I'd forgotten how much excitement he brought to Cubs fans that year. Beyond that what a trip to see all the forgotten 70s stadiums/uniforms etc. What a time capsule this is!
I was a HUGE fan during that season. During a broadcast in Pittsburgh, Jack Brickhouse announced the Cubs would be flying back that evening on Allegheny Airlines and wouldn't it be nice for their fans to give them a warm welcome home. Well, my dear mother drove 12yo me to O'Hare, dropped me at departures, and I ran down to the gate. There was already a huge crowd but I somehow got right next to the walkway where passengers would disembark into the terminal. Out they came past me only a couple of feet away! Ivan DeJesus, Rick Reuschel, Jerry Martin, DAVE KINGMAN(!!!), Ron Cey. There were so many people rushing in to greet them the line quit moving. Stopped right in front of me was Bill Buckner. Wow!! A kid standing next to me managed to shove a piece of paper and a pen at him but I was in frozen awe, speechless. Buckner signed his name, shoved it back to the kid, then shuffled along. After the whole team had all debarked I walked back to where my mom dropped me off. She had been circling 'departures' for 20mins watching for her boy to show up. Soon the Caprice Classic wagon appeared, I jumped in and we drove home...Great memory.
I can still remember watching his 30th home run that season. I was 12 years old. I was sitting on the couch watching the game on WGN Channel 9. When he hit that game winner I remember jumping up with so much excitement that the ice in my drink cup went flying in the air.
I was 14 at the time and remembered this particular game, Kingman hit that one one-handed and ticked off the Reds Tom Humes(According to his anguished quotes in the Suntimes paper when I read it the next day)who served up that homer which Won the game!
I'll say this, this dude had as much raw, natural power as anyone I've ever seen. Damn near every one of his Wrigley HR's were on to Waveland. Who does that? No one else since, that's for sure.
Dave Kingman, great excitement everytime he step to the plate, he was a showman in every sense of the word, remember the day he hit 3 homeruns as a met at dodger stadium yrs ago...... classic Kong.
Me too, I watched that game on wor9 he hit 3 bombs against the dodgers in dodger stadium, when it was a pitchers ball park, wish I had a beta Max and taped that game and others back then.
Man! Awesome video. Started watching the Cubs in ‘77( Herman Franks era). “King Kong” Kingman was a beast and my favorite player. Loved Ivan DeJesus and Barry Foote too, but when Kingman came up and knocked them out onto Waveland Avenue, pure joy. Thank you for posting this. Love the old memories of old school players and the old school ball parks and uniforms. Good times when life was good. Thanks once again for these memories.
That was awesome. I loved the cubs and Kingman back in those days. When ball players played for the love of the game... Well most of them. I remember coming home from school and racing home to catch the end of the game. One of my favorite games was when the Cubs beat the Reds 16-15 and there were some huge names on that Reds team. Good time. Thanks for sharing that video
Lol yeah, all players nowadays don’t love the game at all! I miss the good old days when we could watch 16-15 games where the pitchers clearly loved the game enough to give up 31 runs. You’re absolutely right grandpa
@@JKLeScH777 Same with Hollywood, the music industry and virtually every other form of mainstream entertainment. NFL and NBA are no better. Old 70’s games were simply more dynamic and exciting, for reasons you already stated.
If Big Dave played his entire career in Wrigley, he would probably have hit 800 Home Runs. 45 years later The Sky King still exciting to watch hit those tape measure shots.
I grew up on this dude, hes why I became at Cub fan. At the age of 10; the cubs will shine in '79 lol..Love all the hall of famers in this vid. Old school.
Wow thanks for putting King Kong's great 1979 season together! It was awesome! I was at the 23-22 Phillies& Cubs game. Billy Buck was my favorite Cub, but Kingman is right behind him!
As far as a pure home run hitter, it's hard top King Kong Kingman. His body turn and leverage were incredible. Kingman & Buckner were my favorites as a kid, and remain two of the most under-appreciated Cubs of all-time.
Mickey Mantel won the triple crown in 1956, but also was a crusher when it came to home runs. He hit ten home runs OVER 500 FEET. A switch hitter, he hit four of them right handed, six left handed. Also came closest to hitting a ball out of Yankee Stadium twice, with shots that bounced off the very top of the facade of the upper third decks. He hit one right handed and one left handed He hit a ball out of the stadium in Detroit and across the street; measured at over 600 feet. Three time MVP, Hall of Fame. Injured his knee his first game in the majors and played his entire career lame. “On two legs, Mickey Mantle would have been the greatest ballplayer who ever lived,” said Hall of Famer Nellie Fox. Another era, but worth checking out.
Dave Kingman is the best Cub and home run hitter ever...I am a huge fan, he has always been gracious the times I've met to talk with him, autographs, etc. He is the best!!! I can watch his home run videos over and over, it is always thrilling!!
So very entitled to your opinion, but to say hes the greatest Cub and homerun hitter in Chicago, might have caused a riot 30 years ago lol. No love for Ernie Banks?
absolutely my favorite ballplayer to watch get up at the plate and hack away. It was the single most exciting at-bat in baseball as far as I was concerned. There was always a chance he would pop one up to the third baseman that would go up like a tenth of a mile in the sky. This type of pop-out was exciting and very compelling to me. He was so entertaining. I miss watching him...great that this stuff is available on youtube!!!!!
Dave Kingman was one of the very few players in MLB history who could change the behavior of the fans as follows; 1.If you were at the game, you would wait to get your beer or hit the bathroom if Kingman was at bat 2. If you were at home watching the game you would wait to go to the fridge or answer the phone if Kingman was at bat 3. If you were in your car listening on the radio and you got to your location and Kingman was at bat you would wait in the car (even if it was hot out).
That one he hit out of Wrigley in '79 against the Phils in the 23-22 game, actually hit the front porch of the FIFTH house, not the 3rd. Watch the replay. There are 3 houses, then an empty lot is the 4th, then the porch he hit is the 5th house. No matter, many have considered that to be the longest HR in MLB history.
Thank you for posting this video!! '79 Cubs are my all time favorite team from any sport. Kingman was the man that season. Hearing Brickhouse, Lloyd, Boudreau, Milo Hamilton, seeing the lo-def screen graphics, Andy Frain ushers in the stands... sure brings back the memories, man. Regardless of the standings it was a great year to be a Cubs fan...
I’m here after learning of Tommy Lasorda passing and his Dave Kingman rant. Man i forgot how much of a beast he was back in the day. Awesome video and some great old school calls from the announcers. Took me back to better times
There was nothing like watching Kingman in those days. I would come home from school and watch the Cubs because in NY we had WGN on our cable service. One year he was briefly on the Yankees and in Boston he hit a HR over the screen into the light tower at Fenway. There was nothing like Kingman to raise the excitement
Living in Chicago o the 70 s Kingman was the man my favorite player his 0/4 was more exciting than most 3/4 what a joy to watch thank me Kingman for the memories
He did one thing well - hit (many enormous) home runs. He pissed a lot of people off too (no HOF). 2 homers I remember best 1) Moonshot 3rd home run over everything during the 23-22 game 2) A one-handed homer he hit literally with his left wrist into the basket at Wrigley on a pitch well outside (no idea what game that was).
Not a HOFer, but to feed off what you said about pissing people off, he must have, because he finished 11th in MVP voting this year while leading the league in HR, slugging, OPS, and driving in 115. He even hit damn near 300, which was alien in those days for power hitters. Eleventh for MVP? Boggles my mind.
My 2nd favorite Non-Phillies player growing up (just behind George Forster). What a monster Kingman was. The name to a child was freightening then the crushing homeruns. We are lucky to have witnessed it. Him and Schmidt would put on a show.
This is terrific, thanks so much for posting it. In 1979, Kingman was unreal...it wasn't the ballpark per se, he was hitting balls that would have gone out anywhere. I'm not sure if he was just comfortable in Chicago (his best years, also his prime age) - or whether the injuries that seemed to follow him were manageable that year. He did butcher some balls in LF...I think he was around 950 or 960, I seem to recall. But it was a HOF year, for a guy that had a really mixed career given all the homers. You can still witness the athleticism that allowed him to pitch and play third base earlier, as he doesn't bother with a HR trot.
The wrap on Kingman was low batting average, low fielding percentage, struck out A TON (at that time) and seemed to wear out his welcome everywhere he played (i.e. being traded or released after three seasons). Two stats that told me everything I needed to know about Kingman were.. 1. He struck out once every 3.4 at bats with the Mets in 1981. By contrast, Bill Buckner (his former Cub teammate) struck out just 16 times in 421 at bats that season. 2. In 1985, the A's were 13-16 in games he homered. Kingman hit 30 homers and the A's were 77-84 that year.
And you are so wrong about Kingman proof is today's power hitters strikeout a lot more he never struck out 200 times in a season and despite the bull shit you are trying to sell with his power in today's game Kingman is a huge money player as a dh and and by the there was no player who didn't do steroids who had the power of Dave Kingman... Wake up and smell the coffee despite your Bull shit comments about a guy that brought so much excitement to the game understand 1 thing POWER is MONEY and that sums up Kingman not your Bull shit!
as a diehard METS fan, i was his biggest fan. he brought excitement everytime he came to the plate. RALPH KINER (rip) always gave his signiture hr call ""IT IS GONE GOOD BYE'' Definitly some of my favorite childhood memories!!!!!
Played with Dave briefly in the Senior Professional League in West Palm Beach Florida as Dick Williams was the Manager. Dave could still hit it long and high even in 1989. I only I would have taken your advice to buy those Condo's in Telluride, Colorado. You said they would appreciate fast and they sure did... from $150,000 to close to a million. Where ever you are Dave hope you are well.
Several of those are in the 450 foot-plus range. See that one he hit to center with one hand? Maybe the longest ball hitter of all-time. That one against Philly, I went on Google Earth and measures it. The third house is 508 feet away.
It actually hit the front porch of the 4th house on the 5th lot up Kenmore. Lou changed his call on the replay. "beyond the white house" Where the guy comes out onto - that's who's porch he hit.
Loved Kong. Remember as a kid watching him crush them all the time. Even now it's impressive. Bad ass. Wish he'd make an appearance at Wrigley but maybe he's glad he was traded to a better team. He knocked a ton onto Waveland.
DAVE KINGMAN - He was a Homerun Hitting Beast ! Lousy average... But still was a FORCE to be reckoned with... I wish he would have played longer... Either way, much respect to Dave Kingman, A Homer Hitting Beast !... :) PS - Thank you for posting this video...
He could have and would have "played longer" but Major League Baseball (collusion among owners) and no rallying cry in support from Kingman despised media resulted in "Kong" being denied a nice 2 year contract as capper to his career. Meanwhile, more "respected" (Read: they played the powers -that- be more adroitly) players like Reggie Jackson and Keith Hernandez were handed contracts when they could no longer produce. Kingman was 38 yrs old and like many power hitters could have called it quits at 40 . His last 2 years could have been sandwiched between 2 up and coming monsters, future "Bash Bros", Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco. MLB did not want Kingman as a member of the '500 Homerun Club' He wound up with , I believe, 448 He could have crawled to the finish line with 2 anemic outputs had he kissed some owner ass toward the end or cultivated friendlier relations with media types to garner support. It would be a kick to see the lifetime ".200" hitter's sitting along such legends like Ted Williams
97 runs, 48 HR, 115 RBI, .288 BA. Led the league in homeruns, slugging, and OPS, and was ELEVENTH in the MVP voting that year? Lol what did the ten guys voted ahead of Kingman for MVP do that year? Walk on water? Eleventh seems awfully high for those numbers. Id be willing to bet there has never been a player that led the league in all those categories that has finished eleventh. Probably nobody that wasnt in top five. Some people in the press must have hated Dave Kingman, because thats a monster year in ANY era.
He didn’t show up for the 1979 All Star Game in the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington either. Don’t know if that was his choice not to go or what, but from what I read he wasn’t well liked.
everyone talks about the "Sandberg game". what about the "Kingman game" vs the Phillies. 23-22 score. I watched it on TV. this guy is a strange animal. he had a really great year in 1979 as if to just prove he could.
If I recall, DK is the only player in MLB history to play for all four divisions in one season (back in the day, of course). I won't Google this info. Memories mean more!
Kong had 32hrs at the all star break and when he got hurt I was so pissed off it cost him the hr title because he would have crushed Everyone and the play he got hurt on diving for the ball was for no good reason!!
Had he played in the American League his whole career, as a DH he would have had more at bats, played more years, and would have had at least an additional 75 to 100 HRs: HALL OF FAMER...
He hit em with the Giants, Mets, Cubs and every where he played. A's let him go after he hit 35 in '86. '79 was his best year. Can't believe he never had season with 50.
You're so right on Cardawg10,he was legit,he was a monster slugger,the politicly correct analytics so called observers today with their launch angles bullshit and exit velo praise the over paid bums of today's pathetic game,the steroid phonies who bat 190 n hit 38 HR's n get paid 20 million,they knock n degrade kingman who struck fear into the best pitchers, and he played against some of the greatest of all time, he never batted under 200, they forget the year he hit in the 280's n smashed 48 hr's, if he played today he no doubt hit 40 consistently and still not hit under 200. You see these phonies today hitting opposite field check swing hr's in the bandbox ballparks today, he hit bombs from brute strength. He was a pleasure to watch, not like the watered down slop today, PERIOD! His last 3 years in Oak he averaged 33 hr's 101 rbi's with 239 average at age 38, he was black balled after his 3rd season with Oak,with no signs of slowing down,he was getting better,but the baseball politicly correct beaurecrats didn't want him to reach 500 career homers,he was well on his way with 442 and at least 3 more seasons left, it was criminal what they did to him, PERIOD!
@Trigger Warning I agree with everything said,best part about it,he was hitting for a decent average later in his career,250-260 n wasn't close to being done when they blackballed him,yeah,he was very productive n always very much feared
Complete HR specialist. He should have played more in the AL and been a DH. Would have made the HOF. He was sort of enigma who was talented and fun to watch, but viewed of being a negative force who got traded a lot. Sort of like ‘Zach’ in an Officer and a Gentleman. Something about him turned people somewhat off, but he had great talent and was fun to watch. Something always felt like it was missing with him, but you wonder if he got a bad wrap. If he had a personality more like Gary Carter - 1st Ballot HOFer, even with the same stats.
Kong had so much raw power, but unless the ball hit his bat, you usually got a wiff. He never got cheated on his hacks. Too bad he couldn't have learned to hit a little better. The Mets had him and George Foster in the early 80's on some bad teams, a lot of HR's and K's. The Cubs announcers, if that was 6 years later It would have been "and fans, you know, Everytime a Cubbie hits a Homerun, Hey, Hey Dave Kingman, this Buds for you".
KIngman had eye popping numbers (including a decent batting average) in Chicago his home town for about two plus years when he was most happy. Of course, the wheel fell off the wagon in the middle of the third season. Too bad he couldn't chill out and replicate those numbers over more years.
I've always said that kingman was at the very least, the best pure distance hitter. played most of his career in poor hitters parks.. did very well with the cubs.. ppl should check his sick career numbers in fenway.. like 13 hr in 67 ab or something just as crazy
@@DeViLzzz2006 13 hr in 76 at bats. i just checked... your numbers are in games vs the red sox, which include games played in anneheim, yankee stadium, and oakland.
The French commentators were always excited when Kingman was at the plate. They always marveled at his homeruns, even if it was against the Expos. He was the only player to hit the rim of the stadium roof (a foul ball). The French commentators reminded us of that. I've seen many Kingman homeruns on youtube. Usually just arms. This time the whole body.
Kingman hit a bunch of HRs against Tommy Lasorda’s Dodgers in 1978 which was evident in that interview where he made a bunch of swear bombs. Though I think you’ve already seen it.
As a kid in Oakland in '86 I had the pleasure of watching him and Canseco blasting BP and in game homers. At 8 years old I couldn't believe my eyes. Towering shots. He was lanky I remember. Traded legs with a chicken and lost his ass in the trade!
Does anyone out there have the video of Kingman's 2 HR's vs the Mets at Wrigley from '79 where Dave's second of the game was a walk-off? Heity Cruz hit a granny in this one too but I need to see this incredible walk-off by the great Kingman!
Played for Giants, Mets, Cubs, Angels, Padres, Athletics. One of three players with 400+ career HRs and not in the HOF. Darrell Evans and Fred McGriff are the other two.
and 24 at bats with the yankees at the end of 77. played for 4 teams that year. youre skipping the various steroid era examples of 400 hr club members but including fred mcgriff like you somehow know he's innocent? lots of ramirez,sosa,mcgwire , bonds etc.. palmiero.. why include mcgriff ? anyway evans could play defense and draw a lot of walks. kingman isnt a hofer.
anyone know why he quit before reaching 500 Home Runs? Could've been a lethal DH for 2 or more years.... I lost track of his career after his stints with the Mets at Shea....he retired after a 35 HRs for the '86 A's....
The only offer he got (that i knew of) in '87 was a minor league contract with the Giants. He retired after 20 games. As an A's fan it disgusted me that they didn't want to re-sign him.
and Kingman screwed himself by sending a live gift wrapped rat to a female announcer And reporter because He said females had no right reporting baseball
Don't believe the bull shit that he was washed up he didn't want to play in the minors and if resigned he would have easily hit 500 hrs before he retired
I'd forgotten how much excitement he brought to Cubs fans that year. Beyond that what a trip to see all the forgotten 70s stadiums/uniforms etc. What a time capsule this is!
Kingman took that wide stance and then promptly cranked it over the fence. Back in those days, Bill Buckner was a double hitting machine.
I was a HUGE fan during that season. During a broadcast in Pittsburgh, Jack Brickhouse announced the Cubs would be flying back that evening on Allegheny Airlines and wouldn't it be nice for their fans to give them a warm welcome home. Well, my dear mother drove 12yo me to O'Hare, dropped me at departures, and I ran down to the gate. There was already a huge crowd but I somehow got right next to the walkway where passengers would disembark into the terminal. Out they came past me only a couple of feet away! Ivan DeJesus, Rick Reuschel, Jerry Martin, DAVE KINGMAN(!!!), Ron Cey. There were so many people rushing in to greet them the line quit moving. Stopped right in front of me was Bill Buckner. Wow!! A kid standing next to me managed to shove a piece of paper and a pen at him but I was in frozen awe, speechless. Buckner signed his name, shoved it back to the kid, then shuffled along. After the whole team had all debarked I walked back to where my mom dropped me off. She had been circling 'departures' for 20mins watching for her boy to show up. Soon the Caprice Classic wagon appeared, I jumped in and we drove home...Great memory.
He hits the ball out of every park, he was my favorite player on the mets
I can still remember watching his 30th home run that season. I was 12 years old. I was sitting on the couch watching the game on WGN Channel 9. When he hit that game winner I remember jumping up with so much excitement that the ice in my drink cup went flying in the air.
I was 14 at the time and remembered this particular game, Kingman hit that one one-handed and ticked off the Reds Tom Humes(According to his anguished quotes in the Suntimes paper when I read it the next day)who served up that homer which Won the game!
I'll say this, this dude had as much raw, natural power as anyone I've ever seen. Damn near every one of his Wrigley HR's were on to Waveland. Who does that? No one else since, that's for sure.
Dave Kingman, great excitement everytime he step to the plate, he was a showman in every sense of the word, remember the day he hit 3 homeruns as a met at dodger stadium yrs ago...... classic Kong.
Me too, I watched that game on wor9 he hit 3 bombs against the dodgers in dodger stadium, when it was a pitchers ball park, wish I had a beta Max and taped that game and others back then.
Kingman was on of my favorite Mets players, and he didn't care for that 'Kong' nickname. Just sayin'. Lol
Man! Awesome video. Started watching the Cubs in ‘77( Herman Franks era). “King Kong” Kingman was a beast and my favorite player. Loved Ivan DeJesus and Barry Foote too, but when Kingman came up and knocked them out onto Waveland Avenue, pure joy. Thank you for posting this. Love the old memories of old school players and the old school ball parks and uniforms. Good times when life was good. Thanks once again for these memories.
Back when America was great
That was awesome. I loved the cubs and Kingman back in those days. When ball players played for the love of the game... Well most of them. I remember coming home from school and racing home to catch the end of the game. One of my favorite games was when the Cubs beat the Reds 16-15 and there were some huge names on that Reds team. Good time. Thanks for sharing that video
Lol yeah, all players nowadays don’t love the game at all! I miss the good old days when we could watch 16-15 games where the pitchers clearly loved the game enough to give up 31 runs. You’re absolutely right grandpa
@@JKLeScH777 Same with Hollywood, the music industry and virtually every other form of mainstream entertainment.
NFL and NBA are no better. Old 70’s games were simply more dynamic and exciting, for reasons you already stated.
I think I might play the 1979 season Cubs in ootp24
He absolutely killed it that season. It's too bad he didn't spend his whole career in Chicago.
He was having a similar year in 1980 before he got hurt and was dealt back to the Mets.
transitny 48 home runs.....the Astros hit 49
If Big Dave played his entire career in Wrigley, he would probably have hit 800 Home Runs. 45 years later The Sky King still exciting to watch hit those tape measure shots.
I grew up on this dude, hes why I became at Cub fan. At the age of 10; the cubs will shine in '79 lol..Love all the hall of famers in this vid. Old school.
I grew up on this dude, hes why I became at Cub fan. At the age of 10.....
Ditto
When I was 4..my favorite word was "KONG"..
Both him and Billy Buck were my first fav Cubs.
48HRs back then, while missing 17 games? Monster
Wow thanks for putting King Kong's great 1979 season together! It was awesome! I was at the 23-22 Phillies& Cubs game. Billy Buck was my favorite Cub, but Kingman is right behind him!
Youre so lucky. Legendary game.
As far as a pure home run hitter, it's hard top King Kong Kingman. His body turn and leverage were incredible. Kingman & Buckner were my favorites as a kid, and remain two of the most under-appreciated Cubs of all-time.
Mickey Mantel won the triple crown in 1956, but also was a crusher when it came to home runs. He hit ten home runs OVER 500 FEET. A switch hitter, he hit four of them right handed, six left handed. Also came closest to hitting a ball out of Yankee Stadium twice, with shots that bounced off the very top of the facade of the upper third decks. He hit one right handed and one left handed He hit a ball out of the stadium in Detroit and across the street; measured at over 600 feet. Three time MVP, Hall of Fame. Injured his knee his first game in the majors and played his entire career lame. “On two legs, Mickey Mantle would have been the greatest ballplayer who ever lived,” said Hall of Famer Nellie Fox. Another era, but worth checking out.
Dave Kingman is the best Cub and home run hitter ever...I am a huge fan, he has always been gracious the times I've met to talk with him, autographs, etc. He is the best!!! I can watch his home run videos over and over, it is always thrilling!!
So very entitled to your opinion, but to say hes the greatest Cub and homerun hitter in Chicago, might have caused a riot 30 years ago lol.
No love for Ernie Banks?
absolutely my favorite ballplayer to watch get up at the plate and hack away. It was the single most exciting at-bat in baseball as far as I was concerned. There was always a chance he would pop one up to the third baseman that would go up like a tenth of a mile in the sky. This type of pop-out was exciting and very compelling to me. He was so entertaining. I miss watching him...great that this stuff is available on youtube!!!!!
Most underrated power hitter ever, no steroids no juiced balls
No doubt about it. Can't watch these days.
I've been saying that same thing for 40 yrs now.
Absolutely
Dave Kingman was one of the very few players in MLB history who could change the behavior of the fans as follows;
1.If you were at the game, you would wait to get your beer or hit the bathroom if Kingman was at bat
2. If you were at home watching the game you would wait to go to the fridge or answer the phone if Kingman was at bat
3. If you were in your car listening on the radio and you got to your location and Kingman was at bat you would wait in the car (even if it was hot out).
That one he hit out of Wrigley in '79 against the Phils in the 23-22 game, actually hit the front porch of the FIFTH house, not the 3rd. Watch the replay. There are 3 houses, then an empty lot is the 4th, then the porch he hit is the 5th house. No matter, many have considered that to be the longest HR in MLB history.
575-580 ft.
Thank you for posting this video!! '79 Cubs are my all time favorite team from any sport. Kingman was the man that season. Hearing Brickhouse, Lloyd, Boudreau, Milo Hamilton, seeing the lo-def screen graphics, Andy Frain ushers in the stands... sure brings back the memories, man. Regardless of the standings it was a great year to be a Cubs fan...
I remember watching Kingman hit a check swing homer. I am a Met fan so I believe he was a Met at the time. Not sure if any other player has done that.
As a long time suffering Cub fan I loved watching Kingman. Between strikeouts his monster home runs made for great entertainment.
Also, thank you a ton for painstakingly putting together this great compilation. It's guys like you that make RUclips so fun.
My favorite player as a kid in the 70s
I’m here after learning of Tommy Lasorda passing and his Dave Kingman rant. Man i forgot how much of a beast he was back in the day. Awesome video and some great old school calls from the announcers. Took me back to better times
Well said
Lou Boudreau, Vince Lloyd &
Jack Brickhouse on WGN-TV.
There was nothing like watching Kingman in those days. I would come home from school and watch the Cubs because in NY we had WGN on our cable service. One year he was briefly on the Yankees and in Boston he hit a HR over the screen into the light tower at Fenway. There was nothing like Kingman to raise the excitement
"Bacccck backkkkk backkkkk....HEYYYYYYYYY".....man I could listen to The legendary JACK BRICKHOUSE all day...
Living in Chicago o the 70 s Kingman was the man my favorite player his 0/4 was more exciting than most 3/4 what a joy to watch thank me Kingman for the memories
He did one thing well - hit (many enormous) home runs. He pissed a lot of people off too (no HOF). 2 homers I remember best 1) Moonshot 3rd home run over everything during the 23-22 game 2) A one-handed homer he hit literally with his left wrist into the basket at Wrigley on a pitch well outside (no idea what game that was).
Not a HOFer, but to feed off what you said about pissing people off, he must have, because he finished 11th in MVP voting this year while leading the league in HR, slugging, OPS, and driving in 115. He even hit damn near 300, which was alien in those days for power hitters.
Eleventh for MVP? Boggles my mind.
My 2nd favorite Non-Phillies player growing up (just behind George Forster). What a monster Kingman was. The name to a child was freightening then the crushing homeruns. We are lucky to have witnessed it. Him and Schmidt would put on a show.
This is terrific, thanks so much for posting it. In 1979, Kingman was unreal...it wasn't the ballpark per se, he was hitting balls that would have gone out anywhere. I'm not sure if he was just comfortable in Chicago (his best years, also his prime age) - or whether the injuries that seemed to follow him were manageable that year. He did butcher some balls in LF...I think he was around 950 or 960, I seem to recall. But it was a HOF year, for a guy that had a really mixed career given all the homers. You can still witness the athleticism that allowed him to pitch and play third base earlier, as he doesn't bother with a HR trot.
The wrap on Kingman was low batting average, low fielding percentage, struck out A TON (at that time) and seemed to wear out his welcome everywhere he played (i.e. being traded or released after three seasons).
Two stats that told me everything I needed to know about Kingman were..
1. He struck out once every 3.4 at bats with the Mets in 1981. By contrast, Bill Buckner (his former Cub teammate) struck out just 16 times in 421 at bats that season.
2. In 1985, the A's were 13-16 in games he homered. Kingman hit 30 homers and the A's were 77-84 that year.
And you are so wrong about Kingman proof is today's power hitters strikeout a lot more he never struck out 200 times in a season and despite the bull shit you are trying to sell with his power in today's game Kingman is a huge money player as a dh and and by the there was no player who didn't do steroids who had the power of Dave Kingman...
Wake up and smell the coffee despite your
Bull shit comments about a guy that brought so much excitement to the
game understand 1
thing POWER is MONEY
and that sums up
Kingman not your
Bull shit!
13:10 Did he really fall down after swinging. And crushed it into the upper deck!?!?! My god! I’ve never seen anyone swing that hard and that fast.
How about that outside pitch against Mets and he hits it out unbelievable
Loved watching him absolutely crush the ball!! Especially when he hit them out of Wrigley!!
as a diehard METS fan, i was his biggest fan. he brought excitement everytime he came to the plate. RALPH KINER (rip) always gave his signiture hr call ""IT IS GONE GOOD BYE'' Definitly some of my favorite childhood memories!!!!!
no leg kick. no hip action. no steroids.. just a lot of torque in a long swing like that.
The core is the key of hitting those blasts.
at 13:08 never seen that before......amazing. a guy hitting a homerun as he's falling down.
And nearly in the upper deck!!! Sickening!!!
Seeing these sweet '79 uniforms reminds me how lucky I was to be a kid in those times
Dave told me on a couple of occasions that he didn't like the "blue pajama" road uniforms as he called them.
Ohhhhhhh VCRs. How I do not miss you one bit…
Keeps the nostalgia alive for older people who remember these old 70’s clips.
Played with Dave briefly in the Senior Professional League in West Palm Beach Florida as Dick Williams was the Manager. Dave could still hit it long and high even in 1989. I only I would have taken your advice to buy those Condo's in Telluride, Colorado. You said they would appreciate fast and they sure did... from $150,000 to close to a million. Where ever you are Dave hope
you are well.
Several of those are in the 450 foot-plus range. See that one he hit to center with one hand? Maybe the longest ball hitter of all-time. That one against Philly, I went on Google Earth and measures it. The third house is 508 feet away.
It actually hit the front porch of the 4th house on the 5th lot up Kenmore. Lou changed his call on the replay. "beyond the white house" Where the guy comes out onto - that's who's porch he hit.
Luzinski had sick power like this man as well.
Aaarrgh! Those late 70s travel unis were pure gack! So glad when they disappeared into oblivion. Cheers....
Great vid, thanks. I have to add that his balls were out of the park in a second. I'm still in awe!
Loved Kong. Remember as a kid watching him crush them all the time. Even now it's impressive. Bad ass. Wish he'd make an appearance at Wrigley but maybe he's glad he was traded to a better team.
He knocked a ton onto Waveland.
Sky King as he was known in my neighborhood, Kingman was basically every N.Y. Mets fan favorite player in 1975 and '76
DAVE KINGMAN - He was a Homerun Hitting Beast ! Lousy average... But still was a FORCE to be reckoned with... I wish he would have played longer... Either way, much respect to Dave Kingman, A Homer Hitting Beast !... :) PS - Thank you for posting this video...
John Robert Cruz he hit 288 in 1979.
He could have and would have "played longer" but Major League Baseball (collusion among owners) and no rallying cry in support from Kingman despised media resulted in "Kong" being denied a nice 2 year contract as capper to his career.
Meanwhile, more "respected" (Read: they played the powers -that- be more adroitly) players like Reggie Jackson and Keith Hernandez were handed contracts when they could no longer produce.
Kingman was 38 yrs old and like many power hitters could have called it quits at 40 .
His last 2 years could have been sandwiched between 2 up and coming monsters, future "Bash Bros", Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco.
MLB did not want Kingman as a member of the '500 Homerun Club'
He wound up with , I believe, 448
He could have crawled to the finish line with 2 anemic outputs had he kissed some owner ass toward the end or cultivated friendlier relations with media types to garner support.
It would be a kick to see the lifetime ".200" hitter's sitting along such legends like Ted Williams
your right...plus he was steroid free!!!
@@nicholasgiordano9155 one of the last pure players.
This was the year I became a Cub fan. We got WGN in southern Indiana and I was hooked.
I think that was Lou Boudreau making the call on the first home run on WGN.
Wonder how many more HR's Kingman might have hit at Wrigley if they had lights given how the ball can carry in the summer nights at Wrigley?
Among my favorite sluggers in Baseball which he simply knew how to hot long home runs.
"King Kong" was the perfect nickname for him. So many memories.
He wasn't called King Kong. Just "Kong"!
🙏
97 runs, 48 HR, 115 RBI, .288 BA. Led the league in homeruns, slugging, and OPS, and was ELEVENTH in the MVP voting that year?
Lol what did the ten guys voted ahead of Kingman for MVP do that year? Walk on water? Eleventh seems awfully high for those numbers. Id be willing to bet there has never been a player that led the league in all those categories that has finished eleventh. Probably nobody that wasnt in top five.
Some people in the press must have hated Dave Kingman, because thats a monster year in ANY era.
He didn’t show up for the 1979 All Star Game in the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington either. Don’t know if that was his choice not to go or what, but from what I read he wasn’t well liked.
Some of Kingman's swings and misses (20:40) were almost as impressive as his home runs!
That's the way a man swings.
Lmao.he swung as hard as he could.he was my idol.
Agree!!
everyone talks about the "Sandberg game". what about the "Kingman game" vs the Phillies. 23-22 score. I watched it on TV. this guy is a strange animal. he had a really great year in 1979 as if to just prove he could.
grew up in nyc loved him on the mets!!!
Me too! Kingman and Lee Mazzilli were my favorite players
If I recall, DK is the only player in MLB history to play for all four divisions in one season (back in the day, of course). I won't Google this info. Memories mean more!
Love he’s an Oregonian.🤘🏽
My fav ballplayer of all time! Went to many games at Wrigley this season. Unbelievable power Kong had!
I watched him as a kid and he blasted monster shots all the time at Wrigley... What fun he was to watch!
That catch by Matthews is absurd.
I remember well the home run race between he and Mike Schmidt that season. I’ve thought it odd that Kong did not make the All-Star Game that season.
He made the All-Star team, but did not attend because of an injury.
Kong had 32hrs at the all star break and when he got hurt I was so pissed off it cost him the hr title because he would have crushed
Everyone and the play he got hurt on diving for the ball was for no good reason!!
He was so consistent. He either hit it 500 feet or he struck out.
This guy grew up in Mount Prospect and Luzinski also grew up in chicago area.......Hey Hey!
Had he played in the American League his whole career, as a DH he would have had more at bats, played more years, and would have had at least an additional 75 to 100 HRs: HALL OF FAMER...
Dave Kingman, my favorite Cub of all time.
Mine to ?
!
Reggie once said, "Nobody hits them further than me...except him..."
7:09 Kingman's longest homerun (530 Ft, 5th longest MLB homerun)
I've watched this at least 50 times, I was there when he the grand slam against the Expos which was my 11th birthday, I'll always love him for that
Im a big kingman fan from new york. That same grand slam was on my 10th birthday. April 20.
The Cubs will shine in 1979. Or 2029.
He hit em with the Giants, Mets, Cubs and every where he played. A's let him go after he hit 35 in '86. '79 was his best year. Can't believe he never had season with 50.
easy to believe because he never had the at-bats. he could have hit 55-60 sure, but 79 was the only year he had 500 abs.
You're so right on Cardawg10,he was legit,he was a monster slugger,the politicly correct analytics so called observers today with their launch angles bullshit and exit velo praise the over paid bums of today's pathetic game,the steroid phonies who bat 190 n hit 38 HR's n get paid 20 million,they knock n degrade kingman who struck fear into the best pitchers, and he played against some of the greatest of all time, he never batted under 200, they forget the year he hit in the 280's n smashed 48 hr's, if he played today he no doubt hit 40 consistently and still not hit under 200. You see these phonies today hitting opposite field check swing hr's in the bandbox ballparks today, he hit bombs from brute strength. He was a pleasure to watch, not like the watered down slop today, PERIOD! His last 3 years in Oak he averaged 33 hr's 101 rbi's with 239 average at age 38, he was black balled after his 3rd season with Oak,with no signs of slowing down,he was getting better,but the baseball politicly correct beaurecrats didn't want him to reach 500 career homers,he was well on his way with 442 and at least 3 more seasons left, it was criminal what they did to him, PERIOD!
@Trigger Warning I agree with everything said,best part about it,he was hitting for a decent average later in his career,250-260 n wasn't close to being done when they blackballed him,yeah,he was very productive n always very much feared
Agree man, those season were solid, Alonzo is only a little better but better fielder, Kong DH perfect
Kingman was a MONSTER!
Complete HR specialist. He should have played more in the AL and been a DH. Would have made the HOF. He was sort of enigma who was talented and fun to watch, but viewed of being a negative force who got traded a lot. Sort of like ‘Zach’ in an Officer and a Gentleman. Something about him turned people somewhat off, but he had great talent and was fun to watch. Something always felt like it was missing with him, but you wonder if he got a bad wrap. If he had a personality more like Gary Carter - 1st Ballot HOFer, even with the same stats.
Kong had so much raw power, but unless the ball hit his bat, you usually got a wiff. He never got cheated on his hacks. Too bad he couldn't have learned to hit a little better. The Mets had him and George Foster in the early 80's on some bad teams, a lot of HR's and K's. The Cubs announcers, if that was 6 years later It would have been "and fans, you know, Everytime a Cubbie hits a Homerun, Hey, Hey Dave Kingman, this Buds for you".
KIngman had eye popping numbers (including a decent batting average) in Chicago his home town for about two plus years when he was most happy. Of course, the wheel fell off the wagon in the middle of the third season. Too bad he couldn't chill out and replicate those numbers over more years.
I've always said that kingman was at the very least, the best pure distance hitter. played most of his career in poor hitters parks.. did very well with the cubs.. ppl should check his sick career numbers in fenway.. like 13 hr in 67 ab or something just as crazy
16 HRs in 38 games (156 ABs ... .274 average)
@@DeViLzzz2006 13 hr in 76 at bats. i just checked... your numbers are in games vs the red sox, which include games played in anneheim, yankee stadium, and oakland.
@@DeViLzzz2006 so thats 3 hr in 80 ab vs the red sox in other parks.
The French commentators were always excited when Kingman was at the plate. They always marveled at his homeruns, even if it was against the Expos. He was the only player to hit the rim of the stadium roof (a foul ball). The French commentators reminded us of that. I've seen many Kingman homeruns on youtube. Usually just arms. This time the whole body.
Much thanks to the fans who taped and saved mlb games on vhs tapes!
Bad ass!!! Thanks for putting up
Thanks so much for posting this!! :)
He hit .288 that year his average was usually in the .220 area, easily his biggest year
And eleventh in the MVP voting. Absurd.
I wonder if anyone had done an analysis of that season why he did so well, I mean, almost a .290 average
No juice necessary!!!
I wonder what Tommy Lasorda would think of this.
Kingman hit a bunch of HRs against Tommy Lasorda’s Dodgers in 1978 which was evident in that interview where he made a bunch of swear bombs.
Though I think you’ve already seen it.
How can you ask a question like that?
Brings back memories.
is there a stat for broken windows?
King Kong was awesome!!!
I miss Vince and Lou.
Before steroids there was "King Kong Kingman"!🦍
That bat speed could hit anything out of the park, maybe even the hot dogs
As a kid in Oakland in '86 I had the pleasure of watching him and Canseco blasting BP and in game homers. At 8 years old I couldn't believe my eyes. Towering shots. He was lanky I remember. Traded legs with a chicken and lost his ass in the trade!
Does anyone out there have the video of Kingman's 2 HR's vs the Mets at Wrigley from '79 where Dave's second of the game was a walk-off? Heity Cruz hit a granny in this one too but I need to see this incredible walk-off by the great Kingman!
Dave Kingman looks good hitting homers even with the tracking off. What a guy.
This guy was like a guy on steroids without being on steroids. He inspired all those guys to do roids’. In essence, Kingman ruined baseball...lol
Played for Giants, Mets, Cubs, Angels, Padres, Athletics. One of three players with 400+ career HRs and not in the HOF. Darrell Evans and Fred McGriff are the other two.
and 24 at bats with the yankees at the end of 77. played for 4 teams that year. youre skipping the various steroid era examples of 400 hr club members but including fred mcgriff like you somehow know he's innocent? lots of ramirez,sosa,mcgwire , bonds etc.. palmiero.. why include mcgriff ? anyway evans could play defense and draw a lot of walks. kingman isnt a hofer.
Cubs Should have kept this Guy
sure but he was hurt in 2 of the 3 years he played there, and they considered him to be very expensive . 275k was a lot in 1979-80.
Loved this guy...belongs in HOF.
he might not have fielded well, but wasn't juiced either...
Ahhhh. The good old days!
Robbed by the Sarge at 5:10. Nice touch!!
I watched that live
The crowd in Montreal in the first clip sounds like a pandemic crowd, so quiet!
Great Hitter With a huge Strikezone. at 6' 6" tall
great stuff!
anyone know why he quit before reaching 500 Home Runs? Could've been a lethal DH for 2 or more years.... I lost track of his career after his stints with the Mets at Shea....he retired after a 35 HRs for the '86 A's....
The only offer he got (that i knew of) in '87 was a minor league contract with the Giants. He retired after 20 games. As an A's fan it disgusted me that they didn't want to re-sign him.
There was collusion against him by owners. Bad shit - he sued them and won I as I understand.
They didn't want him in the HOF with 500 HR
he got a 900,000 settlement in a collusion case. the owners agreed not to make him any offers and they got caught.
and Kingman screwed himself by sending a live gift wrapped rat to a female announcer
And reporter because
He said females had no right reporting baseball
Don't believe the bull shit that he was washed up he didn't want to play in the minors and if resigned he would have easily hit 500 hrs before he retired