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Incites | From Giles, a look back at nearly 40 years of Phils history

Bill Giles has been one of the most visible people in Philadelphia for nearly 40 years. Like most other names connected to Philadelphia sports for that length of time, he also has ridden the familiar roller coaster of public approval.

Bill Giles has been one of the most visible people in Philadelphia for nearly 40 years.

Like most other names connected to Philadelphia sports for that length of time, he also has ridden the familiar roller coaster of public approval.

Now Giles, who is 72 and semiretired, has taken his turn at bat. His autobiography, Pouring Six Beers at a Time, was released this month.

The book discusses a long list of the things Giles was deeply involved with, from his days as the promotional point man building attendance and publicity at then-new Veterans Stadium through the "glory days" of the Phillies from 1976 through 1983 - when he persuaded owner Ruly Carpenter to sign Pete Rose - and his tenure as club president.

Giles admits he was asked by his partners to step down in 1997 and devote his full attention to getting a new ballpark. The details of that project are well-covered, as are baseball's long labor fights and current economics.

There are a host of memories, of Bowie Kuhn, Charley Finley, opening the Astrodome, the grounds crew at the Vet, every famous Phillie for 30-plus years, and Bud Selig (whom Giles says is the best commissioner the game ever had).

One of the best story concerns George W. Bush, who was the co-general partner of the Texas Rangers from 1989 to 1994, receiving a salary of $200,000 a year. That ended when Dubya was elected governor of Texas.

"Frankly, when this occurred, I was shocked," Giles writes. "I could not picture George Bush as a governor, let alone president of the United States.

"I pictured Bush more as the perennial social chairman of a college fraternity."

Giles, who likes Bush very much as a person, predicts he'll become commissioner.

If you've been a Phillies fan for any of the last 40 years, this book will bring back a flood of memories.

Trivia time. Who is the oldest living member of baseball's Hall of Fame?

Who's No. 1? Hall of Fame Magazine recently polled a distinguished panel to find the most influential person in sports history.

The magazine defined "influential" as having a legacy with an impact on history, popular culture, and the way sports interacts with our everyday lives.

The list should provoke some interesting discussions:

1, Muhammad Ali. 2, Babe Ruth. 3, Jackie Robinson. 4, Billie Jean King. 5, Jesse Owens. 6, Roone Arledge. 7, Arnold Palmer. 8, Knute Rockne. 9, Pete Rozelle, and 10, Michael Jordan.

If you're going to use the standard of impact on society, the top name should be Robinson's. Without him, it's hard to say where Ali or Jordan might be ranked.

If you're talking about the impact on sports alone, Ruth, the first electronic media superstar, and Ali, the most extensively recognized sports figure of all time, are first and second, in either order.

But if the standard is impact on popular culture, the winners should be Arledge and Rozelle. Right now, television is popular culture. And Arledge and Rozelle are the guys who permanently married television to sports.

Irony. It will be one of the funniest events of recent seasons if it happens, but the 76ers might finish with a better record than Allen Iverson's Denver Nuggets.

Happy birthday. John Henry, horse racing's elder statesman and twice the horse of the year, turned 32 on Friday.

That's the human equivalent of 96. The fabled gelding - who retired as the richest horse in thoroughbred racing history in 1985 - is at Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions in Lexington. The Associated Press located him in the barn he shares with a handful of other racing legends, including Cigar.

John Henry's age is stunning for a thoroughbred. Secretariat died at 19 and Seattle Slew at 28.

Just wondering. If World War III started on the same day Philadelphia got two inches of snow, what would be the lead story on local television?

For draftniks only. As the NFL draft approaches, mock drafts are pouring in daily. John Murphy of Yahoo Sports chimed in last week, saying the Eagles would select Dwayne Bowe, a wide receiver from LSU, with the 26th overall pick.

Murphy opines that a teammate of Bowe's, quarterback JaMarcus Russell, will be the No. 1 pick, going to the Oakland Raiders.

Other picks of interest are Penn State's Paul Posluszny's going to the Chicago Bears with the 31st selection (five after the Eagles choose) and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn's going to Minnesota at No. 7.

Finally. With the demise of St. Joseph's in the Atlantic Ten tournament on Thursday night, the Big Five concluded conference tournament play with a brisk 2-4 record and one win against outside competition. Villanova beat DePaul on Wednesday before departing the next day. St. Joe's, as usual, beat Temple before falling to George Washington.

Trivia answer. Former Yankee Phil Rizzuto is 89. Former Indian Bob Feller is 88.