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Ted Turner remembered fondly for hosting wet T-shirt college nights after Braves games, like a true hero
CNN founder and media mogul Ted Turner died Wednesday at 87. Well, scratch that. Those two labels don’t quite do him justice.
Let me try again: Ted Turner — the founder of CNN, a media mogul, a business tycoon, a world-renowned sailor, the creator of the superstation, the former owner of the Atlanta Braves, and a fierce supporter of wet T-shirt contests — died Wednesday at 87.
Whew. How is THAT for a list of accomplishments to take with you to the pearly gates? Did Ted leave it all out on the field, or what?
Yes, that last one is obviously why I’m here writing about Ted today. I know he was a pioneer in the TV industry. That’s his lasting legacy. But folks forget he was once the owner of the Atlanta Braves (and Hawks), and, more importantly, he used to host “wet T-shirt contests” during college nights at Braves games.
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda are pictured together in New York City circa 1990. (Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)
That’s right. We used to be a proper country. I say it all the time, but we really did used to have it all, and we just pissed it all away. I grew up in the 1990s when Ted’s TBS “superstation” was all the rage, and I loved it to death. Some of the best days of my life.
But boy, do I wish I could go back to the 1970s and take in a Braves games and then a wet t-shirt contest. Wrong era!
Ted Turner also managed the Braves for one single day
It’s not often that both Clay Travis and Darren Rovell post about the same thing, but here we are.
This is the effect Ted Turner had on folks. People from both sides of the aisle spent yesterday remembering Turner. Some, for his efforts in the media world.
BRAVES SIDELINE REPORTER’S EFFORT TO GET WOMAN’S PHONE NUMBER SPARKS CONTENTIOUS ONLINE DEBATE
Others, of course, for his efforts in bundling Braves games and college wet t-shirt contests. And what an unreal price, too! Fifty cents for general admission to the Braves take on the Cubbies, and then you get to take in a wet t-shirt contest AND a Miller beer party?
From thisgreatgame.com:
“A crowd of 11,451, assumedly mostly male, showed up to watch the rotten Braves (13-24) take on the Chicago Cubs. Or at least that’s what they told their wives and girlfriends. But rain threatened the whole thing; for two hours, everyone sat around—interesting enough, no one left—before the first pitch finally took place.
“Somewhere around the sixth inning, the Braves announced that registration for the contest was under away, to be done in full view of the fans so they can see the pretty girls sign up; it took a while for the first woman to rev up the courage and walk to the table, but once she did, 42 others followed.”
Braves new owner Ted Turner dances with a team ball girl after the Braves ended a 13-game losing streak with an 8-7 win over the New York Mets in Atlanta on May 11. (Getty Images)
This Ted Turner was a genius. A true genius. No wonder he was so beloved. All you get nowadays are stupid “Bring Your Dog to the Ballpark” promotions and “Star Wars Night.”
In fact, just to show you how miserable this era is compared to the 70s, the Atlanta Hawks were forced to cancel their “Magic City” promotion earlier this year because the NBA found it to be inappropriate.
And we had Ted Turner hosting wet t-shirt contests on COLLEGE NIGHT after games in the 70s! Again, we had it all, and we just pissed it away.
Anyway, some of Ted’s other feats include temporarily taking over the team for one game in 1977 after firing his manager during a 16-game losing stream (they lost), and later that year loading up the entire team in a yacht so they could watch him compete in the America’s Cup trials in Rhode Island.
For me, I will always remember him for the TBS superstation. Again, that’s my childhood. Turning on a Braves game every night at 7:05 was the best. This is back before streaming, so you didn’t really have access to much. I lived in Florida, so it was either the Marlins or Braves.
Ted Turner, television executive and owner of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks basketball team. (Getty Images)
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Unfortunately, the wet T-shirt contests did NOT make it to the 90s, which is shocking given … they were the 90s.
Oh well. Maybe it’ll come back one day soon. Although, I’m fairly certain the Braves don’t even do the full tomahawk chop anymore because the libs got fake-made about it, so I wouldn’t hold your breath.
RIP.
The museums, designed by conservative nonprofits and Trump appointees, tell the story of early America, from colonization to revolution. The one exhibition looking beyond the early years is the “Wall of American Heroes.” It is a list of 51 people, chosen to illustrate 250 years of American history.
A White House spokesman said they were “individuals who shaped this nation’s history, culture and spirit across generations.”
The people pictured on this national honor roll — and the people left out — help illustrate what this administration sees as the highlights of American history.
Amid the administration’s efforts to reshape the nation’s relationship with its past, Trump appointees heavily weighted the list toward a single era of American history — and a few specific kinds of hero.
The other exhibitions in the Freedom Trucks were crafted by a pair of conservative nonprofits, PragerU and Hillsdale College. But the “Wall of American Heroes” was created by Freedom 250, a nonprofit effort whose leaders were chosen by President Trump and that was created to lead the planning of celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday, overshadowing a bipartisan congressional commission.
A spokeswoman for Freedom 250 said Mr. Trump was not directly involved in the selection of those featured.
But the list clearly tracks Mr. Trump’s own lifetime and the heroes of the conservative political movement.
The wall’s tilt toward heroes of the baby boomer generation, for instance, extends beyond Hollywood stars and musicians. Of the four religious leaders on the list, two — Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the Rev. Billy Graham — also appeared on TV regularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The only painter on the list is Norman Rockwell, known for his idealized depictions of American life in that period.
By contrast, there is only a handful of figures from the first decades of American independence.
“That’s a disservice, if your intention is to present the last 250 years,” said Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American Historical Association. “Because all of the people on this list are building on the work and struggles and progress that was made by the people in the 150 years prior.”
The “Wall of American Heroes” was inspired by a similar display in a traveling museum created by the State of Virginia. But Virginia’s display celebrates little-known historical figures.
Mr. Trump’s, by and large, celebrates people who are already well-known — and, often, people who were famous in their own time. For example, it praises P.T. Barnum, a circus impresario who used hoaxes and freak shows to draw crowds. The wall calls him an “icon of American sensationalism.”
The spokeswoman for Freedom 250 said that many of the names on the wall were drawn from a list of 250 people that Mr. Trump wants to include in a “Garden of American Heroes” in Washington.
The spokeswoman declined to say what criteria were used to narrow down the list.
The only president whose name appears on the wall — not on the list of heroes, but alongside his quotation — is Mr. Trump himself.
Explore the Wall of Heroes
Navigate the display by dragging from side to side.
Washington — Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey will return to Congress on June 30, his spokesperson said, after being away since March in an unexplained absence that has confounded Capitol Hill.
“Congressman Kean is eager to return to in person work on June 30 and resume a full schedule,” Kean’s spokesperson, Harrison Neely, told CBS News on Thursday. The New Jersey Globe first reported on his return date.
Kean’s whereabouts since he last voted on March 5 have not been disclosed. When he first made a statement about the absence in late April, the New Jersey Republican said he was addressing a “personal medical issue.”
Kean said earlier this month that he would return to Washington within a matter of weeks, at which point he would provide more details about his health.
“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks. At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition,” Kean said in a June 2 statement released by his campaign.
The statement came hours before polls closed in New Jersey’s GOP primary for his seat, in which he ran unopposed.
He has missed more than 130 votes during his absence.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters earlier this month that he had recently spoken with Kean. Johnson said he was aware of the health issue, but would not disclose the details.
“What he’s dealing with is not very common and not a big thing,” Johnson said.
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