Tuesday, March 27, 2007

BEERMAN, R.I.P.




A moment of silence for a man who could sell a cold frosty one. We lost a good one this week.

The silver lining in this dark cloud is that the secret identity of the world's greatest peanut vendor, the man who can throw a bag on a dime (and quite frankly could have helped out on the mound a lot better than Billy Swift ever did), has been outed. It is none other than Richard Kaminski, and we have photographic evidence to prove it. That's him in the background:


We learned his name because he was in the caption of the photo:
Bill Scott, left, aka the Beerman, and Richard Kaminski, aka the Peanut Man, worked crowds at the Kingdome when the items they sold were far cheaper than today.
I mainly remember those little plastic saran wrap like lids they stretched over the beers. Guaranteed mess. But at a buck fitty, who cares?

UPDATE: loyal reader and master of fundies fundies, it's all about the fundies, Isham "Raicilla Sunrise" Randolph writes with this passionate cry for clarity and better understanding of what matters here:
Kaminski was the greatest. never got the attention he deserved, playing in the shadow of Beerman. And he stayed loyal to the dome, something the Beerman never did. you could say that at the end of his career, beerman was as waterdowned/overplayed/whored out as the San Diego Chicken. Traveling fool that he was.
Ish-Didog takes a big breath, and then he goes on:
Some people are saying that dying at the tender age of 65 (58?) is just another example of how the vengeful god that watches over Seattle treats those that betray the Jet City. You want another example: Hendrix. You want another: Bob Whitsitt.
And I would add to that list:

Keith Godchaux -- taken by the Grateful Dead piano curse
Ron Santo -- dared to play for the Cubbies

No comments: