Skip to main content

Timmy Busfield



 Timothy Busfield 

The Sacramento Smokeys, led by their infamous manager Larry Manuian, used to hold workouts on the classic old diamond at Stanford Park on 27th between B and C Streets. One day, a redhaired, slightly built actor wandered over from the nearby B Street Theater and asked Larry if he could throw batting practice. Larry looked him over, sized him up, and said no. But the red head persisted and told Larry that he had played semi-pro baseball since he was 16 years old. Finally, the venerable manager conceded and asked: “Do you have a cup, kid?” “Yeah, I have a cup, Skip”, answered Timothy Busfield and thus began his nine-year career as a starting pitcher for the Sacramento Smokeys.

Often facing batters 10 to 15 years his junior, and with a fast ball in the low 80’s, Timothy was able to change speeds and keep the youngsters off balance. Butch Metzger, the 1976 Rookie of the Year winner with the San Diego Padres, was often called to finish Timothy’s games. Butch could still throw gas and saved many of the 30 career victories that Timothy notched. Renfree Field became his second home in Sacramento. Butch remembers that many of the players were skeptical of their new pitcher, but he was soon accepted as one of the guys. The opposing teams could be rough as well and the bench jockeys had an assortment of catcalls reserved for the actor turned pitcher: “Hey Busfield, what’s your ERA, 30-Something?"Timothy usually had the last laugh and during his 50 career starts, he recorded over 200 strike outs, and at the age of 43 threw a complete game for the title championship in Burlingame. The Smokeys drew national attention. People Magazine came out and did a story on the team which would eventually lead to Timothy being cast in the movie ‘Little Big League.’ His previous baseball-themed movie ‘Field of Dreams’ did not require him to actually play baseball, but in “Little Big League” he had to learn how to hit lefthanded and play first base.

Tonight is dedicated to baseball, but we would be remis to not pay respect to Timothy’s incredible stage and film career, where the roles and the awards are too numerous to list. Here in Sacramento his legacy lives on, not just in baseball lore, but in his co-founding of the B-Street Theater, one of the capital city’s finest artistic institutions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stan Hack

 Stan Hack  Stan played third base for Sacramento High School, graduating in 1926. After gaining recognition for his stellar winter league play, Stan signed with the hometown Sacramento Solons in 1931 and went on to hit .351. Later that year his contract was sold to the Chicago Cubs, and he would call Wrigley Field home for the next 16 years. His Hall of Fame worthy career included 2,193 hits, 5 All-Star appearances, and a lifetime batting average of .301. With Stan manning the third sack, the Cubs appeared in 4 World Series contests where he would have a career postseason average of .348. He was also one of the finest defensive third basemen in history and he played the game with such unbridled joy that he was known as “Smilin’ Stan!”  Stan Hack finished his baseball career in the dugout, managing the Cubs and later the St. Louis Cardinals. Stan was just as popular in Chicago as he was in Sacramento. Upon retirement in 1947 he was voted the “All-time favorite C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Francis Frank (Mugs) McNamara Obituary, Sacramento Bee

 McNamara, Francis Thomas (Mugs) passed gently into the morning light of November 7, 2020, 43 days short of his 87th Birthday surrounded by his family. He was the youngest and the last surviving child of John and Josephine McNamara and was preceded in death by his beloved siblings Mary, James, Anne, and John.  The son of an Irish immigrant, Mugs was bread and buttered in the town he loved so well attending Christian Brothers High School, Sacramento City College, and Sacramento State University. He graduated from Chico State University in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in education followed by a master’s degree in the same subject.   He was a lifelong learner devoted to his books and the arts. He would spend 47 years as a teacher and principal beginning with the Sacramento City Unified School District, commencing with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, with indelible tenures at Joseph Bonham, Caleb Greenwood, John Bidwell, St. Ann’s, and St. Patrick’s. With quiet stre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Farewell to Francis Thomas "Mugs" McNamara

Francis Thomas "Mugs" McNamara December 20, 1933 - November 7, 2020 A Photographic Tribute The Five of Us Early Saturday morning, November 7, 2020, Francis Thomas McNamara took his final breath, in his own bed, surrounded by his family. Advanced Congestive Heart Failure may have won the battle, but he went out on his own terms, lucidly and methodically leaving instructions for his memorial service, lovingly sharing private farewells to each family member, listening to his classical music playlist of Debussy and Chopin, closing his eyes and then raising his right hand as if he was conducting his final concert. Young Mugs Born on December 20, 1933, he was the youngest of the five children of John and Josephine “Josie” McNamara and was the first to be delivered in a hospital. His mother was so smitten with her youngest that she called him her little “Muggings”, and old Irish term of endearment that was lost on his sentimentally challenged older brothers who shortened it to the m...
Post a Comment
Read more