Snow Day

Ah, April in Milwaukee.

"Play ball!"—oh yeah? Fredric Mendelson, secretary of the Brewers, sadly looked over snow covered Borchert field early Wednesday morning, then went into a huddle with other officials and called off Wednesday afternoon's opener with Minneapolis. The opening will now be held Thursday. Both the pitchers' box and home plate were protected by tarpaulin, but the rest of the park Wednesday morning lay under a light blanket of snow.

That was how the Milwaukee Journal reported the situation on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 16, 1947.

It's a nice photo of the neighborhood park, with the neat line of houses just across the right field fence. You can also clearly see the folding chairs which made up much of the Orchard's seating.

Fredric (Shorty) Mendelson was a Borchert Field fixture from the time he was 12. His father operated the Orchard's concessions, and Shorty spent his teenage summers selling hot dogs and peanuts to the Brewer faithful. He went on to Marquette, where he was a track and football star in the late 1920s. Mendelson returned to working the Borchert Field concessions full time in 1936. He parlayed his salesman skills into a part-time job in the ticket office before Bill Veeck took over the club in 1941. It didn't take long for one master salesman to recognize another, and within weeks Sport Shirt Bill made Shorty director of ticket sales.

Mendelson stayed with the club after Veeck sold his interest, and was elevated to team secretary by the new owners. In December of 1946, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported that Mendelson, by then the last of Bill Veeck's original Brewer office staff remaining with the club, "could join Veeck (with the Cleveland Indians) any hour he mentioned the word, but insists he 'likes Milwaukee' and intends to stay."

When the Braves bought the Brewer club for their own farm system, Shorty stayed on. He and secretary Betty Voss were frequently the only people to be found in the Borchert Field office as the out-of-town owners directed personnel moves from Boston.

In the late 40s, Mendelson spurned several other offers to leave the Brewers, including one with the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks and MECCA arena.

In 1952, Mendelson was finally convinced to leave the Brewers to manage the new Milwaukee County Stadium, then under construction. The Sentinel reported his approach to the job:

Shorty smiled the same old winning smile he had as a 12 year old hustler and said, "Yes, sir, if hard work will make the stadium a great big success, then we'll succeed."

County Stadium was indeed a success, drawing a major league club to Milwaukee before it even opened. Shorty had hit the Big Leagues, and although he didn't know it at the time, this meant he would have the opportunity to remain in his hometown long after the relocating Boston Braves sent the Brews out of town.

Having opening County Stadium, Mendelson resigned in 1954, finally leaving baseball behind to take over the daily operations of a beer distributorship in Janesville that he purchased with former Milwaukee manager (and fellow Veeck compatriot) Charlie Grimm.

Forrest for the Trees

The Google News Archive strikes again, with this lovely shot from May of 1935:

Forest Pressnell's Hand Back in Shape

The Brewer pitching staff returned to full strength Wednesday when Forest (sic) Pressnell returned to duty. His injured hand is all right again but he needs work to get into good pitching form. He was beaten Wednesday by Kansas City. The picture shows him throwing his knuckle ball.

The hurler is Forrest "Tot" Pressnell, a knuckleballer who pitched for the Brewers from 1933 through 1937. The uniform Pressnell's wearing is the "fancy M" variation, introduced in April of 1935, just in time for Opening Day:

Pressnell came to the Brewers after the 1932 season from the Longview (Texas) Cannibals, a St. Louis Browns farm club. The Toledo News-Bee called him "one of the leading exponents of the knuckle ball among the younger generation of minor league pitchers." As with most knuckleballers of the times, he was accustomed to filling the dual roles of reliever and occassional starter.

Pressnell was eager for a shot with the Brewers, and was the first player to return his signed contract. He was able to because, unlike most players, he didn't try to negotiate a higher salary. The Milwaukee Journal noted that he included a note with his contract:

"I realize that clubowners are up against it in these times. But I am young and intend to stay in baseball for a long time. When conditions improve I know I will get more money."

True or not, the reports would go a long way to establishing Tot as a fan favorite.

The 1933 season was a very forgettable one for Brewers fans, as the club limped to a 67-87 record, good for second-worst in the American Association. Pressnell himself struggled against the stronger opposition—ending 1933 with a 10-13 record and an ERA of 5.01—as the team tried to "improve" on the delivery of his knuckle ball. In August, manager Frank O'Rourke had enough, and instructed his young hurler to ignore all the advice. Pressnell tore through the final month of the season (scoring most of his ten victories in the last four weeks). This promise was enough to make him one of the few Brewers brought back in 1934, as most of the Brewer squad was sent packing, including O'Rourke.

New Brewer skipper Al Sothoron was determined to learn from his predecesor's experience.

"Since I came (to Milwaukee) I have listened to a lot of ballyhoo about Pressnell. Friends tell me the boy might have won more than 10 games last year if fewer people had interfered with his style earlier in the season.

"A young pitcher can be ruined by having too many players telling him what to do. Pressnell's record for a first-year man in the A.A. is impressive."

Sothoron did make one immediate change; he swapped Tot's ill-fitting "dime store glove" with a larger one better fitting his large left hand, in hopes it would preventing him from telegraphing his pitches. The new glove seemed to knock Tot off his stride, and Sothoron was forced to let him return to the familiar, if undersized, glove. Sothoron had more success adding an off-speed pitch to Pressnell's repertoire, and by the end of Spring Training Tot was quoted as saying he had "learned more about piching under Sothoron than (he) had since joining organized baseball several years ago."

In addition, the Brewers brought veteran catcher George Susce from Detroit to handle the knuckleball, which Milwaukee fans had nicknamed the "dipsy-doo." With "Sweet Sue" as his backstop, Tot began to reward the Brewers for their faith. In addition to his starting appearances, Tot continued to pitch relief as well. He finished the season 15-11, and by the end of the season Sothoron's Brewers climbed to the middle of the American Association pack.

The 1935 season was a tough one for Pressnell. He missed most of May with a broken finger after being struck in the hand by a line drive off the bat of Toledo first baseman Bob Garbark, the injury mentioned in the first caption above. Susce was gone, released to the Mud Hens for starting fights with both teammates and fans.

Pressnell was made a full-time starter in 1936, and his 19-9 record that season was an integral part of the Brewers' pennant-winning campaign. Tot also pitched well in the playoffs, starting the final game of the 1936 Little World Series, which the Brewers won 8-3 to clinch the Little Series for Milwaukee.

Tuesday night will be Pressnell night at Borchert field, in honor of the Brewer mound ace, Forest (Tot) Pressnell. The picture gives some idea of his popularity. He stopped to autograph a program for a youngster and the third base stand above the clubhouse door broke out with a rash of youngsters with programs.

Tot's popularity in Milwaukee, which had started with his very first contract, continued to grow. He was the rare minor-league superstar who wasn't publicly angling for either more money or a big-league contract. Tot was biding his time, perfecting his craft in the American Association, while waiting for an opportunity to prove himself against the best in the Bigs.

Pressnell went 18-12 in 1937, when it was becoming increasingly clear to the Brewers and their fans that Tot would soon get that opportunity. "All Tot needs is a chance," Sotheron told the Sporting News. "He deserved promotion last year, but the scouts lacked the courage to recommend his purchase."

Brewer fans, for their part, were happy to keep him at Borchert Field. The club held a "Forrest Pressnell Night" on Tuesday, August 10, 1937. Before the game, which the Brewers won 6-2 on the strength of Presnell's 15th victory of the season, Tot was given a golf bag by his teammates. The fans presented him with a new car, an extremely generous gesture even if they reportedly traded in his old one to pay for it.

In 1938, Pressnell was finally rewarded for his years of hard work. The Brooklyn Dodgers brought Tot and fellow pitchers Whitlow Wyatt and Luke Hamlin from Borchert to Ebbets Field, where Pressnell quickly established himself as the Dodgers' number-one starter.

Tot's arrival in Brooklyn was overshadowed by another new face in the Bums' dugout; coaching on the first-base line that year was a baseball legend named George Herman Ruth. Two years removed from his days in the field, and already a charter member of baseball's Hall of Fame, the Sultan of Swat was trying to kick-start a managerial career.

Alas for the Babe, it was not to be. As the season went on, it became clear that the Dodgers always viewed him more as a quick box-office boost than a potential manager. They were happy to charge the crowds to watch their base coach take batting practice (and even play in exhibition games), but when a managerial vacancy came up at the end of the season, the Dodgers hired Leo Durocher. A diappointed and disillusioned Bambino left baseball for good, giving away his baseball equipment to the younger players he had hoped to lead. Pressnell ended up with Babe Ruth's glove, a keepsake Tot treasured for the rest of his life.

In 1940, the Dodgers acquired Milwaukee's Tex Carleton and Newt Kimball. With five former Brewers on his pitching staff, Brooklyn president Larry MacPhail boasted that the Dodgers had "the pitchers who made Milwaukee famous."

Having finally made it to the Majors, Tot went for the money he had known wasn't to come from the Brewers. He returned his contracts to the Dodgers unsigned, twice in 1939 and another four times in 1940, holding out each season.

Perhaps the holdouts soured Dodger management on Pressnell. Perhaps Tot's absence from Spring Training allowed other pitchers to make their case for his spot in the rotation. Whatever the case, in 1940 Pressnell found his playing time limited in favor of another knuckleballer, Freddie Fitzsimmons. In August, Tot was optioned back to the American Association, this time to the Dodgers' farm team in Louisville. He was there long enough to garner a 6-4 record before returning to the Dodgers in late September.

The 1940 off-season was a tough one, as the Dodgers sold him to the St. Louis Cardinals, who took less than a month to decide that they didn't have a spot for him. The Cards sold him to the Cincinnati Reds, who on February 4, 1941 sold his contract to the Chicago Cubs. Pressnell played for two seasons on Chicago's north side to close out his Major League career, coming in as a reliever in 56 games.

In 1943, new Brewers president and owner Bill Veeck bought his contract from the club and offered Pressnell a chance to return to the Orchard. Tot had hoped to stay in the Majors, but told Veeck that if was to play in the minors at all, it would be Milwaukee.

Unfortunately, there was to be no hero's return for Forrest Pressnell. Before agreeing to terms with Veeck he decided that, at 35, he'd had enough of minor league baseball. He elected to remain at his off-season job as a salesman with an oil company and retired from the game.

Milwaukee's Sandlot Superstar - Chet Laabs

"Many a South Side youngster dreamed of making it to the big leagues while playing on the sandlots of Milwaukee. For Chester Peter Laabs, his dream came true ..."

Milwaukee's Sandlot Superstar
"Chet Laabs"
by Paul Tenpenny
(Tencentz@aol.com)
Copyright 2011 Tencentzports
Printed with permission of the Author

"The hard-hit ball bounced twice on the second floor porch of a house on the south side of W. Burleigh St. before it was retrieved by a spectator viewing the George Meyer Co. Big Shore Store Triple A League game at the Auer Avenue diamond. The year was 1934 and the batter who smashed the Herculean clout was Chet Laabs, the stocky Meyer second baseman with the powerful wrists, one of the best sandlotters developed on the South Side."

Young Chet Laabs was introduced to readers of the South Side Times by writer George Reimann and in his book Sandlot Baseball on Milwaukee's South Side back in 1968.

Chester Peter Laabs was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 30, 1912. As with many of the youngsters, playing ball was a regular activity for Chet and he excelled at the game at an early age. He grew up in the south side neighborhood near South 4th and Mitchell Street. He began his amateur career at the age of 13. His hitting brought notice in 1930 when young Chet hit .518 for the Federation Life Insurance team. Chet started out as an outfielder but moved to the infield, playing 3rd, short and 2nd. He was a sometime pitcher for Wally Erdman's West End Merchants Major A team which won the League Championship in 1932. He set a record that year by striking out 17 batters in one game for the Merchants.

1932 West End Merchants – Chet Laabs (Top row 3rd from left)

Prior to his time with West End, Laabs played with the Braman Coals and the Federation Life Insurance baseball teams. Chet Laabs was considered extremely fast, one game, reaching base on bunts 5 times. His best years according to Reimann were 1932-1934 with a total of 45 extra base hits and a 6 for 6 day in 1932. That same year his batting average was a huge .468.

In 1933 Laabs helped to lead his Upper Vliet St. Merchants to the Major AA title with a .396 batting average.

In 1934, Chet Laabs led the league with a .441 batting average. Chet was picked to play 2nd base on the amateur All-Star team by the readers of Wisconsin News for a charity game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was here that manager Al Sothoron took notice and signed the young Laabs. Baseball scouts took keen interest in Laabs. The Chicago Cubs wanted to sign him to a contract but he was already under contract with the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

The Milwaukee Brewers would send Chet to Fort Wayne in 1935 for his first taste of professional baseball. The Fort Wayne Chiefs were part of the "Three Eye" League (Illinois-Indiana-Iowa), a class B minor league team. The 23-year-old Laabs was phenomenal while playing in 87 games that summer. In his 362 at bats he stroked 139 hits for a .384 batting average. Twenty-two of the hits were doubles, 10 were triples and 24 were home runs for a .699 slugging percentage.

He finished the 1935 season with the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 8 games he played in he hit 11 for 32, a .344 batting average with 2 doubles and a triple. With just one year in professional baseball, he was being called one of the best looking hitters in years.

While many major league teams were interested in Chet Laabs, the Milwaukee Brewers had a close relationship with the Detroit Tigers and owner Henry Bendinger had promised them the first chance at him. The Detroit Tigers, managed by Mickey Cochrane, wasted no time in purchasing Laabs. The 5 foot 8 inch, 175 pound powerhouse would be joining Detroit in the spring of 1936.

1936 Spring Training with fellow sandlot alum, "The Duke of Mitchell Street" Al Simmons
(Author's Collection)

Chet Laabs lived up to the expectations as a great right handed hitter in spring training but Detroit wanted him to fill a void in their outfield, a position that he needed more experience with. So as part of a deal with the Brewers, they sent him back to Milwaukee for the 1936 campaign to get experience in the field.

The "farming out" of Laabs to Milwaukee would prove to be a lucky break as the Milwaukee Brewers and Chet Laabs were about to have a heck of a season!

Chet Laabs hits another one at Borchert Field
(Author's Collection)

1936 MILWAUKEE

---

The Milwaukee Brewers had a season to remember in 1936, winning their first American Association crown in 22 years. It will forever be considered one of Milwaukee's greatest teams. They were considered, at the time, the best minor league club in the country.

Milwaukee not only won the pennant that year with a 90-64 record, they went on to defeat Kansas City in 4 straight games and dispatched the Indianapolis Indians 4 games to 1 to win the Shaughnessy playoffs.

They made easy work of the International League's Buffalo Bisons, winning 4 out of 5 games to win the Little World Series. For the season their record was 102 wins with just 66 losses.

Chet Laabs' Game-Used Bat
(Author's Collection)

The victory was a team effort and Chet Laabs contributed superbly to the Brew's season. With clutch hitting Laabs saved the day on many occasions.

In the 157 games Chet played he stroked 203 hits in 675 at bats. Twenty-seven of the hits went for doubles, 16 were three-baggers, and a team-leading 42 were home runs. His batting average was a healthy .324 with a .619 slugging percentage and 150 RBIs for the 1936 season. In the outfield he finished with a .947 fielding average.

"Little Chester" had a great season in 1936
(Author's Collection)

A great 1936 campaign behind him, "Little Chester," one of the best natural hitters in the game of baseball, would rejoin the Detroit Tigers for the 1937 season.

Detroit Tigers Signed Postcard
(Author's Collection)

DETROIT TIGERS

---

While he did well his first two years in the minor leagues, playing at baseball's highest level would be a challenge. As previously mentioned, Mickey Cochrane had felt Laabs would have his best chance at making it in the bigs if he learned how to play the outfield. After watching him during the spring of 1936, he didn't think the small but powerful Milwaukeean was suited for playing in the infield. Sent down to the Brewers to gain experience, he had done well in his assignment with Milwaukee and was now considered ready to move on.

While his hitting was never a question mark, it is interesting to note that Minneapolis skipper Donie Bush, whose Millers team played against Milwaukee in 1936, felt that he could be pitched to.

Chet Laabs would get his chance to prove himself a major league hitter and outfielder with the Tigers in 1937. In the 72 games played with them in 1937, the right-handed Laabs got 58 hits in 242 at bats, with 13 doubles, 5 triples and 8 home runs for the 2nd place Detroit Tigers. With only 37 RBIs, his output was nothing near his minor league totals. Nineteen thirty-eight wasn't much better with 211 at bats in 64 games played. Fifty hits were all he could muster with 7 doubles, 3 triples and 7 home runs. His batting average dropped to a dismal .237.

Echoing the words of Donnie Bush, pitchers had found something on Chet that, at times, neutralized his power.

On October 2, 1938 Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller set a strikeout record* against the Detroit Tigers, setting down 18 players via the K. A main victim that day was Chet Laabs who struck out 5 times, including the final out on a fastball called strike. (*The record has since been surpassed by Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan.)

According to Feller:

"Laabs was stocky and muscular strong. He had a lot of power for a little guy. If he ever got a low one he'd hit it. But he could not hit a high fastball, he had a blind spot two feet tall."

In 1939 the Detroit Tigers needed an "Ace" pitcher and traded Chet Laabs to the Browns along with Mark Christman (Milwaukee Brewers 1950-51) and four other players for Buck (Bobo) Newsom, who had won 20 games in 1938 for 7th place St Louis. Chet played only 5 games for the Tigers in 1939.

ST. LOUIS BROWNS

---

Saint Louis was a good fit for Chet and the Browns in 1939. In the 95 games he hit for a .300 average with his new team. He collected 95 hits in his 317 at bats, 20 doubles, 5 triples and 10 four baggers. His RBI total for the year was 62.

In 1940, Laabs played in 105 games for St Louis hitting, .271.

For 1941 he played in 118 games and improved his batting average to .278.

Chet had his best year with the St. Louis Browns in 1942. While playing in 144 games, Chet posted his career-best stats: 99 RBI's, 143 hits, 21 doubles, 7 triples, and 27 home runs, second only to Ted Williams (36).

All-Star Chet Laabs played another full season in 1943, hitting 17 home runs, but saw his batting average fall to .250 with 85 runs batted in. He also led the league in one statistic that wasn't so desirable, strikeouts with 105.

With the war going on, Chet's availability would be limited in 1944 due to his working full time in a war plant in St. Louis. Even so, playing only on evenings and weekends, Chet helped the Browns in spite of his .234 batting average. His two home runs against the Yankees in the final game of the season lifted his team to a 5-2 victory for a one-game pennant win over Detroit. The Brownies would go on to lose the World Series to their hometown National League rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 2.

1944 World Series – Laabs with the American League Champions The St. Louis Browns
(Author's Collection)

Chet Laabs would play two more years with the St. Louis Browns. He would scatter 26 hits in 35 games played in 1945. In 1946 he hit for a .261 average in his 80 games played.

THE LATER INNINGS

---

Chet Laabs would finish his major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1947, playing in only 15 games. He would briefly return to minor league ball but be out of baseball as a player after the 1950 season.

His major league play encompassed 11 seasons:

950 Games
3102 At bats = 813 Hits
151 Doubles
44 Triples
117 Home Runs
509 RBI's
Batting Average .262

His 8 year Minor League career:

771 Games
2819 At bats = 877 Hits
146 Doubles
46 Triples
183 Home Runs
319 RBI's
Batting Average .311

Chet Laabs Model Baseball Glove
(Author's Collection)

Milwaukee's Chet Laabs, like Al Simmons before him and Ken Keltner shortly thereafter, proved that the dreams of young sandlot baseball players making it to the big leagues can come true.

Those dreams of young baseball players continue today...

"Prizes for Brewers' Opening"

Readers of The Milwaukee Journal on Thursday, April 8, 1937 were greeted by this smiling face:

Prizes for Brewers' Opening

Journal photo

Among the prizes to be given Milwaukee baseball fans on opening day at Borchert Field are balls autographed by the whole Brewer team. Vivian Bernhardt, 3134 S. Indiana Ave. is shown looking over the autographs in the office of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsor of the opening day celebration.

Man, who wouldn't love one of those baseballs today? And I love the poster taped to the wall over her shoulder - See you there!

Play Ball!

As the Brewers open the season in Cincinnati, we take a look back at two Opening Days as seen by the fans at Borchert Field.

Play Ball!

Sentinel photo

Born 50 years too soon might have been the thought running through Mayor Bohn's mind as he showed excellent form in pitching the first ball yesterday as the Brewers opened their home campaign.

And with that, the Brewers opened their 1946 season. Pretty good form out of the Mayor. John Bohn served as mayor of Milwaukee from 1942 through 1948. He had been president of the Common Council when Mayor Carl Zeidler resigned in 1942 to enlist in the Navy. Zeidler was lost at sea in November of 1942 and officially declared dead two years later. Bohn served as Acting Mayor until 1944, when he was elected to a full term. He did not run for re-election in 1948, and was succeeded by Frank Zeidler, Carl's brother. Frank also liked to get into the Opening Day spirit. In 1950, he welcomed boxer Jack Dempsey to Borchert Field to act as his catcher for the first pitch. Dempsey wore a catcher's mask with his suit; Zeidler wore a Brewers cap.

PLAY BALL!

A full house-plus of 13,856 of the faithful had the Borchert Field seams bulging Tuesday as the Brewers opened their 1950 baseball season—and lost to the Minneapolis Millers, 8 to 5, in a game halted in the 7th inning by rain.

Sentinel photo

Pitcher Frank Zeidler (the mayor, that is) and Catcher Jack Dempsey of boxing fame quietly (?) plan the first pitch strategy. The mayor threw a fast breaking curve that was somewhat wide of the plate. And...

This Is What Zeidler Did to Dempsey

Associated Press photo

Pitcher Zeidler and his (shall we say) rather wide throw did something to Catcher Dempsey many good fighters couldn't do—they had him on the "canvas" (above).

Ah, Opening Day. When anything is possible, when every team starts undefeated, and a Socialist mayor can knock down a boxing champ in front of 14,000 cheering fans.

A "Disgraceful Scene" at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park

by Dennis Pajot

On Tuesday, May 6, 1913, the Minneapolis Millers started a four game series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Athletic Park. At the time the Millers were in 5th place in the American Association, with an 11 and 10 record. The Brewers were in 3rd place with an 11 and 9 record.

The Brewers took the first game of he series, 9 to 7. Both teams used a large amount of players, especially for that time, the Brewers 14 and the Millers 17. Miller manager Joe Cantillon (who had managed the Brewers from 1903-06) used five pitchers in the loss. Part of the reason the Brewers used so many players was that Umpire Murray ejected second baseman Phil Lewis in the fifth inning "when the Cornell grad complimented him on his eyesight." From the bench Joe Burg added to the debate and was also ejected. In the seventh frame catcher Doc Marshall was gone after pushing umpire Murray. Milwaukee fans got a taste of the fireworks to come two days later when Murray threw off his mask and protector and was ready to go around with Marshall. Players got between the two would-be combatants and peace was restored. However, it was reported in the Milwaukee Sentinel that after the game a couple of bugs—the 1913 term for fans—offered to fight Murray, "but lucky for them, the umpire refused."

On Wednesday the Brewers, now in second place, lost the second game of the series 8 to 7 in 10 innings. The game was uneventful in terms of pugilistic activity—no doubt because Milwaukee manager Harry Clark (right) had told his boys there would be no kicking at the umpires—but after the game there almost were fireworks. The other A.A. umpire in this series, Handiboe, had been a "more or less a peace loving chap" so far. But near the end of the game Phil Lewis made a remark that was not to the umpire's liking, and the ump "invited Phil to come under the stand and settle matters, in the good old American way." The Brewer second baseman accepted the offer and both went under the grandstand. In this case Harry Clark and umpire Murray acted as peacemakers and no fists saw action. Sports writer 'Brownie' of the Milwaukee Journal told the paper's readers:

"If these ball players and umpires don't quit challenging each other,one of these days there is going to be an honest to goodness fight."

Prior to the Thursday, May 8 game Phil Lewis was notified that he had been suspended for three games because of the incident the day prior. Even though no fight occurred, A.A. president Thomas M. Chivington took the action on umpire Handboe's written report. The game was a hitting and scoring affair not associated with the deadball era. Minneapolis scored a single run in the first inning and the Brewers came back with two runs in their half of the inning. Brewer starter Tom Dougherty become ill in the first inning and John Nicholson took the mound "without a thing but his suit, shoes and glove." Nicholson gave up seven runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach early. Problems between the Brewer players and the umpire crew continued. In the third inning shortstop Lean Blackburne was bounced from the game by Handiboe. After six innings the score stood 13 to 4 in the Millers' favor.

What exactly happened in the seventh inning was disputed, but the results were "probably the most disgraceful scene ever witnessed since the inception of the American association," according to the Evening Wisconsin. According to this evening paper Minneapolis shortstop Dave Altizer (right) walked and then stole second base. From this point the Evening Wisconsin gave its readers a description of the incident, round by round, as if reporting a boxing match:

ROUND 1 – Altizer starts from second to steal third. Clark blocks his way and Dare Devil Dave jumps into him feet first, spiking the Brewer manager quite badly. Clark immediately showed fight and pasted Dave with hard right and lefts to the face. Altizer kicked viciously, planting his sharp spikes on Harry's forehead, drawing the blood in streams. Clark continued to drive in blow after blow, raising two big blotches on Dave's face.

On this round the Milwaukee Sentinel reported that when coming into third base Altizer leaped high in the air and spiked Clark with one foot on his forehead and the other dug a gash in his chest. It was at this point that the Brewer leader, "enraged by the dastardly attempt to cripply [sic] him jumped onto the runner and rained blow after blow on him while he was on the ground." Exactly where Clark was spiked was not clear, the Sentinel saying the forehead and chest, the Milwaukee Journal reporting the forehead and mid-hips, the Evening Wisconsin in its game article saying the spikes cut into Clark's ankles.

ROUND 2 – Altizer manages to rise and the two square away for a regular scrap. Dave smashes hard right to jaw and Clark staggers. Clark comes back with two heavy wallops to the face and several fierce exchanges take place before some of the players reach the scene. Both men are seized, but Clark manages to break away and they are at it again. All the players, the two umpires and several policemen now reached the scene. Umpire Murray grabs hold of Altizer and bodily throws him to the ground, and several players hold him down, while others are getting Clark and keeping him away.

The Evening Wisconsin commented both players "appeared to be like mad bulls and refused to be pacified." The Sentinel wrote the two players exchanged wallops for almost three minutes. The umpires did their part, as did the Brewers management off the field, as we see from the newspaper's continuation round by round coverage of the scene.

ROUND 3 – Both Clark and Altizer are ordered from the game. Ferris taking Daves' place, and Cy Slapnicka succeeded Clark. The game is restarted after the fans are driven from the field.

What none of the above relates is that the umpire called Altizer safe at third, as Clark had dropped the ball in the spiking and fighting. According to reports Altizer would have been out by ten feet.

ROUND 4 – Secretary Louis Nahin sends in a riot call to the police station and a squad of blue coats is ordered to the park.

As the accounts of the incident went across the sporting pages of the country a few things were added that would appear did not really occur from reports in the Milwaukee newspapers. Almost all out of town newspapers talked of a near riot, which might not be too far off the mark. The Washington Post reported both Altizer and Clark "practically unconscious, were carried off the field, while policemen, with drawn revolvers, were standing off the crowd."

But the action was not over, as we see.

ROUND 5 – After the game Clark lies in waiting for Altizer in the dressing room. Clark makes a fierce rush at his opponent, and for a moment a fierce encounter ensues. Policemen and players interrupt the battle and quiet is restored again.

The game ended with the Millers taking a 20 to 9 victory. But former Brewer manager Joe Cantillon, perhaps remembering his time in Milwaukee, sensed his player might be in bigger trouble with the police.

ROUND 6 – Manager Cantillon spirits Altizer out of town to avoid any legal action.

What happened was Cantillon kept Altizer in his room until the last minute and then quickly got him on a train for Chicago. Altizer would meet up with his teammates in the Windy City and continue on to Kansas City.

ROUND 7 – President Thomas M. Chivington will land a solar plexus blow and then both men will be repentant.

The two combatants had their say in the press. The Milwaukee Sentinel gave each a paragraph to explain their side:

BATTLING CLARK—Altizer deliberately spiked me. He aimed his spikes straight at me when he jumped at the bag, and one of his feet caught me just between the eyes, cutting a deep gash in my forehead, which a doctor had to sew up. His other spiked shoe got me in the chest. Early In the game he threatened to "get me," and losing my temper I hit him. I know he tried to injure me, but if the same thing happened again, I would wait until I got off the ball field to settle accounts. I would rather lose $1,000 than to get mixed up in an affair of that kind. I have been playing ball for ten years, and that was the first time I ever exchanged a blow with a fellow player though the circumstances were such that I could not restrain myself. But it was the dirtiest kind of a dirty trick.

SPIKES ALTIZER—Clark called me a vile name early in the game, and told me he would "get me" the first chance he had. When I came to bat in the seventh, I know he ordered Nicholson to try to hit me, for four balls were thrown straight at my head. When I reached second he invited me to try and steal third, and I told him I was coming on the next pitch. I stared for the base, and as he was in the way he was spiked.

Milwaukee Sentinel May 18, 1913

As can be expected the local press sided with the Brewer manager, but not 100 per cent. The Sentinel gave this paragraph on the incident:

That he [Altizer] deliberately tried to spike the Milwaukee leader there is no doubt, and to an unbiased spectator Clark was perfectly right in taking a punch at him, though it would have been better judgment to seek his revenge some other place than on the ball field. At that we can hardly censure Clarke for his part in it. Any player who will deliberately try to maim a fellow ball player is worthy of no consideration whatever, and it was only the impulse of a healthy human being to resent such an attack in the same way it was made.

The Evening Wisconsin had this to say:

From the press stand it appeared as if both men were about equally to blame. Altizer for jumping into Clark feet first when there really was no occasion for his double steal, as the Millers were far in advance of the Brewers. Clark, however, stayed right in his position in the middle of the path and Altizer could not have avoided him had he tried.

Perhaps the man coming out looking the best, and having the best attitude, was Minneapolis Miller manager Joe Cantillon:

It was a deplorable affair, and I would give anything if it had not happened. It was I who landed Harry his present job, and I am almost as anxious to see his club up there fighting as my own, and I am sorry he had to got into this kind of a mess. He and Altizer had a few words in the third inning, and when Dave returned to the bench he said that Clark had called him a bad name. However there is no excuse for one player deliberately trying to spike another, no matter what the provocation may be. I do not believe, however, that Dave spiked Clark in the face as Harry claims. Altizer made a kick at Harry while Clark was on top of him, and it was then that Clark's face was cut. It was a case of both men losing their heads. Altizer told me after the trouble that when he was at second, Clark urged him to try to steal third, and warning him to be careful. Dave has just as much nerve as Clark, and he started for the bag on the next pitched ball, and made a leap for the base. Harry refused to get out of the way and when he went down to take the throw was slashed by Altizer's spikes. Altizer is working for me, but I am not in sympathy with that kind of baseball and no matter what provocation he had he should have been more careful in sliding for the bag. Clark should also have kept his temper and not struck Altizer. It was a nasty affair and one player is, as much to blame as the other.

Brewer management promised the last game, a Friday ladies' day, would produce no violent incidents. And as promised, the game was played as peacefully "as a Quakers' camp meeting". The Brewers won the contest 11 to 2, as the two teams split the four game series.

American Association president Chivington sat on the incident for a while, in part due to his being ill. A week later he fined each player $50, but there was no suspensions. (A number of newspapers reported the fines to be only $25.) Chivington explained suspensions would be more of a hardship on the clubs than on Clark and Altizer.

Milwaukee Sentinel May 18, 1913

At least one state newspaper came down hard on the owners of baseball regarding this, and other rowdy incidents. The Racine Journal-News' T. S. Andrews wrote in a lengthy editorial:

The numerous fights between players and also between players and umpires on the field this season have brought the owners and heads of the leagues to a realization that something must be done to put a curb on such work, or the first thing they know baseball will be getting into disrepute the same as some other sports....

Ball players are but the same as other human beings. They have feeling the same, but they must also know that they are being paid to please the spectators, the same as actors on the stage, and they should learn to control themselves at all times. A boxer in the ring controls himself if he is knocked down or out by an opponent; in fact boxers have proven time and again that they have wonderful control over their feelings, so why not baseball players?

Players work for salaries the same as clerks in stores and they should work for the benefit of each other….The American people like clean baseball and aggressive ball, but there is a difference between aggressive and rowdy ball. Cut out the rough stuff and give us baseball which ladies can attend without fear of being ashamed of lending their presence to each contests.

This "disgraceful scene" fueled the border-state rivalty, and the Millers and Brewers would continue to battle throughout the summer, though thankfully with their bats and not their fists. When the season ended in September, the Brewers finished three games ahead their Minnesota rivals, claiming their first American Association pennant and the bragging rights for 1913.

The Brews On Exhibit

For those fortunate enough to live within driving distance, Paul Tenpenny's amazing collection of Brews memorabilia is the subject of an exhibition now on display at the Milwaukee Public Library.

I love that "Oh, You Brewers" 1913 pennant.

The road jersey on the right is Red Smith's 1943 flannel.

And, of course, we can't forget the Brews' most recognizable legacy, the Beer Barrel Man:

The exhibit looks amazing! I wish I could see it in person.

Gorilla at the Orchard

By Pete Ehrmann

On August 25, 1931, the middleweight champion of the world successfully defended his title at Borchert Field and moved a step closer to becoming the middleweight champion of the world.

It sounds like double-talk, but it's actually true. When William "Gorilla" Jones won a 10-round decision at the Orchard over Tiger Thomas, it was a match for the "colored middleweight championship" held by Jones. And it was also a first-round elimination bout in a National Boxing Association tournament to crown a new 160-pound champion following the abdication of Mickey Walker.

Jones would go on to win the NBA title four months later in Milwaukee—where not much more than a year earlier he was barred by decree of the autocratic commissioner whose decisions about which boxers were fit to grace Wisconsin rings were based on his starkly black and white view of the situation.

"We have a rule on our books that negroes cannot box in this state," Walter Liginger announced upon becoming chairman of the state athletic commission when professional boxing was legalized here in 1913. "Negro boxers have done more to put boxing in disrepute than all the white boxers in the game, and whenever there is a scandal, invariably there is a colored gentleman involved."

Liginger was hung up on Jack Johnson, whose woolly 1908-15 reign as heavyweight champion and unabashed preference for white women of loose virtue caused a lot of frothing at the mouth by people who figured that all black people looked and acted alike.

It was 1922 before there was another black world champion (light heavyweight Battling Siki), and in 1926 there was Tiger Flowers, who held the middleweight belt for almost a year before losing it to Mickey Walker.

When Walker voluntarily gave up the title on June 19, 1931 to fight as a heavyweight. Milwaukee boxing promoter Billy Mitchell proposed to the NBA, which governed boxing in most US states, that a tournament be held in Milwaukee to determine the new champion. Permission was granted on the ground that the Cream City was the stomping ground of two of the top contenders, Tait "The Cudahy Adonis" Littman and Frankie Battaglia, who'd moved here from Canada.

Wisconsin rings had finally been desegregated by Liginger the year before, and there were plenty of black middleweights anxious to joust for the vacant title. In addition to Jones and Thomas, the list included Ham Jenkins, Snowflake Wright, Jack McVey, Roy Williams, Angel Cliville, and Rudy Marshall (who promoter Mitchell thought was white until informed otherwise). "One thing for sure is that there will be plenty of color to the tournament," cracked veteran boxing manager Tom Walsh.

The best and most controversial of the black contenders was the Memphis-born Jones, who had started boxing in 1926 and was said to come by his nickname either because of his dark skin and long arms, or because of his "jungle dance" in the ring, or because there had been another Gorilla Jones from Memphis before him.

"He has never been knocked out," wrote Sam Levy about Jones in the Milwaukee Journal. "His record is studded with KO victories. Several times he and his opponents have been chased from the ring, referees charging the boys with stalling. That's because Jones' style does not meet with the (approval) of some officials and commissions. Then too, there have been times, many times, when Jones has gone into the ring handcuffed. By this I mean he has been unable to open fire because he was under orders not to. If he violated such an agreement, he was threatened with boycott."

In 1936, Dick Collum of the Minneapolis Journal wrote:

"Experts in boxing who judge Jones by form rather than by the record agree he has been the only truly brilliant middleweight since Mickey Walker renounced the championship. He has been a flawless boxer and a terrific puncher. His courage is not questioned and he is high in ring generalship – all in all, a nearly perfect fighting machine.

"Yet, he has seldom fought up to his true ability and he has always been regarded as a safe man for any well known white middleweight to meet, a most considerate fellow who could be trusted. Through the many years in which he has been the world's best middleweight, he has fought below his best in most of his important engagements."

Jones himself didn't deny it. "I've done some business in fights," he told Russ Lynch of The Milwaukee Journal. "A colored boy had hard going. If I wanted a match with a good white boy I had to say 'Yes.' I had to live, Mr. Lynch, and sometimes I said 'Yes,' and I always kept my word."

Since black fighters weren't afforded many opportunities to fight for world championships, they had their own "colored" titles, and Jones won his by beating Jack McVey in 1929.

Many in the crowd of almost 5,000 at Borchert Field thought he was lucky to keep it against Tiger Thomas.

"There were many squawks when the decision was announced," reported the Wisconsin News, "and it was quite a few minutes before [ring announcer Rusty Hagen could go on with his announcements."

According to the News's Jim Delaney, Thomas was the aggressor, "carrying the fight to his 10-pound lighter opponent, but judges saw fit to give Jones a lot of credit for his excellent blocking and his ability to counter Thomas's swings."

He was referring to ringside judges Ben Steinel and Louis Schultz. Referee Julius Fidler voted for Thomas.

The city's other daily newspapers sided with the judges. "Jones gave the fans a treat with his masterful handling of Thomas," said the Milwaukee Sentinel. "At times it appeared as though Gorilla wasn't doing much fighting, but it was only his cleverness that furnished that idea to the fans."

The Journal called it "a close fight" and said, "After gaining an early lead Jones slowed up in the sixth. He tried to coast but the Tiger clawed away, punching the Gorilla all over the ring. Realizing that Thomas was pulling up on even terms, Jones went back to work in the closing rounds."

In the other two 10-round elimination bouts in the orchard that night, Tait Littman beat Ham Jenkins and Clyde Chastain beat Rudy Marshall.

The tournament continued through the end of 1931 at the Milwaukee Auditorium. Jones won successive elimination matches against Chastain, George Nichols, Frankie O'Brien and Henry Firpo, and then won the NBA title on January 25, 1932 by stopping Italy's Oddone Piazza in six rounds.

Richie Mitchell, Milwaukee's greatest boxing idol, probably hit it on the nose when he said that Jones "could have beaten every man in the tournament on the same night. He was that much better than any of them."

But as champion and after, Jones had more fights in which his less-than-full throttle performances left an odor so rank that Journal sports editor Russ Lynch would recall him in 1947 as "the 'crookedest fighter' the ring has even seen."

By then such fulminations were of no matter to the Gorilla. Though he'd lost the fortune he'd made in the ring—along with the big cars, expensive wardrobe and the pet tiger cub he walked around on a leash—on too many unlucky rolls of the dice, Jones spent his later years in the lap of luxury, perhaps literally.

Jones was chauffeur for and according to some a bed partner of Hollywood sex symbol Mae ("A hard man is good to find") West. He lived in the Los Angeles house she bought for him, when the man whose march to the technicolor middleweight title started at Borchert Field died in 1982.

When ramped up to its full wattage, Jones' brilliance in the ring was unmistakable. That's why he's in both the International and World Boxing Halls of Fame today.

All Heroes, No Goats (UPDATED)

This cabinet photo shows the Brewer squad which won the 1913 American Association championship, the first of eight pennants the Brews would bring home to Milwaukee.

The same photo, cropped a little differently, is featured on the cover of Brian Podoll's book The Minor League Milwaukee Brewers, 1859-1952.

The goat mascot, sometimes called "Woozy" but propertly named "Fatima" was presented by the club by the Milwaukee Journal in 1912. He lasted with the club at least as long as 1914, by which time he had taken up a summer job cutting the grass at Athletic Park.

I think the image is greatly enhanced by the presence of the fans in the background, and when you can see the wooden slats on the top of the dugout.

Milwaukee Public Library Historical Photograph Collection

Podoll identifies the players this way:

Back row: Hap Felsch, OF(?); Cy Slapnicka, P; Newt Randall, OF; Johnny Hughes, C; Phil Lewis, SS; unknown. Sitting: Ralph Cutting, P; Buster Braun(?), P; Cy Young(?), P; Tom Jones, 1B; Harry "Pep" Clark, manager/3B; Tom Dougherty, P; unknown; Jap Barbeau(?). On ground: Lena Blackburne, IF; Joe Berg(?), IF; Joe Hovlik, P (with goat).

But, as Borchert Field contributor Dennis Pajot reminds me, Rex Hamann and Bob Koehler's wonderful book "The American Association Milwaukee Brewers" identifies them this way:

Standing: Jimmy Block, Rube Nicholson, Newt Randall, Johnny Hughes, Phil Lewis, Doc Watson
Seated: Larry Gilbert, Buster Braun, Cy Slapnicka, Tom Jones, Harry Clark, Tom Dougherty, Joe Berg, Doc Marshall Reclining: Ralph Cutting, Larry Chappelle, Joe Hovlik

Obviously, this warrants further investigation.

"Dirty Jack" and the 1907 Brewers

After a second-place finish in 1906, manager "Pongo Joe" Cantillon was hired away from Athletic Park by the Washington Nationals. In his place, the Brews tapped the Irish-born "Dirty Jack" Doyle as field general.

This page from the "Illustrated Sunday Section" of Milwaukee Sentinel was published on May 5, 1907. It intoroduces Milwaukee baseball fans to their new skipper and his charges.

The 1907 season was disastrous; after two consecutive second-place finishes, the Brewers finished 71-83 and in 7th place, with only St. Paul between them and the cellar.

George Havenor, pictured at top left, had been the owner of Milwaukee's entry in the American Association since its inception in late 1901, and ran the club until his death in April 1912, when his shares passed into the hands of his wife.

That's a beautiful block "Milwaukee" on those uniforms, as much of it as we can see – love to find a better view.