Harry Ralston Black, Sr. was a tough, fiery, ultra-competitive man.
In the 1940s, as a 5-foot-9, 155-pound center, he played four seasons of professional hockey for the Los Angeles Monarchs of the Pacific Coast League. But when it came to his son’s baseball career, all of that toughness turned to butter.
“When I was playing in little league or in high school school, my dad couldn’t sit in the stands to watch,” recalled Rockies manager Harry Ralston “Bud” Black. “He’d get too nervous.”
Years later, when Black became a big-league pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, his father’s yips got even worse.