by Steve Rushin
Dixie Walker borrowed teammate: Broeg, Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, 17.
“But it’s the sun field”: “Where’ll I Play Ruth, Wails Mr. McKechnie,” Milwaukee Journal, February 28, 1935.
because right was in the sun: “Yankee Trio Has Edge in Field, at Bat,” San Jose News, September 22, 1932.
“they’d switch him with Bob Meusel”: “Casey Stengel ‘Explains’ Who Will Play Left Field,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, October 8, 1960; “Echoes from the Dugouts,” New York Times, April 15, 1931.
“no other sun field is quite so bad”: Sporting Life, January 23, 1897.
“Sold Honus for $190”: DeValeria and DeValeria, Honus Wagner, 242. (In his biography of Fred Clarke—Fred Clarke: A Biography of the Baseball Hall of Fame Player-Manager—author Ronald T. Waldo puts the sale price of Honus the Mule at $100.)
“Casey didn’t tell me that”: “Return of the Sober Superstar,” New York Times, July 10, 1994.
Clarke sipped a bourbon highball: Associated Press, “Wagner Greatest, Says Fred Clarke,” Miami News, May 22, 1960.
“Smoked glasses of late years”: “Keeler: The King of Right Fielders,” New York Times, March 5, 1911.
“Speaker, scorning the aid”: “2 Home Runs Help Yanks Beat Indians,” New York Times, May 23, 1924.
“But it didn’t seem like he saw good”: Bryan Hoch, “Former Yankees Pitcher Duren Passes Away,”http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110107&content_id=16407444&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy.
eighty-pound bronze bust: “For Rose and His Reds, It’s Cobb or Bust,” Sports Illustrated, May 6, 1985.
a Southern Californian named Jim Jannard: “Oakley’s Founder Looks Like a Million—And Then Some,” Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1995; “Luxottica, Oakley Shares Rise on $2 Billion Purchase,” Bloomberg, June 21, 2007.
“Pat Dougherty rubs mud”: Morris, A Game of Inches, 341.
“Dougherty declares his reason for retiring”: “Pat Dougherty Quits Baseball,” New York Times, February 17, 1912.
State Bank of Bolivar: Sporting News, May 9, 1940, 3.
“Sandow Mertes tried that new sun field”: Morris, A Game of Inches, 341.
Mertes had a beloved dog: “Parting Remarks of Mr. Brannick,” New York Times, February 12, 1940.
two researchers at the Yale School of Medicine: Brian M. DeBroff and Patricia J. Pahk, “The Ability of Periorbitally Applied Antiglare Products to Improve Contrast Sensitivity in Conditions of Sunlight Exposure,” Archives of Opthalmology, July 2003.
“I sweat too much”: Matt Fortuna, “Cedeno Fits In with Self-Made Mustache,” MLB.com, July 7, 2010, http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100607&content_id=10909448¬ebook_id=10909702&vkey=notebook_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit.
“use of firemen and policemen”: “Pneumatic Head Protector,” Toledo Blade, April 10, 1902.
Reds pitcher Andy Coakley hit Giants catcher: “Bresnahan Injured, Hit by Pitch,” Meriden Daily Journal, June 19, 1907.
Chapman stood in close to the plate: “Beaned by a Pitch, Ray Chapman Dies,” New York Times, August 17, 1920.
“Headgear for ballplayers”: “Headgear for Players,” New York Times, August 19, 1920.
“I went from second tenor to baritone [sic]”: Robert L. Burnes, “Call Me Foulproof,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1961.
“wore nothing but a white jockey strap”: “The Slugging Match,” Lawrence Daily Gazette, August 8, 1893.
“a tri-color belt of ribbons”: “Corbett Wins,” Philadelphia Record, January 26, 1894.
“an upward kick on Driscoll’s groin”: “Queer Fight in Paris,” New York Times, October 29, 1899.
“Berger, the Poly catcher”: “Scholastic Base Ball,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 22, 1901.
“The testicle being an exquisitely sensitive organ”: Lydston, The Surgical Diseases, 924.
“Mr. D., single, aged twenty-eight years”: Medical Review 27, 330. (Mr. D. had an operation to remove the testicle on December 3, 1892.)
felled him like a tree: “Hardy His Bad Inning,” Baltimore Sun, June 26, 1907.
“suffering from severe pains in the groin”: “Rain Upsets Giants’ Plans in the South,” New York Times, March 31, 1908.
“In moments of stress”: “Claude Berry Was ‘Ketcher’ for Kid Teams,” Deseret News, February 14, 1916.
“There was a fresh cry”: “World’s Title Rests on Result of Today’s Game,” Border Cities Star, October 10, 1924.
“the greatest thrill of her life”: “Mrs. Coolidge Takes President to Game,” New York Times, October 10, 1924.
“The Prohibition gangsters sat at ringside”: Burnes, “Call Me Foulproof.”
“HYPUS IGOE THROUGH THIS WALL”: “Before Fight Camp Became a Suite Science,” New York Times, March 1, 1987; “Stunt Either Painless or Brainless,” New York Daily News, July 21, 1996.
“Chairman Farley could save himself”: Ed Sullivan, New York Evening Graphic, quoted in Taylor, Prizefight Government.
Referee Jimmy Crowley began counting Schmeling out: “Schmeling, Beaten, Wins Crown on Foul,” Baltimore Post, June 13, 1930.
Their waistbands, glove cuffs, and jockstraps: “Jacob Golomb, 58, a Manufacturer,” New York Times, August 25, 1951.
“the trouble at first”: Associated Press, “A Glove in Every Face,” St. Petersburg Evening Independent, March 26, 1949.
“I told Carnera to place his huge paws”: Taylor, Prizefight Government.
Pepper Martin never wore a cup: “The Hot Corner: It’s No Place for the Timid,” Baseball Digest, August 1989.
“He was just a lucky man”: Feldman, Dizzy and the Gas House Gang, 50.
“I saved you”: Schoendienst and Rains, Red, 30.
“a black and blue spot”: “Board Bars Appeal of Tunney Ruling,” New York Times, September 25, 1927.
Foulproof and a film crew from Pathé: Taylor, Prizefight Government.
rushed to the side of the supine Cochrane: United Press International, May 26, 1937.
“I think some lighter guard”: “ ‘Bean Ball’ Helmet Tested; Found Okay,” Pittsburgh Press, June 1, 1937.
“taking a look at the lop-sided caps”: “Hill Learning to Field from Mack,” Washington Post, August 1, 1937.
“Throgmorton Slovinsky MacPhail”: Taylor, Prizefight Government, 63.
“They wouldn’t wear a thing”: “Plastic Protectors Inside Caps Will Be Worn by Dodger Batters,” New York Times, March 9, 1941.
“The objection I heard”: Ibid.
“The man who invents a helmet that insures”: “Connie Mack Prefers Slam-Bang Baseball, Favors Helmet Use,” Ellensburg Daily Record, March 28, 1941.
HE DEVISED MANY METHODS: “Dr. W. E. Dandy Dies; Brain Surgeon, 60,” New York Times, April 20, 1946.
“protective liners made of fibroid”: “Lane Backs Crash Helmets,” St. Joseph’s Gazette, September 6, 1954.
“This sound without echo”: Kahn, “Baseball’s Secret Weapon.”
“It was more difficult than people think”: Associated Press, “Charlie Muse; Created Baseball Batting Helmet,” May 17, 2005.
“Only sissies wore helmets then”: “Cuomo Makes His Late-Night Debut,” Albany Times Union, November 6, 1993.
Rickey’s helmet concern: “Rickey Enjoys Last Laugh on Cap Idea,” Washington Observer, September 12, 1957. (As the piece noted, “Some writers and players made a great joke of it.”)
“Writers were running out of euphemisms”: “A Hex of a Situation for Fisk,” Boston Globe, June 12, 1974.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it”: “So Far, the A’s and Their Elephant Have Yet to Lose,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 27, 1989.
baseball is tied with lacrosse: Romaine and Rothfeld, The Encyclopedia of Men’s Health, 38.
not entirely safe: Associated Press, “Baseball Deaths Mount to Five,” St. Petersburg Times, July 13, 1963.
eighteen-year-old Tom Douglas: “College Player Killed by Pitch,” Milwaukee Jo
urnal, April 20, 1964.
saved by a $10.50 helmet: “Los Angeles: Helmet Saves Batter,” Eugene Register-Guard, May 15, 1965.
“You trying to tell me something?”: “Drysdale Dealing in Hard Hats,” Calgary Herald, June 29, 1965.
NEAR DEATH and FATALLY HURT: “Benton Near Death; Cincinnati Pitcher Probably Fatally Hurt,” Milwaukee Journal, July 30, 1913.
Herrmann… declined to pay: “Benton Will Not Be Paid While Injured,” Cleveland Morning Leader, July 30, 1913.
“I’m afraid of motorcycles”: “The Dangerous World of Mickey Lolich,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 6, 1969.
delivered—for a one-time fee: Davis, “The Man Behind the MLB Logo.”
ritually shattered it: “The Poor White Sox Could Drown in the Sahara,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, May 11, 1971.
Brian Barsamian, who had written: United Press International, “Just Colorful Charlie,” Windsor Star, March 17, 1970.
“Under the lights it will be beautiful”: “Charlie O Adds ‘Color,’ ” Washington Observer-Reporter (Iowa), March 17, 1970.
Finley’s fellow owners denied him: “Colored Bases Agenda Item at Baseball Meeting Here,” Montreal Gazette, July 28, 1970.
“I have lost my sight”: “Conigliaro Suddenly Retires,” Eugene Register-Guard, July 11, 1971.
“This is certainly no sport for sissies”: “No Game for Sissies,” Family Week, February 21, 1971.
“It’s too hot”: “Goldsworthy Enjoys Streak but Not His Headgear,” Calgary Herald, February 16, 1971.
died of a stroke: Argus-Press obituary, November 12, 1975.
“What the heck is that?”: Associated Press, “Twins’ Inventive Doc Lentz Plans to Cash In This Time,” Baltimore Sun, February 9, 1971.
“If Evans had been wearing”: “Evans Still Hospitalized; But Vision Remains Clear,” Lewiston Evening Journal, August 30, 1978.
“People can say what they want”: “Mets’ Wright Won’t Get Big Head over Helmet,” Newsday, September 2, 2009.
“Sweetheart” and “Mrs. Harrelson”: “Some Hitters Feel Their Bare Hands Are Enough,” New York Times, April 1, 2007.
“an ordinary street glove”: Sporting News, May 12, 1932, cited in Morris, A Game of Inches, 448.
“wears a golfer’s glove”: “Brewers Get Gleeson, Grate for Pyle, Sinton,” Milwaukee Sentinel, May 18, 1948.
after rupturing a thumb muscle: “Yankees to Use McDonald Tonight,” New York Times, June 16, 1953.
Hank Foiles wore one on his left hand: “Bad Throw to First Base His Downfall,” Pittsburgh Press, July 27, 1957.
“feeling of compactness”: “Barber Got Tired in Sixth,” Baltimore Sun, July 29, 1960.
“Brandt has been wearing”: “Indians Get Newcombe,” Baltimore Sun, July 30, 1960.
wore a golf glove in batting practice: Associated Press, “Kansas City High on New Shortstop,” Tuscaloosa News, March 15, 1961. (From an Associated Press Wirephoto caption on March 2, 1962: “Jim Piersall [left], Washington outfielder who signed a $45,000 contract this week, largest in the history of the Senators, slides his hand into a golf glove at the start of batting practice. Bob Johnson [right], infielder, also wears one of the gloves to prevent blisters.” From an Associated Press story in spring training of 1963: “Center fielder Jim Piersall spent almost an hour hitting against the pitching machine, wearing a golf glove to prevent blisters.” [“Marv Breeding Checks Into Senators Camp,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, February 26, 1963.])
Jim Gentile… removed his golf glove: Associated Press, “Gentile Ties AL Record Hits Fourth Grand Slam,” Eugene Register-Guard, July 8, 1961.
“This happens about once a week”: “Maris Hits No. 35,” New York Times, July 16, 1961.
“It just feels good… six months and two days”: “Terry Becomes a Giant Killer While Practicing on Chickens,” New York Times, October 11, 1962.
wore a “golfer’s glove” to great notice: “Wills of Dodgers Swipes 93d Base,” Milwaukee Journal, September 19, 1962.
green golf glove: Red Smith, “Fools Rushed Out, Angels Rushed In,” St. Petersburg Times, September 4, 1962.
“Though the idea will sound strange”: “Headgear for Players.”
Chapter 6
“with unfeigned horror”: Fetter, Taking On the Yankees, 196.
“like a horse going to a horse trough”: McKelvey, The MacPhails, 22.
“matter of public health”: D’Antonio, Forever Blue.
“Public telephone booths will be distributed”: “Ebbets Field Will Have Every Comfort for Brooklyn Patrons,” Sporting Life, April 20, 1912.
“when completed Ebbets Field”: Ibid.
E. J. McKeever & Bro.: “Stephen M’Keever Dies in Brooklyn,” New York Times, March 7, 1938.
“the public urinals were fetid troughs”: Kahn, The Era, 299.
“stench of perennially backed-up toilets”: Eliot, Song of Brooklyn, 87.
“Brooklyn’s slums have spread”: “Walter in Wonderland,” Time, April 28, 1958.
“treat baseball fans like cattle”: Ibid.
“I want the folks to see me”: “Candidates’ Words Speak for Themselves,” Chicago Tribune, November 29, 1999.
“The beer garden was considered in play”: Hetrick, Chris Von der Ahe.
“The empty beer bottle made its appearance”: “Baseball Plays a Golden Anniversary,” New York Times, February 8, 1925.
“Interjected at suitable places”: “Sullivan Fighting Drunk,” New York Times, May 23, 1886.
“one of the best catchers in the game”: Sporting Life, January 18, 1913.
“have not touched a drop to-day”: “National Game Playing,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 18, 1884.
composed a poem on the spot: “Brooklyn Coppers Win at Base Ball,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 16, 1892.
shagging flies in a pasture: Callahan, Carl Sandburg, 11.
“who the bird was”: “Baseball Players Aided by Football,” New York Times, October 30, 1919.
Evans remained at his post: “Man of High Courage,” Montreal Gazette, July 1, 1911.
“baseball as played uptown”: “Spring Calendar of Fashionable Sports,” New York Times, May 5, 1907.
accumulated by the hundreds beneath the grandstands: “Side-lights on the Game,” Baseball Magazine, October 1916.
thirteen empty beer kegs: “Garry’s Party All Messed Up,” Toledo News-Bee, April 25, 1925.
“It didn’t taste like that to me”: “Labeled ‘Sauerkraut’; Hadn’t Taste of Beer,” St. Petersburg Evening Independent, April 25, 1925.
Hack Wilson was busted in a midnight raid: “Hack Wilson Found in ‘Beer Parlor’ Is Taken to Lock Up,” Telegraph Herald, May 24, 1926.
“they choose ginger ale”: “Ball Fans Must Fast,” New York Times, April 13, 1924.
beer kegs were delivered to Ruth’s suite: Weintraub, The House That Ruth Built, 266.
turned Third Base… into its Roxbury Crossing branch: “Noted Baseball Saloon Turned Into a Library,” San Jose Evening News, May 18, 1923.
“Maybe he will forget his disappointment”: “Red Sox Sell Ruth for $100,000 Cash,” Boston Globe, January 6, 1920.
“a Prussian formality to Ruppert”: “The First Boy Wonder,” New York Times, August 23, 1965.
“burdened with bottles”: “Carnage of Innings Described by Cobb,” New York Times, October 8, 1921.
“No more are empty beer bottles”: “Says Cray L. Remington,” Rochester Evening Journal, January 10, 1924.
“The patrons of the ball yards”: “Paper Cup,” Washington Post, April 3, 1933.
“A slightly inebriated gentleman”: “Caught at the Plate,” New York Times, September 14, 1924.
“A man who throws a bottle”: “To End Ballpark Disorder,” New York Times, September 3, 1920.
Dodgers promised to raise grandstand ticket prices: “To Stop Bottle Throwing,” New York Times, July 9, 1922.
knocked the bottom from the bottle: “Yanks Beat Brow
ns Before 30,000,” New York Times, September 17, 1922.
thirty thousand potential witnesses: “Pop Bottle Mystery Solver Is Lucky Fan,” New York Times, October 2, 1922.
“Boys, let’s go and refresh”: “Bambino Smiles, Shakes Hands,” St. Petersburg Evening Independent, March 3, 1927.
formed a cordon around Pfirman: “Giants Down Cubs as Pop Bottles Fly,” New York Times, September 13, 1927.
“a long bar that dispensed hard liquor”: “Johnson Has Many Friends,” Providence News, October 22, 1927.
Indians manager Roger Peckinpaugh argued a call: “Umpire Struck in Cleveland Badly Hurt,” Miami News, May 13, 1929.
much-concussed former umpire: “Umpire Assaulted as Athletics Win,” New York Times, May 12, 1929.
“Give Colonel Jake Ruppert the right to make beer”: Associated Press, December 23, 1932.
“my own brewery will be ready”: “Col. Ruppert Is Kept Busy,” Youngstown Vindicator, November 15, 1932.
His office would give a $5,000 reward: “Play at First Provokes Riot,” Milwaukee Journal, July 27, 1936.
POUR OUT [THE] POP BOTTLE PERIL!: Sporting News, September 26, 1935.
twinned worlds of baseball… and beer: “15,000 Pay Tribute at Ruppert’s Rites,” New York Times, January 17, 1939.
“distinctly of the masculine type”: “Ruppert, Owner of Yankees and Leading Brewer, Dies,” New York Times, January 14, 1939.
“This beer outfit that hired me”: “Diz Dean Tells Off Critics,” Tuscaloosa News, July 25, 1946.
“Call it Beer Park”: United Press International, “Frick Cries over Beer,” New York Times, April 11, 1953.
“with total disregard for local ball clubs”: “Frick Opposes Broadcast Ban,” Middlesboro Daily News, February 25, 1954.
“adjunct of the brewing business”: Associated Press, “Ready to Sell Cardinals Claims Busch,” Ottawa Citizen, May 26, 1954.
denying the application to sell beer: “Battle Opens For and Against Beer in Baltimore Stadium,” Washington Post, December 29, 1953.
“Baseball has become beerball”: “Baseball or Beerball,” Chicago Tribune, July 3, 1957.
single biggest advertiser on televised baseball: “Sponsors Pay Record High for Baseball,” Eugene Register-Guard, March 8, 1961.
The Phillies… sought a license to sell: Associated Press, “Giles Gets Rough with Phils Fans,” Spencer Daily Reporter (Iowa), April 24, 1956.