Ramblings:-->Clyde Kluttz & Other Notes


"Just the wanting alone is worth it,
Just the thrill and desire...
Just the wanting alone is worth the fire."
Walter Egan
One of my inspirations...is a person I never met...He was a good athlete that I never had the privilege to see play.

In fact...I never even heard of him...until I stumbled upon a 1952 Topps baseball card with his likeness...in a stack of commons from the fifties.

In a room with over a hundred tables of sports memorabilia barkers hawking their wares...in a corner lost between other baseball commons...was the card of a player that has become my "motivational...kick in the hindend".

From the moment I saw that baseball card...I knew I had to have it.

My favorite card...a 1952 nearmint Topps baseball card...#132...of...Clyde Kluttz.
Clyde Kluttz. An ordinary looking guy wearing a Washington Senators cap.

Clyde was an average catcher...with average stats. He had a respectable lifetime .268 batting average. And his card says that he made the All Star Team for the International League in 1950 with Triple A Boston.

So...you know the guy played hard. Played to win.

In fact...Clyde helped the champion St. Louis Cardinals reach the 1946 World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Clyde
got himself a championship ring...if they gave rings out back then.

But it was his name that really got me. -->Clyde Kluttz<--

Could it have been any tougher trying to work your way up to the big leagues...with a name like that?

Betcha he was a tough son-of-a-gun. Had to be.

And it was his baseball card I would draw to mind whenever I was feeling defeated. When I needed an extra dose of toughness to keep from calling it quits.

In 2002, I wrestled varsity 103 lbs for my high school wrestling team. This was the year our team brought home the State 5A Wrestling Championship in Kansas.

I can't tell you how difficult it was for me to make weight match after match that season. But I did it...thanks...in part...to Clyde Kluttz...who kept pushing me to keep going.

Anyway...Clyde Kluttz passed away several years ago. He was 61. I wish I had the chance to tell him how much his determination to be the best...inspired me to try to do the same.

Clyde is buried in Salisbury, North Carolina. I hope to some day pay my respects.
Until then...I guess I'm telling him now.

Casey

_______________
And To Other Things:

There is a wonderful online site I've recently been checking out...that allows anyone to easily download videos/audio...i.e. YouTube and convert it to whatever format you would like.

Even better...if the audio is all you would like to download..."Vconvert" will convert the audio into an mp3 for you to download and sample for awhile.

I tested it...by visiting YouTube and watching a Mashup of 9 inch nails & Beatles play over a video.
I selected download audio only...and got a nice mp3..."Come Together/Closer" to check out.

I also wanted to download the audio of a live performance of "Lucky Town" by Springsteen in Stockholm...YouTube. The website "Vconvert" quickly converted it into an mp3 and downloaded it onto my desktop. Very nice.

Of course...remember to not be greedy...and seek out the artists music for purchase at your favorite vendor.

"Vconvert"
is simple to use...and does its magic pretty fast, too.
Good Stuff!

MoSkeet

Walter Egan:-->"Just The Wanting"
(Not Shy) (1978)
(Own This CD)

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