Today is the birthday
… of Harmon Killebrew, 72. Not only is Killebrew in the Hall of Fame, but his is the profile on the Major League Baseball logo.
… of best actor Oscar nominee Gary Busey. He’s 64. The nomination was for The Buddy Holly Story.
… of Football Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf, 59.
… of Maria Conchita Alonso, 51.
Actress Jayne Mansfield, just 34, was killed 41 years ago today when her car struck a trailer truck near Slidell, Louisiana. The driver and Ms. Mansfield’s companion, Sam Brody, were also killed. Three of her children asleep in the backseat survived.
Harmon Killebrew. I grew up in Killebrew’s Idaho home town, living a long country block from his winter house. In those days, of course, ballplayers didn’t earn much. His house was very nondescript and vacant much of the year. In the recent Fay Vincent book, Killebrew described his off season jobs, including feeding the cows. The ballpark used to have a covered, wooden grandstand and left field was a 400 foot poke because the field doubled for football. I remember hearing about the mammoth homers he hit. Sweet memories.