Dick Clark dies: What does he have in common with Frank Robinson?
Television icon Dick Clark died Wednesday at age 82 because of a heart attack, leaving a New Year’s Eve void that may never be filled. There are probably a lot of people out there who don’t realize the amazing longevity he had, so to put it in a little perspective, consider this:
Dick Clark started hosting “American Bandstand,” the show that put him on the map nationally, in 1956. How long ago is that?
The following baseball players made their major league debut that same year: Luis Aparicio, Gino Cimoli, Moe Drabowsky, Don Drysdale, Curt Flood, Tito Francona (father of former Red Sox manager Terry Francona), Whitey Herzog, Charlie Lau, Bill Mazeroski and Frank Robinson.
PHOTOS: Dick Clark | 1929 - 2012
Aparicio, Drysdale, Herzog, Mazeroski and Robinson are all in the Hall of Fame. (Flood should be, but that’s whole other post).
That year, 1956, is also when Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Eddie Murray were born, along with former Dodger Bob Welch and Dale Berra, son of Yogi Berra.
So Clark has been a part of our television lives for a long time. On a personal note, I watched him every year on “Dick Clark’s Rockin’New Year’s Eve.” This New Year’s Eve won’t be the same without him.
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