Vida Blue In 1971

[sport historian]

A previous thread about Doc Ellis alluded to Ellis and Vida Blue being the starting pitchers for the 1971 All-Star Game. The main feature of the 1971 season was the enormous publicity that Vida Blue got that year.


Vida was on track for a 30-win season (he finished 24-8)at the all star break and drawing big crowds everwhere he pitched. This was before sports channels on cable TV, but the hype that Vida Blue got was enormous in the sporting media of the day. I don't think a young pitcher got anywhere near that much hype until Doc Gooden in the 1980's. It was taken for granted that Vida Blue would be the best pitcher of all time. I would add that Vida seemed to be a pretty good guy (some writers tried to get him to take a black militant persona), despite the troubles he had later.


Blue held out in 1972 and dropped to a 6-10 record. He had 20 win seasons in 1973 and 1975, but never approached the 1.82 ERA he had in 1971. and didn't fulfill the promise he seemed to have that year. But the media attention that Vida got that year is something I've always remembered.

 

[Gary]

Vida Blue lost 161 games and had a winning percentage of only 565. Lots of media attention not much talent compared to Tom Seaver,Nolan Ryan,Steve Carlton,Whitey Ford or Jim Palmer.

 

[Don Wassall]

There have been so few topnotch black pitchers, and most of them flamed out early -- Gooden and Blue being good examples.Even Bob Gibson didnot have the durability of his white contemporaries -- Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Phil Niekro, Nolan Ryan.


Dontrelle Willis started off both his rookie year of '03 and last year very hot and then cooled considerably in the second half of the season. We'll see if the pattern repeats again this year, andwhether he eventually turns out to be that rarest of rarities, a great black American pitcher.


I remember how hyped Vida Blue was. That was back when I was a super baseball fan with no political or racial consciousness. Looking back now, it's clear how black baseball playerswere lionized and credited with superior athleticism to the white players of the time. This has been going on for a long time; now it's mindwashed fathers passing down their lack of awareness to their sons and grandsons.

 

[Bart]

There have been so few topnotch black pitchers, and most of them flamed out early -- Gooden and Blue being good examples.

Do you remeber hard throwing J.R. Richard? His overall record wasn't too impressive but he had his moments. He made tons of money but somehow managed to blow itALL away, presumably onhigh living, women and drugs. He used to wear a cape for effect andwould ride in a chauffeured Rolls Royce.


Sad Tale of J.R. Richard
James Rodney Richard left baseball under a black cloud. During the 1980 season he began complaining of arm soreness and pain, but tests done by the Houston Astros revealed nothing. After his stroke in July, Richard was somewhat vindicated for the abuse he had taken from Astros' officials, Houston media and fans, who had suggested he was lazy, attention-starved, or on drugs. He underwent several operations to restore the blood flow to his arm and endured therapy that restored the use of the left side of his body (paralyzed by the stroke), but he was never able to throw effectively again. In the 1990s Richard was destitute. A reporter from the Houston Post located him under a bridge, unemployed and homeless, in 1995. After some help from friends in the community and the Astros, Richard found a job and was on his way back from his troubles.

Edited by: Bart