Crazy About Sports: Volume Ii: Great Memories of Special Players, Teams, and Events

By James Earl Hester Jr.

Are you really crazy about sports?

Crazy About Sports is a collection of sports stories about many colorful players, famous teams and special events during the early and mid stages of sports development in this country ranging from the late 1800s to late 1900s. If you like sports, you are sure to enjoy reading this unique collection of stories by James Earl Hester, Jr.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 15, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467027731

James Earl Hester Jr.

James Earl Hester, Jr. grew up on a farm near Roxboro, North Carolina.  During his boyhood years, he always had a keen interest in sports, especially baseball, and participated whenever possible.  He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in Journalism and History.  During and after college, he continued with his baseball activities as a pitcher at Wake Forest and in semi-pro baseball.  What initially appeared to be a promising sports career was unfortunately cut short by problems with his pitching arm.  However, in his new career as a newspaper reporter and free lance writer, his love for sports continued and resulted in many interesting articles being written about famous athletes and sports events. James Earl died in the year 2000 and left over 1,300 unpublished short stories to his family.   More than 180 of these stories were about various sports, especially baseball.  In this book, over 60 of these stories are now published in the first of three volumes for your reading enjoyment.

Book preview

Crazy About Sports

Great Memories of Special

Players, Teams, and Events

Volume II

by

James Earl Hester, Jr.

Compiled And Edited By

William Clark Davis

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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This is a work of non-fiction. The events and situations are true. Unless otherwise noted, the author and publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book.

© 2006 James Earl Hester, Jr.and William Clark Davis. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 6/10/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4259-1945-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2773-1 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006902183

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER A-1

CHAPTER A-2

CHAPTER A-3

CHAPTER A-4

CHAPTER A-5

CHAPTER A-6

CHAPTER A-7

CHAPTER A-8

CHAPTER A-9

CHAPTER A-10

CHAPTER A-11

CHAPTER A-12

CHAPTER A-13

CHAPTER A-14

CHAPTER A-15

CHAPTER A-16

CHAPTER A-17

CHAPTER A-18

CHAPTER A-19

CHAPTER A-20

CHAPTER A-21

CHAPTER A-22

CHAPTER A-23

CHAPTER A-24

CHAPTER A-25

CHAPTER A-26

CHAPTER A-27

CHAPTER A-28

CHAPTER A-29

CHAPTER A-30

CHAPTER A-31

CHAPTER A-32

CHAPTER A-33

CHAPTER A-34

CHAPTER A-35

CHAPTER A-36

CHAPTER A-37

CHAPTER A-38

CHAPTER A-39

CHAPTER A-40

CHAPTER B-1

CHAPTER B-2

CHAPTER B-3

CHAPTER B-4

CHAPTER B-5

CHAPTER C-1

CHAPTER C-2

CHAPTER C-3

CHAPTER C-4

CHAPTER C-5

CHAPTER C-6

CHAPTER C-7

CHAPTER C-8

CHAPTER D-1

CHAPTER D-2

CHAPTER D-3

CHAPTER D-4

CHAPTER D-5

CHAPTER D-6

CHAPTER D-7

CHAPTER D-8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

and editor

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife, Patricia Hester Davis, for all of the love and support she has given me over the years and especially for her moral support and guidance in publishing this book.

I would also like to recognize all of the Hester Family for their help in collecting these sport stories and allowing me the opportunity to organize and format them in publishable form.

Next, I would like to thank Jim Russell, a valued friend and sports enthusiast, for his many helpful review comments and recommendations for this book.

Finally, I must also thank the author himself, James Earl Hester, Jr., for all of his many years of writing and research about his keen interest in sport events, many of which he was personally involved.

William Clark Davis, Editor

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Crazy About Sports is a collection of sports stories about many colorful players, famous teams and special events during the early and mid stages of sports development in this country ranging from the late 1800s to late 1900s. Although most of the stories are about baseball, the book also includes many stories about basketball, football, and other miscellaneous sports such as softball, golf, and boxing. The author, James Earl Hester, Jr., provides interesting insights into the subtleties of the game. He also attempts to explain the interpersonal relationships and pressures between the players, their managers, and the fans. The details in many of these stories were from the author’s own knowledge and personal experience during his early career as a baseball pitcher himself. In fact, several stories have been included that explain the author’s own successes and failures in his pursuit of a career in sports. The reader might notice some repetition between a few of the stories since the author quite often recalled his own personal experiences when relating to certain events. In spite of this, it was decided to include all stories since each is somewhat unique. The author’s subsequent career as a newspaper reporter and editor further enhanced his ability to provide honest and straightforward assessments of the circumstances around each story.

For the readers’ convenience, various awards and honors received by athletes mentioned in at least one of the three volumes of Crazy About Sports are listed in Appendices A through D. Also, a number of interesting sports quotes and expressions recalled by the author over the years are listed in Appendix E. Appendix F is a list of the website references used to verify many of the facts and figures in the stories. Unfortunately, since the author is now deceased, the original references he used in writing the stories are not available today. Finally, two unique cross references are provided in the back of the book. The Athlete Cross Reference to Titles allows the reader to search for an athlete or individual alphabetically and identify the corresponding volumes, chapters and titles where they are mentioned. Likewise, the Title Cross Reference to Chapters allows the reader to search for a title alphabetically and identify the corresponding book volume and chapter.

The number of available sport stories in Crazy About Sports was too many to include in a single book, so this book (Volume II) is the second of three volumes. Also, an attempt has been made to allocate stories evenly to each volume to provide approximately the same number and types of stories on each sport. This ensures that each volume will be just as interesting and rewarding as the other two in the series. Volume I, which has already been published, is also currently available and Volume III is in process and expected to be published in the very near future.

CRAZY ABOUT SPORTS

VOLUME II

SECTION A

~ BASEBALL ~

SECTION A - BASEBALL

A-1 Baseball Mystery Plagues Pitcher

CHAPTER A-1

BASEBALL MYSTERY

PLAGUES PITCHER

Plagued by problems with a sore arm, James Earl Hester’s pitching was inconsistent and prevented him from pursuing a promising career with major league baseball.

In the Army at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, many years ago, I had just finished receiving training in the Signal Corps School and was about to ship out when I developed a plantar wart on my big toe.

The toe was so painful I could hardly walk, and I was placed in the post hospital. Doctors there first sent me to Staten Island in New York where an unsuccessful attempt was made to burn the wart off. Brought back to the hospital at Fort Monmouth, doctors had more success in cutting out the wart.

The operation proved to be very painful and made necessary a lengthy stay in the hospital. The stay at the hospital was not all bad, what with the pretty nurses, dances, and entertaining trips to New York.

The shot of penicillin in my butt every three hours was not to my liking, however. There were no ill-effects at the time, and I was not in a position to do much complaining.

Upon my release from the hospital, I was assigned to the Military Police Company and made a military policeman. The experience was enlightening, and I was glad attempts were not made for me to rejoin my old unit.

Returning home to Piedmont North Carolina several months later, I reentered college that fall. The next three years saw me develop into a top student, a selling magazine writer, and a promising baseball pitcher.

Graduation saw me engaged in several interesting things, including newspaper work, an unsuccessful try at professional baseball, and a long hitchhiking trip with a friend around the country. In January of 1952, I signed up for a month-long stint with a baseball school sponsored by the Washington Senators in Winter Garden, Florida.

I was on the mediocre side the first two games I pitched, although Joe Haynes, pitcher for the Washington Senators and future vice-president of the Minnesota Twins, was heard to remark after the second game I pitched that I had a major league change-up. However, I was in better shape in the third game I pitched, and the results were spectacular in that I struck out 21 out of 21 batters and didn’t allow a hit.

A white-haired man of about 70, who I later learned was president of the Orlando team in the Florida State League, was watching from the stands. Friends heard him say, That kid is going to make a great pitcher.

My performance against what was considered good competition created quite a stir. However, almost immediately afterwards, I developed the flu with a temperature of over 100 degrees.

Almost desperate to be ready for my next game, I hurried to a doctor, but all he did was give me a shot of penicillin and send me back to join the others.

I was extremely weak and still had a temperature of over 100 when my turn to pitch came up again. I was pretty skinny in those days, and afraid they would say I lacked endurance, I decided to give it my best shot.

Eating a box of popcorn, the white-haired man from Orlando was standing behind the wire, not far from the catcher. I received my signal from the catcher and toed the rubber, but I was so weak I could hardly stand up.

My first pitch hit the ground half way between the mound and home plate. The next one the batter connected with for a towering drive over the center fielder’s head.

With my dreams perhaps at stake, I continued as best I could. About all I seem to remember are line drives shooting past my head and opposing players circling the bases in record numbers.

The white-haired man behind the wire was unable to stand but so much. Finally, he threw down his half-eaten box of popcorn in disgust and walked away.

I was ready my next game, and Sid Hudson, future pitching coach of the Boston Red Sox, saw me strike out some 19 out of 21 batters. That kid has really got the mustard on that ball, a friend heard him say.

However, the next game saw me unable to hardly get a man out, followed by another good game and another sorry one. A number of the boys signed professional contracts, but I did not, despite the observation by Joe Haynes that I had been the talk of the camp.

Back home, my arms and legs began to swell up within a day or two, and all sorts of things began happening to my body. I retired to bed, and our family doctor was called in.

He examined me thoroughly, then shook his head and took a deep breath. Leaving a short time later, he returned twice more on his own. On one of the visits, he told my mother that I had a reaction to the shot of penicillin I received in Florida and had almost died.

Upon my recovery, I returned to work with the Roxboro, North Carolina Courier-Times. That Spring in the first local semi-pro game I pitched, I struck out 11 out of 12 batters and allowed only one hit, while leading both teams in hitting. However, the next week I could hardly get a man out against the same team.

A-2 Ball Parks Small in Years Past

CHAPTER A-2

BALL PARKS SMALL IN YEARS PAST

The finest baseball park in the United States in the 1870s would probably not be considered adequate for play in most leagues today.

During the 1800s, radio and television did not yet exist to help create interest in baseball, and travel was not as easy and routine as it is today. Furthermore, major league baseball parks at that time were not as large as baseball parks are today.

It has been said that the finest baseball park in the United States in the 1870s would probably not be considered adequate for play in any league today. Seating for unusually large crowds was lacking at many parks, forcing at least some spectators to stand to watch the game.

Built in 1864 in Brooklyn, a ball park that was commonly known as the Union Grounds seated about 1,500 people who sat on long benches to watch the games. With the advent of colorful players and good hitters, interest in baseball gradually increased over time.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, several of us used to drive up to Washington occasionally to watch the Senators play a couple of weekend games. The club at that time played all of its games in Griffith Stadium, which seated less than 30,000 and was considered the smallest park in the major leagues. While the stadium was somewhat lacking in seating capacity, the Senators seldom played before capacity crowds for home games. The fences, however, were located a considerable distance from home plate, and home runs were difficult to hit

Nevertheless, we saw Ted Williams hit a home run at Griffith Stadium over the right field fence one afternoon off of a change-up thrown by big Joe Haynes, a Senator pitcher. Also, in a game with Washington, Mickey Mantle of the Yankees once hit a home run in the same stadium that traveled 565 feet from home plate.

Capacity crowds were not the norm in any of the games we saw, even though we usually waited until the Senators were playing a top team before attending games.

Negro League teams also played in Griffith Stadium from time to time, and Washington officials were sometimes embarrassed when the Negro teams outdrew the Senators.

Parks built in the 1880s were larger than earlier parks, but still lacked major league dimensions of a later date. Built in the 1880s, Lakefront Stadium in Chicago benefited from almost constant improvements and was the largest park in the country. The Chicago park seated about 10,000 and was the cream of the crop as far as baseball parks were concerned. Other parks built in that general time period were larger than previous parks but lacked a great deal having the seating capacity of today’s parks.

The largest baseball park in which I ever saw a game was at Yankee Stadium in New York. It was considerably larger than Griffith Stadium in Washington. However, the Yankees not only had better teams than the Senators, but they had a larger pool of fans to draw from.

Beginning about 1883, the New York Giants played their home games in the first Polo Grounds. This park was said to be able to handle large crowds but not necessarily able to seat everyone. However, the team left in 1890 in a disagreement with Tammany Hall.

Larger crowds were evident later on which created the need for larger parks. Colorful players like Babe Ruth and Dizzy Dean came along to give baseball a lift as did other things, and more fans began attending games.

A-3 As Good as His Players

CHAPTER A-3

AS GOOD AS HIS PLAYERS

Casey Stengel fooled the critics as the former loser dominated the American League to become one of the most winning managers in major league history.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Casey Stengel gave up a career as a dentist to become a professional baseball player. Seen as a colorful character who was somewhat of a clown, Stengel’s record upon becoming a manager tended to swing from mediocre to outstanding, depending on the quality of players on the individual teams.

Although he attended dental college in Kansas City for three years, Stengel turned to baseball in 1910. Eventually purchased for $500, he reported to the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League carrying all of his worldly goods in a paper bag.

He played the outfield his first day in the major leagues, and as a rookie he made his presence felt by making three hits, stealing two bases, and making a sensational catch in the outfield that saved the game. It was a debut that was truly spectacular, considering it was the first major league game in which he had ever played.

Stengel was 23 years old when he first reached the majors, but he was 75 before he finally hung up his spikes as both a player and a manager. The colorful outfielder began his minor league career with the Kankakee, Illinois team of the Northern Association. Advancing to the National League in 1912, he played successively for teams in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Stengel played in three World Series, batting .393 with Brooklyn and New York. In the 1923 World Series, his home runs won two games in the Series.

Known for his jokes and pranks, he was a pretty fair ball player in his own right and finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .284. At the end of his playing days, Stengel became a manager first in the minors, then in the majors.

A mediocre manager in the National League, with Boston and Brooklyn, Stengel was never able to bring in a team higher than fifth. He was looked upon as sort of a clown, and was unable to do well with the mediocre players that he had.

However, better luck awaited him. Better players were in store for him, and with them better success as a manager. While he was with Boston, Claude Wilborn of Person County, North Carolina, was called up from a minor League team, and joined the Bees (Braves) toward the end of the season.

A nice guy and a good hitter, Claude later became a manager. Claude was probably over 40 at the time, but he was still a dangerous man at the plate, although off the field he was an easy-going individual. He had the appearance of an athlete, for he was over six feet and probably weighed over 200 pounds.

Managing a baseball team is a tough job under any set of circumstances, but a manager is only as good as his players, a point Stengel was to prove later. As somewhat of a surprise, he was hired to replace Bucky Harris after the 1948 season as manager of the New York Yankees.

With the Yankees, Stengel continued to joke, use double-talk and clown around. However, he had an abundance of good players and a front office that was behind him. He finally had good players, and he knew how to use them. Soon his days as a mediocre manager were over, and he had become a great one. In his very first year as Yankee manager, Stengel won both the pennant and the World Series. In addition, from 1949 through 1953, he led New York to five straight flags and world crowns.

It took a record-breaking performance by the Cleveland Indians to win over the Yankees for the pennant in 1954, after which Stengel guided New York to four more flags in a row. However, he continued to laugh and clown around.

For 12 consecutive years, Stengel fooled the critics as the former loser dominated the American League to become one of the most winning managers in major league history. He became the only manager to win five pennants in a row and five consecutive World Series championships.

Nevertheless, alleged old age finally caught up with him, and at the age of