Baseball

Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, etc - and a lot of good players

Clemente was a thoroughbred - wonderful to watch in all facets of the game and a class act.

I wasn't aware of Mickey's drinking at that time. He was a baseball God to me when I saw him.
I never really met him. He saw us by the dug out and said hi but never came over to talk with us. He did sign the baseball passed around the dugout. If anything, I was just a little boy's face in a small crowd to him .. and the rest of the team who said hello or waved. Didn't bother me - I felt so fortunate to see them that close - a little stunned more people didn't come out.

Back then it was black & white TV for my family so seeing the players live ... and in color - was more of a spectacle. On black and white TV, you couldn't tell their hair color for example. Seeing all pro sports live after watching them on black and white tv was a similar stunning "Technicolor" visual - along with the live roar of the crowd - that today's digital images & camera work with surround sound captures so much better in our living rooms today (though they still can't replace the feeling of being there).

I read or heard about Mickey's troubles in the media long after that game. It was a little disappointing - a great man slips a few notches. But I always liked him and pulled for him to the end.