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"Strange Sports Stories: "Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team!"": The New York Jets are playing in the final game of the World Series when an alien spaceship appears in the sky. The stadium in encased in a force field and a mysterious voice announces that the aliens have come to challenge t

The Brave and the Bold #45 is an issue of the series The Brave and the Bold (Volume 1) with a cover date of December, 1962. It was published on October 25, 1962.

Synopsis for Strange Sports Stories: "Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team!"

The New York Jets are playing in the final game of the World Series when an alien spaceship appears in the sky. The stadium in encased in a force field and a mysterious voice announces that the aliens have come to challenge the Jets to a baseball game. The aliens reveal that if they win, they want to be awarded the championship flag. The Jets accept the challenge and a group of headless baseball players emerge from the strange spaceship. The game commences and the Jets hold their own against the mysterious players. At one point, a Jets player named Lefty Clark gets knocked out in a head on collision attempting to retrieve a ground ball. While unconscious, he hears a mysterious voice explain that they are actually playing a band of interplanetary warriors. The invaders conquered the world of Ilaran with the help of a metal called Protana which creates gaps in the space-time continuum. The voice goes on to explain that a rebel warrior named Enath was able to sneak aboard the invading spaceship to steal the valuable metal. He steals the Protana and hijacks a small spaceship to escape to Earth. Enath discovers that the Protana metal actually gives off a radiation which can be tracked by his enemies. He also discovers that the radiation can be encased by covering the Protana in gold. He heads towards Earth knowing that the planet contains gold for his use. He lands near the baseball stadium and encases the Protana metal in the gold knob of the championship banner. Enath then disguises himself as a normal earthling to guard the precious metal. Unbeknownst to Enath, the Krann had utilized a super X Rayscope to discover the location of the Protana and follow it to Earth. The Krann had also discovered that the case holding the championship banner had been booby trapped and that is why they had to win the banner from the humans so they could take the banner out of the case for them. Lefty Clark regains consciousness and the game progresses. The Jets play with renewed vigor and Lefty Clark hits the winning homerun. The aliens leave the planet but announce that they will now destroy the earth in retaliation. They fire their weapons at the planet but their ship surprisingly self-destructs. Enath had Jammed their Ray guns causing a devastating explosion which ends in their destruction.

Appearing in Strange Sports Stories: "Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team!"

Featured Characters:

  • New York Jets (Single appearance)
    • Lefty Clark (Single appearance)
    • Chopper (Single appearance)

Supporting Characters:

  • Enath (alien) (Flashback and main story)

Antagonists:

  • The Krann (Alien Race) (Single appearance)

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:

  • Protana Globe

Vehicles:

  • Alien Vessel (Destroyed)


Synopsis for Strange Sports Stories: "Goliath of the Gridiron!"

Jim Spencer watches from the stands as his father coaches the Hartnell Aggies football team. He longs to be an athlete but he is an honors student that was not endowed with an athletic body. He is skinny and weak. He also admires a beautiful girl named Betty Craig from afar but does not have the confidence to approach her. He takes a lonely walk back to the college botany lab where he has been experimenting with plants to see if he can make them grow better. When he enters he is amazed that the plants have grown considerably. He concludes that the surprising growth came as a result of a particular type of soil that he discovered in a place called Honeybear Gulch. He eats the berries from one of the plants wondering if they might cause his body to grow big and strong. Nothing happens so he goes to sleep that night. In the morning he finds himself with a strapping, muscular, athletic body. His parents are amazed at the change and barely recognize him. Jim Immediately joins the football team and becomes its star quarterback. He returns kick offs, intercepts balls and scores numerous times. His team wins the first game 72-0. Jim Spencer becomes the talk of the town and gets the opportunity to talk to Betty at the Victory dance. The Hartnell Aggies continue their win streak but Jim Spencer starts to notice that he is growing more and more tired as he uses his athletic abilities. He surmises that the effects of the berries are wearing off. He returns to his lab to obtain more berries but finds that all the plants are dead from neglect. He attempts to get more soil from Honeybear Gulch to grow more berry plants but is unable to locate any. Jim concludes that his body will slowly change back to normal and will be unable to play anymore football. He continues to play but finds it necessary to conserve his energy. The final game is at hand and Jim figures that he has enough energy for one more athletic play. He is careful to conserve his energy but as he walks back to the stadium one day he finds it necessary to use his athletic abilities to push a young boy out of the way of an oncoming car. He saves the boys life but he also injures his ankle and has no more athleticism left for the final game. Jim decides to push through and shows up on the field as the Aggies struggle against State. Inspired by the appearance of their star player, the Aggies tie up the game. On the final play, Jim takes the field anticipating that the other team will assume he will get the ball for the final play. The opposing team converges on him tackling him to the ground while the substitute quarterback sneaks in for a touchdown on a keeper play. The Aggies win and Jim Spencer is satisfied that the has helped his father obtain a championship. Jim Spencer sits by himself in the lab as Betty Craig enters and insists on taking him to the Victory dance even if they both sit out because of his sprained ankle.

Appearing in Strange Sports Stories: "Goliath of the Gridiron!"

Featured Characters:

  • Jim Spencer (Single appearance)

Supporting Characters:

  • Betty Craig (Single appearance)
  • Coach Ed Spencer (Single appearance)

Antagonists:


Other Characters:

  • Hank Elder (Single appearance)
  • Cele Spencer (Single appearance)

Locations:

  • College Football Stadium

Items:

  • Strength-Enhancing Berries

Vehicles:

  • None

Notes



See Also


Links and References

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