In the aftermath of Macho Man's death late last week, a simple Google search will quickly yield all sorts of recollections and crazy accounts from those who knew him. One I found most entertaining was SI.com's story this week on Macho Man's relatively brief professional baseball career in the early 1970's as a minor leaguer in the Cardinals and Reds organizations (link at bottom; pictures above)One part of the story details the 1973 period in which Macho Man was promoted to the St. Louis Cardinals' Class A affiliate in Orangeburg, S.C., where Savage was managed by former major league slugger Jimmy Piersall (pictured above). And just get a load of some of the insane things this crazy cat reportedly did in and around the ball diamond:
-Once during a game when the umpire was bent over and sweeping the dirt off of home plate, he ran down the third base line "and took out the umpire for no apparent reason."
-He once got into a fistfight with an opposing player during a game and a scuffle with a teammate after the same game.
-He once got in trouble after he "spanked the four-year-old son of a teammate" in the clubhouse during a game.
-Once he was ejected from four games in less than three weeks.
-The last of those four ejections came following a second inning strikeout. Prior to that at-bat, he celebrated a teammate's home run "by spraying a water pistol on home plate."
-After that fourth ejection, he made his way up to the grandstand roof "to heckle the home plate umpire."
-On another occasion, he again brandished the water pistol and "squirted an umpire."
-"He once stepped up to bat wearing a Beatles wig and playing 'air guitar' on his bat."
-He once hit a home run and then ran backwards around the bases in order to garner some additional media attention.
-He also frequently mimicked opposing players and was known to run the bases with his arms spread "like an airplane."
-During one game, he "led cheers for himself" during breaks in play.
-During one break in play, he "hid behind centerfield monuments" and was heard purporting to "talk" to the deceased Babe Ruth.
The only thing is: I'm not even talking about Randy Savage. It was Jimmy Piersall who reportedly did all of those things (taking out the umpire while he was the manager of Savage's team, with the other incidents all occurring during his big league playing days with the Boston Red Sox and other teams).
"Man, was he ever crazy," said Savage teammate Bill Lorillard with respect to their Orangeburg skipper, Piersall. Yep, as nutty as Jared Loughner sans the crime spree (allegedly).
Or to use Patrick Kennedy-approved language, and as the SI.com story puts it, Piersall's "mental stability was often in question." Indeed, Piersall actually once received shock therapy in the nuthouse (no joke).
As for Savage -- no crazy man there, at least not on the baseball field. By all accounts, Savage was one hell of a hardworking, disciplined and smart minor league catcher (with a gun for an arm). He simply didn't have the talent to rise above the Class A level, particularly as a batter.
When Savage (real name, Randy Poffo) was finally out of baseball in 1974, he suddenly had to find a new way to make a living. The squared circle was a logical career choice since his old man (Angelo Poffo) had also been a pro wrestler.
And the rest was history. But I wonder just how much of Savage's one season around that crazy-ass Piersall might have influenced the creation of his over-the-top "Macho Man" character? Too bad he didn't bring Piersall along to serve as his pro wrestling manager as well. O-H Yeah!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/the_bonus/05/23/macho.man/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Piersall
http://espn.go.com/classic/s/piersalljimadd000817.html
http://www.nami.org/ADVTemplate.cfm?Section=Advocate_enewsletter_2008&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=65995
Posts
