Category: History and More

A version of this column first appeared in November, 2018. I’m reposting it today to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the “Miracle On Ice.”

Like a lot of guys, I have a “fan cave” at my house.

Walk into the tiny converted attic room and you’ll find memorabilia from the World Football League, the World Hockey Association, United States Football League, XFL – to me they are remnants of days gone by as well as good old days.

One of my most prized possessions is a hockey puck commemorating the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team’s game against the Birmingham Bulls of the Central Hockey League.

The “Miracle On Ice” took place on February 22, 1980, and if you’re an American hockey fan old enough to remember it, you most certainly do.

I saw that team on Nov. 8, 1979, when they visited Birmingham, Ala., to play the local minor league club in an exhibition at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum.

Birmingham, which was not part of the WHA’s limited merger with the NHL a year earlier, had resurfaced in the CHL, keeping the “Bulls” nickname but seeing its level of play take a dip. But a Triple A-type league offered just the kind of tune-ups the young U.S. squad needed.

Each team in the CHL played the Olympians that season, with the games actually counting in the league standings.

Birmingham lost to Brooks’ charges, 5-2, in Minneapolis on Nov. 4, and four days later they faced off again in the Magic City. The crowd was announced at 3,696, and pucks were handed out to those in attendance as a way to celebrate and commemorate the occasion.

A little over three months later that puck would be like gold to me when the Olympians became sports icons.

You know the story.

When the Winter Games came to Lake Placid, N.Y., little was expected out of the U.S. in hockey, especially since its roster was made up of a bunch of kids. The medals would likely be divided up among powerhouse teams fielded by the Soviet Union, Finland and Canada, and the prospects of the Americans advancing beyond pool play seemed absurd.

Just days before the Games began, the U.S. was hammered by the Russians, 10-3, at Madison Square Garden. Yet when it was medal time in New York State, goalie Jim Craig turned away 36 shots by “The Red Army” to help the hosts shock the greatest hockey team in the world, 4-3.

For many it was a political victory as well as a sporting one because of the Cold War. I was acutely aware of the “more than a game” overtones, but frankly I was just thrilled to see guys my age pull off a feat that seemed impossible.

Phil Verchota scored three times in the Games and added two assists, while Rob McClanahan had five goals and three assists in seven matches. I bring their names up because they were the stars of the United States’ 6-4 victory over the Bulls.

Often lost in the euphoria of the victory over the Soviets is the Gold Medal match against Finland, which took place on Feb. 24, 1980.

Heading into the final period the United States trailed 2-1. But the Americans scored three unanswered goals in the third period in a too-good-to-be-true finish, claiming a 4-2 conquest and putting the final touches on one of the most unlikely sports stories ever written.

I sure am glad I decided to keep that old puck.

Since I’m a “man of a certain age,” I find myself cheering for athletes who continue to excel beyond their perceived expiration dates.

As a New York Jets fan I’m morally obligated to despise the New England Patriots, but I can’t help but admire 43 year-old Tom Brady.

Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura is 52, Atlanta Hawks guard Vince Carter is 43, Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara is 42 … professional sports is considered a younger person’s game but occasionally experience – and skill – eclipse trips around the sun.

Perhaps the sport that does the best job of keeping older guys in the game is golf. The Champions Tour has helped some 50-plus players make more money than they ever did on the PGA Tour.

But my favorite over-the-hill competition was the Senior Professional Baseball Association, which unfortunately had an extremely short shelf life.

Formed on May 31, 1989, it was designed to give big name stars age 35 and over a chance to keep on shining.

“This will be competitive baseball with a touch of entertainment,” SPBA founder Jim Morley told the Gannett News Service during the league’s introductory news conference.

Teams would be placed at existing spring training sites in Florida, with plans to expand to Arizona and California in the future.

The Northern Division featured the Bradenton Explorers, Orlando Juice, St. Petersburg Pelicans and Winter Haven Super Sox while the Gold Coast Suns, Fort Myers Sun Sox, St. Lucie Legends and West Palm Beach Tropics comprised the Southern Division.

The season started on Nov. 1 and consisted of 72 games with tickets running in the $5 range.

“(Fans) are going to pay $5 to see some of their idols play,” All-Star third baseman Graig Nettles said.

And there were idols aplenty, from players such as Fergie Jenkins, Rollie Fingers and Dave Kingman to managers Earl Weaver and Dick Williams. Curt Flood served as commissioner.

Considering modest fan support was all that was needed to stay afloat, the SPBA seemed like something that could become an offseason baseball staple.

“The people in Florida have a dollar to spend, and they don’t want to see Goofy all the time,” Pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee told Gannett.

I was excited about it but – since I didn’t live in Florida – never made it to a game and couldn’t watch it because the league’s modest TV contract didn’t extend much beyond SPBA cities.

Still, I looked forward to any highlights that occasionally popped up on ESPN and combed the newspapers for box scores every day.

For fans in the stands, however, the novelty quickly wore off.

While attendance was solid in the very early stages, it plummeted as the season wore on. By the time the Pelicans defeated the Tropics 12-4 in the one-off championship game, the SPBA was already on shaky ground.

All things considered the quality was decent – day-to-day players like Ron Washington and Mickey Rivers had a few innings left in them, and Milt Wilcox, Joaquin Andujar and Pete Falcone showed they could still throw strikes even if their heat wasn’t quite as hot.

Yet Florida-based baseball fans obviously preferred spring training ball to what they seniors were giving them.

When the SPBA regrouped for year two, only four of its original franchises remained and the league lineup fell from eight to six teams.

The circuit did, in fact, add franchises in Arizona (Phoenix) and California (San Bernardino), but after just a couple of months of play the wheels fell off.

Ownership and investor disagreements within with the Fort Myers team in December, 1990, forced the cancellation of that club’s remaining games, and the five other teams then voted to cancel the rest of season.

“Most of the time in this situation the reason is financial,” Morley told the Associated Press. “This isn’t financial. Fort Myers is far and away the wealthiest franchise. They have an internal partnership problem.”

The last day of the SPBA was officially December 26. Morley vowed that a new an improved version of the league would return in 1991, but it never happened.

Big league senior baseball was dead.

The window for a league like this was a small one, and I’m guessing it’s closed forever. With colleges starting in February and the World Series cutting into November, baseball is already practically a year-round sport anyway. I can’t imagine a real appetite for senior pro baseball.

If one ever pops up again, though, it’ll have my support.

As the late, great Satchel Paige is credited with saying, “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

I can say with absolute certainty that at no time during my teens, twenties, thirties or forties did I ever say, “I’m excited about the start of a new American rugby season.”

Allow me to make up for lost time.

This weekend Major League Rugby begins its third campaign, and I’m genuinely looking forward to it.

It has grown from seven to 12 clubs in just three years, given a showcase to American players while bringing in some international stars, and looks like it might have the makings of a stable league.

I was curious about it in 2018 and got hooked last season. New MLR commissioner George Killebrew knows the key to long-lasting success is making sure American sports fans like me know it’s out there.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to serve as the commissioner for Major League Rugby,” Killebrew said in an MLR news release. “I plan to build upon the groundwork that the MLR has laid in its first two seasons and use the third season to cement the league in the professional sports market. I will be working towards building ticket sales and sponsorships revenues and developing the very best media platform possible as we continue to help grow rugby participation across North America.”

MLR features 11 United States-based teams and one Canadian entry.

The Eastern Conference is made up of the New England (Weymouth, Massachusetts) Free Jacks,  NOLA (New Orleans) Gold, Old Glory DC, Rugby United New York,  Rugby ATL (Atlanta) and the Toronto Arrows.

Comprising the Western Conference are the Austin Gilgronis, Colorado (Glendale) Raptors, Houston SaberCats, San Diego Legion, two-time MLR champion Seattle Seawolves and Utah (Herriman) Warriors.

Each club plays 16 matches followed by the playoffs.

Atlanta, D.C. and New England are the new additions for 2020, and further (though careful) expansion is eyed in coming seasons. For now, the league’s focus is succeeding where it’s at and establishing itself as a viable circuit.

“For those of you new to the (Utah Warriors) and Major League Rugby, this concept isn’t going anywhere – it’s here to stay,” Kimball Kjar, CEO of the Utah team, said during his club’s recent media day event. “This is one of the fastest-growing leagues in the United States because people love the sport in America, they just don’t know it yet.”

I was among those flying blind when I first caught a match on CBS Sports Network a couple of years ago. I knew enough about it to loosely follow what was going on, and I was familiar with the reputations of the All Blacks (New Zealand), Springboks (South Africa) and Wallabies (Australia).

But the more I watched the more interested I became, so I checked out a couple of library books on rugby rules and strategy, and even watched some YouTube videos explaining game play.

United States Rugby is the national governing body for the sport in America, and features more than 120,000 members. There are quality club and college teams all across the country, and many players plucked from those ranks are now on MLR rosters.

But it never hurts to bring in big names from abroad, especially when you’re trying to put your league on the map. (Each team is allowed up to 10 internationals per roster).

Yes, imports like Tendai Mtawarira (Old Glory DC), Ben Foden (Rugby United New York) and Ma’a Nonu (San Diego Legion) are in their mid-30s, and you can make a strong case that they see MLR as a “retirement league.”

That doesn’t mean they’re washed up. Mtawarira, in fact, was a major reason South Africa won the World Cup last year and is a huge get heading into 2020.

“(Signing Mtawarira) is an incredibly strong message that the MLR competition is now a league that top players are starting to take seriously,” U.S. National Rugby Team coach Gary Gold said. “To have a player of Tendai’s ability, and in his current form, as we saw in the recent RWC final, is a testament to the work that has been put in over recent years to form a sustainable competitive competition in the USA that can attract players of the quality of Tendai.”

Part of the fun for me, though, is getting to know players I never knew before and watching as they (hopefully) turn this league into something special.

The season begins today with Colorado versus Houston at noon and Old Glory DC facing NOLA at 4 p.m.

On Sunday Rugby ATL hosts Utah at 3 p.m.; New York meets New England in Las Vegas at 4 p.m.; Seattle travels to San Diego for a 5 p.m. match; and Toronto takes a road trip to Austin for an 8 p.m. contest.

I’m glad I jumped on the MLR bandwagon.

And I’m excited about the start of a new American rugby season.