Ultimate Mets Scrapbook spotlight on Bud Harrelson

[Benjamin Grimm]

The sixth release of the Ultimate Mets Scrapbook was posted late yesterday, and it's entirely devoted to Bud Harrelson. The first article is from 1963, when Bud signed his first contract with the Mets, and it runs through his playing career, his coaching career, his managing career, and even his singing career.

Spotlight on Bud Harrelson


Gator Star Signed by Mets
San Francisco Examiner June 9, 1963
Bud Harrelson, a 19-year-old third baseman from Hayward, California, has signed a contract with the New York Mets.


A 'Big' Man at Short for the Herd
Buffalo Evening News April 24, 1965
Bud Harrelson is 20 years old and playing for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. His height (5'8") and weight (152 pounds) are noted, as will happen many times over the course of his playing career, but he's also regarded as potentially the best shortstop in the International League.


Mets' M'Millan Was Hit by Virus
New York Daily News September 8, 1965
Mets veteran shortstop Roy McMillan (whose name is oddly abbreviated as "M'Millan" in the headline) has been suffering from a respiratory virus. This has given young prospect Bud Harrelson a chance to get some playing time and, according to News columnist Dick Young, he's not quite ready yet. Apparently he gives ground balls "the old dipsy-do from the side."


Can Roy Do It Again For Mets?
New York Daily News September 13, 1966
As the 1966 season draws to a close, veteran shortstop Roy McMillan is facing shoulder surgery, and his future is in doubt. Should the Mets trade for a new shortstop? Or should they give the job to another veteran, Ed Bressoud? Or is it time to turn to young prospect Bud Harrelson?


Mets Thin Man Slays Giants
Newsday September 17, 1966
A big day at the plate for Bud Harrelson. He hits two triples and steals home in a 5-4 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park.


Wes Counts on Young Bud To Blossom Into Star SS
New York Daily News March 1, 1967
As 1967 spring training gets underway, there's going to be a competition for the starting shortstop job. Veteran Roy McMillan is still in the mix, but manager Wes Westrum is touting young Bud Harrelson who, he says, could be another Maury Wills.


Say Bud! Harrelson May Be Top SS in NL
New York Daily News July 6, 1967
Bud Harrelson has claimed the Mets starting shortstop job and as his confidence has grown, his performance has improved. Plus, a Bill Gallo cartoon, "Quick Change (Relief) Artist" featuring Hal Reniff.


Real Surprise: He's No Loser, This Young Met
The Tennessean August 27, 1967
Tennessee sportswriter Bud Burns expresses surprise that the "hapless expansion" Mets (in their sixth season) have a quality player in Bud Harrelson. Burns doesn't seem to appreciate defensive skills. He says that Harrelson's "lowly" batting average "overshadows anything else he had ever done."


He Makes Light of His Weight Problem
Los Angeles Times April 8, 1968
In this UPI article from April 1968, carried in the Los Angeles Times, Bud Harrelson discusses his struggles to keep his weight on. In the previous season, his production tailed off as fatigue caught up with him during the summer months.


Bud Harrelson Is No Joke To New York Mets' Foes
Zanesville Times Recorder July 21, 1968
A wire-service article from 1968 profiles Bud Harrelson. It opens with some Henny Youngman style jokes about Bud's light weight and goes on to describe some of the good-natured ribbing that Harrelson gets from his teammates. Bud also discusses his approach as a leadoff hitter.


Bud Harrelson, by Bruce Stark
New York Daily News September 26, 1969
One in a series of portraits of the 1969 Mets by cartoonist Bruce Stark for the Daily News.


He Met the Challenge
Oakland Tribune October 14, 1969
As Bud Harrelson is playing in the 1969 World Series, a reporter from his native Bay Area checks in on Bud's high school baseball coach Don Curley, who remembers Bud as a "4-foot-10-inch teenager."


Young Ideas
New York Daily News February 5, 1970
It's spring training, 1970 and Bud Harrelson is a defending World Champion shortstop. In Dick Young's column, Bud reflects on his recovery from knee surgery in 1968 and how, as a minor league player attending a Mets game in San Francisco, he gained confidence when he witnessed his future mentor Roy McMillan make an error.


Young Ideas
New York Daily News April 29, 1970
In Dick Young's column, Bud Harrelson talks about the reaction to his first out-of-the-park home run. When asked for an autograph, Bud offered to sign it "Baby Ruth".


Mets' Bud Harrelson A Lover, Not a Fighter
The Times (Munster, Indiana) July 9, 1970
Three years before the now legendary fight with Pete Rose, Bud Harrelson took a few steps towards the mound and had to be restrained when he felt that Cardinals pitcher Jerry Reuss was throwing at him.


Bud Harrelson: Batting Expert
Florida Today May 13, 1971
Bud Harrelson, known as a glove but not a bat, is leading the Mets with a .329 batting average and has recently had a nine-game hitting streak.


Met Star Turns Singer: Bud Harrelson Doesn't Do Anything Halfway
Kingsport Times-News (Kingsport, TN) December 26, 1971
Bud Harrelson performs at a country-western bar in Woodridge, New Jersey. The article includes a photo of Buddy strumming on a guitar. (This explains why Bruce Stark later pictured Bud playing shortstop with a guitar on his back in his full-color caricature in the Daily News Sunday comic section.)


Umpires disturb mild Bud Harrelson
New Jersey Record (Bergen, NJ) July 7, 1972
A tough loss to the Padres has Bud Harrelson fuming over some umpiring calls. He vows to no longer be a "nice guy".


Bud Hit the Reds Where It Hurt
Newsday October 8, 1973
Bud Harrelson provided Pete Rose and the Reds with some bulletin board material after the second game of the 1973 NLCS. These words would soon, famously, lead to an on-field brawl between the two players at Shea. Also includes an article about Game 2, "Up Up and Away Soared Superfoul".


Slide by Rose Sparks a Free-for-All; Fans Toss Garbage, Reds Walk Off Field
New York Daily News October 9, 1973
The now legendary Mets-Reds brawl during the 1973 NLCS, with Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson squaring off.


Pete Rose: A Professional Player All the Way
New York Daily News October 11, 1973
After the legendary dustup between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose, the M. Donald Grant of the Mets and Bob Howsam of the Reds tried to arrange a home-plate handshake between the two players. Harrelson reluctantly agreed, but Rose nixed the idea.


Pete, Bud "kiss, make up"
The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio) January 29, 1974
At an offseason baseball writers dinner, Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson show there are no hard feelings as Bud presents Pete with a "Good Guy" award. The article includes a photo of the two players flanking a smiling Yogi Berra.


Bud: Someone Missed Boat
Tampa Tribune March 20, 1974
Bud Harrelson regrets that he and Pete Rose didn't do a television commercial together. Plus, a chat with Wayne Garrett, who appears to be establishing himself as the third baseman the Mets have been waiting for.


Harrelson Faces Surgery and Misty Future
New York Daily News May 21, 1975
As Roy McMillan once mentored young Bud Harrelson, Buddy is now mentoring his perceived successor, Mike Phillips. The Mets veteran shortstop, still only 30 years old, is struggling with a bad knee and is enduring a lot of pain.


Bud Harrelson Worked Hard to Work Things Out
New York Daily News March 25, 1976
Bud Harrelson has endured a bad knee, a broken marriage (his wife ran off with a younger man) and a failed business, but in spring 1976 he feels things are looking up.


Harrelson Has Trouble With Some Answers
Newsday December 9, 1977
Bud Harrelson contemplates a possible end to his time with the Mets


Harrelson Wants Trade -- Won't Play for Mets
New York Daily News March 4, 1978
After the Mets reacquired Tim Foli to be their starting shortstop, Bud Harrelson has asked to be traded. He doesn't want to be a backup infielder on a team that won't be a contender.


A Phillie now
Journal News (White Plains, NY) March 25, 1978
In retrospect, it's sad to see how jubilant Bud Harrelson is in this photo as he packs his bags to leave the Mets after having been traded to Philadelphia. But the Mets were going nowhere and the Phillies, in 1978, were the powerhouse team in the division. And as we now know, Bud's association with the Mets is still far from over.


Newest Mets' player is less than thrilled
Poughkeepsie Journal March 25, 1978
Bud Harrelson has been traded to the defending NL East Champion Phillies, but the player who came back in return, Fred Andrews, is slated to be a Triple-A player for an also-ran team. Not a good turn of events for Fred, who has 16 big league games under his belt but who would finish his career in Tidewater.


When a Diamond Becomes a Ring
Newsday August 2, 1983
Newsday "TV Sports" columnist Stan Isaacs reviews a recent Mets broadcast on Sportschannel.


Mets' farm team hires Harrelson
Citizen Register (Ossining, NY) June 7, 1984
Bud Harrelson gets his first managing gig, with Little Falls of the Single-A New York-Penn League.


Buddy System at Little Falls
Newsday July 15, 1984
Newsday's Tom Verducci checks in with Bud Harrelson as he works the minor league circuit as a manager of the Mets' Single-A affiliate in Little Falls, New York.


This one's for you, Bud (Harrelson)
New York Daily News September 9, 1984
Bud Harrelson has concluded his first season as a minor league manager, winning a Manager of the Year award and the New York-Penn League championship at Little Falls. This article includes praise for Bud from a future Mets shortstop, Kevin Elster.


Mets' Harrelson: This Bud's for you, Columbia
The State (Columbia, SC) January 19, 1985
Bud Harrelson is the new manager of the Columbia Mets of the South Atlantic League. In this article he reflects on what he learned the previous year at Little Falls in his first season as a professional manager. He's also photographed wearing what looks to be a ridiculously large button on his jacket.


Mets Wonder Who'll Be At 3d
New York Daily News May 17, 1985
Bobby Valentine is leaving his position as the Mets third-base coach to manage the Texas Rangers. Among the candidates to replace him: Sam Perlozzo, Bill Robinson, and the eventual choice, Bud Harrelson.


Mets, former mentor enjoy reunion
Columbia Record (Columbia, SC) July 30, 1985
Bud Harrelson left his job managing the Columbia Mets during the 1985 season in order to join Davey Johnson's big-league coaching staff. In this article, Bud is interviewed while on a return visit to Columbia, where he reflects on his time there and on some of the differences between being a minor-league manager and a major-league third-base coach.


Harrelson saw all the action
Poughkeepsie Journal October 27, 1986
The bottom of the tenth inning of Game Six of the 1986 World Series is surely the most legendary half inning in Mets history. Bud Harrelson was the third base coach as the monumental events unfolded, and in this article he shares his perspective.


Mets' Harrelson displayed a touch of class and heart
New York Daily News February 18, 1987
The term "class act" gets used a lot, and in this Daily News column by Howard Cosell, we see how aptly it applies to Bud Harrelson.


Suddenly, Bud's Stock Is Blue Chip
Newsday October 23, 1988
In October of 1988, Marty Noble of Newsday speculates that Bud Harrelson's chances of becoming a big league manager are looking good. He's being considered for a position with the White Sox, but he may eventually succeed Davey Johnson, if Mike Cubbage doesn't.


New faces, old result: Buddy's Mets lose
New York Daily News May 30, 1990
Davey Johnson has been fired and Bud Harrelson is the new manager of the Mets. He doesn't get off to a good start, however. The Mets lose his debut game 2-1 in Cincinnati.


'A good choice'
New York Daily News May 30, 1990
When Davey Johnson was fired, the Mets considered Bud Harrelson and Mike Cubbage to succeed him. Harrelson got the job, and an endorsement from his rival. Cubbage would eventually get the job, but only for seven games as an interim manager in 1991 after Bud's firing.


Bud, this one's for you; Davey gets thumb
New York Daily News May 30, 1990
The Mets fire manager Davey Johnson, and his third base coach, Bud Harrelson, is his replacement.


Little Buddy Could Make Big Difference
Newsday May 31, 1990
As Bud Harrelson takes the helm as Mets manager, Newsday columnist Joe Gergen looks back at how Buddy got to where he is, and also at what may lie ahead. Gergen points out that Bud is the only one of Gil Hodges' Mets players to become a manager.


On The Path Of Hodges
Newsday June 1, 1990
New Mets manager Bud Harrelson sees Gil Hodges as the role model for the kind of manager he'd like to be. Newsday's Steve Jacobsen looks back at Hodges, and speculates how Harrelson might handle a player like Darryl Strawberry differently than Davey Johnson did.


New Name Is on Door, But Mets Need More
Newsday June 1, 1990
As Bud Harrelson takes over the Mets, he's faced with a flailing team and a number of discontented players. This article includes grumbling from Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry


Mets leave the worrying to Harrelson
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) July 14, 1990
The Mets are thriving under their new manager. They've won 28 of their first 38 games under Bud Harrelson's leadership.


Bud: Elster Situation Difficult
Newsday February 22, 1991
Mets manager Bud Harrelson, in his first (and ultimately only) spring training as skipper, discusses some of his options regarding several players on his roster, including Kevin Elster, Keith Miller, and Mark Carreon.


Mets' Harrelson can't stand radio static, too bad
Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY) May 5, 1991
Tony Kornheiser, of the Washington Post, blasts Mets manager Bud Harrelson for ducking not-so-tough questions from Howie Rose on WFAN.


Yes, It's Been One Year With Bud at the Helm
Newsday May 29, 1991
Bud Harrelson has now managed 162 Mets games, over parts of two seasons, and Mets VP Al Harazin is expressing patience. Bud has a 24-19 record so far in 1991 and he's 94-68 overall. It's strange to see that there are questions about Harrelson's job security at this point. As we now know, things would take a turn for the worse. An 8-21 record in August would doom the club, and Bud would be gone before the season's end.


Cone Does It His Way
Newsday June 5, 1991
A disagreement among pitcher David Cone, manager Bud Harrelson, and pitching coach Doc Edwards led to an in-game finger-poking confrontation in the Mets dugout.


It Must Look Familiar to The Boss
Newsday August 8, 1991
Things are going poorly for the Mets, and Marty Noble speculates on Bud Harrelson's future. He determines (incorrectly, as time will prove) that Bud won't be fired but that his contract simply won't be renewed. This article includes a sidebar that speculates on who will follow Harrelson. Among those listed is future interim manager Mike Cubbage and future permanent manager Dallas Green, but no mention of the actual eventual selection, Jeff Torborg.


Bud's gotta go!
New York Daily News August 9, 1991
Daily News columnist Mike Lupica calls for the immediate firing of manager Bud Harrelson -- before it's too late to save the season.


It Hurts: Out of spotlight, Harrelson begins healing process
Newsday October 1, 1991
Bud Harrelson, back at home in Hauppauge, Long Island, reflects on his recent firing as Mets manager.


Bud Didn't Understand
Newsday October 1, 1991
Marty Noble takes a sympathetic, but unvarnished, look at Bud Harrelson's recently concluded tenure as Mets manager, and outlines his failings.


The New Pastime: Dancing on Graves
Newsday October 1, 1991
Newsday columnist Joe Gergen laments the tone of the media's coverage of the firing of Bud Harrelson as Mets manager.


Buddy I Knew Was on the Ball
Newsday October 2, 1991
Newsday columnist Carole Agus shares a personal remembrance of Bud Harrelson and a game of ping pong. She says that Bud was one of the most stylish and sexiest men she's ever met.


This, Bud, is for you
New York Daily News October 17, 1991
U.S. Congressman Bob Mrazek writes a letter to the Daily News' Voice of the People defends Bud Harrelson after the abuse he feels the Mets manager received after his firing. He says that Bud "is a good and decent man who acted honorably and well in a tough profession."


Something to quack about
New York Daily News June 25, 2000
Bud Harrelson is the co-owner, and manager, of the unaffiliated Atlantic League team, the Long Island Ducks.


Hey Bud, This Night's For You
Newsday August 4, 2018
Mets legend Bud Harrelson, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, has his uniform number 3 retired by the Long Island Ducks.


Everyone's Buddy: Beloved '69 champion Harrelson dies at 79
New York Daily News January 12, 2024
Obituary for Bud Harrelson, Mets All-Star shortstop, coach, manager, broadcaster, World Champion, and a member of the club's Hall of Fame.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Just reading the recaps is enlightening

[kcmets]

Real Surprise: He's No Loser, This Young Met
The Tennessean August 27, 1967
Tennessee sportswriter Bud Burns expresses surprise that the "hapless expansion" Mets (in their sixth season) have a quality player in Bud Harrelson. Burns doesn't seem to appreciate defensive skills. He says that Harrelson's "lowly" batting average "overshadows anything else he had ever done."

My fifth birthday, this is fun!

[metirish]

Great work , thank you, some amazing insights


CONE DOES IT HIS WAY is some good reading

[whippoorwill]

This is terrific
!