If anyone believes someone should be included here please email me at:
george@eaglefreeenterprises.com
George Brett baseball player, Glendale George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953 in Glen
Dale, West Virginia) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Kansas
City Royals. He is considered one of the greatest third basemen in Major League
Baseball history. Brett was the youngest of four sons of a
sports-minded family which included his oldest brother Ken, a major-league
pitcher who had pitched in the World Series in 1967 at just barely 19 years old.
(Brothers John & Bobby had brief careers in the minor leagues.) Although George
was born in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, the Brett family moved to
the Midwest and later to El Segundo, a modest suburb of Los Angeles, just south
of LAX airport. George grew up here, hoping to follow in his three older
brothers' footsteps. He graduated from El Segundo High School in 1971 and was
drafted by the fledgling Kansas City Royals in the second round (29th overall)
of the 1971 baseball draft. Interestingly, Hall of Fame third baseman Mike
Schmidt was drafted with the next pick (30th) by the Phillies. Brett began his professional baseball career as a
shortstop, but had trouble going to his right defensively and was soon shifted
to third base. As a third baseman, his powerful arm remained an asset, and he
remained at that spot for well over 15 years. Brett's minor league stops were in
Billings, Montana (1971) for Rookie League, San Jose, California (1972) for
Single-A, and Omaha, Nebraska in 1973 for Triple-A with the Omaha Royals,
batting .291, .274, and .284 respectively. The K.C. Royals promoted him to the
major leagues on August 2, 1973, where he played in 13 games and was 5 for 40
(.125). Brett won the starting third base job in 1974,
but struggled at the plate until he asked for help from Charlie Lau, the Royals'
hitting instructor. Spending the 1974 All-Star break working together, Lau
taught Brett how to protect the entire plate and cover up some holes in his
swing that experienced big-league pitchers were taking advantage of. Armed with
this knowledge, Brett developed rapidly as a hitter, and finished the year with
a .282 batting average in 113 games. Brett topped the .300 mark for the first time in
1975 with a .308 mark, then won his first batting title in 1976 with a .333
average. The four contenders for the batting title that year were Brett and
Royals teammate Hal McRae, and Minnesota Twins teammates Rod Carew and Lyman
Bostock. In dramatic fashion, Brett went 2 for 4 in the final game of the season
against the Twins, beating out his three rivals, all playing in the same game.
His lead over second-place McRae was less than .001. The title was marred by
accusations of a racial angle as Twins defender Steve Brye dropped a fly ball
leading to one of Brett's hits and his win of the title over McRae. From May 8 through May 16, 1976, Brett had 3 base
hits in 6 consecutive games, a Major League record. That year, the Royals won
the first of three straight West Division titles, beginning a great rivalry with
the New York Yankees — whom they faced in the American League Championship
Series each of those three years. In the fifth and final game of the 1976 ALCS,
Brett hit a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to tie the score at
six — only to see the Yankees' Chris Chambliss launch a solo shot in the bottom
of the ninth to give the Royals' rivals a 7-6 win. A year later, Brett emerged as a power hitter
with 22 home runs helping the Royals to another American League Championship
Series, 1977. In 1978 Brett batted "only" .294 (the only time between 1976 and
1983 in which he did not bat at least .300) in helping the Royals win a third
consecutive American League West title. However, Kansas City once again lost to
the Yankees in the ALCS, but not before Brett hit three home runs off Catfish
Hunter in Game Three, becoming only the second player (after Bob Robertson in
Game Two of the 1971 National League Championship Series) to hit three home runs
in an LCS game. Brett proceeded to have an incredible 1979
season, in which he finished third in MVP voting. He became the sixth player in
league history to have at least 20 doubles, triples and homers all in one season
(42-20-23) and led the league in hits, doubles and triples while batting .329,
with an on-base percentage of .376 and a slugging percentage of .563. All these impressive statistics were just a
prelude to 1980, when Brett nearly matched Ted Williams' feat of batting .400 in
1941. Brett was at or above .400 as late in the season as September 19 before
settling at .390, the modern record for the highest average ever by a third
baseman. This time, there was no doubt Brett was the league MVP. George Brett's
1980 batting average of .390 is second only to Tony Gwynn's 1994 average of .394
for the highest single season batting average in the last 65 years (next at .388
are Rod Carew (1977) and Ted Williams (1957)). Brett also recorded 118 RBI,
while appearing in just 117 games. Brett started out slowly, hitting only .259 in
April. In May, he hit .329 to get his season average to .301. In June, the 27
year-old third baseman hit .472 (17-36), raising the season's average to .337,
but played his last game for a month on June 10, not returning to the line-up
until after the All-Star Break on July 10. In July, after being off for a month, he played
in 21 games & hit a spectacular .494 (42-85), raising his season average to
.390. Brett started a 30 game hitting streak on July 18, which lasted until he
went 0-3 on August 19 (the following night he went 3-3). During these 30 games
Brett hit .467 (57-122). His high mark for the season came a week later, when
the batting average was at .407 on August 26, after he went 5-5 on a Tuesday
night in Milwaukee. He batted .430 for the month of August (30 games), and his
season average was at .403 with 5 weeks to go. For the three hot months of June,
July, & August 1980, George Brett played in 60 American League games and hit an
astounding .459 (111-242), most of it after a return from a month-long injury.
For these 60 games he had 69 RBI's and 14 home runs. Brett missed another 10 days in early September
and hit just .290 for the month. His average was at .400 as late as September
19, but he then had 4 for 27 slump, and the average dipped to .384 on September
27, with a week to play. For the final week, Brett went on a 10-19 tear, which
included going 2 for 4 in the final regular season game on October 4. His season
average ended up at .390 (175 hits in 449 at-bats = .389755), and he averaged
more than one RBI per game. Brett led the league in both on-base percentage
(.454) and slugging percentage (.664) on his way to capturing 17 of 28 possible
first-pace votes in the MVP race. More importantly, the Royals won the American
League West, and would face the Eastern champion Yankees in the ALCS. In the 1980 post-season, Brett led the Royals to
their first American League pennant, sweeping the playoffs in three games from
the rival Yankees who had beaten K.C. in the 1976, 1977 and 1978 playoffs. In
Game 3, Brett hit a ball well into the third deck of Yankee Stadium off
superstar closer Goose Gossage. Long-time ABC broadcaster Howard Cosell
commented "...it looked like Gossage let up on that pitch that Brett hit out,
and Brett made him pay for it." A few seconds later the ABC radar gun showed
the pitch's speed at 98 mph, Gossage's fastest pitch of the game. George Brett then hit .375 in the 1980 World
Series, but the Royals lost in six games to the Philadelphia Phillies. During
the Series, Brett made headlines for reasons other than his play on the field.
After leaving Game 2 in the 6th inning due to hemorrhoid pain, Brett had minor
surgery the next day, and in Game 3 returned to hit a home run as his Royals
wound up winning in 10 innings by the score of 4-3. (In 1981 he would miss two
weeks of Spring training to have his hemorrhoids removed.) Brett had injuries on-and-off for the next four
years, during which his most notable event in his career was the notorious "Pine
Tar Incident". On July 24, 1983, the Royals were playing the Yankees at Yankee
Stadium. In the top of the ninth inning, Brett came up to bat against Goose
Gossage, his old rival. Brett hit a two-run homer, to put the Royals up 5-4.
After Brett rounded the bases, Yankees manager Billy Martin came out of the
dugout and used home plate to measure the amount of pine tar, a legal substance
used by hitters to improve their grip, on Brett's bat. Martin cited an obscure
rule that stated the pine tar on a bat could extend no further than 18 inches.
Brett's pine tar extended about 24 inches. Earlier in the season, the Yankees
had taken note Brett's habit of adding pine tar further than the allowed 18
inches, but waited until a crucial time to point it out to the umpires. "I've never seen this," said sportscaster
and ex-Yankee Bobby Murcer on WPIX as he watched McClelland measure the bat
across the plate. "I never have either," said Murcer's partner, Frank
Messer. A few moments later, the home plate umpire, Tim McClelland, signaled
Brett out. The normally mild-mannered Brett charged out of
the dugout, enraged, and was immediately ejected. An incredulous Messer: Years later, Brett explained his outburst by
saying "It was just such an extraordinary thing to hit a homer off [Gossage],
the thought of losing it was too much". In the same interview he also humorously
chided his teammate Hal McRae (who was on deck) for not removing the bat from
home plate before Billy Martin could have it inspected. "If Hal had [taken the
bat], then I'd only be known for hemorrhoids," Brett quipped. The Royals protested the game, and their protest
was upheld by AL president (and former Yankees chief executive) Lee MacPhail,
who ruled that the bat was not "altered to improve the distance factor", and
that the rules only provided for removal of the bat from the game, and not
calling the batter out. The game was continued later that season,
starting after Brett's homer. Billy Martin had one last trick up his sleeve,
appealing the play before, saying the umpires had no way of knowing Brett and
the other runner had touched all the bases. Martin was stunned when the umpires
produced affidavits saying he had. The game had virtually no effect on 1983's
pennant race, but was in many ways the closing chapter on a heated rivalry. The
video of the enraged Brett is replayed often on the anniversary date of July 24,
and the Pine Tar Game has become part of baseball folklore. Brett's famous pine
tar bat is now on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In 1985, Brett had another brilliant season in
which he helped to propel the Royals to their second pennant. He batted .335
with 30 home runs and 112 RBI, finishing in the top 10 of the league in 10
different offensive categories. Defensively, he won his only Gold Glove. In the
final week of the regular season, he went 9-for-20 at the plate with 7 runs, 5
homers, and 9 RBI in six crucial games, five of them victories, as they Royals
closed a gap and won the division title at the end. He was MVP of the 1985
playoffs against the Toronto Blue Jays, with an incredible game 3. With KC down
in games 2-0, Brett homered in his first two at bats against Doyle Alexander,
and doubled to the same spot in right field in his third at bat, leading the
Roayls comeback. Brett then batted .370 in the World Series against the St.
Louis Cardinals, as the Royals again rallied from a 3-1 deficit to become World
Series Champions for the first and so far only time in Royals history. In 1988, Brett moved across the diamond to first
base in an effort to reduce his chances of injury and had another MVP-calibre
season with a .306 average, 24 homers and 104 RBI. But after batting just .290
with 16 homers the next year, it looked like his career might be slowing down.
He got off to a terrible start in 1990 and at one point even considered
retirement. But his manager, former teammate John Wathan, encouraged him to
stick it out. Finally, in July, the slump ended and Brett batted .386 for the
rest of the season. In September, he caught Rickey Henderson for the league
lead, and in a battle down to the last day of the season, captured his third
batting title with a .329 mark. This made him the first player in history to
date to win batting titles in three decades. Brett played three more seasons for the Royals,
mostly as their designated hitter, but occasionally filling in for injured
teammates at first base. He passed the 3,000-hit mark in 1992 and retired after
the 1993 season. In his final at-bat, he hit a single up the middle against
Rangers closer Tom Henke and scored on a home run by teammate Gary Gaetti. The Kansas City Royals have retired Brett's
number 5. He was voted the Hometown Hero for the Royals in
a 2-month fan vote. This was revealed on the night of September 27, 2006 in an
hour-long telecast on ESPN. He is one of the few players to receive over 400,000
votes. His 3,154 career hits are the most by any third
baseman in major league history, and 15th all-time. Baseball historian Bill
James regards him as the second-best third baseman of all time, trailing only
his contemporary, Mike Schmidt. Brett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999,
with what was then the fourth-highest voting percentage in baseball history
(98.2%), trailing only Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Ty Cobb. In 2007, Cal Ripken
Jr. passed Brett with 98.5% of the vote. He received the highest percentage for
an infielder ever, higher than all-time outfielders Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron,
Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. That same year, he
ranked Number 55 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball
Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball
All-Century Team. Brett is one of four players in MLB history to accumulate 3000
hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average (the others are Stan
Musial, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron). Most indicative of his hitting style,
Brett is fifth on the career doubles list, with 665 (trailing Tris Speaker, Pete
Rose, Stan Musial, and Ty Cobb). Combining his superior hitting skill with his
great defensive ability and team focus (& humility), George Brett is arguably
one of the most complete baseball players of all time. Following the end of his baseball career, Brett
became a vice president of the Royals and has worked as a part-time coach, as a
special instructor in spring training, filling in as the batting coach, and as a
minor league instructor dispatched to help prospects develop. In 1998, an
investor group headed by Brett and his older brother, Bobby, made an
unsuccessful bid to purchase the Kansas City Royals. In 1992, Brett married the former Leslie
Davenport and they currently reside in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie
Village, KS. The couple has three children: Jackson (named after his father),
Dylan, and Robin (named for fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount of the Milwaukee
Brewers). Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers in 1999, Player
Bruce Bosley, Pro Football Player,
Green
Bank, 1933-1995
Bruce played 13 years for the San
Francisco 49rs and 1 year for the Atlanta Falcons Watching his father spend long hours treating leather
working in a tanning company in tiny Durbin, W.Va., young Bruce Bosley made up
his mind that there was something better out there for him to do.
Pearl S. Buck author, Hillsboro, 1892-1973 The Sydenstrickers lived in Chinkiang (Zhenjiang), in Kiangsu (Jiangsu)
province, then a small city lying at the junction of the Yangtze River and the
Grand Canal. Pearl's father spent months away from home, itinerating in the
Chinese countryside in search of Christian converts; Pearl's mother ministered
to Chinese women in a small dispensary she established. From childhood, Pearl spoke both English and Chinese. She was taught
principally by her mother and by a Chinese tutor, Mr. Kung. In 1900, during the
Boxer Uprising, Caroline and the children evacuated to Shanghai, where they
spent several anxious months waiting for word of Absalom's fate. Later that
year, the family returned to the US for another home leave. In 1910, Pearl enrolled in Randolph-Macon Woman's College, in Lynchburg,
Virginia, from which she graduated in 1914. Although she had intended to remain
in the US, she returned to China shortly after graduation when she received word
that her mother was gravely ill. In 1915, she met a young Cornell graduate, an
agricultural economist named John Lossing Buck. They married in 1917, and
immediately moved to Nanhsuchou (Nanxuzhou) in rural Anhwei (Anhui) province. In
this impoverished community, Pearl Buck gathered the material that she would
later use in The Good Earth and other stories of China. The Bucks' first child, Carol, was born in 1921; a victim of PKU, she proved
to be profoundly retarded. Furthermore, because of a uterine tumor discovered
during the delivery, Pearl underwent a hysterectomy. In 1925, she and Lossing
adopted a baby girl, Janice. The Buck marriage was unhappy almost from the
beginning, but would last for eighteen years. From 1920 to 1933, Pearl and Lossing made their home in Nanking (Nanjing), on
the campus of Nanking University, where both had teaching positions. In 1921,
Pearl's mother died and shortly afterwards her father moved in with the Bucks.
The tragedies and dislocations which Pearl suffered in the 1920s reached a
climax in March, 1927, in the violence known as the "Nanking Incident." In a
confused battle involving elements of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops,
Communist forces, and assorted warlords, several Westerners were murdered. The
Bucks spent a terrified day in hiding, after which they were rescued by American
gunboats. After a trip downriver to Shanghai, the Buck family sailed to Unzen,
Japan, where they spent the following year. They then moved back to Nanking,
though conditions remained dangerously unsettled. Pearl had begun to publish stories and essays in the 1920s, in magazines such
as Nation, The Chinese Recorder, Asia,
and Atlantic Monthly. Her first novel, East Wind, West Wind,
was published by the John Day Company in 1930. John Day's publisher, Richard
Walsh, would eventually become Pearl's second husband, in 1935, after both
received divorces. In 1931, John Day published Pearl's second novel, The Good Earth.
This became the best-selling book of both 1931 and 1932, won the Pulitzer Prize
and the Howells Medal in 1935, and would be adapted as a major MGM film in 1937.
Other novels and books of non-fiction quickly followed. In 1938, less than a
decade after her first book had appeared, Pearl won the Nobel Prize in
literature, the first American woman to do so. By the time of her death in 1973,
Pearl would publish over seventy books: novels, collections of stories,
biography and autobiography, poetry, drama, children's literature, and
translations from the Chinese. In 1934, because of conditions in China, and also to be closer to Richard
Walsh and her daughter Carol, whom she had placed in an institution in New
Jersey, Pearl moved permanently to the US. She bought an old farmhouse, Green
Hills Farm, in Bucks County, PA. She and Richard adopted six more children over
the following years. Green Hills Farm is now on the Registry of Historic
Buildings; fifteen thousand people visit each year. From the day of her move to the US, Pearl was active in American civil
rights and women's rights activities. She published essays in both Crisis,
the journal of the NAACP, and Opportunity, the magazine of the
Urban League; she was a trustee of Howard University for twenty years, beginning
in the early 1940s. In 1942, Pearl and Richard founded the East and West
Association, dedicated to cultural exchange and understanding between Asia and
the West. In 1949, outraged that existing adoption services considered Asian and
mixed-race children unadoptable, Pearl established Welcome House, the first
international, inter-racial adoption agency; in the nearly five decades of its
work, Welcome House has assisted in the placement of over five thousand
children. In 1964, to provide support for Amerasian children who were not
eligible for adoption, Pearl also established the Pearl S. Buck Foundation,
which provides sponsorship funding for thousands of children in half-a-dozen
Asian countries. Pearl Buck died in March, 1973, just two months before her eighty-first
birthday. She is buried at Green Hills Farm.
Phyllis Curtin soprano, Clarksburg Born: December 3, 1921 - Clarksburg, West Virginia, USA
Little Jimmy Dickens,
Country Entertainer, Bolt Little Jimmy Dickens, born in Bolt, West Virginia on
December 19,
1925, is the master of the country novelty song, as well as a
renowned ballad singer. He also known for his diminutive stature -- he's less
than five feet tall -- and his affection for flamboyant, rhinestone-studded
outfits and country humor. Although he never had a consistent presence on the
charts, he managed to have hits in every decade between the 1940s and the 1970s,
and he became one of the Grand Ole Opry's most popular performers.
Joanne Dru actress, Logan, 1922-1996 Joanne Dru (January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film
actress. She also was the elder sister of Peter Marshall, best known for being
the host of Hollywood Squares. Born Joanne Letitia LaCock in Logan, West Virginia, Dru came to New York City
in 1940, aged 18, and after finding employment as a model, was chosen by Al
Jolson to appear in the cast of his Broadway show Hold Onto Your Hats.
During this time Dru met and married the popular singer, Dick Haymes, and when
they moved to Hollywood she found work in theater. Dru was spotted by a talent
scout and made her first film appearance in Abie's Irish Rose (1946).
John Shively Knight, founder of Knight Newspapers, was considered a visionary
of journalism in the sense that he belonged to a breed of publishers, comparable
to William Randolph Hearst, who were strong-willed, competitive, and politically
conscious. Their major interest was to buy newspaper competitors and create
newspaper groups. To the city of Akron, Ohio, he signified a "mover and shaker,"
because he was instrumental to the area's growth and development, observing and
contributing to Akron's metamorphosis from a canal town to a heavy industrial
center, to finally a post- industrial city. Knight parlayed the Akron Beacon
Journal, which he inherited from his father, into Knight-Ridder Newspapers,
Inc., which by 1981 consisted of 32 newspapers in 17 states, employed 15,000
workers and boasted a circulation of 3.6 million daily. Born October 26, 1894, in Bluefield, West Virginia, as the second son
of Charles Landon and Clara Irene Scheifly Knight, John Shively grew up in
Akron, Ohio, where his outspoken father worked his way up from advertising
manager to editor and publisher of the Beacon Journal in 1909. By 1915,
"C. L.," as he preferred to be known, acquired full control of the newspaper and
continued to write his trademark fiery editorials. Young John Knight attended
Crosby Elementary and was sent to Tome School at Port Deposit, Maryland, to
prepare for college. He completed his senior year at Akron's Central High
School, graduating in 1914. During summer vacations from school, Knight worked
in his father's newspaper office. His college education at Cornell University
was interrupted in 1917 as he left to enlist in the Army, eventually seeing
action in the Argonne. Upon his return to the United States, Knight traveled to
California with $5,000 won in crapshooting to contemplate going into the cattle
business. Instead, he followed his father's wishes, returned to Akron and became
a sports journalist, writing under the pseudonym "Walker," because, he
confessed, "I was ashamed of the stuff. I didn't write well enough." In 1921,
Knight married Katherine "Kitty" McLain, who died unexpectedly in 1929 and left
him three sons--John Shively Jr., Charles Landon, and Franklin. Already Managing
Editor of the Beacon Journal by 1925, he married a second time (in 1932)
to Beryl Zoller Comstock. In 1933, the elder Charles Landon Knight died and John
Knight inherited the positions of editor and publisher of the Beacon Journal.
The Akron paper was the first of a chain of newspapers under Knight's
ownership. Upon purchasing the Miami Herald in 1937 for $2 million, he
bought and subsequently closed the Miami Tribune and the Scripps-Howard
Akron Times Press. Very quickly he acquired control of the Detroit
Free Press and the Chicago Daily News. Despite the rapid growth of
his newspaper group, Knight was firmly opposed to the centralized management
characteristic of the large Hearst newspaper chain. The Akron editor and
publisher was an ardent advocate of preserving the uniqueness of a region. The
Beacon Journal claimed to be nonpartisan during a time when newspapers
generally stated political preferences forthrightly. Knight expressed his
personal views and critical acceptance of Akron in "The Editor's Notebook," a
weekly column he wrote for almost 40 years. His major journalistic concern was
editorial integrity and the preservation of a free press in the United States
and abroad. As the 1944 President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors,
he sent representatives on a worldwide tour, interviewing editors and
governmental officials in the interest of journalistic freedom. Observations and
final reports disclosed that in practically all cases the press was used as an
instrument of government propaganda and social control. Knight believed that a
free and honest press would help to reduce the chances for future wars. During World War II, Knight temporarily departed from the newspaper circuit
to become director of the United States Office of Censorship in London, where he
served for one year as liaison for Great Britain and North Africa. Representing
Akron's journalistic link to the war, Knight witnessed Japan's capitulation and
was present with the first occupation troops in the country. His eldest son,
John Shively, a lieutenant in the paratroopers, was killed in a March, 1945,
ambush in Germany. Upon returning to the United States and the world of professional
journalism, Knight's weekly "Editor's Notebook," along with the Detroit Free
Press and the Charlotte Observer, won Pulitzer Prizes in 1968, making
him the first publisher to be granted three such awards in a single year. By
1973, Knight owned 15 newspapers, including the Tallahassee Democrat, the
Springfield Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia
Daily News. In the following year the Knight Newspapers merged with the
California-based Ridder Publications. Personal tragedy struck Knight again as he was widowed for a second time in
1974 and his grandson, John Shively III, was stabbed to death during a robbery
the following year. In 1976, Knight married Mary Elizabeth Augustus and retired
as editorial chairman of Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Inc., having accumulated 26
Pulitzer Prizes altogether. During his retirement, Knight concentrated his
efforts on raising thoroughbred race horses at his Fourth Estate Stables in
Miami. He also excelled in golf, winning links championships at his many golf
clubs. In honor of his father, Knight established the Knight Foundation (1940),
which continues to provide major funding for worthy projects. On June 16, 1981, Knight succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 86, only 7
months after his third wife had passed away. At the time of his death,
Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Inc., consisted of 32 newspapers and four television
stations, and had been estimated to be valued at $245 million, the bulk of which
went to the Knight Foundation. Knight belonged to many organizations and societies, including the Veterans
of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors,
where he twice served as president. He also held the positions of committee
chairman, executive committee member, director of finance and vice president
(1956) of the Associated Press. In addition to the Pulitzer Prizes, Knight received numerous awards and
honors, including the Elija Parish Lovejoy Award for journalistic achievement,
the John Peter Zenger Award, the William Allen White Foundation Award, the
National Press Award, the Poor Richard Gold Medal of Achievement Award, and
honorary doctorates from The University of Akron, Northwestern, Kent State, Ohio
State, University of Michigan, Oberlin, and Colby College.
Mr. Knotts,
who often played high-strung characters, won five Emmys for Best Supporting
Actor in the 1960s as the swaggering but hapless Fife. Mr. Knotts developed
the idea of the deputy sheriff when he heard that Andy Griffith, with whom he
had worked in the play "No Time for Sergeants," was putting together a TV
pilot set in the fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry. The series was a huge success when it aired, from 1960 to 1968,
consistently ranking in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings. Fife, who grew into one of the most beloved comic characters in American
popular culture, generated sympathy and laughs in scenes in which he fumbled
to load his service revolver with the single bullet Griffith allotted him. "Don meant everything," Griffith said in a telephone interview. "Don made
the show. I've lost a lifetime friend." The two actors remained close friends over the years and reprised their
roles in the 1986 television movie "Return to Mayberry." Mr. Knotts's wife, actress Francey Yarborough, said in a statement that
Griffith visited Mr. Knotts at the hospital shortly before his death to say
goodbye. "Don was an actor who played comedy as opposed to a comedian who does
stand-up," said Mr. Knotts's longtime manager, Sherwin Bash, in a telephone
interview. "He was one of a kind." Mr. Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, left television in 1965 to
devote more time to family-oriented film comedies that featured his zany,
bugged-eyed expressions, high-pitched voice and perfect slapstick timing. His movie credits include "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964), "The Ghost
and Mr. Chicken" (1966), "The Reluctant Astronaut" (1967), "The Shakiest Gun
in the West" (1968) and "The Love God?" (1969). In the 1970s, Mr. Knotts teamed with fellow comic actor Tim Conway in the
Disney movies "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides
Again." "It's because of Don that I'm in this business," Conway said in an
interview last year with the Kansas City Star. "When I used to watch the old
'Steve Allen Show,' with Don Knotts and Louie Nye and Tom Poston -- the 'Man
on the Street' stuff -- I just thought Don was the funniest guy I'd ever seen.
And I used to wait for that show at night." Mr. Knotts returned to television in the late 1970s, joining the cast of
ABC's popular sitcom "Three's Company" as the cad landlord Ralph Furley, a
swinger who usually donned an ascot and bright, colorful leisure suits. He
remained with the show until its final season in 1984. In recent years, he had recurring roles on television, including a part on
Griffith's show "Matlock" and the series "Pleasantville." He also performed in
dinner theaters and did voice-over for animated films. Most recently, he was
the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in last year's "Chicken Little." He was born Jesse Donald Knotts on July 21, 1924, in Morgantown, W.Va.,
where he grew up with three brothers. As a young man, he gravitated to the
world of entertainment, starting as a ventriloquist. He lived in New York
briefly before returning home and enrolling at West Virginia University. He joined the Army during World War II and served as an entertainer. After
the military, he returned to West Virginia University to finish his degree. He worked in radio before getting his big break in the 1950s, when he won a
spot to perform on "The Steve Allen Show." He drew howls from the audience
playing a weatherman. The skit featured Mr. Knotts as a television weatherman
forced to ad-lib the forecast without any information on the weather. As he
wrote on a map about a weather system in California, stumbling over his words,
it became clear he was writing "h-e-l-p." His marriages to Kay Knotts and Loralee Knotts ended in divorce. Survivors also include a son and a daughter.
Peter Marshall TV host, Huntington Peter Marshall (born Ralph Pierre LaCock on March 30, c 1927), in Huntington,
West Virginia, is an actor, singer and television personality. Although he has
almost fifty television, movie, and Broadway credits, he is best known as the
original host and "The Master" of The Hollywood Squares from 1966 to
1981. His stage name, Marshall, came from the name of the college in his home
town (Marshall College became Marshall University in 1961). Marshall came from a show business family, moving to New York City at the age
of 12 after his father's death to be with his mother, an aspiring costume
designer and later the president of the Motion Picture Mothers. His elder sister, Joanne Dru, was a successful actress who made a number of
westerns in the 1950s. Marshall started his career at 15 as a singer with big bands. In the 1950s,
Marshall earned his living as part of a comedy act with Tommy Noonan, and they
appeared in night clubs and on television variety shows. Although Marshall
occasionally worked in film and television, he could not find regular work in
the industry until his friend Morey Amsterdam recommended him to Bert Parks to
host the game show Hollywood Squares in 1966. The show had a long run on daytime TV and in syndication, making Marshall as
familiar to viewers as the celebrities who appeared on the show. The easy-going
and unflappable Marshall was a perfect foil for the wicked wit of such panelists
as Amsterdam and his Dick Van Dyke Show castmate Rose Marie, Paul Lynde,
Jan Murray, and Wally Cox. The Hollywood Squares was cancelled by NBC in
1980, but daily production continued for syndication into 1981. Interestingly, Marshall grew tired of hosting the show after several years
and wanted to leave. Toward that end, he would make outrageous salary demands
whenever his contract was up for renewal, hoping that he would be fired for
doing so, but much to his surprise, his demands were always met. After the demise of Hollywood Squares, Marshall continued to work on
the game shows Fantasy (with cohost Leslie Uggams), All Star Blitz,
Yahtzee, and The Reel to Reel Picture Show. However, none of these
met with the success of the original Squares. He stayed in television and
movies playing character parts. One of his memorable post-Squares roles was a
cameo in the 1981 musical Annie playing radio personality Bert Healy. His last film credit was the 1993 film Sista Dansen (The Last Dance),
but he continued to work in television after that. He wrote a book about his
experience, Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square. Marshall's Broadway credits include Skyscraper and La Cage aux
Folles. In the quarter century since Marshall hosted the original Hollywood
Squares the program has refused to leave the public consciousness. Two
attempts to revive it in the 1980s (the first, a short-lived version hosted by
Jon "Bowzer" Bauman from Sha-Na-Na; the second, a better-received edition emceed
by John Davidson), met with mixed results, but a parody version in In Living
Color hosted by Marshall showed a glimpse of the magic displayed in the
original (since then, another attempt at reviving the game show, this time
emceed by Tom Bergeron, reflected the success rate of the Davidson edition).
Despite the various different versions between 1980 and 2004, Hollywood
Squares remains most strongly identified with Marshall. As of 2000, Marshall was back on the travelling circuit, this time as a
singer with big bands. His website actively promotes his CDs. In 2002, Marshall came back to the show as a panelist during a Game Show Week
on the Tom Bergeron version, even hosting it for one day. He is currently married to his third wife, Laurie Stewart, and has four
children and two stepchildren from his previous marriages. He is also currently
a host on the Music Of Your Life radio network. His son, Pete LaCock, is a former Major League Baseball player. The retired
first baseman spent nine years playing for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago
Cubs before finishing up his career in Japan. In 2006, Peter Marshall, who had already won an Emmy for Best Game Show Host,
was the recipient of the annual Bill Cullen Award for Lifetime Achievement, from
the non-profit organization, Game Show Congress.
Kathy Mattea country music, South Charleston Kathy Mattea, full name Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959 in South
Charleston, West Virginia), is a female country music and bluegrass performer
who often brings celtic sounds to her music, particularly with her release of
Love Travels, one of her most critically popular albums. She was born in South Charleston because it had the nearest hospital to her
parents' home in Cross Lanes, where she grew up, graduating from nearby Nitro
High School. In 1976, while in college, she joined the bluegrass band Pennsboro,
and two years later dropped out of school to move to Nashville. She worked as a
tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame, did backup vocal work for Bobby
Goldsboro , and sang demos for several Nashville songwriters and publishers
including Nashville songwriter/producer Byron Hill, who brought her to the
attention of Frank Jones (then head of Mercury Records), who signed her to her
first record deal in 1983. Mattea's third album, 1986's folky Walk the Way the Wind Blows, proved
to be her breakthrough both critically and commercially. Her cover of Nanci
Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime" was her first major hit, reaching #3 (and
in addition, earned Griffith notice as a songwriter); and the album produced
three other top ten songs: "Walk the Way the Wind Blows" (#10), "You're the
Power (#5), and "Train of Memories" (#6). Further hit songs include her first #1, "Goin' Gone"; the truck-driving song
"Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" (1988); "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin'
Old Memories" (both #1 hits in 1989); "She Came From Fort Worth" (1990);
"Lonesome Standard Time" (1992); "Walking Away a Winner" (1994); "Nobody's Gonna
Rain on Our Parade" (1994); "Maybe She's Human" (1994); and "455 Rocket" (1997).
"Eighteen Wheels," in late May 1988, became the first single by a solo female to
spend multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart since Dolly
Parton's "You're the Only One" in August 1979; both singles were on top of that
chart for two weeks. The heart-wrenching "Where've You Been," which Mattea's husband Jon Vezner
co-wrote with singer/songwriter Don Henry, reached #2 on the country chart and
won her a 1990 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal. Mattea is a repeat winner
of the County Music Associations Female Vocalist of the Year, which she won on
the success of "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" and "Where've You Been." The following year, Mattea took part in Voices That Care, a
multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single
to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included
fellow country singers Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis. She has also
been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS-related charities beginning in the early
1990s, and is often credited with leading the country music community, commonly
regarded as the last segment of the entertainment industry to address the AIDS
epidemic, to finally do so. She performed with Mary Chapin Carpenter on VH1's
very first Save The Music concert, which also starred Bette Midler. Mattea won another Grammy in 1993 for her gospel-oriented Christmas album
Good News. Her first single from the album, "Mary, Did You Know?" went on to
be covered by Kenny Rogers with Wynonna, as well as Reba McEntire. Mattea subsequently moved to MCA and, in 2000, released the ballad-heavy
The Innocent Years, a heartfelt tribute to her ailing father. Wanting to
explore her taste for Celtic folk, Mattea hopped labels to Narada, for whom she
debuted in 2002 with the eclectic Roses. With her social activism and her taste for songs with introspective lyrics,
it has been often said that Mattea owes as much to the traditions of folk music
as mainstream country. Though her recent work has failed to make the country charts, Mattea
continued to enjoy a strong following throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s;
her albums are critically well received, and she continues to tour and perform.
She continues to have strong support from a very active fan club, whose members
refer to themselves as MatteaHeads.
Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. (born April 16, 1923) was
the Governor of West Virginia from 1969 until 1977 and from 1985 until 1989. He
was a Congressman from 1957 until entering the governor's office. He is a member
of the United States Republican Party. He ran for reelection in 1988 but was
defeated by Gaston Caperton. Allegations of corruption were a major reason for
his defeat. He was eventually prosecuted for corruption and pled guilty to five
felony charges. He was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison in 1990.
He served over three years before his release. As a result of his conviction,
Moore was disbarred and forfeited his state pension. In 1995, he paid a
settlement of $750,000 to the state. Moore was born in Moundsville, West Virginia in
the state's industrial northern panhandle. He briefly attended Easton College in
Easton, Pennsylvania before joining the United States Army during World War II.
He received a disfiguring wound in the jaw during fighting in Germany. Moore was
left for dead for two days in a German farmer's beet field after 33 of the 36
members of his platoon died in battle. He then entered West Virginia University
graduating in 1948 and then from its law school in 1951. While at WVU he was
involved with student government and founded "Mountaineer Week" a celebration of
West Virginia culture in response to his perception that the growing number of
out-of-state students at the school were changing its character. The event has
become a permanent part of the school's calendar. He was also a member of the
Beta Psi chapter of Beta Theta Pi at West Virginia University and is a recipient
of the fraternity's Oxford Cup. Moore was elected to the West Virginia House of
Delegates in 1952. In 1954, Moore made his first run for Congress, challlenging
incumbent Democratic Congressman Robert Mollohan. Moore lost. In 1956, Mollohan
vacated the seat to run for Governor of West Virginia, a race he lost to
Republican Cecil Underwood. In 1956, Moore ran for the open congressional seat,
winning by a margin of just 762 votes. Moore would subsequently be re-elected
through the 1966 election, before seeking the governor's office in 1968. His
terms in the House were marked by strong support for public works projects and
for civil rights. The state's Constitution, which had formerly had
a one-term term limit and provided for a weak governor system, was amended in
1968 to strengthen the powers of the Governor and in 1970 to provide for a
two-term limit. Moore became the first person re-elected governor in 1972,
defeating Jay Rockefeller. Moore's first two terms as governor are best
remembered for improvements in the state's highway system and for the Buffalo
Creek Flood disaster. During Moore's first two terms as Governor, West Virginia
built over 225 miles of interstate highways through mountainous terrain and the
New River Gorge Bridge, once the world's longest steel arch bridge. In 1976 Moore was term limited from seeking a
third term and declined to challenge Robert C. Byrd for a seat in the United
States Senate. He rather began a two-year campaign for the state's other Senate
seat, which was expected to be vacated by the aging Jennings Randolph in 1978.
To the surprise of almost all observers, the obviously declining Randolph stood
for re-election. His campaign was entirely financed by then-governor
Rockefeller, as Randolph's six-year term as Senator and a theoretical second
Rockefeller term as governor would both expire in 1984, permitting Rockefeller
to run for an open seat. Moore was outspent by 5 to 1 in this election, and lost
by 4717 votes. In 1980 Moore sought his third term as governor.
Rockefeller outspent him by a figure of 20 to 1, and Moore again lost a close
race. In 1984 Moore again ran for governor and was
returned by a very large margin, becoming the only West Virginia governor to be
elected to three terms in office. He again turned his attention to highways, and
saw the completion of last major section of interstate highway in the country,
which had been left unbuilt during the Rockefeller terms, in 1988. He was
defeated for re-election in 1988 and subsequently pled guilty to receiving a
bribe relative to a refund of a workers compensation tax from a coal executive
and served over three years in federal prison. Moore has always maintained that
his plea was a part of a legal strategy and his attempts to withdraw it and
stand trial on the matter were denied. As of 2005 he continues to maintain his
innocence. Moore now lives in Glen Dale. His daughter Shelley Moore Capito is currently a
member of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd
Congressional district.
Mary Lou Retton gymnast, Fairmont Born: 24 January 1968, Fairmont, West Virginia,
Best Known As: Gold medalist in the 1984 Olympics In 1984 Mary Lou Retton became the first American
woman to win an Olympic gold medal for the all-around competition in gymnastics.
The Summer Olympics were held that year in Los Angeles, California, with the
Soviet Union boycotting the competition in retaliation for a United States
boycott of the Moscow Olympics four years earlier. Besides her gold in the
all-around competition, Retton also won 2 silver medals and 2 bronze, making her
the single biggest medal winner of any athlete at that year's competition. Her
Olympic success made her an instant celebrity, launching her career on the
lecture circuit and getting her a few small roles in movies such as Scrooged
and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. She also has appeared frequently
as a gymnastics commentator on TV.
Walter Reuther was president of the United
Automobile Workers (UAW) from 1946 until his death in 1970. Under his
leadership, the UAW grew to more than 1.5 million members, becoming one of the
largest unions in the United States. Reuther was widely admired as the model of
a reform-minded, liberal, responsible trade unionist—the leading labor
intellectual of his age, a champion of industrial democracy and civil rights who
used the collective bargaining process and labor's political influence to
advance the cause of social justice for all Americans. Walter Reuther was born in Wheeling, W.V., on
Sept. 1, 1907, the son of Valentine Reuther, a German socialist, and his wife,
Anna Stocker. Reuther received an early education in socialism and union
politics from his father. A visit to the prison where Socialist Party leader
Eugene V. Debs was being held for his resistance to World War I made an
indelible impression on the young Reuther, who became a committed Debsian
socialist. Bored with his studies, Reuther dropped out of Wheeling High School
at 16 and eventually became an apprentice tool-and-die maker. Fired for trying
to organize a union, Reuther moved to Detroit in 1927, drawn by the Ford Motor
Company's promise of high wages and a shorter workweek. He quickly established
himself as one of the most skilled and respected mechanics at Ford's River Rouge
plant. Working nights, Reuther earned his high school diploma at the age of 22
and took classes at Detroit City College (now Wayne State University), where he
was joined by his younger brothers Victor and Roy. The Great Depression consolidated the political
and social activism of the Reuther brothers. Together with friends, they formed
a Social Problems Club on campus and affiliated with the Socialist League of
Industrial Democracy. They organized protests against establishing a Reserve
Officer Training Corps (ROTC) unit on campus and against the segregationist
policies of a local swimming pool leased by the college. In 1932, Walter
campaigned for Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas. The
following year, Walter and Victor began a nine-nation tour of Europe in Nazi
Germany, ending it with a two-year stay in the Soviet Union, where the Reuther
brothers worked at a massive automobile factory. Reuther returned in 1935 and eventually decided
to stay in Detroit, where he had fallen in love with May Wolf, a physical
education teacher, Socialist Party activist and devotee of modern dance. Reuther
and Wolf married in March 1936 after a brief courtship and raised two daughters
together in the modest Detroit home they purchased in 1941. Reuther began organizing for the UAW, the new
auto workers union under the auspices of the Committee on Industrial
Organization. Eager to make his mark in the labor movement, Reuther joined the
fledgling UAW Local 86, representing employees at GM's Ternstadt parts plant,
even though he was not employed by the company. Reuther was elected a delegate
to the 1936 UAW national convention. His credentials were challenged daily by
conservative delegates and, as a result, his name was constantly before the
assembly. Never shy and already an accomplished public
speaker, Reuther emerged as the floor leader of the Michigan delegation and was
elected to the UAW's national Executive Board. Returning to Detroit a paid UAW official, Reuther
set out to organize an amalgamated local on the city's west side. Within eight
months, UAW Local 174, of which Reuther was the president, represented 30,000
workers and 76 shops. Reuther played a key role in planning the successful 1937
sit-down strike against GM in Flint, Mich., then joined others in the effort to
secure similar UAW recognition from Ford. Reuther's organizing at Ford brought
him national attention when newspaper photographers captured him being beaten
bloody by Ford security men as he passed out leaflets outside Ford's River Rouge
plant. In 1939, Reuther became director of the UAW's
General Motors department, and in 1942 he was elected the union's first vice
president. During World War II, Reuther also served with the Office of
Production Management, the War Manpower Commission and the War Production Board.
As director of the UAW's GM division, Reuther won the respect of industry
executives as well as the loyalty of the rank and file. When a wildcat strike
movement swept GM's shops in 1944–1945, Reuther skillfully handled the crisis,
championing the cause of the workers without running afoul of the government or
the company. Then, in 1946, after the war's end, Reuther led a 116-day strike
against GM, calling for a 30 percent wage increase without an increase in the
retail price of cars, and he challenged GM to "open its books" to prove the
demand impossible. GM refused both demands but did offer an 18 percent wage
increase, which Reuther accepted. In 1946, Reuther was elected president of the UAW.
Although his postwar political agenda of national health care, economic
redistribution and job security for all met defeat, Reuther continued to press
these issues at the bargaining table. In 1948, GM agreed to a historic contract
tying wage increases to the general cost-of-living and productivity increases.
Over the next two decades, the union negotiated model grievance procedures,
safety and health provisions, pensions, health benefits and "supplemental
unemployment benefits" that enabled UAW members to earn up to 95 percent of
their regular paycheck even if they were laid off. An ally of the Communist Party in the 1930s,
Reuther turned against the Communists in the 1940s, in part because he believed
they subordinated the interests of the union and its members to that of the
party and its Soviet sponsors. He supported the anti-communist provisions of the
1947 Taft-Hartley Act and in 1948 was a founding member of the staunchly
anti-communist Americans for Democratic Action. Reuther became president of the
Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1952 after the death of Philip Murray;
he immediately joined with George Meany, president of the American Federation of
Labor (AFL), to negotiate a merger between the two groups, which took effect in
1955. Unwilling to surrender the presidency of the UAW
to become an elected AFL-CIO official, Reuther instead opted to be director of
the federation's Industrial Union Department (IUD). As head of the IUD, Reuther
called for large-scale 1930s-style organizing drives and broad-based grassroots
political action committees. He fought tirelessly for civil rights protections
and an enhanced welfare state that would benefit all Americans. Reuther stood
beside Martin Luther King Jr. when he delivered his famous "I have a dream"
speech at the 1963 March on Washington, and he met weekly with President Lyndon
Johnson throughout 1964–1965 to discuss legislative and political initiatives.
In 1968, frustrated at what he perceived to be an
unwillingness or an inability to seize opportunities for action, Reuther pulled
the UAW out of the AFL-CIO. He formed a short-lived Alliance for Labor Action
with the Teamsters, which had been expelled from the AFL-CIO for corruption in
the 1950s. Before the new group could launch any initiatives, however, Reuther;
his wife, May; and two others were killed in a private plane crash. Reuther left
a legacy of reform-minded unionism, civil rights activism and social justice
idealism upon which the labor movement continues to draw.
Eleanor Steber soprano, Wheeling, 1916-1990
Born: July 17, 1916 - Wheeling, West Virginia, USA
Thomas Stonewall Jackson Confederate
general, Clarksburg, 1824-1863
Next to Robert E. Lee himself, Thomas J. Jackson is
the most revered of all Confederate commanders. A graduate of West Point (1846),
he had served in the artillery in the Mexican War, earning two brevets, before
resigning to accept a professorship at the Virginia Military Institute. Thought
strange by the cadets, he earned "Tom Fool Jackson" and "Old Blue Light" as
nicknames.
Lewis L. Strauss naval officer and scientist, Charleston, 1896-1974
Admiral Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss (1896-1974) Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss (b. January 31, 1896,
Charleston, West Virginia – d. January 21, 1974, Culpeper, Virginia) was a
wealthy businessman who later became a U.S. administrator. He was the chairman
of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission between 1953 and 1958. He was Acting
Secretary of Commerce between 1958 and 1959; then-President Eisenhower nominated
him for the permanent position, but his nomination was narrowly rejected (by a
49-46 vote). Strauss is perhaps most remembered as the driving
force in the McCarthy-era hearings in which J. Robert Oppenheimer's security
clearance was revoked. Strauss' failure to be confirmed as Secretary of Commerce
was largely due to his role in the Oppenheimer matter.
Cyrus Vance government official, Clarksburg, 1917-2002 Cyrus Roberts Vance (Clarksburg, West Virginia,
March 27, 1917 – January 12, 2002) was the United States Secretary of State
under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. He approached foreign policy
with an emphasis on negotiation over conflict and a special interest in arms
reduction. In April of 1980, Vance resigned in protest of Operation Eagle Claw,
the secret mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. Vance was the nephew (and adoptive son) of 1924
Democratic Presidential Candidate and noted lawyer John W. Davis. Vance graduated from Kent School in 1935 and
received a bachelor's degree in 1939 from Yale University, where he was a member
of the secret society, Scroll and Key. After graduating from Yale Law School in
1942, Vance served in the Navy as a gunnery officer on the destroyer USS Hale
until 1946 and then joined the prestigious law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
in New York City before entering the government. Vance was the Secretary of the Army in the
Kennedy administration. He worked on sending United States Army units into
Northern Mississippi in 1962 to protect James Meredith and put down the
resistance to the court ordered integration of the University of Mississippi. As
Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon Johnson, he at first
supported the Vietnam War but changed his views by the late 1960s, advising the
president to pull out of South Vietnam. In 1968 he served as a delegate to peace
talks in Paris. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969. As Secretary of State in the Carter
administration, Vance pushed for negotiations and economic ties with the Soviet
Union and clashed frequently with the more hawkish National Security Advisor
Zbigniew Brzezinski. Vance tried to advance arms limitations by working on the
SALT II agreement with Russia, which he saw as the central diplomatic issue of
the time. He was heavily instrumental in Carter's decision to return the Canal
Zone to Panama and in the Camp David Accords agreement between Israel and Egypt. After the Accords, Vance's influence in the
administration began to wane as Brzezinski's rose. His role in talks with
People's Republic of China was marginalized and his advice for a response to the
Shah of Iran's collapsing regime was ignored. Shortly thereafter, when
fifty-three American hostages were held in Iran, he worked actively in
negotiations but to no avail. Finally, when Carter ordered a secret military
rescue, Vance resigned in opposition. The rescue attempt failed. Vance returned to his law practice at Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett in 1980, but was repeatedly called back to public service
throughout the 1980s and 1990s, participating in diplomatic missions to Bosnia,
Croatia, and South Africa. In 1993, he was awarded the prestigious United
States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award. He died aged 84 after a long battle with
Alzheimer's disease and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Vance also was a member of the Trilateral
Commission.
Cyrus Vance was Secretary of State under U.S.
president Jimmy Carter, holding the office from 1977 until he resigned in 1980.
Vance resigned his post because he disagreed with a military plan to rescue U.S.
citizens being held hostage in Tehran, Iran (the plan was carried out and
failed). A lawyer, Vance had also been a long-time official in the Department of
Defense, a veteran of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (1960-68). After
leaving Carter's cabinet, Vance returned to his law practice, but in the early
1990s he again participated in diplomatic missions in Croatia and Bosnia. Before
his death he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.
Steve Yeager baseball player, Huntington Stephen Wayne Yeager (born November 24, 1948 in
Huntington, West Virginia) is an American baseball player; catcher. Yeager spent
14 of 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985,
with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, in 1986, was with the Seattle
Mariners. Yeager, who was Jewish, was drafted by Los
Angeles on 6 June 1967, in the 4th round of the 1967 amateur draft. After one game with Ogden, Utah (in the Rookie
League-Pioneer Division), Yeager was sent to Dubuque (Iowa - Single-A
league-Midwest Division), for 14 games. The following season, 1968, he played 59 games in
Daytona Beach (Florida - Single-A Florida Southern League). In 1969 he played 22 games in Bakersfield
(California - Single-A - California League), and 1 game in Albuquerque (New
Mexico - Double-A - Texas League). He spent the next two seasons in Albuquerque.
1970 & 1971 in "AA" - Texas League, for 162 games, were he batted .276, with 77
RBIs in 490 at bats. For 1971 he was named to the All Star team as a member of
the Texas League, or Dixie Association - Western Division, catching for the
Albuquerque Dukes (67-75), along with teammates Lee Lacy (2B) and Paul Johnston
(OF). The following season, 1972, he played 82 games in
Albuquerque (Triple-AAA - Pacific Coast League), with 45 RBIs in 257 at bats,
while hitting .280. In the beginning of August, 1972, he would get
"the call" to the majors, and make his major league debut on the 2nd.
In that first-third of a season he would make 106 plate appearances in 35 games,
batt .274, and drive in 15 runs on 29 hits, while scoring 18 total runs. He
contributed to four World Series appearances with the Dodgers, in 1974, 1977,
1978 and 1981. In the latter, Yeager shared the World Series Most Valuable
Player award with Dodger teammates Pedro Guerrero and Ron Cey. Lou Brock called Yeager "the best-throwing
catcher in the game." Steve's specialty was defense and his command of the game
on the field. He was very good at controlling the game defensively, especially
with young pitchers. His batting, however, was not spectacular; in his best
year, 1974, he batted .266 in fewer than 100 games. Yeager is famous for having
invented the catcher's throat protector flap, which he began wearing after a
life-threatening incident in which a shattered bat pierced his neck and he
needed added protection. In 1999, Yeager was the hitting coach for the
Dodgers’ Single-A San Bernardino club, which won the California League
championship. Steve is currently coaching for the Dodgers at Double-A
Jacksonville. In 2006, Steve was named the hitting instructor/coach for the
Dodgers AAA farm club, Las Vegas 51's. Currently, he serves as the hitting coach
for the Inland Empire 66ers. Yeager is the nephew of pilot Chuck Yeager. When
Steve got married, then Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley was best man at his
wedding. Yeager was infamous for having posed nude for Playgirl magazine
in their October 1982 issue. The Yeager family once appeared as contestants on
the television game show Family Feud. Yeager served as technical advisor and also had a
small role, as a pitcher/coach named "Duke", in three movies: Major League,
Major League II and Major League: Back to the Minors.
b. Harold Franklin Hawkins, 22 December 1921,
Huntingdon, West Virginia, USA, d. 5 March 1963, Camden, Tennessee, USA. Hawkins
started on guitar but became proficient on many instruments. Success in a talent
contest in 1937 led to paid work on radio stations in Huntingdon and Charleston.
In 1942, he performed on radio in Manila when stationed in the Phillippines.
After his discharge, he signed with King Records and did well with "Sunny Side
Of The Mountain", which became his signature tune. He was a regular member of
the WWVA's Wheeling Jamboree from 1946-54, which he left to join the Grand Ole
Opry. In 1948 he became one of the first country artists to appear on network
television. He had US country hits with "Pan American", "I Love You A Thousand
Ways", "I'm Just Waiting For You" and "Slow Poke".
b. Charles Ray McCoy, 28 March 1941, Oak Hill, West
Virginia, USA. When McCoy was eight years old, he ordered a harmonica for 50
cents and a box-top, but he was more interested in the guitar. He played in rock
'n' roll bands in Miami, where Mel Tillis heard him and suggested that he visit
Nashville to work as a singer. Although his singing career did not take off, he
played drums for US hitmakers Johnny Ferguson and Stonewall Jackson. In 1961,
McCoy recorded as a singer for US Cadence Records and entered the charts with
"Cherry Berry Wine". He then formed a rock 'n' roll band, Charlie McCoy And The
Escorts, which played in Nashville clubs for several years. During this period,
McCoy played harmonica on Ann-Margret's "I Just Don't Understand" and Roy
Orbison's "Candy Man", and the success of the two records led to further offers
of session work. McCoy became the top harmonica player in Nashville, playing up
to 400 sessions a year, and was a regular on Elvis Presley recordings. He worked
with Bob Dylan at the infamous Blonde On Blonde sessions, playing harmonica on
"Obviously Five Believers", trumpet on "Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35', and bass
on several other tracks. The success of Dylan and other rock musicians in
Nashville prompted McCoy and other sessionmen to form the critically acclaimed
Area Code 615. McCoy later joined Area Code 615"s successor Barefoot Jerry and
was featured on the band's 1974 US country hit, "Boogie Woogie".
McCoy revived his recording career in the late 60s
and had a US chart hit in 1972 with a revival of "Today I Started Loving You
Again", but, considering his love of blues harmonica player Little Walter, his
records are comparatively unadventurous and middle-of-the-road. Nevertheless, he
has often reached the US country charts with instrumental interpretations of
overworn country songs, and has won a Grammy Award and several country music
accolades. After his contract with Monument Records ended in 1982, McCoy
recorded freely for a number of different labels, releasing a number of European
only albums. He later limited his session appearances, largely because of his
work as musical director of the television series Hee-Haw, an association that
lasted 19 years. However, he did appear with other Nashville session men on US
indie band Ween's oddball 1996 recording, 12 Golden Country Greats. Two years
later he was elected to the German-American Country Music Federation Hall Of
Fame. Jon A. McBride
(Captain, USN, Ret.) NASA former Astronaut, Charleston PERSONAL DATA: Born August 14,
1943, in Charleston, West Virginia, but considers Beckley, West Virginia, to be
his hometown. Four children (one deceased). Married to the former Sharon Lynne
White of Nacogdoches, Texas. Recreational interests include flying, basketball,
golf, softball, racquetball, gourmet cooking, numismatics, gardening, carpentry. EDUCATION: Graduated from Woodrow
High School, Beckley, West Virginia in 1960; attended West Virginia University
1960-1964; received a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering
from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1971. Graduate work in Human Resource
Management at Pepperdine University. ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the
Association of Naval Aviation; Veterans of Foreign Wars; the American Legion;
and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Life member of Phi Delta Theta; the
National Honor Society; the Golden Key National Honor Society. Member of the
West Virginia University Engineering Visiting Committee (Chairman 1990-92) and
member of the University System of West Virginia Board of Trustees (1992-1995);
Co-Chairman (with wife), American Cancer Society fund-raising (State of West
Virginia) 1990; Executive Committee, Boy Scouts of America; Spokesperson for
March of Dimes; American Red Cross Disaster Relief; and Shawnee Hills Mental
Health Group. Member of the Executive Committee, Association of Space Explorers
(Co-President 1995-1996). President, Association of Space Explorers (USA)
(1997-1998). SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Legion
of Merit (LOM); the Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM); 3 Air Medals; the
Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V; a Navy Unit Commendation; the National
Defense Medal; the Vietnamese Service Medal; and the NASA Space Flight Medal.
Recipient of West Virginia Secretary of State's "State Medallion" and appointed
"West Virginia Ambassador of Good Will Among All Men" (1980). Received Honorary
Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from Salem College (1984); Honorary Doctorate
of Science from West Virginia University (1985); Honorary Doctorate of Science
from University of Charleston (1987); Honorary Doctorate of Science from West
Virginia Institute of Technology (1987); West Virginia Society's
"Son-of-the-Year" (1988), City of Beckley; West Virginia "Hall of Fame";
Distinguished Alumni; West Virginia University (1988); West Virginia's "Honorary
Italian-American" (1988); Kanawha County West Virginia's "Famous Person Award"
(1988); West Virginia Broadcasters' "Man-of-the-Year" (1989); City of Hope's
"Spirit of Life Award Winner" (1991); DAR "Medal of Honor" (1993). EXPERIENCE: McBride's naval
service began in 1965 with flight training at Pensacola, Florida. After winning
his wings as a naval aviator, he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 101 based at
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, for training in the F-4 "Phantom II"
aircraft. He was subsequently assigned to Fighter Squadron 41 where he served 3
years as a fighter pilot and division officer. He has also served tours with
Fighter Squadrons 11 and 103. While deployed to Southeast Asia, McBride flew 64
combat missions. NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as an
astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978, McBride became an astronaut in
August 1979. His NASA assignments have included lead chase pilot for the maiden
voyage of Columbia; software verification in the Shuttle Avionics
Integration Laboratory (SAIL); capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for STS-5, STS-6,
and STS-7; Flight Data File (FDF) Manager, and orbital rendezvous procedures
development. David Selby,
Actor, Morgantown (born February 5, 1941 in Morgantown, West
Virginia) is an American character actor, best known for playing Quentin Collins
from 1968-1971 on the ABC-TV cult serial Dark Shadows, and as Jane
Wyman's evil and compassionate TV son, Richard Channing, on the long-running,
primetime CBS soap opera Falcon Crest (from 1982 to 1990). The son of Clyde Ira Selby and Sarah E. McIntyre
Selby, he attended West Virginia University in his hometown, earning Bachelor of
Science and Master's degrees in theater, followed by a Ph.D. from Southern
Illinois University. He would eventually bring his Dark Shadows character
to film with the second Dark Shadows movie, Night of Dark Shadows,
released in 1971 after the TV series' cancellation. A year before joining
Falcon Crest in 1982, he played the villainous Michael Tyronne on the final
season of the NBC primetime serial Flamingo Road. Selby's movie credits
include co-starring roles with Barbra Streisand in Up the Sandbox (1972)
and with Ron Leibman in The Super Cops (1974),White Squall, D3:
The Mighty Ducks, Raise the Titanic, and Surviving Christmas
(2004). He has recently reprised the role of Quentin Collins for a new series of
Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. His writing includes the plays Lincoln and
James and Final Assault as well as the poetry collections My
Mother's Autumn and Happenstance. West Virginia University in 1998 awarded Selby
its the first Life Achievement Award from the College of Creative Arts, and an
honorary doctorate in 2004. Like most NBA players,
West was a standout in high school and at college, attending West Virginia
University and leading it to the 1959 NCAA championship game (of which he was
named Most Valuable Player) before embarking on a 14-year career with the Los
Angeles Lakers. He also played for, and co-captained with Oscar Robertson, the
1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team in Rome. His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch," for his
skill and ability to make a shot in a clutch situation, and "Zeke from Cabin
Creek," given to him by teammate Elgin Baylor, and one West was not
particularly fond of. The latter name is somewhat of a misnomer, but not
completely; Cabin Creek is the name of both a stream and a community near
West's hometown of Chelyan. The community of Cabin Creek is on the opposite
side of the stream from Chelyan as it enters the Kanawha River. For a period of time in certain parts of West
Virginia, West's home state, pee-wee basketball was known as Jerry West
basketball. It was used in the same context that youth baseball leagues use
with Babe Ruth baseball, or youth football leagues use Pop Warner football. In the summer of 2000, the city of Morgantown,
West Virginia, and West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, dedicated the road
outside of the West Virginia University Basketball Coliseum, "Jerry West
Boulevard." The same road is shared on the south end of Morgantown with Don
Knotts Boulevard, in honor of another WVU alumnus. On November 26, 2005, his number 44 became the
first basketball number to be retired by West Virginia University. On February 17, 2007, a bronze statue of him
was honored outside of the WVU Coliseum. Jerry West attended East Bank, West Virginia,
High School from 1952-1956. He was named an All-State from 1953-56, and an
All-American in 1956, when he was also named West Virginia Player of the Year
after becoming the state's first high-school player to score more than 900
points in a season (32.2 ppg, 1956). He also led East Bank to a state
championship that same year. Due to West's tremendous play in the state
championship, the school of East Bank changes its name every year on that same
day to West Bank. He played for the West Virginia University
Mountaineers, in Morgantown, West Virginia, from 1956-1960. Among his college
highlights, he was named to the All-Southern Conference (1958-60),
All-American Second Team (1958), and The Sporting News All-America
First Team (1959-60). In his WVU career, he averaged 24.8 points and 13.3
rebounds per game. In addition to the Olympic Games, he was a
member of the U.S. Pan American Games gold medal-winning team (1959). Drafted in the NBA, West spent his entire
professional career (1960-74) with the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. Although
he was teamed with Hall-of-Fame scorer Elgin Baylor for most of his career,
West still averaged more than 30 points per game in four different seasons and
led the league in scoring during the 1969-70 season. An excellent playmaker,
West also led the league in assists per game during the 1971-72 season.
Although steals weren't recorded by the NBA until West's final season, at age
35 West became the first player in the league to ever record 10 steals in a
single game — still the Lakers franchise record. Heralded as one of the most legendary clutch
shooters in the NBA's history, West averaged 29.1 points per game in 153
playoff games, including 40.6 in 11 playoff games in 1965, and sank one of the
most famous shots in NBA history: a 60-footer with no time remaining to send a
1970 championship game against the New York Knicks into overtime, a game the
Lakers ultimately lost. West played in nine NBA Finals, but finished
his career with only one championship, won in the 1971-72 season, the year the
Lakers established a modern North American professional sports record of 33
straight wins. He retired two years later, after leading the Lakers to yet
another Pacific Division title in the 1973-74 season — this, in spite of the
loss of legendary center Wilt Chamberlain to retirement. As a testimony to
West's on-court leadership and presence, the Lakers fell to the Pacific
Division cellar the year after he retired, posting a 30-52 record. West later
became a coach who carried the Lakers into the playoffs in his three seasons
1976-1979, after which he was hired as an executive for the club in various
positions. When he retired, West had scored 25,192 points,
averaged 27.0 points per game, and made 7,160 free throws and 6,238 assists.
During his career, West was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team four
times (the NBA All-Defensive Team did not exist until West's ninth season), to
the All-NBA First Team 10 times, and played in the All-Star Game 13 times.
West was named the All-Star Game MVP in 1972. West is still the only player
ever to be named NBA Finals MVP when on a losing team. He accomplished this in
the 1969 NBA Finals against Boston, the first year the award was given. In
1980 he was named to the NBA's 35th Anniversary All-Time Team and in 1996 was
selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. In 1982, Jerry West was named general manager
of the Lakers, and through shrewd trades and draft picks, maintained the
Lakers' status in the NBA elite for the rest of the decade. These teams were
built around the core of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy,
and would go on to win four more championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988,
becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since the great
Boston Celtics dynasty did so in 1968 and 1969. Following a slump in the early 1990s, West
received the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 1995 after his Lakers reached
the playoffs with a team built around Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Cedric
Ceballos, and Vlade Divac. West is credited for bringing Kobe Bryant onto the
team, trading Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for Bryant's draft rights, and
signing free agent Shaquille O'Neal to the team, which would later go on to
win three consecutive NBA titles. In 2002 he was hired as president of basketball
operations by the Memphis Grizzlies. Although it was the worst team in the NBA
at that time, West quietly rebuilt the squad. In 2004, the Grizzlies won 50
games for the first time in their history, and West was named NBA Executive of
the Year for the second time. He currently lives in Memphis with his wife.
His son, Jonnie, is a freshman on the West Virginia University basketball
team. West recently put his Memphis home up for sale
for just under $4 million. Rumor has it that he and his wife are looking for a
smaller home. Curt Warner, Pro Baseball Player,
Pineville (born March 18, 1961 in Pineville, West Virginia)
was the Seattle Seahawks first-round draft pick in 1983. A running back out of
Penn State University, Warner led the AFC in rushing yards his rookie season,
helping his team to the franchise's first Conference Championship game which
they lost to the Los Angeles Raiders. The following year Warner suffered a torn
ACL in the season opener against Cleveland and was sidelined for the rest of the
year. He came back in 1985 and had a number of successful seasons before ending
his career with the Los Angeles Rams. Warner finished his 8 NFL seasons with 6,844
rushing yards, 193 receptions for 1,467 yards, and 63 touchdowns. He made the
pro bowl 3 times (1983, 1986, 1987). Warner was raised in Pineville, West Virginia, a
small town of less than 1,000. He helped his high school football team to
several state championship games. He was a multisport athlete, perhaps excelling
in baseball more than football. He was predicted as an early first-round draft
pick out of high school but was convinced by coach Joe Paterno of Penn State
University to play college football rather than play professional baseball. He currently owns a car dealership named Curt
Warner Chevrolet in Vancouver, Washington. Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr., Pro
Baseball Player, Nitro. 1926-2006 b. November 22, 1926 d. February 6, 2007) was an
American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played
primarily for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. The team's top righthander during
its years in Milwaukee, he was the Most Valuable Player of the 1957 World
Series, leading the franchise to its first championship in 43 years, and the
only title in Milwaukee history. An outstanding control pitcher, his career
average of 1.84 walks per nine innings pitched places him behind only Robin
Roberts (1.73), Carl Hubbell (1.82) and Juan Marichal (1.82) among pitchers with
at least 3000 innings since 1920. Born in Nitro, West Virginia, Burdette was signed
by the New York Yankees in 1947, and after making two relief appearances for the
team in September 1950, he was traded to the Braves in August 1951 for four-time
20-game winner Johnny Sain. Along with left-hander Warren Spahn and hardworking
Bob Buhl, he gave the Braves one of the best starting rotations in the majors
during the 1950s, winning 15 or more games eight times between 1953 and 1961.
When Milwaukee won the 1957 World Series against the Yankees, Burdette became
the first pitcher in 37 years to win three complete games in a Series, and the
first since Christy Mathewson in 1905 to pitch two shutouts (Games 5 and 7). In
the 1958 Series, however, the Yankees defeated Burdette twice in three starts.
In addition to winning 20 games in 1958 and 21 in 1959, Burdette won 19 in 1956
and 1960, 18 in 1961, and 17 in 1957. In two All-Star games, he allowed only one
run in seven innings pitched, and in 1956 he topped National League pitchers
with a 2.70 earned run average. He also led the NL in shutouts twice, and in
wins, innings and complete games once each. Burdette was the winning pitcher on May 26, 1959
when the Pittsburgh Pirates' Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game against the
Braves for 12 innings, only to lose in the 13th. Burdette threw a 1-0 shutout,
scattering 12 hits. In the ensuing offseason, he joked, "I'm the greatest
pitcher that ever lived. The greatest game that was ever pitched in baseball
wasn't good enough to beat me, so I've got to be the greatest!" The next year,
facing the minimum 27 batters, Burdette pitched a 1–0 no-hitter against the
Philadelphia Phillies on August 18, 1960. Tony González, the only opposing
batter to reach base after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, was retired
on a double play. Burdette helped himself by scoring the only run of the game.
Following up his no-hitter, five days later he pitched his third shutout in a
row. As a hitter, he compiled a .183 batting average
with 75 RBI and 12 home runs; his first two home runs came in the same 1957
game, and he later had two more two-homer games. In 1963 Burdette was traded to the St. Louis
Cardinals (1963-64), and was later sent to the Chicago Cubs (1964-65) and
Phillies (1965). Signing with the California Angels, he pitched exclusively in
relief for the team in 1966-67 before retiring. In an 18-year career, Burdette
posted a 203-144 record with 1074 strikeouts and a 3.66 ERA in 3067.1 innings,
compiling 158 complete games and 33 shutouts. His totals of wins, games and
innings with the Braves ranked behind only Spahn and Kid Nichols in franchise
history. Burdette also cut a record in the 1950s entitled
"Three Strikes and Then You're Out". Burdette died of lung cancer at age 80 at his
home in Winter Garden, Florida. Rodney King "Rod" Thorn (born May 23,
1941 in Princeton, West Virginia) is the president and general
manager of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. A highly-regarded high school
athlete in both basketball and baseball, Thorn attended West
Virginia University, where he was an All-American guard in
basketball, as well as playing three seasons on the WVU baseball
team. In the 1963 NBA Draft, Thorn was the second player selected
overall, drafted by the Baltimore Bullets. He was named to the NBA
All-Rookie Team, but was traded by the Bullets following his first
season. After brief stints with Detroit and St. Louis, he concluded
his career as a player with the Seattle SuperSonics (1967-71). After retiring, he stayed with the SuperSonics
as assistant coach and graduated from the University of Washington with a
degree in political science. In 1973, former teammate Kevin Loughery hired
Thorn as assistant coach of the
Early life and
baseball career
Early career success
1980
1980 post-season
The Pine Tar Incident
1985
Later career
Legacy
Post baseball
activities
Trivia
488 votes on 497 ballots 98.2%
Born: May 15, 1953, in Glen Dale, West Virginia
ML Debut: 8/2/1973
Primary Position: Third Baseman
Bats: L Throws: R Primary Uniform #: 5
Played For: Kansas City Royals (1973-1993)
Primary Team: Kansas City Royals
Post-Season: 1976 ALCS, 1977 ALCS, 1978 ALCS, 1980 ALCS, 1980 World Series,
1981 ALDS, 1984 ALCS, 1985 ALCS, 1985 World Series
Awards: All-Star (12): 1976-1986, 1988; American League Most Valuable Player
1980; Gold Glove: 1985; 1985 ALCS Most Valuable Player
As it turned
out, his way out of the tanning business happened to be a football scholarship
to West Virginia University. Bosley, a third team Class B all-state fullback at
Green Bank High School, caught the sharp eye of West Virginia football coach Art
“Pappy” Lewis and he was offered a full scholarship to play for the
Mountaineers.
Even though Lewis knew all about him, others in the state
weren’t as quick to notice.
Bosley was not one of the 50 high school players invited to
play in the 1952 West Virginia North-South all-star game. After the first day of
practice, one player got hurt and another got sick and the high school coaches
went scrambling to find a replacement.
Lewis, watching the two teams practice, finally spoke up:
“Hell, I can get you the best damn player in the state. His name is Bruce Bosley.”
Quarterback Fred Wyant, who later became a teammate of
Bosley's at WVU, spotted the husky Green Bank native the minute he walked out
onto the practice field.
“We were out on the field and all of the sudden here came
this guy who looked like a Greek god,” Wyant remembered.
A big, strong country boy, Bosley was the type of player
physically capable of playing college football right away.
“Bruce was extremely strong, had great football instincts
and was intelligent,” recalled Gene Corum -- WVU’s line coach at the time. “I
called him a gentle giant. I had seen his tremendous strength on the field and
then I had seen him baby sit my two daughters and he was so gentle with them.
They loved him.”
Not only was Bosley a gifted athlete, he was also a
top-rate student who took the hardest courses at WVU.
“I don’t remember Bruce practicing very much,” said
teammate and NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff. “He was in engineering and
had a lot of labs.”
As it turned out, Bosley didn’t need that much practicing.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound lineman quickly developed a
reputation for manhandling opposing players in the trenches. Bosley was an
immediate starter and was one of the primary reasons West Virginia went from 5-5
in 1951 to 7-2 in 1952.In 1954, after a dominating performance against Penn State,
Bosley was considered one of the country’s top linemen. He was named AP player
of the week after West Virginia’s 19-14 victory at Penn State and went on to
earn consensus All-America honors as a senior in 1955. West Virginia won 31 of
38 games Bosley played in during his four seasons from 1952-55.
Bosley, also an Academic All-American with a degree in
chemical engineering, was invited to play in the College Football All-Star Game,
the North-South Game and the Senior Bowl.
Based on his performances in those games, new San Francisco
49ers coach Norman Stader decided to make Bosley the team’s second pick in the
second round of the 1956 draft as a defensive end.
By 1957, Bosley switched to line and was the team’s
starting left guard, earning his first pro bowl berth in 1961. Two years later
in 1963 when the team was searching for a center after an injury to starter
Frank Morze, all-pro guard Bosley stepped in and learned that position.
In 1965, Bosley was named to the pro bowl again and was
honored two more times in 1966 and 1967.
Detroit Lions all-pro middle linebacker Joe Schmidt says
Bosley was one of the league’s most underrated snappers of the mid-1960s.
According to Bosley’s 49er teammate “Tiger” Bill Johnson, Schmidt always voted
him to the pro bowl.
“(Schmidt) is one of the smartest linebackers in the
business,” Johnson once said, “and he thinks Bosley is the greatest center going
in the game today.”
Even though many of the 49er teams Bosley played on had
losing records, San Francisco was always known for its innovative offenses led
by quarterback John Brodie and running back Ken Willard.
Bosley also had a part in Coach Howard “Red” Hickey’s
shotgun offense first introduced in the NFL in 1961.
Bosely played in two of the more memorable games in NFL
history. The first came on Dec. 22, 1957, at old Kezar Stadium when San
Francisco blew a 24-7 halftime lead and lost 31-27 to the Detroit Lions in a
one-game playoff to determine the Western Conference championship.
Playing without injured quarterback Bobby Layne, the Lions
still managed to score three touchdowns in a span of 4:29 in one of the greatest
comebacks in NFL history.
“At halftime I was thinking about the $5,000 we’d get for
winning the game,” said Bosley after the game.
Seven years later on Oct. 25, 1964, Bosley was involved in
one of the strangest plays in NFL history when Minnesota Vikings defensive
lineman Jim Marshall picked up a Billy Kilmer fumble and ran the wrong way to
his own end zone.
Chasing Marshall all the way to the Viking goal line was
Bosely, who greeted Marshall in the end zone with a friendly tap on the shoulder
to record the safety and an ear-to-ear grin: “Thanks Jim,” he said.
By 1967, Bosely was cultivating his other passion:
restoring old homes. NFL Films visited his Hillsbrough W.S. Crocker
Estate carriage house for a show called “They Lead Two Lives,” which chronicled
his career as both a star football player and respected home builder.
During the next 11 years he remodeled two other estates in
Hillsborough as president of Interior Design, a home building, remodeling,
interior decorating, furnishing and real-estate company.
Meanwhile, Bosley spent another season with the 49ers in
1968 and a year with the Atlanta Falcons in 1969 before retiring.
Bosley became part-owner of a wholesale electrical supply
house in addition to his home remodeling business and was also well-known for
his civic and charitable activities in San Francisco.
Among his most prominent roles was membership on the board
of directors for the San Francisco Annex for Cultural Arts, membership on the
mayor’s committee for the San Francisco Council for the Performing Arts, and a
long-time volunteer role with both the San Francisco Film Festival and the San
Francisco Ballet.
Bosley also served a stint as the president of the NFL
Alumni Association.
He lived and thrived in San Francisco until his death from
a heart attack on April 26, 1995.
Despite spending nearly 40 years of his life in northern
California, Bosley never forgot his West Virginia roots.
“Things may change and your career may take you away in a
different direction but there are things you never forget. I’ve never left my
roots. They are in West Virginia,” Bosley told Charleston Daily Mail
sports editor Bill Smith several years ago.
Bosley is listed on the San Francisco 49ers “Golden Era”
team from 1946-69 and he was named to the college football’s 75th
Silver Anniversary Team in 1981.
Bosley, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, was
a part of West Virginia University’s second hall of fame induction class of
1992.
More recently, he was named the state of West Virginia’s 30th
greatest sports figure in a poll conducted by CNNSI.com.
The
esteemed American soprano and teacher, Phyllis Curtin (née Smith), studied at
Wellesley College (B.A., 1943) and received vocal instruction from Olga Avierino,
Joseph Regnaeas, and Goldovsky.
In 1946 Phyllis Curtin made her operatic debut as Lisa in The Queen of Spades
with the New England Opera Theatre in Boston. Her recital debut followed in 1950
at New York’s Town Hall. In October 1953 she made her first appearance with the
New York City Opera, as Fräulein Burstner in Gottfried von Einem's The Trial;
where she remained on the roster until 1960; then returned in 1962, 1964, and
1975-76. She also made appearances at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1959),
the Glyndebourne Festival (1959), the Vienna State
Opera (1960-1961), and at La Scala in Milan (1962). In November 1961 she
made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Fiordiligi, remaining on its
roster for the season; she returned for the 1966-1970 and 1972-1973 seasons. Her
tours as a soloist with orchestras and as a recitalist took her all over the
globe until her retirement in 1984.
Phyllis Curtin taught at the Aspen (Colorado) school of Music and the Berkshire
Music Center in Tanglewood. After serving as professor of voice at the Yale
University School of Music (1974-1983), she was professor of voice and dean of
the school of the arts at Boston University (from 1983); in 1992 she retired as
its dean but continued to teach there.
Phyllis Curtin became well known for such roles as Mozart's Countess, Donna
Anna, Rosalinde, Eva, Violetta, Alice Ford, Salome, and Ellen Orford. She also
created Floyd’s Susannah (1955) and Cathy in Wuthbering Heights (1958).
Dickens was
the 13th child of a West Virginian farmer. During his childhood, he fell in love
with music and had a dream of performing on the Grand Ole Opry. He began
performing professionally while he was a student at the University of West
Virginia in the late '30s, singing on a local radio station. Dickens left school
shortly after he received his regular radio job. He began traveling around the
country, singing on radio shows in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan under the name
Jimmy the Kid. Roy Acuff heard Dickens sing on a radio show in Saginaw, MI, and
invited him to sing on the Grand Ole Opry.
In 1949,
Dickens -- who was now using the name
Little Jimmy Dickens -- became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry.
That year, he also signed a record contract with Columbia Records, releasing his
first single, "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait," in the spring of 1949. The song
became a Top Ten hit and launched a string of hit novelty, ballad, and honky
tonk singles that lasted for a year, including "Country Boy," "A-Sleeping at the
Foot of the Bed," "Hillbilly Fever," and "My Heart's Bouquet." Early in the
'50s, he formed a band called
the Country Boys, which featured a steel guitar, two lead guitars, and
drums. With their spirited traditional country approach and vague rockabilly
inflections, the band didn't sound like their Nashville contemporaries. Perhaps
that's why
Dickens only had one hit between 1950 and 1962: 1954's "Out Behind the
Barn."Dickens bounced back to the Top Ten with the ballad "The Violet and the
Rose" in 1962. Three years later, he had his biggest hit, "May the Bird of
Paradise Fly up Your Nose." The single topped the country charts and crossed
over to number 15 on the pop charts. Although his next single, "When the Ship
Hit the Sand," was moderately successful,
Dickens wasn't able to replicate the success of "May the Bird of Paradise
Fly up Your Nose." In 1968, he stopped recording for Columbia, signing with
Decca Records, where he had three minor hits in the late '60s and early '70s. In
1971, he moved to United Artists, which resulted in two more small hits, but by
that time he had begun to concentrate on performing as his main creative outlet.
Dickens continued to tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry into the '90s,
becoming one of the most beloved characters in country music.
Over
the next decade Dru appeared frequently in films, most often cast in westerns
such as the John Wayne films Red River (1948) and She Wore a Yellow
Ribbon (1949). She also gave a well received performance in the dramatic
film All the King's Men (1949).
She later lamented that she had been typecast in western films, commenting
that once an actress became typecast, that was the end, and adding that she had
never liked horses. She also appeared in the Martin and Lewis film 3 Ring
Circus. Her film career began to fade by the end of the 1950s but she
continued working frequently in television, and played the female lead in the
1960 ABC sitcom Guestward, Ho!.
Although regarded as a capable and popular film actress, it was for her
contributions to television that Dru was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Dru died in
Los Angeles, California at the age of 74 from lymphedema,
a disease "which is especially common after surgery or radiation therapy were
used in combination to treat
cancer", which
indicates that she probably had undergone these treatments for cancer (likely
breast cancer) prior to her death.
George Friel, U.S. Army Major General, Marlinton
John S. Knight publisher, Bluefield, 1894-1981
Don Knotts actor, Morgantown, 1925-2006
Arch
Alfred Moore jurist, Moundsville
Walter Reuther labor leader, Wheeling, 1946-1970
Died: October 3, 1990 - Langhorne, Pennsylvania, USA
The eminent American soprano, Eleanor Steber, grew
up in a musical family. Her mother was an accomplished amateur singer and taught
her voice and piano, took her to concerts, arranged for coaching, and strongly
encouraged her to study and to sing in school and community shows. Eleanor later
studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, originally intending to major
in piano, but her voice teacher, William Whitney, persuaded her to focus on
singing, instead. She received Bachelor of Music in 1938. At the beginning she
did a lot of radio, oratorio, and church work. Steber’s opera debut was in 1936,
appearing as Senta with the Commonwealth Opera in a WPA production of Wagner's
The Flying Dutchman, a demanding role indeed for a 21-year-old. In 1939,
she went to New York to study with Paul Althouse who had a great influence on
her. In 1940 she won first prize at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air,
earning a Met contract.
Eleanor Steber's first role at the Met was Sophie in
Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier in October 1940. During the next years she
benefited from conductors such as Bruno Walter, Sir Thomas Beecham, Erich
Leinsdorf and George Szell. She was a versatile artist and appeared in Italian,
French and German operas. Things began to change for her at the Met when Rudolf
Bing took over the company in 1950. By this time, her career extended well
beyond New York (San Francisco, Chicago and Europe). At the Met, though, she
began to feel that she was being passed over for mainstream Italian roles in
favour of Tebaldi and Callas. Altogether she appeared 286 times in New York and
118 times on tour. She sang 28 leading roles in an extremely large repertoire.
Her easy upper range, coupled with a rich, smoothly produced lower voice made
her a natural for Mozart roles. Which she sang brilliantly, such as the Countess
in Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Donna Anna in
Don Giovanni, and even Konstanze in the Abduction from the Seraglio,
with its vocal pyrotechnics, as well as in other Mozart operas. As her voice
matured, she sang some of the spinto roles in both the German and Italian
repertoire. Her roles in this repertoire included Violetta, Elisabetta,
Desdemona, Marguerite, Manon Lescaut, Mimi, and Tosca, and the
Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier. In Wagner’s operas she sang Eva in
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Elsa in Lohengrin. She was also
the company’s first Arabella in 1955, and in 1959 was the first to perform at
the Met the challenging part of Marie in Berg’s opera Wozzeck. Steber was
perhaps most famous for her creation of in January 1958 of the title role in
Samuel Barber’s opera Vanessa (but it was first offered to Maria Callas
and Sena Jurinac who both declined), and for commissioning his Knoxville:
Summer of 1915. Steber was one of the most important sopranos in the USA
during the 1940’s and 1950’s, with a sweet and yet full voice, and outstanding
versatility (her recitals were practically vocal pentathlons for their wide
range of styles and vocal demands, and the day she sang Desdemona in Verdi's
Otello for a Met matinee and Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte
that evening is still a legend). Her European engagements included appearances
at Edinburgh (1947), Vienna (1953), and Glyndebourne. In 1953 she was the first
American to appear at the Bayreuth Festival after the Second World War.
In addition to opera and recitals, Eleanor Steber
was a frequent guest on The Voice of Firestone's television broadcasts.
However, her career outlasted her voice, and most of her later appearances and
recordings were gravely technically flawed.
Eleanor Steber's relationship with the Met was not an easy one, for many reasons
on both sides. In 1961, when Bing offered her a contract that only provided
“covering” roles, she declined. After several years of absence from the
Metropolitan Opera, she took part in the final gala performance of the old opera
building in April 1966.
Eleanor Steber was not very happy in private life
either, two marriages had fallen apart and she got into problems with alcohol
and asthma. After partial retirement in 1962, she turned her attention more and
more towards recitals and concerts. She made some appearances on Broadway,
mostly in supporting parts, and also gave one of the notorious bathhouse
concerts in New York in 1973. She and her husband opened and managed a record
label, ST/AND (combining their names), but when they attempted to expand, it was
a dismal flop.
Eleanor Steber was head of the voice department at the Cleveland Institute of
Music from 1963 to 1972. She taught at the Juilliard School in New York, and at
the New England Conservatory of Music (both from 1971), also at the American
Institute of Music Studies in Graz (1978-1980; 1988). She established the
Eleanor Steber Music Foundation in 1875 to assist young professional singers.
With R. Beatie, she published study ‘Mozart Operatic Arias’ (New York,
1988). Her autobiography, written in collaboration with M. Sloat was published
posthumously (New Jersey 1992).
Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he was commissioned a colonel in the
Virginia forces and dispatched to Harpers Ferry where he was active in
organizing the raw recruits until relieved by Joe Johnston. His later
assignments included: commanding lst Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah (May - July
20, 1861); brigadier general, CSA June 17, 1861); commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd
Corps, Army of the Potomac July 20 - October 1861); major general, CSA (October
7, 1861); commanding Valley District, Department of Northern Virginia (November
4, 1861 - June 26, 1862); commanding 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia June
26, 1862-May 2, 1863); and lieutenant general, CSA (October 10, 1862).
Leaving Harpers Ferry, his brigade moved with Johnston to join
Beauregard at Manassas. In the fight at 1st Bull Run they were so distinguished
that both the brigade and its commander were dubbed "Stonewall" by General
Barnard Bee. (However, Bee may have been complaining that Jackson was not coming
to his support). The 1st Brigade was the only Confederate brigade to have its
nickname become its official designation. That fall Jackson was given command of
the Valley with a promotion to major general.
That winter he launched a dismal campaign into the western part of the
state that resulted in a long feud with General William Loring and caused
Jackson to submit his resignation, which he was talked out of. In March he
launched an attack on what he thought was a Union rear guard at Kernstown.
Faulty intelligence from his cavalry chief, Turner Ashby, led to a defeat. A
religious man, Jackson always regretted having fought on a Sunday. But the
defeat had the desired result, halting reinforcements being sent to McClellan's
army from the Valley. In May Jackson defeated Fremont's advance at McDowell and
later that month launched a brilliant campaign that kept several Union
commanders in the area off balance. He won victories at Front Royal, 1st
Winchester, Cross Keys, and Port Republic. He then joined Lee in the defense of
Richmond but displayed a lack of vigor during the Seven Days.
Detached from Lee, he swung off to the north to face John Pope's army
and after a slipshod battle at Cedar Mountain, slipped behind Pope and captured
his Manassas junction supply base. He then hid along an incomplete branch
railroad and awaited Lee and Longstreet. Attacked before they arrived, he held
on until Longstreet could launch a devastating attack which brought a second
Bull Run victory.
In the invasion of Maryland, Jackson was detached to capture Harpers
Ferry and was afterwards distinguished at Antietam with Lee. He was promoted
after this and given command of the now-official 2nd Corps. It had been known as
a wing or command before this. He was disappointed with the victory at
Fredericksburg because it could not be followed up. In his greatest day he led
his corps around the Union right flank at Chancellorsville and routed the 11th
Corps. Reconnoitering that night, he was returning to his own lines when he was
mortally wounded by some of his own men.
Following the amputation of his arm, he died eight days later on May 10,
1863, from pneumonia. Lee wrote of him with deep feeling: " He has lost his left
arm; but I have lost my right arm." A superb commander, he had several faults.
Personnel problems haunted him, as in the feuds with Loring and with Garnett
after Kernstown. His choices for promotion were often not first rate. He did not
give his subordinates enough latitude, which denied them the training for higher
positions under Lee's loose command style. This was especially devastating in
the case of his immediate successor, Richard Ewell. Although he was sometimes
balky when in a subordinate position, Jackson was supreme on his own hook.
Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.Military and legal career
Political career
Later life and death
Minor League Career
Major League Career
Outside baseball
Stats
Transactions
Hawkshaw Hawkins. country musician
and singer, Huntington
The tall, handsome country
singer married fellow artist Jean Shepard, and they lived on a farm near
Nashville where Hawkins bred horses. Their first son, Don Robin, was named after
their friends Don Gibson and Marty Robbins. In 1963 Hawkins released his
best-known recording, Justin Tubb's song "Lonesome 7-7203". The song entered the
US country charts three days before Hawkins died on 5 March 1963 in the plane
crash that also claimed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. "Lonesome 7-7203" was his
only number 1 record in the US country charts. Shepard was pregnant at the time
and their son was named Harold Franklin Hawkins II in his memory.
Charlie McCoy, country musician and
singer, Oak Hill
He attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base prior
to reporting to Air Test and Development Squadron Four at Point Mugu,
California, where he served as maintenance officer and Sidewinder project
officer. He has flown over 40 different types of military and civilian aircraft
and piloted the Navy "Spirit of '76" bicentennial-painted F-4J "Phantom in
various air shows during 1976, 1977, and 1978. He holds current FAA ratings
which include commercial pilot (multi-engine), instrument, and glider; and he
previously served as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI).
He has logged more than 8,800 hours flying
time--including 4,700 hours in jet aircraft. 1979.
McBride was pilot of STS 41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center,
Florida, on October 5, 1984, aboard the Orbiter Challenger. This was the
first crew of seven. During their eight day mission, crew members deployed the
Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the earth
with the OSTA-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential
satellite refueling with an EVA and associated hydrazine transfer. Mission
duration was 197 hours and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center,
Florida, on October 13, 1984.
McBride was scheduled to fly next in March 1986, as the commander of STS 61-E
crew. This flight was one of several deferred by NASA in the wake of the
Challenger accident in January 1986.
On July 30, 1987, McBride was assigned to NASA Headquarters to serve as
Assistant Administrator for Congressional Relations, with responsibility for
NASA's relationship with Congress, and for providing coordination and direction
to all Headquarters and Field Center communications with Congressional support
organizations. He held this post from September 1987 through March 1989. In 1988
McBride was named to command the crew of the STS-35 (ASTRO-1) mission, scheduled
for launch in March 1990.
In May 1989, Captain McBride retired from NASA and the Navy, in order to pursue
a business career. He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Flying Eagle Corporation in Lewisburg, West Virginia; and President of the
Constructors’ Labor Council of West Virginia (heavy/highway construction
contractors).Biography
Awards
Jerry West,
Pro Basketball Player and Manager, Chelyan
Early life and
sports
NBA career
Management
Rod Thorn,
NBA Basketball Player, Coach, President and General Manager. Princeton