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Bobby Thomson – DEAD August 16, 2010

August 16th, 2012 | Posted by Kristing in Celebrity | Tributes - (0 Comments)

Born: October 25, 1923

Dead: August 16, 2010

High of His Life: To anyone who knows anything about baseball Bobby Thomson was the man who made the world cry with joy with his “Shot Heard Round the World.” The New York Giants (then a baseball team and not a football team) were 13 1/2 games back in August of 1951. No one comes back from 13 1/2 games back. No one. But apparently nobody told the Giants this because they won 37 of their last 44 games and went on to play the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League Pennant. It was an historic moment in baseball and everyone was rooting for the underdog. In the bottom of the 9th inning (THE NINTH INNING!!!) the Giants were down 4-1. Three men on and Mr. Bobby “Staten Island Scot” Thomson was at the plate. A pitch from Ralph Branca came soaring over the plate and POW! Thomson shot it right out of the park. While the team would ultimately lose the world series to the Yankees everyone can agree that the most exciting moment in baseball of that year, and possibly one of the most exciting moments in baseball of all time, was hearing the crack of that bat followed by Russ Hodges, the announcer screaming into the microphone “THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!” over and over again. It brings a thrill to any baseball fans heart and a tear to their eye to hear that call.

Low of His Life: In 2001 the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Giants had been stealing hand and finger signals from their opponents to judge the pitches and calls from the catcher to the pitcher. However, even Branca had this to say about that auspicious moment in baseball history. ”I didn’t want to diminish a legendary moment in baseball. And even if Bobby knew what was coming, he had to hit it…. Knowing the pitch doesn’t always help.”

Who Sees Him as a Hero: the underdogs, the baseball fans, the underdog baseball teams (the Pirates…), and Bill Mazeroski

Alexander Graham Bell DEAD August 2nd, 1922

August 2nd, 2012 | Posted by christinem in Celebrity - (0 Comments)

Born: March 3rd, 1847

Died:  August 2, 1922

High of his life: He invented the telephone.  You know, that brilliant thing we all now carry around in our pockets and use to completely ignore the people we are currently out and about with. If it weren’t for Bell, we wouldn’t be able to text our friend to meet us, check-in to a restaurant on Foursquare, take a picture of our food on Instagram and post it on Facebook, and then write a mobile review on Yelp about it, all the while simultaneous avoiding phone calls from our ex. Brilliant, right? He’s also one of the founders of the National Geographic Society, which is the reason you now get to watch lions eating zebras on TV in fear and amazement.

Low of his life: He’s only known for invented the telephone. Probably because one of his other invention was the metal detector. And nobody likes going through one of those. It is anxiety inducing and causes you to run late for your flight at the airport. Thanks, Bell. He also died of complications of diabetes, which back in the 20s, was probably a pretty painful way to go.

Who sees him as a hero: Telemarketers, the TSA, Steve Jobs

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Fritz Lang DEAD August 2nd, 1976

August 2nd, 2012 | Posted by MattC in Celebrity | Tributes - (0 Comments)

Born: December 5th, 1890

Died: August 2nd, 1976

High of His Life: It’s probably easy to say that Fritz Lang’s career was seriously boosted by his 1927 science fiction hit Metropolis. One of his most notable films, this art piece of German expressionism was made during the Weimar Period. The film is clearly dystopian, which is probably partly why it’s been cataloged as pop culture gold. Once in Hollywood he worked on Fury (1936) with Spencer Tracy, which started his film noir genre exploration. His other big films from Hollywood were The Big Heat (1953) and While the City Sleeps (1956).

Low of His Life: Probably the fact that his films came and went without much recognition until after his death. That kind of sucks a little—feeling unappreciated until a bunch of film geeks understand what you worked so hard on for all those years. But then again, most artists die feeling alone and useless. I guess people only realize their genius years later just to continue that morbid tradition. Also, having to emigrate from his homeland in the advent of World War II was not a pleasant experience by any means.

Who Sees Him As A Hero: Pretentious film students, science fiction geeks, and Jean Luc Godard.

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