Those were two words that popped into my head when I read that today is Kenton Charles Tekulve's birthday. Although he wasn't a perennial all-star or enshrined in Cooperstown, he played a role in my childhood. Tekulve owned one of the coolest, sweetest looking pitching deliveries in baseball. (IMHO) His submarine delivery rivals Fernando's "eyes to the sky" delivery... both of which I'd regularly try to emulate as a kid. But that's only half the story.
In terms of collecting, Tekulve had another distinguishable trait: his sunglasses. He was one of those players I actively sought out while busting 25¢ packs on my porch. His cards were never hot commodities (at least in my neck of the woods), but flipping through them over the years eventually left an impression that has lasted three decades. To this day, I can still close my eyes and picture those wire rimmed, dark tinted glasses.
15 comments:
My brother and I, being blessed with awful vision, always had both a soft spot in our hearts for old Kent and his bad peepers and a predilection to emulate his delivery in the backyard during wiffle ball. Glad to know others share our affection for him.
Awesome post! Love seeing the old Teke cards.
Growing up whenever I pitched it was just like Teke. Even now I struggle throwing overhand as submarine was all I ever did as a kid. In high school I tried out as a pitcher, and the entire team was terrified of me because none had ever seen a submariner. Didn't help though as I didn't make the team.
he holds special place in my heart too.
first card I ever remember pulling out of 83 fleer.... my first pack my first card
I don't think it's possible to NOT like Kent Tekulve.
I was fascinated with his pitching delivery as well.
Glad to hear that I wasn't the only one trying to be like Kent ;-)
Thanks... I was hoping you'd have a chance to check it out.
I remember one of my little league coaches got really upset at us for throwing like that (said we were going to hurt our arms)... so he punished us by making us run (a lot). Never tried it again at baseball practice.
Awesome. It's a nice picture of Kent. I dug all around my collection looking for that card, but couldn't find it.
Except if you had to face him in a game ;-)
Anyone who was lucky enough to watch him pitch is truly blessed. I was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to watch Ziegler in Oakland a few season ago.
We are Family. I would like to know why there aren't more submariners in the majors as it would have to be easier on your arm. Love the cards.
Even in Wisconsin, we mimicked both Tekulve and Quisenberry in their deliveries. The cool thing is that both are/were complete gentlemen to the fans and signed autographs a ton both TTM and in person. I have some from both from the 1980s.
No such thing as a 'not cool' Tekulve card.
My fave is the '81 Fleer. He makes even that pitiful design look awesome. Great post!
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