one more trot

I was only 10 when Harmon Killebrew retired. We moved to The Cities (Edina, home of the cake eaters) when I was very young (maybe 3 or 4), and then on to Omaha in the summer of 1972, when I was 7. The things I remember most about my time in Edina were: a kid starting to latch onto sports (the Vikings have stuck with me), Harmon Killebrew, mosquitos, the neighbors on our street, Southdale Mall, being a horrid ice skater, and breaking my arm. Oh, and Miss Mary’s afterschool care (macaroni-and-cheese and/or Spaghetti-ohs from a can for snacks, naps on quilts, etc.)

For some reason, the Twins never took with me even though Killebrew, Carew, and Oliva were there early in my sport-following life. Maybe it was due to my future disdain for the American League – it wasn’t long after 1972 that I became a Cubs’ fan, no doubt during some visiting to Chicago. But, I still remember Killebrew, as much for how that name would stick in a 7 year-old’s head as for the massive number of home runs he hit in his career. As with many players, in all sport back then, their personality was more tied to the city in which they played than it was to a national audience. I always feel like I’ve kept some connection to the Twin Cities, and I always sneak a peak at the Twins in the standings.

Killebrew died today after a long battle with cancer. That photo above? That looks like a baseball player.