Dick Heller
Articles by Dick Heller
HELLER: Nats get back in hunt for an amazin’ finish
There was cause for rejoicing, sort of, when the Nationals surrendered four runs in the first inning Sunday and lost to the Blue Jays. Published June 24, 2009
The Way It Was: Rhodes had pop in a pinch
It was, surely, the most ironic of baseball ironies. With two on in the eighth inning of a 2-2 opener in the 1954 World Series, Cleveland Indians slugger Vic Wertz belted a ball some 450 feet only to have New York Giants superstar Willie Mays make his famous back-to-the-field catch in deepest center field at the ancient Polo Grounds. Published June 21, 2009
Waitkus was a Natural
The Way It Was: The date was June 14, 1949. Published June 14, 2009
HELLER: ‘Rapid’ comparison easy for Strasburg
Suppose the Nationals do sign Stephen Strasburg for an amount somewhat less than the national debt. Suppose he makes his first appearance in an exhibition game and strikes out eight batters in three innings. Suppose in his first official major league start he fans 15. Suppose he betters that three weeks later with 16 K's. Published June 11, 2009
The Way It Was
A slippery start for D.C. hoops. Published June 8, 2009
DICK HELLER: A fitting honor arrives for broadcaster Wolff
This was in the long, long ago baseball-wise, meaning the early 1950s, and catcher Clint Courtney of the Washington Senators was having trouble throwing the ball back to his pitchers accurately. One day he moaned and groaned about it to Bob Wolff, a young Senators broadcaster who frequently worked out with the team. Published June 2, 2009
The Way It Was: ‘Professor’ could play, too
The Yankees and Red Sox were involved in a three-way struggle for the American League pennant on the last weekend of the 1948 season when Boston fans at Fenway Park began taunting New York icon Joe DiMaggio with a fraternal refrain. Published May 31, 2009
A legendary bad guess
The Way It Was: Mantle's tape-measure homer off Fischer. Published May 26, 2009
Dick Heller: SI.com takes aim at a pair of D.C. owners
Making a list ... Published May 20, 2009
The Way It Was
Smith's patriotic tune let Flyers soar. Published May 19, 2009
Farewell to old friend
Dick Heller: Humor, dedication made golf writer Slay a pro. Published May 11, 2009
Dick Heller: Bing right choice to get Detroit motoring again
There's no way of knowing whether former NBA star and new Detroit Mayor Dave Bing can solve the multiple problems besetting a city where the rates of unemployment, budget deficits and foreclosures are among the nation's highest. Published May 10, 2009
The Way It Was/Heller: Cy’s game does the talking
The game matched the American League's best pitchers, and a throng of 10,267 overflowed Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds for the occasion. Before it started, Philadelphia Athletics ace Rube Waddell engaged in what today would be called trash talk. Published May 3, 2009
HELLER: Campbell’s pressure won’t fade
Who's the unluckiest person on the District's perpetually pathetic sports scene? Published May 2, 2009
Bird’s brief, fanciful flight
The Way It Was: This Tiger was one strange duck. Published April 28, 2009
Dick Heller: Tide about to sweep Acta away
Chances are Ryan Zimmerman wasn't the happiest person at Nationals Park on Monday afternoon when the Nationals held a news conference to announce/reiterate the details of his new contract. Published April 22, 2009
The Way It Was: The night Lentz didn’t let up
On a cold winter's night in late February 1961, the lanky Mount Vernon High School senior snatched a basketball and shot it in a game against Fairfax County rival J.E.B. Stuart. Published April 19, 2009
HELLER: Johnson’s kin argue this call
Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, arguably the best pitcher in baseball history, fanned 3,509 batters while winning 417 games with the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927. Yet Johnson's grandson and biographer, Henry Thomas, is more concerned these days with another strikeout. Published April 18, 2009
Dick Heller: Nats still at a loss, but now it’s seven
Another Opening Day, so to speak. Ho hum. Published April 14, 2009
HELLER: ‘Thrilla’ documentary recounts rivalry’s brutality
The three fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took place more than three decades ago, but the memories linger. So, too, does the ugliness. Published April 11, 2009
