Late Night Wars

 It's hard to believe but the well documented period in television history know as the Late Night Wars is now two decades in the past.  This strange set included three of the top players.  I guess you'd have to be at least in your mid thirties to remember how seriously they all took it.  Do you remember?  Did you/do you have a favorite?  I'm a morning person so I've never watched a lot of late night TV.  I really do remember watching Dave Letterman's morning show and was disappointed when it was cancelled.  He'd still be my favorite.  BTW, I hate his beard.

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #11 Johnny Carson

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #13 David Letterman

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #12 Jay Leno

These Guys Are Not Oddballs (Maybe One) But the Cards Are

 It never ceases to amaze me how many cards I've never seen.  These are the athletes from a limited edition set of 30 cards published in 1993 by Freedom Press.  Maybe if I was a collector of one of these six guys I would have discovered them long ago.  I am curious to know if any of you are familiar with them.  Do you own any of the cards?  If so, why did you buy them?  

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #5 Billy Martin

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #6 Thurman Munson

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #7 Reggie Jackson

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #8 Reggie Jackson

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #23 Patrick Ewing

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #24 Patrick Ewing

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #22 Mike Schmidt

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #15 Joe Montana

1993 Freedom Press High School Heroes #16 Joe Montana

Dandy Daves and Davids

 My name is David.  Growing up that's all I ever remember being called.  At some point in college that changed and I started going, in greater part, by "Dave".  After that I reverted back and have always gone by the original.  The funny thing is, lots of people, particularly acquaintances and people I see in my job, automatically call me Dave. Though I find it interesting, I really don't mind.  I see it as a friendly nickname. I have no stories like that about all the guys below.  You'd have to ask them. 

Here's 3 NBA Hall of Famers.  All three were picked for both the 50th and 75th NBA Anniversary Teams.  All three were two time NBA Champs.

In 2016, Hall of Famer Dave Keon was voted the greatest Maple Leaf of all time.  He won four Stanley Cups in the 1960's.  Um, they haven't won one since.

If I'm correct there are only two baseball Hall of Famers with my given name, Dave Winfield and Dave Bancroft.  Incidentally, both of their Hall of Fame plaques list them as David.

I do have a story about Dave Winfield that relates to his name.  Click here.

This guy was sure fun to watch.  

While maybe not quite Hall worthy,  David Cone did have an outstanding career.

Sorry for the missing back.

Big Papi.  Hall of Fame?  We'll see.

You can't think about The Big Red Machine without thinking of Dave Concepcion.  You can make a Hall of Fame argument for him.  Some do.

I grew up a Cubs fan but the Orioles were on TV a lot during my childhood.  I have an affinity, particularly for the great American League teams of the era.  Dave, or Davey -- the way I think of him, comes to mind as readily as Brooks, Frank and Boog. 

Dave McNally was part of the Orioles great starting pitching staffs of the sixties and seventies.  From 1968-1973 he went 117-65 with a 2.91 ERA --and he wasn't even the ace of the team.

The Cobra was a fearsome hitter with a great arm.  Should he be in the Hall of Fame?  Talk among yourselves.

Rags had a great career, first as a starter and reliever, then as a pitching coach.

That's a lot of star power!  Who did I miss?

Thanks for reading.

Fountains -- Paris to Chicago

"Parc of Versailles -- The  Basin of Latone, a grand waterworks' day"

I haven't figured out how to date these old French postcards but I assume it's from the early 20th century.

Buckingham Fountain in Chicago's Grant Park was inspired by the French Fountain at Versailles.

Here's an RPPC (Real Photo Post Card) of Buckingham Fountain with the Chicago skyline to the west. It had to be taken previous to 1931 when this card was sent. I'll go into more detail about this Chicago landmark in a future post. I probably have at least another dozen different cards.