Oklahoma!
With the results of his first two starts, it’s time to celebrate Ryan Franklin — and his homeland.
The fertile grounds of Oklahoma have grown many legendary baseball players: Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Dizzy Dean, the Waner brothers. None of them, however, have turned in nearly 17 strong innings this season. What have you done for me lately, Mick? Big Poison? Also, none of these greats are from Spiro! Home of the Spiro Mounds!
Note to Ryan: do not gain weight, or people will not hesitate to nickname you “the Spiro Mound.”
Other sports heroes call Oklahoma home-a. Jim Thorpe, once the World’s Greatest Athlete, and Steve Largent, still the best Seahawk of them all. From the NBA, the Price family and “Big Country” Bryant Reeves. Wrestler “Dr. Death” Steve Williams name-checked his place of origin by dubbing his finishing move “the Oklahoma Stampede.”
Yes, it was just a powerslam. But it was an Oklahoma powerslam.
Will Rogers and Sequoyah are immortalized via two statues in the capitol rotunda. The Oklahoma license plate says “Indian Country” for a reason: to name a few prominent native people, there’s Wilma Mankiller and Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday. Don’t forget groundbreaking non-native historian Angie Debo, either. According to a list compiled by Oklahoma boosters, Geronimo also apparently counts, even though he was only imprisoned there.
The first fullblooded Indian in the major leagues, Mose Yellowhorse, was a Pawnee from Oklahoma. And he drilled Ty Cobb in the noggin.
Musically speaking, there was the famous outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd and the balladeer who celebrated him, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie. Then there are the country singers: Garth, Reba … how many do you want to name? Merle Haggard was born in California, but is still proud to be an Okie from Muskogee. Gene Autry was from Oklahoma before he owned the Angels, and thankfully, passed away before the name change debacle.
The Flaming Lips used vaseline, magazines and tangerines in Norman, Oklahoma.
More Oklahomans revealed by the list of Famous Sooners: Leroy Gordon Cooper was born in Shawnee and later orbited the earth as one of the original seven US astronauts. S.E. Hinton was inside Oklahoma before writing The Outsiders. And Lawrence Walsh! God bless Lawrence Walsh. Brad Pitt is from Oklahoma, and he got to hook up with Jennifer Aniston.
A mystery: how did Peter White not make this list? It’s a scandal! It’s a outrage!
“Dr. Phil” McGraw is also from Oklahoma. But what you need to do is forgive the Sooner state for that, because every state gets one mulligan.
Jeremy Shockey is not from Oklahoma. Do not listen to him when he tells you he is. Miami can have him. Forget I mentioned it.
Instead, focus on Ryan Franklin. Step right up, Ryan. Shake hands with Mose Yellowhorse and Dizzy Dean. Hope the Sooner magic rubs off, rolls on, and keeps booming.
Comments
25 Responses to “Oklahoma!”
OK. Let’s pick some nits.
The license plates say “Native America,” not “Indian Country.” The Flaming Lips are more OKC boys than Norman.
And no mention of those two great scourges of the statheads — Lloyd Waner and Joe Carter? And what of Bishop Kelley grad Charlie O’Brien, the man who brought us the hockey-style catcher’s mask?
And hell, you mention wrestlers and don’t mention Goldberg? Tulsa Edison has the oddest set of famous alumni — a corporate raider (Henry Kravis), a double Emmy winner (Larry Drake), and a pro wrestler (Goldberg).
I saw Shockey when he was playing for Ada HS. Ada HS was still running the wing-T at the turn of the millenium. Did you mean Mi-am-ee or Mi-am-uh?
Of course, none of that compares to Spiro. Well, unless you’re from Big Cabin. Or Bluejacket. Or Pink. Or Pumpkin Center. Or Drumright. Or….
Points for the Kravis mention, dw.
I’ve met the guy. He wears cowboy boots.
If Goldberg had named his finish the “Tahlequah Jackhammer” or the “Stillwater Spear,” he would have filled my quota for one wrestler.
My pal from Norman claims the Lips as Norman’s own. I consider this an intra-Sooner dispute, and take no formal position.
Take no formal position? You step into Oklahoma, you have to choose your sides straightaway. OU or OSU? OKC or Tulsa? You can’t have it both ways.
Oh, and you have to have some absolutely whacked out political beliefs, too. What other state but Oklahoma would have Tom “Abortionists and activist judges should get the Death Penalty” Coburn and Jim “Those perps in Abu Gharib deserved that treatment” Inhofe as the senators?
Consider my loyalties officially aligned with Norman. And agreed on the “whacked out” comment, for sure.
GOSU!
Hey, Oklahoma is the only other state in the nation to have a city named “Boise” so it gets my thumbs up. Actually, if you turned Idaho to the right 90 degrees and mirrored it, you’d have Oklahoma.
As another Okie Transplant and Mariner fan, I almost feel obliged to post. All this nostalgia almost makes me want to dig out my tattered Eskimo Joe’s t-shirt and pop open a Coors … or not.
As for my positions: OSU, Tulsa, and Inhofe has been a whack job since he was mayor of Tulsa.
We should probably add Mariner radio producer, and Tulsa native, Kevin Cremin to the running list of “Random Okies Worthy of Mention on USS Mariner”. Others that come to mind would be fellow Booker T. HS grads Wayman Tisdale (NBA star turned jazz musician) and Amber Valetta (model/acress, currently in Hitch).
I was going to mention Valetta but didn’t know if she was still a supermodel. Current Trailblazers head coach Kevin Pritchard is an Edison grad.
In NYC, when first meeting, you usually get asked what you do for a living. LA, it’s where you live. In Tulsa, it’s which high school you went to. It’s a status symbol; don’t ask me why. My wife didn’t believe me until we were at a reception and talking to librarian Nancy Pearl who used to run the Tulsa library system. We talked for a bit. I mentioned I was from Tulsa. “Really? Which high school you go to?”
And while it’s spelled the same as the capital of Idaho, Boise City is pronounced “Boze,” like a guy from Atlanta is trying to sell you one of those radios.
Oh, last I looked, Joe McGinnity’s house in McAlester was still for sale. $30K. Needs a lot of work, but it’s a Victorian masterpiece — and some of woodwork in the house is made from split baseball bats.
That’s how we hicks from central Idaho pronounce Boise anyway.
hmm. my grandad worked for Oklahoma A & M until the depression hit, so guess I’d come down on the Stillwater side of things….
oh, and I’d add Ben Johnson to the Random List of Okies. Not the banned runner Ben Johnson, but the one from Foraker & Pawhuska, who won both the Academy Award and the PRCA team roping championship.
Oklahoma, where the whites came trashing down the plain
And the waived-off meet
To contemplate defeat
When the 89ers step off the Texas Rangers train
Oklahoma, every night Ryan Franklin tried
To stave off walks
And shut down talk that he could not lock the majors in his sights
He knows he belongs in the Show
And the show that he puts on is not slow
Yi! Yi!
Yippy! Yippy!
And when he says
Ay-yo, a-yip-I-owe-I-ay
He’s only sayin’
More support would be fine
Spiro! Too much dinero!
O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!
Won’t let my labrum send me hom-a! YEOW!
Second “show” should be “slow.” Kindly edit.
The return of Brad Penny this week could jeopardize Ryan Franklin’s standing as the best current major league starting pitcher who is an Oklahoma native. Plus, Penny’s from Broken Arrow–which for my money is a cooler-sounding Oklahoma hometown than Spiro. But that’s just me.
“That’s how we hicks from central Idaho pronounce Boise anyway.”
You mean pronouncing it “Boyz-zee”? Hmm, I only thought out-of-staters said it like that. It really irks me when I hear someone say it that way, but I’ve never thought about whether people in other parts of the state do it (I’ve only lived in Boise).
Boise City is pronounced “Boys” not “Boze”.
Interesting.
Let’s see now. OU in football. ORU in everything else.
Tulsa over OKC (cept bricktown).
Let’s not forget other well known sports stars from Oklahoma:
Dennis Rodman claims he’s from there
Jim Thorpe
more recently Troy Aikman
and your very own Peter White.
-CJ
Don’t forget James Garner. Also, interesting Oklahomans who were connected with my hometown (Duncan, OK): Ron Howard and Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
Don’t forget former Major Leaguer Cal Browning. Granted, he only played in one game and ended his cup of coffee appearance with a 40.5 ERA. I mention him only because he was born in Burns Flat, OK where I once lived. Now, isn’t that the coolest name?
Odd thing about Amber Valetta: I saw that Hitch movie Saturday and thought I was seeing Cameron Diaz.
My favorite Oklahoma connection is author Se.E. Hinton, who wrote many great young adult novels (“Tex,” “Rumble Fish,” “The Outsiders”) and set them among wayward, poverty-stricken youth in the mean streets of Tulsa. I read and re-read them all religiously as a kid, and saw all the movies as well. To this day, whenever high-school friends of mine and I say goodbye, we get into our cheesy overemotional Ralph-Macchio-on-his deathbed voice and say, haltingtly but touchingly:
“Stay … gold forever … Ponyboy.”
Boise, Oklahoma (it’s actually Boise City, I think), was the only city in the contiguous US bombed during World War 2.
I would add to the list of famous Oklahomans these notables:
Shannon Miller, the gymnast
Bart Connor, the gymnast (and Nadia Comaneci, his wife, now resides in Norman as well)
Paul Harvey, the sanctimonious radio host
and last bust certainly not least….
Hanson, the 3 “musicians” who had the smash hit “MMMBop” a few years back
It makes a fella proud to be an Okie
And now … you know … THE REST. OF THE STORY.
Good day!
Famous Oklahomans
Johnny Bench baseball player, Oklahoma City
John Berryman poet, MacAlester
Garth Brooks singer, Tulsa
Jeremy Castle singer, Blanchard
Iron Eyes Cody Cherokee actor
Gordon Cooper astronaut, Shawnee
Ralph Ellison writer, Oklahoma City
James Garner actor, Norman
Owen K. Garriott astronaut, Enid
Vince Gill singer, Norman
Chester Gould cartoonist, Pawnee
Woodrow Wilson Woody Guthrie singer, composer, Okemah
Ike,Taylor, Zac Hanson music, Tulsa
Roy Harris composer, Lincoln Cty
Paul Harvey broadcaster, Tulsa
Van Heflin actor, Walters
Tony Hillerman author, Sacred Heart
Ron Howard actor, director, Duncan
Karl Guthe Jansky engineer, Norman
Ben Johnson actor, Pawhuska
Jennifer Jones actress, Tulsa
Jeane Kirkpatrick diplomat, Duncan
Shannon Lucid astronaut, Bethany
Mickey Charles Mantle baseball player, Spavinaw
Reba McEntire singer, McAlester
Shannon Miller Olympic gymnast, Edmond
Bill Moyers journalist, Hugo
Daniel Patrick Moynihan N.Y. senator, Tulsa
Patti Page singer, Clarence
Brad Pitt actor Shawnee
Tony Randall actor, Tulsa
Oral Roberts evangelist, Ada
Dale Robertson actor, Oklahoma City
Will Rogers humorist, Oologah
Dan Rowan comedian, Beggs
Robert Stemmons whistler, Tulsa
Maria Tallchief ballerina, Fairfax
James Francis Jim Thorpe athlete, Prague
Jeanne Tripplehorn actress, Tulsa
Ted Shackleford actor, Tulsa
Wilma Mankiller Cherokee chief, Tahlequah
I’m from Spiro. The best baseball player I ever saw (and I’ve seen Ryan pitch) was a third baseman named Willard Hamby. He played 5 or 6 years for the Ft. Smith Giants of the Western Association back in the late 40’s and early 50’s and led the team two or three years in home runs. He was asked to come play for the NY Giants at several spring trainings but refused (as legend has it) because he would have had to play on Sundays and his wife didn’t want that. I certainly hope Ryan does well for the Mariners. He has good stuff most of the time. And Spiro has another semi-famous person….Dallas Frazier, song writer, who wrote “Alley Oop”. And then there was B.Bumble and the Stingers (R.C. Gamble, Bubby Neeley and Bobby Calloway) who had quasi-hits in the early 60’s with ‘Nutrocker’ and ‘Bumble Boogie’. And Rod Choate, the linebacker for O.U. and New England Patriots. And there was a 50’s B Movie Western actor named Bobby Clark (real name Clack) who did trick roping and all. But that’s a reach………