It’s mid-July, and baseball is ready to enter the second half of its season.

This is also a time to regenerate your football juices, as pro football camps open. Remember how you waited to watch the first exhibition or preseason games on TV and get your first pack of football cards?

In general, we usually begin to take the first steps toward rekindling some memories and begin to think about what’s ahead in the fall.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column – reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond – I’ll look back at some of our midsummer staples, some Summer Olympic memories, as well as some other summer standbys

Finally, does the All-Star Game need a reboot? What national fast food chain had an Olympic promotion flop? What NASCAR star nearly died at Pocono? And what former wrestler was a USA weightlifting champion?

All-Star Sags ... How many of you actually watched more than a few innings of the All-Star Game Tuesday? I didn’t.

With the game’s innovations and live interviews, the game has lost most of its luster. Baseball fans like me and most of us are traditionalists and want the general game.

Now, we have to deal with the ever-changing uniforms of both leagues, mainly driven by Nike in 2021, instead of having each player wear their own uniform.

The American League orange uniforms didn’t cut it for me. The National League’s were OK. What did you think?

This year’s game had approximately 7,443,000 views, up from 7,006,000 from last season. In 2022, the game drew 7.5 million viewers. Over the years, the views have been sinking.

In 1976 — the game at the Vet — the game drew an all-time 36 million viewers.

The Home Run Derby has tried to add some viewers, but it has been inadequate. The 18-30 crowd also isn’t in tune with the game like we were.

Favorite Apparel ... In terms of uniforms, my favorites have been the old powder-blue Expos, the vintage A’s, the classic California Angels one, and of course, the Phillies’ powder blue.

Anyone remember the Cubs’ powder-blue, blue pinstripe jersey, or how about the canary-yellow Pirates?

What do you think about the new blue “Philly” (Phillies) uniform? I like it, but there should be some red on there.

Major Mac-Miss ... In the summer of 1984, McDonald’s launched “When the US Wins, You Win” in conjunction with the Olympics. They had a successful run with it in ‘76, and decided to rerun it.

Scratch cards were distributed with eight different Olympic events on them. If the US won a gold in an event, you would scratch off the event to see what prize that would win - gold for a Big Mac, silver for some fires, and a bronze for a Coke.

However, in response to a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics, the Soviet Union and 14 of its countries staged a late boycott of the 1984 version.

As a result, the US won 174 medals – 83 gold – and McDonald’s took a financial hit.

Did you play the game?

Another Classic Game ... In 1978, the Royal Palm International company introduced the Gold Medal World Olympian Game.”

There were plastic red, blue and yellow figures who would move on the board from a dice roll to try and collect as many medals as they could, thus gaining the most points.

It was another simple game that we could enjoy.

On This Date ... Along with the 1980 Summer Olympics, the 1952 Olympics - the introduction of the Soviet Union – in Helsinki, People’s Republic of China, and Israel – and the 1966 Olympics – Muhammad Ali lit the torch – in Atlanta.

Also, can anyone recount what happened with NASCAR legend Bobby Allison at the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono Raceway? Allison’s car was T-boned on the first lap, and the crash left him in a vegetative state. However, Allison recovered through extensive rehab and became a car owner.

Sixers Sadness ... This past week, the Sixers lost two legendary figures from their history.

Joe “Jellybean” Bryant passed away at age 69 Tuesday. A local college star at LaSalle, Bryant was a role player on the team’s championship run from 1975-79. He was known for his leaping ability and averaged 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds over four seasons. Bryant also spent three seasons with the Clippers (1979-82) and one with Houston (1982) before he began a nine-year career overseas.

I remember watching him on TV and then being on the playground imitating Bryant’s long-arm jump shot.

The Sixers also lost former GM Pat Williams Thursday at age 84.

Williams, who spent seven years in the Phillies’ front office, was named the Sixers’ GM in 1974. He was responsible for creating the Sixers’ most formidable years and bringing Julius Erving and Moses Malone to Philly.

Williams left the team to run the expansion Orlando Magic in 1989. He brought Shaquille O’Neill to town and the Magic made the NBA Finals in 1995 and ‘96. Williams retired as team president in 2019.

He was a true Renaissance man, writing several books on life and sports, and running 13 marathons.

Readers Write

On Famous Voices and Wilt-ed Memories

Hi Jeff,

I have fond memories of watching Phillies games as a kid and listening to Harry Kalas. His voice, cadence, and “that ball is outta here” were as tied to the Phillies as their red and white colors for me. Along with Merrill Reese of the Eagles, Philly fans have been lucky to listen to some of the best announcers for long stretches of time.

I also wonder what path the Sixers may have taken had they not traded Chamberlain. It’s hard to even wrap your head around the numbers that he put up, but it certainly seems that the Sixers won’t make the mistake of trading or not negotiating with their current stars. Maxey and Embiid seem to be as good a shot at bringing success to the Sixers as they’ve had in a long, long time.

Mitch Thomas

Bethlehem, PA

He Was Your King

Sonny King was one of my favorites, back when wrestling was “real.” In your research of him, did you find out if he was related to the Rock? I see his name is Johnson, and that he was associated with the Samoans.

Steve Weidner

Editor’s Note: Upon research, I didn’t find them to be related.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll recall a former wrestler from our past.

In keeping with an Olympic mention, do you remember Ken Patera? He was a 1972 Olympian, and became the first American to clean and jerk 500 pounds. Patera won a gold medal in the unlimited class at the 1971 Pan American Games. Patera was in the WWWF from 1976-81 and later from 1989-90 He also wrestled in the AWA from 1984-85 and ‘87-88 and also for the AWA from 1982-82. Patera was the WWWF Intercontinental Champion in 1980.

Patera was known for his swinging full nelson as his winning hold. The 80-year-old’s last match was against Bob Backlund in 2001 during which he was pinned in a JCW Pay-per-View match.

Overall, Patera had 2,218 matches and won 1,129 (50.9 percent).

Memory Lane ... Each week, I’ll reflect on a former player, coach, manager, or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember former Phillies outfielder Ben Francisco? He was acquired along with pitcher Cliff Lee from Cleveland for pitcher Carlos Carrasco, catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason McDonald, and pitcher Jason Knapp. Lee won eight of his 12 Phillies’ starts to help lead them to the World Series.

Francisco spent three years with the Phillies, hitting .259 overall with 17 homers and 75 RBIs. In seven overall years, Francisco spent time with Cleveland, Toronto, New York (Yankees), Tampa Bay, and Houston.

In his career, Francisco hit .253 with 50 homers and 190 RBIs.

Feedback ...Your comments are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com