Babe Martin Died August 1

Babe Martin, former St. Louis Browns player, passed away on August 1, 2013 in Tucson, AZ. Babe lived in Tucson for the past several years.

Babe" Martin (March 28, 1920 – August 1, 2013) was an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns (1944–46 and 1953) and a catcher for the Boston Red Sox (1948–49).

Babe was born Boris Michael Martinovich in Seattle, Washington to Serbian immigrant parents. He started his professional baseball career in 1940 and had a breakout year in 1944 with the Toledo Mud Hens, batting .350 in 114 games. The following season, he joined the St. Louis Browns. He hit poorly and was sent back down to the minors. Martin retired in 1954. In 69 major league games, he had 2 home runs, 18 RBI, and a .214 batting average.

Martin was a popular figure at many of the Browns annual player/fan reunions in recent years.

L-R
Bill Rogers, Tommy Lasorda, Babe Martin
Click on photos to enlarge

Bob Savage Deceased at 91

Bob Savage passed away on July 26, 2013 at the age of 91. He played one year with the Browns in 1949 appearing in 4 games as a pitcher.  He started his major league career in 1942 with the Philadelphia Athletics playing with them from '42 through 1948. Savage was selected off waivers by the Browns on December 16, 1948.

Eddie Gaedel's bat, used in MLB's most famous stunt, readies for sale at Heritage Auctions

Consigned by Gaedel's nephew, Chicago-area resident Bob Gaedele; Used by "little person" Gaedel on Aug. 19, 1951, as MLB owner and showman Bill Veeck's St. Louis Browns played the Detroit Tigers; Gaedel batted once, with the number 1/8 on his jersey, walking on four pitches; Offered for the first time ever at auction.

 

 

 

 

It is, to this day, likely the most famous stunt in Major League Baseball history: On Aug. 19, 1951, as the anemic St. Louis Browns limped toward the fall of another failed season against the Detroit Tigers, owner Bill Veeck — a Hall of Fame owner and the greatest showman in the history of the game — sent 3' 7" tall Eddie Gaedel to the plate, with the number "1/8" on his jersey and to the hysterical laughter of fans.

It was the bottom of the first inning of the second game of a doubleheader and Gaedel took four straight balls and headed to first base and into baseball history.

On Aug. 1, as part of Heritage Auctions' Platinum Night Sports Auction in Rosemont, IL, taking place in conjunction with The National Sports Collector's Convention, the bat that sat perched atop Gaedel's shoulder for those four pitches will appear for the very first time at auction. It is expected to bring $100,000+.

"Veeck was behind some of the most famous, and infamous, ballpark stunts in the history of America's pastime," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports at Heritage Auctions, "including Cleveland Municpal Stadium's disastrous 10 cent beer night in 1974. It was his 1951 stunt with Gaedel as the smallest batter in league history, however, that he is most remembered for."

The bat has been consigned to auction by Gaedel's nephew, Bob Gaedele, a Chicago-area resident who was given the bat by his father when he was around 10 years old. Bob's father, Eddie's younger brother, received the bat from Eddie after the game.

Read the rest of the story at: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=63956#.UfFA-I0o7oo

Browns Fan Club Participates in Cardinals Reminisence League

By Art Holliday

ST. LOUIS (KSDK) - When a group of St. Louis Cardinals fans get together, the conversation is easy because they have shared memories. That's the idea behind the Cardinals Reminiscence League: sharing memories to preserve memories. Their guest speaker this month was Bill Rogers, President of the St. Louis Browns Fan Club. "While the Browns have been gone a long time, this group remembered quite a bit about the Browns players," according to Rogers. "The Browns Historical Society is pleased to offer support and participate in their programs."

Just like a baseball game, the Cardinals Reminiscence League begins with the national anthem. A difficult song is even more of a challenge for people with Alzheimer's; not everyone remembers the words. Twice a month at the Alzheimer's Association office, the Cardinals Reminiscence League meets. The participants have two things in common: love of baseball and early stage Alzheimer's disease. The program is inspired by a dementia support group in Scotland. Reminiscence therapy has several benefits. It improves memory and mood. It improves communication. And it gives the league participants a purpose, gathering every other week to talk about baseball memories.

Jim Muskopf is a regular at the twice monthly meetings.

"I have to be active. My lifestyle is been that way so many years," he said

.

The 69-year-old Muskopf was the director of graduate studies at Fontbonne University until retiring in 2011. He and his wife Ruth realized things were not right. It wasn't a total surprise that Muskopf has Alzheimer's because his mother had it.

"He knows he's got the disease," said Ruth Muskopf about her husband. "And he knows from his experience with his mother what's possible down the road. But being here and sharing with the other people it's like everybody's normal. They're all talking and doing the same thing and you forget about the Alzheimer's."

"It really is a very good way to trigger remembering and get people talking about something that they can all mutually remember," said Morley. "In St. Louis, the Cardinals belong to everyone. It makes people happy, not only the participants, but the caregivers, who get to see a loved one really excited about something." 

Click the link below to view Art Holliday's report.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/388980/3/Talking-baseball-is-a-hit-in-local-Alzheimers-program-

To participate or volunteer for the Cardinals Reminiscence League visit www.alz.org/stl.

Major League Baseball Relocation of the 1950s - 1960s

Major League Baseball

See also: Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–1960s

• 1902: Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the St. Louis Browns.
• 1903: Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and became the Highlanders. The team was renamed the Yankees in 1913.
• 1953: Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. This was the first relocation in 50 years. During those 50 years, there had also been no expansions or contractions—Major League Baseball had consisted of the same 16 teams, 8 in each league, playing in the same 10 cities without interruption for half a century.
• 1954: St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles.
• 1955: Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
• 1958: Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles; New York Giants moved to San Francisco. These were the first major league teams on the West Coast; the teams moved simultaneously to facilitate travel for other National League (NL) teams.
• 1961: Washington Senators (original) moved to the Twin Cities area and became the Minnesota Twins. Not wishing to alienate Washington, D.C. and its powerful baseball fans, the American League (AL) granted the city a new expansion franchise, also called the Senators.
• 1966: Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1968: Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, California. Because Charles O. Finley broke a recently signed lease and public bonds were already issued for the building of what is now known as Kauffman Stadium, Major League Baseball was in danger of anti-trust legislation from Missouri Senator Stuart Symington. As a result, the AL granted Kansas City a new expansion franchise in 1969.
• 1970: Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. The AL would grant Seattle a new expansion franchise in 1977.
• 1972: Second Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Texas Rangers.
• 2005: Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. The Expos had split time between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2004. This was the first relocation in 33 years.

Former Browns Player, Matt Batts, who caught Satchel Paige, passes away at age 91

Former Major League catcher Matthew Daniel "Matt" Batts died at his home in Baton Rouge Sunday at the age of 91.

In 1951, he was among the first catchers teamed up with Satchell Paige when Paige became the first black pitcher in the American League.  He was also catcher for Detroit pitcher Virgil Trucks when Trucks became only the third Major League pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a season.

Born in San Antonio and a standout player for Baylor, 20-year-old Batts accepted tuition money from the Boston Red Sox for signing in 1942.  As a result, he was kicked off the team and joined the Army Air Corps for the duration of World War II.  Batts would later be inducted into the Baylor Hall of Fame.

In a fluke position change on San Antonio's semipro team, Batts found his niche behind the plate.  Hired as backup catcher in Boston, Batts wowed Sox fans at his debut in 1947 by cracking a home run in his first Major League at bat.  He batted .500 in his first sixteen appearances at the plate.

"When you woke in the morning," he recalled to New York sportswriter Peter Golenbock, "you wanted to get to the ballpark because you enjoyed it… loved the people, loved manager Joe McCarthy, coaches and the great ballplayers."

After four seasons, Boston traded Batts to the St. Louis Browns in 1951 where he hit .302 and caught for Satchell Paige.  He was there when, as a publicity stunt, 3-foot-7-inch tall pinch-hitter Eddie Gaedel made his only at-bat wearing Browns' jersey number "1/8."  The following year, St. Louis traded Batts to the Detroit Tigers where he started 116 games as catcher.

On August 25, 1952, Batts caught for Virgil Trucks when Trucks threw his second record-setting no-hitter.  In 1954, Detroit traded Batts to Chicago, then to Baltimore later that year.  Finally, the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds purchased Batts' contracts.  His last appearance on the diamond was May 8, 1956, catching for Cincinnati.  In 546 games of which he started 409, Batts racked up 26 home runs, 219 runs batted in, a batting average of .269 and a fielding percentage of .985.

Batts retired to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where fans asked him to coach baseball clinics.  He and wife Arleene started Batts Printing, donating programs and tickets for games.

Former 5-time CWS Championship Baseball Coach and LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman recalls, "Matt Batts really was an unsung hero who was legendary for helping kids play better ball.  Long after he left the big leagues, he always gave of himself as an instructor, and he and Arleene donated printing to help the clinics and LSU baseball.  He will be missed."

James Carville adds, "Matt Batts had arguably one of the greatest names in the history of baseball.  All of his contributions to baseball serve only to compliment his later contributions to Baton Rouge. The city lost one of its great citizens and treasures in Matt."

First No-Hitter in National League History

Just a reminder that today, July 15, marks the 137th anniversary of the first no-hitter in National League history, hurled by George Washington Bradley of our beloved St. Louis Brown Stockings over the visiting Hartford Blue Legs, 2-0, at Sportsman's Park on North Grand, July 15, 1876. Old GWB was quite the workhorse that season, having the same won-lost record as the third-place Browns, 45-19. He pitched 573 (yes, 573) of the 577 innings the Browns played that season. Pitchers were restricted to delivering the ball submarine style and couldn't bring their hands above the belt until after they'd released the pitch.

The newspapers of the day treated the no-hitter as a team effort, since it truly was. The ball was in play a lot. And, the local papers downplayed the no-hit aspect of the game because, I believe, they were a little sore that Bradley had already signed a contract for 1877 to play for the Philadelphia Athletics. Signing during the season to play with another team the following season was allowed. Philadelphia was closer to Bradley's home in Reading, Penn.

The Saturday, July 15, game started at 4 p.m. local time and ended at 5:58 p.m. (no time zones for another decade, until the railroad magnates demanded Congress set up such zones to help railroad scheduling; all time was local observatory time, which meant that when it was 4 p.m. in St. Louis it was about 3:50 p.m. in Kansas City and 4:10 p.m. in Chicago). Daylight savings time hadn't been invented yet, so that would translate to 5 to 6:58 p.m. Central Daylight Time today. So, sometime today, between 5 and 6:58 p.m. hoist a cold one to the memory of George Washington Bradley, a great pitcher of the early days of baseball, who was still working as a ballpark guard in Philadelphia during the Cardinals-A's World Series of 1930.

Browns Pitcher Puts out Fire

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

RUBE WADDELL THE STAR IN A PITCHER’S BATTLE; OPPOSED BY HOTEL FIRE

Well Supported by His Teammates

He Shuts It Out Before Alarm Strikes

Special to the Post-Dispatch

WASHINGTON, July 11 [1908]—Rube Waddell figured in another bit of heroism this evening, just after the Browns had returned from the ball grounds where they were beaten by the Senators.

The boys were dressing on the fifth floor of the Arlington Hotel, when they heard the cry of “fire” from the street below.

Waddell rushed to the window. Smoke was pouring out. The awnings on the windows just below his room were in flames. For an instant he disappeared. A crowd was already gathered in the street below, but no one had turned in a fire status.

Then Rube appeared at the window. In each hand he carried a big pitcher of water. Leaning out of the window, and, avoiding as best he could the smoke from the fire, he poured the contents of the two pitchers on the flames.

The other boys brought more water, and in five minutes Rube had put out the fire and was cheered by the crowd below, nearly everyone of whom recognized the great pitcher of the Browns team.

The attendants did not know of the fire until it had been put out. It probably started when someone threw a lighted match out of the window above.

Legends of the Dugout Coming

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Visit With Dolph Orthwein

St. Louis Browns Historical Society board members and staff met recently with Mr. Adolphus B. "Dolph"  Orthwein. Mr. Orthwein is soon to be 96 years old and is the nephew of Ralph H. and Max R. Orthwein, part of the original 1902 ownership group of the Browns. (Ralph was the team's first President) .

A Florida resident, Mr. Orthwein splits his summers and Fall between St. Louis and Cooperstown, New York (where he owns a dairy farm). He comes from a sporting family. In addition to his two uncles, his brother was instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis and was owner of the New England Patriots. His son Stephen A. is a member of the Polo Hall Of Fame.

Among the stories Dolph told the BFC delegation was about regularly jamming on harmonica with his good friend and near neighbor, Stan Musial.

Max Orthwein died in 1933 and Ralph Orthwein died in 1937, when Mr. Dolph Orthwein was in his teens.

l~r  (standing)  Bill Rogers, Mike Haueisen (summer intern from Mizzou Journalism School), Emmett McAuliffe, Bill Borst,
(seated) "Dolph" Orthwein
Click on Photo to Enlarge

Stellar class headed to St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame

By Dan O’Neill doneill@post-dispatch.com

Hard to believe it, but the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame is getting ready to celebrate its fifth year. Actually, “celebrate” is a soft term for the occasion. The Hall is exploding in its fifth year.

Ready to unveil its artist rendering of a projected new building in downtown, the Hall will embellish the excitement by inducting a spectacular 15-member Class of 2013 and seven Special Achievement awards on Nov. 20 at the Millennium Hotel.

“This year is as special as the very first year because we have a beautiful state-of-the-art building coming to put St. Louis in first place with the best Hall of Fame in America,” SLSHOF president Greg Marecek said.

The list of inductees would serve well for an inaugural class, highlighted by some of the most memorable figures in St. Louis sports history, and representing numerous walks of sports life.

Those to be honored include Blues stars Brett Hull and Red Berenson, Cardinals Keith Hernandez and Orlando Cepeda, Missouri and St. Louis Cardinals football standout Mel Gray, Webster High track star and “world’s fastest man” Ivory Crockett, St. Louis Univeristy soccer legend Carl Gentile and McKinley High and Boston Celtics great Jo Jo White.

In addition, women’s golf star Judy Rankin and women’s national racquetball champion Rita Hoff Scott will enter the Hall, along with Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr., broadcaster Jay Randolph, Post-Dispatch sportswriter Rick Hummel and Rams standout D’Marco Farr.

In addition, CBC boys soccer coach Terry Michler and Trinity Catholic soccer coach Vince Drake will receive special achievement awards.

The Hall requires nominated athletes to attend the ceremonies to be inducted. Several athletes who have been nominated in years past but have been unable to attend, including Kurt Warner, Willie McGee, Joe Torre and Tim McCarver, still could be added to the roster.

But that’s not all. Before the annual induction ceremony, the Hall will wet the whistle of local sports fans by conducting its “Heroes and Legends Series” on Aug. 23 at Missouri Athletic Club.

The 2013 edition will recognize three distinguished managers in Major League Baseball history as “Legends of the Dugout.” The terrific trio includes Cardinals Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog, Los Angeles Dodgers HOF manager Tom Lasorda and Atlanta Braves great Bobby Cox.

The highlight of the ceremonies will be a town hall session in which the three relate tales and anecdotes from their accomplished careers. The threesome combined for four World Series titles, nine National League pennants and 29 division championships.

There will be a few autographed items commemorating the special day that will be auctioned.

Before his death in March, Hall of Famer and St. Louis native Earl Weaver was to participate in the event. With his family in attendance, Weaver will be honored posthumously with his Hall induction.

Individual tickets for the “Heroes and Legends Series” are $100, while tables of 10 can be purchased for $1,000.

Tickets for both the induction ceremonies and the “Heroes and Legends Series” can be purchased at www.stlshof.com, by calling Tim Moore at 1-888-627-3235, ext. 710, or by mailing a check to St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 190833, St. Louis, Mo. 63119.

Two Weird Ones, with the White Sox

As printed in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch "On This Date" column (page B4), the Browns were involved in two weird records on this date in baseball history. Both involved the Chicago White Sox, but separated by two decades.

On April 27, 1909, the Browns set a record for frustration by losing their third consecutive 1-0 game, all to the same team, the White Sox, at South Side Grounds. The losses were suffered April 25 by Bill Grahame, April 26 by four-time 20-game winner Jack Powell, and April 27 by future Hall of Famer, Rube Waddell. On April 27, 1930, White Sox first baseman Bud Clancy had no chances against the Browns in a nine-inning game. A team has to get 27 outs somehow. So, no chances for the first baseman means a lot of strikeouts and pop flies to the outfield (what broadcaster Mike Shannon terms cans of corn"). Not for nothing is the St. Louis Browns Historical Society's journal called Pop Flies. It is not often in baseball that the first-baseman comes off like "the Maytag repairman."

Tempting it certainly is to read a Whole Lotta Significance (to paraphrase Led Zeppelin) into the April 27, 1909 record. 1909 was a pivotal year and this setback may itself have been the pivitoal event in this pivotal year. But first a brief review of Browns history.

The Browns started their run in St. Louis in 1902 well enough. They almost took the pennant in their inaugural campaign, braced as they were by a number of "jumpers" from the National League, including two who would become Hall-of-Famers.* But the rest of the decade was spotty.

Nonetheless, owner Robert Lee Hedges stuck with the cast and crew that was "present and on roll" in 1902 ... including manager Jimmy McAleer. By 1908, McAleer's bunch had apparently righted the ship: the Browns had a .546 winning percentage, their best record since '02, giving Hedges fits in how to accommodate the crowds showing up at his door.** In the off-season, with the wind in his sails from '08, Hedges embarked on a complete rebuild of Sportsman's Park, expanding seating and fortifying it with the then-novel materials of concrete and steel.***

On April 24, the Browns completed a two-games-to-one series victory against Cleveland at League Park to climb to .500. But after the three straight 1-0 heartbreaking losses, the Browns would never climb above .500 again for '09. In fact, it would not be until 1916, after the federal court pulled the plug on the Federal League and the Browns took over the roster of the St. Louis Terriers, that the Browns would finish over .500 for a season.

After the '09 season, Hedges finally pulled the plug on inaugural manager Jimmy McAleer, whose eight-year run is topped only by St. Louisan Earl Weaver in Browns/Orioles franchise history.

The thing you can say about any 1-0 loss is its demoralizing for a team. The losers during this three game series were in order, Grahame, Powell and Waddell.

Bill Grahame was no standout. The next year, Grahame would have an 0-8 record in nine games pitched and would be sent back to the minors never to return. But with aces Powell, a former 20-game winner, and Waddell, a future Hall of Famer going to the hill and pitching that well, you expect to win.

Did losing those three games demoralize the Browns for the rest of the season? We cannot interview any of the participants so we will have to only speculate.





* Had jumping not been banned by the National Agreement, query whether Curt Flood's challenge of the reserve clause would have even been necessary.

**Sporting News, April 30, 1908 page 4, column 4

*** Technically the first concrete and steel stadium, though Philadelphia's Shibe Park