Baseball from Providence to Prominence

By Dan D'Alessio

Dan’s second book on baseball is an outgrowth of his passion to educate people and keeping the game of Baseball alive through his writings.

Baseball: From Providence to Prominence is broken down into three sections: first, baseball quotes; second, all original baseball stories on ballplayers from 1880 to 1970; third is Dan’s own poems on baseball and the men that brought the game to life. Dan grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a proud graduate of Central High School. He also graduated from Rhode Island Junior College and the Community College of Rhode Island. He has one son, Richard Mickey D’Alessio, in California and a granddaughter named Alice. Dan was a sportswriter for Sports Journal magazine in Rhode Island in 2006–07. Some of his work was published by the Providence Journal, Rhode Island, College Anchor Newspaper and the Valley Breeze. Dan is a member of the Nap Lajoie chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research. He has received letters from Bud Selig and Robert Manfred on his poem titled “Dear Mr. Commissioner” about Shoeless Joe Jackson.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662438615

Book preview

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Baseball from Providence to Prominence

Dan DAlessio

Copyright © 2021 Dan DAlessio

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-7557-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-3862-2 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-6624-3861-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Smartest Man in Baseball

The Wright Brothers of Baseball

An Anomaly in Baseball Is Winning the Triple Crown Twice

A Pirate’s Treasure Named Big Poison

The College Dropout Who Made Good

The Best Switch Hitter in Baseball History: Mickey Charles Mantle (Number 7)

A Slugger for the Ages: Jimmie the Beast Foxx

The Baltimore Chop and Wee Willie Keeler

A Love Affair

Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Hall of Fame Does He Belong?

Baseball and Nicknames

The Splendor of a Fenway Favorite

The Men in Blue

A Quiet Rise to Greatness

Jesse the Crab Burkett

The American Indian in Major League Baseball

Who Was Charles Chino Smith and Why Does He Matter?

Ban Johnson and the Great American League

A Rhode Island Treasure

Baseball and the Lost Art of Bunting

Baseball’s Best Hurler of All Time

There’s a Spy in the Game

Providence Gray’s Baseball Star

A Cowboy Comes to Fenway Park

The Legend of Messer Field

The Real Scandal

The Arrival of Harmon Killebrew’s Replacement

Baseball in Boston and the Emergence of Ross Barnes

The Angry Tiger, Ty Cobb

A Boston Beaneater Revisited

The Triumph and Tragedy of Big Ed Delahanty

Playing Baseball in Silence

A New England Baseball Legend Remembered

The Rise and Fall of George Davis

The Smiling Slugger from St. Louis

A Most Unlikely Sultan of Swat

If There Was a Better Center Fielder, I Missed Him

The Man Who Loved to Hit Triples

The Bedrock of the Kansas City Royals

The King of Quotes and Rings

Major League Baseball’s All-Organic Team

Dear Mr. Commissioner

Baseball Past

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Baseball

I Remember Baseball When

Honus Wagner Baseball Card

He Stole the Game

Shoeless Joe Jackson

What’s a Fan to Do?

Who Likes Baseball Anyway?

Why Not Buck Weaver?

The Babe Ruth Mystique

Joseph Jefferson Jackson

Was He the Best Hitter of Them All?

Forever Shoeless

The Legend of Messer Field

A Baseball Fan’s Thoughts

I Love Ruth—Babe, That Is

Baseball: From Providence to Prominence by Dan D’Alessio is an outgrowth of the passions of the writer to educate people and keeping the game of baseball alive through his writings. Dan is the biggest supporter of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Rhode Island and possibly all of New England. His name is displayed on a plaque at the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, South Carolina. He attended the statue dedication in 2003.

This book is titled Baseball: From Providence to Prominence by Dan D’Alessio, would not be possible without the resources of the following:

baseballreference.com

baseballhalloffame

wikilinks.com

Society of American Baseball Research (SABR.com)

The Fireside Book of Baseball (all four editions)

Players of Cooperstown—Publications International Ltd.

The Baseball Chronicle—Publications International Ltd.

Alexander Cartwright, who invented the game, and the players’ managers, coaches, managers, owners, executives, sportswriters, broadcasters, television and radio announcers and stations, and anyone who contributed to the growth of the game like fans. Finally, the author would like to thank his wife, Doreen (Mezzanotte) D’Alessio, who comes from a baseball family. She was instrumental in turning my ideas and research into readable stories of great men.

Baseball’s Most Famous Quotes and Some That Will Be

Dan D’Alessio

Few names have left a firmer imprint upon the pages of American times than has that of Ty Cobb…he seems to have understood that in the competition of baseball, just as in war, defensive strategy never has produced ultimate victory.

—Gen. Douglas MacArthur

I had learned one of the bitter lessons of life: never try to regain the past, the fire will have become ashes.

—Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Abe Lincoln was playing baseball when first informed that he was nominated for the Presidency. He said, Tell the gentlemen they will have to wait a few minutes till I get my turn to bat.

—Homer Davenport, reporter

Keep baseball going; the country needs it.

—Pres. Abraham Lincoln

No man is fit to command (or coach) another that cannot command himself.

—William Penn

If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.

—Mark Twain

Whatever you do, do it well so that when people see you do it they will come back and see you do it again.

—Walt Disney

There have been two geniuses in the world—Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.

—Tallulah Bankhead, actress and baseball fan

I never could stand losing. Second place didn’t interest me. I had a fire in my belly.

—Ty Cobb

Success is going from failure without losing your enthusiasm.

—Sir Winston Churchill

Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.

—George Halas, football coach

Take the feeling of hunger out of your gut, and you’re no longer a champion.

—Burt Lancaster, actor, played Jim Thorpe in a movie

The Yankees you see, they’re a money team, they’re the class of baseball. You don’t ever bet against them.

—Jim Thorpe, considered the best athlete of all time

Keep swinging, my catcher likes a cool breeze.

—Unknown

I managed a team that was so bad we considered a 2–0 count on the batter a rally.

—Rich Donnelly, Pittsburgh Pirates

In the game of baseball, a game without a home run is about as somber as a funeral.

—Dan D’Alessio, author of Baseball Poems and Other Selected Works

I’ve never seen a monument erected to a pessimist.

—Paul Harvey, radio host and author

Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear #42, so nobody can tell us apart.

—Pee Wee Reese, Brooklyn Dodgers teammate of Jackie Robinson

My high salary for one season was $50,000 and a new Cadillac. If I were to get paid a million, I’d feel that I should sweep the stadium every night after I finished playing the game.

—Duke Snider, Brooklyn Dodgers

The game has cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so. You don’t have to ask anyone or play politics. You don’t have to wait for the reviews.

—Sandy Koufax, LA Dodgers pitcher

My mother used to pitch to me and my father would shag balls. If I hit one up the middle close to my mother, I’d have some extra chores to do. My mother was instrumental in making me a pull hitter.

—Eddie Mathews, Atlanta Braves

All small men, all nonpower hitters, must learn to bunt well. It’s half your game.

—Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox

Matrimony was probably the first union to defy management.

—Charles Red Ruffing, baseball pitcher

A season is a season regardless of the number of games.

—Joe Cronin, Boston infielder

The screwball’s an unnatural pitch. Nature never intended a man to turn his hand like that throwing rocks at a bear.

—Carl Hubbell, New York Yankees pitcher

Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open will you have a true opportunity to get the most from your talent.

—Nolan Ryan, New York Mets and Houston Astro’s pitcher

I need to be out earning. I can make more in two hours at a baseball card show that I did, as a minor-league manager all year.

—Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher

God is living in New York, and he is a Mets fan.

—Tom Seaver, New York Mets pitching ace

The only thing Earl Weaver (my coach) knows about big-league pitching is that he could not hit it.

—Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles

It’s a pretty sure thing that the player’s bat is what speaks loudest when it’s contract time, but there are moments when the glove has the last word.

—Brooks Robinson

(He was the best I ever saw in my lifetime.)

You can have all the talent in the world, it’s not going to get you through, it’s what you have in your heart.

—Ron Santo, Chicago Cubs third baseman

Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for having too many men on the field.

—Jim Bouton, New York Yankees pitcher and author

The other day they asked me about mandatory drug testing. I said, I believed in drug testing a long time ago. All through the 1960s I tested everything.

—Bill Spaceman Lee, Boston Red Sox pitcher

Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.

—Yogi Berra, New York Yankees catcher

I have come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen.

—Bob Lemon, baseball player and manager

There are only two seasons: winter and baseball.

—Bill Veeck Jr., baseball owner

I used to keep Derek Jeter’s rookie card in my wallet in high school.

—Scarlett Johansson, actress

If anyone ever breaks my record in 1922, of hitting safely in 41 straight games I hope it’s Joe DiMaggio.

—George Sisler, Hall of Fame player

New York Yankees catcher Les Nunamaker threw out three Detroit Tigers trying to steal second base in one inning. It will be the only time a backstop has accomplished this feat this century.

—Dan D’Alessio, historian, poet, author

(The date was August 3, 1914.)

The income tax has made more liars out of more Americans than golf.

—Will Rogers, folk hero

Never miss a good chance to shut up.

—Will Rogers

Some are great, some have greatness thrust upon them, and others achieve greatness.

—William Shakespeare, playwright

With the money I’m making I should play two positions.

—Unknown modern ballplayer

A life is not as important as it has the impact on others.

—Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame outfielder

I met Willie in Las Vegas at 3:00 a.m. But didn’t ask for an autograph. I regret it now.

I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball.

—Pete Rose

(The all-time hits leader bur still banned from Hall of Fame consideration.)

Rocky Marciano’s first love was baseball. His style resembled Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds. Lombardi was a powerful hitter who ran so slowly that an opposing manager joked, he looked like he was carrying a piano—and the man tuning it.

—quote is from The Fireside Book of Baseball

(There are four editions to date in 2020.)

If Rocky Marciano broke someone’s window playing baseball, she just shagged and said, that’s nothing, when you have children, you know you’re going to have to pay for windows.

—Lena Marciano, mother of Rocky from a quote in Unbeaten by Mike Stanton

(Note: Many of Rocky’s fights were in Providence, Rhode Island.)

Lizzie Murphy was the first woman to play professional baseball with men.

—Dan D’Alessio

(She was from Warren, Rhode Island—same state as me.

Note: Lizzie used to sell pictures of herself in uniform before games for 10 cents.)

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

—Chaz Palmeteri, actor in a baseball related movie titled A Bronx Tale

Taking criticism is usually better than a compliment because that is what will make you better, in the long run.

—Sean Hannity, Fox news anchor, author, and former Rhode Island resident

A Boston pitcher in the early days of the game was asked if he drank alcohol while playing baseball in the 1890s? His answer was it depends on the length of the game.

—King Kelly

There is much less drinking now than there was in baseball before 1927, because Billy Sunday and I quit drinking on May 24, 1927.

—Robert Rabbit Maranville, former shortstop and manager

One night in Pittsburgh thirty-thousand fans gave me a standing ovation when I caught a hot dog wrapper on the fly.

—Dick Stuart, first baseman who hit a home run in every ballpark in both leagues

Avoid the hellish booze that makes a man’s brain a mud puddle.

—Billy Sunday, former Major League outfielder and preacher

I don’t envy high school players in New England, where all too frequently their biggest opponent seems to be the weather.

—Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal sportswriter, Brown University basketball star

Aaron Boone is intelligent, personable, respectful, polite, hit the biggest home run in Yankees history (I would add unlikely) and comes from a baseball family that seemingly dates back to Abner Doubleday (think Civil War.

—George A. King, New York Post writer

There is always something about opening day, no matter how many you go through. It’s like a birthday party when you are a kid. You know something special that will happen.

—Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees Hall of Fame player

Time will not dim the glory of your deeds.

—Unknown

Eddie Mathews was no waiter but he brought a lot to the table.

—Greg Gutfeld, cohost of The Five, Greg Gutfeld Show, and an author

Players have been bought, sold and exchanged as though they were sheep instead of American Citizens.

—John Montgomery Ward Hall of Fame pitcher and shortstop who played for Providence Grays in 1881

(He pitched the second perfect game in history in 1880.)

Baseball was my favorite sport growing up, I pitched and played third base in high school. I broke my arm and I segued into wrestling. But baseball was my first love.

—Hulk Hogan, world champion wrestler and actor

Hero’s don’t wear capes, they wear dog tags. Just like Ted Williams did.

—Unknown

Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen my friend, there’s no man alive can throw harder than Smokey Joe Wood.

—Walter Big Train Johnson, Hall of Fame pitcher won over four hundred games, with one pitch

A house hung with pictures are a house with thoughts.

—Currier and Ives, especially pictures of your favorite team, known today as a mancave

Some baseball teams get more breaks in a game than there are in a pool hall.

—Dan D’Alessio, Rhode Island author and poet

Willie Mays made the greatest catch in World Series history in Game 1 in 1954. He ran straight back to the center-field wall and caught a ball hit by Vic Wertz. It is referred to as The Catch.

—Unknown

Rhode Island needs to take the bat off its shoulders and swing. Regarding keeping the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rhode Island, instead of moving to Worcester, Massachusetts.

—Donald R. Grebien, mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island

(Note: 2021 games will be played in Worcester.)

Hugh Duffy batted .438 for the Boston Beaneaters in 1894 and its improbable that high standard will ever be challenged. Duffy remains the second best player to come out of Rhode Island, behind Nap LaJoie.

—Dan D’Alessio, Rhode Island historian

Most catchers have to wear masks because they are so ugly, but I wear one because I’m so pretty.

—Quote