| 2007 geared up to be one of our biggest years yet! Rookie Major Leaguer and 2006 Minors Champ Yersinia Pestis scored the first hit with a boxer, then Putnam’s Tomahawk Chop scored a one-two blow the next day, January 7th, with an early Daily Double AND Raven scored that day as well! With another Two-fer on the 20th, the year was off to a memorable start.
But like Big Brown’s Triple Crown chase (yes this is being written mid-2008), what started off with a bang soon became a whimper and after 13 stunning hits the first month, February pulled up with less than half that and March lagged behind with even less. April was more promising, with Yersinia and The Embalmer scoring a Daily Double on the 14th. The summertime picked up as it usually does (Why is that? The heat? If it's not the heat it's the humidity, as they say) and at three-quarters the way through the season we had over 50 players and nearly 70 hits, a strong pace for sure. As the year ended with just 6 hits total for November and December, the final tally was 70 hits and 57 players, the same exact number as 2006. In the immortal words of my future third husband, the great Keanu Reeves: Whoa. In the Majors, E-Brake won the pool with eight stellar hits, and The Luxury Woman and Yersinia each snagged five fabulous hits. In Minor League action, Editer43 was the Minors Champ with five fantastic hits (three in the first few months)! Master Dark came in second with 4 fearsome hits; Drunk-As-A-Skunk, Morbid Inc. Auctions, Raven, and Bad Santa DGD tied for third with 3 hits apiece. Congratulations to veteran player Editer43 for his Minor league victory and we heartily welcome him into the Majors for 2008. |
The Major Leagues:E = E-Brake LUX = The Luxury Woman YP = Yersinia Pestis The Minor Leagues:
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Yvon Durelle (YP) 01/06 Bobby Hamilton (PTC) 01/07 Magnus Magnusson (RAVE) 01/07 John Silvertand (PTC) 01/07 Yvonne De Carlo (BPM) 01/08 Carlo Ponti (MIA) 01/09 Robert Anton Wilson (E) 01/11 Michael Brecker (E) 01/13 Benny Parsons (DAAS) 01/16 Art Buchwald (LUX) 01/17 Vern Ruhle (MJ) 01/20 George Smathers (NICK) 01/20 E. Howard Hunt (TURK) 01/23 Gian Carlo Menotti (YP) 02/01 Frankie Laine (MD) 02/06 Hank Bauer (SWAMI) 02/09 Maurice Papon (MIA) 02/10 Charles R. Walgreen Jr. (EDIT) 02/17 Bruce Bennett (MD) 02/24 Ernest Gallo (MD) 03/06 Sir Arthur Marshall (EDIT) 03/16 Bowie Kuhn (HOMER) 03/17 Calvert DeForest (FMTB) 03/19 Abe Coleman (EDIT) 03/28 Eddie Robinson (SPIN) 04/03 June Callwood (YP) 04/14 Don Ho (3sCO) 04/14 Kitty Carlisle Hart (MIA) 04/17 Kurt Vonnegut (FMTB) 04/18 Boris Yeltsin (LUX) 04/23 Dabbs Greer (RIGOR) 04/28 Tom Poston (E) 04/30 Wally Schirra (KIM) 05/03 Jerry Falwell (LUX) 05/15 Les Schwab (DGD) 05/18 Charles Nelson Reilly (H2CO) 05/25 Ruth Bell Graham (YP) 06/12 Don Herbert (GSG) 06/14 Kurt Waldheim (H2CO) 06/14 Charles Lane (MD) 07/09 Lady Bird Johnson (LUX) 07/11 Tammy Faye Bakker Messner (E) 07/20 Rollie Stiles (EDIT) 07/22 Muhammad Zahir Shah (TLAZ) 07/23 Tom Snyder (MJ) 07/29 Michelangelo Antonioni (WIG) 07/30 Ingmar Bergman (YP) 07/30 Bill Walsh (RAVE) 07/30 Lee Hazlewood (DGD) 08/04 Merv Griffin (CLASSY) 08/12 Brooke Astor (E) 08/13 Phil Rizzuto (CARB) 08/13 Bill Deedes (WAM) 08/17 Butch van Breda Kolff (ERA) 8/22 Jane Tomlinson (DAAS) 09/04 Luciano Pavarotti (E) 09/07 Jane Wyman (LUX) 09/09 Alice Ghostley (E) 09/22 Marcel Marceau (BYZAN) 09/23 Deborah Kerr (MEGA) 10/16 Barbara West Dainton (DAAS) 10/16 Joey Bishop (VINNY) 10/17 Eve Curie Labouisse (EDIT) 10/22 Porter Wagoner (NELLY) 10/28 Fabulous Moolah (GP) 11/02 Paul Tibbets (CARB) 11/01 Augustus Hawkins (NELLY) 11/10 Evel Knievel (E) 11/30 Cardinal Alfons Stickler (VIVE) 12/12 Dan Fogelberg (DGD) 12/16 |
| 2006 started off with a bang! Fifty players entered by early February and we had nine hits in the first five weeks put us on a record-breaking pace...
At almost mid-year and after a fast start, the pace slowed down to just 2 hits in each of April and May. MafiaGuy maintained a one hit lead, with E-Brake and the Wishman right on his cute little tail. Three Minor Leaguers were tied with 2 smackers. Thanks to a shout-out from Penn Jillette on his radio show in September, we had more new players to welcome! That was way awesome, thanks Penn. By October we had forty-six hits and fifty-six players. The pool picked up in the last few months, with 5 hits each in October and November, then 6 hits in December (including an incredible final week). Mafia Actuary won the Majors handily with nine stellar hits, while rookie player Yersinia Pestis ran away with the Minors, garnering five hits. He joined us in the Majors for the 2007 season! We had a total of FIFTY-SEVEN players (wow!) and SEVENTY hits, a record year all around. Thanks to all for playing and we'll see you in 2007. |
The Major Leagues:W = The Wishman E = E-Brake MA = Mafia Actuary The Minor Leagues:
| Lou Rawls (E) 01/06
Jack Snow (NICK) 01/09 Shelley Winters (W) 01/14 Ibrahim Rugova (MA) 01/21 Wendy Wasserstein (MA) 01/30 Coretta Scott King (LUX) 01/31 Johnny Vaught (WAM) 02/03 Betty Friedan (W) 02/04 Granpa Al Lewis (MA) 02/04 Ron Greenwood (DK) 02/08 Phil Brown (FOAMY) 02/09 Freddie Laker (ERA) 02/09 Laurel Hester (YBTL) 02/18 Curt Gowdy (SWAMI) 02/20 John Prufuno (NICK) 03/06 Dana Reeve (RAVE) 03/06 Slobodan Milosevic (CARB) 03/10 Oleg Cassini (EDIT) 03/17 Ray Meyer (SWAMI) 03/17 Caspar Weinberger (MRC) 03/28 William Sloane Coffin (MEGA) 04/12 John Kenneth Galbraith (MA) 04/29 Floyd Patterson (CAN) 05/11 Stanley Kunitz (RHUME) 05/16 Lloyd Bentsen (DGD) 05/23 Billy Preston (VIVE) 06/06 John Tenta (GP) 06/07 Robert Donner (FOAMY) 06/08 Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi (W) 06/08 Vincent Sherman (RHUME) 06/19 Aaron Spelling (E) 06/23 Patsy Ramsey (VIVE) 06/24 Kasey Rogers (E) 07/06 June Allyson (BUCK) 07/08 Shamil Basayev (TLAZ) 07/09 Barnard hughes (BUCK) 07/11 Red Buttons (MORTY) 07/13 Keith LeClair (YBTL) 07/19 Philip D'Arcy Hart (YBTL) 07/30 Joe Rosenthal (FOTO) 08/20 Alfredo Stroessner (ERA) 08/16 James Van Allen (HOMER) 08/09 Cardinal J. Willebrands (VIVE) 08/02 Glenn Ford (FOAMY) 08/30 Susan Butcher (MA) 08/05 Steve Irwin (DEE) 09/04 Robert Earl Jones (W) 09/07 Edna Staebler (YBTL) 09/12 Raymond Baxter (DAAS) 09/15 Oriana Fallaci (MA) 09/15 Patricia Lawford Kennedy (DGD) 09/17 Dorothy Stratton (YBTL) 09/17 Frank "Muddy" Water (SWAMI) 09/20 Byron Wilson (W) 09/26 Buck O'Neil (MA) 10/13 Freddy Fender (GRODY) 10/14 Jane Wyatt (TURK) 10/27 Red Auerbach (E) 10/28 P.W. Botha (MORTY) 10/31 Johnny Sain (PTC) 11/07 Marie Rudisill (STIFF) 11/3 Jack Palance (YKEWCE) 11/10 Ferenc Puskas (DK) 11/17 Milton Friedman (E) 11/16 Augusto Pinochet (MA) 12/10 Joseph Barbera (W) 12/18 Ruth Bernhard (MEGA) 12/18 Peter Boyle (BEET) 12/12 James Brown (BEET) 12/25 Gerald Ford (MA)12/26 |
| 2005: Biggest. Year. EVER. Heavens to Betsy (And just who is this Betsy person?), the quantity of hits FAR surpassed any previous year with 68 hits scattered amongst 47 players. YOWZA. Note there were SIX double-header days, and even a Triple on Dec. 10th.
This was an unbelievably active year. The first two months of the season saw EIGHT hits each, and July (a historically active month) yielded ten hits alone. Mafia Actuary scored his own double-header the first week, and your humble scribe E-Brake scored both the first AND last hits of the year. Kismet, baby. The Wishman got a double-header on 12/10 and won with a record 11 hits; E-Brake was right on his tail with 10 hits; Raven had 6 super hits; and Mr. 50s had 4 faboo hits. Mafia Actuary won the Minors with 5 hits and moved up to the Major Leagues! NellyLunatic1980, Mr. Baseball, Master Dark and Mega-Hurts all tied for second with 3 hits each. It was a banner year and we look forward to 2006! |
The Major Leagues:W = The Wishman E = E-Brake WARD = Mr. 50s RAVE = Raven The Minor Leagues:
| Danny Sugerman (E) 01/05
Lois Hole (MAFIA) 01/06 Louis Robichaud (MAFIA) 01/06 Charlie Bell (RAVE) 01/17 Zhao Ziyang (MEGA) 01/17 Johnny Carson (GENT) 01/23 Philip Johnson (MAFIA) 01/26 Ivan Noble (MRC) 01/31 Max Schmeling (W) 02/02 Ernst Mayr (DARK) 02/03 Ossie Davis (RHUME) 02/04 Arthur Miller (W) 02/10 James Porter (MAFIA) 02/11 Sandra Dee (E) 02/20 John Raitt (HOMER) 02/20 Simone Simon (NELLY) 02/22 Hans Bethe (RICK) 03/06 Aslan Maskhadov (TLAZ) 03/08 George Kennan (MEGA) 03/17 Barney Martin (GENT) 03/21 James Callaghan (DARK) 03/26 Rev. Fred Robb (IMB) 03/28 Harald Juhnke (RAPID) 04/01 Pope John Paul II (W) 04/02 Saul Bellow (H2CO) 04/05 Dale Messick (MEGA) 04/05 Prince Rainier (E) 04/06 Sir John Mills (RICK) 04/23 Mason Adams (KMS) 04/26 Peter Rodino (W) 05/07 Thurl Ravenscroft (MORTY) 05/22 Eddie Albert (WARD) 05/26 George Mikan (NICK) 06/01 Leon Askin (RAVE) 06/03 Cardinal Jaime Sin (VIVA) 06/21 Paul Winchell (SLAB) 06/24 Christopher Fry (YKEWCE) 06/30 Hank Stram (WAM) 07/04 James Stockdale (RAVE) 07/05 Kevin Hagen (E) 07/09 Frances Langford (GSG) 07/11 Edward Heath (RAVE) 07/17 William Westmoreland (HOMER) 07/18 James Doohan (E) 07/20 Myron Floren (NELLY) 07/23 Hildegarde (W) 07/29 Pat McCormick (W) 07/29 King Fahd (RAVE) 08/01 Ibrahim Ferrar (VIVA) 08/06 Barbara Bel Geddes (E) 08/08 Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe (DARK) 08/11 William Rehnquist (E) 09/03 Robert Wise (KMS) 09/14 Simon Wiesenthal (W) 09/20 Molly Yard (H2CO) 09/21 Tommy Bond (CUTIE) 09/24 Don Adams (E) 09/25 Rosa Parks (W) 10/24 Al Lopez (E) 10/30 Skitch Henderson (HOMER) 11/01 Peter F. Drucker (NELLY) 11/11 Preston Robert Tisch (MAFIA) 11/15 Ralph Edwards (W) 11/16 Eugene McCarthy (W) 12/10 Richard Pryor (W) 12/10 Mary Jackson (EDT) 12/10 William Proxmire (RAVE) 12/15 Jack Anderson (E) 12/17 
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| 2004: The Year after 2003. Right, not very original, but who would've thought that anything could compare to 2003's passings of perennial pool favorites like Hope (the poster boy of deadpools), Hepburn, Peck, Maddox, Thurman and of course, her icky heil-ness herself, Leni Riefenstahl. But sho' nuff, January 2004 stormed in like a lion. Seven hits by the end of the month foretold another busy year. |
| Well, it wasn't to be a hundred-hit year, but the months ebbed and flowed as usual. March brought several notable hits, including greats Peter Ustinov and Alistair Cooke (another deadpool fave), and May brought the unfortunate demise of TV legend Tony Randall. Meanwhile, The Wishman scored three of the pool's hits in a row, one each in March, April and May. Pretty talented! The last week of May gave two hits to eventual Minors Champeen, Raven. By the middle of the season, E-Brake was leading the Pool with a comfortable 4 hits. Not too shabby for a girl from a trailer park with a dream. Wait, I'm channeling Hilary Swank, never mind… |
| Of course, who could forget June 10th, the day one of the greatest legends in the world passed away. Yes, the Man himself, Ray Charles, gave Mr. 50s his second hit and left the rest of us forty-odd years of great music and a soon-to-be-award winning biopic which was pretty cool. Oh yeah, and some guy name Reagan died that month too but it passed almost unnoticed by the media. |
| The second half of the year opens with Marlon Brando, attention-hound that he was, getting all jealous of a certain former president's lavish tributes. So, he decided to become a contendah himself. Rhumey gained his second hit and was chasing Raven for the Minors lead, along with Rigor Mairi Mortis. The rest of July passes pretty quietly, then in August, the unexpected yet not surprising passing of Rick "I'm dead, bitch" James gives Death from Above his first ever Ghoul Pool hit. Nice picking! |
| The remainder of August gave us just three hits but they were doozies. Red Adair got Minor Leaguer Morty's De-Lite "fired up" (ha, get it?) with his sole hit of the season; Then, Fay Wray and Julia Child gave The Wishman a double-whammy that took the lead from the wonderful and exciting E-Brake, whose hits had dried up faster than Gomer after seeing Aunt Bee naked. But never fear, by the middle of September Miss E scored her fifth and lead-tying hit with Skeeter "Swatted" Davis, and then she took the lead with Scream-queen Janet Leigh. |
| October had Mr. 50s making a bold move for the lead with two more hits, JFK impersonator Vaughn Meader and comedy legend Rodney Dangerfield. What he has against comedians, I don't know, but it seems to work for him. We also say goodbye to the great and courageous Christopher Reeve, and to photo legend Richard Avedon, both somewhat unexpected and sudden deaths. The final months of the year had E-Brake leading the Wishman by the slimmest of margins, six hits to five, with Mr. 50s barely trailing by one and rookie Major leaguer Mega-Hurts with two hits. In the Minors, Raven took the lead with his third score while a bunch of people hovered in second place with two hits each. |
| With the end of November, E-Brake scored a SEVENTH and pool-winning hit with John Drew Barrymore (screw-up dad of Drew) and despite a late run by both The Wishman (with Johnny Oates) and Mr. 50s (with Artie Shaw), she grasped tightly to her lead to WIN THE POOL! Raven secures his place in Ghoul Pool history by holding on to his lead and winning the Minors with three smackers. He joined us for the 2005 Major League season. |
| Congrats to our winners and thanks again to all for playing! We had a record number of players – Fifty Three, wow! And forty-eight hits is not too shabby either. |
| The Major Leagues:
W = The Wishman E = E-Brake WARD = Mr. 50s MEGA = Mega-Hurts The Minor Leagues:
| Maxine Postal (MAFIA) 01/01
Tug McGraw (MEGA) 01/05 Ann Miller (GRODY) 01/22 Bob Keeshan (WARD) 01/23 Jack Paar (E) 01/27 Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (CHOC) 01/28 Janet Frame (E) 01/28 Claude Ryan (MAFIA) 02/09 Andy Seminick (SUB-HUB) 02/22 Mercedes McCambridge (KMS) 03/02 Cecily Adams (E) 03/03 Franz Koenig (ZAPP) 03/13 Queen Juliana (STIFF) 03/20 Peter Ustinov (TEMP) 3/28 Alistair Cooke (W) 03/30 Estee Lauder (W) 04/24 Barney Kessel (W) 05/06 Tony Randall (STIFF) 05/17 Sam Johnson (RAVE) 05/22 Jack Rosenthal (RAVE) 05/29 William Manchester (MEGA) 06/01 Ronald Reagan (E) 06/05 Ray Charles (WARD) 06/10 Jim Bacon - (LETHAL) 06/20 Marlon Brando (TEMP) 07/01 Isabel Sanford (WAM) 07/09 Inge Meysel (ZAPP) 07/10 Charles Sweeney (GSG) 07/15 Francis Crick (EDIT) 07/28 Henri Cartier-Bresson (YERS) 08/02 Rick James (DFA) 08/06 Red Adair (MORTY) 08/07 Fay Wray (W) 08/08 Julia Child (W) 08/13 Skeeter Davis (E) 09/18 Richard Avedon (BOOGIE) 10/01 Janet Leigh (E) 10/03 Rodney Dangerfield (WARD) 10/05 Christopher Reeve (ADVIL) 10/10 Robert Merrill (EVIS) 10/23 Princess Alice of Gloucester (BLOTTO) 10/29 Vaughn Meader (WARD) 10/29 Yasser Arafat (RAVE) 11/10 John Drew Barrymore (E) 11/29 Johnny Oates (W) 12/24 Angus Ogilvy (BLOTTO) 12/26 Artie Shaw (WARD) 12/30 ***** The Results: E-Brake wins the pool with 7 incredible Hits (Reagan, Leigh, Frame, Davis, Paar, Adams, and Barrymore)! The Winner of the Minor Leagues: RAVEN with 3 Hits (Arafat, Johnson and Rosenthal). Nice going babe!
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| 2003: All Hope is Lost! It was a heck of a beginning to a heck of a year. January First, barely into the New Year, and we already had our First Hit. Chocolate Monkey scores the Fastest Hit Ever (FHE) in the Big Game by choosing War Hero Joe Foss at 6:30am, and BLAMMO! Mr. Foss dies that afternoon. Unfreakinbelievable. Way to go, Monkey man. |
| Then comes the dawn of January 2nd, and it soon brought forth news of a HIT for yours truly, E-Brake! Famed Astrologer Sydney "Didn't see it comin" Omarr gives me my own quick hit. His own Horoscope for that day? LEO - "Later you beat the odds, much to the astonishment of experts.". It should have added: Sucker! |
| But hark - on the evening of January 3rd, news comes that sports guy Sid Gillman passed away in his sleep during the early morning hours. Hey, look - our humble but lovable Bastille Guy picked him...uh...that afternoon. Horrors! A WASTED HIT! Mr. Gillman is disqualified, due to being dead and all by the time he was picked. I called to give my personal condolences to Bastille-dude, who was a good sport about it. We almost had 3 hits in 3 days. So close...yet so far. |
| Spring comes, blah blah, a few hits, and we skip ahead to June....and like the almond growers say (sort of): "Just a Corpse a Day, that's all we ask". HOLY COW! A month the likes will never be seen again. It was open season on celebs, and they dropped with abandon, with GLEE even. 11 Hits in one single month - starting with "Classie" Freddy Blassie, and ending with Buddy Hackett. At the end of June, E-Brake was leading the pool with 3 hits, while Gentleman Prick and RapidZappa were tied in the Minors with 2 hits each. |
| July followed with a not-too-shabby 7 Hits, and by August, poor E-Brake's fingers were whittled to naught but bone for all the typing she had to do (insert tiny violins here). BUT the biggest hit of all, the one we've all been waiting for: MR. BOB "Unfunny" HOPE passes on at the age of 136, giving Mr. 50s (Ward) his permanent Claim to Deathpool Fame. I swear, the New York Post obit said: FINALLY! OK, maybe not, but it should have. Deadpoolers all over the world gasp in unison, and just as a butterfly's wings trigger a cool breeze, "The Gasp heard 'Round the World" triggers a freakin' hurricane of frenzied posts and phone calls.
Other notable passings of the year include June and Johnny Cash, Gregory Peck, Hume Cronyn, Lester "the Jester" Maddox, Strom Thurmond, Shaky Kate Hepburn, Barry "the Velvet Walrus" White, Buddy Ebsen, Bobby "my son is a dick" Bonds, rat finks Elia Kazan & Leni Riefenstahl, Mdme Chiangie, Warren Zevon...on and on. We also had THREE Double-Dip Days: 6/18, 7/22, and 9/28. It begs the question: Are there any celebs left for 2004?!? |
| Anywho, back to a slow August, yielding just one measly smacker, which gave way to a torrent of Hits again, in September and October - 14 total! By then, there was smoke coming off E-Brake's keyboard from all the updating. Yow. |
| The season ended with a trickle of Hits, and Mega-Hurts pulled out his first Minor League win, with 4 super picks. He joins us in the Majors for 2004, congratulations! The Wishman holds on to his lead, despite a November hit for the Brake, to win the Pool with his 6 spectacular Hits. Nice going, Wishmaster! The season ended with an incredible FIFTY-ONE HITS, blowing away the previous record of 33. Yep, Fifty-one hits for fifty-one players. To paraphrase our almond growers again: Just one a week, that's all we ask... |
| And Hey, my THANKS to all you Players out there - we had another amazing turn out! 51 lists is nothing to shake a stick at. Way to keep me off the streets and out of trouble. My honey Crispin Glover kept calling for a date, but I had to keep begging off to update the Pool...sigh. He'll come around again, right? RIGHT?!? |
| The Major Leagues: E = E-Brake W = The Wishman SG = The Single Guy MAFIA = Mafia Actuary The Minor Leagues:
| Joseph Foss (CHOC) 01/01 Sydney Omarr (E) 01/02 Al Hirschfeld (EDIT) 01/20 Tom Christerson (BALM) 02/07 Johnny Longden (E) 02/14 Johnny PayCheck (GUN) 02/18 Marcel Prawy (ZAPP) 02/23 Hank Ballard (DARK) 03/02 Major Ronald Ferguson (DAAS) 03/16 Hans Hermann Groer (ZAPP) 03/24 Walter Sisulu (TLAZ) 05/05 Robert Stack (MEGA) 05/14 June Carter Cash (SKIP) 05/15 “Classie” Freddie Blassie (GENT) 06/02 David Brinkley (KMS) 06/11 Gregory Peck (WARD) 06/12 Hume Cronyn (GENT) 06/15 Paul Daisley (RAVE) 06/18 Larry Doby (SLAB) 06/18 Roger Neilson (E) 06/21 Lester Maddox (W) 06/25 Strom Thurmond (WARD) 06/26 Katharine Hepburn (W) 06/29 Buddy Hackett (SICLE) 06/30 Barry White (MAFIA) 07/04 Buddy Ebsen (WARD) 07/06 Lord Shawcross (DAAS) 07/10 Carol Shields (MAFIA) 07/16 Qusay Hussein (RIG) 07/22 Uday Hussein (SKIP) 07/22 Bob Hope (WARD) 07/27 Bobby Bonds (KCHJ) 08/23 Warren Zevon (E) 09/07 Leni Riefenstahl (W) 09/08 Edward Teller (MEGA) 09/09 Johnny Cash (W) 09/11 Sheb Wooley (MAFIA) 09/16 Donald O'Connor (BALM) 09/27 Yukichi Chuganji (SUB) 09/28 Elia Kazan (MEGA) 09/28 Elena Slough (MRS) 10/05 Stu Hart (GENT) 10/16 Jack Elam (CUTE) 10/20 Mdme Chiang Kai-Shek (W) 10/23 Rod Roddy (W) 10/26 Kamato Hongo(MRS) 10/31 Art Carney (E) 11/09 Penny Singleton (TOE) 11/12 Warren Spahn (CHOC) 11/24 Gertrude Ederle (MEGA) 11/30 Ruben Gonzalez (ZAPP) 12/08 |
The Results: The Wishman wins the Pool with 6 Hits | The Winner of the
Minor Leagues:
Mega-Hurts with 4 Hits (Stack, Teller, Kazan and Ederle). Way to go! |
| 2002: The Trifecta Year. What a thrilling season! It started out furious, with over 20 pool hits by the end of June. See below for a first hand account of the March 27th Brouhaha, where 3 hits happened in one day. Yes, IN ONE DAY! Unreal!
December was a tight finish, folks, it was really down to the wire in both the Majors and Minors. In the Majors, E-Brake and Drunken Skunken both ended the season with 6 hits each. Zoinks!! The tie-breaker went to E-Brake (woohoo) with a mean average pick age of 67.5 years old, while Skunkboy's had an average of 68.1. It doesn't get any closer than that!! It was great having Ray back in the Majors for a year, and as two-time Minor League Champ, I'm sure we'll be seeing him up here again. In Minor League Action, the humble but lovable Mafia Actuary joined the Minors late in the year, got two quicks hits, and is now bumped up to the Majors with us Big Kids for 2003. Huzzah! |
| It was a record year for the Pool, the most successful one in our 7 year history! We had a phenomenal total of 54 players (20 more than the previous year), a record-tying 33 Hits, AND we started the Who's Next? Side Game, a offshoot where you all pick the Next to Go. It's been popular and keeps interest in pooling going all year long. Go check out the Message Board for info and to make an entry. |
| In Who's Next-Side Game History, this summer saw the Fastest Hit ever in Side Game, and possibly ANY game's, history. It was scored by my own bad self with a Round Six pick of baseball announcer Jack Buck just a scant 30 minutes before he passes on. Yes, 30 minutes. 30 minutes. I'm still in shock. Congrats also go out to Bastille Guy, for winning the very First Round just two days after choosing Milt "The Skirt" Berle. Way to humm! |
| March 27th, 2002. A Date that Will Live in Ghoul Pool Infamy. The rare, elusive bird called the "Triple Play Day" is caged. First, we hear that the beloved drunken dwarf (no, not Hank), Dudley Moore, has died from pneumonia. Then, mere hours later, comes news that legendarily "endowed" (if you know what I mean) TV Icon Milton Berle is gone (old age? colon cancer? pantyhose twisted? whatever). Not long after, word hits that one of Hollywood's greatest directors ever, Billy Wilder, had also bit the proverbial dust at the age of 255 or something. Amazing. Totally shocking. That one day gave a single hit each for Major Leaguers The Wishman, Mr. 50's, and yours truly, E-Brake. Yes, children, listen and learn: March 27th was a day the likes of which have not been seen before, and may not be seen again. (E. side note: You know what slays me? I had ALL 3 in the top 7 of my 2001 list. Dagnabbit!). |
| AND THEN - Holy Old Biddies, Batman! - comes March 30th. Faster than you can say "scones and tea", or more likely "gin and tonic", Britain's Queen Mum, aka Elizabeth The Queen Mother, aka that rotten old coot (depending on who you ask), succumbs to old age. Finally. I mean, come on, 101? "Queen Mummy" is more like it. A Hit for returning Major Leaguer Drunk-As-A-Skunk (his second Royal hit in less than 2 months, wow!). Four big hits in Four scant days for Four little Major Leaguers. Life, and Death, is always interesting. |
| The Major Leagues: W = The Wishman E = E-Brake SG = The Single Guy DAAS = Drunk-As-A-Skunk The Minor Leagues:
| Dave Thomas (CORP) 01/08 Carrie Hamilton (E) 01/20 Peggy Lee (W) 01/21 Princess Margaret (DAAS) 02/09 Chuck Jones (MEAT) 02/22 Leo Ornstein (SLAB) 02/24 Milton Berle (WARD) 03/27 Dudley Moore (W) 03/27 Billy Wilder (E) 03/27 The Queen Mum (DAAS) 03/30 Lou Thesz (GENT) 04/27 Hugo Banzer (DAAS) 05/05 Diane Pretty (DAAS) 05/11 Joe Bonanno (W) 05/12 Sam Snead (BEEP) 05/23 Mildred Wirt Benson (EDT) 05/28 Robbin Crosby (E) 06/06 John Gotti (W) 06/10 Jack Buck (E) 06/18 Erwin Chargaff (RAP) 06/22 Rosemary Clooney (SKIT) 06/29 Ted Williams (E) 07/05 Lionel Hampton (W) 08/31 Kim Hunter (KMS) 09/11 James Gregory (MD) 09/16 Bob Hayes (DAAS) 09/18 Walter Annenberg (MAFIA) 10/01 Stephen Ambrose (MAFIA) 10/13 Kam Fong (SHAP) 10/18 Richard Harris (NEC) 10/25 Myra Hindley (DAAS) 11/15 James Coburn (RHU) 11/18 Roone Arledge (E) 12/05
********
E-Brake wins the Pool
Drunken Skunken comes in with
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| 2001: A Race Odyssey What a year! A near-record number of members (36 players), and a huge year for Hits (29 dingers). It started off deceptively slow, with no points in January. Then, finally, the Gates Flew Open! E-B and The Wishman each score a hit on the same friggin' day. March roared in like an MGM lion, while April whimpered in fear. Over the summer, Meat-is-Good sets a record with fastest hit, joining the Pool on June 25th and getting her first hit on June 28th, with Mortimer Adler. It was a bittersweet season for the Pool, as we said goodbye to legends George Harrison, John Lee Hooker, and Jack Lemmon. In the end, it was The Wishman winning with 4 hits (the points were really spread out this year over many players), and Drunk-As-A-Skunk wins the Minors again, with 3 hits. |
| Of Note - February 7th, 2001. A special Day in my heart, as it was not just the day the Grim Reaper swathed a big Double-Header through death pool land, but it was also a certain E-Brake's birthday. Yup, I scored both Anne Morrow Lindbergh AND Dale Evans in 2 separate pools. A very lovely present, but golly, I didn't get Anne or Dale anything. How gauche. |
| The Major Leagues: E = E-Brake W = The Wishman SG = The Single Guy SUB = Sub-All The Minor Leagues: IMB = I.M. Balm SKIP = Mighty Skippy GP = Gentleman Prick DLS = Death's Little Sister BLD = Bloodlust SAL = Sally Ragdoll CAN = Cannibal Feast NS = NightStalker SLA = Slabmaster General DE = Demon Eyes RIG = Rigor "Mairi" Mortis MAT = Mrs. Atti Tude RAP = Rapidzappa FOD = Fairy O' Death EOS = End of Story MAC = Mac the Knife AB = AbraCadaver DAAS = DrunkAsASkunk LUX = The Luxury Woman EDT = Editer42 ROOK = The Rookie MIR = M.I. Rich? At Times COR = Corpus Defunctus CM = The Croakmeister TLZ = Tlazolteol GR = The Grin Reaper MG = Meat-is-Good BAAL = Baal N&P = Needles & Pins GD7 = Grave Digger 007 MALF = Malfean BIGB = Big Brother | Dale Evans (E) 02/07 Anne Morrow Lindbergh (W) 02/07 Abe Beame (E) 02/20 John Diamond (DAAS) 03/02 Harold Stassen (IMB) 03/04 Dame Nanette de Valois (DAAS) 03/08 Morton Downey, Jr. (SG) 03/12 Ann Sothern (E) 03/15 Willie Stargell (MIR) 04/09 Perry Como (RAP) 05/12 Joe Moakley (ROOK) 05/28 Arlene Francis (SUB) 05/31 Hank Ketcham (ROOK) 06/01 Imogene Coca (W) 06/02 Anthony Quinn (GP) 06/03 John Lee Hooker (W) 06/21 Jack Lemmon (SAL) 06/27 Mortimer J. Adler (MG) 06/28 Mimi Farina (DAAS) 07/18 Eudora Welty (EDT) 07/23 Joan Finney (MIR) 07/28 Poul Anderson (DLS) 07/31 Maureen Reagan (AB) 08/08 Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf (RIG) 09/04 Fred De Cordova (GR) 09/15 George Gately (MG) 09/30 Mike Mansfield (W) 10/05 Emily Couric (SG) 10/18 George Harrison (MAC) 11/29 ******** The Results: The Wishman wins the Pool with 4 Hits (Lindbergh, Coca, Hooker and Mansfield). Winner of the Minor Leagues: Drunk-As-A-Skunk with 3 Hits (Diamond, de Valois and Farina). |
| In The Year 2000: The season starts fast for E-Brake, who has all 6 of her hits by the first of July - including a Two-Fer/Double-Down/Bonus-Buy May the twenty-first, with scores on both Dame Babs Cartland and her nubile lovebunny, Sir John Gielgud. Then after another hit with Walter Matthau on July 1st...nothing, nada, zilch for the rest of the year. Feast or famine, I’ll tell you what, baby. Yet it was still enough to fend off a valiant yet futile last gasp by The Wishman with 3 worrisome hits in November and December. But his 5 total hits are not enough to Beat the Brake. Last minute hilarity ensues when Alan Cranston dies on December 31st. We hate when that happens, especially when E-Brake’s going through Chemo-sabe and is really NOT in the mood to deal with anything requiring some semblance of a thought process. The Single Guy (aka, "Mr. 50's") avoids the Big Goose Egg with his final-week hit of Victor Borge, while conversely, new Major Leaguer Drunken Skunken (who would soon join us again in 2002) gets a January hit and then no more. Weirdness! In the Minors, Sub-All wins with 3 hits (including the first of the year, Kin Narita, one-half of Japan's oldest twins) and comes on up to play in the Majors in 2001. |
| The Major Leagues: E = E-Brake W = The Wishman SG = The Single Guy DNK = DrunkAsASkunk The Minor Leagues: Z = Zero IMB = I.M. Balm MAT = Mrs. Atti Tude ZL = Zombie Lotto SA = Sub-All CF = Cannibal Feast EDT = Editer42 MON = Monte KIN = Kindredkind SKIP = The Mighty Skippy BL = Bloodlust FF = Famous Fertilizer NS = Nightstalker DOT = The Dot Com Mortician AB = AbraCadaver DC = DeadCoumpy SJ = Scary Jerk TKG = Thrillkillgirl | Kin Narita (SA) 01/23 Don Budge (DNK) 01/26 Carl Albert (EDT) 02/04 Jim Varney (CF) 02/10 Tom Landry (E) 02/12 Charles Schulz (W) 02/12 Durward Kirby (W) 03/15 Ian Dury (E) 03/27 Terence McKenna (EDT) 04/03 Cardinal John O'Connor (E) 05/04 Dame Barbara Cartland (E) 05/21 Sir John Gielgud (E) 05/21 Dowager Empress Nagako (SA) 06/17 Walter Matthau (E) 07/01 Alec Guinness (EDT) 08/05 Loretta Young (MAT) 08/12 Carl Barks (SA) 08/25 Pierre Trudeau (AB) 09/28 Benjamin Orr (AB) 10/03 Jimmie Davis (W) 11/05 Werner Klemperer (SA) 12/06 Billy Barty (W) 12/23 Victor Borge (SG) 12/23 Alan Cranston (W) 12/31 |
The Results: | Winner of the Minor Leagues: Sub-All with 3 Hits (Barks, Klemperer, and Nagako). |
| Race: 1999. A good, solid year for the Pool, with 20 players but a hearseload of hits (28). The Single Guy opens with a quick hit on January 4th, with crybaby girly-man Iron Eyes Cody (you know, the Italian-Indian of environmental Ad fame). Some perennial favorites kicked the dead bucket (DiMaggio, Wences, Mature) and some new faces (Siskel, Springfield, Strasberg - the "S contingent", apparently) jumped in the deep end of the Pool, too. But it's a veritable Photo Finish in both the Majors AND the Minors. Going into the final week of the season, The Wishman and The Single Guy are tied for First with 4 hits each. Lurking (*lurk*lurk*) in Second Place is rookie Major Leaguer, E-Brake, with 3 wee little hits. Suddenly, without warning, she makes her move, with the death of "Lone Ranger" Clayton Moore on December 28th. THEN, wham-bam-eggs-and-spam, she takes the Lead and THE GAME with the demise of ol' lady Sarah Knauss on December 30th. Talk about waiting until the last minute. Can it get any more exciting than THAT?! Yes it can!! Drunk-As-A-Skunk scoots ahead of Zombie Lotto the very last week of the year when he pulls the great Curtis Mayfield out of his prognosticating hat, scoring his 4th and winning hit. A very exciting season indeed. |
| The Major Leagues: W = The Wishman T = Todd-Bone SG = The Single Guy CS = Center Square E = E-Brake The Minor Leagues: TAN = Tanichka SK = Skitzy DB = Dear Bambi SA = Sub-All GP = Grim Peeper ZL = Zombie Lotto DP = Daisy Pushemup DNK = Drunkasaskunk EDT = Editer42 ZER = Zero I = Infantry PRO = Prosser MP = Moon Pie IMB = I.M. Baum BEN = Dr. Benway ******* The Results: E-Brake wins the Pool with 5 Hits (Knauss, Mature, Moore, Springfield and Strasberg). Winner of the Minor Leagues: Drunk-As-A-Skunk with 4 Hits (Crisp, Denning, Mayfield and Mitchison). | Iron Eyes Cody (SG) 01/04 Naomi Mitchison (DNK) 01/11 Susan Strasberg (E) 01/21 Sarah Delany (T) 01/25 King Hussein (DP) 02/07 Gene Siskel (EDT) 02/20 Dusty Springfield (E) 03/02 Harry Blackmun (ZL) 03/03 Lord Denning (DNK) 03/06 Joe DiMaggio (W) 03/08 Boxcar Willie (CS) 04/12 Ellen Corby (SG) 04/14 Senor Wences (SG) 04/20 Buddy Rogers (I) 04/21 Gene Sarazen (W) 05/13 Mel Torme (W) 06/04 Clifton Fadiman (ZL) 06/20 Edward Dmytryk (ZL) 07/01 Victor Mature (E) 08/04 Allen Funt (W) 09/05 Catfish Hunter (CS) 09/09 Judith Exner (SG) 09/24 Gaby Casadesus (SA) 11/12 Quentin Crisp (DNK) 11/21 Hank Snow (IMB) 12/20 Curtis Mayfield (DNK) 12/26 Clayton Moore (E) 12/28 Sarah Knauss (E) 12/30 |
| The Major Leagues: W = The Wishman T = Todd-Bone SG = The Single Guy Wood = Woodeye The Minor Leagues: CS = Center Square TAN = Tanichka SK = Skitzy DB = Dear Bambi FM = Father McKenzie P = Pullmyfinger J = Jacz H = Honalee SA = Sub-All EB = E-Brake ZL = Zombie Lotto AK = Akasha MS = Mr. Smith GP = Grim Peeper Joe = Joemama DP = Daisy Pushemup TS = Tsuga TRM = Trauma B DNK = Drunkasaskunk IMB = I. M. Baum CAR = Carlito SMI = Smiley EDT = Editer42 GHL = The Grateful Ghoul SKA = Skating MBB = Mr. Baseball WLF = Wolf ZER = Zero DIA = Diamond AST = Astrolog PS = Prince Sirki BLK = Mr. Black MP = Moon-Pie HED = The Head ELG = El Guapo | Sonny Bono (H) 01/05 Junior Wells (CS) 01/15 Carl Perkins (Wood) 01/19 Jack Lord (DNK) 01/21 Joseph Alioto (EB) 01/28 Carl Wilson (GHL) 02/06 Harry Caray (SG) 2/18 Grandpa Jones (Joe) 02/19 Henny Youngman (Wood) 02/24 Lloyd Bridges (FM) 03/10 Dr. Benjamin Spock (TAN) 03/16 Pol Pot (CS) 04/15 Linda McCartney (MP) 04/17 Terry Sanford (EB) 04/18 James Earl Ray (SG) 04/23 Alice Faye (MBB) 05/09 Marjory Stoneman Douglas (TAN) 5/13 Frank Sinatra (W) 05/14 Barry Goldwater (W) 05/29 Catherine Cookson (GHL) 06/11 Maureen O'Sullivan (MBB) 06/23 Roy Rogers (T) 07/06 E.G. Marshall (SA) 08/25 Lewis F. Powell (EDT) 08/25 Akira Kurosawa (W) 09/06 George Wallace (Wood) 09/16 Dan Quisenberry (IMB) 09/30 Gene Autry (T) 10/02 Frankie Yankovic (MS) 10/14 Weeb Ewbank (Wood) 11/18 Esther Rolle (SG) 11/18 Albert Gore, Sr. (W) 12/05 ******** The Results: The Single Guy wins the Pool with 4 Hits (Caray, Ray, Rolle and Young). Winner of the Minor Leagues: Center Square with 2 Hits (Pot and Wells). |
| The Major Leagues: W = The Wishman T = Todd-Bone M = M vs. M E = Eeejj The Minor Leagues: A = The Alliance B = Mr. Bishop Bam = Deer Bambi EB = E-Brake FRM = Father McKenzie G = The Grateful Ghoul H = The Hex N = Nostradamus R = Reaper S = Mr. Smith Tan = Tanichka TF = Tree Frog TRM = Trauma B Wat = Watson Wood = Woodeye Pul = Pullmyfinger D = Ducky AT = Team Atwater SK = Skitzy SA = Sub-All J = Jacz | Harry Helmsley (E) 01/04 Robert Irsay (T) 01/14 Paul Tsongas (E) 01/18 Col. Tom Parker (T) 01/21 Ben Hogan (E) 01/25 Herb Caen (M) 02/01 Deng Xiao Peng (W) 02/19 Jack Kent Cooke (M) 04/06 Edward Mulhare (EB) 05/24 Jacques Cousteau (E) 06/24 Brian Keith (Wood) 06/24 James Stewart (T) 07/02 Walter Brennan (W) 07/24 Mother Teresa (E) 09/05 Mobuto Sese Seko (Wat) 09/07 Burgess Meredith (E) 09/10 Red Skelton (Tan) 09/17 Abe Gibron (Wood) 09/23 James Michener (A) 10/16 Chris Farley (FRM) 12/18 ******** The Results: Eeejj wins the Pool with 6 Hits (Cousteau, Helmsley, Hogan, Meredith, Mother Teresa, and Tsongas). Winner of the Minor Leagues: Woodeye with 2 Hits (Gibron and Keith). |
