Road Trip: Kannapolis, Andy Griffith, and the Tulsa Roughnecks?

   Now, I realize that perhaps you would associate North Carolina with Andy Griffith and his 1960s television show but I also am just as sure that you wouldn't associate the Tulsa Roughnecks with either of those, yet my final road trip of the season will connect a defunct North American Soccer League team from Tulsa, Oklahoma of all places with Mayberry.

Mount Airy, North Carolina under normal circumstances wouldn't be a place that you go out of your way to find.

Its population is about 10,000, it's not super close to any other attractions, the drive is pretty uneventful, and it's barely inside North Carolina from the Virginia line, so ordinarily there would be no reason to stop by.

But, driving to North Carolina to visit two new stadiums, Mount Airy was perfect to kill a little time before arriving at Kannapolis.

Our first stop for food as we moved down I-81 and we saw a billboard for "best Bar-BQ in Virginia".

We needed gas anyway, so the stop was Smiley's in Raphine, Virginia and it proved to be memorable if not great food.

Smiley's is located in the corner of a convenience store and literally had two tables in front of where you ordered.

When I ordered, the gentleman who took my order had oxygen hooked up to him, which I didn't think anything about- Until I saw him cooking our food and it hit me- This guy is hooked up to oxygen and that line has to run somewhere, so what if a spark hits the oxygen? 

It made me a bit uneasy and I walked to a door that was a bit open and behind it was an almost empty sports bar with plenty of tables and televisions.

Now we had a place to eat and with only a few truckers playing these very large slot machines, it was more than quiet for our meal.

I had ordered a small cheeseburger and some loaded fries, which literally proved to be a mixed bag since it was given in a brown paper bag.

The fries were terrific with pulled pork, melted cheese, and hot peppers and I really liked those a lot but the burger was cold and undercooked to the point that after a bite or two, I just threw the rest away.

I figured complaining wasn't worth the effort and besides it would just give Ollie the oxygen guy another chance to blow us all up again!

Then for about five minutes, it seemed like the whole place was going to be picked up and flown to Oz as the metal roof made such a racket with a sudden thunderstorm.

It only lasted five minutes and by the time we left the building, only a few puddles proved there was even a storm as the humidity dried everything up!

Earlier on the drive, we stopped at a few flea markets/antique malls including the one terrific one that touts itself as the largest in the nation, Factory Antique Mall, outside Staunton, Virginia.

I saw some neat items but nothing for the collection, although I did find a piece of Fiestaware for Cherie's Christmas (let's keep that a secret).

We had planned on a Mount Airy stop but the slow side roads once off the interstate slowed us down a bit and it was pretty clear that with most places in the tourist area closing at five o'clock, we were going to have to target one place to look and that was going to be all in "Mayberry".

The choice was the Mayberry Antique Mall, which is on the main tourist strip, so we were able to see shops like Floyd's Barber Shop, Snappy Lunch, and Walker's Ice Cream Shop which are based on the Andy Griffith Show.

The Griffith show is so big in Mount Airy because Andy Griffith was born and raised there and even though Griffith denied this, is thought to be the basis for Mayberry. 

The Mayberry Antique Mall was two levels and bigger than I thought it would be and I found two things for collections.

One of those things I bought for Rachel's Partridge Family collection, is a 45 record with its original dust sleeve.

I remember when I was a kid and I rarely even kept the dust sleeve, so finding one from 1970 was pretty rare, at least I think so anyway.

However, the other item was for me, and it was something that I'd never seen before, yet I didn't really collect.

I've always loved items from defunct leagues but I've never really collected any items from the North American Soccer League.

In the late '70s and '80s, commemorative Coke bottles for championship teams were often manufactured and depending on where you are, can be fairly easy to find.

Even on this trip, I saw many North Carolina, N.C. State bottles from their 1982 and 83 title teams among many others but when I saw this bottle, I had to have it.

It was a bigger bottle than the standard bottle, it was Dr.Pepper rather than the usual Coke, and it was painted white rather than clear.

Now, the bottle was empty whereas most bottles for sale have forty-year Coke in them but when I looked at the bottle closer, it was a commemorative bottle for the 1980 Tulsa Roughnecks of the NASL with one of the cooler logos that you'll see.

I paid more than I would ever expected for an NASL item but not exorbitant at $12 and it was just something I wanted with the cool Roughneck logo.

The Tulsa Roughnecks would win the NASL in 1983, one year before the league would go under, and to this day (if you consider the NASL a major league), the Roughnecks are the smallest market to win a major league title and are the only pro team to win a pro title from Oklahoma.

When I was paying for the bottle and record, I had to be original.

I asked the cashier a question that I was wondering about (wondering in my own sardonic way of course) "Does anyone ever come here and ask about the Ken Berry statue or where's the Ken Berry stuff?"

The cashier looked at me very puzzled and said "Why no sir, you are the first person to ask that".

This is exactly the reaction I had hoped for.

Ken Berry was the star of Mayberry RFD, a spinoff of the Griffith show, that ran after Andy Griffith had taken his show off the air, featured most of the supporting characters of the Griffith show, and was part of the 1971 CBS mass canceling of their rural-based lineup.

And I would wager that no one comes to Mount Airy, North Carolina looking for Ken Berry or Mayberry RFD...

After leaving the Mayberry Antique Mall, the other stores were closed but we walked through the main street and there were a few other similar stores, which (among other reasons) makes a Mount Airy return one that I would love to make again to see the other sites.

The remaining stores catered to Andy Griffith fans with shops based on the show such as Snappy Lunch, Floyd's Barber Shop, Opie's Candy Store, Snappy Lunch, and Walker's Soda Fountain.

It's too bad we got there too late for these shops because they would have been fun to see.

I did get a few pictures of the Andy and Opie statue that was donated by the TV Land network a few years back and is located outside the Andy Griffith Museum and Theatre before we left town.

I'd love to take Cherie there some time as I think she would really enjoy it, assuming she could get through the travel to get there.

It's about ninety minutes from Mount Airy to Kannapolis and the two-year-old home of the former Intimidators, now the Cannonballers awaited.

The new stadium, Atrium Health Ballpark, replaced the old one, which will always be special in my heart for the hottest stadium that I have ever visited.

Parking wasn't super easy to find around the downtown stadium but it could be found and they are building some high-rise condos beyond right field so people living there could watch the game from their balcony.

The Cannonballers employees were very nice and helpful as we entered, asked questions, and took pictures of the field.

The surrounding area does have some stores, shopping, etc. and Kannapolis has one of those rules that forces businesses to conform to their downtown design and feel so that the new buildings blend into the existing buildings rather than standing out.

All and all, while I thought Kannapolis's new park was visually nice, it had the feel of quite a few new parks that use a retro look yet the feeling is more sterile and corporate than the feeling of an older stadium.

I do think it is a substantial improvement over their old hotbox but there weren't that many fans in the seats, although it was a Tuesday night, and the promised around-the-ballpark "happenings" were a mixed bag as some areas looked to be doing well but others a block had many empty storefronts.

We drove an hour or so to spend the night with the Parrish family in Waxhaw outside of Charlotte to conclude our day.

I'll be back at another time for my visit to the other new park in North Carolina, Fayetteville, and the day and night ending the trip.

David Cassidy

I have been meaning to work on this post since the news broke, but better late than never, I suppose as I write about David Cassidy's recent passing.

David Cassidy's most torrid portion of teen idol worship was a little before my time.
I was in pre-school in the years of 1970-73, but I do remember watching the Partridge Family in the years as part of ABC's Friday night block with the Brady Bunch until both shows were canceled in 1974.
In my elementary school childhood, David's younger half-brother Shaun was a much bigger teen star than David was, due to the Hardy Boys tv show and the singing (I use that word loosely) of "Da Doo Ron Ron" while David was the much better singer.

The Partridge Family's music was a bit "bubblegummy", but it was solid music that stands up well today and despite Cassidy's less than enthusiastic feelings towards the music during the show and for a while after.Cassidy came to terms with what was pretty solid music, if not socially meaningful or music with a hard edge, but yet made fans of his and the show pretty happy (get the pun there?)
Some of their songs still are recognized by people that were either not around or fans of the show.
I think a lot of Cassidy's problems with the show/audience/fame etc came from the fact that he was really just too old to play the role of a teenager.
When The Partridge Family hit the airwaves in 1970, Cassidy was 20 years old playing the role of someone 15/16.
When the show ended, Cassidy was 24 playing the role of a high school senior/college freshman and I'm sure that's not always easy on the psyche'.
Hollywood does this all the time and I'm not sure why that it is because if the show becomes a success and it becomes a multiple year program, the actor's age always catches up to them.
That alone might have been a huge problem being 23 and having 13 yr old girls screaming "Keith" at you everywhere you went!

Cassidy tried to do other things after Partridge Family to varying degrees of success, but to a certain degree was going to be thought of by his fan base that had grown older and moved on as "Keith Partridge."
I imagine that has to be hard for someone that is remembered as someone else, a someone that becomes even more distant as days go by.
I was a fan of the sitcom and I was amazed when I picked the first season of the show out at a Ohio Wal-Mart to give us something to watch at our hotel (I know it wasn't THAT long ago but was still before the streaming option) and Rachel hooked onto the Partridge Family so quickly-to the point of being crazy about it and ranking it as her favorite show of all time!
I liked it, but I didn't like it THAT much!
Still, I've always thought it was really cool that she cared about it that much and made it that much meaningful when I was able to take her to meet Shirley Jones earlier this year.

David Cassidy might have felt that his teen idol/Partridge Family run was a time wasted to a certain degree, but there are a whole bunch of people in their early to mid 50's now (children of the 70's) that think far differently about his time in the spotlight.
Not a bad way to be thought of.

The Professor,Rueben and Jose too....

Three passings on a slow day,so I decided to knock this post out instead of waiting for a cleaning of the inbox.
The Devils lost 2-1 in yet another shootout in Colorado and due to the time difference in Denver,I listened via XM and therefore didn't get to watch the game.

Dave Madden,a comedian best known for his role as Rueben Kincaid on the Partridge Family,
passed away at 82.
Madden was also a regular on Laugh-In and a small recurring role on Alice,but was known to generations of kids as Reuben Kincaid,the perennial foil for Danny Partridge and befuddled manager of the group.
The Partridge Family was bigger than the Brady Bunch when the two shows were paired together on ABC in their network run,but the latter became far bigger in syndication,despite being a better show in my opinion and much of that was due to the skills of Madden to play off Danny Bonaduce.
As a result,the show did not quite reach iconic status through the years as it did its first run and early syndication years as the Brady Bunch would do.

Russell Johnson,best known as the Professor on Gilligan's Island passed away at 89.
Johnson appeared in several guest shots on too many shows to name through the years,but was for 50 years "The Professor"-the man brilliant enough to run schemes through coconuts and leaves,yet could not fix a hole in a boat.
Gilligan's Island was a fan of children for years because of its silliness,physical comedy and of course-the eternal question-Ginger or Mary Ann.
I'll let you guess where I stand on that question,but Johnson's role as the professor actually did (albeit little) add some science to kids simply through the rudimentary explanations of the various schemes and projects to get off the island.
I have two of the three seasons of the show on DVD, although they are still on the unwatched pile,and they are part of the comedy shows I enjoy-not classic comedy,very unrealistic,but programs that just make you smile and laugh.....

Jose Sulaiman might not be a name that most of you know,but he was a name known to me for years as president of the World Boxing Council,one of the "big three" organizations that sanction boxing championships.
Sulaiman and his organization took title fights from 15 rounds to 12,made ridiculous decisions,pandered to certain promoters and fighters from the organization's home county (Mexico),created new and unneeded weight classes (to create more champions) and started this ridiculous sanctioning of "regular" and "interim" titles that due to the money brought in from these titles spread to other boxing bodies.
Sulaiman also nearly broke the WBC with a move that saw them finally be called out and cost them 30 million dollars for their dumb decisions.
Dan Rafael of ESPN wrote (entire story on below link)
"In 1998, then-light heavyweight champion Roy Jones vacated the WBC title and Graciano Rocchigiani outpointed Michael Nunn a few months later to win the vacant title. Rocchigiani was announced as the new champion, given a belt in the ring and listed in subsequent official rankings as the organization's world champion.
However, when Jones changed his mind and asked the WBC to reinstate him as light heavyweight champion, Sulaiman granted his request, breaking the rules. The WBC informed Rocchigiani that listing him as champion was a "typographical error." Rocchigiani sued the WBC in U.S. federal court, claiming the WBC had broken its rules and damaged his earning power by taking away the title. He won the case and a $30 million judgment. The WBC and Rocchigiani eventually reached a settlement under which the organization had to pay him regular installments of the settlement. In order to raise money to go toward the payments, Sulaiman began to create more and more titles so the WBC could collect additional sanctioning fees."


Suffice it to say,Sulaiman was a negative contributor to the sport and as I'm sorry he passed,it will not be a even a minor loss to boxing.
Sulaiman passed at 82.