Today is Opening Day and there is no baseball — I’m stuck watching MLB replays online — and let’s do something different. Whatever it takes to get through this sad day.
Since I'm teary-eyed because today is #OpeningDay and there is no #baseball, let's take a look back at the final opening day in #Anniston for our long-forgotten Rams. A thread/1
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
It's hard to fathom in today's #Anniston how popular the Rams were for a time — and the depth of newspaper coverage the @AnnistonStar committed to the city's #baseball team. The Rams were constant front-page news during their heydays of the 1940s/2. #openingday
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
The #Anniston Rams nearly folded in 1949, but pulled together with new $ and ownership and fielded a Southeastern League team in '50. The @AnnistonStar was chocked with stories and ads related to the Rams just before their #openingday game in Gadsden on April 18. /3 pic.twitter.com/etpmdJOXRw
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
Notice something about the #Anniston projected #openingday lineup? Right-handed pitcher Lou Bevil played briefly for the AL's Washington Senators in 1942 — 4 games, 1 start, 9.2 total innings pitched, 7 runs (all earned), 0-1 record, 6.52 ERA. /4 pic.twitter.com/jAyZuNFw4l
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
But wait! … Bevil didn't start; that ad was wrong. Joe Cleary pitched the #Anniston Rams' final #openingday. But like Bevil, Cleary had quite a story to tell, too. /5 pic.twitter.com/A7cpthLv6L
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
Who was Joe Cleary? He was born in Ireland, pitched once in MLB for Washington and got into an argument with his manager that effectively banned him from the majors, toiled in the minors, worked on Wall Street and then ran a bar. /6 #anniston #openingday https://t.co/a181DgVzNr pic.twitter.com/DnPM7WyJDF
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
The @AnnistonStar's front page that afternoon was led by this story and photo — one of countless examples of how important the newspaper's editors thought the Rams were to local folks. /7 #openingday #anniston #baseball pic.twitter.com/fWmJccOZ7a
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
Over on the sports page of the @AnnistonStar, the Rams were also front-and-center on #openingday. I've often wondered what color the Rams used for their uniforms? I assume red or blue. #baseball #anniston /8 pic.twitter.com/AOAl1zAh2J
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
But, alas, in typical Rams fashion, they lost their final #openingday to Gadsden, 3-2. #anniston #baseball /9 pic.twitter.com/VTMbVa82Oa
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
Here's the box score from the #anniston Rams' final #openingday. /10 pic.twitter.com/k6VqIU5rKv
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
How tough a loss was it for the #Anniston Rams? All three runs Cleary gave up were unearned. And the Rams left the bases loaded in the top of the 9th. A tough #openingday in Gadsden. /11 pic.twitter.com/lg6WwaVNqD
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
But there was good news soon. The #Anniston Rams won the following day, 3-1, over Gadsden in the Johnston Field home opener. Ol' Lou Bevil came through. #openingday pic.twitter.com/L4uUrtnU3G
— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 26, 2020
THE UNFORGETTABLE & IRRELEVANT ANNISTON RAMS 