Those early days were tough and left their mark on Sheff. Fans everywhere hurled kind remarks at him – there were even life threats. But Gary stayed cool under fire, keeping a sneer on his face even in the best of times. He opened the door for a lot of guys.

I remember being at old Briggs Stadium for Game 7 of the 1945 World Series. The game was OK, but what made it such a special occasion was bringing my great-grandson to his first major league game. I mean, he’d seen minor league games – heck, he played his whole baseball career in the minors – but this was a big thrill for him, feeble with age as he was. I even ran into some of my Civil War buddies at the game. Hadn’t seen some of those fellas since the Lewis and Clark expedition. I still remember a young Kenny Rogers pitching for a trading post nine at the site of present day Omaha on the way out west. But that’s a story for another day.