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!

What Happened to Major Tom Lewis on WVBF, 105.7?

Major Tom Lewis, on the old WVBF 105.7, Framingham-Boston (now WROR) was a terrific mid-morning radio DJ in, I believe, the early 1970s who knew how to keep the music moving while bringing a national quality voice and personality to our local airwaves.

With a dry personality, some hit-or-miss jokes and incredible intuition on when to talk over the music, Major Tom not only had a cool, relevant 1970s radio name but an ability to connect with listeners of different ages. While many parents in our neighborhood were turned off by some of the screaming DJs of the late 60s and early 70s, Major Tom sounded like a sincere best friend who also happened to possess superb articulation. He could have sounded great on a beautiful music station, a middle of the road format, or perhaps as a news anchor given he never really flubbed his lines, but his stint on this top 40 FM giant contributed greatly to Boston's amazing pool of radio talent during this period. I'd be interested to know where Major Tom Lewis went after WVBF and if he is still in the business today. Anyone know?

Gus Saunders Yankee Kitchen Food Show on the Old WCOP 1150 AM Radio Boston

Does anyone remember Gus Saunder's Yankee Kitchen food show on the old WCOP 1150 AM radio, Boston? I have special memories of this entertaining, low-key show and getting to visit Gus with family at the former Rib Room at the Hotel Sonesta in Cambridge -- that's where he broadcast from live. Gus treated everyone like a beloved family member and his gentle style and overall civility is something we often see missing in a much more fast-paced, me-first world.

By the way, I think this was the intro song to the show, Bert Kaempfert's "That Happy Feeling" -- just listening to this song brings a big smile:

Failed Boston/New England Restaurant Expansions

I remember some very famous New England restaurants expanding, only to find their new businesses not very appetizing to everyone.

The former, famous Green Ridge Turkey Farm on the Daniel Webster in Nashua, N.H., opened up the Green Ridge Steak House right next to its landmark restaurant. It didn't last long at all. Let's just call it a "misteak," or a real turkey of an idea. The now closed but legendary Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, Mass., started up a Hilltop Steak House also on the Daniel Webster Highway. While it lasted a while, it never quite caught on and clearly lacked the magic of its flagship location. I think they needed more plastic cows out front. The now-closed Wursthaus in Cambridge, Mass., was once one of the most beloved restaurants in Harvard Square -- a German-American restaurant with a cozy, one-of-a-kind atmosphere perfect for conversation and excellent food and drink. The Wursthaus owner decided to try a location in the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Mass. It goes without saying the Hyannis Wursthaus didn't quite have the Harvard Square location spirit! It just didn't seem the same buying a Johnny Miller golf shirt at Sears and then going into the Wursthaus to talk about what Cape Cod beach to visit on that day.

Can you think of any Boston/New England restaurants that expanded with less than desirable results?

94 WCGY, "The Rock Garden"

Does anyone remember WCGY-FM 93.7, of Lawrence, Mass., otherwise known as "The Rock Garden" and owned by the late baseball broadcasting legend Curt Gowdy? Always a second-tier Boston area rock station, WCGY, nevertheless, built up quite a following to those who wanted an alternative to other rock stations like WBCN, WBOS, WAAF and WZLX. With a strong signal, WCGY also became popular in other parts of New England, including southern New Hampshire and Maine, as well as the Worcester, Mass., area.

Playing predominantly familiar classic rock songs while on air from the 1970s into the mid-1990s, WCGY also featured a terrific lineup including Mike Morin (currently on WZID-FM Manchester, N.H.), Cheryl Ann Gowdy (daughter of Curt) and Jerry Goodwin. Dan Roche, now a well-known WBZ-TV sports reporter, was Morin's morning sidekick, delivering sports scores with a sense of humor. WCGY gave way to WEGQ in 1994, which eventually became WQSX (Star 93.7), a soul and dance music station. Recently, 93.7 in the Boston area belonged to WMKK, "Mike FM," a rock station with no air staff and a format that "plays everything." Now, it is WEEI FM, simulcasting the famous 850 AM sports radio format.

In a sense, WCGY was the precursor to Mike-FM, as Gowdy gave his staff carte blanche when on-air. Instead of the Mike-FM "We play everything" slogan, The Rock Garden personalities did anything that they felt would help the format (anything from not sticking with the "script" to some impromptu humor during the morning show). Morning man Morin perhaps took the greatest advantage of this window of opportunity having contests like who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom and featuring "Louie from East Boston," with his wise perspectives on life. It should be noted that while on another station, Morin announced that the Tall Ships were coming to Lowell, via the Merrimack River. People fell for the ruse, traveling to Lowell to await the ships, thinking these stately water vehicles could circumvent the shallow riverbed and all the bridges along the way!)

But I digress. WCGY-FM didn't always sound like a major market station, but somehow always ended up as a major part of our radio listening during the 70s, 80s and 90s. In this day of corporately-owned tight radio formats with little room to breathe and create, we look back at WCGY and hope someday that radio will lighten up and return to this type of airwave glory.

Caldor, Strawberries, Ken's Deli and Papa Gino's at the Middlesex Mall, Burlington, Mass.

Anyone remember the Middlesex Mall in Burlington, Mass., before it became the Middlesex Commons? This place had everything I could ever need: Caldor for general department store shopping, Strawberries Records and Tapes for records, Ken's Deli for a good corned beef sandwich and Papa Gino's for pizza. Parking was a snap and a Market Basket later opened up to sell groceries at its famous rock-bottom prices. The Middlesex Mall proved that just a few stores could cover all the bases -- for a college kid driving a decrepit Ford Escort, that is!

The Middlesex Mall clearly wasn't designed by the beautiful people set of the architectural world. This was a no frills, community mall with a small indoor corridor. Within a mile of the huge Burlington Mall, one had to wonder if the developers had a lack of vision opening the Middlesex Mall so close to one of New England's finest malls. For a long stretch, the vision worked before becoming a bit more expanded and refined as the Middlesex Commons shopping and dining complex.

Thinking Back to The Falstaff Room at the Sheraton Boston

The most prominent feature of the Falstaff Room in the Sheraton Boston that I recall was that everything was red, including my dad's face once we received the bill. We were eating peanut butter sandwiches for the next week!  But I'll always remember that red decor -- sort like like the Piccadilly Pub with a bow tie.

More expensive than the restaurants we were used to dining at, The Falstaff Room indeed exuded sort of a semi upscale feel. The waiters were all dressed up and, incredibly, so many of them looked like John Oates from the group Hall and Oates (you know, the little guy with the mustache), as I recall.

It was nice dressing up on that Sunday morning, heading into Boston from suburbia, and feeling special. I don't remember anything about the food, thus revealing that a restaurant's atmosphere can sometimes trump anything off the menu. I remember, too, that the Prudential Building was the coolest place on earth with all that great outdoor landscaping and a whopping 30 stores.

We never went back to the Falstaff Room, but that one-time experience was memorable. That's why I'm writing about it 40 years later! That dark shopping arcade looks puny compared to today's "Shops at Prudential Center" (must be upscale, it has a preposition in its name!) with 75 or so stores and a really classy look.

Anyway, how nice it was being introduced to a fancy restaurant in the "Hub of the Universe"-- and listening to Casey Kasem's "American Top 40 on the way in -- and discovering that the Sheraton also had Kon Tiki Ports, one of the best Polynesian restaurants around! We'll write more about the Kon Tiki in a future article!