Nassau oTB on Sunday April 17 2022 with all New York Ukrainians who believe in ny const art 1 sec 3
James the Greek cashier at Nassau oTB will be named grand Marshall and honorary Ukrainian as he takes bets while the other lay faithful may go pray elsewhere
The Commies Step Up to the Plate
During the Cold War, the Decatur, Ill., team name seemed to come out of left field.
An assortment of Decatur Commodores memorabilia from Steve Lipe's collection in Decatur, Ill, July 26, 2010.
PHOTO: STEPHEN HAAS/HERALD & REVIEW VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
As baseball’s spring training finally gets under way, you may think that the Cleveland Guardians face a public-relations and marketing challenge as they put on their new uniforms, ending more than a century of being called the Indians.
But that’s a relatively easy hurdle to overcome compared with perhaps the most unfortunate team name in the history of professional sports: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the starting lineup for your Decatur Commies.
It’s true—in the central Illinois town of Decatur, for 74 years starting in 1900 the beloved minor-league baseball team was known as the Commies. The name was emblazoned across the front of their jerseys, and that’s how the local newspapers and fans referred to them.
The 1928 Decatur Commodores
PHOTO: FILE
In the team’s early years it wasn’t a problem, but as tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union mounted after World War II, and as Sen. Joseph McCarthy pursued his investigations of alleged communist influence in the U.S. government in the 1950s, things became a bit awkward.
The city of Decatur was named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur, an early U.S. Navy hero, and the official name of the town’s baseball team was the Commodores. But few people called them that—they were simply the Commies. From Decatur sports pages over the years:
• “Commies Rout Danville”
• “Two Commies Ready for Opener Sunday”
• “Commies Conquer Bloomington”
• “Commies Triumph”
• “Commies Batter Moline”
• “Commies Unleash Power”
Perhaps in today’s America, with focus groups and cautious image consultants fine-tuning every branding decision, a team called the Commies in a conservative part of the heartland would raise business-office alarms. But loyal fans in Decatur—the town’s ballpark was called Fans Field—liked the Commies just the way they were, and Commies they remained.
Even when some members of Congress were portraying themselves as communist-hunters in the 1950s, the citizens of Decatur continued to cheer when they saw the team run onto the field with that name on their jerseys. In case there was any doubt about the city’s devotion to the team and its moniker, in 1952 Mayor Robert E. Willis officially declared Sept. 15 to be Commies Day in Decatur: “Whereas, Hallelujah, the . . . Decatur Commies on Sept. 14 humbled the baseball team from
The ball club and its name finally disappeared from town not because of political sensitivities but because of financial difficulties. After the 1974 season the team moved to Wausau, Wis., where, unsurprisingly, it was given a new name. First it was the Wausau Mets, then the Wausau Timbers, then, when the team moved to Kane County, Ill., the Cougars. For the national pastime, the era of the Commies had become past tense.
Mr. Greene’s books include “Duty: A Father, His
Son, and the Man Who Won the War
I-
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
No comments:
Post a Comment