Thanks to Howard Stern and many more outlets as of late, Shourshoes has become the “other” king of all media.
The King of All Media
It’s not often that listening to the Howard Stern radio show will inspire me to write a sports column, but that’s exactly what happened to me last week.Howard is not a sports fan and rarely ever talks about the subject on his program. However, sports will be brought up from time to time and Howard will reluctantly weigh in if pressed. One long time caller to the show is wack packer Sourshoes.
Thankfully, Sourshoes brings sports to the forefront on a fairly regular basis.
For those not familiar with the show. Sourshoes is a savant at impressions, music and sports trivia. A child-like, unemployed man in his 40s, Sourshoes has been calling into the Howard Stern show for decades entertaining listeners with spot-on imitations of everyone from Bill Clinton to Stern himself.
It was his perfect impression of legendary NY sports radio host Christopher Russo that first linked the two distinctly separate worlds of sports and shock radio for me.
Check out this slideshow that moves from one personality to the next in the world of the great Sourshoes.
The Mad Dog
Christopher Mad Dog Russo left the Mike and the Mad Dog show, which he co-hosted with longtime radio partner Mike Francesa at WFAN, in 2008 for an opportunity to run his own station at Sirius. Howard Stern, a Sirius broadcaster as well, welcomed the NY personality into his studio to discuss the move.
Russo’s distinctive voice and speech pattern were the perfect muse for Sourshoes and he was able to replicate them easily. The impression is hysterical. It has been heard fairly regularly on the Stern show ever since.
Sourshoes has recently become known to the wider NY sports radio audience. He has called into Russo’s Sirius show, Francesa on the FAN and both Michael Kay and Dan Patrick.
Baba Booey
One of Sourshoes’ most famous impressions is that of Stern show producer Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate. Gary has a very distinct Long Island NY accent which Sourshoes has down pat.
In every appearance I’ve ever heard him make on the Radio Sourshoes has launched into his Baba Booey impression. With that impression comes the accentuation of the word “nine.” Baba Booey made a love tape to an ex-girlfriend years and years ago. On that tape, he rated his own professional life at a nine or as he pronounced it a “noine.” Sourshoes has been using that pronunciation of that word when imitating Gary ever since.
So, last week I listened to Sourshoes imitate Gary and repeat the word noine noine noine noice noine over and over again. In between laughs, I began to think of who the noine best noines are in the history of New York sports. Here’s that list:
9. Joe Torre
Any New Yorker that watched baseball in the 90s, remembers a slightly out of shape manager pacing the New York Yankees dugout wearing number six on the back of his pinstriped uniform. For 12 full seasons as manager of the Yankees, Joe Torre wore a “noine” upside down.
In 2014, Torre’s number six was retired by the Yankees. However, Torre wore a different number when he played for the cross-town Mets. As a first and third baseman in the noineteen-seventies (’75-’77) Torre wore number noine.
Torre hit .267 with 12 home runs over his three years in Queens. We are not expecting the Mets to retire his number noine anytime soon.
8. Joe DiMaggio
Everyone knows that Joe Dimaggio wore number five throughout his illustrious hall of fame career with the New York Yankees. What most people don’t know, however, is that Joltin Joe wore number noine during his rookie season of 1936.
Batting in front of Lou Gherig, Joe D had one of the all-time greatest rookie seasons in the history of baseball that year. The Yankee Clipper batted .323 with 29 homers, 125 RBI, and 132 runs scored in only 132 games wearing number noine.
Later in 1936 Dimaggio led the Yanks to the first of his noine World Series titles. The following year he changed his number to the more familiar five and the rest is history.
7. Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles was a third baseman for the New York Yankees from 1973-1983. He was named Yankee captain by owner George Steinbrenner in 1982. A fan favorite during the Bronx Zoo era, Nettles was often overshadowed by bigger personalities such as Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage and Billy Martin. While George Steinbrenner famously publicly underestimated his contributions, his lifetime achievements speak for themselves.
Nettles was a six-time all-star and two-time world series champion but is remembered mostly for his superb defending. In the dawn of sports highlight shows, Nettles would often be featured on This Week In Baseball flashing the leather.
Nettles was not only a great defender, he was also a prolific home run hitter. In 1976 he won the AL home run title. Nettles finished his career having hit the third most home runs ever by a third baseman. Though he didn’t accumulate enough counting stats to make the baseball hall of fame Nettles was the last Yankee to ever wear number noine. It was retired in honor of Roger Maris in 1984.
6. Hank Bauer
Hank Bauer was an unlikely Yankee. An injured US Marine returning home from World War II with two bronze hearts, two purple stars and shrapnel in his leg Bauer became a pipe fitter as a civilian. A Yankee scout who remembered him from his high school playing days decided to give him a chance to show if he could still play. Two years later Bauer was in the majors.
Acting as the primary right fielder for the Yankees for 12 seasons Bauer won seven World Series titles during one of the greatest sports dynasties ever. A tough as nails workman, Bauer bridged the Dimaggio and Mantle eras in the New York clubhouse.
The three-time all-star was a decent defender and a reliable bat for the Yanks throughout his career. Eventually Bauer was traded and had to give up his number noine. The guy who wore it next wore it so well that the Yanks would retire it forever.
5. Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky played for the Rangers for three seasons to end his hall of fame career. As he did throughout his career The Great One wore number 99 on Broadway. Gretzky led the Rangers in scoring every year he played with them.
While he may not have been the elite goal scorer he was earlier in his career, Gretzky was a huge contributor on Broadway in other ways. His 97 total points in 96-97 are the second highest total for a Ranger in a season in the past 20 years (Jagr had 123 in 05-06).
While Wayne Gretzky may not be remembered most for his three years in New York, New Yorkers will certainly remember him for what he brought to the Rangers. His number “noinety-noine” was retired by the NHL following his retirement, an honor the league has never repeated for any other player.
4. Adam Graves
Adam Graves played forward for the New York Rangers for 10 years from 1991 to ’01. In those 10 years, Graves scored 280 goals and assisted on 227 others.
Graves would have his greatest season in what most would call the franchise’s greatest season ’93-’94. In that Stanley Cup year, Graves scored 52 goals and added 27 assists. The 52 goals are still the second most ever for a Ranger in a single season.
Graves also played seven seasons for three other NHL teams. In those seven seasons combined he scored 49 goals with 60 assists total.
Adam Graves was born to be a Ranger. He is still beloved by coaches, teammates, broadcasters and most importantly by a legion of Rangers fans that will forever be grateful to him for his contributions on and off the ice since his arrival in 1991.
Graves was ranked the nointh best Ranger of all-time by ESPN. In two thousand and noine, Graves’ number noine was retired by the Rangers and raised to the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
3. Andy Bathgate
This season the NHL released a list of its 100 greatest players of all time. Andy Bathgate is on that list. Bathgate played for 12 years in the 50s and 60s for some very bad New York Rangers teams.
Often the lone bright spot on a team full of has-beens and never will be’s Bathgate was one of the first hockey celebrities in the US. Sports illustrated put his face on their cover in 1958 making him the face of both the Rangers and the NHL.
Bathgate was a prolific goal scorer for his era. In his 719 games on Broadway Bathgate recorded 272 goals and 457 assists for 729 points. In his best season, 1959, Bathgate netted 40 goals and assisted on 48 others en route to winning the Hart trophy as MVP of the league.
Bathgate was a model of consistency for the Rangers finishing among the top five scorers in the league noine seasons in a row. During one amazing streak in 1962, he scored a goal in 10 consecutive games.
Bathgate was eventually traded by the Rangers to another Original Six team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was in Toronto where he finally won the Stanley Cup. In game seven of the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings, Bathgate scored the Cup-winner on a breakaway.
Bathgate’s number noine was retired by the Ranger in two thousand and noine in a ceremony that honored both he and Adam Graves.
2. Roger Maris
Roger Maris was a seven-time all-star, a three-time World Champion, a two-time AL MVP and the single season home run king for 37 years. He is not in the Hall of Fame and so he comes in at number two on our list of the best number noines in New York sports history.
Maris is the baseball equivalent of Jim Morrison or James Dean. He only had a few good years, but those years were as impressive as any in the history of the game. In 1960 and 1961, while playing for the New York Yankees, Maris hit 100 of his 275 career home runs and had 253 of his 850 RBI.
A gold glove outfielder, Maris spent seven years roaming both center and right field in Yankee Stadium. In 1984 the Yankees retired Maris’ number noine.
Roger Maris will always be remembered for hitting 61 homers in 1961. We’ll remember him for being one of the best to ever wear the number noine in New York.
1. Clark Gillies
Clark Gillies is an Islanders legend. The former Captain and four-time Stanley Cup champion power forward played 872 regular season games as an Islander, scoring 304 goals and adding 359 assists.
Gillies is remembered as much for his toughness as he is for his scoring touch. He accumulated 891 regular season penalty minutes in a remarkable career.
Gillies also played in an almost unbelievable 159 playoff games for the Islanders between 1975 and 1986. His scoring production, toughness and leadership were big reasons the Islanders made the playoffs every single year he was there. I’ll repeat that: the Islanders made the playoffs all 12 years that Clark Gillies played for them.
The man they called Jethro for his tough guy looks, Gillies cemented his place in NY sports history by tallying 97 points and earning 287 penalty minutes in those 159 playoff games. Gillies was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. His retired number noine now hangs in the rafters in Brooklyn.
Gillies had the biggest impact of any player to wear his number in the history of New York Sports. For that reason, he is ESNY’s choice for the best number “noine” ever.