Tag Archives: St. Louis Browns

1944 World Series Browns Vs. Cardinals – No Travel Involved

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St. Louis Starting Pitchers Jack Kramer and Ted Wilks Meet Before Game 3 Of The 1944 World Series

HURLERS IN THIRD WORLD SERIES
Jack Kramer (left) of the St. Louis Browns and Ted Wilks of the Cardinals, pitchers in third World Series game in St. Louis October 6, shake hands before game time. photo: Associated Press October 6, 1944

The other day during the baseball playoffs, announcer Bob Costas noted that three out of the four playoff series did not involve air travel.

The Philadelphia Phillies versus the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers playing Cleveland, would all use ground transportation to travel between their respective cities.

Only the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals will be flying to each others cities.

In 1944 the United States was deep into World War II and with gasoline rationing and travel restrictions in place the phrase “Is this trip necessary?” really did mean something. Continue reading →

Yankees Billy Martin & Browns Clint Courtney Get Into A Brawl

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Billy Martin And Clint Courtney Fight At Yankee Stadium 1952

Yankees second baseman Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin had a tough childhood growing up in Berkeley, California. A small boy with a large nose, Billy was picked on by the other kids. Billy learned to fight back and hit hard and never back down. But it would cost Martin. He was thrown off his high school basketball and baseball teams for fighting.

Martin’s toughness carried over to the major leagues, fighting players such as Cubs pitcher Jim Brewer, Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall and others who he felt had  provoked him. Martin’s most famous fights were with Clint Courtney, a fiery scrapper and the first major league catcher to wear eyeglasses.

This photo above shows their first confrontation, as the news slug describes:

Cut-Up On The Diamond
New York: After a heated exchange of punches, Clint Courtney (right) and Billy Martin of the Yanks continue their brawl in close-quarter action as Joe Collins (41) rushes to break up the fracas. The Brownie catcher, claiming he had been tagged hard on the head, charged at Martin after being thrown out at second base on an attempted steal in the 8th inning of the July 12th game at the stadium. Courtney was ejected from the game after the fight was broken up, but Martin was allowed to remain. Yanks scored a 5-4 victory. photo: Arthur Rickerby United Press International 7-12-1952

Though it’s not mentioned in the news slug, Yankees starting pitcher Allie Reynolds knocked Continue reading →

Baseball’s Other Dizzy – Paul “Dizzy” Trout

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Dizzy Trout Tigers Pitching Star 1944

Tiger Moundsman

Right-hander Paul “Dizzy” Trout, Detroit Tigers pitching ace, now seeing plenty of action in the Tigers’ drive for the American League pennant. 9/25/1944 photo: AP

Ask a baseball fan to tell you a player named Dizzy and the name that will come up nine times out of ten will be Dizzy Dean. Continue reading →

Jerry Coleman Baseball Legend Dies At 89

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Ballplayer, Broadcaster, World War II and Korean War Combat Hero, Jerry Coleman Passes Away

Jerry Coleman Phil Rizutto 1949

Vaudeville Tactics

New York: Jerry Coleman, second baseman for the Yanks does a nip-up like a vaudevillian to get the ball down to first after putting out Bobby Dillinger of the Browns in the first inning of the game at Yankee Stadium on August 6. The throw was not fast enough to get to first before George Elder who had grounded out to Bobby Brown at third. Yankees won, 9-8. That’s Phil Rizzuto, Yankees shortstop lurking in the background. Credit: (ACME) 8-6-49

Jerry Coleman died at Scripps Hospital in San Diego, CA January 5, 2014 of complications from head injuries he suffered in a fall last month.

In his major league baseball career he hit only 16 home runs and batted just .263, but the slick fielding Jerry Coleman was a beloved baseball legend by fans on both coasts.

Coleman played his entire career for the New York Yankees from 1949 -1957. He appeared in six World Series, was the MVP of the 1950 World Series and appeared in one All Star game.

After his playing career ended Coleman worked in the Yankees front office. In 1960 he became an announcer, first with CBS television on the Game of the Week, then in 1963 he rejoined the Yankees and stayed with their broadcast team for the next seven years. Continue reading →

Gil Coan Washington Senators Outfielder

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Gil Coan May 29, 1948

Gil Coan 5 29 1948

Gil Coan turned 91 on May 18, 2013. The North Carolina native started his major league career in Washington in 1946 at the age of 24.

The speedy left fielder had a few good seasons on some unspectacular Washington Senators teams. Though he hit only .254 for his career, Coan finished in the top ten in stolen bases in the American League six times and hit .303 in consecutive seasons, 1950 and 1951.

The Trade

No one could possibly foresee that the trade Gil Coan was involved in would turn out to be one of the most one-sided in baseball history. Continue reading →