In the early nineties, his prayer was answered, and he spent a few years doing precisely that.
Once when still a teenager, Donnelly prayed that he would some day be a third base coach for the Pirates, his favorite team.
The catcher probably has to be more aware of what is going on than any other player, so it is a natural step to a coaching or managing position. He played for different minor league teams as catcher.
#THE CHICKEN RUNS AT MIDNIGHT VIDEO PROFESSIONAL#
Much of the book tells of his career in professional baseball. He married right out of college and, for example, it was a point of pride that he was a virgin on his wedding day. Today he would be considered abusive.ĭonnelly himself seemed to find solace in the Catholic Church as he grew up. Donnelly, though, may have been rougher than most. The father was strict and distant, not unlike a lot of fathers who were world War II veterans. In Donnelly’s case, though, his father pushed Donnelly and two brothers to be athletes. Being a native of Pittsburgh myself, I could identify with much of Donnelly’s upbringing. I have tried to find out if the two men were related, but have found nothing yet.ĭonnelly grew up in Steubenville, Ohio, about thirty miles from Pittsburgh and in the fifties and sixties as much a steel town as Pittsburgh was.
#THE CHICKEN RUNS AT MIDNIGHT VIDEO SERIES#
He started two games in the 1960 World Series which the Pirates won in a manner that to a Yankee fan might also have been tragic, except for the fact that the Yankees had been winning so many other World Series. Bob Friend was a pitcher for the Pirates through most of the 1950s and 1960s. I have to admit that I was also intrigued because the author’s last name is Friend. It really is his life story, but one of the climactic moments happens in tandem with that sad loss. One of the men on the Pirates that year was third base coach Rich Donnelly. And just as the Yankees are the Evil Empire to Red Sox fans, so the winning Atlanta Braves stood for evil things in 1992 (not so much any more since Ted Turner sold the team). The Pirates were leading going into the last inning of the last game (ninth inning, game seven, three outs to go), and they let it slip away. One of the more heartbreaking moments for Pirates fans was the National League Championship Series of 1992. But we cannot dispense with childhood loyalty for trivial matters. From about 1990 to 2004 one of those teams or the other seemed to bring more pain than joy. But it goes well beyond that.Īs I have noted in other entries, I enjoy baseball and am a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. Yes, it is about the career of a professional baseball player. Anyone from sixth grade on up should have no trouble understanding it. The Chicken Runs at Midnight is for everyone. We also understand that not everyone likes technothrillers or detective stories, nor are all readers going to pick up books meant for fifth through ninth graders. In popular fiction, for example, we are fans of Tom Clancy, Alexander McCall Smith, and Gordon Korman. Most books we review here we share so readers can make up their minds.
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