1991 Play-by-Play

January

January 12th, the year opened with a shimmering gong duet on actor Keye Luke,who portrayed Charlie Chan's #1 son and Master Po on TV's "Kung Fu." Bowing low for two points were Cassandra Bob and Dr. Doux, sharing the early lead... Jan. 17th, seven paid homage to Norway's King Olav V, the world's oldest monarch, for two points each, and the lead was shared by nine... Next day, it was a two-point beauty for Pontius, reeling in the points on actress Nita Krebs for career solo #24, and now 10 shared the top spot... Next day, the session ended for Hamilton Fish Sr., who spend 24 years in Congress as one of FDR's bitterest rivals. Five gamesters voted "yea" and the great, great Morbo Chucks went Wild for five, taking sole possession of the lead at seven points... Jan. 28th, 11 gamesters (how apt) caught Red Grange, "The Galloping Ghost," in his own End Zone for two points... Yeeow, Jan. 30th, it was the torrid Cassandra Bob and Dorian Gray scoring two on John Bardeen, co-inventor of the transistor. This was the Smokin' Bobcat's fourth hit of 1991, and it moved him into the lead at seven points with the Morbo Chucks!... Same day, Gomez soloed for two on actor John McIntire who had played more than 1,000 roles in his career.

February '91

February 2nd, Razor sharpened his reputation with a six-point solo smash on sports writer Pete Axthelm, and glided effortlessly into second place. (In a fitting eulogy, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson noted, "Doctors who hectored him and warned solemnly of death were idly dismissed as quacks who didn't get the point. They had no sense of fun. 'Who do they think I am?' he would shout. 'Methuselah? No! In my heart I am Peter Pan, and in my dreams I am a sixteen-year-old jockey riding winners at Churchill Downs.' We will miss him, but not weep for him. Pete Axthelm was a winner, and he got out just in time. He was one of us.").. Next day, Winterkill led 11 in scoring four on actress Nancy Kulp of "Love That Bob" and "The Beverly Hillbillies"... Feb. 5th, Gomez and the rookie Gamesters of Triskelion tallied two on actor Dean Jagger, and e. mcgrath hit her career solo #16 with a deuce on Jesuit leader Pedro Arrupe... Next day, Braindead, Harris Tweed and rookie Syd Lexic made room for actor Danny Thomas and three points... Feb. 12th, Morituri te Salutamus soloed for two on former NYC mayor Robert Wagner... Feb. 14th, Carrie White, the oldest living person at 116, sent D. Beach a one-point solo Valentine... Feb. 19th, Eugene Fodor, creator of guides for worldwide travel, booked passage to the Netherworld. It was career solo #17 and two points for e. mcgrath... Feb. 21st, ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn took her last curtain call for three points. Rushing to the stage with bouquets of lillies were SLY, L. Smith, rookie Alibi and whoa, how apropos, Swan Song... Feb. 24th, rookie Helena Handbasket and Harris Tweed selected George Gobel in the center square for three points. Same day, Dr. Doux and e. mcgrath raised a heartfelt duet on singer Webb Pierce for four points. It was mcgrath's third hit since Feb. 5th, it doubled her score and swept her past Cassandra Bob and the Morbo Chucks into the lead at eight points, up there in the cloudless wild blue yonder for the first time in her 19-year career!! Informed that her Jesuit and travel guide writer had been complemented by a country singer, she gushed, "I feel so well-rounded."

March '91

March 1st, Cassandra Bob clicked the shutter and developed an instant solo on Polaroid inventor Edwin H. Land for two points, turning e. mcgrath's crystal coach back into a pumpkin, winning the Silver Bobcat as the first in '91 to score a fifth hit, and retaking the lead at nine points! ... Mar. 3rd, Cassandra Bob was back, this time leading a ten-gamester conga line on ballroom dance ace Arthur Murray and rising to 10 points... Mar. 6th, Pontius sent in an obit and was credited with a two-point solo on Sen. Sherman Cooper, the 25th solo of his career... Mar. 7th, the Morbo Chucks and the Merry Little Breezes tallied two each on Negro Baseball great Cool Papa Bell, who was so fast that at age 45, he scored from first on a bunt by Satchel Paige. The hit moved the Chucks into second at nine points... Mar. 12th, Pontius and T. & J. James voted for former Florida Gov. Leroy Collins and Ponty rumbled into a tie for the lead with Cassandra Bob at 10 points... Mar. 14th, the Moorebids soloed for four on songwriter Doc Pomus, who penned "Save the Last Dance for Me," "Teenager in Love," "This Magic Moment," Fabian's gritty "Turn Me Loose" and the Sick Puppies' favorite Elvis tune, "Viva Las Vegas."... Mar. 20th, ten scored ten on War/Iraq, a decision greeted by howls from those who'd been told that War/Kuwait wouldn't count since there had already been casualties in Kuwait in 1990 but who failed to realize that there had been no casualties yet in Iraq. The hit thrust an unlikely Harris Tweed into the lead at 16 points!... Mar. 21st, Penguin plugged in his Stratocaster and played the solo of his career, "Blues for Leo," two points on the creator of Fender Guitars... Mar. 25th, Demento Morte tracked down a solo four on fugitive Robert Satiacum, who led the fight for Native American fishing rights in the Northwest; he was captured one week before he died... Mar. 27th, L. Smith soloed for four on actor Aldo Ray, rocketing to 17 points and the lead!... In 1990, the King of Pain was nursing a solo on Lee Atwater, but on New Year's Day, he picked up many camp followers. On Mar. 29th, they all turned out for Landslide Lee, 53 gamesters (including 9 out of the Top 10), all scoring six points. Still on top, L. Smith at 23 points!

April '91

April 1st, another dance shoe dropped. First, Arthur Murray, now, Martha Graham. Eighteen scored one point, including Pontius with hit #8... Apr. 3rd, the Gamesters of Triskelion and Mr. Dit scored a two-point hit on Graham Greene, who humbly divided his work into 'novels' and 'entertainments,' except his entertainments were better than most people's novels... Apr. 5th, Doom & Gloom and Skul called Sen. John Tower in a plane crash. Over and out. The four points were modest compared to the adulation that comes from calling a sudden death... Apr. 7th, Pontius scored his ninth hit and 26th career solo with an ace on choreographer Ruth Page... Apr. 10th, it was another solo for vid-kids Morituri te Salutamus, this one an ace on actress Natalie Schafer who played "Lovey" on Gilligan's Island... Apr. 16th, three cried "Cut!" as director David Lean left the set for two points. At the wrap party were SLY, Fade to Black, and the Gamesters of Triskelion... Apr. 23rd, Mr. Dit struck like lightening with a seven-point solo on rock guitarist Johnny Thunders, passing 32 startled gamesters who ran to close the windows... Apr. 30th, seven scored 10 on Cyclone/Bangladesh, including Dr. Doux (duplicating his 1985 call) and the Gamesters of Triskelion who took the lead at 24 points, the first rookies to hold the lead since N. Percia took the lead on August 28, 1976 and held it all the way to the finish.

May '91

May 2nd, Razor tallied a three-point solo on Nazi bad guy Walter Reder who created an international hubbub with his hero's welcome in Austria after 40 years in an Italian prison... May 3rd, rookie Helena Handbasket showed her style by being there for a five-point solo on writer Jerzy Kosinski, who took his own life... May 4th, Scorpio soloed for one on publisher and philanthropist George Delacorte... May 6th, Scorpio was back, this time on the arm of the Game's debonair gentleman D. Perriman Sr. as they scored two on actor Wilfred Hyde-White... May 8th, the Gamesters of Triskelion showed they were for real as they moved to 26 with two points on pianist Rudolf Serkin; also tickling the ivories: El Chileno, Sweeney Todd, Gomez, Tim Ormortis... May 21st, SID, Silver Tapps and Winterkill made the call as India's Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated and picked up six sudden points; the blast lifted Silver Tapps into second with L. Smith at 23... May 29th, the Legion of Doom soloed for three on actress Coral Browne.

June '91

June 3rd, the Chinese government announced the May 14th suicide of Jiang Qing, leader of the Gang of Four and widow of Chairman Mao. A gang of eight scored three each... Same day, Pontius, the Gamesters of Triskelion and Dorian Gray scored two each on actress Eva Le Gallienne. The Frisky Triskets puffed up their leading score to 27 points... June 5th, Ghoul of the Hill soloed for three on investment columnist Sylvia Porter... June 6th, L. Smith booked jazz great Stan Getz for a four-point farewell performance. Sitting in the front row in a black turtleneck was Dr. Doux, moving past the Gamesters of Triskelion into the lead at 29 points!... But three days later, the Gamesters of Triskelion answered the challenge with a two-(counter)point arpeggio on classical pianist Claudio Arrau, tying the Doctor at 29 points each! Also perched on Claudio's black bench were El Chileno, Dorian Gray and Gomez... June 14th, Gomez was back, stepping onto center stage with a solo two on actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft... Next day, it was Pontius with hit #12, a crisp single on baseball's Happy Chandler. Also hugging the bag at first were Fire Ants, the Merry Little Breezes and the Morbo Chucks... June 19th, Cassandra Bob, Ms. O'Ree and Scorpio held a two-point tribute screening for Jean Arthur who graced many classic films including "You Can't Take It With You." The New York Times noted, "Miss Arthur had a bubbly flair for reflecting the absurdities of life, a subtle vulnerability, and a voice that wavered unpredictably between the spunky and the amiable."

July '91

July 1st, rookie Teen Angel stepped into the Game Pantheon of Greats, aglow in her white initiation robes, with her five-point solo on actor Michael Landon... Next day, 11 gamesters led by Legion of Doom scored five on actress Lee Remick... July 15th, rookie Demented Debutante and vets T. & J. James scored a win, lose or draw on TV's Bert Convy for five points. Same day, Tim Ormortis was all alone for two on scientist and philanthropist Roger Revelle... July 16th, more style as Frank Rizzo discovered he wasn't running for mayor of Philadelphia after all and e. mcgrath tallied three solo points as the booth curtains closed for the last time. Same day, SLY dashed off a solo portrait of artist Robert Motherwell for three... Remember Iben Browning? He called Mount St. Helens and the "Pretty Big One" in San Francisco, and in 1990 predicted a major quake for Missouri. Well, Missouri rookie Better Late Than Never went him one better with her call on "Iben Browning" and she scored first. Also recording Browning's 3.0 seismic send-off were earth movers Styx & Stones and the Merry Little Breezes... Since sun-up of '91 the Last Roundup had been hanging around the chuck wagon in Club Nula, but on July 23rd, the bronzed cowpoke mounted up and spurred a stampede with his Wild Card on writer Issac Bashevis Singer. Whooping in the dust on Shetland mustangs and scoring two each were 10 more trail hands with a taste for Yiddish masterworks, including those wild and wooly Gamesters of Triskelion taking sole possession of the lead at 31 points!

August '91

August 1st, the Sick Puppies returned to the form that made them famous, beginning their pennant drive with a five-run solo on Phillies lefty Chris Short... Aug. 5th, the nearest of near things. Motoring enthusiast Sweeney Todd drove this close to a Front Page Wild Card Solo on Soichiro Honda, but alas, waddling into view was the Penguin to collect two points and send Todd's hopes hurdling over the guardrail onto the rocks below. The bruised and sniffling Sweeney, goggles askew, had to settle for five points. However, he did pass into the Game language as this phenomena came to be know as "being Sweenied". Same day, a miracle: Among the six gamesters sacking football coach Paul Brown was Col. Mustard with a spear at the two, popping the legend out of his socks and into the End Zone. Yes, after a year and seven months of play, the Colonel had finally scored... Next day, Miracle #2: Col. Mustard scored again (!) with a pipe in the library on newsman Harry Reasoner for four. Twenty-one other gamesters got the news, including the Legion of Doom marching into the lead at 32 points!... Aug. 8th, C. Stanley soloed for four on astronaut and moon-walker James Irwin... Aug. 13th, G. Reaper and D. Perriman Jr. scored two on former congressman James Roosevelt... Aug. 22nd, Miracle #3: Canada Dry Bones, the Texas-based list composed entirely of hearty Canadians (pardon the redundancy) finally scored a hit after 20 months of play, and it was a solo, on Montreal-born Tony award winner Colleen Dewhurst for four points. Green magnums of ginger ale could be heard popping in the Lone Star State.

(Some time during the summer of '91, Sal Monella soloed for three on mobster Phil Rastelli, but no one noticed, and the hit, points and solo were not credited until 1992.)

September '91

September 3rd, Frank Capra, director of "It's a Wonderful Life," called for quiet on the set, hushing 19 gamesters. The leading Legion of Doom and second place Gamesters of Triskelion were both there, inching upward one point to 33 and 32, but Morituri te Salutamus Wild Carded and vaulted from 23 to 28. Also going Wild, Braindead and Cala Vera... Friday the 13th brought a stroke of good luck to Gomez and D. Perriman Sr. as both scored two on film producer Joe Pasternak on the cusp, just six days before he would have dropped to one point... Sept. 16th, the Gamesters of Triskelion played a violin solo on French virtuoso Zino Francescotti for two points and returned to the lead at 34 points!... Sept. 24th, 22 gamesters sat down to a two-point platter of green eggs and ham with Dr. Seuss. Still on top in funny hats, the Gamesters of Triskelion had 36 points and 13 hits, holding the lead and tying Pontius in the Perriman Pennant race... Next day, 10 gamesters scored three on World War Two bad guy Klaus Barbi... Sept. 28th, an ensemble of 10 gamesters, led by Lincoln's Brain on the bell jar, sat in with jazz great Miles Davis for four points.

October '91

October 2nd, the Sick Puppies stroked career solo #21 on New York Mets founder William Shea for two points... Oct. 7th, The Gamesters of Triskelion led six umpires scoring two as baseball manager Leo "The Lip" Durocher was ejected from his last game. The Frisky Triskets were now at 38 points... Oct. 8th, Ghostwriter soloed for six on the Hemlock Society's co-founder, Ann Humphrey, who took her own life. The hit gave Ghostie his first QPA since 1980, and it was a 6.0, quickening his hopes of finally besting Dr. Death's 5.71 set 20 years earlier... Oct. 11th, Redd Foxx took his last bow and nine gamesters led by the newly born scoring machine Col. Mustard scored four... Oct. 12th, OPEC and D. Perriman Sr. scored one on film actor Regis Toomey who graced such Game faves as "They Died with their Boots On" and "The Big Sleep." In 1941, Toomey and Jane Wyman made movie history in "You're in the Army Now" with a kiss that lasted 185 seconds... Oct. 16th, Dr. Doux stepped on the scales and burst out singing "Sixteen Tons" as he soloed for three on Tennessee Ernie Ford.

November '91

November 5th, the haunting theme music from "My Seventeen Gamesters" filled the air as an affable crowd scored two each on movie and TV actor Fred MacMurray. The hit lifted the Gamesters of Triskelion to 40 points and 15 hits!... Nov. 9th, the death toll from a typhoon in the Philippines passed 5,000 and three gamesters scored 10, including Winterkill vaulting into second place at 34 points!... Nov. 18th, the Game saw a three-point solo on former Czech leader Gustav Husak and the winner was Dr. Doornail, a gamester who has logged more heads of state than Madame Defarge... Nov. 24th, Oh! Oh! OPEC soloed for six on Queen's lead singer, Freddy Mercury, a beautiful singleton... Next day, Ms. O'Ree and Cassandra Bob scored four on actor Klaus Kinski... Nov. 29th, it was hit #16 for the Gamesters of Triskelion as they and 11 others scored two on actor Ralph Bellamy, star of more than 100 films. With the hit, the leaders advanced to 42 and stretched their margin to eight points.

December '91

December 1st, e. mcgrath hit her fourth solo of the year, this one a deuce on George Stigler, Nobel Prize winner in economics... Dec. 5th, rookie Alibi and Game co-founder Binky Brown scored on killer Richard Speck, who died of a heart attack the day before his 50th birthday. Collecting six points, not five, were two happy stylists... Dec. 9th, we heard from the Moorebids that they had soloed for four on singer Larry Kert on June 5th... Dec. 10th, Deus ex Machina snapped photo pioneer Berenice Abbott for a one-point solo... Dec. 14th, the National Health scored a solo three on John Arlott, doyen of cricket announcers. As the Guardian put it, "His voice was heard wherever on the earth cricket is played. Small boys swaying on the branches of trees overlooking Bridgetown, Kingston and Port-of-Spain sought to imitate him." It was career solo #25 for the Health... And then the final points of the year, Dec. 19th, D. Perriman Jr. soloed for two on Ernest Gann, author of "The High and the Mighty."

And so it ended, with the amazing Gamesters of Triskelion winning the Gran Prix (42 points), the Perriman Pennant (16 hits) and Rookie of the Year, Ghostwriter the Reaper Ribbon for High QPA with a new Game record (6.0), Fire Ants Clete's Cup (1.44), and e. mcgrath Doc's Diploma for Class List. Teen Angel was also singled out for praise with her solo on Michael Landon, dubbed "The Hit of the Year."

Let's look at the Top Ten for 1991.

Take me on to 1992.

Take me back to Play-by-Play.