Literary birthday greetings: Fernando and Vic Power

November 1, 2010

Fernando Valenzuela hits the big Five-Oh today. As a rookie in the strike-shortened 1981 season he won the hearts and imaginations of baseball fans everywhere — as well as the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award — and years later got a shout-out from Annie savoy in Bull Durham.

The impetus behind “Fernandomania” was the subject of a recent ESPN 30-for-30 documentary.

Bonus: Vic Power, born this date in 1927. Legend has it that the Yankees passed on him because he wasn’t the “right kind” of African-American ballplayer. One of my favorite anecdotes: Like many dark-skinned Puerto Ricans, Power was shocked by the racism and segregation he encountered in the U.S. Once, while going into a restaurant in 1951, Power was told, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve colored people here.” “That’s OK,” he replied, “I don’t eat colored people. I just want rice and beans.”

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Tagged as: Fernando Valenzuela, Vic Power

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