One of the tasks recently taken was to decide which of mom and dad's belongings to keep and which to give away, sell or trash. Mom was moved to an independent/assisted living facility a few weeks ago. There was SO MUCH stuff, you could not take 20% of it. One of the items I took was David Halberstam's book: "Summer of 49".
I have only read about 50 pages but I have learned so many tidbits.
In 1948, the 3 top AL teams Yankees, Red Sox and Indians were tied with 7 games to go.
Of course, from the SOM oldtimer set, I have long been a fan of the 1948 Indians, 2 IF with over 30 HR and a third with a .355 BA and 18 HR and none of the three were the 1B. A .300 hitting OF and a great pitching staff.
I did not know Gene Bearden (sensational rookie in 1948) was a knuckleballer, and his quick drop off (from 20-7, 2.43 ERA in 1948 to 8-8, 5.10 ERA and then just 24 ML wins after that) was due to the hitters adjusting by moving well up in the batters box to get the knuckleball before it darted and danced and fluttered.
Johnny Pesky's real last name was Paveskovich.
The sharpest dresser on the Red Sox was Jack Kramer, who wore (and laundered himself) silk underwear and expensive suits.
In the last game of the regular season at Fenway, with the Red Sox winning, late in the game, Bucky Harris sent in a replacement for Joe DiMaggio after he took his position just prior to the inning starting. The Red Sox fans gave Joe D a thundering ovation and DiMaggio said it was the single greatest thrill in his career.
Mel Parnell, a LH Boston ace in 1948, had a 2.29 ERA in Fenway but a 4.13 ERA on the road.
There was a game in June 8 (1948) between the Indians and Red Sox in Fenway where Bearden beat Parnell 2-0, the only 2 runs being scored on a HR that was obviously foul to everyone but the 1B ump. If Boston wins that game, no playoff.
After losing the playoff game 8-3, Red Sox surprise starter Denny Galehouse never started another game, and pitched just 2 more ML innings.
In 1946, Me Allen of the Yankees became the first announcer to travel to away games and give live radio broadcasts from these away games.
Joe McCarthy was said to have pulled Hack Wilson aside to lecture him about his drinking. He poured a shot of whiskey into a glass filled with worms and the worms all quickly died. McCarthy asked Wilson what he thought about that. Wilson said If I drink, I won't have worms.
McCarthy signaled bonus boy Chuck Stobbs to come over to him late in spring training after ignoring him all ST and started talking about the pivot at 2B. Stobbs told him he was a pitcher. McCarthy replied I thought you were Goodman, get the hell out of here. He only pitched him 9 innings all year.
In the spring of 1949, with DiMaggio having trouble with his heel, he limped through some late spring games in Texas and then 70 year old Owner Del Webb accompanied him to the doctor as the injury worsened. The doctor took x-rays of both DiMaggio AND Webb, then showed the x-rays to Webb, saying one showed the body of a young man, the other is an older man. Webb replied that was perfectly understandable. Then the doctor said the "old man's" x-rays were not Webb, but DiMaggio.
DiMaggio was asked to sign a photo of Gionfriddo making the famous 1947 world series catch and after refusing, he finally relented. As the photographer walked away, DiMag leaned over to a small group of writers and said "if he was playing me right, he would have made it look easy".
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