Old Time New York Giant s Player: "Dirty Jack" Doyle

John Joseph Doyle was born on October 25, 1869 in Killorglin, Ireland. His family came to the United States when he was a child & settled in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Doyle came to the Bronx & attended Fordham University where he began his long baseball career.

He began playing for Columbus in the American Association, eventually coming over to the Nation League. In 1892 with Cleveland, he got credited as being the first pinch hitter in pro baseball history, getting a game winning single against Brooklyn. He came over to the New York Giants later that season & batted .298.


He became the team’s captain & his aggressive style of play earned him the nick name “Dirty Jack”. He would argue with umpires, opposing players, fans & even his own team mates at times. During one game in 1900 he slugged the umpire when he was called out stealing a base. Fans jumped onto the field & Dirty Jack fought with them as well. The police broke it up & arrested Doyle right in the middle of the game.

At the Polo Grounds in 1901 (while playing with the Chicago Orphans) he was heckled by a fan & jumped into the stands to beat him up, injuring jis hand.

After his first round of Giants years he had a constant feud with John McGraw when playing in Baltimore. The two hated each other & by the time McGraw was named manager of the Giants Dirty Jack who was batting over .300  was released.

He spent six seasons with the Giants (1892-1895 / 1898-1900/ 1902) having his best year in 1894 batting .368 with 103 RBIs 30 doubles & 43 stolen bases. He would only hit under 299 once in those years (.267) .

Doyle would steal over 30 bases nine times in his career, including seasons with 62 (1897) & 73 (1896). He would steal over 40 bases five times while coming in the top 10 in steals four times. He is #516 on the all time stolen base list with 518 steals in his career. Doyle would hit over .300 six times & finish his career at .299.

In His 17 year career he played for 10 teams & served as interim manager with the Giants & Senators. In 1569 games he had 1811 hits, 316 doubles, 64 triples, & 971 RBIs. On the field at first base, he led the leagues in errors three times; put outs & assists once each.

Retirement: After his playing days he managed in the minor leagues, then became a long time Cubs scout for over 35 years. He even served as an N.L. umpire for 42 games in 1911. He even served as Police Commissioner for two years in his home town of Holyoke, Mass. Doyle passed away on New Years Eve 1958 at age 89.

Mets Going Forward With New GM: Sandy Alderson (2010-)

Is there reason to be excited? There sure is, the Mets just got one of the most qualified candidates for General Manager you could ask for.

Richard Lynn "Sandy" Alderson was born November 22, 1947 in Seattle, Washington. He attended Dartmouth College, served with the Marines in Vietnam & then graduated from Harvard Law in 1976. He practiced law in San Francisco until 1981 when he joined one of his partners, who's father in law bought the Oakland A's. Alderson served as the A's GM through 1997, winning four AL West titles, three pennants & one World Series. When owner Walter Hass died in 1995 Alderson was ordered to lower payroll. He began using saber metric principles & mentoring future A's GM; Billy Beane. The term Money Ball was used to describe Beane's style of building a team, under his watch he has earned four post season appearances.

From 1998-2005 Alderson served as executive VP of Major League Baseball. He then served as CEO of the San Diego Padres (2006-2009) putting together a nice team there as well. Lately Alderson has been cleaning up corruption within baseball in the Dominican Republic. Tomorrow the Mets will announce him & his new four year deal officially at his new work location: Citi Field.

I think his hiring is a good move & putting the team in positive direction. Next the manager.............

Old Time New York Giants Pitcher: Bill Walker (1927-1933)

William Henry Walker was born on October 7th, 1903 in East St. Louis Illinois. Long before there was an Arch on the other side of the Mississippi, Walker was playing baseball in the St. Louis area. He was brought up by the New York Giants back in 1927 & got his feet wet his first two seasons mostly in relief. In 1929 he emerged as the Giants #3 starter behind Carl Hubbell & Freddie Fritzmorris, winning 14 games against 7 losses. His 3.09 ERA was the best in the National League surprising many people.

In 1930 he was 3rd in ERA with a 3.90, 4th in wins with 17, 6th in strikeouts with 105, but he also lost 15 games. His last good season was 1931 when he led the NL in both ERA (2.26), and shutouts (6). He won 19 games (16-9) and threw 239 innings striking out 121 against only 64 walks.

Things turned sour the nest season going 8-12 with his ERA doubling to 4.14. He also gave up a league leading 23 HRs after only giving up six the previous season. He was traded to his hometown St. Louis Cardinals in 1933 and was a member of the famous 1934 Gas House Gang World Series champions. He was 12-4 with a .750 winning percent and a 3.12 ERA, as pretty much the fifth starter on a team behind 30 game winner Dizzy Dean & his brother Paul. In the 1934 World Series he took two losses in relief allowing five earned runs in six innings.

Bill won 13 games the next season and retired after the 1936 season with a lifetime 97-77 record And a 3.59 ERA, two ERA titles and a World Series championship. He remained in East St. Louis until his death in 1966 at age 62.

Former Italian/ American Player: Tony Conigliaro (1964-1971/ 1975)

Anthony Richard Conigliaro, was born on January 7, 1945 in Revere, Massachusetts. He was signed out of St. Mary’s High School in Lynn, Massachusetts by the home town Boston Red Sox in 1962. The highly touted prospect came up in 1964 at age 19 & got the starting left field job. He played Fenway Parks Green Monster alongside Carl Yastremski.

In his first Fenway at bat he hit a HR and would hit 24 of them in his rookie season. He still holds the MLB record for most HRs by a teenager. He batted .290 with 21 doubles & 52 RBIs, then broke his arm cutting his season short. The Twins, Tony Oliva won the batting title beating out Tony C. for the Rookie of the Year.

In 1965 he became the youngest AL player to ever lead the league in HRs with 32. Driving in & scoring 82 runs, both eighth best in the AL. He also struck out 116 times and would K over 100 times three different seasons. By 1966 he was considered one of leagues better players hitting 28 HRs with 93 RBIs, and for the second straight year got many votes for the MVP award.

In 1967 the Red Sox went to the World Series in their “Impossible Dream” season. Tony C played in the shadows of Triple Crown MVP winner Carl Yastrzemski. Conigliaro made his first All Star team and became the youngest player to reach the 100 HR mark.

Tragedy struck him on August 18, 1967, as the Red Sox played the Angels at Fenway Park. Former Met pitcher Jack Hamilton, hit Conigliaro with a pitch on the left cheekbone. He was carried off the field on a stretcher, suffering a linear fracture of the left cheekbone, a dislocated jaw and severe damage to his left retina. It was one of the worst hit by pitch incidents in baseball history. Tony would miss the rest of the season and a chance to play in the World Series. More importantly he was never the same player again and almost lost his eye sight permanently. The pitch was not intentional & Hamilton was never the same as well.

After a long year and a half absence, he returned to baseball in 1969, playing in over 140 games. He won the Comeback Player of the Year Award, hitting .255 with 20 HRs & 82 RBIs. 1970 was even a better year, as he had career highs with 36 HRs & 116 RBIs while batting .266. That year he go to play alongside his brother Billy in the Red Sox outfield. That October he got traded with Ray Jarvis and Jerry Moses to the Angels for Doug Griffin, Jarvis Tatum and Ken Tatum. He suffered vision problems & severe headaches and only appeared in 74 games.

He was out of baseball for the next three seasons, and appeared in 21 brief games for the 1975 AL Champion Red Sox hitting .123. It was a sad finish to what should have been a spectacular career.

In 1982 he suffered a heart attack then a stroke, and remained in a coma for the final eight years of his life. He passed on at the young age of 45, in Salem, Massachusetts in 1990. The Red Sox wore black arm bands in his honor. In his career he hit 264 HRs with 516 RBIs & a .266 average.

Former Italian / American Player of the Day: John Castino (1979-1984)

John Anthony Castino was born on October 23, 1954 in Evanston, ILlinois. He attended Rollins College at Winter Park, Florida getting picked by the Twins, third round in 1976. In the minors he was the AAA Southern Leagues All Star third baseman leading the league in fielding percentage.


He came up to the Twins in 1979 taking over as their third baseman winning the Rookie of the Year Award, tied in the voting with Alfredo Griffin. He played in 148 games but only had 393 at bats. He hit .285 with 112 hits 5 HRs 13 doubles 8 triples, 52 RBIs & a .331 on base percentage. He followed that up with career highs in HRs (16) RBIs (64) batting average (.302) & games (150).

In 1981 he led all AL third basemen in put outs (86) turning 24 double plays posting a .975 fielding percentage. He would play in over 100 games the next three seasons, but began to suffer from chronic back issues which ended his career by 1984. He never matched his first two seasons numbers, batting a best .277 in 1983, with 11 HRs & 57 RBIs when he switched over to being the teams main second baseman.

He finished his six year carrer after being released in October 1985, with a fused disc in his back. He played in 666 career games, batting .278 with 41 HRs 86 doubles & 249 RBIs.

Former Italian / American Player of the Day: Tom Pagnozzi (1987-1998)

Thomas Alan Pagnozzi was born July 30, 1962 in Tucson, Arizona. He attended the University of Arkansas leading the Razorbacks to the NCAA finals with 50 RBIs. He was both a catcher & third baseman getting drafted by the Cardinals in the 8th round of the 1983 draft. He was brought up in 1987 after batting .314 with 14 HRs & 71 RBIs. He got into 27 games, only batted .188 but hit 2 HRs with 9 RBIs & 8 runs scored. He became eligible for the post season roster & saw action in three post season games, getting one hit in the Cards World Series loss to Minnesota.

He was the backup catcher to Tony Pena & then Todd Ziele under Whitey Herzog’s final years as manager. When Joe Torre arrived he convinced Ziele to move from the catchers position, to prolong his career & because Pagnozzi was better defensively. Pagnozzi would win three Gold Gloves (1990, 1992, & 1994) leading the league in fielding percentage twice, & throwing out base runners once. He threw out 45% or more, of would be base stealers four on separate seasons. In 1992, he made just one error and tied a National League record with a .999 fielding mark.

He didn’t hit for much power, driving in over 40 runs five times & had 50 RBIs or more twice. He hit over .270 four times, batting a career high .282 in 1988 over 81 games. He was a lifelong Cardinal playing 12 seasons in St. Louis, making one All Star Team (1992), two post seasons & one World Series. He retired after the 1998 season, a lifelong .253 hitter with 44 HRs 153 doubles 320 RBIs in 927 games played. Behind the plate he threw out 37% of would be base stealers posting a .992 fielding percentage, making only 38 errors in 827 games. He also played 40 career games at first base & 7 games at third base.

During Christmas week of 2008 he was involved in a serious accident, when his truck hit a patch of ice, and flipped over multiple times. One passenger was seriously injured but Pagnozzi & Cardinals farmhand Casey Rowlett escaped with minor injuries. Tom currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas actively serving the community in youth baseball though Pagnozzi charities.

Former New York Giant: Wally Berger (1936-1938)

Walter Anton Berger was born October 10, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in San Francisco & was a high school team mate of future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin. He came up with the Boston Braves in 1930 and set a rookie record by hitting 38 HRs that record stood for 58 years until Mark McGwire broke it in 1988. Berger drove in 119 runs, also a rookie record until broken by Albert Pujols in 2001. Berger also hit 27 doubles 14 triples & batted .310, quite a debut.

He hit over .300 over the next three seasons & over .290 the next five. In 1934 he hit 34 HRs with 131 RBIs both third best in the league.

The following season (1935) he led the league in both HRs (34) & RBIs (130) with 39 doubles a .295 batting average & a .355 on base percentage. He hit over 30 HRs three times & drove in over 100 runs four times, making four All Star teams & coming in among the top vote getters for the MVP Award five times. Babe Ruth called him the best centerfielder in the league in 1933. He set Braves all time HR marks that were broken by Eddie Mathews, & in 1933 his 27 HRs were more than half the teams total.

During the 1936 season he suffered a shoulder injury that took a huge toll on his career. He was traded to the New York Giants mid season, and his first Giants HR was the 200th of his career. He hit .291 with 12 HRs & 43 RBIs the rest of the season for New York, as the Giants won the pennant. He only made three pinch hit appearances in the Series going hitless.

He spent the first part of the 1938 season in New York hitting .188 & was traded to Cincinnati after 18 games. He finished the year with 16 HRs & hit 14 the next year before winding down by 1940 in Philadelphia. In his 11 season career he had 1550 hits with 242 HRs 299 doubles 898 RBIs batting .300 in 1350 games played. He was a fine defensive outfielder who led the league in fielding percentage in 1932 & put outs in 1935.

Retirement: After baseball he was a scout & minor league manager. He passed away in 1988 of a stroke in Redondo Beach California at age 83.

Former Italian/American Player of the Day: Nick Dallessandro (1937-1947)

Nicholas Dominic Dallessandro was born on October 3, 1913 at Reading, Pennsylvania. The short 5’ 6’ outfielder had tiny feet & one sports writer joked it took him 20 jumps to get out of the dugout. He earned the nickname “Dim Dom” making his debut with Boston in 1937 batting .231 in 68 games. He went to the Pacific Coast League playing with San Diego until the Cubs bought his contract in 1939. He played in 107 games for the 1940 Cubs, batting .268 with a HR & 36 RBIs.

The next season would be his career best batting .272 with 6 HRs, 85 RBIs (10th in the league) 36 doubles (4TH in the league) & the second best fielding percentage in the outfield at .987. He posted a .362 on base percentage drawing 68 walks as well.

The next two years he played under 100 games both seasons batting a best .261 in 1942. In 1944 he rebounded to play in 117 games batting .304 in 381 at bats, posting a .400 on base percentage (7th in the league) hitting 8 HRs with 19 doubles with 61 walks & 74 RBIs. He had 9 assists & 2 double plays from the outfield posting a .980 fielding percentage.

In 1945 he went off to World War II returning to play his last two seasons as a Cubs reserve outfielder. He spent the rest of his career in the Pacific Coast League until 1952.

In an eight-season career, Dallessandro was a .267 hitter with 520 hits 22 HRs, 110 doubles, 23 triples & 303 RBIs in 746 games. He was a disciplined hitter posting a career .369 on-base percentage.

Passing: Dom passed away in 1988 at Indianapolis at age 75.

Former 1986 Met of the Day: Keith Hernandez (1984-1990)

Keith was born October 20, 1953, in San Francisco, California. Mex was drafted in 1971 by the Cardinals way down in the 42nd round, due to the fact he sat out his senior year because of problems with his coach. He came up to the big leagues for a cup of coffee in 1974, and played in the 25 inning marathon at Shea Stadium against the Mets. By 1976 he was the Cardinals every day first baseman, batting .289 and maturing into the hitter he would become. In 1977 he hit over .290, driving in & scoring over 90 runs, with 41 doubles. He took a nosedive in 1978 hitting just .255.

Defensively he became one of the league’s best first baseman, winning his first of eleven consecutive Gold Glove awards. In 1979 he won the NL MVP Award (along with Willie Stargell) leading the league in batting (.344) doubles (48) and runs scored (116). He also made his first All Star appearance while driving in a career high 104 runs. He followed up in 1980 by falling three points short of another batting title, losing out to none other than Bill Buckner. He hit .300 again in the strike shortened 1981 season and came in just short at .299 in 1982. That season he drove in 94 runs as the Cardinals won the World Series, defeating the Brewers in seven games.

Post Season: In the 1982 NLCS Keith hit .333 against Atlanta. In the World Series he had seven hits, four walks, two doubles and eight RBIs against the Brewers including a Game #6 HR. In Game #7 he came to bat in the 6th with the bases loaded down 3-1, and drove a base hit to right centerfield tying the game.

In St. Louis he did not get along with manager Whitey Herzog, or upper management. Herzog thought Hernandez was too carefree and in June 1983 he was traded to the last place Mets for Neil Allen & Rick Ownbey. At first it was a tough transition for Keith to go from a World champion to last place, he said it was like going to Siberia. The trade turned out to be one of the best in Mets history.

In New York, Keith set out to prove the Cardinals wrong and he helped heat up the rivalry. He became one of the most intense players in the game, and most influential of all the 1980’s Mets. He became one of the most clutch hitters in Mets history, working pitchers to go deep into the count until he got the pitch he wanted.

In his first four seasons in New York he hit over .300 and was amongst the league’s best in hits, runs scored & walks. He was one of the best defensive first baseman in the eighties winning six more gold gloves. His throwing arm was so accurate he was used as a cutoff man more than the second baseman. He was one of the toughest first baseman to bunt against, and many teams didn’t even bother. He used to take pickoff throws while squatting in foul territory so that he could make tags to his right more easily. Eventually the league made that style illegal. His quick instincts allowed him to play further off first base which made his second baseman play more to their right, filling up holes.In 1984, he made the All Star team hitting .311 with 31 doubles, 97 walks a .409 on base percentage, 94 RBIs, & 15 HRs. In 1985 he set a record with 24 game winning RBIs, an official stat at the time. and hit .309, with 10 HRs, 34 doubles and 91 RBIs but the Mets lost out to his rival Cardinals in September. That season he was involved in controversy over the wide spread use of cocaine in baseball. He admitted to using in his days with the Cardinals at the trials.

In 1986 Keith and the Mets rolled over the Cardinals and anyone else in their way. He hit .310 with a .413 on base percent and led the league with 97 walks.

Post Season: In the 1986 NLCS he had two hits with two walks & two RBIs off Nolan Ryan in Game #2, evening the Series. He got two more hits in Game #3, before getting shut down by Mike Scott in Game #4. Hernandez was very vocal about accusing Scott of scuffing up the baseballs while on the mound. In the final Game #6 Hernandez doubled in the 9th inning driving in Mookie Wilson to bring the Mets within a run. He then scored the tying run after two walks & a Ray Knight sac fly. 

With the Mets ahead -4, the Astros made a comeback of their own scoring two more runs in the bottom of the 16th. Keith famously told Jesse Orosco if he threw another curve ball they'd fight. Orosco listened got the final out & the Mets advanced to the World Series. Overall he batted .269 with 7 hits including a double, a triple, three walks & 3 RBIs.

In the World Series he went 6 for 26 (.231) with 4 walks & 4 RBIs. In the first two games he only got one hit, then had a two hits & walk in the Mets 7-1 win in Game #3.

In Game #6 Hernandez made the second out of the 10th inning, it seemed it was all over. He went into the club house because he didn’t want to see the Red sox celebrate on Sheas turf. He sat down with a beer and the Mets rallied, he was coming back to the dugout and realized “there are hits in that chair” and went back to that seat and watched the miraculous come back on T.V.

He came to bat in the 6th Inning of Game #7 with the bases loaded and the Mets down 3-0. Keith singled to center scoring Lee Mazzili & Mookie Wilson, bringing the Shea crowd to life. In the 7th inning he scored Rafael Santana on a sac fly as well.  

The following season, he was named the first captain in Mets history and made his fifth All Star appearance. He hit a career 18 HRs and drove in 88 runs. It was the 1st time he didn’t hit .300 since coming to New York, posting a .290 average. In 1988 he began to suffer from back problems that would end his career. He was limited to 95 games and hit only .276 as the Mets again won the East, but lost the Playoffs to the Dodgers.

Post Season: Keith went 7-26 with six walks in the NLCS, hitting a HR with 5 RBIs. He posted a .406 on base percentage.

By 1989 Hernandez was winding down because of the bad back. He couldn’t play the field like he use to and his hitting fell off to a low .233 in 75 games. It was sad for Met fans as he was released that fall. He signed with Cleveland but back injuries caused him to only play 43 games and bat .200.

He retired at the end of the season with a .296 lifetime batting average. After 17 seasons he played in 2088 games, with 2182 hits (180th all time) 426 doubles (126th all time) 162 HRs, 1071 RBIs (214th all time) 1070 walks (85th all time) 71 sac flies (127th all time) & a .384 on base percentage (142 all time). Keith finished with the 36th best fielding percentage of all time (.994%) his 1882 assists at first base are 3rd most of all time, his 17909 put outs are 20th all time for first basemen & his 2014 games at first are 20th all time.

Four of Keiths old teammates; Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, David Cone and Roger McDowell all wore number 17 in his honor after they left the Mets.

Retirement: Hernandez has been a popular broadcaster for the Mets since 2001. He has written three books, "If at First" (a diary of the 1985 season) "Pure Baseball", and "Shea Goodbye" recounting the last season at Shea Stadium. In 1992 he guest starred as himself in the sitcom Seinfeld, and became a TV icon. He is also a spokesperson for the Just for Men hair-care line, along with former Knicks star Walt Frazier.

He currently lives with his second wife Kai in Jupiter Florida & Sag Harbor on Long Island. Rusty Staub gave Kai away at their Jupiter, Florida wedding. Keith was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame and was voted the Mets' all-time first baseman.

Keith was on hand for Mike Piazza Night, Ralph Kiner & Bob Murphy nights. As well as the 20th Anniversary celebration of the 1986 championship team & closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium.

Keith has been a longtime Mets broadcaster & now works on SNY with Gary Cohen & Ron Darling. He adds some color & laughter to the booth as well as critisism. He gets on players who don't paly up to his standards. He has done everything from fall asleep in the booth, to saying a female San Diego trainer shouldn't be in the dug out because she is female. He had to publicly apologize for that one. We love ya Kieth, especially on moustache day!!

Former Italian/American Player of the Day: Marino Pieretti (1945-1957)

Marino Paul Pieretti was Born September 23, 1920 in Lucca, Italy. Lucca is an ancient  medieval city located in Tuscany, famous for its intact Renaissance city walls. He is only one of six major leaguers to be born in Italy.

The Pieretti family emigrated to the United States when Marino was one year old, settling in San Francisco California. There he grew up and became a right handed pitcher, but at 5’ 7” got rejected by the PCL’s San Francisco Seals. He eventually pitched for the Portland Beavers and after winning a league leading 26 games, in 1944 got signed by the Washington Senators.

He came up to the big leagues the next season having his best season going 14-13 with a 3.32 ERA, pitching in 233 innings only striking out 60 batters. He pitched three shutouts as well as saving a pair of games in relief. He was used mostly out of the bullpen the next two seasons going 4-8 into the middle of the 1948 season when he was traded to the White Sox.

He was 8-10 then 4-6 with an ERA averaging five the next two seasons, and his MLB career was over by 1950 at age 30, pitching in Cleveland. That season he gave up Joe Dimaggio’s 2000 career base hit & personally went over to first base to hand the ball to his boy hood friend from San Francisco. In his short six year career Pieretti was 30-38 with a 4.53 ERA & 8 saves. He was a pretty good hitting pitcher batting .217 with 18 RBIs in his career.

Retirement: Marino pitched seven more seasons in the minor leagues retiring from pitching in 1957. He earned the nickname Chick when a doctor had to remove a chicken bone from his throat. During the off seasons he worked in a San Francisco slaughter house killing steers. He also played the accordion in an Italian wedding band in the sixties & seventies, as well as running youth baseball programs in the Bay Area. He passed away in 1981 at age 60.

Italian / American Supervisor of Umpires: Steve Palermo

Stephen Michael Palermo was born October 9, 1949 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Palermo went to Worcester State College and enrolled in the Umpire Development Program in 1972. It took him only five years to get to the major league level. He was one of the first A.L. Umpires to not use the large outside chest protector that the N.L. umps had stopped using years before. A.L. umps hired prior to 1977 were grand fathered in & were not required to use the inside chest protectors.

Palermo was the third base umpire who signaled “fair ball” when Bucky Dent hit his famous HR during the 1978 A.L. East playoff game at Fenway Park. He would go on to umpire in the 1980, 1982 & 1989 ALCS, as well as the 1981 ALDS. He covered first base for the 1986 All Star Game held at the Houston Astrodome. His only World Series was in 1983 when Baltimore defeated Philadelphia. That same season he worked behind the plate for Dave Righetti’s no hitter in New York. In 1991 the Sporting News ranked him Number one for overall performance of an umpire.

In July of 1991 he was eating dinner with friends after a Texas Rangers game when he went to help two witresses who were getting mugged in the parking lot. He suffered a gunshot wound to his spinal cord which paralyzed him instantly from the waist down. He was told he would never walk again. After three months of determination & rehab was able to walk with a cane & leg brace. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the 1991 World Series.

Honors: In 1994, he won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. In 2003, he began serving as the Honorary Chairman of Assurant Employee Benefits' WillReturn Council. The Award is given to individuals who overcome disabilities.

In 2005 he served as honorary commissioner for the Tee Ball game at the White House in which children with physical disabilities participated. He currently serves as the MLB supervisor of umpires, and also works as a motivational speaker. Palermo serves as a liaison between Major League Baseball and the Major League umpires. He currently lives in beautiful Overland Park, Kansas just outside Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Debbie.