This has nothing to do with anything, but even I need a break from BSOHL stories for a little while.
Congressman Connie Mack IV -- who is now running for Senate -- is the great grandson of Connie Mack the baseball guy. But that’s not his only baseball connection! Nope, seems that he has a history with former Braves slugger Ron Gant. Specifically, Gant broke Mack’s ankle in a bar fight back in 1992:The incidents came to light after a February 1992 brawl with then-professional baseball player Ron Gant at an Atlanta bar called Calico Jack’s. A waitress testified that Mack, who had been heavily drinking beer and Jagermeister shots all night, took the first swing at Gant. Mack testified he couldn’t remember how much beer he drank, but said he had only one liquor shot — of tequila.
Gant claims a drunken Mack repeatedly bumped into him, precipitating a fight. Mack claims Gant attacked him for no reason.
During the melee, Gant head-locked Mack. Mack testified that he couldn’t breath. So he starting striking and grabbing the ball player’s crotch. At a certain point, the club’s bouncers got involved and Mack broke his ankle. He sued Gant, who was held liable. But a jury awarded no damages.
Given that Gant was still with the Braves then, I’m surprised I had never heard about that. Oh well. Worth noting that Gant had his worst full season to date in 1992. I’m going to choose to blame those Connie Mack crotch shots/grabs as the reason for his big power dropoff that year.
Anyway, if you live in Florida and you want a Senator who is unafraid to punch and grab a ballplayer’s junk in a bar fight, Connie Mack should get your vote.
