“After a spectacular career as a pitcher, Dizzy Dean
went on to become an equally spectacular sportscaster. Ignoring grammar and
inventing words, he took such liberties with the language that a colleague was
prompted to ask: ‘What made you become an announcer when you don't even know
the King’s English?' ‘But I do know
the King's English,’ indignantly retorted Dean. “ ‘And so is the Queen.’” —Baseball
Hall of Fame pitcher, sportscaster, and interpreter of English Jay Hanna “Dizzy”
Dean (1910-1974), quoted in E.E. Edgar, “Famous Fables,” Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, June 19, 1976
It was, perhaps, incidents like this that led Dean
to say, “The good Lord was good to me. He gave me a strong body, a good right
arm, and a weak mind.”
No comments:
Post a Comment