The Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh

Life be funny. While on TrueblueLA a few weeks back I lamented about the fact that Disney had only released a limited number of DVD’s for their three part Wonderful World of Disney show called “The Scarecrow of Romney March”. I was but a wee lad when it first showed up on Disney, and it is pretty much my first recollection of anything on TV other than black and white images of the Packers / Bears. My family like many families in the early 60’s would sit down and watch the WWOD every Sunday Night. I could look it up but my guess was that it was on at either 07:00 or 08:00 at night. We watched many shows, but only two have stuck in my old brain. The Scarecrow and The Sword in the Stone.

Commentator Little Blue Bicycle (one Kenneth Noe of Auburn, Alabama) heard my lament and told me that he had recorded the show from the Disney channel back in the 1990’s and that he would try to find the tape.  I could go on ebay and buy the DVD but it was now a collector item so was a tad pricey. I thanked Ken for thinking of me and figured that was that.

Lo and behold, those Alabamians are true to their word. Last week a package arrived with an old VHS tape containing some old-time gold. It had not only the full three parts (commercials were edited out), but also the 1995 HOF Football game, and son of a gun, Cal Ripkin’s 2131 record-breaking game. I don’t have a VHS that works anymore so my wife graciously took the old tape to my friendly DVD person,  and had them make me three DVD’s. This was small business at it’s finest. The work was done on Friday, and he was closed on Saturday, but he agreed to meet me at a Starbucks on a Saturday if I brought 20 bucks with me. He would wear a purple shirt so I could recognize him. We did the meeting, all along I was looking around for DEA agents, but there he was in a purple shirt with my merchandize. We exchanged money for goods, and then he said that Cal Ripken was something wasn’t he? I laughed and said all I wanted was the Scarecrow part, but later I would realize, that was not the case.

So with much fanfare we setup Sunday Night just like the original night to watch a show I had not seen in 50 years.  All I could remember was this cool song, and a cool hero. The opening credits did not disappoint, the song was inspired, and the laugh at the end was what probably cemented this show into my memory banks. I could imagine every elementary boy singing

“When the great Scarecrow
Would ride from the jaws of hell
And laugh (Ahahahahaha!)
With a fiendish yell!”

with a hellish yell at the end

The quality of course was tattered much like the Scarecrow clothing, but it was still a fun three hour romp down memory lane. Here is the song on Youtube

and below are the original lyrics.

Scarecrow!
Scarecrow!
The soldiers of the King feared his name
Scarecrow…
On the southern coast of England
There’s a legend people tell
Of days long ago
When the great Scarecrow
Would ride from the jaws of hell
And laugh (Ahahahahaha!)
With a fiendish yell!

With his clothes all torn and tattered
Through the black of night he’d ride
From the marsh to the coast
Like a demon ghost
He’d show his face then hide
And he’d laugh (Yeeheeheehahahaha!)
‘Til he’d split his side!

So the King told all his soldiers,
“Hang him high or hang him low!
But never return
‘Til the day I learn
He’s gone in flames below–
Or you’ll hang
With the great Scarecrow!”

Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
The soldiers of the King feared his name
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
The country folk all loved him just the same
Scarecrow!

He would always help the farmer
When there was no gold to bring
He’d find a way
For the poor to pay
The taxes of the King
“Scarecrow!”
Ev’ry man would sing

Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
The soldiers of the King feared his name
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
Scarecrow! (Scarecrow)
The country folk all loved him just the same
Scarecrow!
Scarecrow!
Scarecrow!

(Aahahahahahahaha!)

Since I kind of promised that every column would have at least one iota of Dodger related stuff, here it is. In between the Scarecrow and the start of the Cal’s record breaking game, was some old fashioned ESPN Sportscenter with Charlie Steiner at the helm.  The only memory I have of Charlie and ESPN was his infamous commercial “follow me to freedom” , I have zero memory of Charlie actually doing ESPN Sportscenter.

With nothing else to do I decided to watch the record breaking game and even though it was 20 years ago, I had already forgotten so many things. Joe Dimaggio was still alive and there. Many other baseball icons inhabited Camden Yards (can you believe Camden yards is 22 year sold already?).  The Orioles were playing the Angels, and man, were the Angels loaded. This game was in early Sept of 1995 (Sept 6, 1995 to be precise) and the Angels already had 30 home runs by Edmunds and Salmon. Chili was the clean up hitter, Garrett Anderson was a .329 hitting rookie, JT Snow was on his way to blasting 24 dingers of his own. Even the wonder dog Rex Hudler was here.  That team must have won the Western Division going away right?

Oops

11 game lead on August 9th with a 60 – 36 record. Breezing they were.

They ended the season on Oct 2nd with 78 wins. From August 9th – Oct 2nd the Angels went 18 – 29. and finished in 2nd place.

I had forgotten but I’m sure hard core Angel fans had not forgotten one of the all time great collapses in Southern California. Of course the Dodgers had Jack Clark waiting for them so not like they were prone to give Angel fans any sympathy.

Two brilliant teams, both denied greatness.

Oh, and Cal hit a home run in his big game.

Of course he did

One final note. I believe Kenneth is a history teacher. At the end of the tape is a history teacher, teaching about the Georgia parishes during the Continental Congress. He’s doing a great job in explaining that of the twelve parishes only five appeared to give a shit. He’s got my attention, and then the tape ends. I’ll never know what the whigs did. I hope that was Kenneth.