<body>

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I WILL NOT REMEMBER YOU IN THE FORM OF WORDS - BUT IN ESSENCES


PIECES OF OLD POSTS

I started blogging unintentionally. This was my first post:

Whatever you can do

or dream
you can
BEGIN IT.

Boldness has genius,

power and magic in it.

Goethe

November 29, 2006

I don't get many comments made by readers. Although, it seems I have regular readers. This first post got this comment:

Easier said than done, yet so true

That was the long and short of it ...

More from my "vault":

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remember all those things we used to blame on the devil
and all those things we left up to God?
Now it's all a hundred times more complicated.
We Must Become New Men (and Women)
OR Be Satisfied As We ARE . . .
either way WE risk tragedy."
from "to believe in man" by Joseph Pintauro

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Poem by Sandra Hammel:

The power of beauty ~ higher than reason

I will not remember

what you are in the form of words,

but

in essences.

It isn’t words

that give you power over me.

It is important that we open

ourselves

to our vast resource of emotions and passion,

and that we

give with feeling, from a soul

that has felt its depths

pushed out into

an infinite realm.

The glory of beauty is then crowned,

only

to be crowned again and again.

Your spirit sustains.

Feelings of you surface

to nourish

the glow in my heart

that is present

because

of

you.

I have shared the wealth of your soul

and humbly

I hope,

you have felt

the warmth

of my soul

reaching out

to you.

And that

each one of us

has entered,

only,

to know again,

the richness to be known

in sharing

the wealth of two souls

giving

what

they have become . . . to become.

This then would be fulfillment

To have

life

meet

life

and to complement itself so.

To allow Life to become one

would

be

giving

harmony

to the quality of being.

Such union

would shake our senses

and

would be higher than reason.

The power of beauty we do not know.

Let me try.

I will affirm

your beauty,

I will be loving,

understanding,

forgiving.

Open to me

and

do not be afraid.

I must trust

the greatness

of your soul.

Dare I be so vulnerable

to trust

you will be fair

with the receiving of my giving?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember the victims of genocide:
www.sandandsorrow.org/viewclips

www.savedarfur.org
www.genocideintervention.net

1-800-GENOCIDE


Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

MY INTERNAL WORLD OF GRACE



Without even going out of the door
One can know the whole world.
Lao Tzu

I like to write. When I write about my internal world of feelings, confusion and need for understanding ~ I find healing, clarity and comfort just by finding ways to express my rawness. What I have learned over the last couple of years is that finding truth in my personal life is hard. Hard because what I always believed about my most important contributor to my life was simply wrong. I am wrestling with the depth of the feelings and trying to integrate the revealed with what used to be my internal world. Just because I don’t want to believe that it was false ~ to have been operating with the assumption that I was unconditionally loved by the one who brought me into this world ~ doesn’t change the truth.

Just because someone says “I love you” ~ it doesn’t make it so.

I have come to believe that I can make it without the unconditional love of someone else.

I am not a victim. I choose to live in personal truth. There is nothing more important than truth. Unless it is justice. But justice needs truth.

I take comfort in knowing that what I am is someone I could spend my whole life with. I know how ridiculous that reads. But I love my own company. I love my sense of humor. I love my spirit for life. And I love the joy of being me. I love that I am not pretentious. At the end of all endings, none of us has anyone but who we are. And if you can like yourself and how you have treated others and how you have stood for truth and justice, then that is a pretty good place to be.

I have been going through the foundation of my life. This search has been amplified by the death of my dad May 10, 2007 and finding myself letting the grieving out. It has shaken my core but I haven’t found it discouraging, but a lighter load to carry.

My dad had a diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease, but he and I communicated to his last breath. To me, he had some memory problems, but his spirit was always in tact and very present. My dad had my forgiveness for all the past rage and leather strappings during my childhood because in the end I saw the man for whom he really was ~ gentle, compassionate, loving and tactful. My dad gave me the personification of integrity and being genuine. With me, he showed a sense of humor in his last year. I consider it a gift.

It has been holy work to figure out my family. I have been so moved by the sweetness of my dad. I am aware that the last time we were together was a spiritual experience not only between father and daughter, two human beings, but with Life itself in an all encompassing way. It was a religious experience for me.

What more could we possibly be than sweetness in another’s life?

My roots will be constantly reaching for my father’s fertile ground of strength, fortitude and joy of life. Plant your tree where the ground is best for you.


“We think of religious activity
as directed toward God
- instead of man.

We believe in someone divine
rather than in ourselves.

Maybe we have turned religion
inside-out.”

From the book Please Touch by Edwin M. McMahon and Peter A. Campbell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What though the radiance
which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass,
of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.”
William Wordsworth

....................................................

....................................................
The Rose sung by Bette Midler
Uploaded by DarkLady77

If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, no one asks why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.

Yesterday’s eyes see their colors fading away
They see their sun turning to grey
You can’t share in a dream, that you don’t believe in
If you say that you see and pretend to be me
You won’t be then.

How can you ask if I’m happy goin’ my way?
You might as well ask a child at play!
There’s no need to discuss or understand me
I won’t ask of myself to become something else
I’ll just be me!

If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, and no one asks her why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I’ll fly free then.

Lyrics of If I Had Wings as sung by Peter, Paul and Mary


Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, December 25, 2008

MOVIES ARE NOTHING WITHOUT A STORY AND A MAGNETIC ACTOR

AND P.S. I LOVE YOU GOT THAT NAILED DOWN

Having just seen the movie P.S. I Love You for the first time on cable TV, I have enjoyed it since by watching it repeatedly. It just makes me feel good. I laugh at the same acting or lines each time I have seen it. Starring are Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank. Although a relatively small part Nellie McKay, I thought was outstanding in every scene and line she delivered as Hilary Swank's sister.

My son who is 21 years old watched it with me last night. He may deny it if I share what he said. But he really liked the movie, too.

Since, I have gone to the library and checked out several movies with Gerard Butler in them.
Miracle Match is one. Here is the trailer. Here is a scene. I learned something by watching this movie about football (soccer) in the United States. A great story. One of the players in the story played 20 minutes from me in Fall River, Massachusetts. I particularly liked a scene on the airplane between two players about connecting with the "big spirit" in whatever way we have learned, in order to help us with what we need a dose of help with.

I adore this scene in
P.S. I Love You...
..................................................

..................................................
A clip from the movie P.S. I Love You. Gerard Butler singing karaoke of Ride Sally Ride
Uploaded by kortveit

This youtube link includes Hilary Swank's dare-karaoke song
Get Off by Prince

..................................................

..................................................
Another scene from P.S. I Love You
Uploaded by cleverjoey

P.S. I Love You's website
..................................................

..................................................
Interview of Gerard Butler on Craig Ferguson
Uploaded by allantics
..................................................

..................................................
Gerard Butler on Jay Leno
Uploaded by KellBell1592

Gerard Butler ~ In His Own Words

Gerard Butler Bio

Music
in
P.S. I Love You

Listen Love You 'Till The End (Psily Album Version)

Listen If I Ever Leave This World Alive (Psily Album Version)

Listen No Other Love (Psily Album Version)

More about the music of P.S.-I-Love-You

Galway Girl is not on the soundtrack

When I asked my son tonight what his favorite scene was in the movie
P.S. I Love You he remarked of the scene near the end where the panoramic view of Ireland was in the background when Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates had just stopped on the road. It was an inviting view.

www.visitireland.com

wikipedia.org ~ Ireland

www.irelandpictures

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, December 21, 2008

WHAT A PRIVILEGE TO SEE THIS AGAIN ~


Just within minutes of posting my last post ~ this part 32 of Wimbledon 2008 Final was posted. So here is the very ending of Rafael Nadal's first Final win at Wimbledon. There probably will be a part 33 too ~ so that the ceremony is available.
.................................................

.................................................
Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer
Thanks to
carhi1814

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

WIMBLEDON 2008 FINAL ~ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT



2008 Wimbledon Final

Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer
has been uploaded in parts by carhi1814

December 20, 2008 Parts 27 through 31 were uploaded

If you click on carhi1814 it will take you to all parts.

Here is part 27:
......................................................

......................................................

Here is part 28 ~ one of the greatest points at 17 seconds:
......................................................

......................................................

Here is part 29:
......................................................

......................................................

Here is part 30
......................................................


......................................................

Here is part 31 ~ it is a good one:
......................................................

......................................................

Thanks to carhi1814

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 19, 2008

CHOICE OF RICK WARREN ~ SYMBOL OF DIVISIVENESS ~ WHAT DOES IT SAY TO OUR GAY CHILDREN?


The above was copied from Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign website.

My ability to bring about "real change" includes speaking out when I feel strongly about something. It includes me telling Barack Obama, too. Which I did with the following body of text to http://change.gov/page/s/yourstory


I am thankful that Barack Obama has shown better judgment in picking his wife, his cabinet and his campaign leaders than his selection of Rick Warren. However......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I believe President-elect Obama when I have heard him say that he wants to change how we approach living together here in the USA and in the world. So much so, that I for the first time in my life (59 years old) actively campaigned for Barack Obama in New Hampshire, my home state of Rhode Island and also phone banked on his website in New Jersey. Even though I shouldn’t have, because I am in a scary place economically personally, I donated repeatedly for his campaign. I speak out when I have a position whether it be in support of the arts, human rights, native indigenous peoples of North America, the raping of our land with strip mining and systematically killing our people with the polluting of water and air in coal mining areas or the genocide of Darfuris we have been complicit in regarding Omar al-Bashir. I believe we don’t have freedom of speech if we don’t use it. This brings me to the following: I want to speak out about gay people. I have understood that Barack Obama welcomes our participation in our democracy and that is how I come to this expression of my anger that Rick Warren will represent the spiritual and religious people of this country at the inauguration by being chosen by Mr. Obama to pray to God before the world to begin this new era.

I am a female retired music public school teacher and I am not gay. But because I am addressing the Rick Warren issue I want to make it clear that I speaking from a position as a heterosexual. I am dismayed to put it mildly. It is so emotionally affecting me that it is difficult to express my rational reasons for being so very disappointed and repelled by this choice. Mr. Obama has maneuvered through so many sticky situations throughout the campaign with such intelligence, grace and transparent reasoning. Granted at times I haven’t always agreed with his decisions, but I could still trust that he could be trusted with my trust. But this is not one of those decisions.

The rationale in choosing Rick Warren in this highly honorable role is incomprehensible in any acceptable way for me personally. Choose a muslim clergy, choose a Rabbai, choose an agnostic, choose an Unitarian, choose a Bahá'í, choose a fundamentalist Christian, choose an average citizen – choose anyone who lives his or her life in ways that bring people together with welcoming and compassion for all. But to choose someone who openly purports division in our culture regarding discrimination of gay people is a mistake. This is not welcome by me or anyone who believed the change Mr. Obama spoke of. Change for us meant we welcome unity by how we live our lives with inclusiveness. Certainly not divisive statements such as Rick Warren is known for.

Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, which Warren strongly supported is divisive. Warren compared same-sex nuptials to approving polygamy and pedophilia. Warren actively promoted legalizing discrimination in Prop 8.

www.saddlebackfamily.com/blogs/newsandviews
Video link of Rick Warren on Proposition 8 on his website
2% of population (Gays, Lesbians) ~ not important says Rick Warren

The lives and relationships of millions of Americans were once again marginalized at best. When we as human beings put our trust in someone we feel betrayed when we are disrespected and treated with disdain. And this choice of Warren for the role of saying our invocation - a calling upon a greater power or God for help – makes me feel betrayed.

I would have been so happy to attend the inaugural if I could have afforded to come, but now I don’t feel like I even want to watch it on television. I know this is an emotional response. A visceral reaction.

I am so disappointed in our new President Obama in making this choice. Diversity and divisiveness are not compatible. To what purpose does this choice serve the country, our need and want to feel a “whole” nation and furthermore, how does it bring in the gay community to our overall community? Though I am heterosexual, I understand that to be gay in a heterosexually power base of a country is extremely stressful and unjust. Time and time again, people who are gay have been betrayed by this country. And this is no way to demonstrate a change in this regard. What does this say to the little boy or girl who knows in his or her heart that they are gay but have been carrying the secret because it is so difficult to live their lives in truth. They feel forced to live their lives in pretense. Even often without the love of their own families. We must stop alienating our children and adults who are born gay. Requiring people to live in pretense and secret is not freedom. We remember the Clinton “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” betrayal and are so hungry for a change in this society-generated moral injustice. If not now, when? If an Obama administration lets us down in this regard, we don’t have a chance, do we? We are done waiting for all of us to have our acceptance, love and freedom from institutionalized bigotry.

Not only are our children watching, but the world is watching and having chosen this one man to be our religious leader for the hour, the inauguration, is detestable and disgraces the words “Out of Many We Are One”. This could have been a moment of elation to be walking into the path of a purpose to be One, but the man praying to God to begin this official path does not stand for that purpose unless we believe as he does…women are second class citizens, gay people are not equal to him.

There is very nearly no way for this to be explained to me and make it okay to have this man stand on the world stage on inauguration day. I wish Warren well in his life and work but the inauguration stage should not have him speaking on it January 20, 2009.

What does it symbolize?

I believe that symbolism matters. Symbolism is what the inauguration ceremony is. Choosing our symbols represents us. President-elect Obama needs to address this issue. Our country is wounded on so many political and social levels, and the requirement of separation of church and state getting waived on inauguration day is something I can accept if I have to, but it is asking too much to accept a bigot to say the invocation.

Thank you for your consideration.

GENOCIDE STOPS WITH US


Sandra Hammel speaking and introducing Senator John Kerry
in March 2008 in the Newport, Rhode Island Obama Primary Campaign Office


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

………………………………………


………………………………………
I found this video at the following post: bullied-children-and-gay-bashers
Terrence has two fathers. He likes them alot
and he sings a song about them. (English subtitles)

Uploaded by fluffythecat

Article on choice of Rick Warren by Barack Obama
www.latimes.com

Rick Warren, Obama Invocation Choice, Causing First Real Rift With Progressives
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

From the above link

...Indeed, lost in the hubbub about Warren, is the fact that the man tasked with overseeing the benediction is a icon within progressive politics. Rev. Joe Lowery, a hero of the civil rights movement and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King famously called out President George W. Bush during Coretta Scott King's funeral. He also is a supporter of same-sex marriage. But he is not garnering the same attention as Warren for his inauguration role.

It's vintage Obama, several observers say -- bringing the spectrum of the religious/political experience together for one event. And yet, it is also a big source of frustration for progressive leaders, many of whom aren't interested in legitimizing viewpoints antithetical to their message.

"I think there is probably an actual friendship between the two, and I admire that because Barack Obama has an ability to be friends with people he disagrees with, and that is a good quality for a president," said Rev. Currie. "But I think that he is very much the wrong person to put on the stage with the president that day. It sends a very wrong message about who America is and what our aspirations are."

A relevant post of my own:
if-i-was-gay-i-would-want-to-be-free-to

Other bloggers' posts:
obama-rick-warren-and-slap-in-face
ladies-lets-get-the-painful-part-over-first

DON'T ASK DON'T TELL IS UNJUST

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SO LONG SLINGIN SAMMY BAUGH


..............................................

..............................................
Great video
Direct link: www.youtube.com
Uploaded by SKINOFWAR

..............................................

..............................................
Direct link: www.youtube.com
Uploaded by AssociatedPress
..............................................

..............................................
Direct link: www.youtube.com
Uploaded by redskins78

..............................................

..............................................
Direct link: www.youtube.com
Uploaded by SKINOFWAR

Sammy Baugh in the movies
Direct link: www.youtube.com
Uploaded by captainbijou
Text by poster;
Theatrical trailer for the 1941 Republic serial, KING OF THE TEXAS RANGERS, starring football legend "Slingin'" Sammy Baugh. An All-American footballer at Texas Christian University and a charter inductee into of the NFL Hall of Fame, Baugh had limited thespic talents, but was a gifted athlete. Director William Witney once noted that Baugh was extremely capable, a superb horseman and would have made an exceptional western star...

Tributes to Sammy Baugh

Direct links:
www.youtube.com
by
21RedskinsFan21
www.youtube.com
by pldRO95


See my extensive post on Sammy Baugh
and my dad:
slingin-sammy-baugh-and-my-dad-played

www.lambeaufield.com


Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SLINGIN' SAMMY BAUGH AND MY DAD PLAYED FOOTBALL - SOME MEMORABILIA



In this Dec. 15, 1936 file photo, Sammy Baugh, backfield star of Texas Christian University, is demonstrating his sidestepping ability in Dallas. Baugh, who set numerous passing records with the Washington Redskins in an era when NFL teams were running most every down, died Wednesday night, Dec. 17, 2008 his son said. Baugh, who was 94 and had numerous health issues, died at Fisher County Hospital in Rotan, Texas, David Baugh said. (AP Photo/JFL, File) (Jfl - AP)

Sammy Baugh 1945

Sammy Baugh

SAMMY BAUGH DIED WEDNESDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 17, 2008

Sammy Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1963.

After starring at Texas Christian University, "Slingin' Sammy" played with the Redskins from 1937 to 1952, leading them to the NFL title in his rookie season and again in 1942.

FUNERAL SET FOR MONDAY (December 22, 2008)
www.google.com

ROTAN, Texas (AP) — Funeral services for Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh are scheduled for Monday.

Weathersbee-Ray funeral director Doug Ray said Thursday that Baugh's service will be at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Rotan. Burial will follow at Belvieu Cemetery. Family visitation is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

"Slingin' Sammy" Baugh, one of the league's best passers in an era when most offenses were geared toward the run, died Wednesday night at 94.

The Texas native played for the Washington Redskins from 1937-52, leading them to the NFL title his rookie season and again in 1942. Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1963.

Commentary: Baugh's stories reflect a life lived to fullest
NFL star also played baseball, had show on TV

By JOHN McCLAIN Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Dec. 18, 2008, 8:46PM

Source and credit: www.chron.com

When I learned that Slingin’ Sammy Baugh had died Wednesday, I reminisced about the most entertaining night of my life.

In July of 1998, I spent the night with Baugh at his ranch in West Texas. What a trip down memory lane.

Samuel Adrian Baugh, an All-American at TCU and Washington’s first-round pick in 1937, was a storehouse of sports and entertainment knowledge.

Green Bay receiver Don Hutson had died in June of 1997, leaving Baugh as the last surviving member of the original, 17-member class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame that was inducted in 1963.

I recruited Baugh’s friend, Cowboy Bill Lamza Jr., to set up the interview with Baugh at his ranch outside Rotan, an 8,000-acre spread at the base of Double Mountain.

Baugh, who got his nickname from a Fort Worth sportswriter because of the way he threw a baseball from third to first, was a cussing, golfing, domino-playing legend whose extraordinary career included experiences with more memorable characters than Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump combined.

Baugh was 84 when Lamza introduced me to him on the porch of his ranch house. I turned on the tape recorder and listened to Baugh’s stories while he and Lamza played dominoes for hours.

Set 13 league records

Baugh’s career in the NFL has been well-documented. In 2007, the NFL Network voted him as the most versatile player in history. He was an outstanding quarterback, safety and punter during a 16-year career with the Redskins that ended after the 1952 season.

When Baugh retired, he owned 13 NFL records.

At one point, Baugh showed me around his house. He had a small trophy case. I asked him which award he valued most. He opened the door, reached into the back and pulled out a certificate for his first hole-in-one.

Every weekday, Baugh got in his car and drove 20 miles to Sweetwater to play golf. On weekends, he stayed home to watch football and golf. He loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He ate them almost every day.

Fans would send items for him to sign. They’d be addressed to Slingin Sammy Baugh, Rotan, Texas — no address and no zip code. Just about everybody in West Texas knew where he resided because he’d owned the ranch since 1941.

Every two weeks, his daughter-in-law would come to his house and line up the items for him to sign. He signed “Sam Baugh” because it was quicker. She made sure every item was signed and returned to sender.

No matter how hard the Hall of Fame tried to get him to return to Canton or how many award banquets he was invited to, Baugh never went anywhere unless he could return home and sleep in his bed every night.

Memories of the minors

Baugh’s minor league baseball career was almost as interesting as his 16 years with the Redskins. He regaled us with stories about playing in the St. Louis Cardinals system with players who would become members of the legendary Gashouse Gang.

At a semipro all-star game in Denver, Baugh played against a Negro League all-star team that included Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell and Satchel Paige. He said it was the most talented team he ever saw even though the game ended with a bloody fight between fans and players from both teams.

Baugh told us about a 17-year-old rightfielder from an opposing team. He said the kid hit line drives you could hang clothes on. He said when he played third base, the kid would hit the ball so hard that Baugh could hear the planks coming out of the outfield fence faster than he could turn his head to actually see it.

The kid infuriated opponents because he’d turn his back to hitters and dare them to hit it to him. To antagonize opponents, the kid would stuff his glove in his pocket when the pitcher threw. Sometimes, the kid would do jumping jacks with the batter in the box.

Baugh asked the opposing manager why he let the kid act that way. The manager said the big boys with the major league team told him to leave the kid alone because he was going to make them a lot of money someday. That kid was Ted Williams.

A star magnet

Baugh was such a star in the NFL that Hollywood called.

He starred in a weekly series called King of the Texas Rangers. He crossed paths with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Duncan Renaldo, who became famous for his weekly television series, The Cisco Kid.

Actor Robert Duvall spent a few nights at Baugh’s ranch before he filmed the television miniseries, Lonesome Dove. Duvall based his Gus character on Baugh.

Of all his interesting experiences, Baugh loved football the most. When he walked off the field at Griffith Stadium for the last time, Redskins fans gave him a 10-minute standing ovation.

Now that he’s gone, many of us who admired him are still applauding.



SAMMY BAUGH
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME website source and link:
www.profootballhof.com
Class of 1963
Quarterback, 6-2, 182
(Texas Christian University)
1937-1952 with the Washington Redskins

Sammy Adrian Baugh. . .Two-time TCU All-America. . .No. 1 draft choice, 1937. . .Split career between tailback, T-quarterback. . . Premier passer who influenced great offensive revolution. . All-NFL seven years. . . NFL passing, punting, interception champ, 1943. . . Six-time NFL passing leader. . . Career records: 21,886 yards, 187 TDs passing, 45.1-yard punting average, 31 interceptions. . .Born March 17, 1914, in Temple, Texas. . .Died December 17, 2008, at age of 94.

Sammy Baugh arrived on the pro football scene in 1937, the same year the Redskins moved to Washington from Boston. The Texas Christian star was the team’s first round pick that year. Over the next 16 seasons “Slingin’ Sammy” not only helped establish the pro game in the nation’s capital, he also was a major influence in the offensive revolution that occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

When Baugh first started with the Redskins pro football was largely a grind-it-out ground game. The forward pass was something to be used with caution, and never inside your 30-yard line, except in desperate situations. By the time Baugh was through, the forward pass was a primary offensive weapon. Obviously, such a change could not be totally brought about by one individual. But Baugh was the catalyst that changed the game. No one had seen a passer who could throw with such accuracy.

Baugh started his pro career as a single wing tailback and didn't make the switch to the T-formation until 1944. He won a record-setting six NFL passing titles and earned first-team All-NFL honors seven times in his career. Sammy also led the NFL in punting four straight years from 1940 through 1943. Extremely versatile, he led the NFL in passing, pass interceptions, and punting in 1943.

One of his best single performances came on “Sammy Baugh Day” in 1947 when he passed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Chicago Cardinals, that season’s eventual champions. Baugh, although highly competitive, was still comparatively easy-going and never lost his sense of humor. When the Chicago Bears defeated the Redskins, 73-0, in the famous 1940 NFL title battle, a Redskins end dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. Reporters asked Baugh if the outcome would have been different had the pass been caught. "Yeah," Baugh answered, "It would have made it 73-7."

Baugh, perhaps greatest ever, dies at 94 Read the article: baltimoresun.com



My dad Mark "Mick" Hammel played in this preseason game as a Green Bay Packer end.

Slingin' Sammy Baugh is pictured on the program front cover. The roster was on the inside of the program as well as on the back. Both are pictured below.

The football articles below are memorabilia that I have about my beloved dad.

Click on the pictures of the programs and articles and they will enlarge.


Sammy Baugh is number 33 of the Redskins
My dad, Mark Hammel is number 15 of the Packers


Inside of the program above.

Don Hutson is listed as the Packer Backfield Coach.
He changed his mind and came out of retirement to play again. And this is referred to below in a letter from Packer Coach Curly Lambeau to my dad's high school football coach. That is the reason my dad was cut from the Packers before the season actually started.

My dad then went onto to Ohio State University with a football scholarship. He hitchhiked there and hitchhiked home. Just before going to the Packers he had gotten married and he was "homesick" he told me. He was rejected from the military because of his back. But he loved playing football. When he entered the hometown Huntington College after his short experience in professional football, he was ineligible to play football for one year. And the only years that they had a football team were the three years that dad did get to play there.

My dad went on to Coach Basketball in Indiana's high school level. He was hired to coach before he even went to college. There was a war going on...

Packer Coach Curly Lambeau refers to dad as made out of prewar rubber in above newspaper article.


Click on the articles and they will enlarge.

In the above article is included this text:

Hammel, Clark Shine

During the first stiff contact work Thursday on defense, two rookie lineman -- End Mark Hammel and Tackle Don Clark-- looked especially good along with Tiny Croft, 287-pound tackle, and Ben Starrett, who was used at an end spot as well as at blocking back. The big surprise of the session was the work of Hammel.

A comparatively small man, Hammel uses his 170 pounds to advantage. As the Packer coach put it, "...he seems to be made out of prewar rubber the way he bounces back after he is hit." The former Wabash (this is wrong - it shoud read Huntington player, which is high school) makes up for his lack of weight with plenty of speed. The ability he showed in the rough session was the fist major surprise of the young practice season.

(The last line in the article is missing the words: a play.)


The letter where Curly Lambeau cut dad from the Green Bay Packers
because Don Hutson came back from "retirement"
It is referred to at the end of the letter.


A source for more information on Sammy Baugh:
.................
Sammy Baugh Biography - Discovers Sports In Temple, Texas, Moves To Sweetwater, Texas, Recruited For College Career At Tcu
.................

From our files: Sammy Baugh: In Passing

Source and credit: www.csmonitor.com

From the October 14, 1948 issue of The Christian Science Monitor.

For years, forward passing was regarded as daring football. Fans usually liked passing because it was exciting to watch, and because danger rode with every attempt at it - danger of interception for the home team, and of completion for the opposition. Either way, passing was spectacular.

While the fans cheered it, however, fundamentalists insisted that it was not sound football. They regarded it as desparation play. Victories won on passes were sometimes termed "fluke" wins. Now the picture is different. The fellow who changed it is a drawling Texan, who proved that passing could be a science instead of a gamble.

Sammy Baugh did not aspire to football greatness as a boy. He wanted to be a baseball player. Just as the baseball major leagues are dotted with frustrated footballers, the football big time is sprinkled with fellows who wanted to play baseball. Sammy probably is the outstanding example.

When he was growing up on a Texas farm, heliked the sandlot game. Texas had good baseball weather, and Sam was determined to make the most of it. Football was not just something to try for the sake of variety, fun to dabble in but lacking in the solid virtues of baseball.

When he was of high school age, Sam retained much the same opinion of the two sports. At this time, the Baughs moved to Sweetwater, Texas, where Sammy went to high school. Tall and slim, Sam did not look much like a football player, but he went out for the team, anyway. He liked sports, and he watend to keep his hand in. If he had not subsequently achieved fame, it is unlikely that anyone who saw Sammy in high school football uniform would remember it now. He was unimpressive. At the time, he apparent lack of outstanding ability did not worry the young fellow, because everyone agreed he was a fine infielder on the high school baseball team.

After graduation, Sam had high hopes of making the major leagues. He joined an Abilene, Texas team as a third baseman, and sports fans continued to point him out as a fine prospect for organized baseball. Among the people who watched him and admired his work on the diamond was Dutch Meyer, baseball coach for Texas Christian University. Meyer thought that Baugh had natural ability as a hitter, and after some time he interested Sammy in going to Texas Christian. Meyer also was freshman football coach at TCU, but he is the first to confess now that he had no suspicions that Sammy Baugh might become a great football player. He knew Sam had played football, and figured he might fill in as a substitute on the freshman team in the baseball off-season.

Sammy went out for football as a freshman, but he failed to establish a reputation as a good football player. Francis Schmidt, head football coach, attributed Sammy's so-so play to the fact that he was too slim for football, anyway. For the first time, however, the easygoing Baugh was unwilling to ride along on that excuse. That freshman year he developed something more important than a reputation, he developed a determiniation to become more than a mediocre football player. He was beginning to get football fever, to feel that the autumn game was more than a change of pace from baseball.

It became obvious to Sammy that he did have a natural ability to pass. He watned to develop it, but he realized that he would have to become a better all-around player in order to make the passing count.

During his sophmore year, Sam studied the game of football. He spent hours on the fundamentals of the game, trying to imagine himself in every position on the team(he played quarterback) and in every conceivable situation. The team as a whole, and how it should operate - this was what Sammy had to know in order to do a good job of quarterbacking. He assimilated facts, and he began, gradually, to put his knowledge to work on the field. At first his play was marred by extreme nervousness. But he stuck to it and, as he saw theory work out on the field, developed self-confidence.

Sammy Baugh was a fine, workmanlike quarterback when he reported to his coach at the beginning of junior year. As serious practice got under way, he proved that he could punt well too, and he gave every indication of being a calm player, sure of what should be done in every situation.

Having painstakingly built the groundwork, Sammy was ready to reap the rewards. His passing, always his strong point but worthless without all-around basic ability, came into its own. It seemed to unhappy rivals of TCU that Baugh just couldn't miss. While fans screamed themselves hoarse, Baugh passed TCU into the Sugar Bowl. Even then he had no idea of how good he really was, and few other people guessed it.

After graduation from TCU, Same figured still that he might find a steadier, more dependable job in baseball. He played a season in the minor leagues. The next year he returned to football, hoping that his passing arm would enable him to make good with the professional Washington Redskins.

Since then, football fans have had occasion to be very thankful for Sammy's decision. His amazing marksmanship changed passing from a desparation measure to good, sound football. In 11 years of professional play, he has netted 15,000 yards for the Redskins on passing alone. Again and again his passes have been touchdown throws. As he himself admits, he is getting a little old now for the rugged game of football, being 34. There is talk of replacing him with a recent graduate of college football. But in a sense, Sammy cannot be replaced. He was a trail blazer, a pioneer, and the fellow who comes after will be treading a well-marked path.


At this link is an audio talking about Sammy Baugh:
sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news

Here is a part of the article:

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Slingin' Sammy Baugh, the ultimate three-way threat who revolutionized the use of the forward pass as a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Washington Redskins, died Wednesday night. He was 94.

Baugh, who had numerous health issues, died at Fisher County Hospital in Rotan, according to his son, David Baugh. He said his father had battled Alzheimer's disease and dementia for several years and recently had been ill with kidney problems, low blood pressure and double pneumonia.

"It wasn't the same Sam we all knew," his son told The Associated Press. "He just finally wore out."

Another article about Sammy Baugh:

NFL record-setter Slingin' Sammy Baugh dies at 94

By Betsy Blaney

The Associated Press

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 8:21 a.m.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- People never forgot Slingin' Sammy Baugh.

Every day as many as four letters arrived at the West Texas ranch the pioneering quarterback called home.

Baugh, whose use of the forward pass took him to the Hall of Fame after a career with the Washington Redskins, died Wednesday night. He was 94.

The letters came from young and old. Some asked for an autograph from Baugh (pronounced Baw). But in the last several years of his life he couldn't oblige them.

His son David Baugh responded to each one, telling fans his father could no longer hold a pen.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett even wrote to Baugh, and like so many others "just talked about how he was an inspiration in their lives," David Baugh told The Associated Press. "He did a lot of things pretty good, not just as an athlete. He was a good rancher, roper. He was a pretty good man."

For the full article: www.washingtonpost.com

At the following link you can see:
Gone, not forgotten
Notable sports deaths of 2008.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My dad died May 10, 2007 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. But I do not believe that he had AD. He had some form of dementia, just not AD. He always knew me to his dying breath.

I love you Dad.

Maybe, Sammy and you can talk some football.

I wrote about my dad at these posts:

though-my-dad-died-he-lives-on

i-sang-for-my-father-precious-memories

because-of-my-dad-i-know-i-have-known

death-does-not-end-relationship

if-not-for-you

life's-reason-to-be

my-last-good-by-to-my-dad

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,