July 12 - Where are They Now? Wednesday - Urban Leaguers?

This week’s Where are They Now? Wednesday should be labeled, Where Were You Last Night? Tuesday.

For the last 20 or so years I have been meeting with 9 to 11 of my associates at a local pub each July to watch the Baseball All –Star Game. It started in 1986 at The Urban Suburban Family Bar and Grill in Kettering Ohio. That bar has changed owners and names, but the brick and mortar and intent is still there. We formed a rotisserie baseball league at that location in 1986 and our league will be forever known as “The Urban League.”

If you do not know what rotisserie baseball is all about, read no further.

I would detail my activism in the “Urban League” on my resume. It would immediately draw praise, respect, and eventually confusion. I’m 92% Caucasian and 8% Native-American.

Every year the 11 or 12 team owners would meet to drink, watch the All-Star Game, and make baseball trades as if we were the next coming of George Steinbrenner. We would emulate Donald Trump, not as his prepared for his next wife, but as he would structure the “Art of the Deal.”

We moved our annual meeting from bar to bar over the years. Sometimes, we moved from bar to bar during the same night.

Proposed deals were passed like national security secrets (before Valerie Plume and Joe Wilson out-ed themselves) on bar napkins between team owners. Trades would happen as the beers went down and the night got late.

Well this year, no mid-season bash took place. No trades were proposed, debated, or consummated.

Where were you?

Casey?
Bobby?
Scott?
Joe?
Bob?
Chris?
Al?
Brad?
Bruce?
Dan?
Whitey?
Porter?
Sean?
Terry?
John Lewis?
Jeff Jones?
Dave Taylor?

I doubt that you had a meeting without me. Who would pick up the check?

Below is a picture of my 2007 Baseball Rotisserie League. I believe anyone named Kim, Choi, or Ichiro will be hot items.

Here’s to my 6th championship in the last 20 years. GO SLUGGERS.