Even the Braves

[Lunch]

I'm liking the humour, Pet. Good read, keep it up.

However, I was distressed to read this quote:

The move of Aaron to AA has be a bit concerned. The Atlanta fans tend to be racist rednecks. I hope Aaron can take the abuse.

Any chance of an update as to how Hank is coping with the abuse? Also, will the Braves management be making a public statement about this problem should it begin to affect the players state of mind? Naturally, Hank will conduct himself professionally, however, I don't think you should let the 'fans' call the shots.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Hey, Petrel, if you don't mind, can I emulate how you're doing your dynasty? I like it a lot this way.

[petrel]

Hey, Petrel, if you don't mind, can I emulate how you're doing your dynasty? I like it a lot this way.

No problem. I'll give you some of the resources I use:

http://en.wikipedia.org - provides information about what's going on in the world during the year you're playing in. Just type in the year (say 1981 for example) and the Wikipedia will give you a summary of the important events of 1981.

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseb...ary/chronology -- the chronology section of the Baseball Library. Click the appropriate year on the left side and you'll be taken to a monthly calendar which will state all the important events that happened in baseball during that month (as well as the score of every real-life major league game).

http://www.sportslogos.net/Site/index.php -- a good source for baseball logos of all types.

The above links should help you flesh out your universe a bit.

Any chance of an update as to how Hank is coping with the abuse? Also, will the Braves management be making a public statement about this problem should it begin to affect the players state of mind? Naturally, Hank will conduct himself professionally, however, I don't think you should let the 'fans' call the shots.

When it comes to race, the fans will NOT call the shots (even though Boston has always been a racially troubled city -- the last of the major league teams to integrate was the Boston Red Sox, when Pumpsie Green joined in 1959). I'll leave Boston first. Trust me, the Boston front office will issue a statement.

I wanted to make that comment because of the odd nature of baseball in the 1950s. The minor leagues hadn't become entirely what they are today, which are feeder teams for major league teams. Some of the minor league teams were independent.

The Atlanta Crackers became a Boston Braves minor league affiliate in 1950 -- before then, it had existed as an independent team in the Southern Association, which was a minor league associaton of clubs form the Southern League since 1901. However, the Southern Association stringently obeyed the laws segregating black and white, and no black baseball player ever played there. The pressures towards civil rights forced the Southern Association to close in 1961, but the Southern Association remained all-white until the last out.

And every major league team with an affiliate in the Southern Association followed the rules. They all agreed to keep the Southern Association segregated in their promotion of minor leaguers through the system.

But I'm not going to follow the rules. Either the Southern Association will be forced to integrate, or the league will have to go out of business. Or I'll have to find another AA team somewhere.

I did want to bring this up in my mini-universe. I thought it was important enough to be addressed, and I will address it.

You said you put Burton back in the starting lineup, why? Irvin is clearly doing better.

You're absolutely right. I just don't like that Irwin is a true left fielder. Furthermore, his fielding average is only .942 or so. But even with his iron glove, he'd still be better than Burton. I'm just afraid that I'll never talk him into resigning for a decent amount of money. So sending him to AAA might soften his salary demands. Besides, it's not like I'm going to win the pennant this year, anyway.

--Pet

[SamtheBravesFan]

Hey, thanks I knew of those sites, but thanks for the thought Keep up the great work here!

[petrel]

Before I go forward with the history of the Boston Braves in 1953, I received a call from "M", a good friend of mine, late one night in my offices at Commonwealth

Avenue.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm sending you something over the wire." By that, he meant the teletype machine through which owners and the league offices communicated by writing. "You need

to take a look at it. Then call me afterwards."

What I read were the proofs of an article, soon to be printed on the morning of August 3rd, 1953 in the Boston Globe's Sunday Edition.

"A LONELY BATTLE"
Aaron fights same battle as Jackie Robinson in Atlanta, but with little support



ATLANTA -- Ponce de Leon Ballpark. It is here that 19-year old Hank Aaron prepares for his next game against the New Orleans Pelicans. He rubs the back of his head, thanking God that the soda bottle hurled at him from the bleachers did not shatter against the back of his skull. His ribs ache from where he was drilled in the side by an opposing pitcher.

When he walked out of the outfield in the third inning, the players of the Pelicans, taking the outfield, greeted him with racial slurs. The words that were said would have riled any Boston bar regular to throw punches, but Aaron silently accepts the abuse.

There is no support in the dugout. The other players of the Crackers keep their distance, isolating Aaron on the bench with a gap of at least three feet. I hear that many would want to befriend Aaron, but in the segregated South, they would become targets for the same abuse.

After the game, where Aaron goes 0 for 3 with two walks, he gets undressed in a small room, and waits for "his people" -- a couple of ministers from the Atlanta community -- to pick him up and drive him back to his boardinghouse. There are times when the weight of the world is on his shoulders.

Privately, Aaron says that these obvious bludgeons against his dignity don't wound as greatly as the minor inconveniences and assumptions. His name was misspelled as "Aron" on a locker. When he arrived in Atlanta, he was initially mistaken for a clubhouse attendant. His manager in Jacksonville told him he was "too skinny" to wear a double number on his uniform. He is unable to eat with his teammates, and has had his fill of hamburgers. Aaron has the potential to lead the league in anything, except hotel accomodations.

I finish reading the thing. "****!" As a northern boy, I'm pretty ignorant of what goes on down South. What I have heard can be stomach churning. "Should I bring Aaron to Milwaukee for his own safety?"

"Does he deserve to be promoted to Milwaukee, based on his talent?"

"He's on the borderline. .397 OBA and over 500 in slugging. He's a coin flip. He's just so young, I don't want to bring him up too quick and burn him out. I had thought about bringing him to Milwaukee in 1954."

"I tell you who you need to call. I'd talk to Branch Rickey first, if you're worried."

(* * *)

Branch Rickey was no stranger to the problems of integration. He was the General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers when Jackie Robinson came up. Now, he labors for the Pittsburgh Pirates.



I try calling him at his home on Sunday. Rickey is a deeply religious man. I'm told by Mrs. Rickey that Branch won't take calls involving the business of baseball on Sunday. "He never played on Sunday, and he never managed on Sunday," he tells me.

"It's a personal matter, Mrs. Rickey. If he could give me a moment of his time, I'd appreciate it."

In a few seconds, I'm talking to Rickey on the phone. I tell him of the situation I've put Aaron in and ask him what I need to do.

"Have you talked to Aaron, Mr. Petrel?" I answer that I haven't, just yet.

"You need to see how Aaron feels about moving up. Does he want to stay in Atlanta, or does he want to go to Milwaukee?"

"That doesn't solve the problem, Mr. Rickey."

"I know that. You're forgetting the symbolic value, the moral fight. I believe that you need to make some gesture that indicates how important the issue is. There's a lot of resistance in organized baseball. We need all of the voices we can to speak out."

"Thank you, Mr. Rickey."

"My pleasure."

(* * *)

That afternoon, I manage to get in touch with Aaron on the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Petrel!"

"Hank," I asked, "how's life in Atlanta treating you?"

"Well...could be worse." A split second of silence. "I hope this is my call-up to Boston!"

It lightens the mood significantly. "Aren't you a bit young for that?"

"Don't you have a 17 year old on your roster, Mr. Petrel?"

He's got me there.

"What if I told you you had to stay in Atlanta another year before I promoted you?"

"Well...at least I'm playing baseball." I was surprised. He didn't even mention the crappy conditions in Atlanta.

"Yeah, I heard you had it pretty rough in Atlanta."

"The rougher I have it," said Aaron, "the less rough the man who follows me is gonna have it."

"I was concerned."

"Thank you, Mr. Petrel. But I'd rather make it to Milwaukee on the strength of my bat than on any other reason."

"Definitely. When I talk to you again, Hank, it will be to bring you up. Take care."

"You too, Mr. Petrel."

(* * *)

That night, I write a letter to the the President of the Atlanta Crackers Baseball Club

"Dear Sir,

As General Manager and President of the Boston Braves baseball organization, I must remind you that as a minor league affiliate of our organization, we expect players to be treated equally regardless of their race. I do not wish this letter to devolve into a philosophical discussion regarding the evils of segregation (or the good segregation brings, if such an argument could be made).

Rather, as the owner of a club affiliated with professional baseball, you might own the stadium and the land upon which the stadium sits, and you might own the title to the land whereupon the field sits. However, there is one fundamental right of ownership you do not possess. When one crosses the turnstile of admission, when one crosses the white chalk outline of the foul lines, then one enters sacred territory, territory beyond any nation and beyond any set of social rules. There, the only thing that matters is the sanctity of the game of baseball. And in that, you are not the owner of the Atlanta Crackers, you are merely a caretaker.

I remember a story from 1936 during the Olympic Games in Munich. Hitler wanted to impose his odious rules involving the treatment of the Jews inside Olympic Stadium. He was told that no such thing would be permitted. "This is Olympia," said the administrator, "and we are the masters here." And nowhere inside that sacred territory is unequal treatment merited.

Yours,

Ron "Petrel" Bowman
Boston Braves Baseball Club

(* * *)

I got my answer the next day.

Dear Mr. Bowman

The Atlanta Crackers wish to disaffiliate from the Boston Braves organization. We will be sending our lawyer over to discuss the dissolution of our contractual relationship, which we now see as of no mutual benefit to both of our organizations.

The Atlanta Crackers.

(* * *)

I talk over our situation with Greybird and "M". We could try to integrate the Southern Association by force, make things ten times worse for Aaron, and have about six major league clubs permanently annoyed at us. Or, we could try to purchase one of the few independent AA teams left.

Immediately, I make some calls. There are only two full AA organizations in baseball, the Texas League and the Southern Association. Calling around in the Texas League, the owner of the independent Dallas Eagles is amenable to a buyout. That will take a lot of time and negotiation. However, he agrees that we can "park" AA players in Dallas until the beginning of the 1954 season. Furthermore, he's agreeable to our rules regarding segregation. "Mind you, I can't guarantee that he's going to be treated like peaches and cream," said the president of the Eagles, "but Dallas ain't Atlanta."

"I don't want to hear any bull**** about Aaron getting beaned with a bottle."

"No one will try that at my ballpark. Nosirree."

We make a deal over the telephone. The lawyers for the Boston Braves, the Atlanta Crackers, and the Dallas Eagles will get together and transfer our AA franchise to Dallas. Atlanta can go to **** as far as I'm concerned.

--Pet

[petrel]

While all of the madness was going on, it was time to review what would happen in the minor leagues.

Harvey Kuenn and Hank Aaron took a flight to Dallas to suit up as members of the Dallas Eagles. I also move Frank Torre to AA Dallas. I don't think he deserves to be in AA Dallas, but I need to make room in Jacksonville for Kent Hadley to play 1b, who is burning up Rookie League Wichita Falls.

So do I move Bruton to center field? Or do I play Monte Irwin? I decide to keep Monte Irwin there and see what happens.

We have August 1st off and then we play four games at home against the Chicago Cubs.

(* * *)

August 2nd-5th, 1953

CHICAGO

L 1-3, W 13-2, W 5-1, W 10-2

Warren Spahn takes the mound in Game 1 and gives up a three run homer in the first inning off Randy Jackson of the Cubs. Dutch Leonard pitches a complete game victory for the Cubs. We get seven extra base hits in Game 2 and cruise to a 13-2 win.

Then I get swarmed by the Boston press asking about Hank Aaron and the Atlanta Crackers. It's a good day to spend in the office at Commonweath Avenue.

When I wake up on August 4th, 1953, I receive more wonderful news. Ferris Fain, my first baseman, got into a bar fight in Boston. No, he didn't hurt himself, but he hurt the other guy. Apparently, the other guy was a Boston Red Sox fan and decided to ride Fain over the performance of the Boston Braves. I can imagine the headlines.

The league has had enough negative attention. I go ballistic.

After the secretaries calm me down and talk me out of selling Fain to eskimos, I fine Fain $4000 and bench him for the next day, replacing him with Jerry Coleman.We win Game 3 5-1. And in the final game, the Cubs score their only two runs in the first two innings as we cruise to the 10-2 win.

The next day, the headlines come out. They aren't as bad as I thought, but they do make the front page of every Boston newspaper sports section.

"FAIN IN TUSSLE IN BOSTON BAR"
"BRAVES LEAD SOX IN BAR KNOCKOUTS"
"SOX BATTERED BY FAIN"

I laugh at the last one, and decide to frame it in the office.

(* * *)

Oddly enough...we're in THIRD PLACE! Granted, the distance between third place and seventh place is only 2 1/2 games, but here are the standings.

Brooklyn 64 40 ---
Philadelphia 61 43 3
BOSTON 52 55 13 1/2

But even more interesting is what's going on in the American League. The Cleveland Indians are really struggling, and the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees seem poised to take advantage.

Cleveland 66 39 ---
Chicago White Sox 63 43 3 1/2
New York Yankees 61 44 5

Could Cleveland choke? I hope not. I don't want to see the Yankees back again.

(* * *)

We have a day off to travel to Chicago When we arrive Mel Parnell starts to warm up. When he catches a fastball thrown at him by a catcher barehanded, he begins to complain of finger pain.

Broken finger. Out for a month. Parnell goes on the DL, Fred Hutchinson replaces him and Bill Moisan gets the callup from AAA.

August 7th-10th, 1953

at Chicago

W 2-0, L 0-4, L 0-4, L 0-4

Warren Spahn pitches his fourth shutout of the year as we win Game 1 2-0. Only Bob Feller of Cleveland has more shutouts, with five.

Enos Slaughter picked up his 2000th hit. I send a congratulatory telegram. We hit four doubles in Game 2 and Ted Williams hits a triple as Bob Rush strikes out six Braves and gets the 4-0 victory. The unheralded Turk Lown goes to 4-13 with a two-hit shutout of the Braves in Game 3. And, in Game 4, the amazing Johnny Klippstein finds it in him to rise to the occasion as we get 4-hit and the Cubs win 4-0, shutting out the Braves in three straight games.

No time to dawdle. We fly right back home for a four-game series against Pittsburgh.

(* * *)

August 11th-14th, 1953

PITTSBURGH

W 8-2, W 4-1, W 11-3, L 6-7 (16)

Five Braves hit home runs in Game 1 to help pitcher Joey Jay get the complete game 8-2 victory. Brooklyn beat the Phillies to expand their league to 2 1/2 games in the National League. Meanwhile, the White Sox and Yankees are only 2 and 3 games away, respectively, from Cleveland. As we win the next game 4-1 on Warren Spahn's arm as Spahn goes to 15-5. The Phillies, however, beat Brooklyn and close the gap to 1 1/2 games.

In Game 3, Monte Irwin hits two home runs to lead us to an 11-3 victory over the Pirates for our third straight. Brooklyn loses to Philadelphia, and the White Sox and Yankees win while Cleveland loses. Brooklyn now leads by 1/2 game, and Cleveland now leads the American League by just one game.

As for Game 4, I'll show you how the 16th inning turned out. The game is tied at 5-5.

TOP OF THE SIXTEENTH
Joey Jay came in to pitch for the Braves. <--->
Ebba St.Claire popped up to short. <--->
The Braves guarded the lines.
Dick Smith singled to right. <--1>
Gair Allie laid down a sacrifice bunt to the catcher. <-2->
Allie Clark pinch hit for Jim Umbricht. <-2->
Allie Clark homered into the left field bleachers for two RBIs. <--->
Hank Bauer grounded to second. <--->
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixteenth, Pittsburgh leads 7 to 5.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTEENTH
Diomedes Olivo came in to pitch for the Pirates. <--->
Monte Irvin homered into the left field bleachers. <--->
Ferris Fain walked. <--1>
Ferris Fain stole second. <-2->
Andy Pafko walked. <-21>
Ted Williams grounded to the shortstop. <-21>
Davey Williams singled up the middle. <321>
Andy Pafko went for an extra base and was thrown out at home. <-21>
Eddie Mathews walked. <321>
Joe DeMaestri struck out. <321>

But while Brooklyn wins in the National League, the Indians lose again and the White Sox win again to put the Indians in a tie with the White Sox!





--Pet

[chuckwillard]

Excellent dynasty thread, one of the best I've ever read. I'm certainly going to adopt a similar style when I get around to writing my own dynasty.

Chuck

[Lunch]

"Hank," I asked, "how's life in Atlanta treating you?"

"Well...could be worse." A split second of silence. "I hope this is my call-up to Boston!"

It lightens the mood significantly. "Aren't you a bit young for that?"

"Don't you have a 17 year old on your roster, Mr. Petrel?"

He's got me there.

"What if I told you you had to stay in Atlanta another year before I promoted you?"

"Well...at least I'm playing baseball." I was surprised. He didn't even mention the crappy conditions in Atlanta.

"Yeah, I heard you had it pretty rough in Atlanta."

"The rougher I have it," said Aaron, "the less rough the man who follows me is gonna have it."

"I was concerned."

"Thank you, Mr. Petrel. But I'd rather make it to Milwaukee on the strength of my bat than on any other reason."

I actually found this dialogue rather moving. Go Hank! Go Pet! Go Braves!

[petrel]

A busy rest of the month for the Braves, with only one day off.

August 15th-18th, 1953

ST. LOUIS

W 3-1 (12), L 1-2, W 7-3, L 5-7

With Bill MacDonald out with a broken cheekbone (I suspect someone hit him, but can't be sure -- these bonus babies take a lot of guff), Manager Charlie Grimm takes the odd step of letting setup man Al Brazle start Game 1. We used five pitchers in 11 innings and won on a Jim Pendleton single with the bases loaded in the 12th, giving the 27-year old Bill Moisan his first win in the major leagues.

Carl Erskine of the Dodgers shut out the Phillies 1-0 and Cleveland won over Washington. Brooklyn and Cleveland are still in the lead.

In Game 2, Barney McClosky hits a two-run double and sticks Lew Burdette with the relief loss as we lose 2-1. Meanwhile, Vern Bickford, the pitcher we traded to Brooklyn, beats the Phillies to put Brooklyn up in the National League by 3 1/2 games. Warren Spahn gets another complete game win to go to 16-5 as the Braves win 7-3 over the Cardinals in Game 3. The Dodgers sweep the Philies to go to 4 1/2 games up. The Phillies have three more chances to close the gap.

In Game 4, Bill Serena hits a two run home run in the ninth and Lew Burdette gets his second relief loss in two days as the Braves lose 7-5 in the ninth.

The Yankees now close to within one game of the American League leading Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile, the Braves head to Cincinnati to take on the...Redlegs.

(* * *)

August 19th-August 21st 1953

at Cincinnati

L 3-11, L 1-7, L 5-10

In Game 1, the Redlegs get 14 hits and Ted Kluszewski gets another home run against the Braves as we lose 11-3 in Cincinnati. It is Cincinnati's eighth straight win. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Stan Musial breaks his left elbow and he's out for the season. In Game 2, the Redlegs hit four home runs (including one, by Ted Kluszewski - what a surprise!) as we lose 7-1 and Cincinnati's winning streak runs to nine games.

Game 3 was particularly humiliating. In the sixth inning, with Tom Hurd coming in for relief, Hurd gives up four walks, Ted Williams makes an error in left field, and the Reds hit a grand slam home run to cruise to a 10-5 win and their tenth straight win. I'm just glad to get the Braves out of Cincinnati.

In Brooklyn, the Dodgers win 2 of 3 from the Phillies to lead by 5 1/2 games.. The Yankees wiin their seventh straight game, but remain one game behind the Indians.

In the meantime, we head back home for six straight games -- three against the second-place Phillies and three against the sixth-place New York Giants.

(* * *)

August 22nd-24th, 1953

I find out that Ted Williams will go out eight days with a sprained ankle, which he earned from that error he made in left field. Davey Williams will go out one day with a bruised rib. At 58-64 and 16 1/2 games out of first, I don't think it's going to make much of a difference.

PHILADELPHIA

W 5-1, L 5-10, W 3-2 (10)

Warren Spahn goes to 17-5 and beats Robin Roberts to get a complete game 5-1 victory in Game 1. The Phillies fall back to 6 1/2 back in the National League. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees win their eighth straight to close to 1/2 game away from the Indians in the American League. Game 2 was an extra base extravaganza from both sides, but the Phillies score six runs in the last two innings, including a grand slam home run by Stan Lopata to take Game 2 10-5. Brooklyn, Cleveland, and the Yankees all win so nothing changes in either league.

However, Game 3 turns out nicely, as Ferris Fain's 10th-inning single helps us beat the Phillies. However, the Indians lose today and the Yankees win their tenth straight.

The Yankees now lead the American League by 1/2 game. It's starting to look like another Dodgers/Yankees showdown. However, after a day off, the Yankees and the Indians will meet in Cleveland for their last four games against each other. It could come down to what happens here, in August.

(* * *)

The latest issue of Time arrives at the office. It's about Dr. Alfred Kinsey, a researcher who lives in Indiana.



He's supposed to be coming out with a book called Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. It's supposed to take 842 pages long for him to write. I tell my old friend Greybird about it.

"I'm sure most of it will be pictures. And the rest of the pages will be blank," he tells me.

(* * *)

August 25th-27th, 1953

NEW YORK

W 5-2, L 2-4, L 5-8 (10)

We scrape together a 5-2 win in Game 1, but baseball's attention shifts to Cleveland's Cleveland Stadium. With Cleveland's 11-1 victory over the Tigers, that puts Cleveland and the Yanks dead even. (Meanwhile, the hopeless Philadelphia Athletics, at 40-80, are the first team eliminated this year.).

In Game 2, the Giants get four runs in the 7th for a 4-2 win. Joey Jay is sent to AAA Milwaukee, with much grumbling, but I want to save his 17-year old arm.

Meanwhile, the Yankees beat the Indians in the first game, 5-4. Bob Cerv doubles in the 5th and the Yankees never look back. They have won 11 straight games, and now lead the American League by one game.

Bill MacDonald has yet another injury, this time a broken finger. He's out for about two weeks.

In Game 3, Cass Michaels hits a three-run home in the 10th and Lew Burdette suffers another heart-breaking, extra-inning relief loss. Andy Pafko knocked in all five Braves runs. In Cleveland, Whitey Ford three-hits the Indians as the Yankees win easily, 9-0. They've won 12 straight, lead the American League by 2 games, and look unstoppable.

Monte Irwin goes out two weeks with a wrist fracture. Meanwhile, we take a day off to travel to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, so I listen to the Yankees-Indians game on the radio. The Indians get 9 hits but can't move anyone as the Yankees win again, 4-1 for their 13th straight win. However, I heard Whitey Ford strained his knee in the game before, so the 13-7 Ford will be out for two weeks.

(* * *)

August 29th-September 1st, 1953

at Pittsburgh

L 1-2, W 9-5, L 1-3, W 9-1

Lou Kretlow strikes out six Braves and only gives up four hits in eight innings to win Game 1 for Pittsburgh, 2-1. In Game 2, a five run seventh inning marked by a three-run Eddie Mathews home run gets the Braves the win. In Game 3, the Braves score no extra-base hits as we lose 3-1.

However, in Game 4, Warren Spahn goes to 18-5 and Davey Williams hits two home runs as the Braves win the last game 9-1. Warren gave up only one hit in the game, a home run to Hank Bauer. We now have two games off before we return to Boston for three more games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

(* * *)

An amusing incident happens at Braves Field when no one is there. Three guys try to sneak into the stadium for an improptu stickball game. The 24-year old Hank Woodward, the 21-year old John Pierson, and the 22-year old William Shatner were arrested. A bunch of actors, it turns out. Boston police want to know if I want to press charges. I decline, but ask the police to tell them the next time they want to jump the turnstiles, to do it in Wichita Falls. They might make our rookie league team.





--Pet

[petrel]

September 2nd and 3rd were travel days for the Boston Braves. As it turned out, Wednesday, September 3 1953, I would have a lunch conversation with my old friend "Greybird" that would change the course of baseball history itself. Althought, at the time, neither of us knew it.

"Greybird" was smart enough to run a baseball team very easily, and if he were a competitor, I might have left baseball entirely. "Sure, Pet, I could run a team," said Greybird, "but they'd have me hung from a lamppost in three days. I tend to be a tad outspoken."

But in terms of his private contacts in baseball, he was a godsend. He had forgotten more about baseball than most people remembered. Greybird and I used to go to a restaurant near Boston University and have our lunch breaks there.

We began chatting about the great minor league teams of all time. I mentioned that Pacific Coast League on the West Coast. They had pro-level talent, and I'm sure that some of the PCL teams could have given pro teams a run for their money. "You know," I said, "someday, they're going to be a third league." Baseball men had been talking about the Pacific Coast League becoming a third major league.

"It will never happen," said Greybird.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because Walter O'Malley will never let that happen."

"Why the **** not? What does Brooklyn have to do with the West Coast?"

"Think about it, Pet. I can't tell you everything."

(* * *)

So I thought about it. The equation involved three things. One, the West Coast, but that could have meant anything. I didn't know anyone in Los Angeles, or San Francisco, or Portland, or San Diego who was big in baseball. Next, Walter O'Malley, who was a cypher. Finally, Commissioner Ford Frick, who was a good friend of O'Malley's. So anything involving the two probably involved Ford Frick at some level.

It didn't balance. I couldn't make much sense of it. I simply remembered "Walter O'Malley doesn't want the Pacific Coast League to become major league" and filed it away for future use.

(* * *)

September 4th-6th, 1953

ST. LOUIS

W 12-2, W 4-3, W 3-2

In Game 1, it was 7-0 Boston by the end of the second. One of those blowout games, over quickly for both sides. Bob Buhl only gave up three hits and five walks.

The Yankees still have nine more games this year against the Indians. Johnny Sain shut out the Tribe at Yankee Stadium 6-0, moving the Yankees a full three games ahead. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is up by 8 1/2 against Philadelphia.

In Game 2, we only scored 8 hits to the Cardinals 12, but the Cards couldn't push anyone over and we took the game 4-3 at Braves Field. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Johnny Schmitz of the Yankees gave up a critical eighth inning single in relief and the Indians win 3-1.

Mel Parnell comes back into the Braves starting rotation after his injury for Game 3. An Eddie Mathews single in the bottom of the eighth gives us the sweep of the Cardinals, 302. We will then spend Monday in flight to take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Meanwhile in New York, the Yankees take an early lead and cruise to a 6-2 win.

On September 7, Vic Raschi two-hits the Indians and the Yankees win 1-0 to take three out of four from the stunned Indians. The White Sox, however, won the last two. The American League standings:

1. Yankees
2. White Sox, 3 games behind
3. Indians, 4 games behind.

(* * *)

Side note: The new cover of Time is out. Time's Cover Girl is Miss Audrey Hepburn....



Miss Hepburn, there are tickets in my private box here at Braves Field waiting for you at pickup. (Now I have to hope that Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe don't pick up their tickets....)

September 8th-10th, 1953

at Chicago

L 7-8, L 2-4, L 1-2

I was about to tear my hair out after Game 1. Warren Spahn was looking for his 19th win this year. We had a 7-4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Lew Burdette comes in to pitch the ninth inning for the Braves.

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH
Lew Burdette came in to pitch for the Braves. <--->
Johnny Logan grounded to the shortstop. <--->
Dee Fondy singled to center field. <--1>
Hank Sauer homered to right-center for two RBIs. <--->
Wally Westlake homered around the foul pole in left. <--->
Jim Hegan homered over the center field fence. <--->

Goodbye, ball game. Four straight hits. THREE STRAIGHT HOME RUNS. I really have to think about getting a more effective closer for 1954.

Vic Raschi goes down for five weeks with a spiked Achilles tendon. That's gonna hurt the Yankees.

In Game 2, Johnny Klippstein gets his sixth win -- against ten losses -- against us as he gives up three hits in eight innings and the Cubs win 4-2. What is this, his third win against us this year? I'm starting to hate the names of Johnny Klippstein and Ted Kluszewski.

St. Louis becomes the first team in the National League to become eliminated. They are only four games behind us. We feel the axe of the huntsman behind our necks. Brooklyn goes to 9 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia.

In the Bronx, the Yankees are losing to the Tigers 8-3. Mickey Mantle takes center field and begins blowing bubbles.

The photo of the Mick popping gum in center makes the papers.



Since Lew Burdette obviously can't get it done, Manager Charlie Grimm puts Al Brazle in for the Braves with the game tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the ninth with the previously ineffective Cubs ace Bob Rush suddenly holding us to three hits. And of course, Brazle gives up a single with a man on third. 2-1 win for the Cubs. The Braves get swept in the Ivy Confines of Wrigley.

Mantle doesn't escape the fallout from his gum-popping pic. Casey Stengel calls Mantle's conduct "unprofessional" and Mantle swears he won't do it again. This is what sells papers in New York City. However, Mantle has earned an endorsement fee from the Bowman Gum Company (no relation).

Now we go back to Boston and try it all over again as we close the season series with the Cubs.

(* * *)

September 11th-13th, 1953

CHICAGO

L 3-4, W 9-2, W 2-1

In Game 1, we score 7 hits, the Cubs score 11, and it's enough to tag us with our fourth straight loss to the Cubbies. The New York Giants, winner of six straight, move ahead of us in the League Table.

Interesting story. The Giants and Dodgers were playing in the Polo Grounds today, and Alvin Dark hit a single down the left field line that put the Giants up three to two. There was a big brouhaha over whether Dark's single should have been called a foul because it was so close to the foul line. But the home team prevailed and stuck the Dodgers with the loss.

Al Brazle goes on the DL four days with a strained wrist. However, Monte Irwin comes back.

In Game 2, we find the runs we were looking for in the other games and win 9-2. Then, in Game 3, we get the battle we've been looking for.

The immortal Warren Spahn versus the immortal Johnny Klippstein. Klippstein gives up only two runs, but Spahn strikes out eight and gives up only one to give us a 2-1 victory over the mighty Cubs.

(* * *)

Our next outing? In Philadelphia, where we close the season series against the Phillies. The last 10 games of the year are against the Pirates, and then, we close up shop. However, in those two days, the Yankees let the White Sox get within 1/2 of a game.





--Pet

[petrel]

We play three games in Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The rest of the year, we play against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

(* * *)

September 16th-18th, 1953

at Philadelphia

L 0-11, L 4-5, W 7-4

The first game, the less said the better. We got 4 hits, they got 11, and that was that. They say that every major league baseball team is destined to lose a third of its games every year. Chalk that one up to one of those we're destined to lose.

The loss officially knocks us out of the pennant. Brooklyn has 82 hits, and we're 68-74. The best we could do if we won all of our games is 80-74. Therefore, I'll rest my regulars for the rest of the year.

In Game 2, a Mel Clark triple and a Stan Lopata single in the bottom of the ninth gives us our second loss against the Phillies. Bob Buhl twists his ankle before the game, and he'll be out until the swelling goes down.

Elsewhere in baseball:

* - The Chicago White Sox have won four straight (three against the Washington Senators) to close within 1/2 a game of the league leading New York Yankees.

* - The Cincinnati Reds have fired manager Rogers Hornsby. Even though the Reds are 72-69 and in third place in the National League, what I hear is that the Cincinnati Reds players have had enough and were almost in open revolt.

* - Ferris Fain got sued for $50,000 by the guy he beat up in that bar brawl in Boston. If Ferris is looking for some cash from me to help him pay his legal bills, he can forget it.

In Game 3, pitcher Bob Kennedy of the Philies walked three straight batters in the eighth and then gave up a double by Davey Williams to open up a rally by the Braves to win the final game against the Phillies 5-4.

The Braves now have three days off. All of our remaining games are against Pittsburgh. Four at home, three at Forbes Field, and the last three at home.

(* * *)

Over the three-day interim, nothing changes much. Brooklyn leads Philadelphia by 7 1/2 games and the Dodgers' magic number is 5.

Meanwhile, things remain tight in the American League

Yankees, 86-55, 1st place
White Sox, 88-59, 2nd place, one game back
Cleveland, 83-62, 3rd place, five games back.

(* * *)

September 22nd-25th, 1953

PITTSBURGH

L 4-5 (13), W 3-2, L 3-9, W 6-4

A Ralph Kiner single in the top of the thirteenth drove in the winning run for the Pirates in Game 1. In Game 2, the Braves scored three runs in the third to get the second game, 3-2. However, in Game 3, Mel Parnell gave up 5 earned runs in 5 innings and set us back 9-3. Finally, in Game 4, the Pirates score 4 runs in the first inning but Fred Hutchinson gathers his cool and the Braves come back to win 6-4.

Elsewhere in baseball:

- Despite the Phillies going 8-2 in their last ten games, Brooklyn still leads Philadelphia by 7 games and Brooklyn's magic number is two. Brooklyn is in Ebbets Field facing the Giants, the Phillies are in Chicago.
- The Yankees still lead the White Sox by two games.

(* * *)

September 26th-28th, 1953

at Pittsburgh -- this is our final away series of the year. We close at home.

L 5-7, L 7-8, W 10-8

Warren Spahn goes for his 20th win of the year in Game 1. However, he gives up 7 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings and the Braves lose 5-7, delaying his next hope for a win until he returns to Boston.

Brooklyn loses to the Giants 5-2 on a Hank Thompson home run in the 9th. The Phillies win on a Hank Thompson home run in the tenth inning, beating the Cubs 9-4.

The New York Yankees release Vic Raschi. The Boston Braves snap him up immediately. Raschi went 13-3 for the Yanks this year and has a 71.9 win percentage. He goes on the DL for three days with a wrist injury, but I might bring him back for a game.

In Game 2, both clubs used 7 pitchers in a 8-7 seesaw loss for the Braves. Meanwhile, Larry Jansen pitches a 5-2 complete game win over Brooklyn and the Phillies beat the Cubs 4-1, keeping the Phillies alive as Cleveland is mathematically eliminated in the American League.

In the Game 3 final, Pirates starter Herb Pollet gives up 5 walks, and the Braves lead 10-0 at the end of the fourth. The Braves win 10-8 in a game that wasn't really that close.

George Shuba hits a home run in the bottom of the ninth at Ebbets Field as the Dodgers finally beat the Giants 4-2. However, Philadelphia starter Bud Podbelian one-hits the Cubs as Philladelphia massacres Chicago 15-0.

(* * *)

Since the Braves don't play again until the second of October, I expect to spend the next three days resting and thinking about "station keeping" activities as we head into 1954. Three games don't matter much to a team out of contention.

However, something happens on September 29, 1953 that plunges me into a world of intrigue, some hard lessons in baseball hardball, and me sitting down with Commissioner Ford Frick for a private discussion.

On the 29th of September, the owners of the American League teams agreed to expand to ten teams. I looked over the official communication from the American League office. Nowhere in the letter did it say when the American League planned to make this move -- I expected it to be when man landed on the moon. I wondered why the American League wasted the paper.

That afternoon, I called my good friend Bill Veeck of the Browns. It was what he said that got the whole ball rolling. When I talk about October 1953, I'll tell you the whole sordid story.

The Philies had off until October 2, giving the Dodgers three chances to clinch the pennant at home against their hated archrivals the Giants. On the 29th, the Dodgers outhit the Giants but couldn't get the runs, as they lost 4-2 at Ebbets Field. In the American League on the 29th, the White Sox won their fourth straight as the Red Sox beat the Yankees in Yankee Stadium and the White Sox beat the Browns in Busch Stadium, closing the gap to 1/2 games in the American League. The Yankees would be forced to play the Indians and Athletics while the White Sox got the easier Browns.

Finally, on September 30th, 1953, the Brooklyn Dodgers pulled a six-run rally in the seventh inning when down 5-0 and held on to win 6-5.

For the second year in a row, the Dodgers are National League Champions.





--Pet

[petrel]

The big story started in late September, 1953. The Braves were out of contention and so were the Browns, so I figured I'd call Bill Veeck and get his unique perspective on the baseball business. I knew I could find him rather easily; he was always at "Busch Stadium" duing Browns games.

The American League had just voted to expand to ten teams, but no date on the expansion had been sent. The American League's official announcement to the wire services was surprisingly short on details. So I called Veeck and asked him what was going on.

"This has a lot to do with me, I'm afraid?"

"How so?"

"The American League has had it with me. They're going to drive me out of the League, Pet."

"How can they do that? You're an owner, you'd have to be gamblling with the Browns' funds, or something?"

"That sounds like a good idea," said Veeck. "But there's no money to gamble. We're flat broke."

Veeck told me the sorry story of the financial problems of the St. Louis Browns. The Browns were once the kings of St. Louis, but the arrival of the Gashouse Gang Cardinals turned things around and made the Cardinals St. Louis's number one team. The Browns had been sorely mismanaged for years both on the field and from the owners box.

In the 1940s, the Browns made a brief resurgence. They even won the American League pennant in 1944, but the poor quality of wartime baseball tarnished their accomplishment. After that, the teams finances went into a slump.

Veeck had bought the Browns in 1951. He figured that he could turn things around, but that involved knocking the Cardinals out of St. Louis. It seemed simple enough.

"But when Gussie Busch bought the Cardinals, Pet," Veeck said, "I knew it was over for me. The team is basically owned by Budweiser. If they have a bad season, they just write it off on their corporate income taxes and there's always money for next year. I own the Browns. If I have a bad season, I'm busted."

Technically, Veeck didn't own the Browns -- he just owned most of their stock, enough to matter. But he told me of his desperate moves to provide financing for the Browns. He was the former owner of Sportsman's Park, but he had sold that to Gussie Busch, making the Browns tenants in the park they once owned. He had a ranch in Arizona. The ranch was now gone, sold to pay the bills.

"I'm trying to move the team to Baltimore. Or Milwaukee, or anywhere that will take us. We can't live in St. Louis, St. Louis is strictly a one-ballclub town. Oddly enough, it was Lou Perini who gave me the idea when he tried that move the Braves to Milwaukee this year. It would have worked, too, if not for that snowstorm."

"So what's the problem? You think the American League would want to keep its ballclubs healthy."

"Yeah -- you'd think, Pet. But they hate me."

When Veeck said, "they hate me", he meant the American League owners. They had been feuding with Veeck for years over matters great and small. When Veeck brought the 3'7" Eddie Gaedel to bat on August 19, 1951 (he was walked on four pitches), the league banned Gaedel from baseball and the hostility of the owners towards Veeck reached a new level.

"They're hoping I'll fail. They want to see me bankrupt."

I thought that sounded like self-pity, and I told Veeck that.

"I wish. I was talking to Del Webb (owner of the Yankees) the other day about a possible move to Baltimore. He got right in my face. He said, 'no, Bill, we're going to bankrupt you, and then we're going to move the Browns to where we want to!'"

Bill Veeck explained why. Veeck had made it clear at the beginning of the year that the Browns couldn't stay in Boston. While he had been talking to the good people of Baltimore regarding a move, the other owners in the American League had been talking about forcing Veeck into bankruptcy and then using the Browns as a bargaining chip for a big paycheck. Whether actual kickbacks were involved, I don't know, but an American League franchise was worth a lot of money.

Enter Del Webb of the Yankees. Webb was in construction, and his primary interest was in building stadiums. If the Browns moved to a city without a major league level facility, Webb knew that if he brokered the move, the new city would come to him first when it came to stadium issues. A new move meant money in his pocket.

"But wouldn't Webb just get the contract in Baltimore, too?" I asked Veeck.

"Why should he have just a contract when he can have a contract, a kickback, and me out of baseball at the same time?"

"Why don't you just talk to the Commissioner?"

"Pet...you've only been at this for one year. No one's ever taken you to school yet."

(* * *)

It was then that Veeck gave me an abridged history of the Commissioner's Office. Every schoolchild across the land knows that the first Commissioner was the great Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the man who saved baseball.



"That's the story they tell kids," said Veeck. "The other owners were terrified of him. Landis had massive power. His appointment was for life, and they were bound by league law not to sue him. They couldn't get rid of him.

"So when Landis died, the commissioners picked up Happy Chandler instead. They made sure that Chandler's appointment wasn't for life, and that they could sue him. They figured that with baseball's antitrust exemption, it would be good to have a politician in the office if we faced heat from Congress.



"The problem was, Chandler thought he was Landis. He tried to run baseball the way Henry Ford ran Ford Motors. The owners turned on him and Chandler knew he had no chance in **** of having his contract renewed. Chandler retired because of illness -- the owners were sick of him.

"So," said Veeck over the phone, "the owners got Ford Frick."



From what Veeck told me, Frick had been the National League President for seventeen years before he succeeded Chandler as Commissioner. "And you don't get there by accident!" Frick was basically a caretaker personality, one who would let the owners -- the true kings of baseball -- run the show. His job was to provide a public face and to not get in the way of what the owners wanted to do.

"So you're saying it wouldn't do any good?"

"It probably couldn't do any harm. But you won't get a straight answer out of Frick. Frick will talk it over with Del Webb and Walter O'Malley, and they'll make a decision. Even if Frick tells you one thing, the owners would just overrule him."

(* * *)

The next day, I made a trip to the offices of Commissioner Ford Frick to speak for my good friend Bill Veeck and see if there was something I could do for the man. I didn't know if I could save the St. Louis Browns, or keep Veeck out of debt, or keep Veeck as owner. I resolved to do at least one of the three, or to try to.

Ford Frick, a former reporter and PR man, was pleasant, but reserved. "What can I do for you, Pet?"

"I want to talk to you about the Bill Veeck situation in St. Louis."

He smiled at the neophyte sitting before him. "I don't think there's much I can do about it. The American League has to decide whether or not to allow moves, and that's a league matter."

It was exactly what Bill Veeck told me the Commissioner would say. He told me that Frick's main strategy for dealing with problems were moving them somewhere else (as National League President, he would say, "that's a matter for the commissioner/club").

So it looked like I had hit a roadblock. Frick was perfectly willing to let the situation stand where it was.

Suddenly, a thought had occurred to me. A strategy that happened almost from random chance. I decided to see if I could keep Frick talking, and find out anything else that could help me. As long as we had something to talk about, my chances were still infinetesimal, as opposed to nonexistent.

"It's probably just as well," I said, "between you and me, Commissioner, the Browns are a joke. They've been a joke ever since they let a one-armed man take the outfield".

I decided to "turn" on my friend, Bill Veeck. I told the Commissioner that I thought Veeck had frankly done a lousy job. I came to plead mercy on him because Veeck, the incompetent *******, had shot himself in the foot again. Frick chuckled, and for the next ten minutes or so, we had a high old time bashing poor old pathetic Bill Veeck.

"He's an ***, Pet. You can do better than Bill Veeck as a friend."

"I like him anyway, Commissioner. Then again, I'm thinking you made the right decision. There's a lot to be said for letting the market take its course."

The conversation got into politics, Roosevelt and the New Deal, Eisenhower, and sooner or later, to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. My job was to let Frick talk as long as he wanted to, and wait for an opening. I didn't know what the opening would be -- I was on a fishing expedition, frankly -- but perhaps there would be one scrap of information that would help me.

"I tell you, Pet," said Frick, "when he died, we all knew there would never be another like him. Probably for the better."

"Well, you don't have the powers Landis did, certainly. No offense."

"None taken."

But it was the way he said it. He said it almost wistfully.

"What would you have done if you had had Landis's powers? In this situation?"

--Pet

[petrel]

"Now Pet," he said, not letting himself be trapped so easily, "I can't give myself over to rank speculation."

"True, true," I said, thinking about it. "If you could have had any one of Landis's powers, Commissioner," I asked, "what would it be?"

"I can't play, 'what if' with you. Besides, much of his power came from his personality."

"Much of his power, Commissioner," I answered, "came from his power." Power only partly comes from personality, but the rest comes from ruthlessness. I decided it was time to be ruthless. My plan was starting to cook.

"You know Commissioner, there are only three powers Landis had that are worth a ****. The rest don't amount to a hill of beans. One, that the appointment to commissioner of baseball is a lifetime appointment -- "

" -- which was only because Landis was a federal judge, Pet. He wanted the same security."

"For the same reasons, Commissioner. Because as Commissioner, he knew he needed to be free of political influence. Without a lifetime contract, you're at the mercy of the owners. Two, to be free from any kind of lawsuits from an owner. And three, to determine, solely on your own, conduct detremental to baseball."

"That's as may be."

I put out the bait. "If I could get you to help Bill Veeck, Mr. Frick," I said, "I think that I could get you one of those powers. Instead of the owners having all of the power in baseball, you'd have at least one third of it for yourself."

He looked at the soon-to-be-26 year old sitting in front of him. "That's a mighty big claim."

"I could do it in three days, Commissioner. That would be the proof. Of course, whether I choose to leave you with this power or take it back from you is in my power."

He laughed. And it wasn't a pleasant laugh. I thought I was losing him.

Then I smiled, and pulled a ten dollar bill from my wallet and put in on his desk. "Ten dollars says I can do it!"

Frick's mood changed. "Pet, if you can't do it, can I keep the ten dollars?"

"Of course, Commissioner. But I never let ten dollars go. You'll owe me ten dollars in three days. You might as well get the money out of the bank now."

With a serious look, Frick said to me, "Mr. Bowman...if you can do what you say you can do...I'll do all that is in my power to help Bill Veeck. I can't stand the man, but I'll willing to overlook that if you can pull through."

"Definitely. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

(* * *)

I called Bill Veeck on the phone and asked him to do something for me.

"I want you to call a press conference and deny, absolutely deny, that you've been talking to the Pacific Coast League. Tell the reporters that such claims are tantamount to libel, and will be addressed in a court of law. Be brief, be serious, and end the conference."

"Okay. I like pulling one over on reporters. But what are you doing, Pet?"

"Trying to save your bacon, Bill. Just do it, okay?"

"Gotcha."

(* * *)

I waited until the news of the press conference hit the wire services. The trap has been laid, now everyone has to fall into it. My next call was to Del Webb, owner of the Yankees.



I was blunt. "My good pal Bill Veeck," I said, "told me that you intended to bankrupt him. Is that true?"

"I don't have to bankrupt him, Peg-Leg will bankrupt himself. But I'm not going to let him move to Baltimore, if that's what you're about! Bill Veeck isn't going to be allowed to run and ruin another club."

"So how much are you going to get from that new stadium that you're planning to build in Los Angeles?" I didn't know about Los Angeles. I just chose the name of the largest American city I could think of that didn't have a major league baseball team.

"Mr. Bowman," Webb said, "I have a signed check from Howard Hughes for a million dollars, and all I have to do is cash it?"

"And you'll be running the club for Mr. Hughes?" I said, surprised that I had stumbled on to it.

"That's right!"

I laughed, derisively. "You working for Howard Hughes, Mr. Webb?" I said. "You're going to learn the definition of what it means to be a 'minority owner'. That man's a loon! In three years, he'll be the hands-on owner and you'll be building gas stations in New Mexico."

"I don't think so, Pet!"

"It will never happen anyway. Bill Veeck will put a stop to it."

"How? And with what?"

"The Pacific Coast League is going to go pro. Veeck will take all the entire league to court. Maybe Hughes's check will cover your court costs!"

"Son of a *****!"

(* * *)

I knew that Webb would be on the phone to Frick and O'Malley immediately afterwards to plot strategy. The hitch...the unpredictable element...would be whether or not Frick made the suggestion to Webb and O'Malley that I had asked him to before I called Del Webb.

Namely, that it would be a good idea for the Commissioner to ask, as a gift from the owners, from immunity to lawsuits. The leagues would probably be voting by wire that night. I called Bill Veeck then and asked him to stay away from any wire message that night.

"I'm unplugging the teletype right now."

Of course, the owners could vote the power in 15-1 if necessary. It would look better if the vote were unanimous, and I decided to keep Veeck's final vote conditional on a few things. Everyone had to be working together.

I called Commissioner Frick. "Incredible," he said.

"You owe me ten dollars," I said.

"But I don't have the power, not yet."

"We'll have the power written into your contract. Now I have to make a bunch of people happy. You'll be happy because you'll be free of lawsuit. I plan to make Del Webb happy by giving him the power to build a new stadium.
I'll make Baltimore and Milwaukee happy, and Bill Veeck happy. Howard Hughes might not be happy, but I can't have everything."

(* * *)

One of the many people interested in the St. Louis franchise was a man from Kansas City named Arnold Johnson. He was a friend of Del Webb and Dan Topping, who owned the Yankees. The problem was that the field was too crowded. Veeck was making his own deals with Baltimore, Milwaukee still wanted a franchise, and there was Howard Hughes in LA.

I told the Commissioner what I planned to do.

"As long as the Yankees and Del Webb get paid out and Bill Veeck is out of baseball, they won't care where the new franchise goes. The smart move is to give it to Arnold Johnson in Kansas City."

"But what about Veeck? What about Baltimore?"

"I think, Mr. Commissioner, that as long as Baltimore gets a franchise sooner or later, they won't care to wait for one. You could also bring Milwaukee into the league. That would solve two problems. You don't have to bring the franchises in for 1954, you just give your public assurance that it will happen. That clears the field of contenders.

"In return, you make it clear to the other owners that Veeck might be persuaded to drop the lawsuit he's planning if the Yankees and Dodgers help him pay his debts. In return, Veeck will sell his stock to Arnold Johnson and he'll cast the final vote giving you immunity from lawsuits as commissioner."

"And Veeck is out of baseball?"

"Unless someone will sell him a franchise, Veeck will indeed be out of baseball."

"I think," said Commissioner Frick over the phone, "that this will indeed be a worthwhile proposition." I knew he would be on the phone with Del Webb the second we hung up.

"But what about the Pacific Coast League?"

"We'll talk about that during the winter meetings, Mr. Commisioner. I have a plan." And with that, I got off the phone and made my call to Bill Veeck.

(* * *)

"So I'm out of baseball?"

"Yes. The consensus is that you should sell your stock to Arnold Johnson. It's the best solution, Bill. Kansas City fans have been waiting for a team for years. The St. Louis Browns at least have a partial fanbase there. The team isn't unfamiliar to them, since it's in the same state. At least, the Browns will still be in Missouri."

"I can't screw Baltimore over. I've been talking to the mayor and the investors in Baltimore."

"Baltimore won't have a team next year. But the Commissioner will guarantee Baltimore a team. Once he does it in public, it will be hard for him to back off."

I continued. "Webb and Topping will float you the money to pay your debts at reasonable rates. In a few days, the owners of baseball will vote to make the Commissioner a position that is immune to lawsuit. No owner can sue baseball."

"But I'm out of baseball?"

"Yes, Bill. I couldn't get you back into baseball."

"Well, Pet," Veeck said, "I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you."

"I prefer neither. And I know I can't keep you out of baseball."

--Pet

[hoosiergoody]

i am almost liking the storyline better than the baseball results... great approach for a dynasty writing. now i'll be checking too often for updates

[petrel]

(* * *)

On October 1st, 1953, I met with Commissioner Frick and my adventures in baseball politics begin. The Braves were in transit back home to play their last three games of the season against Pittsburgh. Warren Spahn would probably have one or two chances to win his 20th game.

That day, the Boston Red Sox, our crosstown rivals, signed Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He could still hit, and I'm kicking myself for not picking him up myself.

In St. Louis, the White Sox whalloped the helpless and soon-to-be-dead Browns 11-3. In Cleveland, the Indians killed the Yankees 5-1.

For the first time in the year, the Chicago White Sox led the American League.

White Sox, 93-60
Yankees, 91-59, 1/2 game back.

(* * *)

October 2nd-4th, 1953

PITTSBURGH (69-82)

W 5-0, W 8-5, W 6-5

In Game 1, Warren Spahn gets his 20th win of the year (20-6) as he shuts out the Braves in a nine-inning victory.

In Busch Stadium, Willy Miranda of the St. Louis Browns would fly out to left field as the White Sox would win their final game of the year, and the St. Louis Browns would (probably) play their final game ever as they lose 5-1 to Chicago. Bobby Young would be the last of the Browns ever to get a hit, in the 8th inning.

On a Billy Martin home run in the 9th, the Yankees would beat the Indians 7-5. Chicago still leads the Yankees by 1/2 game -- but their season is over. The Yanks would go to Connie Mack Stadium and play the helpless Philadelphia Athletics (8th place in the American League) for a shot at the title.

If the Yankees got swept or only won one game, they would lose the pennant. If they won two games, there would be a tie. If they sweep Philadelphia, the Yankees have their fifth straight pennant.

In Game 2, the Pirates outhit us 13 to 12, but we win the game 8-5. It was my 26th birthday. A Braves win was a nice birthday gift, but a Yankees loss would go nicely with it.

In Philadelphia, the Yankees outhit the Athletics 10-5. Both Bob Hooper of the Atlhetics and Jim Wilson of the Yankees go the distance. Behind 2-1 in the ninth with one out and men on first and second, Gil McDougal pops up and Yogi Berra lines out to Gus Zernial in left field as the Athletics win 2-1.

With two games left to play, the Yankees had to win BOTH games to stay alive.

(* * *)

In Game 3, with the Braves up 6-3, Manager Charlie Grimm figures it's safe to bring in Lew Burdette from the bullpen. Despite giving up a home run to Joe Garigiola, somehow he hangs on and we sweep the series 6-5. It reminds me that I'm going to need bullpen relief for next year.

We finish the year at 75 wins and 79 losses.

In Connie Mack Stadium, the Yankees need to win to have a chance to win their fifth straight American League pennant. After six innings, the Athletics are up 5-0. In the top of the seventh, the Yanks scratch out a run, and in the eighth, a triple by Dick Kryhoski and a follow-up triple by Johnny Blanchard put three runs on the board to bring it to 5-4 Athletics.

In the top of the ninth, the Athletics bring in Frank Fanovich. Charlie Silvera walks to lead the inning for the Yankees.

But Phil Rizzuto pops up to third. Gil McDougald then strikes out. As millions of White Sox fans listen, Yogi Berra hits a ground ball to Athletics second baseman Tommy Giordano, who throws it to George Crowe at first.

The mighty Yankees, winners of the American League pennant for four straight years, will finish in second place. The Chicago White Sox are the American League Champions for the first time in thirty-four years.

(* * *)

As White Sox fans steeled themselves for a World Series against Brooklyn, Bill Veeck finished his final tasks as owner of the White Sox.

First, on October 5th, he voted to make the Commisssioner's Office inviolate from lawsuits. Then, he sold his shares in the St. Louis Browns to Arnold Johnson of Kansas City. (As it turned out, the Athletics would beat the Yankees 6-5 and sweep them.)

The next day, the American League approves of the movement of the St. Louis franchise to Kansas City. It is the first time a franchise has shifted locations in fifty-three years of baseball history.

Technically, he was still President of the Club, but on October 8th, 1953, Bill Veeck resigns the presidency of the Browns and is out of business.

On October 6th through 8th, Brooklyn and the Giants finish the last three meaningless games of the year. The Dodgers win the first one, and the Giants the last two. The Giants, the doormats of the National League at the beginning of the year, finish at a respectable 77-77.

The World Series is to begin on October 12th, at Ebbetts Field. Commissioner Frick has sent a communique to all clubs that they are to make no major announcements during the World Series.





-Pet