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Oct 2024

Doug Bird. Pitched one mostly forgettable season out of the bullpen for the Phillies in 1979.

While Doug Bird's 1 season in Philadelphia [1979] was certainly forgettable, his one lone start as a Phillie certainly wasn't. It occurred on Aug. 31,1979 and was the very first game managed by Dallas Green. The team, in the first year of Pete Rose's 5 year career as a Phillie, had been an absolutely injury ravaged, under performing team under Danny Ozark and he was fired the day before with a 65-67 record.

Albeit in a rain shortened game, Bird tossed a 5.1 inning complete game in a 6-2 win in Atlanta and from that day forward, the Phils had nearly unparalleled success, a 19-11 finish in 1979, the teams first World Championship in 1980 and what appeared to be an even stronger season in 1981 before the strike destroyed the Phillie momentum.

Unfortunately, Green left for the Cubs after the '81 season when Bob Carpenter sold the team to Bill Giles, and except for 1983 and a few late season months in 1986, the team embarked on a terrible downhill spiral that really wouldn't end until they signed Jim Thome.

So, while Bird's 1979 season as a Phillie was forgettable, what occurred following his one and only start as a Phillie certainly wasn't.

RIP Doug Bird.

CD, there is something really strange with your memory. :grinning:. Usually your memories are of a low and outside pitch in 1964 that was called a strike and your still annoyed.

I GUARANTEE no one else remembers that he had 1 start. Good memory, I hope mine is half as good at your age.

Dallas Green might’ve remembered Bird’s start. Doug was the first pitcher Green’s Cubs used, starting on Opening Day in 1982. He pitched seven strong innings to get the win in a game that was called after eight innings. Bird was backed by three former Phillies, including Ryne Sandberg’s Cub debut (at 3B). Keith Moreland hit a homer. Future Phillie Willie Hernandez got the save, relieving a young Lee Smith with two on and two outs.

(I didn’t remember this; I looked it up :slightly_smiling_face:.)

the 1993 team would like to have a word.

This one hurts. I’m not a big movie/TV kind of guy but after seeing Teri Garr in Young Frankenstein at age 15/16, she was my secret crush for the next 50 years. Wonderful expressive eyes and a killer smile. RIP.

And that episode of the original Star Trek series that was probably the first time her work popped up for me.

Same here. The episode was Assignment Earth and that episode was supposed to be the stepping stone for a spinoff with her character and the Gary Seven character. The project was subsequently abandoned, however, I suppose because Star Trek itself was on the network's chopping block.

One of my favorite actresses. It is not easy to be a comic actor/actress, and she was one of the best.

She was the definition of “girl next door”, her persona was the sweet, kind approachable lady.

RIP beautiful lady.

With a wonderfully expressive face.

Teri Garr had the strangest set of on-screen relationships: A human raised on an alien planet (Star Trek), a husband who communicated with aliens (Close Encounters), a guy disguised as a woman (Tootsie), a husband who talked with God (Oh God), Mr. Mom, and of course Dr. Frankenstein. RIP.

If she got any royalties for appearing in one episode of every tv series for 20 years she would have been a very wealthy person.

To nitpick just a tiny bit, on that Star Trek episode she was a human female on Earth hired--unknowingly at first--to be the secretary for an alien "supervisor" whose mission on Earth was to help guide humanity to a better future. It was revealed years later in season two of Star Trek Picard that the "supervisors" were from the Travelers whom Star Trek; The Next Generation introduced.

Since we're both nerds, I will maintain that Gary Seven was a human raised on an alien planet. They didn't exactly have a relationship in the episode though Teri's character did show a little jealousy over the cat/lady at the end. If the pilot had been picked up, you know there would have been sexual tension during the series...

Apologies to the 98% of you who don't care about this! :slight_smile: