Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Vladimir Horowitz was a NY Mets Fan

I was perusing a Vladimir Horowitz website and saw were he was an avid NY Mets fan with numerous 1969 World Series memorabilia. I would never of thought of our maestro as any sports fan. I understand he liked the NY Giants football team too.

I remember a Met game from back then where they showed him there!

And, the newspapers mentioned that he talked with one of the opposing players, Lou Brock, and told him that he heard Brock named his daughter Wanda (Horowitz's wife's name). Horowitz asked him how he picked the name. Brock said "I don't know, we just thought of it."

I also read that another hobby of Horowitz's was getting out in his Rolls and driving 100 MPH.


P.S. (edit) As this sat in my mind for a bit, I remembered that the stories at that time said he was actually a fan of Brock's team -- the St. Louis Cardinals -- not the Mets, even though he was at the Mets' stadium for the game.
But close enough.

Lol, Horowitz never learned how to drive. Wanda drove, although she once ran over one of her poodles - it survived, but had to have a leg amputated. From then on, they called it a piano dog.

Wow, he was brilliant in more than just piano, then!

BTW, are you talking as a fellow St. Louis fan (even though I see that you're not there now!), or a NY team hater (of which there are very many) or about how the team has done the last couple of years? (Including yesterday!)

Mark,

I'm not a NY team hater, but a lifelong Cardinals fan from my days as a boy in Indiana. I remember the Boyers and the '64 World Series.

BTW, I understand the Tigers are sending limos to the Yankees' hotel to make sure A-Rod, Cano, Swisher and Granderson make it to the game.

I'm hoping for a Cards-Tigers World Series. We still owe them for 1968.

I can see Horowitz as a Mats fan. He appreciated the great game.

Nice!
I remember that series well -- in fact, went to game 3. I got there early (to make sure I'd get in -- yeah, I bought my ticket at the gate and walked in) and was sitting in the front row of the bleachers, killing time by studying a textbook that I brought. One of the Cardinal players, Jerry Buchek, ran by and flipped a ball into the stands. It would have landed right in my hands if I'd looked up.

Do you remember that Ken and Clete Boyer were the "mystery guests" on What's My Line that weekend? It was pretty cool.

I think the Cardinal uniforms are the best, because the logo is the best. A Cardinal shirt was the first piece of sports-team gear I ever got. One time a bunch of friends came over to my place to watch a big NY Giant football game. Most of them were wearing Giant gear. Since the Cardinal shirt was the only sports thing I had, I put that on -- I figured that would be just as good.


For sure!


Remember the center fielder playing shortstop? Somehow the Tigers got away with that!

And also, since I guess this is a music forum ....their organ player?

I think you're going to see a Cards-Tigers world series

If there were a pianist post-season at that earlier time we were talking about, it might have looked something like this....

Divisional champs: Horowitz, Rubinstein, Richter, Gould, Cliburn, Gilels

Wild cards: de Larrocha, Tureck, Rudolf Serkin, Michelangelli

World Series: Horowitz vs. Rubinstein (Michelangelli might have made it if he had shown up)

Outcome???

Geez! I thought I was old!

Poor Denny McClain, I didn't know he played keyboard.

daviel, I'm not so sure about that matchup. The Tigers will make it, but the Cards are no shoe-ins. Last year they were on a real roll at season's end,
this year they kinda squeaked in. But we'll see.

And I'll take Michelangeli for the sweep.

How does his being of fan of the Cardinals make Horowitz "brilliant"?

It was a joke.
He meant that since he's a fan of the Cardinals himself, anyone who's a Cardinal fan is brilliant.

Kinda like how I might say that anyone who considers Chopin the greatest composer who ever lived is brilliant.

(BTW, I know that "kinda" isn't standard English!)

That's the correct reasoning, but no, it was not a joke. I'm as serious as a heart attack!

And besides, Bob Gibson said so.

I first heard that from Dana Carvey on SNL in a Ross Perot parody.

He said that right before he also said he was as ready as a ham sandwich at a church picnic. I didn't have the 'data base' to get that, but I inferred that they often serve ham sandwiches at church picnics.

BTW, not to go too far off topic and start talking about piano .....but

I suggested these as the six biggest names in piano in the late '60's:

Horowitz
Rubinstein
Richter
Gould
Cliburn
Gilels

....with these four "honorable mentions":

de Larrocha
Tureck
Rudolf Serkin
Michelangelli

How about that list of 10?

Kempff?