The thing I'm most familiar with about former Phillie great Johnny Callison is that whenever a current Phillie guns down a player at the plate from the outfield, my dad likes to say it was Callison-esque. Dude had a great arm. He's also very well known for a walkoff home run in the 1964 All-Star Game which happened to be the last Mid-Summer Classic hosted by the Mets and was the recent subject of a pretty nice ESPN feature.
It's certainly worth a read for any Philadelphia fan, especially those who never lived during his playing days and missed the chance get to know a little about the great player he was.
It also includes this gem about his awesome bird:
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Callison, who never lost his matinee idol looks, was also a used car salesman, a bartender, a father of three daughters, a grandfather of eight more girls, and a good friend. He loved John Wayne, Cape May, "The Price Is Right" and animals. He even taught one of his parrots, Charlie, to sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" and say "F--- you."
Emphasis ours.
So next time you watch True Grit (1969), get some free fudge at the Original Fudge Kitchen, see Bob Barker in Happy Gilmore, or run into a singing/swearing parrot, think of old Johnny.
>>Johnny Callison 1964 walk-off home run in the 1964 All-Star Game hosted by the New York Mets [ESPN]
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[h/t @dhm]