San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Irate Mays goes after hecklers
Items have been culled from The Chronicle’s archives of 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago.
1993
Sept. 22: Convicted mass murderer Richard Ramirez, the notorious Night Stalker, tried to smuggle a handcuff key and a hypodermic syringe into his new cell on San Quentin’s death row yesterday, prison officials said. Ramirez, 33, who has just been sentenced to death for 13 slayings in Los Angeles, had just arrived from San Francisco County Jail yesterday where he failed to pass a metal detector test. After a strip search failed to find anything suspicious officials conducted an X-ray test that revealed the key, the syringe and another object in his anal cavity. Prison officials placed Ramirez under close observation until he “relinquished “the objects in his stool, said Lieutenant Don Lindsey, a prison spokesman. “In the past we’ve found bullets, pieces of hacksaw blades and all kinds of other things hidden this way,” said Lindsay. “I don’t know, but personally, I like to keep my keys in my pocket,” quipped Lieutenant Vernell Crittendon, a prison spokesman.
— Kate Taylor
1968
Sept. 17: It wasn’t bad enough that yesterday’s crowd at Candlestick Park (2361) was the smallest in San Francisco baseball history. It became even smaller in the fourth inning when two civvie-clad servicemen were ejected for provoking Willie Mays into an unprecedented display of temper. Tossing intervening teammates like chaff in a gale, Mays at one point tried to climb the seven-foot wall of the stands directly beside the firstbase end of the Giant dugout to get to his tormentors. According to other players Mays had not been the only target of the alleged abuse, which many said included words not found in standard grammarschool texts. “It was so bad,” manager Herman Franks said, “that long before it happened I turned to Wes Westrum on the bench and said, ‘Those two guys should be thrown out.’ ”
Everyone agreed that the trigger phrase came from the lips of a 31-year-old man who identified himself as Staff Sgt. Jay D. Eash. He and his companion, Tech Sgt. William Muncy, are attached to Moffett Field. Mays had just ended the Cincinnati half of the fourth inning with a fine deep catch and as he came to the dugout many people there applauded. At that point said Eash, “I just said to him, ‘Nice catch. For a $100,000 bum, you’re earning your money.’ ” Mays stopped, looked at him and said something. Apparently Eash answered back. And then the dam broke. Manager Franks got his arms around Mays. “I thought he was going to push me through the wall,” Herman said later. “I never felt so alone in my life. Where was everybody?” Eventually Mays was peeled away and back in front of the dugout. But the voice in the stands was not yet stilled, for all of a sudden Willie spun and charged again. This time it was Frank Johnson’s turn to get a hold of him. Johnson’s feet were lifted clear of the ground as Mays battled to get free. “Strong?” Johnson said later. “Did you ever go around in a revolving door with a Bengal tiger?” The two hecklers were escorted by a Burns patrolman to the security room in the mezzanine level and were cautioned and released. “I never opened my mouth,” Muncy said. I’m about to be shipped to Thailand to protect people like you.” — Charles Einstein
1943
Sept. 19: An East Bay mother and father yesterday sought a small quantity of the new miracle drug penicillin for treatment of their 8-year-old son who is suffering from a usually fatal skin disease. They are Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Stinson of 1177 Santa Fe Avenue, Albany. Their, son John Earl, has been stricken with acute disseminated lupus erythematosus, a disease that causes swelling of the body tissues and stiffening of the muscles. A request for a quantity of penicillin, now reserved for the armed forces, has been refused by Dr. Chester Keefer, a member of the War Production Board that controls the supply of the drug, Mrs. Stinson says. The parents of the boy hope that some other source of the supply might provide the drug.
1918
Sept. 22: Dr. William D. Hassler of the Board of Health has outlined for the benefit of the public a series of preventative measures against Spanish influenza. A diligent inquiry is being made by the Surgeon-General of the United States Public Health Service to ascertain whether the disease has reached the Pacific Coast. Dr. Hassler defines the disease as being similar but more virulent strain from that from which this country suffered a year ago. The cause is due to a micro-organism. Immunity to influenza is slight, according to Dr. Hassler, and one attack is likely to render a person susceptible to subsequent attacks. Males and robust members of the community are seemingly more susceptible. The disease is highly contagious, and the act of coughing, spitting or sneezing in public places without placing a handkerchief over the mouth and nose is one of the most common modes of transmitting and spreading it.