To Three Absent Friends

Absent Friends galore today.  Two from the world of sports, and one from show biz.

Baseball Hall of Fame member Al Kaline has died at the age of 85.  Kaline played all 22 years (1953-74) of his career with the Detrioit Tigers, and because he played in a time before interleague play and ubiquitous nationally televised games, my only experience of actually seeing Kaline play would be the All-Star Game and an occasional Game of the Week.  His career numbers when prorated over 162 games produced a stat line of .299, 23 HR and 90 RBI.  In his only world Series in 1968, Kaline hit .333 with 2 HR and 8 RBI.

I can only imagine the feelings of long time baseball fans in Detroit today.

Tom Dempsey had an eleven year NFL career with five different teams, but he will forever be remembered for his record setting field goal of 63 yards that he made for the New Orleans Saints in 1970.  It was record that stood for forty-three years.

THE Kick

Born without fingers or toes on his right hand and foot, Dempsey's story is well known, or at least it is among older football fans.  Suffering from dementia these last several years, Dempsy died this weekend, a victim of the Corona Virus.  To my knowledge, he is the first significant America sports figure to succumb to COVID-19.  I fear that he will not be the last.

Finally, British actress Honor Blackman died today at the age of 94.  

Honor Blackman

1925-2015

Miss Blackman had a long and distinguished career in British film, television, and stage, but she will forever be remembered as Pussy Galore, the wondrously named villainess in the 1964 James Bond movie, "Goldfinger."

Did you know that she was the first female star on the British TV show, "The Avengers" before that show crossed the Atlantic to the America with Dianna Rigg?  She played that role for two years on the British telly before she abruptly quit to take on the role for which she is most known in "Goldfinger."  Her acting career consisted of 115 acting credits and spanned the years from 1947 to 2015.

RIP Al Kaline, Tom Dempsey, and Honor Blackman.