With the death Wednesday of former Braves owner and media mogul Ted Turner, it reminded me that Mr. Turner is part of Pirates lore:
On May 11, 1977, upset over a 16-game losing streak, Mr. Turner, the owner, took over as manager for one game, which happened to be against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. John Candelaria pitched against Phil Niekro. The Pirates went up 1-0 on a Rennie Stennett single to score Frank Tavares, who had reached on a wild pitch on strike three, then advanced to third on a single by Dave Parker. AParker home run gave them a 2-1 lead in the third. That wound up the final score. Niekro pitched all eight innings for the Braves. "Candy Man" threw 8.2 innings, leaving the Braves with runners on second and third, but Goose Gossage came on to strike out Roland Office to end the game.
Not knowing what to do or how to act as a manger in the dugout, Mr. Turner reportedly mimicked the posture and movements of Chuck Tanner throughout the game in an attempt to blend in.
The next day, National League president Chub Feeney banned Turner from managing, citing the "Connie Mack Rule" which prohibits any shareholder in a team from acting as its manager.
A terrific story I vaguely recalled when I heard the news of his passing, but had fun researching for this post.
THE ASYLUM
Turner part of Pirates lore
With the death Wednesday of former Braves owner and media mogul Ted Turner, it reminded me that Mr. Turner is part of Pirates lore:
On May 11, 1977, upset over a 16-game losing streak, Mr. Turner, the owner, took over as manager for one game, which happened to be against the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. John Candelaria pitched against Phil Niekro. The Pirates went up 1-0 on a Rennie Stennett single to score Frank Tavares, who had reached on a wild pitch on strike three, then advanced to third on a single by Dave Parker. A Parker home run gave them a 2-1 lead in the third. That wound up the final score. Niekro pitched all eight innings for the Braves. "Candy Man" threw 8.2 innings, leaving the Braves with runners on second and third, but Goose Gossage came on to strike out Roland Office to end the game.
Not knowing what to do or how to act as a manger in the dugout, Mr. Turner reportedly mimicked the posture and movements of Chuck Tanner throughout the game in an attempt to blend in.
The next day, National League president Chub Feeney banned Turner from managing, citing the "Connie Mack Rule" which prohibits any shareholder in a team from acting as its manager.
A terrific story I vaguely recalled when I heard the news of his passing, but had fun researching for this post.
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