Love and Death in London: A Love and Death Mystery & Political Espionage Novel

By Hal Graff

Welcome to the fifth exciting episode of the Love and Death mystery and Political Espionage series.

     Dean Gatewood, a catcher from Union University, and the future father of Harold Gatewood, becomes captain of the All-American bas

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harold Graff II Publishing
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781961507425

Hal Graff

Dr. Hal Graff holds a doctorate in business administration. He is a native of Gibson City, Illinois. Hal is a proud father and grandfather. To date, he has published 104 books, including 96 novels. He has published over 6 million 900,000, words.

Book preview

Prologue

We are going to town Dean.  You’ve been a good boy and have earned a present.  What do you want ?

    A ball.

    What kind of ball ?

    A little one about the size of the palm of my hand.

    Why that size ?

    I can squeeze it all the time, and build up strength in my hands and arms.

    So you can do chores here on the farm ?

    No, so I can be strong enough to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.

    From the time he was a little boy Dean Gatewood knew what he wanted to do, play baseball.  His determination and hustle would lead him to an adventure of a lifetime, across the Atlantic Ocean, where he would see new sites, form new friendships, and experience love, passion, death, murder, and the brutal realities of an approaching World War.  Playing baseball would be the vehicle which would take him on his journey.

Chapter 1

Acton, Kansas or Bust

July, 1938

ALL ABOARD FOR ACTON, KANSAS.

In response to the conductor’s announcement for passage to Acton, Kansas from the train station on the West side of Springdale, Illinois, and the start of a life enriching experience which would change his life in many ways, good and bad,

Dean Gatewood climbed the three boarding steps of the train, and entered the lower-level passenger cabin.

Finding a row of two empty side by side seats, he sat down next to the window on the right side of the train, threw his suitcase and equipment bag on the seat next to him, and relaxed.

He did not want his two carryon bags to be out of his sight, as his clothes, including the one suit to his name, and his glove, spikes, and college baseball uniform were essential for what was ahead for him at the end of the train journey.

He was dressed casually, as he had just come from the ballpark, then had eaten and said goodbye to his parents, and the people who had been instrumental in helping him get to Kansas. He was excited, and anxious, about what might take place in the week which would follow his arrival.

As the train pulled out of the station at midnight and started to rumble down the tracks, Dean thought about the events which had brought him to this point in his life.

He had grown up on a farm three miles South of Butterfield, Illinois, a small town of seven hundred sixty people. He was a natural athlete, excelling in basketball, track, as the holder of the state javelin record, and in baseball, which had now led him to this train journey.

He had been recruited to Union University and had immediately grown into a heavily-scouted, highly-regarded professional baseball prospect. He was a catcher, with all of the talents, arm strength, hitting skills, and savvy for the game which was beyond his young age of eighteen, and was coveted by pro teams.

The train trip would take him to the tryouts for the 1938 All-American team which would travel to England, Holland, and Belgium to promote the growth of the sport in those countries, and to prepare a team which would travel to Australia in 1939, and to the Olympics in Japan or Finland in 1940.

Two hundred fifty players, including thirty catchers, would be invited to the tryouts for evaluation, with thirteen players chosen to represent the United States.

The selection committee would include representatives of the World Baseball Federation (WBF), founded by Richard Taylor, a former sixteen year professional baseball player with the Boston Braves and Pittsburg Pirates from1913 through 1928. Taylor was also the secretary of the Baseball For America Organization (BFAO), a subdivision of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

Also instrumental in the organization was Ellis Edwards, Sports Editor for The Daily Messenger newspaper in Springdale. Mr. Edwards had been a stellar athlete at Union University, and had become one of the most respected officials in the nation in basketball and football at the high school and college levels. He also served on WBF, BFAO, and Olympic committees.

Dean’s father had farmed near Butterfield, but had chosen to enter private business as a farm equipment dealer, in order to use his likeable personality and people skills.

The good people of Butterfield, fond the father and the son, had come forward to support Dean’s trip to the tryouts by raising money to help pay his expenses.

They had also participated in Dean Gatewood Night, fielding a team which played the Lindsay Radiators at Lott Park, the home of the Springdale Aztecs, of the Lincoln League, which included professional baseball teams in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

Dean was confident, but knew he would have to excel in order to be selected as one of the two catchers of the thirty at the tryouts, in order to make the team.

He would hustle, do his best, and hopefully become a member of the All-American team. Exhausted from the excitement of the trip, he leaned his head against window of the train, pulled his jacket over his chest for warmth, and closed his eyes, falling to sleep immediately.

Chapter 2

Tryouts

July, 1938

DEAN’S EYES WERE GROGGY AS HE stepped off the train into the Kansas sunlight. It had been a long trip, from midnight onward until his arrival in Acton, and Dean was hungry, stiff from sleeping in the train seat, and nervous about the tryouts. He was met at the train station by a representative of the World Baseball Federation who took him to a dorm on the local campus, his new home for the week of the tryouts.

After eating, Dean was led to a room where all of the other tryout players would be introduced to the coach, Richard Tayloe, and given the schedule and rules for the tryouts.

Prior to the meeting starting, Dean visited with a few other hopefuls, finding out their name, where they were from, and where they played their college ball. He had met and immediately liked a left-handed contact hitter from the University of Tennessee at Saint Albans, Austin James, who played right field.

Dean had teased him about the irony and twist of words of his batting left-handed and playing right field, which had caused to easy going Southerner to laugh. After talking a short time they found out that they were members of the same national fraternity the loved, Sigma Chi, and were assigned to be roommates for the tryouts.

Players were to be broken down into groups, by position, each morning, and practice would be centered on individual skill development. Ratings were to be made each day by the selection committee, which consisted of Coach Taylor, and WBF representatives from the eight regions of the country.

The tryouts were also open to teams from the National and American Leagues of professional baseball, all of which had at least one scout present each day. The professional teams would not vote for members of the team, but were able to scout each player as they went through the week of tryouts.

After three and one half days of skill assessment sessions during the day, and chalk talk, skull sessions on the mental aspects of the game conducted by the coaching staff at night, the number of candidates would be trimmed from two-hundred-fifty down to ninety. The remaining ninety players would be divided between six teams, of fifteen players.

After two, and, one half days of games, the six teams would be pared down two teams that would play the final day of the tryout session. Each of the six teams would have at least four games to show their skills in an attempt to make the team.

Pitchers would be assessed on their game performance, mechanics, and skill set, in an attempt to rate their chances of making the team, and in a manner would also protect them from injuries to their arms from possible overuse.

Harold did very well in the tryouts, showing off his excellent catching skills, and hitting the ball on the nose in most of his at bats. His hustle throughout the entire tryout session, and his willingness to do whatever the coaching staff had asked of him, and more, had impressed all of the members of the selection committee, and all of the scouts who had watched him over the week’s tryouts.

He was confident he had done all that he could in order to make the team. Whichever way it would go, he knew that he had gained some wonderful experience, and had enjoyed his time in Kansas.

Teams were announced the evening of the seventh day of the tryouts. Fourteen players, eight position players, two catchers, and four pitchers, were to be named for the team.

Coach Taylor had stated that the naming of the team members would be handled by posting the list on the bulletin board in the lobby of the dorm prior to the last evening’s supper.

He had thanked everyone for trying out for the team, and had said that the hardest part of naming any team was the act of having to choose only fourteen players out of such a nice, talented group of gentleman, and wished everyone well.

Harold’s lips were dry, his breath short, and he felt like he had a baseball in his throat and he could hardly swallow as he took his turn to walk to the paper posted on the bulletin board which would tell him if he had made the team or not. His heart pounded with glee as he saw his name on the bulletin board. He had made the team.

When he returned to his dorm room after supper he found his roommate from Tennessee sitting on the bed. Neither wanted to ask if they both had made the team, but Dean started the conversation.

Austin, I was rooting for you. Did you make the team?

Yes! I was rooting for you too. Did you make it?

Yes!

The next morning the team was gathered for practice, and familiar faces were all around. As Dean surveyed the other assembled players he was impressed with their skills and character. He had played against all of them throughout the week, and respected their choice as teammates.

He knew they would be competitive and hopefully win the newly established World Cup on their trip overseas to England, Holland, Belgium, and France.

The All-American squad would practice for two days, then have two exhibition games in Kansas with the best of the semi-pro players from the state, then play one more exhibition game in Iowa, the hometown of one of Dean’s teammates, before heading to New York for their trip to the continent of Europe to play ball.

Besides playing for the World Cup in England their mission was to spread goodwill and an understanding and love for the game of baseball to the countries which were just starting to enjoy the sport’s expansion into their culture

The night before the team’s departure to Iowa the team elected a captain, and much to his surprise, Dean was chosen. News of his captaincy was well received in Butterfield and Springdale, and was especially gratifying to Ellis Edwards, and the Sigma Chi Fraternity. It would be a great trip.

Chapter 3

S.S. President Jackson

July 27, 1938

FOURTEEN ALL-AMERICAN BALLPLAYERS arrived in New York City early the morning of the twenty-seventh of July, 1938, and immediately crashed into bed, and quickly into rem sleep, which is also called rapid eye movement sleep.

In the rem phase of sleep a person’s dreams very vividly, and dean was no exception. He dreamed of catching, throwing out baserunners trying to steal, blocking balls in the dirt, hitting singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, driving in runs, and celebrating as his team won game after game.

The three exhibition games had gone well for the team, winning the first two games in Kansas by wide margins, and wining a close decision in Iowa. The team showed an early desire to pull together and also enjoy the trip.

Early the next morning the team ate breakfast, then were driven to the boarding area where they would load up their belongings, and set sail for the main island of the British Empire.

They were aboard the S.S. President Jackson, a beautiful ship which would be their home for the eight day voyage to their port of entry into England, the town of Plymouth. Top speed on the two thousand eight hundred seventy-six nautical mile trip would be seventeen knots, or nineteen point six miles per hour.

If the ballplayers could see the future, forty-seven years ahead, they would be amazed to know that the same distance, could be traveled in an airplane in eleven hours and twenty minutes.

None of the boys had ever been on a ship, and were captivated by its size, seventy-two wide and almost two football fields long, at five hundred thirty-five feet. Built in 1920, it weighed a massive thirteen thousand eight-hundred-sixty tons. The ballplayers’ cabins were third class staterooms, each being home to two American passengers.

Dean had noticed the luggage tag, brown colored on the outside edge, and white in the middle, with his name written in the center, after he had tossed his two bags on the upper level berth in the room.

Like the rest of his teammates, he was anxious to go topside to see the giant ship pull away from the harbor and start its journey to Europe.

Thousands of people on the dock waved to the passengers as they headed out to sea, in what would be a once in a lifetime trip. Little did the boys know that less than four years in the future, many of them, now in the United States Navy, would be taking other voyages to Europe, not to play baseball, but to fight in World War II.

Once underway, the boys walked the decks of the ship, taking in the details of its structure and construction, visiting with other travelers, and taking in the smell of the sea air. They would have an hour to survey the ship before they were required to meet for their first practice, a stretching and calisthenics session called by Coach Taylor. After practice, they would have a half hour to clean up, and meet for lunch together in the area which would be their training table for the trip.

The food was prepared by the ship’s chef and staff, offered many options, and not to overeat, and put on a few unwanted pounds.

After lunch they were free until three o’clock when they would have another chalk talk session where Coach Taylor would cover the schedule of the games once they reached England, and the special team rules while they were on the ship.

After supper the boys would have time to see a movie, relax on deck, and then be in their cabins before bed check at ten o’clock P.M. The choice of movies for the trip reflected the range being witnessed back home in America. Each day, movies would be shown at three thirty in the afternoon and at seven thirty in the evening.

On the list for his voyage were The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, Boys Town with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney, Angeles With Dirty Faces with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, Test Pilot with Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, and Lionel Barrymore, Bluebird’s Eighth Wife with Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which the team saw over and over. Dean’s favorite dwarf was Happy, as he reflected his own outlook on life. The only disappointment for the ballplayers was the fact that the Wizard of Oz was unavailable until the following year, 1939.

All passengers received a booklet from the United Transit Line, the parent company which owned the S.S. President Jackson. It listed the officers of the ship. The Commander was Stanley Anderson, an excellent seafarer and an enthusiastic baseball fan who thoroughly enjoyed the All-American team being on the ship. The Chief Engineer, who kept he ship running in fine fashion, was Adrian Kruger. The Chief Purser was Ed Douglas, who was assisted by Third Class Purser Peter Fairway.

The ship’s surgeon, a man who, unknown to himself, would soon play a pivotal role in events which would unfold during the trip, was Eric Dudley. Rounding out the crack staff were Chief Steward Art Long and Chief Steward, Third Class Rudy Finegan.

Also listed in the booklet were the members of the band who would provide the entertainment and dance music, the Northwestern Five, from Evansville, Illinois. They were college students at Northwestern University who were earning money over the Summer vacation. Dean was extremely pleased to meet more people from Illinois on the voyage, and loved their music.

A list of one