Paul Carlsten (Tiggerhawk)

[julio]

Belated news here. I just discovered that our long-time poster Tiggerhawk (Paul Carlsten) passed away last fall. He'd been unable to participate here for some time, due to illness.

Tigger was always opinionated, not rarely at odds with some of us, but nonetheless a valued voice here. I've missed him.

RIP, Tiggerhawk!

Obituary:

Paul Carlsten

[California_Dreamin]

Oh, so sad, I loved the guy and wondered if this had happened since I knew he was ill. He could be cantankerous but one of the reasons I so enjoyed him because he was a direct link to the Phillies of the late 50's and early 60's.

I have often commented that one of my favorite players was Tony Curry, though I never saw him play as I was wayyy too young. But I got a hold of his 1960 rookie card and just liked it for some reason and read about him and his early success with the Phillies. In fact, Curry may have been one of the first young players to be ruined by the team bringing him to the major leagues too soon.

Anyhow, Tiggerhawk actually saw him play and used to share his first hand eye witness accounts of guys like Curry, Ken Walters, Tony Gonzalez and Johnny Callison, all rookies with the Phils in 1960.

[julio]

Yeah, what you said, CD.

Among other things, I've missed his scouting reports on Iowa high school players.

Tigger hasn't actually 'gone.' He's 'gone ahead,' scouting the way for those of us following on his heels.

[rkeden]

What a beautifully written Obit! You can read into the description of Paul's life the very characteristics so appreciated on this site. A very full and varied life that will be remembered fondly by so many others!

[California_Dreamin]

I will also have a soft spot in my heart for Tiggerhawk because there was a time many years ago [the long time posters here will remember this] when several of the posters who have long ago left the site gathered particular pleasure in beating me up daily because I viewed the game differently than they did.

Tiggerhawk would always come to my defense, something that I didn't necessarily need but appreciated immensely. He was certainly a valuable member of this fine site.

[zambonir]

Thanks for letting us know julio. I remember his daughter was on here a bit when he first fell ill. What a life!

[allentown]

I remember when illness forced Tiggerhawk from this forum. I missed his comments. He presented them with a rare combination of passion and logic. I usually agreed with him on things political and frequently disagreed with him on the state of the Phillies ownership/management/minor leagues. We had many a rousing back-and-forth on the state of the Phillies efforts in Latin America. That is a most interesting biography. We were even closer politically than I realized -- around geographical here (not this forum), I was one of the few progressive Dems who defended Carter during and immediately after his presidency, thinking he was a good man who was betrayed by his party's committee chairs in Congress, when he tried to clean up some of the Washington corruption. TH has been and certainly will be missed. He was one of the regular posters who gave this forum an extra edge of excitement. We've lost a lot of passionate, outspoken posters, who made this forum and its political thread what they were at their exciting best. He often wrote very much like the professor he was. Sometimes had me pulling out hair and trying to convince him that bricks and mortar didn't trump bonus $ and that our bricks weren't all that special.

I'm racking my brain trying to remember how he became a Phillies fan. I guess if he were a National League fan, the Phillies were the closest NL team to him during his decades in DC. I'm sure CD knows the actual story.

RIP -- we are very belated on his passing on, but not that late on his celebration of life.

I remember Tony Curry. His rookie year was the year I began following the Phillies in earnest, although I had attended a few Phillies games with my father prior to that. I never saw Curry live, but did watch him play on TV. He really only had that rookie season with the Phillies.

[Lucky_Beagle]

Thanks for sharing. I also remember his daughter posting on his behalf. It is amazing how we become "friends" with people who have never and most likely will never meet in person through this site.

[schillingfan]

RIP. I recruited Tiggerhawk from the MLB forum to this site, as I found his postings intelligent and thoughtful, though long winded. I should have known he was an academic. We shared the same politics as well. Such a wonderful obituary. A life well lived and celebrated.

[California_Dreamin]

allentown...yes, Tony Curry was long gone by the time I was following the Phillies closely but did find that he actually made the Topps All-Rookie team as an outfielder after the 1960. This was no small feat as the other two outfielders were stars Tommy Davis and Frank Howard, two guys I did see play.

Curry was the Eastern League MVP in 1959 at 20 years of age and likely would have had a successful career had the Phils not decided to force feed him to the big leagues in 1960. Still, I read that Mauch loved him, played him regularly through July and he was even in the Top 10 in hitting till mid July.

Tiggerhawk said he was a very good hitter but a poor fielder and it was obvious he needed more seasoning. Phils had him as their cleanup hitter early in the '61 season and when he struggled he was sent down and never came up with the Phils. He was traded after the 61 season and basically was finished as a major leaguer, though his minor league numbers were always good.

I read in Phillie Report and on Tony Curry's baseball obituary page that he might well have been a victim of the Phillies alleged racism [John Quinn was mentioned by name] that thankfully ended when Gene Mauch took firm control on the major league roster.

Anyways, TH was my eyes to the early 60's Phillies, an era [60-63] that always fascinated me for so many reasons...the hiring of Mauch, that all rookie outfield of Curry, Gonzalez and Callison, the 23 game losing streak in '61, the amazing 17-1 record against the Houston Colt 45's in '62, and impressive 87 win season in '63.

I became a full fledged phan in the Summer of '64.

[Jeff05]

Thanks for posting, Julio. I just typed "Mainline Monied Morons" into Google and a link to philliesphans.com popped up! I'll never forget the passion (nor the length!) of his posts. RIP Tiggerhawk.

[fish]

I imagine It’s rare to learn that one of us has passed, more so to get a glimpse of their ‘real’ life. I’ll remember him as opinionated but clearly an educated man. Peace tiggerhawk.

[RTaylor]

Wonderful obit--life well lived, even though I'm sorry about his passing.

[Florida_Sunshine]

I always enjoyed reading his posts. They were well thought out, informative, and amusing. May his family walk through life better knowing they had his influence on their upbringing and still carry him in their soul.

[DurhamBull]

Thanks for posting, Julio. I just typed "Mainline Monied Morons" into Google and a link to philliesphans.com popped up! I'll never forget the passion (nor the length!) of his posts. RIP Tiggerhawk.

Ha! Thanks for reminding me of that. Yep, he was passionate and fun to read. RIP.

[gmwannabe]

Thank you julio for letting us know. sad to see. if i remember correctly, we had a few comebacks to each other. he is/was a good part of what makes this sight great and happy to be a part of.
gm

[jimbomill]

May he rest in peace!

[VoteForKalas]

Very sad to hear of Paul's passing. Thank you julio for letting us know so we could share our stories and memories of him as a member of this community.

Paul (TH) was a very passionate and avid fan of the Phillies and did not beat around the bush expressing his opinions about the team, players, management and the game itself. A person of conviction and principle who stood his ground and was willing to debate ideas with respect and even humor at times.

RIP, Paul