Bob Hope, Dave Winfield and the power of memory

Memory is a funny thing. The more our brains fill up with new information, we need to offload old facts that once took up that headspace. So what survives the great exchange, and why? And how much of what we think we truly remember is actually myth, or a conglomerate of snippets of the past that our brain has merged into a semblance of a coherent narrative that we cling to as fact?

Recently, the text chain of a few college friends (we went to the U of M in the late 80s and early 90s) blew up with talk of football, specifically Gophers-Wolverines history because it's Michigan Week. Someone pointed out that the last time the Gophers beat Michigan at home (and snagged the Little Brown Jug, college football's OG rivalry trophy), and it got me a-thinkin'. I feel like I remember that 1977 game, but I was just nine years old and TV coverage of sports and specifically Gophers football was nothing like it is today. I’m sure I’ve just heard and read a bunch of stories about it over the years and that created a "memory" for me.

However, my parents did take my brother and me to watch the Gophers play Michigan at old Memorial Stadium three year later. I scoured all my typical sources when looking for info on the game – College Football Reference, both schools' athletics websites, etc. – and all I could find was the final score: Michigan 37, Minnesota 14.

I do remember a few things about that day. One is that Michigan wide receiver and kick returner Anthony Carter absolutely torched the Gophers all day long. The only evidence I have to support that is the fact that Carter led the nation with 13 touchdown catches and 411 kickoff return yards (on 14 attempts, an average of 29.4 yards per return, which somehow wasn't No. 1 in the nation). If anyone can find an actual box score or game story from that day, hit me up.

But also, ever since that day, whenever I’ve thought about that game I remembered two things about the halftime show.

1. Bob Hope was there for some reason. Like, he was the hired entertainment. They paid him some ungodly amount I assume to fly in and crack a few jokes at halftime over that scratchy PA. We weren't fighting any hot wars at the time so his USO duties had slowed greatly, but I always thought that was odd.
2. Dave Winfield was there and he was wearing a huge fur coat. He had just become a free agent and everyone expected him to sign the biggest contract in MLB history, probably with the Yankees, which is exactly what he did. I remember thinking that when guys get super rich, they must all wear fur coats, even though that was usually reserved for women back then.

But did I truly remember those things? Or were they facts pulled from elsewhere and remixed to create a "memory" formed in my 11-year-old brain?

I turned to the internet to see if I could find any evidence of either Bob Hope or Dave Winfield being there for Homecoming 1980 and this is what I found.

It's as if I asked some AI bot to create an image of my memory of that day. And yet it was a real thing. I've since come to learn that the David M. Winfield Foundation was holding a benefit that weekend and Mr. Hope flew in to perform at the banquet at the Carlton Celebrity Room in Bloomington (located near the southeast corner of what's now the Mall of America). So it all makes more sense. Also, George Steinbrenner apparently flew in to attend the benefit and make his (ultimately successful) pitch for Winfield to sign with the Yankees.

So, as untrustworthy as memories can be, there are times when you should absolutely have faith in your brain's recall function. But it's nice to find proof regardless.

And now, back to the countdown of the Top 5 Coolest Things I Saw at Target Field This Summer. Today you're getting a two-fer because I want to serve up No. 1 to you as you head into the weekend on Friday.

No. 3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez says HELLO!

The Twins called up a trio of their top prospects in the last two months of the season. You already know about Walker Jenkins and his first MLB home run. Kaelen Culpepper homered in his first MLB game, but that was in Milwaukee so I wasn't there. Then there's Emmanuel Rodriguez.

"Emma" as he's known by his teammates and coaches, is an easy guy to root for. Listen to Corey Provus talk about him in the video below and you'll get a sense of his skill set. He's been bedeviled by injuries but if he can stay healthy it's pretty clear he's got the juice to stick in the big leagues. Especially after he did this when he came up to bat leading off the third inning on September 12 vs. Cleveland:

Emma became the seventh Twin to homer in his first major league at-bat. And from everything I've heard, his smile and enthusiasm and joy – the whole deal – is 100 percent legit. It's going to be a lot of fun covering him in the next few years if he can stay off the IL.

No. 2 – Bailey Ober's Maddux

Starting pitcher Bailey Ober has been something of a unicorn during his six years with the Twins. He's listed as the same size as LeBron James (6-foot-9, 260 pounds) but he throws no harder than Jamie Moyer. Because of his size, his fastball plays up because it appears he's releasing it from just a few feet in front of home plate. But he experienced a troubling decline in velocity this year, with his fastball topping out in the high 80s for most of the season. That's not going to get it done longterm in the major leagues, and it's quite possible that Ober – one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet – has pitched his last game with the Twins.

But if this was his last season, he'll always be able to look back on one amazing memory from May 12, when he pitched a so-called "Maddux" against the Miami Marlins. The feat, named after the baffling efficient Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, is a complete-game shutout while throwing fewer than 100 pitches. On the day in question, Ober held the Marlins to two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts, and he did it all while throwing just 89 pitches.

Of all the Twins pitchers with a chance to pull that off, you'd have to think that Ober would have been one of your last guesses. But when he's on, he's not throwing the ball over the plate where it can get smacked. He's putting the ball on the corners, changing speeds (from slow to slower) and making hitters uncomfortable with his unique combination of Bigfoot size and butterfly velo. And on that May night at Target Field, he was responsible for one of the cleanest scoresheets I've ever seen.

Come on back Friday for a special Minnesota Wild post as well as the No. 1 Coolest Thing I Saw at Target Field This Summer!