Tom House - steroids "widespread" in baseball in the 1960s and 1970s

[ISiddiqui]

I guess this is another in my series of people who want the 90s records stricken and ONLY the 90s records striken have much to learn about baseball history... oh, and further cementing myself as someone who is going to be labeled pro-steroid by someone .



http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2052364



SAN FRANCISCO -- Former major league pitcher Tom House used steroids during his career and said performance-enhancing drugs were widespread in baseball in the 1960s and 1970s, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

House, perhaps best known for catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run ball in 1974 in the Atlanta Braves' bullpen, said he and several teammates used amphetamines, human growth hormone and "whatever steroid" they could find in order to keep up with the competition.

"I pretty much popped everything cold turkey," House said. "We were doing steroids they wouldn't give to horses. That was the '60s, when nobody knew. The good thing is, we know now. There's a lot more research and understanding."

House, a former pitching coach with the Texas Rangers and co-founder of the National Pitching Association near San Diego, is one of the first players to describe steroid use as far back as the 1960s.

He was drafted in 1967 by the Braves and pitched eight seasons for Atlanta, Boston and Seattle, finishing his career with a 29-23 record and 3.79 ERA.

House, 58, estimated that six or seven pitchers per team were at least experimenting with steroids or human growth hormone. He said players talked about losing to opponents using more effective drugs.

"We didn't get beat, we got out-milligrammed," he said. "And when you found out what they were taking, you started taking them."

House said he gained almost 30 pounds while using steroids, blaming the extra weight for contributing to knee problems. He said the drugs helped improve recovery time and conditioning but did not add velocity to his fastball.

"I tried everything known to man to improve my fastball, and it still didn't go faster than 82 miles per hour," House said. "I was a failed experiment."

House said he stopped using steroids after learning about the long-term harm they could cause.

"I'd like to say we were smart, but we didn't know what was going on," he said. "We were at the tail end of a generation that wasn't afraid to ingest anything. As research showed up, guys stopped."

[Klinglerware]

Interesting that this has been up for a few hours and no responses so far. I guess that it's hard for a lot of people to believe that the baseball of their youth wasn't as clean as they had hoped. I doubt that it ever was.

[st.cronin]

Well, it is TOM HOUSE. I don't care much about steroids, but House doesn't have a lot of credibility.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Interesting that this has been up for a few hours and no responses so far. I guess that it's hard for a lot of people to believe that the baseball of their youth wasn't as clean as they had hoped. I doubt that it ever was.

Yup - though it has been slow around here lately. In general, its not surprising that the puritans stay away - blaming the modern game of baseball is a time honored tactic among many so-called fans.

[thealmighty]

Was watching the Rangers/A's game on Fox. Tom Grieve is one of the announcers and a Ranger in the 70s.

He said he doesn't know (surprise, surprise) where House got this from, but that he never saw any use at all, just amphetamine use. In fact, he said he wouldn't even have known what steroids were back in the 70s.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Interesting that this has been up for a few hours and no responses so far. I guess that it's hard for a lot of people to believe that the baseball of their youth wasn't as clean as they had hoped. I doubt that it ever was.

Yep... I always found it wierd that they pushed the whole amphetamine crazy of the 60s and 70s as being not as bad as using steroids. I thought it was probably to protect their favorite players. Now, there is allegations they were using steroids. I wonder if they'll come to the realization that steroids are not a new thing, or if they'll say, well, they weren't illegal then.

[SackAttack]

Am I the only one who sees a bitter irony in ISiddiqui's sig?

[ISiddiqui]

:thumbs up:

Trying to get an 'edge' any way you cab is just as American as apple pie and the 4th of July .

[Ksyrup]

In my efforts to make this place a more streamlined, efficient place to read posts, I've been trying to tag new stories onto established, related threads, only to see the same story pop up in its own thread later. Like this one, which I mentioned (didn't cut and paste the article though) in the Bud Selig's new steroid proposal thread. Just seems easier to have a discussion in one place, rather than spread over 2 or 3 threads.

Doesn't seem to be catching on, though.

[OldGiants]

Use steroids and be as good as Tom House.

That should put an end to it.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Well, it is TOM HOUSE. I don't care much about steroids, but House doesn't have a lot of credibility.

Just curious...why doesn't he have a lot of credibility?

[Ksyrup]

I was wondering the same thing. Is there something about him we're missing, or is it just the idea that a dorky guy with Haray Caray-looking glasses wouldn't know anything about steroids? Or was it his performance as pitching coach with the Rangers?

[cartman]

Wasn't it Doc Willis who threw a no-hitter while tripping on LSD? That's been known for a while.

[Ksyrup]

Apparently, Mark Prior was a House protege and had a press conference yesterday to deny ever taking steroids. I had no clue.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I was wondering the same thing. Is there something about him we're missing, or is it just the idea that a dorky guy with Haray Caray-looking glasses wouldn't know anything about steroids? Or was it his performance as pitching coach with the Rangers?

I'm not sure why, but for a long time now he's been seen as a raving lunatic by the baseball establishment.