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To: robert b furman who wrote (463)	2/4/2021 5:08:04 PM
From: Bull RidaH	3 Recommendations Recommended By bull_dozer da_spot The Ox Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4446

Bob - WOW!! 57 Vette?? You've gotta post some pictures here when that project is complete!! You staying factory correct or will there be a little zoom-zoom modification?? I was a pitcher, but unfortunately wasn't born with the natural physical gifts my identical twin brothers have... thus my descent into the life of a stock market/trading nerd. :) You knew about my dad, who worked for XOM right after his discharge from NC State and the US Army. But you probably didn't know about my stepdad, a famous former Major League Baseball player who married my mom in `89, a couple years after my parent's divorce. Please allow me to introduce you to him. Tony Cloninger... from Iron Station, NC a half hour from where I grew up. Tony was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in `57, the most highly sought after pitching prospect that year, and was amongst the first amateurs to ever receive a six figure signing bonus ($100,000... and he promptly gave half to his home Church). After a few years in the minors, and due to his status as one of the first suspected 100 mph flamethrowers ever (guns not used then), he broke into the majors in '61, and quickly became best friends with Joe Torre, his catcher. Tony was an incredible athlete, and had signing offers from professional basketball teams at the time as well, due to his shooting and jumping abilities. He and teammate Hank Aaron became very close friends, and his exposure to legendary veterans Billly Martin and Warren Spahn assisted in Tony's development. His best year was in `65 - when he went 24-10, and was barely edged out by Koufax's 26 wins that year for the Cy Young Award. As the Brave's ace in 1965, he was assigned to pitch the first ever game played in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, which proved to be his undoing as one of the most promising young pitchers in the league. The game, played on a cold April night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, went 13 full innings, and Tony, who wanted to win the game for the new fans in their new stadium and city, PITCHED ALL 13 INNINGS. braveshistoryblog.wordpress.com Tony confided in me in '88 that he could not feel his throwing arm attached to his body as he left the stadium that night, and sadly enough, his arm was never the same again. A career that was tracking on the same trajectory as Koufax, Gibson, Feller, and Seaver was derailed due to his coach's lack of pitch count maintenance, especially on a cold opening night. But even with his pitcing hindered, his athleticism took over, and his brightest, most memorable and fame garnering moment as a professional came in Candlestick Park in San Francisco on July 3, 1966, when he became the only pitcher in MLB history to ever hit 2 grand slams in 1 game. He added 1 more RBI on a sacrifice fly hit to the top of the outfield wall, setting the record that stands to this day of 9 RBI for a pitcher in one game. Here he is in a photo shoot after his big game in SF, a photo with NINE bats in his hands that ran with the press reports on the feat. Though that one fateful and unfathomable night kept HIM out of the Hall of Fame, the BAT he used that night is featured prominently at the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was traded to the Reds in '68 as a result of his subsequent pitching struggles, but still finished his career with over 100 wins and a 1970 World Series Start in Game 3. Not to mention, he added another couple life-long friends with the last names of Rose and Bench. He wrapped up his career in '72 with the Cardinals, and stayed out of baseball over the next decade while raising his family, until a prolific coaching career began in the 80's with the Yankees that would eventually reunite him with one of his best friends Joe Torre, just as his love affair with my mom began to unfold. There's plenty more to this story, which I'll address at a later date. Wikipedia gives a pretty good synopsis of his career here... en.m.wikipedia.org But at least now you know some of what my dream to be a professional baseball pitcher was inspired by. <g>