Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: June 2010

Struck Out by White Sox ‘Key’ Player

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My wife is a gifted piano teacher. “If you’re going to make a mistake, make it a big one!” she encourages her students. In other words, don’t be timid. When swinging, go for the fences.

That’s what I did writing to another keyboard artist, Nancy Faust. She’s been the team organist for the Chicago White Sox since 1970. She’ll be retiring at season’s end. In my Hall of Fame, I’d give Nancy some real estate for introducing Steam’s Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) as a ballpark standard.

Everybody gets three strikes. Therefore, I asked three questions:

1. You were Harry “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Caray’s first accompanist. What are your memories of creating a new baseball tradition?
2. What are your memories of the 2005 World Championship season?
3. Besides Jack McDowell, what White Sox players have impressed you most with their musical knowledge or abilities?

My reply in care of the team included a personalized 4-by-6 color photo and a signed team-issued card. Thoughtful bonuses I received with gratitude. However, no answers.

That’s okay. I took my cuts. Play on, Nancy!

Discover Another Side of Author Lawrence ‘The Glory Of Their Times’ Ritter

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Here’s one more gem from R. Plapinger Baseball Books. If a book was EVER published, trust Bobby to find a copy.

(Reader advisory: to fully appreciate the forthcoming tale, it’s important to know a bit about the huge contributions to baseball history Lee Allen made. Start here, with a tribute from the SABR Bio Project. Now, back to Bobby…)

“My other “inscription story” is somewhat more personal. I was lucky to be one of the hundreds of people who was friends with Lawrence – Larry – Ritter – author of what many still consider to be the single best baseball book of
all time, “The Glory of Their Times”.

(Yes, it’s true. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It
redefined first-person baseball history. It’s a must-have title for any baseball fan.)

“One time Larry generously allowed me to buy some books from his personal
library & one of the ones I picked was “The National League Story” by Lee
Allen – which Allen had inscribed to Ritter

“For Larry Ritter –
Companion of the night
(at the Tuscany, Some indescribable (ALLEN’s spelling…)
German place + Bill’s)

With real affection
sincerely
Lee Allen
August 21, 1967″

Allen was known to enjoy more than a few drinks & back then, I think, so was
Larry. I’ve always wondered what it might have been like to have
accompanied the two of them on “the night”.


Remember, Bobby Plapinger is the “go to” guy for getting hard-to-find baseball books. (He’s great at finding unsigned and autographed editions.) He’s never let me down. Write him at baseballbooks@opendoor.com

Reading Between the Lines of An Autographed Baseball Book

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Bobby Plapinger is one of America’s foremost names to baseball book collectors.
As “R. Plapinger Baseball Books,” he’s become an adored author in his own
league. Look at his sale catalog, and you’ll see his mini-reviews are
penned by a grateful, learned fan of the game.

I asked BP (no, not THAT B.P.) what noted autographs he’s discovered in
his years as a bookologist. He offered two juicy tales:

“The first starts in 1989 – probably in the Spring. I was on my annual trip to New York to visit family… and… of course … the Strand bookstore.

By pure chance, I arrived in the Strand’s Rare Book Room on the day they
were unpacking books from Bob Fishel’s estate.

I recognized the name Fishel, but wasn’t well acquainted with him. I did,
however, “know” alot of his books & purchased quite a few of them – many
inscribed to Fishel by the authors.

When I got the books home & had a chance to carefully inspect them, I learned a little more about Bob Fishel.

Turns out he’d started out working for Veeck & the St. Louis Browns – he was
the guy who “found” Eddie Gaedel.

After the Browns, Fishel worked for the Yankees for a long time, before
finally ending up in the American League office. The annual award given to
baseball publicists is named after him.

It was clear from many of the inscriptions that “baseball people” considered
Fishel not only to be a friend & colleague, but a beloved one.

A copy of Bill Veeck’s “sequel” to his autobiography (“Veeck as In Wreck”) –
“The Hustler’s Handbook”, had a page long inscription in Veeck’s handwriting
that read, in part, “To Bob… It’s almost impossible to … explain how
much you’ve meant.. to us”.

In the copy of his “It Takes Heart” which he gave to Fishel, Mel Allen wrote
“To Bob, It has been said: ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with
us, what we have done for others in the world remains and is immortal.’ To
me, Bob, you are immortal. I am sincerely grateful for your warm friendship.
Mel Allen.”

Other inscriptions from other authors were similarly heartfelt, but these
two, in particular, struck me as almost transcending “inscriptions in a
book”. To me, they were almost like letters from the authors, testifying to
the strong feelings they had for their close colleague and friend.”

At press time, Bauman Rare Books was selling the Mel Allen signed edition for $800.

Friends of this blog need to email Bob at baseballbooks@opendoor.com Tell Bob that “Baseball By The Letters” sent you. Ask for his latest catalog, which he’ll send as a PDF.

Tomorrow: The intriguing untold story of a baseball book’s wink-and-nod inscription.

Now Pitching, Pirate Infielder Ed O’Brien?

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A position player pitching? You mean blowout game, mop-up duty?

Don’t tell that to Ed O’Brien.

I confess, I wanted to ask about that famous 1954 Topps card, picturing the O’Brien twins. Forget the Olsen twins. Skip those sisters. I’d rather see Ed and John turn a double play.

However, www.Retrosheet.org amazed me again. Going to “top performances” I found results from September 14, 1957, a day in which the Cubs ate humble pie. One infielder took the mound and confounded Chicago.

Ed O’Brien replied in magnificent calligraphy-like penmanship:

“With Dick Groat at shortstop and Bill Virdon in center field, the Pirates were using me as a utility player. In all, I played seven positions. Because I had a strong arm, they decided to see if I could pitch. At Columbus AAA I had 3 or 4 pitching appearances while still playing in the field. Dan Murtaugh started me against the Cubs in Wrigley Field. I won, 3-1, complete game, throwing fastballs and hard sliders.

Both of us on the Topps 1954 card was their (the company’s) idea. They sent copies to all those signed with them. Everyone received the same compensation. Nothing like today’s figures.”

I had asked if Topps paid both brothers an individual fee, even if they shared one card…

Lastly, I wanted to know about a fellow Washingtonian and famous Pirates fan.

“Bing Crosby came to Seattle on three occasions to talk to us (John and I) about signing with the Pirates. He was a minority owner. He would attend spring training every year and became a lifetime friend.”

Harness the Power of a Box Score

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Upper Deck knows it. Every autograph collector should, too.

There is power in a box score.

It’s sad to think that fans or collectors still send form letters to retirees. The letter writers don’t know what to say to a former player.

That’s where wwww.retrosheet.org comes in. You can read about ANYONE’s career, finding out their one best day — or only day — in the majors. Believe me, a player may be too busy competing, or simply trying to survive, in the bigs. They don’t have time to keep a scrapbook. I’ve heard from more than one ex-player amazed I can find that data.

The superb play-by-play website is a treasure trove for fans and collectors. Retrosheet helps us. Now, we can help Retrosheet.

I wrote to the website to offer my thanks to these baseball-loving volunteers. I received an inspiring reply from team member Mark Pankin.

“We have a list of the games for which we do not have (complete) play-by-play accounts:

http://www.retrosheet.org/wanted/index.html

If any of your readers has something, not just the box score–we have all of those, that describes plays, that would be helpful. Even accounts for part of a game may help us. Every so often, we get something from a fan who has attended one of these games and kept the scorecard or discovered a parent’s or grandparent’s old scorebook (in the attic. We have searched the newspapers in the major league cities, but once in a while someone finds an account in an older newspaper in a smaller city such as Peoria, IL or Portsmouth, OH. Libraries in the region may have them on microfilm and there are a few obscure online sources.

A word of warning: looking through microfilms of old newspapers can be both frustrating if nothing turns up and hard on the eyes. On the other hand, reading news from way back and seeing the ads in those days can be a lot of fun. By the mid-1950s with the advent of TV as a news source, most papers had stopped showing play-by-play accounts. Even online searches can be very frustrating. Thanks for your offer to help.”

The stats in a box score aren’t what matter. The batter-by-batter account reinforces that a long-forgotten player made it. For one game, they competed with, and against, major leaguers. They were in “The Show.” That player mattered.

Show you know that when you write to someone. Watch the quantity and quality of your responses increase when you do. Check your scorecard collection. Do you have game accounts you could share, missing links in Retrosheet’s mammoth research chain? Even if you don’t, send them your thanks.

They’re preserving baseball memories. OUR memories!