Down River 8/12

By John Lipez

Quiz Time:
Things are kind of slow right now, it’s oppressively hut as summer ambles to a conclusion, school kicks back in at the end of the month, etc., etc. A good time to see if you have been paying attention. How about a backwards quiz to see how closely you’ve been following things? Try these:

Which of these nicknames was never used for those red-hot, World Series-bound Philadelphia Phillies?
A) WhistlePigs
B) Quakers
C) Phillies
D) Blue Jays
E) Schuylkillers

The correct answers are A) WhistlePigs and E) Schuylkillers. The Phillies franchise began in 1883 as the Quakers and switched to the Phillies in 1890. That has been the nickname ever since, except for a brief stretch during World War II where they briefly mixed in Blue Jays, without officially abandoning the Phillies moniker. And yes, it’s sad but true the Phillies have put up more losses than any sports franchise in the United States since their inception. That well under .500 mark, of course, will change in a couple months as they win the World Series.

On the subject of the Phillies, it should be noted the team likely has picked up some new fans in the area. I had a chance to touch base with Bill Garbrick Jr. at the wonderfully done recognition for his late father, the naming of the business park near Mackeyville the William Garbrick Sr. Lamar Township Business Park.

You’re likely aware that Bill Jr’s son, Alex, was recently drafted by the Phillies. This came two years after the New York Yankees had taken Alex in the 2019 draft (Alex elected to continue in school instead and now has two BS degrees to show for it and is in training now at the Phillies complex in Clearwater.

I asked Bill Jr. (who knows the game; head coach of the Keystone Little League team which finished in third place in the United States in the 2011 Little League World Series) which team he has rooted for. He said the Pirates and the Yankees and Alex, it is understood, had grown up a Yankee fan. Bad choices for both of them; but it is suspected now the Garbrick clan has made the conversion to Philly; a wise choice.

And that reference to WhistlePigs above? That was the nickname of the team in Princeton, WV in the Appalachian League that Central Mountain graduate Zane Probst pitched for this summer. You can read about his successful performance on page B1 of this week’s Record.

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Speaking of the business park dedication last week, a shout-out to Clinton County Economic Partnership CEO Mike Flanagan and his staff for a great job in recognizing the late Bill Garbrick Sr.

Speaking of Flan, he is the latest in a long line of Clinton County Industrial Corporation/Partnership major-domos. Which of these did not serve as head of the economic development organization?
A) Wes Grand
B) Harold Sweeney
C) Bill Marino
D) Buchanan Ewing III
E )Fritz Spokas

Correct answer is C) Bill Marino; while very active in Partnership matters while a member of the local financial community for many years, Bill never was employed by the Partnership. He did make a name for himself (that name was Punkin’) as the second baseman for the Lock Haven Merchants team in the old Clinton Baseball League.

As for the partnership, it was initially known as the Clinton County Industrial Development Corporation, its early heads Buchanan Ewing III, followed by Harold Sweeney. There have been three Partnership CEOs since the IDC became the CCEP several decades ago: Fritz Spokas from 1989 to 1990, then Wes Grand until 2008, and Mike Flanagan ever since.

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The Olympics recently ended what seemed like a year and a half stay, not drawing a lot of attention from TV viewers. I watched a smidgeon. The freestyle wrestling, featuring a ton of participants from the nearby Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, was too often on too early to catch the action live. But the NLWC crew did really well and did you know that Olympic champion David Taylor is a club coach for a handful of kids in the Central Mountain program? That’s a good deal for them.

So here’s your Olympic question: Which one of these sports was not among the five new sports added for the Tokyo games?
A) Surfing
B) Skateboarding
C) Cornhole
D) Sports Climbing
E) Karate

The correct answer is C) Cornhole, although given some of the bizarre sports now part of the 33 offered at the summer games, why not cornhole?