The Pro Football Hall of Fame: The Senior Selection Process Has to Change

One of the moments I will never forget is when Jerry Kramer was nominated as a senior candidate in 2017 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This was after years of promoting Jerry via my articles about getting his rightful place among the best of the best. Jerry had been a finalist 10 times before 2017, nine times as a modern-era candidate and once before as a senior candidate in 1997. But Jerry was never inducted, even with his excellent history with the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi.

That thankfully changed in 2018. But why was there a delay? Jerry should have gotten a bust in Canton decades before.

For instance, in 1969, Jerry was named the best player ever at the guard position in the first 50 years of the NFL, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame named their NFL 50th anniversary team.

The first team consisted of Jim Thorpe, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, Cal Hubbard, Don Hutson, John Mackey, Chuck Bednarik, Gino Marchetti, Leo Nomellini, Ray Nitschke, Dick “Night Train” Lane, Emlen Tunnell, Lou Groza and Kramer.

Every one of the members on that legendary team were enshrined as players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame through 2017. All except one. That would be Jerry Kramer.

Plus, let’s not forget that Kramer was also named to the NFL All-Decade team for the 1960s. Why was that? Well, Jerry was a six-time AP All-Pro and was also named to three Pro Bowls for the Packers. Kramer would have had even more honors if not for injuries and illness. 

Finally, Jerry was part of a Packers team that under head coach Lombardi won five NFL titles in seven years. That included winning the NFL title three years in a row. That has never been duplicated since the NFL went to a playoff system in 1933. The Packers also won Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. Jerry was not only part of those great teams that won five championships, he was a big reason why the team won those titles. Especially in 1962, 1965 and 1967.

In the 1962 NFL title game at Yankee Stadium, with bitterly cold weather, along with gusting winds that hit 40 mph, Jerry kicked three field goals, which just happened to be the difference in the game, as the Packers beat the New York Giants 16-7.

In the 1965 NFL title game versus the Cleveland Browns at snowy and muddy Lambeau Field, Jerry and his teammates on the offensive line had a sensational day.

Fullback Jim Taylor and halfback Paul Hornung led a rushing attack that gained 204 yards, as the Pack won 23-12. The power sweep was especially effective, as Jerry and fellow guard Fuzzy Thurston kept opening big holes for the backs as the Packers gained big chunks of yardage past the line of scrimmage.

In the 1967 NFL title game (better known as the “Ice Bowl”) versus the Cowboys at frigid Lambeau Field, Jerry made the most famous block in the history of the NFL.

The playing surface that day was truly a frozen tundra, as the game-time temperature was 13 below zero. It all came down to 13 seconds to go with no timeouts at the 1-yard line of the Cowboys.

Quarterback Bart Starr called a 31-wedge play in the huddle, which calls for the fullback to get the ball. However, Starr decided to keep the ball after conferring with Lombardi on the sideline about the play.

Photo by John Biever

Starr thought it would be better to try to get into the end zone himself due to the slippery and icy conditions near the goal line. Starr followed Kramer’s classic block on Jethro Pugh and found a hole behind No. 64 to score the winning touchdown.

All of that history was out there for the voters to see. Fortunately, thanks to Rick Gosselin, who sits on the Senior Committee, Jerry was nominated in 2017 and then was later inducted in 2018, after the entire Selection Committee heard presentations by Gosselin (Talk of Fame Network) and Pete Dougherty (Packers News).

That also led to one of the best times of my life when I was able to be in Canton with my son Andrew to see Jerry get enshrined. What a wonderful experience that was!

It was also wonderful when Gosselin was able to get his amnesty proposal passed, which allowed the Pro Football Hall of Fame to induct 10 seniors as part of the 2020 centennial class. Before that proposal was accepted, only as many as two seniors could be inducted in any given year, sometimes only one.

The 10 seniors who were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 were Harold Carmichael, Jim Covert, Bobby Dillon, Cliff Harris, Winston Hill, Alex Karras, Donnie Shell, Duke Slater, Mac Speedie and Ed Sprinkle.

To me, that was one of the finest moments in the history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which dates back to 1963. Why? There is no group that is more neglected in the selection process than the seniors. So I was ecstatic that 10 seniors got in in 2020, with one of the players being Dillon, who I also had promoted.

Even so, I was disappointed that only one former Packer was inducted in the Class of 2020, as there were four former Packers who were among the 20 finalists. Dillon was indeed among the 10 who was inducted, but Lavvie Dilweg, who was a NFL All-Decade player from the 1920s and who also was considered the best two-way player of his era, was not. Nor was Verne Lewellen, who like Dilweg, played on three NFL title teams in Green Bay, plus retired as the all-time scoring leader in NFL history at that time. Nor was Cecil Isbell, who is the only NFL All-Decade quarterback who does not have a bust in Canton. Don Hutson had the best years of his phenomenal career with Isbell as his quarterback.

Besides Dilweg, Lewellen and Isbell, there were seven other senior finalists who didn’t get inducted in 2020. They were Cliff Branch, Roger Craig, Ox Emerson, Randy Gradishar, Tommy Nobis, Drew Pearson and Al Wistert.

After the great publicity of getting 10 deserving seniors into the Hall of Fame in 2020, the decision-makers in Canton made a very curious decision. They decided that over the next number of years that only one senior would be nominated and then possibly inducted. That made absolutely no sense to me.

Cliff Branch

Pearson was nominated and inducted in 2021. Branch was recently nominated and will hopefully be inducted in February. Both Pearson and Branch were among the 10 senior finalists who didn’t make the cut in 2020, so at first glance, it appears as though that particular group of seniors will get the first shot in terms of getting a bust in Canton. But only at a rate of one per year.

That needs to change. Again, the senior category has seen dozens and dozens of players who have fallen through the cracks and have never been given their due. Here are just some of the seniors who I believe deserve consideration and potentially induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Boyd Dowler
• Otis Taylor
• Ron Kramer
• Chuck Howley
• Gale Gillingham
• Ken Anderson
• Sterling Sharpe
• Harold Jackson
• Eddie Meador
• Ken Riley
• Jim Marshall
• Maxie Baughan
• L.C. Greenwood
• Bobby Boyd
• Gary Collins
• Mike Curtis
• Dick Schafrath
• Pat Harder
• Jim Tyrer
• Clay Matthews Jr.

I just listed 20 names, but there are many more who deserve mention. Nobody knows more about the senior category than Gosselin. Which is why I made it a point to talk to Rick while I was promoting Jerry Kramer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Gosselin has been on the senior sub-committee for 17 years. When he first became part of that committee, Gosselin compiled a very lengthy list of deserving senior candidates. Since that time, 35 players from that list have been nominated and been given busts in Canton. But guess what? There are still around 90 players on Gosselin’s list.

Which is why we need to expand the number of senior nominees in terms of getting into the Hall of Fame. I have a simple suggestion. Put in 10 individuals each year in Canton. Five modern-era players, three seniors, one coach and one contributor. While I don’t think adding three seniors per year will completely solve the problem regarding the absence of deserving players from that category, it’s a hell of a lot better than one senior per year.

So, how do we go about trying to make a change like that? Well, the best way is to go right to the top. And at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that person is David Baker, who is the President & CEO of that prestigious organization. I have talked with and also met Baker and I was very impressed with him. It’s my feeling that Baker has a very open mind. So, here is how you can contact him.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Attention: David Baker, President & CEO

2121 George Halas DR NW

Canton, Ohio 44708

Please write Mr. Baker and tell him that the amount of senior nominees needs to be increased to three per year. Again, that won’t solve the daunting problem of getting in all of the deserving seniors who have somehow fallen through the cracks through the years, but it is certainly better than one per year.

Green Bay Packers: The 2021 Rookie Offensive Linemen Have Made Their Mark Early in Training Camp

Before the 2021 NFL draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst of the Green Bay Packers knew he needed to select some offensive linemen to bolster the offensive line of the team. Even with the offensive line of the Packers being ranked 2nd in the NFL during the 2020 season by Pro Football Focus.

Gutekunst had a number of issues to deal with in terms of upgrading his offensive line. For one, left tackle David Bakhtiari had an ACL injury that shelved him late in the season and postseason, plus that injury will also mean some missed games in 2021 most likely, as Bakhtiari recovers from his injury.

That injury came up big in the 2020 NFC title game versus the Tampa Bay Bucs, as Billy Turner struggled in pass protection, as he had moved from his normal position of right tackle over to the left. Plus, Ricky Wagner, who moved into Turner’s spot at right tackle, also had issues in pass protection. The result? Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times and was pressured often while attempting to pass. This after a regular season when Rodgers had been sacked just 20 times and was on his way to winning his third NFL MVP award.

To add to that, All-Pro center Corey Linsley left the team via free agency during the offseason and signed with the San Diego Chargers. The Packers also released Wagner in February. That meant new offensive line additions would be coming via the NFL draft.

Three new additions as a matter of fact. Center Josh Myers of Ohio State was selected in Round 2, guard/tackle Royce Newman of Mississippi was selected in Round 4 and offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen of Wisconsin was selected in Round 6.

NFL scout Chris Landry put out these scouting reports on Myers, Newman and Van Lanen prior to the draft.

Josh Myers

A two-year starter at Ohio State, Myers was the center in head coach Ryan Day’s offense. He served as a backup guard and center in 2018 before earning the starting center job in 2019, starting 21 games there the last two seasons. Myers is a square, instinctive blocker with the core strength and competitive juices that allow him to consistently finish blocks. A guard in a run-only offense in high school, he is still developing his pass protection skills and will struggle at times vs. quickhanded rushers. Overall, Myers isn’t an elite athlete for the position and needs to cut back on the aggressive leaning, but he brings the desired levels of toughness, smarts and execution. He projects as a starter in the NFL at a guard or center.

Royce Newman

A two-year starter at Ole Miss, Newman lined up at right tackle in head coach Lane Kiffin’s up-tempo spread offense. He was a blocking tight end in high school before playing both guard spots as a junior for the Rebels, moving outside to tackle as a senior. With only 22 career starts in college, Newman is still developing the tricks of the trade, but he does a great job staying on time with his eyes, feet, and body movements. He relies more on angles than power and is more of a get-in-the-way blocker than a mauler. Overall, Newman doesn’t have overwhelming physicality or play strength, but he is quick off the ball with efficient setup and execution to stay square with defenders. He projects as a prospect with four-position (RT, LG, RG, OC) versatility.

Cole Van Lanen

Cole Van Lanen was a two-time First Team All-State offensive tackle at Bay Port High School and won the discus and shot put titles at the 2015 state meet. He was a U.S. Army All-American and four-star recruit, committing to Wisconsin over Iowa and Michigan. Van Lanen became the Badgers’ starting left tackle as a junior and started 19 total games, earning All-Big Ten honors as a junior and senior. He played better on his 2020 film compared to his 2019 tape, but there still are several areas he needs to clean up. Van Lanen is a determined run blocker with the hand strength to turn defenders and the natural momentum to strike and widen lanes. In pass protection, he has a patient, stout punch, but his slide mechanics and footwork are choppy, diminishing his functional mirroring skills in space. Overall, Van Lanen is smart and physical, but his average length and balance issues will push him inside to guard for some teams. He projects as a possible backup.

It’s been pretty obvious to those who have seen Myers practice in the minicamps, training camp and then actually play in the first preseason game, know that No. 71 is ready to step-in and succeed in replacing Linsley, who like Myers played his college ball at Ohio State.

Myers, who goes 6’5″, 310, is getting great accolades from both his coaches and his teammates.

“He’s got great football intelligence,” said offensive line coach Adam Stenavich via Packers.com. “He’s very poised. We put a lot on his plate, and he handles it very well. He played very well last night, did exactly what I thought he was going to do, just went out there and handled himself well, played with physicality, run the huddle. He did a good job. Just a mature kid.”

Plus Rodgers, the defending NFL MVP, has also been impressed with Myers.

“I gotta say Josh Myers, the center,” Rodgers said. “For a guy to come in, as a draft pick, as a rookie, and be that comfortable – it’s pretty impressive.”

Photo by Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY NETWORK

Meanwhile, another rookie could also become a starter along the offensive line. That would be the 6’5″, 310-pound Newman, who will get a shot to become the starter at right guard. The running game of the Packers looked terrible for the most part in the preseason game against the Texans. Stenavich was not happy with the performance of his guards in the running game, which is whey he replaced the two starting guards (LG Jon Runyan and RG Lucas Patrick) in practice on Monday with Ben Braden taking over at left guard and Newman taking over at right guard.

One person who will be closely watching the competition at guard, especially at right guard, is Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer, who knows how important training camp can be as a rookie, like when he was battling Ken Gray for the final spot on the 1958 roster of the Packers.

The Packers offense was one of the best in the NFL last season, mostly because of a very balanced attack, with Rodgers having his best season ever throwing the ball and winning his third NFL MVP award, plus having a very strong running game behind Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and rookie AJ Dillon. Both Jones and Dillon are back with the Pack in 2021, while Williams left via free agency to sign with the Detroit Lions..

Stenavich liked what he saw with Newman on Saturday night, as the running game improved upon his entrance in the game. And Newman received plenty of playing time, as No. 70 played the entire second half at right guard against Houston. The former Mississippi Rebel star didn’t allow one pressure and looked very good with his run-blocking.

Although Newman was the starter at right tackle for the Rebels in 2020, in 2019, Newman started 12 games at left guard for Mississippi.

The running game improved when Newman was playing next to the rookie Van Lanen, who played right tackle. The 6’4″, 305-pound Van Lanen has shown the feet to play tackle in the NFL, although No. 78 needs some time in the weight room to get stronger.

Van Lanen is living the dream, as he is a Green Bay native who played his college ball at the University of Wisconsin. Although the depth at the offensive tackle position has been strengthened with the addition of Dennis Kelly via free agency, Van Lanen has shown thus far that he has a chance to make the final 53-man roster.

Bottom line, the three rookie offensive linemen who were drafted by the Packers have all been pretty impressive so far early into training camp. Time will tell how successful they all will be as their NFL careers go forward, but right now Gutekunst and the Packers have to be very pleased with the three offensive linemen they selected in the 2021 NFL draft.

Catching Up with Sal Bando Regarding His Tenure with the Oakland A’s and the Milwaukee Brewers

I had an opportunity to talk with Sal Bando earlier this week. The last time I interviewed Sal was back in 1981 during the player’s strike when Bando was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. I talked to Sal, as well as umpire Bruce Froemming at a golf course in Milwaukee.

It was great to be able to chat with Sal again after 40 years. Like I did when I talked with Rollie Fingers last year, I first wanted to talk with Sal about his time with the Oakland A’s. Bando spent 11 years with the Athletics, two in Kansas City and nine in Oakland.

In 1968, Bando became the starting third baseman and that was also the year the A’s moved to Oakland. In addition to that, the A’s had their first winning season since 1951, when the team was still in Kansas City. It was in 1969, when the A’s started to get some attention with their play, as the team finished 88-74. Like he did in 1968, Bando played every game of the 1969 season (162 games).

Bando was named to the the American League All-Star team in ’69 (the first of four times), as No. 6 hit 31 homers, drove in 113 runs and hit .281. Sal also showed that he had an excellent eye at the plate, as he walked 111 times, compared to 82 strikeouts. In 1970, the A’s improved their record to 89-73 and Bando once again put up very solid numbers, as he hit 20 homers, drove in 75 runs and hit .263. Once again, Bando walked (118) more than he struck out (88).

Bando became the captain of the A’s, as the team went on five-year run in the postseason from 1971 through 1975. Included in that period, were the three straight World Series championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974. During that five-year period, Bando hit 105 homers, drove in 450 runs. His eye at the plate was once again very good, as he walked a combined 419 times, as opposed to 353 strikeouts.

In the postseason, Bando was clutch, as he hit five homers in 17 ALCS games, including two in one game against the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the 1973 ALCS. Bando also hit another one in the 1974 ALCS against the Orioles in Game 3, which turned out to be the only run of the game in a 1-0 victory.

Bando was solid in the field as well, as he was almost always in the top five in the American League in putouts and assists at third base.

I asked Sal why those Oakland teams were so successful.

“First of all, you have to have talent,” Bando said. “When you play 162 games, you don’t win by the default or you had a good streak going, you win because you were good for a long period of time. I think the reason we were successful beside having good players, we had a nucleus of guys who were very good and were the heart of the ballclub.

“Most of us came through the farm system, although we had a couple of trades that really helped. But overall, most of us came through the minor leagues together.”

That would include Bando, Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Bert Campaneris, Dick Green, Dave Duncan, Gene Tenace and Blue Moon Odom.

Bando and Jackson were both drafted by the A’s out of Arizona State.

Another player who was a member of the A’s team which won the 1972 World Series, was Mike Hegan, who I later worked with at WTMJ (Channel 4) in Milwaukee.

When I talked with Fingers last year, he mentioned the situation on June 15, 1976, when Blue was sold to the New York Yankees by owner Charlie Finley, who also sold Fingers and Rudi to the Boston Red Sox. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn then nixed those deals three days later and Blue, Fingers and Rudi were returned to the A’s. Finley was livid and he wouldn’t allow manager Chuck Tanner to play those three players. The A’s were basically playing with a 22-man roster for a number of games.

I asked Bando about that situation.

“I talked about that situation with Marvin Miller (Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association) prior going to the ballpark Friday (versus the Minnesota Twins in Oakland on June 25),” Bando said. “Marvin told me to have a team meeting to talk about this. We had been talking amongst ourselves and we were thinking about going out on strike if we didn’t those three guys back. So, we had a team meeting Friday night I told the guys we may have to do something that we don’t want to do to get these three players back with us. So we voted and everyone voted to go out on strike on Sunday, if they are not back in the lineup.

“So I had to tell Finley after the game on Friday night that if Rudi is not in the lineup on Sunday and we don’t have the use of Fingers and Blue, that we would be going out on strike that day. Charlie went berserk. On Sunday, you wouldn’t believe all the media which were present, not so much from the United States, but from all over the world, who were there to see if we would go out on strike, which no baseball team had ever done before. It was unbelievable.

“I talked to Marvin again on Sunday morning and he told me that he didn’t want us to go out on strike. He told me to take another vote. I said fine. So when I got to the ballpark, we took another vote and every player voted to go out on strike. So I called Marvin and told him about our vote. Chuck Tanner told Finley that we were about to go out on strike. I remember game time was 1:05 pm and at 1:00 Tanner comes into the locker room and puts the lineup on the wall and Rudi was in the lineup.”

Although Rudi went 0-for-4 in that game against the Twins, Fingers came into the game to get his 9th save of the season, as the A’s won 5-3, as “Captain Sal” went 3-for-3 and hit two homers and drove in three runs.

Bando also talked about his relationship with Finley.

“I had a good relationship with Charlie, as I respected him as an owner,” Bando said. “You should respect your elders. I disagreed with him about the way he handled things and treated people. That came back to hurt him, as he wasn’t very popular and he did hurt a lot of people.”

One of things that Finley did was to change managers quite often. Bando listed them for me.

“I started out with Bob Kennedy, then Hank Bauer, then John McNamara, then Dick Williams, then Alvin Dark and finally Chuck Tanner.”

By the end of the 1976 season, a lot of the best players on the A’s had left Oakland via free agency. It was in 1977, when Bando explored the free agency market and decided to play with the Brewers. Bando explained to me why he decided to play with Milwaukee.

“Well, having the experience of playing under Charlie Finley, and then getting the opportunity to get to know Bud Selig, was like night and day,” Bando said. “When my wife and I went to Milwaukee for the free agent visit, we went out with Bud’s in-laws and also his mother, as we went out to dinner like a family. After the dinner, as we were flying back to Oakland, my wife told me that I would be crazy if I didn’t sign with the Brewers. And she was right. Financially, they were offering a little bit less than the other teams, but they stood out in terms of being a family.”

When Bando signed with the Brewers in 1977, the fan base was excited, as it was the first real big name free agent to sign with the Brew Crew. This came after the two years (1975 and 1976) the late, great Hank Aaron had returned to the city of Milwaukee to finish his career with the Brewers.

In the 1977 season with the Brewers, Bando hit 17 homers and drove in 82 runs, but the team still struggled to a 67-95 record under manager Alex Grammas. Still, the Brewers had a nucleus of players who would later flourish under new manager George Bamberger in 1978. Players like Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Don Money and Sixto Lezcano.

Besides the arrival of Bamberger as manager in ’78, the team also signed Larry Hisle as a free agent, plus had rookie Paul Molitor join the team. In addition to that, Bamberger gave Gorman Thomas a chance to be his everyday center fielder, and No. 20 had a big season. The team improved to 93-69 in ’78, as the team became known as “Bambi’s Bombers” due to the hitting prowess the the club.

Bando had another nice year, as he hit 17 homers and drove in 78 runs. Both Hisle and Thomas each hit over 30 homers, plus the team also added another offensive weapon with the acquisition of outfielder Ben Oglivie. As a team, the Brewers hit 178 homers, drove in 762 runs and hit .276. The pitching staff was led by Mike Caldwell and Lary Sorenson, who combined for 40 wins.

Bando talked about that ’78 team.

“In 1978, a lot of the guys were just learning how to win,” Bando said. “But we did win with guys like Larry Hisle, Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Ben Oglivie, Sixto Lezcano and Gorman Thomas having nice years at the plate. Our pitching was a little thin, but they did a nice job of keeping us in ball games. It was a joy to win. A lot of the players on that team had never experienced that before. It was a pleasure to come to the ball park and we just had a good time.”

Having played for six managers in Oakland and now playing for Bamberger, who was his second manager in Milwaukee, I asked Bando what it was like playing for Bambi.

“Of all the managers I played for, he was a little bit different, as he was a manager who played hunches,” Bando said. “For instance, if a team had a lefthanded pitcher on the mound, instead of pinch-hitting a righthanded hitter, he would stick with the lefthanded hitter, who Bambi thought might still be successful. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.

“But Bambi was different. He didn’t mess around. It was like, ‘This is the way it is guys.’ We didn’t have any problem guys, so it was fun.”

I mentioned to Sal about the conversation I had with Bambi in 1980, just prior to an interview I did with him. Before I would talk with Bamberger, you would hear him cussing like a sailor as he conversed with other people. So before I got him on camera, I asked George why the team had so many complete games in 1980. Bambi told me, ‘Well, we don’t have f’ing Rollie Fingers. We have f’ing Reggie Cleveland.’ 

When I talked about all the cussing by Bamberger to Bando, he laughed and said, “That was Bambi’s natural language. That’s the way he was!”

In 1979 and and 1980, Bando saw his playing time decrease, as he only played in 208 games combined those two seasons, after playing in 311 game combined in 1977 and 1978.

As a team, the Brewers averaged 91 wins a season from 1978 through 1980, but never could make the postseason. But everything changed when general manager Harry Dalton made a huge trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on December 12, 1980. In that deal, Dalton acquired Bando’s former teammate Fingers, along with pitcher Pete Vuckovich and catcher Ted Simmons.

I remember talking about that trade with Bob Uecker when I interviewed him during the 1981 season and he predicted that the Brewers would make the postseason. “Mr. Baseball” was spot on, as the Brewers made the postseason for the very first time.

The playing time for Bando continued to decrease in 1981, but his leadership, along with a teammate like Fingers (who was AL MVP and AL Cy Young Award winner), helped the Brewers get into the postseason. Both Bando and Fingers had known what it was like to not only play in the postseason, but to win the World Series as well.

“The way we got in that year was memorable,” Bando said. “You had the mini-playoffs that year, plus we got into the playoffs on the second-to-last game of the second half of the ’81 season.”

The Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in that game, as Fingers struck out second baseman Lou Whitaker to end the game. The embrace of Simmons and Fingers after that game-ending strikeout was a sight to behold.

The Brewers would play the Yankees in a best-of-five series and although the team lost the first two games of the series in Milwaukee, the Brew Crew battled back and won the next two games at Yankee Stadium to force a Game 5, also at “The House That Ruth Built” in New York.

The Brewers led 2-0 early in the game, but lost 7-3. Still, it was great to get a taste of the postseason for the Brewers, especially for so many players who had never experienced that before. Bando played in all five games in the series against the Yankees and hit .294, which included three doubles.

Bando retired after the 1981 season and left the game with some great career numbers. Captain Sal had 242 career homers, drove in 1,039 runs and hit .254. Bando had 1,790 career hits, plus walked 1,031 times versus 931 strikeouts. Bando became the special assistant to Dalton in the front office for 10 years, which started in 1982, when the Brewers advanced to the World Series against the Cardinals. Milwaukee lost that series in seven games to the Cardinals, as Fingers was not available because of an elbow injury. That was injury was huge, especially based on what Fingers had done in his past World Series appearances, as No. 34 had a ERA of just 1.34 in 16 games, plus had won the MVP honor in the 1974 World Series.

Bando became general manager of the Brewers prior to the 1992 season. Milwaukee had a nice season in 1992, as the team finished 92-70 under manager Phil Garner, just four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who would later win the 1992 World Series.

It was after the 1992 season, when the reality of being a small-market team in MLB affected the job Bando was trying to do as GM, a position he held for seven-plus years.

“The thing about being a GM that was frustrating, was that the economics of baseball had changed,” Bando said. “After the 1992 season, we lost 11 guys (including Molitor) to free agency.”

Speaking of the Brewers, I asked Bando about the current Milwaukee team.

“I think the Brewers are not as good offensively as they have been in the past, but I think their pitching is far superior to most teams,” Bando said. “The team has some clutch players and they are going to be tough to beat in the postseason.”