Do you ever find yourself wondering things like, “Who was the first person to say ‘I’m going to Disney World’ after he won the Super Bowl?” (Answer: Phil Simms was paid $75,000 to utter the phrase in 1987). Completely meaningless stuff, but if you’re one of those curious souls... Then this might interest you, as well.
In Celebration Of Old Hoss Radbourn, Timeless Baseball (And Twitter) Icon
Who was the first professional athlete to give the middle finger to a photographer?
1886, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, opening day team portrait for the Boston Beaneaters. Yup, that's the first recorded "f— you photo," as relayed by NBC's Out of Bounds blog.
And did you know they’re making a movie about Ole Hoss? From the Hollywood Reporter:
Kirker Butler, a co-executive producer and writer on Fox series "The Cleveland Show," has optioned movie rights to "Fifty-Nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had."
The historical biography, by Providence Journal columnist Ed Achorn, tracks the story of a little-known pitcher who set a season record of 59 wins that never will be broken.
The book is set in 1884, when baseball was in its infancy and looked down upon by much of the public, a time when pitchers threw balls at batters' heads and catchers played barehanded. The story centers on Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn and what he endured -- including pitching so much he couldn't lift his arm to comb his hair.
So... There’s that, too, I guess. Not sure how I feel about one of Seth MacFarlane’s comic offspring attempting a baseball biopic set in 1884, but that’s a whole different story. Maybe the most surreal aspect in all this? The Old Hoss Radbourn I know is a ubiquitous Twitter personality, delighting the masses with biting social criticism, and lewd humor relayed through a pompous old-time dialect. He’s awesome:
Ah, Father's Day. Remember, lads: the best thing about children ... is fathering one with your 'mate's wife and pretending the spawn is his.
Old Hoss Radbourn
OldHossRadbourn
Another highlight from the past few days:
I sure miss the simpler times. Like when we called vuvuzelas "horns" and didn't give a crap about them. Two weeks ago was an innocent era.Old Hoss Radbourn
OldHossRadbourn
And they’re really making a movie about this guy? It feels like some sort of surreal, post-modern practical joke. Old Hoss Radbourn was a real person that won 59 games in one season, and the writer from The Cleveland Show is turning this all into a feature film? Uh... I’ll believe it when I see it. Until then, Old Hoss has only one request:
All I know is that they had better not cast that talentless guttersnipe J. Fallon in the movie about me.Old Hoss Radbourn
OldHossRadbourn
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