The crooning voice of David Frishberg, the use of player's names as lyrics, and the soft sounds of a nostalgic bossa nova ballad make up the classic known only as the Van Lingle Mungo.
"The only other guy from the song I ever met was Mungo himself, who arrived from Pageland, South Carolina, to be on the Dick Cavett show and listen to me sing the song. This was 1969, when Cavett had a nightly show in New York. Backstage, Mungo asked me when he would see some remuneration for the song. When he heard my explanation about how there was unlikely to be any remuneration for anyone connected with the song, least of all him, he was genuinely downcast. 'But it's my name,' he said. I told him, 'The only way you can get even is to go home and write a song called Dave Frishberg.' He laughed, and when we said goodbye he said , 'I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!' If he did it, The Baseball Almanac doesn't mention it." - David Frishberg (SABR-L, 03/17/2005)
Van Lingle Mungoby David Frishberg © |
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Published: 1970 Published by: Red Day Records |
Player Name Stats |
HEENEY MAJESKI WHITEY KUROWSKI AUGIE BERGAMO AUGIE BERGAMO VAN LINGLE MUNGO |
Majeski Stats Kurowski Stats Bergamo Stats Bergamo Stats |
Lyrics by David Frishberg © | Stats |
Van Lingle Mungo |
Casey Stengel was quoted saying, "Mungo and I get along fine. I just tell him I won't stand for no nonsense, and then I duck" which refers to the wild, mean, and often violent temper seen in Van Mungo — both on and off the field.
Click the player to Hear Van Lingle Mungo by David Frishberg
The following story about Van Mungo appeared in The Herring Design Quarterlies, "Once, when the Dodgers were training in Cuba, his friends really saved him. Seems Van Lingle Mungo became enamored with a nightclub dancer by the name of Gonzalez, and she liked him pretty well, too. Her husband caught them in the clutches, and Mungo punched him in the eye. SeƱor Gonzalez returned with a butcher knife. That's when a Dodgers executive by the name of Babe Hamberger hid Mungo in a laundry cart. He got his pitcher out of a major jam and down to the wharf where a seaplane was waiting. Mungo hid while his bags were loaded. Then Hamberger yelled, and Mungo sprinted for the plane, leaping aboard with the police hot on his heels."
Did you know that during his Major League debut (September 12, 1931), Van Mungo loaded the bases during the first inning then fireballed his way out of the jam and went on to pitch a 2-0 shutout versus the Braves? He also helped his own cause during his debut by hitting a single during the second inning and a triple during the fifth inning.