My 60th Birthday

As I approached the big 60, I thought back to my 18 th birthday, which also happened to be my major league pitching debut. Looking at the photo, with Turk Farrell, Hal Woodeshick and Don Larson behind me, I have a little trouble believing I really pitched at that age. The thing that amazes me about the birthday cake photo is that I don't even remember posing for it. Read more about my major league pitching debut.

I have no trouble believing I have reached the 60-year milestone. I can feel every year of it. I had to give up basketball and racquetball about 10 years ago because I kept getting hurt. And now I can't even jog a couple of miles without feeling sore all over the next day. Still, it has been a fantastic ride. Sometimes I think about how hard it has been for my children to find careers that they can get excited about. I was spared that dilemma. Baseball was the most exciting thing I could imagine, and it found me. Below you will find the presentation made on the big screen at Minute Maid Park on my birthday.

But when I thought about posting something to mark the date (September 22), I thought about a roast and toast my wife arranged for me in 1986. The evening was a big success, and the best presentation of all came from an old roommate who sent a video tape to play at the occasion. I managed to find it, and you will be seeing it shortly. Make sure you have 7 or 8 minutes to take it in. It's a hoot.

I met Bob Gallagher in the spring of 1973, in Cocoa , Florida and we hit it off right away. He was from Northern California and I from SoCal. We ended up being roommates. If I had taken the scholarship offered by Stanford University, we might have been roommates there too.

Read more about Bob Gallagher and how to help fight illiteracy.

Was he wearing any pants?! My brother, Rick, was next up at the roast. He had a tough act to follow.