Diamond and the Rough Department
Nov. 14th, 2008 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
captainsblogAh, nostalgia.
A few weeks ago, after the final game of the World Series ended- only to begin again two nights later- I made some comparisons here to the demise of the rules of the sport, which seemed to be approaching those of professional wrestling. That brought out this comment about how much cooler baseball would be if they incorporated WWF-type rules, and that, in turn, took me back to the summer of 1974- a season, like this one, bringing us the dying days of a dangerously failed Republican presidency.
I remembered a MAD magazine issue from around then, which illustrated just such a revision of our National Pastime, under the name of "Basebrawl." Moments later, I found that very issue on eBay, going begging for a bid of a whole dollar. I won it that following Saturday, PayPalled my money the following week, and the goods arrived yesterday.
In addition to the featured (for me) piece, there are all of the components of the magazine that I remember, from having a gift subscription that lasted most of the decade. (Ironically, it was sent by my godparents, among the most Attila-the-Hun conservatives I've ever known, who must've missed the subversive humor in it when their own kids were reading it.) It didn't have a real movie parody in this issue, but instead made fun of feminism in a made-for-MAD musical updating of the Pygmalion tale titled My Fair Laddie. Dave Berg and Don Martin made their usual monthly appearances. Political scandal and the oil shortage made the same headlines they're still making today. The issue ended with a spoof of The Straights of San Francisco and a MAD FOLD-IN which, I'm pleased to say, had already been folded-in numerous times from the look of the back cover.
But that's not what I came here to tell you about.
And then all of them got put together into this simple demonstration of how game play would actually work:
I am happy to say that the creator of this "game" as well as the continuing contributor of foldins, is still with us, and just this year won the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year. Much of his 34-year-old vision of the game has come to pass, from the body arm-or worn by sluggers to the far greater role of offense in the modern game. I salute his snappiness in the face of this game's continuing stupidity.
A few weeks ago, after the final game of the World Series ended- only to begin again two nights later- I made some comparisons here to the demise of the rules of the sport, which seemed to be approaching those of professional wrestling. That brought out this comment about how much cooler baseball would be if they incorporated WWF-type rules, and that, in turn, took me back to the summer of 1974- a season, like this one, bringing us the dying days of a dangerously failed Republican presidency.
I remembered a MAD magazine issue from around then, which illustrated just such a revision of our National Pastime, under the name of "Basebrawl." Moments later, I found that very issue on eBay, going begging for a bid of a whole dollar. I won it that following Saturday, PayPalled my money the following week, and the goods arrived yesterday.
In addition to the featured (for me) piece, there are all of the components of the magazine that I remember, from having a gift subscription that lasted most of the decade. (Ironically, it was sent by my godparents, among the most Attila-the-Hun conservatives I've ever known, who must've missed the subversive humor in it when their own kids were reading it.) It didn't have a real movie parody in this issue, but instead made fun of feminism in a made-for-MAD musical updating of the Pygmalion tale titled My Fair Laddie. Dave Berg and Don Martin made their usual monthly appearances. Political scandal and the oil shortage made the same headlines they're still making today. The issue ended with a spoof of The Straights of San Francisco and a MAD FOLD-IN which, I'm pleased to say, had already been folded-in numerous times from the look of the back cover.
But that's not what I came here to tell you about.
And then all of them got put together into this simple demonstration of how game play would actually work:
I am happy to say that the creator of this "game" as well as the continuing contributor of foldins, is still with us, and just this year won the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year. Much of his 34-year-old vision of the game has come to pass, from the body arm-or worn by sluggers to the far greater role of offense in the modern game. I salute his snappiness in the face of this game's continuing stupidity.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-15 11:59 pm (UTC)