Yanks Bring In Mrs. 32, 29, 1-2, & 15 To OTD ’09

Poor Kay…if she’s “Mrs. 1″ she gets confused with Billy’s wife…and “Mrs. 2″ is, well, ask Jeter…

Via the Yankees -

The New York Yankees announced today that four Hall-of-Famers and at least six rookie Old-Timers will be on hand at the 63rd annual Old-Timers’ Day on Sunday, July 19 at Yankee Stadium. This season marks the inaugural Old-Timers’ Day at the current Stadium after 62 years at the original Stadium.

Joining the Hall-of-Famers and Old-Timers’ Day rookies on the baselines will be more than 30 additional former Yankees and the widows of four legendary Yankees-Arlene Howard, widow of Elston Howard; Helen Hunter, widow of Jim “Catfish” Hunter; Kay Murcer, widow of Bobby Murcer; and Diana Munson, widow of Thurman Munson.

It’s very nice of the Yankees to bring these widows out for the game – and wonderful of the ladies to attend. Reminds me of something great I once read on Marty Appel’s site:

I had the privilege of serving as Bob Fishel’s assistant in preparing the [Old Timer's Day] events from 1968-73, before taking over myself after he moved to the American League. An incredible amount of detail went into the planning, from doing a souvenir program, to writing the introductions, to arranging travel and hotel, to finding old time umpires, to enlisting a band and a color guard, to a national anthem singer, to inviting the Commissioner and League Presidents, to stocking the clubhouse with extra beer, to arranging for old New York Times’ writer John Drebinger to keep an official box score in the press box, to getting fill-in broadcasters to cover for Phil Rizzuto (who never made it back upstairs), or Jerry Coleman, to hiring limos for Mrs. Babe Ruth and Mrs. Lou Gehrig, to coordinating uniforms with Pete Sheehy, to preparing lineups for the game and assisting the “managers” (who barely paid attention), to arranging transportation and the post-game party at Toots Shors or the Friar’s Club, with a separate party for the wives. Claire Ruth and Eleanor Gehrig, always recipients of huge ovations from their box seats, would not only be the life of the party, but would usually be the first to crack the segregated code and lead all the women into the cigar-smoke filled “men’s party,” where the great baseball stories ran long into the night.

Somehow, I don’t see today’s ladies being the party starters…but, you never know…

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