Sain Dies at 89, Remembered in Poem and in Song
Former Boston Braves pitcher Johnny Sain died last week at age 89. Perhaps best known for his part in a poem penned by Gerald V. Hern in 1948, Sain was the winner of 139 big-league games in a career that spanned from 1942 to 1955 and saw him pitch for the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics as well as the Braves.
Sain also is remembered in Dave Frishberg’s 1969 novelty hit “Van Lingle Mungo.” Maxwell Kates has published an excellent piece at Baseball Analysts that details the making of this song, as well as the role it played in advancing Frishberg’s career as a singer-songwriter who has gone on to write for the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, and Mel Torme.
Although Sain was done pitching well before I was born, thanks to Hern and Frishberg, his legacy will not soon be forgotten.
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POSTED IN: Obituaries, Personalities
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