Last week we lost some pretty familiar if not famous people who entertained us these last fifty or forty years. Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath fame was my first exposure to this thing called heavy metal. The first time I heard “Iron Man,” I felt it best described me as other people saw me: a misfit that was misunderstood.
In 1980 I had the opportunity to go see the famous “Black & Blue” concert that featured Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult at the Pendleton Armory, but they were already sold out.
Then there’s Ryno. Ryne Sandburg who was born in Spokane grew up here and played baseball and even a football scholarship at Washington State but chose professional baseball instead. He also passed dying from an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer.
I became a Cubbies fan though my first love were and still are the Mariners, because of Ryne and his marvelous career as a hall of fame second baseman. There’s even a statue of him in his honor in front of Wrigley Field.
I’m the first to admit I’m not a professional wrestling fan. So Hoak Hogan’s sudden passing wasn’t nearly as heartbreaking as the previous two. Like Ozzy, he was controversial. His opinions were not in my line of thought or philosophy. He admitted proudly that he used to take steroids to bulk him up and make him appear more intimidating. He boasted about his conservative politics. He even attended last years Republican Convention to make the case for Donald Trump.
This week was definitely one to remember, and their lives left a mark on each of us in some way. Personally, I think I’ll miss Ryne Sandburg the most because of how he played the game and how he mentored others into being great at what they wanted to achieve.
Jerry Schellhammer 