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R.I.P. Bob Turley: Browns Pitcher With Blazing Fastball, Dies at 82

Former Brownie "Bullet Bob" Turley, a fireballing rightander who drew comparisons to Bob Feller when he first came up to the big leagues and won the AL Cy Young Award and World Series MVP with the Yankees in 1958, died Saturday of liver cancer in hospice care at Lenbrook, a retirement community in Atlanta. He was 82.  Turley attended and spoke at a St. Louis Browns Fan Club reunion of players and fans in June 2011.

Whitey Herzog, left, Bob Turley, center, and Ned Garver, right at 2011 St. Louis Browns Historical Society and Fun Club luncheon in St. Louis

Robert Lee Turley was born in Troy Illinois just across the river from St. Louis in Madison County, the youngest of two sons of Delbert and Henrietta Turley.  His parents both worked as bacon slicers at a packing house. When he was small his family moved to 1426 N. 52nd Street in the Rosemont area of East St. Louis.  Bob was prohibited from playing catch with the other neighborhood kids because he threw too hard.  He starred on the Central High School baseball squad.

The day before his high school graduation in 1948, he was asked to come to Sportsman's Park by Browns' general manager Bill Dewitt for a tryout. The Browns signed Turley the day after his graduation. He had also attended a New York Yankees tryout and the Yankees were very interested. However, when the New York club's procedure called for Turley to attend a so-called "advance camp" in Missouri, Turley demurred. "I wanted to play ball right away," he said.

Bob didn't have to travel far for his first pro assignment: it was the Belleville Staggs, the Browns' class D farm team that played at the old Belleville athletic field at ninth and Illinois Street. His Staggs teammates included Mike Blyzka and Frank Saucier and one of his Illinois State League opponents was St. Louisan Earl Weaver, a second baseman for the West Frankfurt Cardinals.

Bob had an extremely successful minor league career, winning 20 games twice and being called up to the Browns at the end of the 1951 season.   But it was Korean War Time, and Bob soon found himself wearing a different shade of brown: khaki.  The Korean War had ended on July 27, 1953 and Turley had saved about seven weeks leave time, so while he officially served two full years and was officially discharged on October 1, 1953, with his unused leave, he was actually able to get his release in mid-August '53. After working out for the Browns that August, it was obvious that the service had not hurt his fastball, and he found himself back in a major league game almost immediately, in a relief appearance August 18 against the White Sox. He relieved Satchel Paige, who took the loss 2-1 in a well-pitched, defensive battle. The next day Turley earned his first major league win in relief of Don Larsen as the Browns defeated Billy Pierce, who had been having one of his banner seasons.

It was on September 5, 1953, however, that Turley really displayed the Cy Young talent that he was to develop in the next few years. Turley got hooked up in an extreme pitchers' duel with the Tigers' Ralph Branca at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.  Neither team scored a run for 11 and one-half innings when Browns' Outfielder Dick Kokos homered into the right-field pavilion off Branca in the bottom of the 12th to win the game and break the scoreless duel. When Turley had finished with his

toils that Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, he had completed a 12-inning, 14-strikeout, three-hit, shutout masterpiece, for one of the final shining moments in Browns' franchise history.  (Branca also recorded eight strikeouts and the combined 22 Ks by both pitchers was an unusually high total for that era).

Turley's Army leave-time heroics, good enough for third in ERA on the Browns 1953 pitching staff, earned him the assignment of getting the opening day start the next season ... but not for the team in St. Louis, but for the team in Baltimore, where the Browns were to move in the '53-54 off-season.  Bob notched a win in Memorial Stadium Baltimore that day.  Earning the nickname "Bullet" by a Baltimore sportswriter, Bob would lead the league in strikeouts in ‘54.  The last Brownie to do so had been Urban Shocker in ‘22.  In fact, since the franchise began in 1901, Shocker and Turley are the only two Browns/Orioles pitchers to manage to lead the American League in strikeouts.

But Baltimore management was in the middle of a major house-cleaning operation in which all ex-Brownies would leave the Orioles by mid-1955, to be replaced by fresh players.  Bob was no exception.  He was the key player in a mammoth 17-player deal between the Yankees and Baltimore that winter. The Yankees were desperate for a front-line starting line pitcher after their “Big Three” from their 1949-53 world championship teams — Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi and Eddie Lopat — had all moved on, and Turley more than filled the bill. He was 17-13 in 1955, his first year with the Bombers. Then in 1958 he won the Cy Young, leading the AL in wins with a 21-7 mark and 2.97 ERA. 

Turley went on to win two games against the Milwaukee Braves in the ’58 World Series, including

Game 7 when he hurled 6.2 innings in relief of Don Larsen, his “stablemate” who had come over from the Orioles in that same trade in ’54. The day before, manager Casey Stengel had brought Turley in to retire the Braves’ Frank Torre for the final out in the Yankees’ 4-3 victory. The Yankees, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to win that Series, were leading Game 7, 2-1, when the Braves put runners at first and second with one out in the third, and Stengel summoned Turley again to replace Larsen. Turley wound up pitching out of a bases-loaded jam and went on to hold the Braves to just a solo homer by catcher Del Crandall in the sixth inning that tied the game before the Yankees got four runs in the eighth inning off their nemesis, Lew Burdette, to win the game, 6-2, and the Series. Besides the Cy Young, Turley was also named the Hickok Belt professional athlete of the year after the ’58 season.

In the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers, the day after Larsen pitched a perfect game, Turley lost a 10-inning, 1-0 heartbreaker to Clem Labine despite striking out 11. Unfortunately for Turley, the ’58 season proved to be the high point of his career. He never won in double figures again. In the 1960 World Series against the Pirates, he suffered his first arm injury — a bone chip in his elbow that limited him to only 72 innings in 1961. That winter, when Turley was 32, the Yankees sold him to the Los Angeles Angels. In July of 1963, a month after pitching a one-hitter against the White Sox, he was released. He signed on with the Red Sox the rest of the year and retired with a 101-85 record and 3.64 ERA.

Through the years, Turley was always one of the most popular and engaging players at Yankees’ Old-Timers’ Day Games. “I can’t understand some of these players today,” he said. “Nothing ever bothered me, signing autographs, doing interviews. You have all the privacy you want when you get out of the game.”

Turley was quite successful in business after baseball, becoming a representative for Primerica Financial Services earning more than he did as a pro ball player. In the 1995 version of the Primerica Financial Independence Council, it states that he was paid $150,000 as a professional baseball player compared to his $2,000,000 that he earned through working with Primerica. He retired from the business and gave half of his business to his son and the other half to his secretary. He later resided in Georgia.

Turley had an uncle, Ralph Kress Turley, who dwelled in the minor leagues at around the same time as Turley, for whom Turley was often mistaken.  Briefly, the elder Turley came under the control of the New York Yankees.  "We signed the wrong Turley," a Yankee scout reportedly commented. 

~ Emmett McAuliffe

R.I.P. Lou Sleater, Pitched for Browns & Orioles: Knuckleballer called 'Epitome of the 1950's Journeyman-lefthander'

Lou Sleater whose seven-year major league pitching career started with the Browns in 1950 and ended with the Baltimore Orioles in 1958, died on March 25. He was 86.  A left-handed knuckleballer, in addition to his three years with the Browns (1950-53), Sleater pitched for the old Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and Detroit Tigers before finally joining the Orioles.

 

"He was the epitome of the journeyman left-hand pitcher in the 1950s," said Phil Wood, a Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcaster. "He was with different teams every year ... usually bad teams."

 

He died at home in Baltimore.  The cause of death was reported as lung disease.

 

Louis Mortimer Sleater Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Louis M. and Anna Sleater. The family, which included an older sister Rita Rose and younger brother Gerald (both deceased), lived at 8538 Church Rd. in the heavily-German Baden neighborhood.  Louis Sr. was an insurance adjustor for the American Credit Indemnity Company which had been sold in 1936 to a Baltimore-based company, the Commercial Credit Co. (present-day Traveler's Group).  The elder Sleater moved the family to Maryland sometime in the 1940s when Lou was still in his teens.  

 

Returning Home with the Browns

 

At age 19, in 1946, Lou was signed to a minor league contract with the Boston Braves. He then moved through several major league farm organizations after being signed by the Chicago Cubs. His contract was bought by the New York Giants, but he was selected off waivers by the St. Louis Browns at age 23 in 1950.

 

Sleater made his major league debut on April 25, 1950 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, less than three miles as the crow flies from the home where he and his family had lived only a few short years before.  The Detroit Tigers, behind Virgil Trucks, a 1949 All-Star, held a 5-1 lead over the Browns heading into the bottom of the eighth.  Manager Zack Taylor pulled starting pitcher Dick Starr for pinch-hitter Hank Arft (another St. Louis native).  Arft hit a solo home run.  Heading in to the top of the ninth, Taylor tapped the rookie Sleater with the task of holding George Kell and the Tigers close so that the Brownies could have a chance in the bottom of the ninth. That Lou did: he struck out a batter and allowed no hits, walks or runs.

 

The Brownies rallied in the bottom of the ninth to chase Trucks (ouch - Ed.), but could only manage one run, and lost the game 5-3.

 

It would be Sleater's only game that season.  With his major-league jitters dispelled, Browns General Manager Bill DeWitt decided it would be best for young Lou to get some work in the minors and optioned him to the Brown's top farm club in San Antonio.  Sleater responded by posting a 12-5 record with a 2.82 ERA, leading the Missions in wins.

 

The next season he was with the big-league club for good, pitching 81 innings in a swing-role and garnering 8 starts from manager Taylor.  However, in some usual Bill Veeck craziness, he was sold to the New York Yankees July 31, 1951, and assigned to pitch with the Yankees American Association  (A.A.) farm club, the Kansas City Blues, and then returned to the Browns after the Blues season ended on September 16, but inexplicably not activated by the Browns for the remainder of the season.

 

"When he was property of the Yankees that year, he was living in the same rooming house in Kansas City with Mickey Mantle," said Wood, a friend of many years. "He had a font of information of the game in the 1950s and Lou could remember observing Mickey Mantle having a bad stretch and of how his father, Mutt Mantle, came to Kansas City and said, 'If you are going to quit baseball, I can get you a job in the coal mines.'"

 

Forever-linked with Walt Dropo

 

Mr. Sleater remained with the Browns in 1952, but was used sparingly by new manager Rogers Hornsby.  He was traded in May to the Washington Senators. Baseball record books note that while at Washington he stopped Walt Dropo's record-tying hitting streak of 12 consecutive hits.
 

"The actual baseball he used to stop his streak is at Cooperstown," said his son, Raymond. "There was a ceremony in 1986 at the Baseball Hall of Fame with Walt and my father when the ball was presented."

 

His major league career took him to the Milwaukee Braves. He pitched in 25 games in 1956. He was a teammate of Warren Spahn and remained a friend of the fellow left-hander.

 

The Braves released him in April 1957 and Mr. Sleater wound up in Detroit. Signed by the Tigers, he became a reliever and had 41 appearances. On May 30, he hit a walk-off home run.
 

In his final season, 1958, he began with the Tigers and his contract was bought by the Orioles in June, returning to the franchise where he began his major-league career and being reunited with former Brownie teammate Bob Nieman who was the O's starting leftfielder in 1958.  His final game was Sept. 28, 1958, thus ending his career in his long-time hometown.  In his major league career, he had 12 wins and 18 losses and a 4.70 ERA. In 1959, he remained on the Orioles roster but was on the disabled list because of an injury.

 

"The Orioles offered him the opportunity to be a scout or a minor league coach, but he declined and went on with his life," said Wood. "He had seen enough of the road at that point."

~Emmett McAuliffe with Bill Rogers

 

 

Oh No They Didn't!

....give up on hometown hero Roy Sievers shipping him to Washington.  But Bleacher Report, also known as B/R, a digital sports media network owned by Time Warner,  seems to think we did  ('Browns Send Roy Sievers to Senators').

So how do we get the word out to 44,650 disabused readers?  With your help!    Click on the Pay Now button at the top right corner of this page and become a member of the most exclusive bunch of dreamers around: the St. Louis Browns Fan Club.  Your membership helps keep our website and blog site alive.  Which keeps the true history of the Browns alive.

Virgil Trucks Passes; 20-game Winner in '53

We are sad to report the death of former pitcher Virgil Trucks, at age 96, on March 23rd at his home in Calera, Alabama.  Trucks was the Browns last 20-game winner (1953), although 75% of his wins were recorded for the Chicago White Sox, to whom he was traded mid-season.  He was also the opening day pitcher for the Browns in what would be their final season before moving to Baltimore.

In a 17-season career, Trucks posted a 177-135 record with 534 strikeouts and a 3.39 ERA in 2,682 innings pitched. In addition to the Browns and the White Sox, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers (1941–1943, 1945–1952, 1956), Kansas City Athletics (1958) and New York Yankees (1958). 

The right-hander was born Virgil Oliver Trucks in Birmingham, Alabama and is the uncle of a line of southern rock musicians, starting with Allman Brothers Band co-founder Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks.

Trucks was one of 12 surviving players who played baseball before World War II. He was the oldest living member of the defunct St. Louis Browns, of which only 29 players presently survive.

Trucks was traded to the Browns in December 1952, with Johnny Groth and Hal White for Owen Friend, Bob Nieman and  J.W. Porter (the youngest living Brownie and crowd-favorite at BFC luncheons - Ed.).

The trade was actually a "step up" for Trucks.  The Tigers were 104-game losers in 1952 (Trucks himself  had contributed to 19 of those 104).  In contrast, the Browns were "on the way up", having improved their record by 12 games over 1951 by only losing 90 in 1952. Wheeler-dealer Bill Veeck, who had traded away Ned Garver four-months before, was getting back a serious gate attraction with Trucks, who won a World Series game with Detroit in 1945 and who, despite 19 losses, had pitched two no-hitters in '52.*

On April 10, 1953, Trucks received the honors from Manager Marty Marion of starting the season's opening game, a home game against the Tigers.  It was also the first game ever in a stadium called Busch, which name has emblazoned three St. Louis stadia in the last 60 years.  Trucks hurled a four-hit shutout of his former teammates; his new colleagues supported him with 10 runs.  He would be

the last opening-day starter in Browns history.  (The first opening day starter for the Browns was Francis L. "Red" Donahue, April 23, 1902 in the very same stadium where Trucks toiled, then known as "Sportsman's Park".)

After retiring as a player Trucks joined the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the 1960 World Series with them against his old team the Yankees. He continued coaching with the Pirates, then the Atlanta Braves and finally ending his MLB career with the Tigers in 1974.

As news of Trucks' death was reaching the Brownie Fan Club members in St. Louis, said members could not help but notice the irony: a freak Spring snowstorm which bore the name "Winter Storm Virgil" was heading east from Kansas City and bearing down on the Gateway City. Even more ironic, eventually "Virgil" would dump snow on all the cities in which Trucks played, from Kansas City all the way to New York.  St. Louis even received 12 inches, a total not seen in 31 years. Springfield, Illinois received an all-time record 18.5".  In late March, two weeks before opening day!

Browns Fan Club President Bill Rogers had recently spoken to Mr. Trucks' daughter who reported that he was ill and would not be able to attend the 2013 Browns reunion luncheon. But she told Bill that Virgil sends his regards for everyone.**

Brownie fans world wide take pause to salute Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks.  Requiescat in pace!

* Trucks was only the third pitcher in baseball history to pull off this feat. Johnny Vander Meer and Allie Reynolds had done it previously and only Nolan Ryan and Roy Halladay have done it since.

** Ping me if you get that Southern Rock reference.

To Answer Your Question

Here are a few of the benefits of membership in joining the St. Louis Browns Historical Society.

 

Participate in the annual player-fan reunion luncheon

Pop Flies magazine - the official voice of the St. Louis Browns Fan Club

Ability to network with fans and players.

A variety of items are available for purchase

·         DVD of 1944 World Series between the Browns and the Cardinals

·         Banquet presentations from Tommy Lasorda, Bob Costas, Ned Garver, Roy Sievers, Bob Turley, Whitey Herzog, JW. Porter, Bud Thomas, Don Lenhardt,  Mike Veeck, Milo Hamilton, Bob Costas and others.

·         Logo products - polo shits, T-Shirts, denim shirts, caps and more

·         Scorecards - replica

·         Jerseys - replica, Satchel Paige

·         Item collection posters, 200 photos on posters of players and others

·         Collectors lapel pins

Browns Exhibit at the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

The St. Louis Browns Historical Society announced installation  of a memorabilia exhibit in the luggage area at Lambert St. Louis International Airport. The exhibit consists of 10 poster collages featuring over 200 photographs covering the history of the St. Louis Browns.

The display is available for 3-months until June 11, 2013. If you’re passing through the St. Louis airport, take a few minutes to check out some of the best in St. Louis baseball history.

Don’t forget to pass the word to family and friends.

More than 6-million people per year pass through the #1 West terminal along with another 6-million passing through the #2 East terminal.

The display is just in time for the opening of the baseball season. St. Louis was recently recognized by the Bleacher Report as being the Best Baseball City in the United States according to Fan Club President, Bill Rogers.

The Cardinal’s ownership and management are top-notch, and baseball is priority No. 1 in the St. Louis sports landscape.

 

More than a few fans were taking photos of the Browns exhibit at the airport while the set-up was underway. All posters in the exhibit are available for purchase along with the home and road jersey's.
 

Click on Photos to Enlarge

 

Click on Photos to Enlarge

Browns Bilboard Salute to Stan Musial

The Browns Historical Society & Fan Club salutes Stan Musial with a recognition billboard. The salute can be seen at the intersection of Gravois & Tesson Ferry & Rock Hill in Affton in South County.

 Click on Photo to Enlarge



Who Said That

Click on photos to enlarge.

Even the Mayans Follow the Browns

STL Browns Salute Stan Musial

'Last 44'er' Babe Martin Comments on Death of Stan Musial

One ballplayer left from St. Louis' 'storybook' baseball year

Stan Musial

Babe Martin

"Stan was one of the finest people I have ever met," says Babe Martin, of the St. Louis Browns, who with the death of Stan Musial becomes the last surviving player from either of the two St. Louis teams that won their respective league pennants in 1944.  "Stan is my right fielder on my all-time greatest team, with [Joe] DiMaggio in center and Teddy [former teammate Williams] in left".

Martin, of Ballwin, Missouri, was reached today by telephone from Tucson, Arizona.  He will be 93-years old in March.

Martin made a key start in left field during the last week of the 1944 season, his first game ever in the majors.  The Browns won the game, 3-0 over the Boston Red Sox, and the game propelled St. Louis into a first-place tie with Detroit.  Martin, in debut, was stellar. Batting fifth in the order, he was two for three, with a double and an RBI, and registering a put out.  He would finish his shortened season with a .750 batting average and an American League championship trophy.

Martin was ineligible for the World Series, but watched in uniform from the bench as his team took on Musial and the Cardinals.  The Cardinals would win the only "streetcar series" in St. Louis history, four games to two.

Martin, the last living St. Louis pro ballplayer from 1944, was not always more hale and hearty than his peers. Bill Borst, in his book "The Best of Seasons," wrote,

His medical history was what warranted coverage in The Sporting News in August 1944.  His career resume read like a medical textbook, securing him a discharge from the Navy.  He suffered from acute sinus trouble, chronic ulcers (so bad that he had to keep a quart of cold milk nearby in the dugout during games), and severe head pains from a nasty beaning.  His right thigh was three inches smaller in circumference than the left, causing him to limp noticeably.  Martin had to wear a heavy elastic brace on his weak leg for added support."

Musial, from Donora, Pennsylvania, and Martin, from Seattle, Washington, both made St. Louis their homes after retirement from baseball.  Martin retired in 1953 and Musial in 1963.  "Stan was always a gentleman, wherever he went" said Martin.

Browns Billboard Display

Click on Photo to Enlarge

 

 

Thanks to Harster Heating & Air Conditioning for sponsorship of the Browns billboard. The sign is at the intersection of Gravois and Rock Hill / Tesson Ferry in Affton in South St. Louis County. This is a digital sign with the ads changing every 8-10 seconds. The ads also rotate on different days. Just pull into the convenience store across the street and park for a few minutes to catch the Browns ads.

And if you're in need of heating and air conditioning, give Harster Heating a call and tell them you're a member of the St. Louis Browns Fan Club.

You know, next to Ted Drewes and Imo’s, Harster Heating and Air Conditioning is a pretty well known St. Louis tradition – even if you can’t eat a furnace. After 60 years in the business, they've seen pretty much everything.

They absolutely respect their customers. That’s why they're still in business. But, even so, they've had a couple interesting customer experiences that would make you smile. For example, they learned to bring  their own hoses to rinse out AC units. Why? Well, people, you see, have a very definite way of rolling up their hoses. One of their customers noticed they rolled his hose up clockwise instead of counter clockwise.

Yeah…well, these things do happen. They now make it a point to pay attention to the little details. That’s just the way they roll…hoses, that is.

A Very Young Tony LaRussa

Click on Photo to enlarge

Two Oldest Browns Club Members Deceased; Chuck Diering, Former Cardinal, Oriole

Within the past month we lost two of our oldest members of the St. Louis Browns Fan Club.  Jim Green, age 95 of Pacific, MO died on October 30 while Rev. Msgr. Jerome O. Sommer of St. Louis passed away on November 18, 2012 also at age 95. Both gentlemen were born in 1917 two days apart on September 15 for Jim Green and September 17 for Msgr. Sommer.

 Jim's first wife passed away sometime ago.  After being a widower for many years, Jim remarried at age 89 to Betty Gustafson, a widow age 83. Little did Jim know she had 10 kids - all grown, of course. Little did she know that Jim at 11 kids - all grown. So between them, their families suddenly exploded to 21 children plus all the grandkids and other relatives.

Jim served in the U.S. Army during WWII and fought in The Battle of the Bulge. He remained active in the Veterans organization and was involved in school presentations on educating children about The Battle of the Bulge. Jim was an avid golfer, charter member of Forest Hills Country Club and life time member of Franklin County Country Club.

 Msgr. Sommer was ordained a Priest on June 9, 1940. He served as Chaplain in the United States Army 1945 to 1974, then as pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine parish, St. Robert (Waynesville), Mo., 1974 to 1986.

 

Chuck Diering, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1947 to 1951, died Friday November 23 at the age of 89.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the elderly former outfielder fell in his Spanish Lake, MO home on Thanksgiving and was later found by his son, Bob. He passed away at a hospital a few hours later from cerebral hemorrhaging.

Diering began his professional baseball career over 70 years ago. After losing three years in the military to World War II, he still played in over 750 major league games.

Spending over half of his big league career with the Cardinals, Diering was a serviceable backup outfielder to the likes of Hall of Famers Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial and reliable cog Terry Moore.

In 396 games with the team, he hit .252 with eight home runs, 75 RBI and 127 runs scored. He knew how to draw a walk, posting a .367 on-base percentage in his five-year St. Louis career, with a high mark of .388 in 1949.

In fact, 1949 was the only season he received significant time as a regular while in a Cardinals uniform. He played in 131 games that season, starting 78 of them, with 123 of his appearances being in centerfield.

 Not a slugger, the then 26-year-old still hit .263 with 21 doubles and eight triples in 369 at-bats that year, scoring 60 runs and driving in 38.

 The following year, he started 50 of the 89 games in which he appeared.

World War II took a major chunk out of his playing career. In 1941, he began his professional career as a Cardinals farmhand at age 18. In 1942, the up-and-comer hit .305 with 25 doubles in 126 games with the Class-D Albany Cardinals.

 Then the military called.

 He was a private-first class in the Army who served in the United States and the Pacific Theatre of Operations from 1943 to 1945, but Diering's career was not entirely stunted as he continued to play while enlisted. According to Baseball in Wartime, he led one league with a .524 batting average and eight home runs in just 12 games.

He returned to professional baseball in 1946, spending the entire year in the minor leagues—in his first year back, he stole 19 bases for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

After that year of re-acclimation, he made his major league debut on April 15, 1947, thus beginning his five-year skein with St. Louis.

On December 11, 1951, Diering was traded to the New York Giants with aging pitcher Max Lanier for similarly aging second baseman Eddie Stanky. He spent a year with the Giants before playing all of 1953 in the minor leagues. From 1954 to 1956, he was with the Baltimore Orioles, wrapping up his big league career.

Overall, Diering hit .249 with 14 home runs, 149 RBI and 411 hits in nine major league seasons. He played 752 games, scored 217 runs and had 76 doubles.

Need Help Identifying Players

We need some help in identifying the players in the photograph below. We recognize the three in the middle as Dizzy Dean, Francis Ettinger (in middle) and Rogers Hornsby . . . but who are the two guys on each end

The photo was taken in 1937 at Ray Doan's baseball school in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Ettinger had been selected to "The Sporting News" allstar team and earned a trip to the school. He later went on to play for the Ottawa Braves in 1938 and 1939 with the Ottawa Senators.
(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

 

Click on COMMENTS and let us know if you recognize the two players on the end. The gentleman on the left looks older and could possibly be a coach.  Thanks for the help.

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus.

(Read the rest of Virginia's letter at: http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

Lee MacPhail, oldest Hall of Famer, dead at 95

Baseball's Hall of Fame says former American League President Lee MacPhail has died at 95. He died Thursday night at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He had been the oldest Hall of Famer.

MacPhail was part of one of baseball's most famous families. He followed his father into the Hall and his son became a top executive for several major league teams.

MacPhail was the son of Larry MacPhail, who was president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, CEO and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and co-owner, president and GM of the New York Yankees.

Lee MacPhail was GM and president of the Baltimore Orioles and general manager of the Yankees before serving as AL president from 1974 through the 1983.

Browns Fan Club Caption Contest

On the left is Browns ace pitcher and 20-game winner Ned Garver at the St. Louis Browns historical society /Browns fan club 2011 reunion luncheon.  On the right, Browns rookie of the year Roy Sievers. Think of a clever caption, and you will win a commemorative St. Louis Browns/patriotic Flag Day Pin.

Election-Year World Series Trivia Quiz

       Every four years the US presidential election and the baseball season reach a crescendo at roughly the same time.    See if you can answer these baseball election-year trivia questions without checking a source.  (All questions include the World Series that took place between the American Association of the National League from 1884 through 1890).  This quiz will test both your baseball knowledge and your knowledge of US politics and the Constitution!

1. Which team has the most World Series wins in a presidential election year?  How many??
2. Excluding defunct franchises, which teams have *only* won the World Series during a election year? (Hint: They've both won it twice).
3. Which of the original 16 teams of modern era major league baseball has never played in a World Series in an election year?
4. Name the one original 8 National League team and the one original 8 American League team that has lost every time it has played a World Series during an election year.
5. Excluding Canadian teams (which aren't governed by the US elections) which expansion teams have won a World Series title in an election year?
6. Which team has lost the most election year World Series?
7. The San Francisco Giants won the World Series this year. When was the last time the Giants won a World Series during a presidential election year?
8. On four occasions, the winner of the World Series and the winner of the presidential election were from the same state.    Name the years and the candidates/teams.

EXTRA CREDIT:  In what year or years did teams named "St. Louis Browns"  compete in an election year World Series?

Email your answers below.  Your name will appear in this blog, if you're the first one to get all the correct answers.

Travel Days, Shmavel Days

Union Station -  Obsolete during '44 World Series

Argghhh!  No NLCS baseball to watch today!!

Even though St. Louis to San Francisco is a mere two-hour flight these days, it is a "travel day" as per the contract with the Major League Baseball Players Association, and the National League Championship Series is idle.

Imagine, the World Series being played on consecutive days with no rest.  That's the way it was played all the way up through 1956.  Of course, in the 1944 World Series, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Browns, it was not a problem!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1944_WS.shtml

Keep Stealin' Cards

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/columns/joe-holleman/latest-hitler-video-tackles-cards-win-over-nats/article_f98544a4-be9c-519f-bb00-066b4dc846f1.html

Cards Do It Again

The Last Great St. Louis Browns Player

One of the most respected players of his era, Ned Garver broke into the big leagues as a 22-year old rookie for the lowly St. Louis Browns in 1948 and quickly established himself as one of the best and most durable pitchers in the American League.

In his first four years he was arguably the best (and most valuable) pitcher in the AL and easily led all pitchers with a 20.4 WAR. In 1951, he became the first pitcher in modern baseball history to win 20 games for a team that lost 100 games. With renown stamina, he completed 42 of 49 starts in a stretch spanning 1950-52 and led the AL in complete games in 1950 (22) and 1951 (24). Runner-up to Yogi Berra as American League MVP in 1951, Garver played for some of baseball's worst teams in his 14-year career, finishing in the bottom three 11 times and never better than fifth place. Hampered by arm and knee injuries in the second half of his career, Garver retired with 129 victories (157 defeats) and logged almost 2,500 innings.

Down-home with an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, 86-year old Garver reminisced recently about playing baseball in the 1940s and 1950s. His stories about playing conditions, travel, teammates, coaches, owners, and the reserve clause showed the passion he had to play the game and the dramatic changes the sport has experienced.

Wolf: Could you tell me about growing up and playing baseball in Ney (population 300) in northwest Ohio in the 1930s and '40s?

Garver: I was born and raised on a farm. We farmed by horses. It was a lot of manual labor which was good to develop your physical strength. It was in the Depression and nobody had any money to do things or go places. Every little community had their own baseball team. We called these "town teams." You didn't have to go far to play games. That what we did for recreation—play baseball. I started playing town ball when I was a freshman in high school. That was an excellent experience. Many of the players were older and more experienced than I was and it was a challenge.

Wolf: When did you start playing baseball?

 

Read more about Ned Garver by clicking here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-last-great-st.-louis-brown/

Orioles Clinch!

Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles on clinching a playoff berth yesterday.    May they make it all the way to the World Series!

The Orioles have appeared in the World Series seven times:  once in the 80s, three times in the 70s, twice in the 60s, and of course once in the 1940s as the St. Louis Browns.

Satchel Paige's dazzling debut left a great impression on his opposition

http://www.examiner.com/article/satchel-paige-s-dazzling-debut-left-a-great-impression-on-his-opposition-1

Just two days after the record books said he turned 42, Satchel Paige made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians on July 9, 1948 in front of a crowd of 34,780 at Cleveland Stadium. The sheer magnitude of the situation shouldn’t have fazed the legendary hurler, who once while pitching in the championship game of dictator Rafael Trujillo’s league in the Dominican Republic, was ordered to win the game under the threat of the machine gun toting militia. Yet, for Paige, toeing the rubber on major league soil brought a sense of high drama, shaking one of baseball’s most experienced moundsmen. “I felt those nerves … they were jumping every which way,” Paige recalled.

Standing at the plate for the St. Louis Browns was 29-year-old first baseman Chuck Stevens, who entered the game sporting a .252 batting average with one home run, certainly not the type of numbers that would rattle fear into opposing hurlers. While Paige admitted his nerves, Stevens on the other hand saw a familiar target. Back in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, Paige would come out to Stevens’ California hometown of Long Beach to play winter ball. The two squared off many times before that fateful day. “I played against him about ten times before that night. I played against him when he could really smoke it,” said the 94-year-old Stevens from his home in California.

 “When Satch relieved against us [in Cleveland], he was just spotting the ball around. [It seemed like] he had lost 60 mph off of his fastball. He threw his breaking stuff and he had great control so you knew he was going to be around the plate all the time. He wasn’t going to overpower you like I had seen him in his earlier days,” he said.

Stevens wasted no time against his old friend and promptly laced Paige’s offering into left field. “The ballgame in Cleveland was not a big deal for me because I was just hitting off of Satch. I singled into left field, between [Ken] Keltner and [Lou] Boudreau. … I always had pretty good luck off of him.” Stevens dates his success against Paige back to a meeting they had a few years prior, just as he returned from his service in World War II. “One of the longest home runs I had ever hit in my life was off of Paige. I had just gotten out of close to four years in the service, and we played an exhibition game in Long Beach and Satch pitched against our ballclub. The ball I hit, I guess it must have been well over 400 feet. I wondered where all that power came from when I was rounding the bases.”

Stevens’ teammate Ned Garver was a 22-year-old rookie relief pitcher. Only in the major leagues for two months, he found himself right in the middle of this historical event. “There was never a time when there wasn’t a bunch of hoopla around Satchel because he was such a colorful guy,” said the 85-year-old Garver from his home in Ohio. Garver pitched two and one-thirds innings of scoreless relief for the save that day, but his clearest memories from that game started before a pitch was even thrown.

“We had a man on our team who hit cleanup and played left field [Whitey Platt]. He was from Florida. He told the manager he wasn’t going to play,” Garver recalled. “Zack Taylor was our manager, and you know back in those days, you didn’t tell somebody you weren’t going to play. You didn’t get away with that kind of crap. [Taylor] said, ‘No, you’re gonnna play.’ So he put him in the lineup.”