RIP Earl Weaver

Earl Weaver dies at age 82 of an apparent heart attack......great manager and loved to watch him argue with umpires. Late in his career his dad was in the dugout watching a game and Earl went on a tiraid with an umpire arguing a call. After the game his dad said he looked like a fool. Earl said he never argued a call again.....

Earl Weaver was awesome.
He'd get into it with the umps and I thought his head was going to explode.
Heard one of the radio guys say they need an umpire at that burial...to kick
dirt on the coffin...

RIP Earl

Weaver was not only one of the best managers ever, but was a real character. Below is what's got to be a tongue in cheek radio interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWQbN0jFo_k&NR=1

Also, below is a classic argument during a game against the Tigers between Earl and umpire Bill Haller, catcher Tom Haller's brother:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl-4FSRYagc

Earl had a long running feud with Bill Haller, dating back to at least the strike shortened 1972 season, when the Tigers acquired Tom Haller in a late season pennant drive move. Earl felt that Bill Haller favored the Tigers because of Tom playing for them, and had Haller removed from their games. There was an AL East 4 team Division dogfight that year between Detroit, Boston, Baltimore and New York, with the Tigers eventually prevailing by a half game over the Red Sox. It was the last hurrah for that aging group of Tigers, with many holdovers from the 1968 World Series winning team.

Tom and Bill are from Lockport, Illinois, 35 miles Southwest of Chicago, where I now live, and Bill regularly attends the annual Old-Timers Baseball Dinner in nearby Joliet, Illinois, usually attended by about 500 people, where local high school and college baseball & softball players are honored and money is given to various little leagues. There have been a lot of big name speakers at the dinner, including Commissioner Bud Selig about 10 years ago, and everyone has a great time. The 2013 dinner is coming up in less than 2 weeks on January 31.