Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: February 2011

Brave Jack Dittmer Recalls ‘Humble’ Hank Aaron

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Dittmer’s Pen Still Flashes
That Dazzling “D” Today!

Fellow Iowan Jack Dittmer sent me a fascinating reply to my letter.

Dittmer is an Iowa sports legend, earning nine letters in three sports at the University of Iowa. Did he ever imagine himself as a Green Bay Packer, not a Milwaukee Brave? He confessed:

“Football has always been my favorite sport but I only weighed about 160 lbs in college – not big enough.”

Dittmer’s rookie season came as a BOSTON Brave. He debuted with a franchise in flux. Worse still, all the
fellow Iowans, all the U of I rooters, faced a cross-county trip to see their Hawkeye. I was sure that the move to Milwaukee offered fringe benefits. He added:

“The last year for the Boston Braves team was not a good one. I was called up in June and did not do very well.

The first year in Milwaukee was great! In August of 1953, the Iowa fans planned a big “Jack Dittmer Day” in Milwaukee and hundreds came to the game and honored me and my wife with their presence and gifts.”

A year later, Dittmer witnessed the arrival of a future home run king. He remembered:

“Rookie Hank Aaron did not come to Milwaukee until my second year (1954) and was sensational. He and his wife were great people, very humble, but did not socialize with many because, as I recall, she did not stay all summer in Milwaukee.

I have signed autographs with hank (after baseball) and participated in Hank Aaron fundraising golf tournaments in Milwaukee. He is a great guy.”

So are you, Jack Dittmer!

See the state-wide salute Dittmer received in 2005 upon entering the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

Additionally, I was stunned by the collection of Dittmer-related artifacts at this aptly-named website.

Tomorrow: Two important questions I’ll be asking former players I write to this season.

White Sox Icon “Jungle Jim” Rivera Credits Fans

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Obviously, this signature is
from a contract. Imagine
finding a “Manuel Rivera”
autograph today!

Imagine…”Jungle Pete” Rose?

After all, he used head-first slides.

However, Jim Rivera did it years before. The Tarzan-like abandon he ran the bases with, combined by his daring acrobatic catches, earned him the nickname from Chicago sportswriters.

But a label isn’t a nickname if no one repeats it. Rivera recalled:

“The nickname ‘Jungle Jim’ stuck on the next day when the fans from Chicago heard it.”

Throughout the 1950s, Rivera remained an American League daredevil, leading the league in triples (1953) and streaking around the basepaths.

The speed and daring made him a defensive darling in Chicago. Although the team fell to the Dodgers in a hard-fought 1959 World Series, Rivera saved Game 5 with an unimaginable catch after entering mid-inniing as a defensive replacement.

Here’s how losing Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax remembered Rivera:

I asked Rivera: “Your best catch ever?” He answered…

“Yes, the catch I made in the World Series was my best and we won the game, 1-0.”

As if I had any doubt, he concluded:

“Had a great 10 years in the Big Leagues.”

 

White Sox Icon "Jungle Jim" Rivera Credits Fans

by
Obviously, this signature is
from a contract. Imagine
finding a “Manuel Rivera”
autograph today!

Imagine…”Jungle Pete” Rose?

After all, he used head-first slides.

However, Jim Rivera did it years before. The Tarzan-like abandon he ran the bases with, combined by his daring acrobatic catches, earned him the nickname from Chicago sportswriters.

But a label isn’t a nickname if no one repeats it. Rivera recalled:

“The nickname ‘Jungle Jim’ stuck on the next day when the fans from Chicago heard it.”

Throughout the 1950s, Rivera remained an American League daredevil, leading the league in triples (1953) and streaking around the basepaths.

The speed and daring made him a defensive darling in Chicago. Although the team fell to the Dodgers in a hard-fought 1959 World Series, Rivera saved Game 5 with an unimaginable catch after entering mid-inniing as a defensive replacement.

Here’s how losing Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax remembered Rivera:

I asked Rivera: “Your best catch ever?” He answered…

“Yes, the catch I made in the World Series was my best and we won the game, 1-0.”

As if I had any doubt, he concluded:

“Had a great 10 years in the Big Leagues.”

 

BOOM! Revisit 1970 All-Star Game With Cub Slugger ‘Gentleman Jim’ Hickman

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Perfect Penmanship
To This Day!

True story…

The first time I ever heard a Cubs game on the radio, I thought Jack Brickhouse called Jim Hickman “Jim HITMAN.” Even though I found his name spelled correctly in a box score, I couldn’t wait to get a look at his baseball card, or whole personage on TV.

I was stunned. Stone-faced. Stoic. Until the 1970 Cubs needed some offense. Wow!

I asked how he felt having the award “Comeback Player of the Year.” Hickman wasn’t any slouch during the 1969 season, with stats good enough to please most teams. While 1970 was a career year, I didn’t think he “came back” from rack and ruin. How did he feel about the label?

“Really didn’t matter to me one way or the other.”

You want humility? Listen to this explanation of his ’70 power explosion, with career bests in homers and RBI:

“I was blessed with some power. In 1970, I was a better hitter and used the power.”

During that momentous year, Hickman even smacked a game-winning single in the all-star game. When did he realize how Pete Rose cashed in on that hit, steamrollering catcher Ray Fosse for the winning run?

“I saw the play from first base. It happened so fast I didn’t take it all in at the time.

In the replays, you can see Pete started to slide then changed his mind.

Pete played hard on every play. I’m just sorry Fosse got hurt and I’m sure Pete was, too.”

Tomorrow: A note arrives from another Chicago fan favorite, “Jungle Jim” Rivera.

 

1970 Brewer Pitcher Ray Peters Amazes

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Just two starts in the bigs,
then selling for 99 cents
on ebay? Ray Peters
deserves better!

To be honest, I groaned when I opened the envelope.

I cherish hand-written replies to my questions. A former Milwaukee Brave (whose reply will be shared in the next week) seemed to use a manual typewriter to send a flawless, hand-crafted reply. Look at his page and you’d time-travel back to the 1950s.

But this one? I saw that “Tom” was hand-written atop a preprinted page. Was this an autograph price list?

Hardly!

Ray Peters, a 1970 Milwaukee Brewers pitcher for two games, condensed his baseball life into a one-page narrative. He added details about his minor league adventures, and a note about he ALMOST appeared on two Topps cards. Peters holds the distinction of being a first-round draft pick for the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Teams had tried to draft the Harvard product four times without signing him.

I marveled at seeing his two major league starts summed up in one sparkling paragraph:

“Though my major league career was a matter of days, I was fortunate to pitch against my batting heroes when I was growing up — Al Kaline was my favorite right-handed batter and Vada Pinson was my favorite left-handed hitter. I walked Kaline and got Pinson (who should be in the Hall of Fame) to fly out, after he singled in his first at bat. LUCK plays a great part in sports. In my two innings, I gave up only singles, four of which were broken-bat bloops. Against Detroit I walked two and one batter got a single; I was taken out and the reliever gave up a grand slam home run and I’m sent back to the minors!!! That’s life.”

By hand, the grateful pitcher wrote with perfect penmanship:

Ray Peters #41 Milwaukee Brewers 1970
#60 Seattle Pilots 1969
— spring training Tempe, AZ”

Remember to look for more Ray Peters-like names as you collect in 2011. Look beyond the statistics and awards.  Everyone gets the all-stars. For me, I’d choose prefer the all-star storytellers.

Tomorrow: Remember that all-star train wreck between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse? Cub eyewitness Jim Hickman did, sharing his insight.