Almost one month ago it was reported by Jerry Crowe at the L.A. Times that “concessionaire and kibitzer extraordinaire” Richard “Nuts!” Aller sold his last bag of peanuts at Dodger Stadium and retired after “49 seasons on the job.”

Aller, who according to the L.A. Times, started working for the Dodgers when he was just 15 years old, and that over time, between working as a Compton High social studies instructor and as a stadium vendor, he developed a Don Rickles style of playful insult routine, often acting like a self-proclaimed “absolute nut.” Aller also called himself the “illiterate peanut vendor” and stated he worked 8,000 events throughout Southern California.

8,000?? That really is a formidable accomplishment, if true.

Come to think of it, that would be worth mentioning to Roger. As one who will be celebrating his 50th anniversary next year with the Dodgers, Roger would be able to shed light on that. He himself has worked about 4,500 events in 49 years.

Well, Richard Aller, if that is so, then you have put in nearly double the events, including all of Roger’s trips to Japan, Dallas, Texas, Louisiana, the Angels’ first expansion games in L.A. during the 1960’s, hockey games, boxing matches, Rams, USC and UCLA football games, L.A. Clipper home games, and 81 home games a year with the Dodgers for nearly 50 years.

In any case, The Peanut Gallery raises up a bag of peanuts and salutes you for your hard work and showmanship over these many years. Dodger Stadium is a place full of warm memories, and silly ones, too, thanks to the many traditions there, like yours.

In fact, one Dodger fan’s encounter with “Nuts!” Aller was recounted in a blog, 7th & Fig. at 10minutesaway.blogspot.com.

From his entry, “Just Your AVERAGE Charly,” he writes:

“…While baseball may not be my favorite sport, the atmosphere in a stadium with so much tradition and history as Dodgers Stadium has a level of energy that draws you in and takes you to the days of long summers and worrying about homework. As I walked down the field level concourse, a peanut vendor, whom I have gotten to know over the years came up to me and greeted me warmly. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. He said, I’ve been here for the last 49 years and today is my last day. His eyes were red from crying. do you know that short Asian man that sits down in this aisle? He asked me. I really didn’t feel like telling him I didn’t so I simply nodded my head. Well he came up to me and brought me a roast beef sandwich from Cantor’s deli. I just burst into tears when he gave it to me. It is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I’m still crying. I spoke to the old vendor for a bit longer congratulating him before he ran off to tell his story to someone else. The next day someone had told me that he was interviewed by famous Dodger announcer, Vin Scully and it was played over the Jumbo screen. He received an ovation from the crowd and I’m sure the tears were flowing all weekend. It’s amazing to meet people like that. I think that the people I have met over the years have been an incredible blessing. While most people obsess over celebrity sightings and their actions (and I see many), LA is an incredible city because of the stories of its people rather than those produced by its industry. There are days that seem surreal. And while you may find me at the Farmer’s Market in the early mornings waiting for the first apple fritters to come out of the oven at Bob’s or jumping on the early train to San Juan Capistrano for some tortas at El Campeon everyday brings the promise of new adventure. May your life be extraordinary whoever you are!”

Wonderfully said.

Actually, that entry very much reminded me of a little weekend visit on the pier at Seal Beach with my fiancée earlier this summer.

We were enjoying the sunset and savoring the idea of grabbing a frozen yogurt for herself and a 1 oz. serving of wheatgrass for myself on Main St. when an elderly gentleman and an elderly woman slowly drew closer, strolling together in harmony, and steadily maneuvering with their walkers towards a park bench next to us. The lady’s younger son prodded them for a number of good photo opportunities closer to the pier and in better light. As they came closer to us to pose and smile, we decided the pair must have been in their 80’s or early 90’s.

It was even more charming to see a red Valentine pillow, with white lace along its heart-shaped contour. We smiled with ease and thought for sure the two were celebrating a record-breaking wedding anniversary.

I couldn’t hold it in and asked them if they were celebrating their anniversary, and to our astonishment, they said no. They were just friends. Obviously, some things never go out of style. It was quite amusing. The elderly gentleman, eager to leave his Long Beach nursing home for some fresh air and a stroll, was a lady’s man even at that age, and we loved it.

Before we left, after gladly taking a few photos for them so her son could be in them, the elderly man came up to me, standing over us with his black ballcap embroidered with the logo of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, as we sat on the bench. He introduced himself as Wally Cox, the famous “Mr. Peepers” and asked if we had ever heard of him. We hadn’t but I shook his hands with enthusiasm nevertheless. I told them my grand uncle was singer and songwriter, Jack Owens, and they replied simultaneously, “Ahh, Jack Owens. Yeah we know him.” It was such a fun moment.

Now interestingly enough, countless websites say that Wally Cox passed on more than 30 years ago, was a good friend of Marlon Brando, and was quite a lady’s man. Well, we can’t verify that man was good ol’ “Mr. Peepers,” but he said he was Wally Cox, and had the reputation to prove it that sunny day.

Looking back, after reading that blog on Richard Aller, it reminded me how there are people out there who enjoy entertaining others but sometimes have been overlooked or long forgotten, and all they want is nothing more than a bit of warmth and recognition, or someone who will pay to attention to what they did for many years.

With the possibility of three major milestones about to be reached in the careers of three different Major League baseball players, I thought it would be a good time to match numbers one ballpark peanut vendor has put up in nearly 50 years.

50 years??

Yes, as a matter of fact, let’s start off with that, why don’t we??

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Roger Owens’ debut with the Dodger organization as a lowly 7 Up soda vendor, and 15 year-old kid living a few blocks away from the L.A. Coliseum, trying to raise money for his poverty-stricken family of 8 kids, a Baptist minister father, and a mother who was away for 7 years at a state mental hospital.

But while those milestones about to be reached by Barry Bonds (tying Hank Aaron’s 755), A-Rod (hitting 500 home runs, and trying to beat Jimmie Foxx’s youngest to reach 500 HR), and Tom Glavine (300 career wins) are all impressive to say the least, how many peanut vendors, or anyone else for that matter, could say they have worked for the same organization for 50 years??

Only if your name is Vin Scully could you relate.

But if that somehow falls short of impressing you, perhaps you could look at this way. Roger has been a stadium vendor currently for as long as Barry Bonds, A-Rod, and Tom Glavine have been playing in the big leagues, added together.

So how about we take a look at various records or numbers Roger has put up so far??

First, what Roger did in the span of one year, 1958 - 1959, moving up the pecking order from selling 7 Up, then Coke, then Sidewalk Sundaes and Chocolate Malts, to finally selling peanuts, would easily take 20 years for a vendor today starting out to reach seniority of selling peanuts.

His all-time personal record of most tossed peanut bags in a game is 2,400 bags set in 1976 in Dallas, Texas, at Texas Stadium during a Cowboys game.

His 3-day all-time record is 6,000 bags set in Louisiana in the SEC Tournament at an LSU basketball game in 1988.

On at least two known occasions, Roger tossed four bags of peanuts, behind-the-back, at the same time to four different people, with each bag fanning out to each person. Once was at a Dodger game, and the other was in Washington D.C. for the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian also clocked one of his peanut tosses at 60 mph. In addition, there is an exhibit of him on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, NY, with a copy of “The Perfect Pitch” in the Baseball Hall of Fame research library collection as well.

He holds the Major League Baseball record for the all-time longest ceremonial first pitch of the season. In 1976, he threw the baseball from the loge level at Dodger Stadium all the way to home plate to the Dodger catcher.

He has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch of the season twice for the Dodgers, and both were evening games, once in 1976 and once in 1995 to welcome back fans after the 1994 strike. They were the only two night games to open the season in the past 30 years at the stadium and he did the honors both times.

He has thrown peanuts at Pres. Carter’s inaugural parties in 1977, has been flown to Japan’s Yokohama Stadium, to Dallas Cowboy’s Texas Stadium for 12 years in a row for Cowboy games benefiting Dallas youth charities, and was even the Peanut Advisory Board’s National Spokesperson at one time.

At age 24, he was filmed as an extra playing a vendor in the 1968 film “The Split” starring Jim Brown, Ernest Borgnine and Gene Hackman. Along with cameos or bit roles in movies or TV shows in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, and even on recent shows like The Suite Life with Zack and Cody, his “acting” career has spanned 40 years.

He has appeared as a guest or just tossing peanuts on “The Tonight Show” five times in more than 30 years. By the way, his first appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson launched his career and the segment was so hilarious when Carson tried his hand at trick peanut tossing that it ended up on video on “Carson’s Comedy Classics.”

He has not only worked Dodger games but worked every L.A. Clipper home game in the Sports Arena, countless USC and UCLA and Rams football games in the Coliseum, hockey games, and boxing matches.

He has worked more than 4,000 events. No other vendor is even close.

But even so, if and when Barry Bonds does step up to the plate at Chavez Ravine and makes headlines with number 755, there will still be plenty of fans in the Dodger crowd who know they have a record setter of their own.

One who keeps ’em smiling, not getting a big league salary, just pitching for peanuts.

With the baseball season now in full swing, and the 2007 World Series as far off in the distance as a Russell Martin homerun, it might be too early to talk about how to host a World Series party at home. But after discovering an entry on eHow.com about how to host one, I noticed it featured a peanut bag tossing contest and an acknowledgement of a certain famous peanut vendor at Dodger Stadium.

As Mel Allen use to say, “How ’bout that??”

In the last entry, Submitted For Your Approval, I stated:

You’d be hard pressed to find any other “peanut man” in American history besides Roger who’s sold peanuts in one location for nearly 30 years or more.

Evidently, my clothes now have that fresh from the drycleaner feeling. Clean, warm, and definitely hard pressed, because I found out some information to the contrary, and rather easily at that. So before you are taken to the cleaners by my last entry, let’s set the stage and travel to that other dimension once again…

One Peanut Man, Two Peanut Men,
Three Peanut Men, Four,
How Many Peanut Shells Can We Count On The Floor??:

There is probably a handful of peanut vendors nationwide who have worked at one location or venue for nearly 30 years or more. That group would include, for example, Dodger Stadium long-time vendor, Mort Rose. But in many cases, these peanut vendors have also switched to selling other items to make a dollar. So in reality, one could argue for or against their role in history as a peanut vendor selling peanuts consistently in the same location, depending on how you looked at it.

But you could say the same thing for good old peanut man from Washington D.C., “Steve” Nicholas Stephanos Vasilakos as also mentioned in the previous entry. He sold popcorn in addition to peanuts at his peanut cart. And it was popcorn that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stopped by to purchase from ”Steve” on that sunny day 73 years ago.

And furthermore, for your enjoyment, I found another TIME article from Feb. 12, 1934, but this time, it’s a section for reader feedback to the original about Vasilakos. Note the first reader’s opinion and his generous dose of political cynicism. Perhaps that individual later changed his surname from Benway to Limbaugh.

So how does Roger measure up to all these other vendors, or vice versa??

Well, to say a peanut vendor has sold peanuts in the same location for approximately 30 years or longer, that’s in itself an accomplishment. But what makes that so special?? For starters, it’s the consistency of doing something that seems unimportant, silly, or trivial, but has the potential to bring enjoyment or nourishment for others. And to find a place to do it at where people come to recoginize the individual over a number of decades is also not such an easy task.

So in all of this, we applaude all peanut vendors who have done it consistently for 30 years or more, but even more so the vendor entertainers, like Roger and one other individual in particular.

The Peanut Man Goes To Chicago, Part I:

Let’s first not forget we’ve journeyed to the Twilight Zone for this entry like we did in the last one, and in this other strange dimension, we’ll find there’s not only the Dodger Peanut Man, but the Peanut Man ”Dodger.”

In asserting a clarification to my point about peanut vendors, I found out that one such peanut vendor has remarkably sold peanuts and entertained customers, drivers, and onlookers for 46 years in one location, in the midst of a busy intersection of Grant St. and 25th Ave. in downtown Chicago. I’d say that would make him a ”dodger” and a pretty good one, too.

According to Post-Tribune article from Jan. 14, 2007, peanut man, Joe Mays, at 76 still finds ways to bring a smile to those who catch his act and his peanuts, and in doing so, has caught the attention of Mayor Rudy Clay. It seems the mayor authorized a street sign to be named Joe Mays Corner. Mays not only sells peanuts, he puts on a show with acrobatics, peanut bag juggling with super-sized clown shoes, all in the busy intersection.  In addition to his 46 years, which he has done consistently nearly every day, he performed many show benefits for the community, and with Bozo the Clown, and during Harlem Globetrotters’ halftime shows, and that’s saying something if you’re the Globetrotters’ pick for halftime antics.

The Peanut Man Goes To Chicago, Part II:

Mays, also known for tossing peanut bags into the rolled down windows of passing cars he deems as going too fast, is the eldest of eight kids, and is the “attention-getter of the group.”

It just so happens another entertaining peanut man, a Dodger for a different reason, also the eldest of eight kids (until a ninth sibling was born many years later), and also known as the “attention-getter of the group,” Roger Owens tossed peanut bags into passing cars with the windows down while touring America as the National Peanut Advisory Board’s official spokesperson in 1981.

And where exactly did he toss those peanuts into open car windows??

Downtown Chicago, of course.

Cue “The Twilight Zone” theme.

Roll the cascade of distant stars.

Rod Serling’s famous line of the opening scenes often signaled the sunlit horizon of a new day. But this solar facade only served to distract, as this same light that radiated brightly with promise, also cast long shadows made up of black holes filled with eerie new tales and parallel worlds, all of which were many degrees colder than the safe harbor of land just inches away.

Or, sometimes, they were just nutty stories of history and coincidence.

Kinda like these…

In one of this site’s first blog entries, Nutty Ain’t It??, I mentioned a few interesting facts about Roger and some of his experiences. But lately, I found some new peculiar facts about the connection of peanuts and Washington D.C., “submitted for your approval,” of course.

The Peanut Man Goes To Washington, Part I:

You’d be hard pressed to find any other “peanut man” in American history besides Roger who’s sold peanuts in one location for nearly 30 years or more.

For Roger, it’s been nearly 50 years since he first started as a vendor, trying to find extra grocery money for his struggling family. In 1959, he made it to the top of the vending chain and first began selling peanuts for the Dodgers in the Coliseum. And, when the Dodgers moved into Dodger Stadium in 1962, Roger was there, too, and trick-tossing peanut bags to delighted and amazed fans ever since.

However, according to TIME article, “Peanut Man,” from Jan. 29, 1934, it was another “peanut man” who made headlines in a Washington newspaper.

The article begins with the news of an old-timer who set up his peanut vendor cart everyday at the same spot for 28 years, at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and East Executive Avenue. The peanut man, Nicholas Stephanos Vasilakos, had scribbled his own press release for the Evening Star newspaper, obviously proud that First Lady Roosevelt had recently stopped by for a snack. The same newspaper had also published reports that Vasilakos and his peanut cart should be removed due to obstruction of traffic, but with some intervention from the Oval Office, the cart stayed put.

The Peanut Man Goes To Washington, Part II:

It was exactly 43 years later from the TIME article, (note: George Washington Carver, the original Peanut Man, passed away in 1943, and the famed Dodger Peanut Man Roger Owens, was born in 1943) to when Roger himself went to Washington D.C. in 1977 for Pres. Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural Parties.  The Washington Star newspaper noted Owens’ arrival and showmanship at the parties.

And, should you be curious, the Evening Star eventually changed its name to…the Washington Star.

Kissinger’s “Salted Peanuts”:

We have obviously trekked off the beaten path a bit for this one, but worth a mention.

From the National Security Archive comes mention of Henry Kissinger’s memo to President Nixon in Sept., 1969 that troop withdrawals from Vietnam would have been like “salted peanuts” to Americans, noting the potential of becoming addicted to them.

How does that relate to Roger?? In Sept., 1969, Roger was officially released from the care of the U.S. Naval Hospital and attending physician, Dr. Victor Schorn. Roger was able to finally go home after enduring a life-threating jeep accident while on duty with the California National Guard.

Dr. Schorn, who saved Roger’s life, also happened to be the personal neurosurgeon of Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson.

So, there you have them. Just a few odd connections of peanuts and Washington D.C.
Just keep in mind, if you see that signpost up ahead, your next stop is…

Fifteen minutes.

That’s all it took vaudeville entertainer and songwriter, Jack Norworth, to write down his original lyrics of Take Me Out To The Ball Game on a scrap piece of paper while en route to Manhattan, New York by train in 1908, according to Baseball Almanac.

(By the way, take a quick listen to the different versions of Take Me Out To The Ball Game. My favorites from these are the traditional version, band version, mandolin version, and the orchestral version.)

Now, nearly 100 years later, it seems that those treasured words, scribbled on that fateful scrap piece of paper will itself need to be “scrapped” in order to squeeze in a touch of one of today’s technological advancements that could possibly find its way even into the grand game of baseball…genetically engineered peanuts.

Sure, Take Me Out To The Ball Game might not be the Gettysburg Address, also scribbled on a scrap piece of paper by Abraham Lincoln on a train ride to Gettysburg in November, 1863, 45 years earlier, but to millions of baseball fans, the song could give the speech a run for its money.

But for my money, I’d go with the real possibility that genetically engineered peanuts could show up at ballparks by the time today’s pre-teens are tomorrow’s first round draft picks.

According to an article by the Associated Press from Dec. 26, 2006, scientists have been given the go-ahead to create genetically engineered peanuts. They could be safer (for those who are allergic), easier to grow, and more nutritious.

So, if a re-write of the national past time’s signature song is in order, it’ll probably take more than 15 minutes.

And alot more than 15 minutes to catch on.

———-
Thanks to Roger’s friend Ernie Montano for sending along the article. 

Ya know, that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Sunflower seeds might have their place in baseball, or more specifically, in the dugout, and seeds might even find a home in an outfielder’s back pocket, placed snugly beneath a stuffed pair of well-worn batting gloves.

But, sunflower seeds a part of Roger’s trick-tossing arsenal??

Well, according to an article from about 11 years ago, in the August 1995 issue of the Sunflower Magazine, published by the National Sunflower Association, Roger Owens was known for his amazing abilities of trick-tossed bags of…sunflower seeds.

Sunflower seeds??

Shh-yeah, and Santa Claus was also known then for his penchant for using the front door instead of chimneys, with believing children leaving Old Saint Nick a note along side a plate full of soda crackers and prune juice. There are facts and there are legends, and sometimes they coincide. But mistaking facts only leads to a mistaken legend.

Afterall, everyone knows walking under coal means you have to kiss someone, and fruit cake goes in stockings for those who’ve been bad . And mistletoe?? Come on, that’s easy. That’s what gets tossed over the bride’s shoulders at weddings.

Isn’t it??

Although I still have quite a way to go in re-designing Roger’s website, I would like to, at some point, include a timeline of his achievements. I’m debating whether or not to include references to historical events in the world to give added perspective, something a typical timeline would include, or just use mp3 songs for you to download and listen, to give a sense of historical perspective through the popular music of the time.

So I thought I’d give you an idea of the range of songs I might include if I did create a timeline like that, by serving some up here at The Peanut Gallery. And the songs would be based on the kind Roger would like, and those I think would be fun for one reason or another. I love history and music of all kinds and eras, so expect some selections you might not have, well, expected.

For those curious enough about Roger’s taste in music, his favorite artists and songs are rooted in, but certainly not limited to, many of the 1950’s and 1960’s songs he heard while growing up.

The timeline would give you, for example, a sense of where Roger was living with his family, or what goals he was reaching as a younger vendor at the Coliseum. And songs such as these would serve as a soundtrack to those days of years gone by…

1948 The Sportsmen & Mel Blanc The Woody Woodpecker Song (a nutty one, but good for a laugh. I told you I was gonna add something “out there” for one reason or another) - Roger was 5 years old when the Woody Woodpecker cartoons were gaining popularity. Even by then, Roger was already the big brother, with three sisters and one brother to watch over. The Owens family, including a set of fraternal twins, was growing at the speed of Woody’s bursting trademark giggle.

1956 Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel - Roger was 13, and he and his family had been recently united.  (NOTE: if you haven’t read “The Perfect Pitch” and would like to read it without knowing many of the facts of his biography, I suggest you scroll further to keep from finding out ahead of time. If you already have read it or don’t mind, then keep reading.)

They were united after being in foster homes for three years, while his dad, Rev. Ross Owens worked to bring them together eventually, and his mother, Mary tried to recover from her mental breakdown in 1953. She wouldn’t rejoin the family permanently until about 1960. But Roger was discovering Elvis for the first time, thanks to a neighbor boy who had an impressive collection of 45’s, gifts provided by his father.

1959 Coasters Along Came Jones - Roger was 16, and by this point, he had already found work as a soda vendor the previous year at the L.A. Coliseum at Dodger home games.  With the Dodgers themselves fresh from their historic move from Brooklyn, Roger couldn’t have been more excited having worked his way up to selling peanuts by the end of 1959. Hearing another silly song by the Coasters with his friend only made that year another one to cherish.

1961 Ricky Nelson Travelin’ Man - Roger was 18 and prepared to make the move, along with the entire Dodger team, to a new place to sell peanuts and play ball, a place called Dodger Stadium. With the smell of fresh cut grass of the new ballpark somehow calling him in his dreams, Roger couldn’t wait until the following year and the grand opening of the stadium, much like Ricky Nelson’s Travelin’ Man, who couldn’t wait to visit his “pretty Polynesian baby over the sea.”

The other day I found a YouTube video of Will Ferrell’s Apple Switch IPod commercial. It must be somewhat new, but I haven’t seen it on TV. Anyways, I thought it was funny, but in his lines, either scripted or ad-libbed knowing Will, he mentions that he “sells them at Dodger games, kinda like how they sell hot dogs.” I had to watch it again and again, each time a little bit more tickled that he would mention anything about selling anything at Dodger games.

The reason for this is because countless people have said “The Perfect Pitch” should be adapted into a movie. It has everything a movie should have, comedy, love, history, action, drama, miracles, success, rags to riches, tragedy, obstacles to overcome, family, love of dogs, and addresses such issues as foster home abuse, mental health, poverty, and throw in a cool soundtrack including Jack Owens’ crooner 30’s and 40’s period music, and you have a movie I’d be more than happy to pay $10 for, or whatever the ridiculous movie ticket prices are these days.

So have a look at the IPod commercial, and then have a look at these photos of Roger from the 1970’s (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)when his career really took off, and then compare them to this promotional poster photo from Will’s latest movie, Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

The resemblance is about as uncanny as a double-bag toss from Roger to two different Dodger fans from 20 seats away.

Well, I can’t say for sure all the flavors Archie’s Ice Cream cart or truck has onboard, or if Archie even has Cookie Dough ice cream at all, but I can tell you that his ice cream wanderings throughout the Los Angeles and Hollywood area produce both frozen treats and warm smiles because Archie’s Ice Cream has started an online gallery of photos taken of rock stars, celebrities, and sports celebrities side by side with Archie’s ice cream cart or truck. The celebrities sign the cart and have their photo taken.

It seems as though Archie takes his refreshing and “say-cheesy” road show to different events and catches up with the notables, and with his Archie’s Angels, he’s able to dish out some ice cream as well as some funny and interesting photos.

Archie’s Ice Cream even managed to catch up with Roger, although I’d have to ask Roger if the photo was taken outside Dodger Stadium or at some other event.

I’m curious as to the names of the ice cream flavors in a town like Hollywood. Any ideas??