Header - Baseball by the Letters

Year: 2010

Johnny "Bear Tracks" Schmitz is 89

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Pitcher Johnny Schmitz recorded a decade of solid left-handed success. A two-time All-Star, he was the National League’s strikeout leader in 1946.

All this may pale in comparison to owning one of the greatest nicknames of his day.

Source after source claims that the moniker “Bear Tracks” refers to Schmitz’s gait to the mound.

Everyone except Schmitz.

“Bear tracks: I got that name in spring training in 1938 with Milwaukee of the American Association,” he writes. “In Hot Springs, Arkansas, they took a picture of me putting on my shoes sitting in the stands. They saw I had big feet.

“I like that name.”

Schmitz seemed modest about his quick return to the majors in 1946, following his World War II military service.

“We (the Cubs) had a good ball club when I came out of the service,” he remembers. “We finished in third place. I was 11 and 11. We didn’t get many runs.”

Upon sharing the tribute from Dodger hurler Rex Barney that Schmitz could drop his curve into a coffee cup (full interview from a 1996 Baseball Digest), the veteran lefty’s smile seemed to leap off the page.

“Rex Barney was right,” Schmitz notes. I beat him 1 to 0. You know, there was only one left-hand hitter in their lineup. I always got the best (opposing) pitchers when I pitched. They (Dodgers) had the best club in the league.”

Schmitz concludes with…

“I am now 89 years old, going on 90 Nov. 27.

Thank you.”

It’s my pleasure, Mr. Schmitz.

Baseball Passings Serving the Hobby

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If autograph collectors field an all-star team in 2010, David Allen Lambert should be first on the roster.

A collector since 1981, Lambert is serving the hobby, and baseball world, by forming the Facebook group “Baseball Passings.” He’s offering a respectful, meaningful way to note the obituaries of anyone connected to the majors, Negro Leagues or the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Additionally, online tributes can be left for those who have died.

Lambert, a talented online genealogist for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, detailed the origins of “Baseball Passings.”

Q: I’d like to know what inspired you to create Baseball Passings. One individual player’s death?

A: Since I was a teenager I was interested in the oldest living baseball players. This came into play when I first wrote to Smoky Joe Wood of the (debut 1908 Red Sox). After that I wrote to all players from 1910-1919, then 1920-1929 and so on. Long before a regular list of the older players was provided on a regular basis to the Hall of Fame I was doing it still in high school.

From a variety of sources from SABR, to collectors I started a round robin email regarding the passings of former MLB, AAGPBL, and Negro League players. I thought in the age of social networking I would give it a try on a Facebook group. This enables others to post passings, and I have made the leaders in the Baseball research field and hobby field who have joined my group as honorary group administrators.

Q: Have teammates or family members of the deceased contacted you?

On Facebook I am friends with the daughters of George Cisar, and Jim Roland. They both have responded to the posts either on the wall of the page, or personally to me. I am also honored to have my friend who is Babe Ruth’s grand-daughter be part of the group.

Q: Some collectors might think, ‘Why do this? It’s too late to get autographs from someone who’s died.’ How has this helped you as an autograph collector?

A: I think more just saving postage for collectors regarding writing to some who has died. I feel like we are providing a service to have the widows, and or family of the ball players from having to reply to requests after their loved one is gone.

Q: How can readers join the Facebook group or help you as you keep gathering info about Baseball Passings?

If you are a member of Facebook, simply type “Baseball Player Passings” in the search bar. If not, you can reach the group directly at:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=238999221854

Q: Who have you met or discovered in your baseball research?

A: The photo shows Lambert with Silas Simmons at his 111th birthday in 2006. I was responsible for re-discovering this former Negro League Ballplayer back in 2005. I was honored to be at his birthday celebration and present him a plaque from SABR(Society of American Baseball Research).

I was also responsible for exposing the fact a Florida man who died was not the real baseball player Bill Henry from the Red Sox, and other teams of the 1950s and 1960s which made national news.

Thanks to David Allen Lambert for one potent reminder: write to your favorite retired players TODAY.

Readers: who are other unsung heroes of the hobby who deserve a tip of the cap?

Barney Mussill, the True Phillie

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Pitcher Barney Mussill played for a team with an identity crisis.

To keep fan interest, the Phillies ownership and press toyed with the idea of giving the National League team a mascot, or even a logo. The temporary answer was the Blue Jay. Even at age 90, Mussill isn’t accepting such revisionism quietly.

“Once a Phillies baseball player, always a Phillies baseball player,” he began. “Blue Jays was never a popular name with the players. We were all true Phillies.”

(Cheers to Chris Creamer at www.sportslogos.net. He unearthed the forgotten logo of the day, along with the full story of the rise and fall of the alternative team name.)

“Ninety-five percent of all fans gave us a vote of confidence,” Mussill added. “We had a good team. Only a few good players missing.”

How did it feel to be playing with World War II as a backdrop? Wasn’t the news overseas overwhelming at times?

“We tried to stay away from the papers,” he wrote. “The fan had an opportunity to take a breather. We wanted to be the best we could be. We also helped as much as possible off the field.”

Nowhere does Mussill complain over missing the 1942 and 1943 seasons. On March 1, he learned he wouldn’t be going to spring training with the New York Yankees, the team that bought his contract from the Athletics in the prior fall. His call-up came from the draft board, not the majors.

Mussill disappeared from baseball’s radar after 1944. With his reply, he enclosed a pre-printed notecard reading:

“Barney Mussill, a pitcher with the ’44 Phillies, had a decision to make after that season: Continue playing baseball or go into the family sporting goods business. “I elected to go into business with my family,” he says. “We are still in business today. I feel I’ve never worked. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done.”

1944 Phillie Barney Mussill: Baseball Patriot

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Barney Mussill is one of baseball’s best boosters.

It’s sad history hasn’t given more acclaim to the World War II major leaguers. The 1944 Phillies pitcher was one of many who kept the game going at one of our country’s darkest times. That’s a victory no statistic can ever approximate.

Mussill reflected on those times in a stirring letter. For today, I’ll share only the conclusion of his response:

“Baseball is the only game that will last forever. You and I are proving that right now. Baseball and friends are forever.”

Amen.

Daryl “The Monster” Spencer

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Yesterday, former Giants infielder Daryl Spencer shared his memory of his team’s Polo Grounds — and New York — finale. Today, he looks back on a second career, in a country where he launched 152 NPB home runs. It’s small wonder that his size and monstrous bat earned him such a nickname!

Reflecting on the Japanese Henry Aaron, Spencer wrote:

“Sadaharu Oh was certainly a great-great player. He would of bee3n a STAR if he had played in the U.S. big leagues. I’ll say this, he got the benefit of a lot of close calls on balls and strikes. If he took a pitch, the umpires almost always called it a ball. Of course, I think the great hitters in the U.S. got the benefit of the close calls here, too.

Hope this brings some light to your questions you asked. Thanks for writing me.

Daryl Spencer.”

When was the last time an autograph signer thanked YOU?

A standing O goes out to SABR member Bob Rives for his fine bio of “The Monster,” offering untold insights into Spencer’s Japanese career. Check it out here!