Facts!

 (Originally published June 3, 2020)

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Were it not for a rat inside the left field ‘monster’ wall, NBC’s camera might not have captured Carlton Fisk waving his famed home run fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the World Series in 1975!

Bruins player Mike Milbury once went into the stands, and beat a fan with his own shoe!

The Boston Marathon was first run in April 1897, and has never had to be cancelled!

Robert Kraft was once a co-owner of the Boston Lobsters franchise in World TeamTennis!

Wade Boggs was an avowed fan of poultry, specifically chicken!

Brockton calls itself ‘The City of Champions!’

Game On! is a little hole in the wall type of pub at Fenway with a speakeasy kind of vibe.

The Old Boston Garden had numerous ‘obstructed view’ seats, from which seeing the entire playing area was quite difficult!

NFL veteran head coach Duane Charles “Bill” Parcells did not provide respectability for the New England Patriots franchise upon his hiring!

Bruins standout Cam Neely once got a bunch of goals in a certain number of games on a bum leg, caller!

Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek caught four no-hitters!

Hundreds of college hockey fans were stranded at the Old Boston Garden during the 1978 Beanpot tourney because of a blizzard!

Celtics player Cedric Maxwell actually was rarely called Cedric. Most people called him “Corn”!

Ted Williams was not voted the American League Most Valuable player in 1941, despite hitting .406!

PV = nRT!

Boston Beer Company honcho Jim Koch stated in a radio interview that he thought Tom Brady should just accept his four game suspension from “Deflategate!” What an asshole!

In 1972, daredevil Evel Knievel jumped his motorcycle over the big bridge connecting New Hampshire & Maine!

When with the Red Sox, pitcher Roger ‘Rocket’ Clemens twice struck out a record twenty batters in a nine-inning game!

Jesus Saves, but Esposito scores on the rebound!

The Ted Williams Tunnel is in fact named after the Splendid Splinter!

The Boston Patriots played their home games one season at Harvard Stadium!

Cambridge Rindge and Latin basketball phenom Patrick Ewing was never going to play for Boston College, stupid!

The Head of the Charles Regatta started all the way back in 1965!

In 1986 Wade Boggs once injured himself trying to remove his cowboy boots!

During WWII, future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy proved himself an accomplished swimmer! His younger brother Edward in 1969; not so much!

Prior to the 21st century, Beantown was so victory-starved, they held a parade for former Bruin Ray Bourque, who won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche! Sad!

In 1982, prizefighting middleweight Marvin Nathaniel Hagler legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler!

A power failure occurred at the Old Boston Garden during the 1988 Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and the eventual champion Edmonton Oilers!

Natick excels at being unsporting – just ask Framingham!

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick owns a boat which he renamed VIII Rings after winning Super Bowl LIII!

Chuck Connors, TV’s “The Rifleman” played 53 games for the Boston Celtics!

You can trace a direct line in left field at Fenway from Ted to Yaz to Rice to Greeny, then a JAG or two to Manny, to a whole bunch of other JAG’s to Benny!

Follow Mr. Darden at @StdSportswriter on Twitter.

Books

2022 Memorial Day Weekend Mixtape Playlist

Good pliability and sand in pants, toe gription needs work.

(Dear The15net dot com Wicked Pissah Beantown Chowderheads Platinum Elite Members; Here is the now-traditional musical playlist for your Memorial Day enjoyment. Click HERE to download.)

Psychosomatic Killer – Talking hEDS

Where’s the Glory, Trevor Story? – Bandbox

Isn’t Us England – Drive Shaft

If You’re Ever Down in Texas, Look Me Up – Chica Venezuela Diecinueve

We Got You Babe- Tony Bono & Share

Not if You Were the Last Referee On Earth – The Andy Mikehols

Can’t Escape (The Penis Coolata Song) – Josh Duncan and the Antoinettes

Sale Setback Blues – Turkeypie Jefferson

I Touch Myself – DiTurtyles (Explicit Wanker Spanker version)

M.A.G.A. – Franklin Village People

Boat Drinks? – Snoopy J. Buffett (Keno Multiplier Mix)

You Dropped a Bomb on Media Mike – The GAP Insurance Band

Early Morning Drag – Gunther Lightfoot

Strange Crew – the15

Mysterious Wamps – Achtung Braintree (And Yet U2 Follow cover band, Stephen Bono acapella version)

Anarchy in Fwamingham – The Matt Pistols

Peter Puffer – Run T.E.C.

(I Don’t Deserve) Lithium – Carvana

The Second to Last Thing I Saw – Caporegime Cody and the Ten Consecutive Titals

Werewolves Of Lynn Tech – Vinnie Zevon

In Sports Anthem – lmao

Shukri’s Q – Beantown Dirtywater Revival

Taut, Hot, and 19 – Bertie B.

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town Giving Milk to Layabouts Who Don’t Have $2.99 Left On Their EBT Card – Government Cheese

Jambalaya – Three Cone Drill

“Don’t Stand so Close to Steve (In school zones) – The Police

Amber Tamblyn Man – The Crossmen

She’s from Peabody – Toby Peabs

Wedding Song (There is Love) – Stidhsy & Kennedy

Yer Electric Car (It Runs on Coal) – Ron Muskmelon Caramount

You’re The Cream in my Coffee, Babe – Nashua King Cole

Lucy In Disguise (With Funbags) – Cam D. Scapp and his Onlyfans Band

Ganger’s Paradise – Hathaway

I Wouldn’t Buy a Used Car From Steve – Norma Jean

Generic Aviators – ZayinZayin Top

Shukri (not) Christian – Night Rangers Fan

Where the Streets Have No Name, Except for Hillside Drive – The Other Bono

G.A.P. – Naughty by Stever

F Left 372 Y Stick Z Spot – Scatter to West Right Tight

Sorry Mr. Kent Jackson – OutKast Chat

Amazing Football Brain – BTS

Visualization Of The Space Mind Gargamel XIX: Gasper Wears Capri Pants – Dero Spedes

Manic Monday – The Marionettes

The Tears of a Clown/Tunnel Closure Blues – Lil Jerry Thornton

Muffin Man – Frank Zappa

Newsbunny Main Theme – Michael Giacchino, composer

A Room of My Own (Stay out) – Roger Joel

Deeds – Teejay

Benny and the Hurds – Road Crew

(Have a song suggestion? Or a compliment? Leave it in the comments!)

From The15 Vault – 2020 Memorial Day Playlist

(Originally Published May 23, 2020) 

New Normal?

(Dear BJBSJ Wicked Pissah Beantown Chowderheads Platinum Elite Members; Here is a musical playlist for your Memorial Day enjoyment. Click HERE to download. Songs to enjoy as you stay six feet apart and not on the dunes. Suggestions for a third disk are welcomed.)

Disk One:

1.Lucille/The Girl Can’t Help It – Little Richard (Live in Boston 1970)

2. Use Me – Bill Withers

3. Chinese Duplicity – Dry Coughing

4. You Are What Your Record Says You Are – The Silverized Tracksuits

5. A Wee Dram of Vacation – The Irish Rovers

6. Cowboy From New Canaan – Kelbo Thompkins and the 200 Line

7. Ghost/Tosser – The Erhardt/Perkins Progression

8.Leaving Las Vegas – The Dearly Bedarded

9. Social Distance Dance – Men Without Masks

10. Kites To Kevin – MCLC

11. Grandma Got Run Over By a Jeeple – JimBot01960

12. Can’t Exceed the CBT Blues – The Baseball Paperists

13. The Belichick, The – Sideshow Ben

14. For Carl It’s Worth It – Buffalo2Springfield

15. When I’m Small – Phantogram

16. For Your Muff – The Yardale Birds

17. The Ballad of Tom And Yoko – The Tompa Baytles

18. Brianna’s Mom – Fountains of Dave

19. You’re Here To See Me – Joe West Coast

20. [S]he got game – Ty Tell9ine with W.A. Brown

21. Sunshine (Is the Best Disinfectant) – The Goodman Orange Project

22. Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles

Disc Two:

23. Unsirius (Boston Sports Journal Entrance Music) – Casio SK1 Ensemble

24. Pasta88 – Jackie Brenston and the Good Kids

25. Brown’s Sugars – the Golan Stones

26. Ice Ain’t Lit – Vlad Ducasse Reporting As Eligible

27. Lucille – Kenny Rogers

28. Was Daily Now Weekly – The Sad Onions

29. COVID Bug Killed the Culinary Star – Jenny & the Krylonettes

30. Mister Postman – The Sals

31. America (Wasn’t Built To Be Shut Down) – Ron Muskmelon Catamount

32. Literally Crying (Johnny Pesky) – Gabs and the Starfish

33. Chess King Calculus – Gord Marley and The Whalers

34. Oh Tawm (You’re Out) – Fictional Friction

35. Turtle Turtle Black Thumbs Up – No Consequence

36. Who’s Ducking Who? – Kyrie and the Flat Earth Warriors

37. Instant Tattoo Analysis – The Ol’ 97 Percenters

38. Zoinks! – The Plain Black Hats

39. Visualization Of The Space Mind Gargamel: An Abundance of Caution – Dero Spedes

40. YYZ – Rush

41. TB12’s Travelling Pliability Show – Joe “Ol’ Foot Locker” McBanjodick

42. When You’re Smiling – Eddie Peabody

A trans-WordPress cooperative collaboration with BSMW.net, who had it first before we had it first.

Intern-al Poll #2

Some people prefer cupcakes more.

Salutations! We are the Summer Interns of the15net dot com! Some of us are new, some are holdovers from the 2021-22 academic year. Mr. Scartelli and a goodly number of the 15 insisted we “stop being testaments to uselessness” so we will be running occasional polls this summer. So without further ado:

Should the song, ‘Muffin Man’ by Frank Zappa be included on the 2022 Memorial Day Mixtape Playlist?

05/25/22 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Upton, MA

Upton Bell still Call the holiday Decoration Day. Admiral Dewey Once gave Bert Bell a Commendation For bravery. Bert Bell is Upton’s father.

Last longer, Johnny Depp trial!

Jason Tatum is First Team All-NBA for no other reason than there can’t be 2 players from the same position on the All-NBA team.

Don’t look now, but your Big Swingin’ Red Sox have crept within only ten games out of first place!

Daniel Theis looks like he’s from Malden.

Cakes are cooking for Mike Myers, Stefka Kostadinova, Bill Haselman, Ruthie Bolton, Natalie Schneyder, Cillian Murphy, Brian Urlacher, and Aly Raisman.

Uodate: Emergency cake cooking for The Great Kid David Pastrňák as well.

Blue horseshoe loves crypto.

Get well soon, torn ACL Connecticut Sun lady.

If you had picked legendary baseball writer Roger Angell in the 2022 Death Pool, it would have penalized you a point when he died at the age of 101. Why would you have done that?

The Heat gamin’ the system??

I’m genuinely excited to buy brand new cologne today. Like no kidding I can’t wait. I’m a grown man excited to just being able to buy myself cologne and smell even better. I’m just weird, I don’t know, but I’m pumped.

Pro Tip: You can add periods to your Gmail address for cosmetic spacing purposes. You’ll still receive the emails as normal.

Yes, yes, Early Voting- Epicenter-Creative Minister was the W/P/S at the Preakness Stakes. But why is it called that?

News Item: Subway’s sweet onion sauce has been discontinued.

Hey gang that is part of an organized team, this week’s Phrase that pays is “Months. Away.”

Got a flyer in the mail for a new restaurant advertising a Sunday ‘Bottomless Brunch.’ That sounds exclusionary at best, and a hate crime at worst.

American Honda will voluntarily recall 4,346 Honda Accord (2021), CR-V (2021-2022), Insight (2022) and Ridgeline (2021) vehicles in the United States to replace the rear center seat belt assembly, for free. Certain incorrectly manufactured rear center seat belt assemblies may not allow activation of the automatic locking retractor function required to install certain child safety seats, potentially increasing the risk of injury to occupants in a crash. Honda has not received any report of injury related to this issue, which was discovered during quality inspections at a Honda factory.

You got this, Steven Tyler.

I remember – date and time
September 22nd Sunday twenty-five after nine
In the doorway
With your case
No longer shouting at each other
There were tears on our faces.

I know! I’ll use a picture of Rick and/or Morty to illustrate my excellent point! Look at me; I’m hashtagging!

A. Route One is 2369 miles in length.

Orange Line: Delays of up to 15 minutes due to police activity at Wellington. Trains may be asked to stand by at stations.

I’m hearing that koala medicine treats monkeypox.

Pittsburgh native and #Eagles VP of Player Personnel Andy Wiedl is slated to be named #Steelers’ new assistant GM, multiple sources around the league tell me. That means signs point to longtime Steelers exec Omar Khan emerging as winner of the search to replace Kevin Colbert.

A gut check match is on tap for the Revs versus Philadelphia Union, who sit atop Conference East.

Honk if you remember Razcal Soda.

“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” — Joseph Conrad

Please consider contributing to Chad Finn’s ‘Donruss to Donbas’ charitable endeavor.

I am also questionable for Game 5.

Move over, Dick Clark—Big Jim Murray is America’s oldest, fattest, most miserable teenager.

All my apes are gone babe.

Best bet for the weekend: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway once again at full capacity. Vroomy-vroom-vroom!

Everyone on this First Team spells their name funny.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. Please Celebrate Responsibly.

And Happy Birthday to Molly Sims, pictured here well before the SI Swimsuit Issue lost the plot completely.

05/18/22 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

Don’t feel bad if you had no idea this season’s Celtics team was this good. After all, you had to depend the local media to keep you informed as to that.

Say hello to your fourth place Boston Red Sox! Suck it, Baltimore!

The Bruins were a nice story for the first two weeks in May, but now it’s time for the Celtics in the NBA Playoffs, I think that’s how you have to look at it.

Gino Cappelletti. OOTG’s. He will be missed.

Chris Paul just wins everywhere he goes except Wake Forest and New Orleans and Los Angeles and Houston and Oklahoma City and Phoenix.

Wilfert!

‘You only think Grant Williams is good because he had a career-defining Game Seven performance’, isn’t the killshot you think it is, stupid.

Cakes are cooking for Reggie Jackson, Rick Wakeman, Rodger Davis, Jeana Yeager, Yun Fat Chow, Jari Kurri, Yannick Noah, Ingo Schwichtenberg, and Martika.

Betting is such a scam. You lose money if you don’t get it right.

Maybe the Patriots beat writers can convince a Make-A-Wish kid they really don’t want to meet The Rock, they want to know the exact responsibilities of each NE Assistant and positional coach.

How many points did Giannis and Fredo Antetokounmpo combine for in Game Seven?

Chlor-Trimeton!

i get it, nba and nhl playoffs etc….but i can’t recommend much higher than the height of the softball postseason, which we are rapidly approaching

Blue Line Update: Regularly scheduled train service has resumed between Airport and Bowdoin. There will be temporary speed restrictions in place between Airport and Maverick to allow the track and ballast to properly settle.

Did Al Horford get Ken Mattingly-ed?

The 15 have a tight 45 minute set prepared for any and all Tom Brady Roasts. DM’s are open.

Attention media, slow your roll with gaffer taping a gold watch into Patrice Bergeron’s hand and shoving him onto the nearest ice floe.

A tie is better than a loss, Revs. And it’s worth a point, just like a draw!

I would urge you all to be as tolerant as you can be of baseball’s new rules. The game has some issues. They’re trying to work on it. Give them a little space.

Malicious compliance! Fie!

Hey gang of libertines, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “No I was angling for it and the other chick was like come back to our room and drink and I’m like ‘let me get my wife’, but the shuttle had left so we missed it and I was annoyed and it was all downhill from there.”

I remember when Pasta was a Good Kid. What am I saying, he’s still a Good Kid!

American Honda will voluntarily recall approximately 725,000 Passport (2019), Pilot (2016-2019) and Ridgeline (2017-2020) vehicles in the United States to reinforce each vehicle’s hood striker area and inspect the hood for potential related damage. If related damage is found outside of the hood striker area, that hood will be replaced for free. No related crashes or injuries have been reported in relation to this issue.

I am laughing out in the loud.

The Titans and first round WR Treylon Burks have agreed to terms on his 4-year, $14,369,590 fully guaranteed contract with a fifth-year team option. Rookie contracts coming together quickly.

Tom Cruise is a very polarizing individual these days.

News Item: Alex Cora is reportedly pleased with encouraging updates that Chris Sale ‘recognizes what a baseball is almost six time out of ten’ during workouts.

It’s a wonderful time to be here
It’s nice to be alive
Wonderful people everywhere
The way they comb their hair
Makes me want to say
It’s a wonderful place
It’s a wonderful place
It’s a wonderful place
For you
For you
For you

I guess we really aren’t getting that Remo Williams sequel now. RIP, Fred Ward.

What an odd hat to be wearing in this weather.

Honk if you remember Mount St. Helens.

A positive from the Bruins first round exit; I can go back to forgetting that Billy Jaffe exists.

A: Charlie Burdge.

JUST IN: U.S. Soccer has reached a deal to pay the men’s and women’s national teams equally, eliminating a contentious pay gap that saw female players earning less.

Break up the Birmingham Stallions!

Ime became a good coach the minute he figured out when to call time outs.

Nothing quite like the atmosphere of driving to the south shore to play soccer on a turf field in an industrial park.

School principals just sit around all day.

Boras: X gon have to wait until the season is complete to discuss any contract extension.

Best bet for the weekend: Tulsa golf.

Gil. Gino. Enough said.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Bill James, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. A real romantic place.

We may have used this pic before in the BJBSJ days.

Intern-al Polling

Beantown! Yay!!

Howdy! We are the Summer Interns of the15net dot com! Some of us are new, some are holdovers from the 2021-22 academic year. Mr. Scartelli and a plurality of the 15 insisted we “stop being testaments to uselessness” so we will be running occasional polls this summer. So without further ado:

Breer. Yates. Rap. Water carriers. But who is the most useless?

Fan Or Fraud? The Shukri Wrights Story

If you’re a fan of Boston sports, there’s a very high likelihood that you’ve seen a certain “superfan” pop up more and more in local media coverage and even some of the teams’ own social media content. Who is he? Where did he come from all of a sudden? Well, let’s meet him…

Vernon Dozier is a multi-sport beat writer for #The15. His previous work can be found at Deadspin and Goy At The Game among other publications. He is a lifelong resident of Rockport, MA and he is never leaving.

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