Saying "Hi" to Former Boston Red Sox Pitcher Lee Stange at the Boston Museum of Science in the Late 1960s

On this Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox, I'd like to take the way back machine to write about Lee Stange, a journeyman pitcher who played for the Sox from 1966-1969. They called him the "Stinger" and his first name was actually Albert. Why Stange used his middle name as his first, I really can't say.

Stange pitched as a starter and reliever throughout career, but mainly the latter with the Sox. Back then, Stange didn't seem like much of a pitcher but, in retrospect, if he played today, Stange would probably have a multi-million dollar contract and a few all-star games under his belt. He had a career 3.56 ERA, a 62-61 record over a 16-year career, nine complete games in 1966 (although he went 8-9!) and 12 saves for the Sox in 1968 -- that was really good for the era. Stange also went 12-5 for the Minnesota Twins in 1963.

Perhaps my best memory of Lee Stange was seeing him at the Boston Museum of Science in the late 1960s. I can't remember why Stange was a guest there, but I saw him throwing a ball in front of an audience. I never saw anyone throw a ball that fast in person! He wasn't that big, either, maybe 5"10" so I thought "anything is possible" when aspiring to be a baseball player someday ((like 99 percent of the neighborhood kids with the exception of one geek that played in his dress shoes!) Clearly inspired, I returned home and practiced very hard to try to throw that fast. I could throw so fast, the neighborhood kids must have thought I was the local Tom Seaver. Little did they know that Lee Stange was my baseball pitching inspiration!

Special Boston Bruins Hockey Memories

Editor's note: this article was written before the Bruins won the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup. Congratulations, Bruins!

With the Boston Bruins thrilling 4-3 series-ending first-round playoff victory over the Montreal Canadians last night, memories of past Bruins glory days, their star players and supporting cast saturated my mind. Bobby Orr. Phil Esposito. Ken Hodge. Cam Neeley, Gerry (Cheesy) Cheevers. Johnny Bucyk. Gary Doak blocking slapshots with his head. Great broadcasters like Bob Wilson, Fred Cusick and Johnny Peirson (and remembering Sports Huddle radio host Eddie Andelman calling the latter two, Fred Cue Stick and Johnny Pinpoint -- as well as post-game guy Tom Larson being Tom Larceny). Derek Sanderson comes to mind, too, as the talented playboy hockey player, later to be known as an opinionated, cartoon character-like broadcaster.

I loved hockey back then, watching the games on TV 38 and wearing, as much as possible, my cardigan Boston Bruins sweater bought from the former Zwicker's Sporting Goods, of Arlington, Mass. Bought it when I was eight-year-old and kept stretching the material to make it last a few extra years. I even wore it playing street hockey with childhood friends on Kensington Park in Arlington around the 1970-1972 timeframe -- a much better move, I thought, that the neighborhood dork that wore his best Sunday shoes to play! Mom would eventually call us in for dinner, I'd gulp down the food and sometimes return for some early evening hockey. Then we'd return to watch the Bruins defeat virtually everyone!

Those were the days my friend and I thought they would never end. But they did, and I'm so glad that we had a return to one of those glorious Boston Bruins moments last night. I hope the Bruins go on to win the whole thing, but for now it's just nice to bask in the excitement of good local NHL hockey!

Why did these memories pop up? Perhaps because the Bruins have not given us many thrilling moments of this caliber for the past several years. As a result, we had to tap into our brain's "oldies file" to access a time when the Bruins gave us special moments. Personally, that win last night brought the kind of excitement I felt watching Orr and Esposito a long, long time ago.

More memories? How about the "Nut Rocker," the long-time theme song of the Boston Bruins? This was actually a 1961 hit by B Bumble & The Stingers, one of my favorite groups of all time.  Just kidding. But I just can't get that adrenaline-pumping song out of my head right now. Go Bruins!