1-19-2022 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this program by speaking of Martin Luther King’s impact on the world of sports. He then spends some time talking about Elston Howard, the first black player in the history of the New York Yankees. The Yankees were one of the last MLB teams to integrate when they signed Howard, who would play in ten World Series and win the 1963 AL MVP. The Yankees had a chance to make Howard, an extremely well respected baseball man, the league’s first black manager prior to the 1974 season, but chose Bill Virdon instead. To this day, the Yankees are one of ten MLB teams who have yet to hire a manager or color. John then talks about the mistreatment of Doug Williams in the 1980’s. The same sentiment that exists when it comes to black Head Coaches existed when it came to quarterbacks at one point. Williams’ treatment by the NFL was uncalled for, and looks even worse all these years later. John then talks about “House Money,” a description that is used to rate the state of a team that has little to lose in the postseason. John talks about the Cardinals, Eagles, Raiders, Steelers, and Bengals in varying degrees. He finishes off the program by comparing the Dallas Cowboys to the Big Ten in College Basketball.
