Bentley was first "Next Babe Ruth," Part 2

(Continued from Nov. 13)

One of only a handful of career-contemporary
baseball cards of hitting-pitching star Jack
Bentley is this card from the 1925
Walter Mails card game.

  In an era when holdouts by major league stars were still a relative rarity, Brooklyn baseball writer Thomas S. Rice attempted to explain each side's position in Jack Bentley's holdout against the N.Y. Giants in 1923.

Speaking of Bentley's case, he said, "It is perfectly natural that a player who has done such good work that his club is offered a huge sum for him should feel that part of the sum was coming to him from somebody as a just reward of merit and endeavor. On the other hand the player seldom stops to consider that the sale of players is largely the life of a minor league. Nor does the average player consider that while a high price may have been obtained for a star such as Bentley, the club selling the star has probably spent thousands of dollars upon other players who have proved more or less worthless, and have caused the salary, training expenses, railroad and hotel expenses and other items to go entirely to waste."

Rice continued, "The minor club owners furnish the schools, or factories, in which most of the major leaguers are developed. They have all the risk in keeping the club going and in experimenting with new material, while the player risks nothing at all. If he makes good he gets his salary, if he fails he is no worse off than before the club lost money trying him. Therefore the clubs feel that when they have polished a rough diamond found among a lot of rubbish, they are entitled to all of the proceeds when the diamond was sold.

"And there you are," Rice ended, "Which has the better argument in a case like Bentley's, the club or the sold star?" It seems obvious where Rice's sentiment lay.

Bentley's holdout continued into the latter stages of spring training, when McGraw commented on the mercenary motives of young players, as opposed to the purity with which players of his day approached the game, "The attitude of the younger ballplayers certainly has changed. In the days when I was an active player we first wanted a chance to prove that we could play ball. Now the young players want to be paid a bonus for giving a mild demonstration of baseball.

"I blame no man for trying to get all that he thinks he is worth," the Giants' manager continued, "but what the club owners might think would be something else again. When Hughie Jennings and I were a couple of ambitious young players breaking into the big time we even used to report to the ball parks early and rake over our part of the playing field. No, in those days they did not maintain luxuries such as groundskeepers. Every player did his own raking over.

"The game remains the same, of course, Muggsy concluded, "The only startling developments are the increase in the size of the ball parks and the increased value which a young player puts upon himself."

 By the end of the month, Bentley had signed his Giants' contract. Two decidedly different versions for the impetus found their way into the sporting press.

One account indicated that the pitcher dropped his demands on Dunn as the result of the death of Dunn's son, Jack, Jr., in late March, at the age of 27. Bentley was said to have been "the boy's boon companion," and when he saw Dunn's great grief said to him, "You have sorrow enough, I will not add to it by asking what I think is my due."

According to a later version, Orioles vice president Butch Schmidt was negotiating with Bentley, probably during Dunn's bereavement, while a cadre of reporters waited in another office supping the club's liquor. As the meeting stretched for hours and the booze supply began to run low, another team official is said to have rushed into the negotiating room and announced, "Say, Butch, if he only wants $5,000 give it to him. If this session keeps up much longer it's going to cost us that much for drinks for those fellows out in the other room."

Whatever the reason, it is believed that each club kicked in $2,500 to Bentley. The deal was already beginning to cause problems in the commissioner's office, where Landis ruled that the Giants could not send the "players to be named later" to Baltimore without draft attachments. Because the International League would not accept drafts of its players from the major leagues. That ruling cost New York another $10,000 payment to Baltimore.  

Bentley made his debut with the Giants on April 20 at Boston. He was soundly trounced, 9-2, giving up 13 hits, walking two and hitting two Braves batters. He struck out three and was 1-for-3 at the plate. His second outing was before the home crowd on April 29 and the Phillies knocked him out of the box in 2-2/3 innings, scoring six runs on nine hits and a walk. He took the 9-8 loss.

His next turn on the mound came at Philadelphia on May 7 where he won ugly, 13-8, and was hit hard, giving up a dozen base hits and three walks while striking out five. On the 18th he was the loser in a 7-0 blanking by the Reds, going eight innings and being touched for eight hits, six walks and a balk.

The Sporting News said of Bentley's early outings, "Jack Bentley, some of the critics say, is suffering the penalty of delay in reporting to the Giants. He came into camp fat and it took all his time to reduce his belt line, without a chance to try out his arm. Now he is stamped with the fatal word 'lemon' and it will be a tough job for him to climb the grade."

Cincinnati baseball writer W.A. Phelon issued these sarcastic comments, "Jack Bentley is a great thing for the National League and should be applauded and encouraged. Every time he goes to the hurling hill he gets a beating, the Giants get tumbled and life looks more pleasing for the other clubs."

Baltimore writer Roger Pippen analyzed Bentley's problem thusly, "New York writers have Jack Bentley wrong when they say that when (he) gets runners on bases he loses his nerve, his poise and his effectiveness. The southpaw then loses form, control and poise. He seems to be flustered, worried and nervous. And that's why opposition teams, when Bentley is on the mound, have for their slogan, `Get one man on base and we'll have a marathon.'

"But when Jack gets men on the paths he loses only one thing  his windup. His nerve and his poise are just the same, but without his corkscrew windup, Jack is like Samson with his locks cut. When Bentley is able to take his windup, it is hard for the batsmen to follow the ball and it is upon him before he realizes it."

Baltimore fans got another look at Bentley on Sept. 27 when the Giants played the Orioles in an exhibition game. Bentley hooked up for 10 innings against Lefty Grove and came out on the short end of a 4-3 score.

If Bentley's pitching arm wasn't up to par to begin the 1923 campaign, his batting eye was. Through July 13 he was batting .474. On July 15 he was used for the first time by the Giants as a pinch-hitter, and produced the desired result.

By the end of the season, Bentley was the league leader with 10 pinch hits in 20 PH at-bats. Combined with continued fine production at bat when he was pitching, the season ended with Bentley carrying a .427 batting average; 38 hits in 89 at-bats. That is a record that stands to this date. No major leaguer in 50 or more games has hit for a higher mark than Bentley's 1923 performance. (Hershiser ended the 1993 season with 26 hits in 71 at-bats, a .366 average.)

Bentley also managed to put together decent pitching stats that season, winning 13 and losing eight despite an ERA of 4.48. He ranked third in the league in strikeouts per nine innings, 3.93.

Once again in 1923  for the third straight year  the Giants met the Yankees in the World Series. Bentley's hot hitting continued into the Fall Classic. In Game 1 he came through with a pinch-hit single to help the Giants to a 5-4 victory.

In Game 2, Bentley came on in relief of Hugh McQuillen in the third inning, with two men on. Bentley loaded the bases by soaking opposing pitcher Herb Pennock, but got out of the inning with no damage. In the next inning he gave up a home run to Babe Ruth, then settled down to pitch four-hit ball with no more scoring the rest of the way. He had no decision in the 4-2 loss. At the plate, Bentley doubled in two at-bats.

Called upon to pinch-hit again in Game 4, Bentley again was successful, singling in the seventh inning in an 8-4 Giants loss.

Bentley was given the start in Game 5, played at Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 62,817, a World Series record. He was knocked out of the box after only an inning and a third, having given up five hits and two walks. He was tagged with the loss and had no plate appearances.

In the sixth and final game of the '23 Series, Bentley was called upon to pinch-hit in the ninth, but grounded out as the Giants lost the game 6-4, and the Series, 4-2.

Bentley led all hitters with his .600 batting average in the World Series, though his 9.45 ERA was nothing to be proud of.

Loser's shares of the 1923 World Series, the richest in the history of the contests, were $4,363.

Following the 1923 World Series, Orioles owner-manager Jack
Dunn (center) brought his two prize discoveries, Babe Ruth
(left) and Jack Bentley to Baltimore for an exhibition game.
Ruth wore a N.Y. Giants uniform for the engagement.

In 1924 Bentley's batting average dropped 162 points. Still, his .265 mark is one which any pitcher would brag on. More importantly to the Giants, Bentley's pitching record improved to 16-5, the third-best winning percentage in the league, though his ERA remained relatively high at 3.78.

The Giants went to the World Series again in 1924, with the same result as 1923, though in '24 it was the Senators who proved American League superiority.

Bentley played a minor role in Game 1. Coming on in the 12th inning as a pinch-hitter, he drew a walk and was replaced by a pinch-runner who later scored to help the Giants beat the Senators and Walter Johnson in the first-ever World Series game played in the nation's capital.

In Game 2 Bentley had a complete-game loss, 4-3 and went hitless at the plate. Pinch-hitting in the ninth inning of Game 4 back in New York, Bentley was unsuccessful and the Giants lost 7-4.

Bentley was matched against Walter Johnson in Game 5 at New York and came out the winner of the 6-2 contest. Bentley helped himself greatly with the bat. He singled in the third inning and homered in the fifth to give the Giants the lead. In the eighth he gave up a home run and a single before being pulled for a relief pitcher.

In Game 5 of the 1924 World Series, Bentley was thrown out at
home to end the third inning, but defeated Walter Johnson 6-2.

In the final game of one of the all-time great World Series, Bentley came on in relief in the 11th inning with the score tied 3-3. In an inning and a third he gave up a walk and three hits and lost the game 4-3 to Johnson.

Bentley hit .286 in the Series. His pitching line was a 1-2 record on 3.18 ERA. He pitched 17 innings, giving up 18 hits and eight walks while striking out 10. Loser's share of the 1924 World Series purse was $3,820.

Though Bentley's pinch-hig had dropped off to 4-for-18 (.222) in 1924, he performed much better in that capacity in 1925, tying for the league lead with 28 pinch-hit at-bats and coming through with a league-topping nine pinch hits (.321). Bentley raised his overall batting average back over .300 that season and, for the first time since 1917, played a handful of games in the outfield as well as a game on first base.

On the mound in 1925 Bentley's record evened out to an 11-9 mark and his ERA ballooned over 5.00. The Giants finished second that year.

This is a 1925 Universal Toy &
Novelty strip card from a
team-set sheet.

Because he was said to have lost faith in Bentley "as a money pitcher," McGraw traded him on Dec. 30, 1925, along with Wayland Dean, a "promising pitcher," for veteran Phillies pitcher Jimmy Ring. Considering the purchase price of Dean and Bentley, the Giants paid $122,500 for Ring, who was 11-10 for the Giants in 1926 before being traded to the Cardinals the next season with Frankie Frisch for Rogers Hornsby.

The Phillies had hoped Bentley could fill their long-standing need for a first baseman. Veteran ballplayer and baseball columnist Jess Altenburg said, "The
y say that Jack Bentley is to become (manager Art) Fletcher's regular first baseman. They want Jack in the line-up every day, as they figure his hitting will be a big asset to the Phillies. This seems like a wise move.

"Bentley is a big, powerful left-handed hitter, and in the Philly park, which is a small one, Jack should be able to get many a base hit. He seems made to order for his new surroundings.

"Fletcher may be planning to use Jack as Baltimore did," Altenburg speculated, "That is, play him regularly on first, but shove him in to pitch occasionally. Bentley can stand a lot of work, or he could, not long ago, and he'll give a good account of himself whether pitching or on first."

Unfortunately, Bentley was not the first baseman the Phils had been looking for. In 56 games he hit .258. He also appeared on the mound in seven games for the Phils, with an 0-2 record and an 8.28 ERA.

On this 1927 Exhibit card, Bentley is
pictured in a Phillies uniform, but
correctly listed as a N.Y. Giant.

On Sept. 15, the Phillies waived Bentley. Ironically, it was the Giants who claimed him for the $4,000 waiver price. He appeared in just three games for the Giants; twice as a pinch-hitter; once for two innings of relief work on the mound, with no decision.

About this time, Bentley became an off-season employee of John McGraw's, as well. The Giants' manager had become involved in the Florida land boom and was promoting a housing development at Sarasota called "Pennant Park." Bentley was hired to serve as New York agent for the project which eventually went belly-up and cost McGraw a fortune and his health.

Bentley closed out his big league career with the Giants in early 1927. He made four relief pitching appearances with no record, and played twice at first base, hitting .222. In late May the Giants bailed out the financially strapped Newark Bears of the International League. As the first transaction of their new working agreement, the Giants sent Bentley to the Bears in exchange for first option on the team's roster at season's end. Bentley's manager at Newark was Walter Johnson -- this was in the era when even the game's superstars didn't expect major league managerial reins to be handed to them without serving an apprenticeship in the minors.

Bentley pitched well in the minors, with an 11-3 record, even though he was sidelined for several weeks with the mumps. He hit .270 for the third-place finishers.

Back with Newark for 1928, Bentley hit .311. He went back to splitting time at first base as his pitching arm had lost its pizzazz. He had a 6-7 record and Newark finished seventh in the league.

At the close of the season it was announced that Bentley had been traded to the York White Roses (one of the all-time great minor league team nicknames) of the New York-Pennsylvania League, which team he was expected to serve as playing manager. York was a farm club of Newark at that time -- yes, even minor league teams had minor league teams back then.

Bentley spent three seasons as skipper and first baseman at York. He hit a cumulative .357 from 1929-31 for York, and led the league with 46 doubles in his first year, while also leading the league first basemen in fielding percentage.

As a manager, Bentley had no great success at York, finishing fourth, sixth and fifth in his three seasons.

In late August, 1931, Bentley resigned as York manager and was signed by Rochester for their pennant drive. In 17 games at first base for the Red Wings he hit .306 and Rochester did, indeed, win the International League pennant.

After nine seasons, Bentley found himself again facing St. Paul in the Little World Series, at the same time the parent St. Louis Cardinals were playing the A's for the major league championship.

When George Sisler was forced out of Game 1 with a recurrence of an old groin injury, Bentley took over the initial sack for the remainder of the series. He batted .310 in the series overall, and in Games 5-7 hit .500 with a home run, five RBIs and three runs. His fielding in the series was flawless. Rochester beat the Saints five games to three, but because of cold weather, the Depression or the on-going World Series, the purse amounted to a winner's share of only $600.

On the recommendation of Rochester president and future National League president Warren C. Giles, Bentley was offered a job for 1932 as a manager in the Cardinals' chain, returning to the N.Y.-Penn League with Elmira.

Bentley appears on a number of
1990s collectors card, such as this
1993 Conlon Collection issue.

Bentley was basically a bench manager with the Colonels, playing a few games at first base, doing some pinch-hitting and even making his first appearance on the mound in five years. He gave up three hits and a run, walked two and struck out three in three innings of work. With the bat, Bentley hit just .232.

Late in the 1932 season, when Specs Toporcer replaced Billy Southworth as Rochester manager, Bentley rejoined the Red Wings as a coach. The following season, with the Depression deepening, minor league coaches became a luxury that even the rich St. Louis farm system couldn't afford and Bentley was released, ending his professional career.

After his playing days Bentley worked as a salesman for a Washington, D.C., paint company. His late years were plagued with severe arthritic pain and Bentley was said to have become an avid reader of the classics and a student of Chinese philosophy.

On Oct. 24, 1969, Bentley died at Olney, Md., at the age of 74.

Jack Bentley was first "Next Babe Ruth," Part 1

(This feature is updated from a version that was printed in Sports Collector's Digest in 1993.)

Jack Bentley went right from the sandlot
to the major leagues in 1913, when he was
pegged as a potential pitching and hitting star.
He's shown here with the Senators in 1915.

                                                                                             
When Orel Hershiser was flirting with a .400 batting average going into the final month of the 1993 season, a few sportswriters and broadcasters brought up the name of Jack Bentley. Few of today's fans and collectors have heard of Bentley, but he was big news in the early 1920s when he was proclaimed "the next Babe Ruth."

Bentley was quite possibly the first ballplayer saddled with that onerous appellation which has, over the years, been an albatross around the neck of countless rookies.

 Similarities between the Babe and Bentley are numerous. Both were born in Maryland in 1895. Both made their major league debuts as southpaw pitchers in the American League while still in their teens, and both went on to greater fame as batting stars. There were differences, as well . . . Bentley was a Quaker, Ruth a libertine.

Bentley, in fact, preceded Ruth to the majors by a season, and if it had been with any other team than the second-place Washington Nationals of 1913, Babe Ruth might have been known as "the next Jack Bentley."

Late in the 1913 season, Clark Griffith plucked Bentley off the sandlots of Sandy Springs, Md., where he was playing left-handed shortstop, and put him on the major league roster with the intent to develop him into a star pitcher. The Griffmen had been vainly chasing Connie Mack's A's all season and would finish 6-1/2 games behind. Even in the last month of the season, Bentley didn't get off the bench often. He had plenty of company, however, as Griffith tried a total of 23 pitchers that season, including taking a turn on the mound himself at the age of 43. 

 Bentley made his debut for Washington in a relief role on Sept. 6, at the age of 18; he did not figure in the decision. He also got a no-decision in his second relief outing. On Oct. 1, with the pennant clinched by Philadelphia and the season in its final days, Bentley was given a start against the A's. He won 1-0, pitching an eight-inning shutout, presumably the game being called on account of darkness and lack of significance.

 In his month-long major league debut, Bentley had winning and fielding percentages of 1.000, an ERA of 0.00 and a batting average of .000.

Bentley's father died about that time, leaving him a 175-acre farm in Maryland, but Bentley wasn't yet ready to pick up the plow. He returned to the Washington staff for 1914 to share the lefty reliever's role with another 19-year-old, Harry Harper. Though he had a 5-8 record in 1914, Bentley tied for the league lead with four saves and was second on the team with a 2.37 ERA. In 40 at-bats, Bentley hit .275 for the third-place Nats.

Bentley opened the 1915 season at Washington with an 0-2 record, though his ERA was only 0.79. In mid-May he was released to Minneapolis in the American Association.

On May 23, in his first-ever minor league game, Bentley beat the Kansas City Blues 4-3 on a three-hitter. Two of the three hits he gave up were home runs to the same batter, and he walked seven and had a wild pitch. Bentley went 2-for-3 at the plate. Two months later Bentley cracked his elbow and was put out of action. He returned as the Millers won the A.A. championship. He contributed a 7-4 record and .239 batting average to the effort.

 He was summoned back to Washington to start the final game of the 1915 season, the second game of an Oct. 6 doubleheader; he lost 0-4 to the A's.

 Bentley's 1916 season began with a return to Minneapolis. After going 8-6 he was recalled by Washington briefly then traded to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. In 11 games with the old O's, Bentley was 7-3 with an ERA of 2.12. At the end of the season, Bentley was once again returned to the Washington roster, but before the 1917 campaign got underway, he was released back to Baltimore, his pitching arm having gone dead.

Jack Dunn, the man who had "discovered" Babe Ruth, decided to explore Bentley's potential as a hitter. Bentley played 21 games in the outfield prior to taking over first base for the rest of the season (65 games). His pitching that season was limited to one inning of relief. The extra at-bats paid off as Bentley hit .342, fifth-best in the league  with five home runs. Highlights of Bentley's 1917 season included a June 12 game with Richmond in which he had a single, a double and two triples in five at-bats, and a rare performance two weeks later in which he came in as a pinch-hitter against Montreal and hit two singles in that inning.

As the season wore on, and the major leagues began to lose players to military service in World War I, Dunn began to receive inquiries about Bentley's availability. He discouraged all offers by asking $7,500 and two or three players for his star.

When the draft period opened, however, the Boston Red Sox claimed Bentley for the draft price. The BoSox claim, however, was over-ridden by Uncle Sam, who drafted Bentley into the U.S. Army. Bentley saw a good deal of action in France and rose to the rank of lieutenant in the infantry. Twice he was cited for bravery, with appropriate medals being awarded.

While fighting overseas, Bentley was waived back to the Orioles. He returned from France in late May of 1919 and reclaimed his first base job. He batted .324 with 11 home runs to help Baltimore to a first-place finish. More significantly, while playing first base in 1919, Bentley felt his throwing arm come around and decided he could attempt a return to mound duty.

This 1995 Conlon Collection card details
Bentley's estimable combat record in WWI.

In 1920, Bentley once again began to split time between first base and pitching. He performed each role with outstanding success. On the mound he had a 16-3 record and led the International League with a 2.11 ERA. With the bat he hit .371 with 20 home runs and a league-leading 161 RBIs in 145 games. Those totals could have been higher, but in mid-August, stung by criticism from a sportswriter, Bentley deserted the team for several days. He would repeat that stunt several times in the coming years, earning a reputation as "temperamental."

For the season, Bentley's batting average was third in the league, as were his home runs. He was tied for second with 39 doubles and held the second rank undisputed in number of at-bats (622) and hits (231). He led the league with 354 total bases. One contemporary sportswriter figured that in games in which he pitched, Bentley batted .237; as a first baseman his batting average was .400. Bentley led the league's first basemen in errors that season, with 21.

The Orioles won the I.L. pennant again and entered into a post-season playoff series with St. Paul, champions of the American Association.

 Bentley was undeniably the star of the Oct. 5 opener at Baltimore. Besides throwing a complete game 5-3 win, he was 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs.

 In the next two games, Bentley held down first base, going 4-for-9 in a split with the Saints. He returned to the mound for the fourth contest, the last in Baltimore. He again had a complete-game win, 9-2.

 Bentley was again on the mound when the series moved to Minnesota. Despite giving up 11 hits he went the distance to rack up a 6-5 win.

 Game 6 proved to be the series finale as the O's won 1-0. Bentley, on first base, went hitless as Baltimore clinched the best-of-nine series, five games to one. That oh-fer lowered his post-season series average to .375.

 Splitting his time between the mound and first base worked so well for Bentley and the Orioles in 1920, that they repeated the assignment in 1921. If anything, it was more successful. On an ERA of 2.35, fourth-best in the league, Bentley compiled a 12-1 record. He was even more effective with the willow. He led the league's hitters with a .412 batting average and 246 hits. His 47 doubles and 24 home runs were also league-bests.

 The Orioles cruised to another I.L. pennant, 20 games ahead of Rochester. Their A.A. opponents in the "Little World Series" of 1921 were the Louisville Colonels, who beat the Orioles five games to three. Bentley pitched only two innings of relief in the post-season series, playing the rest of the time on first base. He hit .314 with a couple of doubles, a triple and a home run.

 Following such a tremendous season, it was natural that acquisition inquiries from the big league clubs would be received. Dunn let it be known that he was looking for $100,000 cash, plus at least two replacement players. There were no takers, though apparently the N.Y. Giants pursued the matter seriously before manager John McGraw announced that he wouldn't pay that kind of money for the whole Baltimore team.

 Not unexpectedly, Bentley's batting numbers fell off some in 1922, though he was still fourth among the International League in batting average (.351) and doubles (39), and was second on the list in total bases (334), home runs (22) and RBIs (128).

 As a pitcher, Bentley's stats improved in 1922. After losing his first start of the season, Bentley ran off eight straight wins. The last of those victories was an Aug. 3 two-hitter at Reading in which he struck out 13 batters, enabling Baltimore to win its only game of the four-game series. Following that game Bentley again took French leave, once again precipitated by negative comments in the press, attributed to Orioles manager Jack Dunn, to the effect that Dunn placed small value on his services (though Bentley was the team's highest-paid player) and could probably get along without him.

 Chick Foreman, Baltimore correspondent for The Sporting News, commented, "Bentley has been in baseball nearly ten years and has not yet learned to put small stress on newspaper criticism. (He) has been pampered and petted so in the last few years that he seems to imagine himself immune from criticism. With a losing club he could not get along, for the ragging of the fans would be too much for him and yet he, unable to stand the gaff, hopes to go to the majors next year."

 There were rumors that Bentley would be dealt to the Cincinnati Reds, but on Aug. 11 he returned to the O's. On Aug. 27 he won his 13th straight game.

 Though he didn't pitch in enough games to qualify as the statistical leader, his 13-2 record and 1.73 ERA were nominally tops in the league.

 The champion Orioles played two post-season series in 1922. While waiting for the American Association to sort out its pennant race, Baltimore engaged New Haven, champions of the Eastern League, in a three-game set. Surprisingly, New Haven spanked the O's. Bentley pitched a complete-game victory, 5-1, to open the series. He did not play in an 11-7 Baltimore loss in Game 2, and in the finale, at first base, went 1-for-3. New Haven won the series by coming back in the bottom of the ninth to score six runs and win the game, 6-5. Attending the New Haven-Baltimore series was John McGraw, who professed New York's disinterest in Bentley when he returned to New York.

 St. Paul was again the Orioles opponent in the Little World Series of 1922. Bentley was again tabbed as the opening game pitcher, and came through with a 9-4 win, going the distance before the hometown fans. In Game 3, Bentley notched another win, pitching five innings in a 13-10 victory. At first base in Games 2 and 4, Bentley hit .250 with a couple of runs plated, splitting those contests with the Saints.

When the series moved to St. Paul, Bentley played first base in the fifth and sixth games, again hitting .250 and again splitting with the home team. Bentley ended the series in Game 7 with a complete-game victory, 4-3. In the finale he was 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, giving him a .346 average for the series.

For their work in the post-season series, each Baltimore player received about $1,000.

 On Oct. 30, 1922, the N.Y. Giants announced the acquisition of Jack Bentley from the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Despite having swept the Yankees in the 1922 World Series, John McGraw, always a proponent of left-handed pitching, decided he needed to supplement Art Nehf, the only port-sider to win a game for the Giants in 1922.

That Bentley was available at all was the result of a rebellion on the part of the rest of the International League owners against Jack Dunn's Orioles dynasty. Refusing to accept major league drafts of his players, Dunn had built a machine that had won four straight pennants. At a Sept. 22 meeting, the owners told Dunn he would have to break up his star-studded team and Bentley was one of the player put on the block.

McGraw entered into a bidding war with the Yankees and Reds for Bentley. The final price tag was $65,000 cash and three players to be named later. In the event the players didn't pan out for Baltimore, another $7,500 was to be paid. That was the third highest price ever paid for a major league player. The Giants had, the previous year, paid $75,000 for outfielder Jimmy O'Connell, while the penurious Charles Comiskey had laid out an even $100,000 for third baseman Willie Kamm.

McGraw had returned to Baltimore in mid-October to attend an old-timers function, and there renewed negotiations with Dunn. "I'm buying Bentley as a pitcher," he announced. "He is a mighty fine player in all respects, but he'll be the most good to us in the box. So far as I can see there will not be any room anywhere else." Though McGraw stated his intention of using Bentley as a pitcher exclusively, rumors began to fly that he would put Bentley on first base and convert future Hall of Famer George Kelly into a pitcher. Other rumors had McGraw trading Bentley to the Reds for Eddie Roush, whom McGraw had traded away in 1916 and coveted ever since.

Former Reds manager and Giants infielder Buck Herzog, who was writing a baseball column for the Baltimore Sun, predicted success for Bentley as a Giants pitcher.

According to Herzog, Bentley had approached him on the q.t. to apprise him of his pending sale to the Giants and ask Buck's advice about making good in the National League. In his role as Dutch uncle, Herzog told Bentley, "That in a great measure depends upon you. You must adjust yourself to two things: forget your temperament and remember that you are with a club that is managed by a man who is different from any manager in baseball. By assuming that you are a star and requesting that you be recognized as such in the beginning, your career with the Giants will be a short one."

Despite playing nine years in the major
leagues during the heart of the strip-
and caramel-card issuing period, Jack
Bentley appears appears on relatively
few career-contemporary cards.
This is a 1923 W515-2 strip card.

Herzog then provided this analysis of Bentley's pitching skills, "Bentley's style in the box is one that the Giant manager always admires. His wind-up and move to first is far more effective than any of the southpaws the Giants have had on their staff in years gone by. The Giants and their supporters will find in Bentley in this particular feature one even beyond their fondest expectations; an angle which will assert itself and prove to be a large factor. This combined with the ability he possesses as a pitcher leaves no doubt that he will make good with the Giants as a pitcher during the coming season."

Having title to Bentley's services turned out to be somewhat less than a guarantee that the Giants could induce him to play, however. By February he was being classified as a holdout. It was not the salary on his 1923 contract that was a problem, according to the pitcher, but rather that a great deal of money had changed hands for his services with no immediate fiscal benefit to himself. Before he would sign with the Giants, Bentley declared, he wanted a little somethingfor himself, say $5,000. 

McGraw reminded him that his club had already laid out plenty of money for a pitcher who had failed as a big league pitcher a decade earlier, and suggested he approach his old boss for the bonus. Dunn flatly refused, saying the deal was done and over.

(Continued Nov. 15)

When players dressed "Indian" for publicity pix

With the growing groundswell against the use of the name "Redskins" by the Washington NFL team, this seems like a good time to share with you some photos I've accumulated over the years that depict Major League baseball players wearing feathered headdresses and other Native American garb in publicity photos.

I started gathering these images more than 20 years ago because many of them pictured members of the Boston/Milwaukee Braves, my childhood favorites.

Today any player engaging in such a politically incorrect gag photo would be suspended and fined. Hell, if any of these headdresses actually contained eagle feathers, those in possession would be liable to face Federal charges.

But these photos reflect a time when racial sensitivity in this country was at a nadir and pictures of the hometown boys being boys were considered good publicity.

The first photo is something of a mystery, at least to me. The pitcher is described in the International News Photo caption from early spring training 1955 titled "Heap Big Dodger Hurler" as "Chief Bing Martin." He's said to be a full-blooded Mohawk from Canada.

Searching the baseball-reference.com data base, however, I don't see any player named Martin on any of the Dodger-affiliated minor league teams for 1955.

Gene Conley is pictured here in the early 1950s next to a totem pole, reflecting his status as having been born and raised in the Pacific Northwest.

This 1966 photo features Cubs manager Leo Durocher (right) being received as an honorary member of an Oklahoma tribe.

There's no attached caption with this photo of Mel Ott so we don't know the context. He's wearing a Giants jersey under the beaded vest, so it could be any time (judging from his apparent age) circa the late-1930s-1940s.

This photo of Pete Reiser also lacks a cutline, but it almost certainly dates to his time with the Boston Braves, 1949-50.

This photo of Boston/Milwaukee Braves manager Charlie Grimm could date to any spring training between 1953-1956.

Custom pirate ship added to Rails & Sails

In my Oct. 29 presentation, I explained that in nearly 60 years of collecting bubblegum cards as a kid and as an adult I had never owned a single card from the popular 1955 Topps Rails and Sails issue.

The Chicago and North Western diesel locomotive card I created in that format was a first for my custom card efforts.

Here's my second "addition" to that series.

As wide-ranging as the ships were in the "Sails" allocation of that 200-card set, Topps couldn't cover everything, and thus left me some room to work nearly 60 years later. Surprisingly, for a card set that was designed to appeal to re-teen boys, there was no pirate ship in the original Rails and Sails series.

In my studies of the original R+S I learned a great deal about the set that helped me in my custom card making.

I learned how truly scarce the high numbers -- 151-200 -- among the ship cards really are. 
At any given time there are some 800-900 singles and lots of R+S cards up for sale on eBay. My best guess after scouring those listings for a couple of weeks is that fewer than 10% of them comprise high-numbers.

I was delighted to discover that about half of the 70 original Sails cards featured on back a line art drawing of an American lighthouse.

This allowed me to bring a hometown element to my first ship card. 

The Fond du Lac lighthouse was built in 1933 on the south end of Lake Winnebago, at a promontory at the city's Lakeside Park. The octagonal Cape Cod style structure is 40 feet tall.

Probably since its early days, the lighthouse has been a beacon not only to craft on the lake, but also to local kids seeking a nearby safe place to park at night and "watch the submarine races." The popularity of the place as a lover's lane is attested to by the quantity of New Jersey white fish to be found there on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The lighthouse is the most iconic symbol of the city. It's found on the city seal, police patches, informational signs, etc.

There was no dearth of good photos of the lighthouse available and I really enjoyed the time spent converting one of them to line art for the back of my card.

As you can see, the subject I chose for my first custom Sails card is the most famous pirate ship of the Golden Age (late-17th and early-18th centuries) of piracy in North America: Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge.

The capsule history on my card back provides the bare bones, and you can easily find much more about her with a google-search.

Queen Anne's Revenge has reemerged in popular culture as a component in one of the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean action-fantasy movies, On Stranger Tides, released in 2011. 

Blackbeard and his ship also co-star in the video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, a 2013 release.

There is even a Lego kit of the Queen Anne's Revenge based on the Disney movie and also released in 2011. The Lego set is about 1,100 pieces and had a retail list price of $379.95. 

Too, the discovery of the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge in the coastal waters off North Carolina in 1996, and subsequent salvage operations have brought new attention to the actual ship Queen Anne's Revenge.

Finding artwork for my card was easy, there are a number of modern paintings of the QAR to be found. Curiously, many of them share the dramatic theme of the ship cutting through the dark on a moonlit night.

While finding such art was easy, making it work in the context of a Rails and Sails formatted card took a good deal of effort. I stubbornly clung to the idea that I wanted the ship's pirate flag to be readily visible. This caused me to go through a number of permutations to fit the typographic elements to that end.

I actually completed seven different variations with ships sailing this way and that, and with black and white type arranged in all conformations. I studied them for a couple of days, gradually eliminating them until I came to the conclusion that the pictured card most exactly fits my vision.

There will be at least two-three more Sails cards forthcoming on different topics, though I don't have a timetable. I want to get out some more World on Wheels and TV Western customs in the near future, as well.

Cy Jones used extraordinary access to sports stars to build collection

Collector extraordinaire Cy Jones (left) was a personal friend
of many top sports figures. He's shown here in an undated
photo having dinner with Babe Ruth, who autographed
the picture "To Cy".

Coincidentally, in the same Aug. 6, 1942, issue of The Sporting News in which publisher J.G. Taylor Spink detailed the baseball photo collection of Al Scully (as presented last time on my blog), there was a short boxed item about another baseball memorabilia collection that would be the envy of any collector today.

Headlined “Tar’s Diamond Souvenirs,” the article in its entirely follows . . .

            CHICAGO, Ill.— Cy Jones of Co. 3, Naval Training School of Aviation, Chicago, has a notable collection of diamond souvenirs which he has been gathering since 1936.

Items in Cy’s collection include the uniform worn by Lou Gehrig in his last year with the Yankees, huge oil paintings of Grover Alexander and Hans Wagner, the glove used by Babe Ruth in 1927, shoes worn by Bob Feller when he struck out 18 Detroit Tigers, more than 150 autographed baseballs, 5,000 autographed pictures of diamond celebrities, programs from every World Series since 1910 and scrapbooks containing clippings on games played before the Civil War and up to 1898, and the mask worn by Mickey Owen when he dropped the third strike in the 1941 World’s Series.

Jones’ collection has been exhibited my Macy’s, Abercrombie & Fitch and Spalding’s in New York, and also was shown at the Polo Grounds, New York, in June, when it was loaned to the Navy Relief Society in connection with its All-Sports Carnival.

Cy is a resident of Brooklyn and an enthusiastic rooter for the Dodgers.

In 2010-2011, SCP Auctions featured a number of items from the Jones collection in its sports memorabilia auctions. The cataloger had this to say about Jones, “Cy Jones was an avid sports fan and connoisseur of history and popular culture, and as an employee of the famed New York Concessions conglomerate, Harry M. Stevens, Co., Jones established and maintained relationships with many famous athletes beginning in the 1930’s and continuing through the 1980’s. Those he counted amongst his personal friends were the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Sid Luckman, Babe Ruth, Fran Tarkenton, George Halas and Jack Dempsey just to name a few. Throughout his life Cy accumulated objects directly from many of the most prolific athletes of his day.”

1942 News offered glimpse of old-time collections

In my reading of back issues of The Sporting News I am always delighted to find features about collectors from two or three generations back.

Such a find was to be made in the “Looping the Loops” column of TSN publisher J.G. Taylor Spink in the Aug. 6, 1942, issue.

Spink had been chronicling his recent tour of the baseball scene in California and made a stop at the home of one prominent collector. He presented it thus . . .

Al Scully—Souvenir Scourer

            While on the Coast we visited Al Scully’s house. Scully, who lives in Hollywood, owns what might be termed the West Coast branch of the Cooperstown Museum. Since last we visited Al’s home he has added to his collection of more than 4,000 baseball photographs a gallery of players in their service uniforms. Scully started this department shortly after Hugh Mulcahy, Hank Greenberg and several other early pre-war selectees were inducted and has kept up the collection since Pearl Harbor. It’s said to be, like Al’s entire collection, the most varied and strikingly presented private display of its kind in existence.

            Collecting baseball portraits has been Scully’s hobby for 25 years. Scion of a wealthy Chicago syrup manufacturing family, he has been able to devote at least two or three hours to his hobby each day. His museum and photographic gallery occupies one room on the second floor of his residence at 1031 South Rimpau boulevard. Each picture is uniformly framed and hung in rows from baseboard to ceiling. In addition to the more than 300 “current” framed portraits on open display, most of them autographed, Al has a large, systematically conducted file. If you don’t see your hero on the wall, just name him to Al and he’ll come up with his picture pronto.

            Scully has maintained his amazing collection strictly on a non-profit basis. He has, of course, a considerable cash investment in the huge outlay, including advertising address to other collectors with a view to swapping for items desired.

            Though the exhibit is in no sense a commercial service facility, Scully at times has loaned parts of his collection for public display. For instance, the World’s Fair in San Francisco showed a group of “California favorites,” which included Harry Heilmann, Chick Hafey, Lefty O’Doul, Freddie Fitzsimmons, Arky Vaughan, Ray Kremer, Lew Fonseca, Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Gomez, Babe Pinelli, Willie Kamm, Dutch Ruether and Tony Lazzeri.

            Recently Al branched out from purely pictorial trophies. He has a case of baseballs that have a historical background and a big lamp-shade crowded with player autographs. Formerly he had a noteworthy display of Japanese trophies, but recently he has stored these in the smokehouse.

            His section of old-timers is not to be duplicated, it is said. One of his main collaborators in this phase of his collection has been Charles Graham, president of the San Francisco Seals. In his youth Graham played on the famed Cordovas. Scully says that his Cordova collection is unique.

            Scully has specialized in portraits and groups. He has few action shots.

            And, we almost forgot to tell you: Al, who is a lifetime subscriber to The Sporting News, has bound volumes of every issue of The News published during the last 25 years.

*  *  *

Cullings From the Coast

While Al Scully’s collection runs mainly to photographs, George Young, the Pacific Coast League’s No. 1 fan, has one of the most extensive collections of major and minor league passes of any man in the country. Young, who operates a big wholesale business in Los Angeles and is a heavy stockholder in the Hollywood club, for years has received annual pass No. 1 of the Coast league.

And still speaking of souvenirs, Joe E. Brown, movie comedian, has a collection of autographed baseballs that perhaps is unsurpassed. These balls are neatly arranged in regular showcase style in the trophy room of Brown’s home, a typical movie star’s showplace, with swimming pool, private gate and all the trimmings. We’ll have more to say about Joe E.’s baseball collection.

There was a small one-column photo of Scully seated a desk with two walls of his framed baseball portraits in the background, but it is not suitable for reproduction here.

Besides collecting baseball memorabilia, Scully was a team owner in the Class C California League in 1941. He owned the Merced Bears, who operated only in 1941, folding due to the exigencies of World War II.

So, if you happen to live at 1031 South Rimpau in Hollywood, or know who does, it might be worthwhile to make an extensive excavation of basement and attic.

If you’re like me, you’re curious as to what became of Al Scully’s collection. Perhaps somebody in today’s milieu of baseball memorabilia collectors knows its current whereabouts.

In our next presentation, we'' take a look at yet another baseball collection that was detailed in that Aug. 6, 1942, issue of TSN.

           

            

I just made the first Rails & Sails card I've ever owned

For whatever reason, as big a collector of bubblegum cards -- sports and non-sports alike -- as I was in my childhood in the 1950s and early 1960s, I never owned a card from the 1955 Topps Rails and Sails set.

As a pre-teen, certainly the subject matter would have appealed to me. The lack of any of the cards in my childhood collection indicates to me that none of the several neighborhood grocery stores where I bought my cards as a kid carried the cards. 

Come to think of it, I now wonder whether the issue penetrated much into Wisconsin at all. Among all the dozens of original card accumulations I bought around the state throughout the late-1970s and early-1980s, I don't recall ever finding an R&S card.

So my first Rails and Sails card is MY first Rails and Sails card. My custom card depicts a streamliner of the Chicago and North Western railroad circa the 1950s-1960s.

These big yellow and green diesel locomotives were a familiar sight in my childhood. The train station in Fond du Lac was on the west side of town. We lived about 10 blocks west of the station. (So, yes, I did come from the wrong side of the tracks.)

I have two specific memories of the C&NW streamliners that inspired me to make this Rails and Sails tribute.

The first memory is from my very early childhood; early enough that the details must have been among the brain cells I killed off wholesale in later years. 

My best guess is that I was somewhere between 4-6 years old. I remember boarding the train in the evening and being seated on a bench seat between my mother and grandfather. My recollection is that we were traveling to Chicago, but for what reason I cannot remember. Mom and Grandpa are gone now, so I guess I won't know the details of the trip until, on my deathbed as promised by the Dalai Lama, I receive total consciousness.

My other specific memory of the C&NW passenger train at the Fond du Lac station dated from my misspent -- some would say delinquent, or even outright outlaw -- late teen years.

One night I was out with my brother and some buddies, drinkin' and cruisin' the town. We had to stop on a side street near the train station because the evening train between Milwaukee and Green Bay was stopped at the station, blocking the street.

Also waiting at the tracks was a young man whom we'll call Billy. Billy was developmentally disabled. In that less politically correct time, we referred to him as a Ree-tard. But never to his face. Billy had the mind of a child, but the body of a man . . . a large man. 

If you think Lenny from Of Mice and Men, you have Billy. He was probably a gentle giant, but none of us was willing to find out for sure. 

In my mind's eye I picture him as being six-foot two or three and more than 200 pounds. As I recall it, you never saw Billy without two things: a five o'clock shadow that could be used to strip paint, and a fancy wagon. Billy's wagon was one of those red Radio Flyers with the wood-stake box. 

Billy pulled that wagon all over town, to what purpose I never knew.

On this night, while we waited for the train to move, somebody in our car called out to Billy, "Hey, Billy, if you want the train to get out of the way, piss on it. It'll move."

With a bit more prompting Billy did whip out his johnson, which perhaps again more in my recollection than reality, was prodigious. As  Billy began to hose down the side of the train, we honked the car horn until some of the passengers looked out the window and began gasping and pointing. 

Within a couple of minutes a two uniformed trainmen were hustling Billy away. I don't recall hearing that he ever got into serious trouble for his efforts to move the train, and my buddies and I all had a good laugh at the time. Today, of course, I feel badly about the affair. I believe God or karma or the universe or whomever has repaid my loutish behavior several times over.

In any event, the Chicago and North Western streamliners are a childhood memory that I deemed deserving of preserving in this latter-day addition to the Topps Rails and Sails issue of nearly 60 years ago.

I may have one more "Rails" card in me, and I have definite plans for two or three "Sails" cards, so watch this space periodically.

American Horror Story: Egregious anachronism

I'm enjoying American Horror Story: Freak Show, but the episode I watched the other night had a jarring anachronism.

The story line called for a trick-or-treat neighborhood street scene in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1952.

Perhaps the writers are too young to remember what Halloween was like in that era . . . 

The show had the kids out trick-or-treating during daylight hours, and their mothers were accompanying them.

I don't know about you, but even as late as the 1970s in my hometown in Wisconsin, trick-or-treating was done at night, without parents.

This never would have happened on Mad Men.

Buddy Lewis was Air Corps all-star

Uncommon commons: In more than 30 years in sportscards publishing I have thrown hundreds of notes into files about the players – usually non-star players – who made up the majority of the baseball and football cards I collected as a kid. Today, I keep adding to those files as I peruse microfilms of The Sporting News from the 1880s through the 1960s. I found these tidbits brought some life to the player pictures on those cards. I figure that if I enjoyed them, you might too.

John Kelly “Buddy” Lewis was a highly decorated U.S. Army Air Corps pilot during World War II. He flew the C-47 transport plane in the China Burma India Theatre for 15 months, logging 611 operational hours on 369 missions, including 70 “Over the Hump.”

As part of the First Air Commando Group he took part in the March 5, 1944, glider invasion of Burma, towing gliders filled with Allied troops, pack mules, bulldozers and 500,000 pounds of supplies 200 miles behind Japanese lines. The C-B-I Roundup, the military’s official newspaper for the China-Burma-India theater of operations, said Lewis “is the major leaguer who has had the most hazardous mission to date.”

He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Distinguished Unit Citation badge.

The citation for Buddy Lewis’ Distinguished Flying Cross read . . .

“For extraordinary achievement in aerial flight during which exposure to enemy fire was probable and expected. Flying transport aircraft carrying a normal load, in addition to towing two heavily-loaded gliders, he took off at night for a point 200 miles beyond the enemy positions in Burma. Due to the proximity of the enemy and the necessity of surprise, the entire flight was made without radio aid, requiring the highest degree of piloting skill to avoid mid-air crashes either with aircraft in the towing unit or other near-by units on the same mission.”

Yank, the weekly army newspaper, said of Lewis’ mission, “The glider crews and their load of Wingate’s Chindits (Indian special forces guerrilla fighters) were satisfied. The C-47 pilot had led them safely over the jutting, jungle-clad 7,000-foot Chin Hills and across enemy-held positions east of the Chidwin river and had delivered them right on the nose at one of the few spots in Burma, 200 miles behind the Jap lines, where enemy troops would not be waiting to greet them.

“It was a neat demonstration of flying skill on the pilot’s part, done with the same keen eye and split-second timing that once won him a place on the American League All-Star team. Capt. John K. (Buddy) Lewis, the former Washington Senators third baseman, had justified his nomination to the U.S. Army Air Corps’ all-star flying aggregation, the 1^st Air Commando Force.”

Lewis had, indeed, been an All-Star; the starting third baseman on the 1938 A.L. team that lost 4-1. He started again in the 1947 All-Star Game, playing in right field alongside Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. The American League prevailed in that game 2-1.

After two seasons at Chattanooga, 18-year-old Lewis had been a September call-up to the Washington Senators in 1935. He never played another game in pro ball for anybody else. 

Sweating out a couple of draft deferments until the 1941 season ended, Lewis volunteered for the Army Air Corps a month prior to Pearl Harbor.

Lewis spent the next three and a half seasons in the military. 

Prior to going overseas, on June 27, 1943, Lewis visited his old teammates in Washington. By way of saying farewell, Lewis buzzed Griffith Stadium in his two-engine transport during the Sunday doubleheader, flying low over center field towards home plate and then on to Ft. Benning, Ga.

He returned to the Senators in late July, 1945, batting .333 to help the Senators clinch a second-place finish to the Tigers. 

After two more seasons, he sat out the 1948 season to run his automobile dealership in Gastonia, N.C.

The Senators coaxed him back for one more year in 1949. He hit a career low .245, then retired for good. His lifetime mark was .297 in 11 years with Washington. He died in 2011 at the age of 94.

Robertson's perfect-game ball . . . wasn't

Uncommon commons: In more than 30 years in sportscards publishing I have thrown hundreds of notes into files about the players – usually non-star players – who made up the majority of the baseball and football cards I collected as a kid. Today, I keep adding to those files as I peruse microfilms of The Sporting News from the 1880s through the 1960s. I found these tidbits brought some life to the player pictures on those cards. I figure that if I enjoyed them, you might too.

If his teammate is to be believed, the team-signed baseball that White Sox pitcher Charley Robertson prized as a souvenir of his 1922 perfect game wasn’t actually used in that game.

An unbylined article in the July 24, 1941, issue of The Sporting News made the case . . .

No Hits—One Error

            After 19 years, Johnny Mostil, former brilliant defensive White Sox outfielder, has disclosed that the autographed ball which Charley Robertson has as a souvenir of the last perfect game pitched in the majors, in Detroit, April 30, 1922, is not the ball which was in play. Johnny let the cat out of the bag in telling of his biggest thrill in baseball, his catch on the former Detroit catcher, Johnny Bassler, which ended the game. Basler his a low, screeching liner to left field, a few inches in fair territory, which Mostil snagged with a diving catch. Before he could regain his footing, an excited fan snatched the ball out of his hand.

            Back in the dugout, Kid Gleason, the White Sox manager, asked Johnny: “Where’s the ball?” Mostil told what had happened. “Quick, grab a ball, any ball,” said Gleason. So, Mostil picked up a practice ball, which he took to the clubhouse, where the players, club officials and admirers were already making a big fuss over Robertson. Mostil proudly handed the pitcher the ball, which all of the players autographed and which still is in Robertson’s possession.

That perfect game was about the only highlight of Robertson's eight-year major league career (1919, 1922-25 White Sox, 1926 Browns, 1927-28 Braves). Often plagued with a sore arm, he never had a winning season in the majors. His lifetime record was 49-80 with a 4.44 ERA, averaging 10.3 hits per nine innings.

Adversity didn't keep Wietelmann from 55-year pro ball career

Uncommon commons: In more than 30 years in sportscards publishing I have thrown hundreds of notes into files about the players – usually non-star players – who made up the majority of the baseball and football cards I collected as a kid. Today, I keep adding to those files as I peruse microfilms of The Sporting News from the 1880s through the 1960s. I found these tidbits brought some life to the player pictures on those cards. I figure that if I enjoyed them, you might too.

  

In the June 29, 1944, issue of The Sporting News, noted baseball historian Frederick G. Lieb penned a feature about Boston Braves infielder William "Whitey" Wietelmann.

He led with, “In times like these, when our brave and uncomplaining kids are losing eyes, limbs and their lives on war fronts all over the world, the pluck of a young player with impaired vision and subject to repeated eye operations, still standing up there undaunted at the plate, doesn’t mean so much, but our nomination for the gamest player of the year goes to the young shortstop of the Boston Braves, Billy Wietelmann.”

The player, Lieb went on to explain, had undergone four operations since spring training to remove cysts from his right eye. The condition had cropped up as the Braves were going through their preseason paces at Wallingford, Conn.

“As the condition comes on,” Wietelmann was quoted, “my vision in the right eye seems to become affected. A certain dimness comes up in front of the eye.”

One of the Braves minority stockholders, Dr. William Wranger, who had a private hospital near the team’s spring camp, removed cysts from Wietelmann’s eye on March 21, and the young shortstop thought that was the end of it.

Unfortunately, others began to appear and Dr. Wranger operated again on April 3. A third operation was necessary on April 23, after the season opened, and Wietelmann played that same afternoon against the Phillies. The next operation came on May 13 in Pittsburgh, forcing him to miss that day’s game.

“It seems to be a germ in my system,” Wietelmann told Lieb, “and the doctors are trying to eradicate it, but it has been darned annoying and I try not to be discouraged.”

The recurring blurring in his right eye forced Wietelmann to give up switch-hitting and stick to right-handed batting. In the field, the condition caused him to sometimes overrun a ground ball. To address that situation, Wietelmann was benched intermittently throughout June while he was fitted for a pair of shatterproof glasses that he then wore both on and off the field.

Wietelmann’s eye problems weren’t the first adversity he had faced in pursuing his baseball career.

In 1938 fire broke out at Wietelmann’s home in Zanesville, Ohio, where the 19-year-old player lived with his father, who had long been active as a player, owner and manager in amateur and professional baseball there. The elder Wietelmann had gone blind nearly a decade earlier.

Although the son escaped from the blaze, he realized his father was trapped inside. He tore loose from firemen and ran back into the blaze, effecting a rescue. “Dad was in that burning house; he was blind and I simply had to get him out,” he said. “My hair and eyebrows were burned off, and I was badly burned on the face and hands. Fortunately, just around that time the medical profession discovered a remarkable remedy for burns. I was covered with it, and though I was hospitalized for some time as the result of the burns, the treatment was so effective that I do not have scars today.”

Though his high school did not have a baseball team, Wietelmann attracted attention from the pros as a remarkable fielder in American Legion and semi-pro ball around Zanesville. The Boston Bees signed him to a professional contract in 1937 at the age of 18.

He played Class D ball that year at Beaver Falls, moved up to Class B in 1938 at Evansville, and Class A with Hartford in 1939.

In September 1939, Wietelmann was called up to Boston. He spent the entire 1940 campaign with the Bees, but hit only .195 with no power. 

In 1941-42, he split time between the big club and its top minor league teams. With World War II depleting manpower, Wietelmann spent all of the 1943-46 seasons with Boston. After the 1946 season he was traded to Pittsburgh, ending his big-league days with the Pirates in 1947.

Over nine seasons in the National League, Wietelmann averaged 64 games a year, hitting .232 with a total of seven

home runs.

From 1948-52, Wietelmann played in the Pacific Coast League with Sacramento (1948-49) and San Diego (1949-52). 

In 1953, Wietelmann began working as a playing-manager in the lower-level minor leagues. He led Milwaukee's Class B team at Wichita Falls in 1953, and the Braves' Class A club at Lincoln in 1954.

In 1955-56 he managed Yuma in the Class C Arizona-Mexico League.

During his player-manager days, Wietelmann took up pitching. In 1955 with Yuma he had a 21-13 record for the Sun Sox.

He retired as a player and manager after the 1956 season, but remained in the game as a coach at both the minor league and major league levels for the Padres and Reds. In 1984 he threw out the ceremonial first pitch for San Diego's first-ever home playoff game. He remained with the Padres organization through the early 1990s and died in 2002. 

Whitey Wietelmann's baseball card legacy is thin. His only career-contemporary card as a player was in the 1952 Mother's Cookies PCL set. In 1973 he appears as one of the coaches on Topps' San Diego Padres manager card of Don Zimmer. In 1975 he is pictured as a Padres coach on the SSPC set.