RetroSimba

The tale of talented, troubled outfielder Jake Powell

October 31, 2018 by retrosimba

Jake Powell was an outfielder who spent 11 years in the major leagues and played in three World Series for the Yankees, but after his baseball career he got involved in unlawful behavior and it led to a stunning and tragic conclusion.

On Nov. 4, 1948, Powell was at police headquarters in Washington, D.C., being questioned on charges of writing bogus checks, when he pulled a gun from his pocket and killed himself. Powell’s suicide was a grisly close to a life filled with athletic achievement but marred by personal irresponsibility.

Reaching the top

Alvin Jacob Powell was born in Silver Spring, Md., in 1908, played sandlot baseball in Washington, D.C., and was signed by the hometown Senators.

Powell made his major-league debut with the Senators in 1930, spent the next three seasons in the minors and got back to the big leagues in 1934. United Press described him as “a player of outstanding ability who used rough-and-ready tactics on the field and frequently did not observe training rules to the letter.”

In a game against the Tigers, Powell hit a groundball, sprinted toward the bag and crashed into Hank Greenberg, breaking the first baseman’s wrist.

On June 14, 1936, the Senators traded Powell to the Yankees for outfielder Ben Chapman. Powell hit .302 for the 1936 Yankees and achieved his greatest success in the World Series that year against the Giants.

In Game 6, with the Giants ahead, 2-0, Powell hit a two-run home run against Freddie Fitzsimmons, tying the score. Powell was 3-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored in the game, pacing the Yankees to a 13-5 championship-clinching victory. Boxscore

Playing in a World Series lineup with Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri, Powell batted .455 with eight runs scored in six games. He produced a .538 on-base percentage with 10 hits and four walks in 26 plate appearances.

Powell also appeared in the 1937 and 1938 World Series for the Yankees.

In 1938, Powell was suspended 10 days by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for making a racist comment during a radio interview in Chicago.

Head case

On April 10, 1940, the Yankees were working their way north after spring training in Florida and stopped in Ashland, Ky., to play an exhibition game. Powell was pursuing a fly ball when he crashed into an iron light pole and suffered a head injury, most likely a concussion and possibly a fractured skull.

Powell was sidelined until July 15 and was limited to playing in 12 games for the 1940 Yankees. He spent the next two seasons (1941-42) in the minors before he returned to the big leagues with the Senators in 1943.

In July 1945, the Senators sent Powell to the Phillies. He had a hit and a RBI in each game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals on Sept. 16, 1945.

Comeback try

Powell was out of baseball in 1946 and 1947. He and his wife and daughter resided in Dayton, Ohio, and Powell worked as a factory guard. He wasted most of his baseball earnings “betting horses and on wine and song,” the Dayton Daily News reported, and “gambled away” his first World Series check.

“He became bitter and was subject to fits of brooding which led him to drink,” Los Angeles Examiner columnist Vincent X. Flaherty reported. “He faded rapidly after that and the downward path became increasingly tragic.”

In 1948, Powell, 40, attempted a baseball comeback in the Florida State League with the Gainesville G-Men, who were managed by his former Yankees teammate, Myril Hoag. Powell met Josephine Amber, 34, co-owner of a nightclub.

In late October 1948, Powell and Amber traveled to Washington, D.C., and checked into the Ambassador Hotel, registering as Mr. and Mrs. Powell. They stayed at the hotel for three days and Powell cashed about $300 in personal checks drawn on a bank in Dayton, according to the New York Daily News.

At the end of their hotel stay, Powell paid with a check. A hotel manager became suspicious and told another employee to follow the pair, the Baltimore Evening Sun reported. The manager called the Dayton bank and learned Powell had no account there. The hotel employee followed Powell and Amber to Union Station and police met them there as the couple waited to board a train to New York.

Powell was arrested on suspicion of writing bogus checks and taken to police headquarters. Amber went with them.

Deadly decision

At headquarters, police learned a warrant was issued a few weeks earlier charging Powell with passing a bogus check at a drugstore in Washington, D.C. Police also discovered Powell was wanted in Florida on bad check charges and Dayton police said Powell “had been in trouble numerous times in recent years on charges of passing bad checks.”

While being questioned about the charges, Powell asked to speak to Amber, “a tall blonde in a red dress,” according to the Baltimore newspaper.

The request was granted and Powell stepped a few paces away and outside the door, though two detectives stood nearby and kept watch with the door open, the Associated Press reported.

Amber suddenly shouted, “You’d better frisk him.”

“To hell with it,” Powell said. “I’m going to end it all.”

Powell took a .25-caliber revolver from his pocket, fired a shot in his chest and another in his right temple. He was pronounced dead 10 minutes later.

Police didn’t customarily search suspects arrested on bad check charges, the Dayton Daily News reported.

Wedding plans

Amber told police she and Powell had planned to get married in Washington that day, but canceled the plan and decided to go to New York and get married there, the Baltimore newspaper reported.

Powell’s wife, Elizabeth, told reporters she and Powell were not divorced and had been married since 1932.

Amber told police she’d known Powell for about four months and knew nothing about the charges against him.

After Powell’s death, New York Herald Tribune columnist Red Smith described him as “a guy who never knew fear and never knew what was good for him, a guy who always acted on impulse and was wrong more often than not.”

Posted in Games, Hitters | 7 Comments »

How Wayne Krenchicki found a way to beat Cardinals

October 28, 2018 by retrosimba

For Wayne Krenchicki, who usually didn’t do well against Cardinals pitching, a game-winning hit, even a crummy one, was a special achievement.

Krenchicki played eight years in the major leagues as an infielder for the Orioles (1979-81), Reds (1982-83 and 1984-85), Tigers (1983) and Expos (1986).

A left-handed hitter, he had a career batting average of .266, though he hit .169 lifetime against the Cardinals.

Right spot

On May 23, 1983, the reigning World Series champion Cardinals looked to end a three-game losing streak when they faced the Reds at Cincinnati. Cardinals starter Joaquin Andujar was matched against Joe Price. Krenchicki played third base and batted seventh.

In the sixth inning, with the Cardinals ahead, 1-0, Johnny Bench drew a one-out walk from Andujar and Ron Oester doubled to right, moving Bench to third. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog ordered an intentional walk to Paul Householder, loading the bases for Krenchicki.

The Cardinals were hoping for an inning-ending double play from Krenchicki, who was batting .167 for the season. Krenchicki was seeking a sacrifice fly. “I wanted to hit in the air to the outfield,” Krenchicki said to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “All I wanted was the one run.”

Andujar got ahead in the count, 1-and-2, and threw a slider “right in on my fists,” Krenchicki told the Dayton Journal-Herald.

Krenchicki swung and looped a floater to the opposite field. The ball fell softly inside the left-field foul line, barely fair, for a bloop double, scoring Bench and Oester and giving the Reds the lead.

“It was just crummy enough that I knew nobody would catch it,” Krenchicki said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Yeah, I’d agree with that,” Herzog said to United Press International. “It hit right in the middle of the chalk line.”

Andujar yelled at Krenchicki, “You throw the ball harder than you hit it.”

Bill Scherrer relieved Price, held the Cardinals hitless over the last three innings and the Reds won, 2-1. Boxscore

Cardinals connection

A month later, the Reds traded Krenchicki to the Tigers and reacquired him after the 1983 season. Krenchicki played two more years with the Reds before he was dealt to the Expos in March 1986 for pitcher Norm Charlton, who became one of the Nasty Boy relievers who helped give the Reds their swagger in their World Series championship season in 1990.

Krenchicki, a Trenton, N.J., native, was a standout shortstop at the University of Miami and played for the Hurricanes when they made their first appearance in the College World Series in 1974. Krenchicki, a first-round draft choice of the Orioles in January 1976, was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Krenchicki’s last season as a professional player was 1988 when he played for three minor-league teams, including the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate, the Louisville Redbirds. Playing for manager Mike Jorgensen, Krenchicki hit .195 in 18 games for Louisville before he was released on June 17, 1988.

After his playing career, Krenchicki spent 20 years (1991-2010) as a minor-league manager, primarily with independent teams not affiliated with major-league organizations. He managed the Newark Bears to the Atlantic League championship in 2007.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 3 Comments »

How Gussie Busch botched plot to hire Leo Durocher

October 25, 2018 by retrosimba

Gussie Busch made a handshake agreement to hire Leo Durocher to manage the Cardinals, lied about it to the public and reneged on the commitment.

Busch’s mishandling of the Durocher deal was one of several missteps made by the meddling Cardinals owner during the 1964 season.

Despite Busch’s bumbling, the Cardinals rallied to win the National League pennant on the last day of the regular season and went on to clinch a World Series title against the Yankees.

Holy cow!

On Aug. 17, 1964, the Cardinals were nine games out of first place when Busch, figuring there was no hope for a pennant, fired general manager Bing Devine and replaced him with Bob Howsam, a colleague of consultant Branch Rickey.

Busch wanted to fire manager Johnny Keane, too, but decided to wait until after the season.

On Aug. 29, 1964, before a Saturday game between the Dodgers and Cardinals at St. Louis, Durocher was interviewed by broadcaster Harry Caray. Durocher, a shortstop for the Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang clubs in the 1930s before becoming a manager and leading the Dodgers (1941) and Giants (1951 and 1954) to pennants, was in his fourth season as a Dodgers coach in 1964 and Caray asked him whether he wanted to manage again.

If an offer was made, Durocher replied, “I just know I would accept if it was a good ballclub.”

Busch liked what he heard. He contacted Caray and said he wanted to meet with Durocher the next morning. Caray called Durocher at his hotel room that night and said he’d drive Durocher to Busch’s estate in the morning.

In his book “Nice Guys Finish Last,” Durocher said, “Harry was going to pick me up at 8 in the morning, not in front of the hotel but two blocks down on Lindell Boulevard where nobody would see us.”

It’s a deal

Caray took Durocher to Busch’s home and waited in the car as Durocher went inside. Busch and Durocher had breakfast before going into an office where they talked for about an hour. According to Durocher, Busch stuck out his hand and said, “You’re the manager of the ballclub. Don’t worry about the salary.”

Durocher returned to the car and told Caray what happened. “Harry was simply overjoyed,” Durocher said.

When the Dodgers got back to Los Angeles, Durocher informed club owner Walter O’Malley about his talk with Busch. O’Malley already knew, Durocher said, because Busch had phoned him. Durocher and O’Malley agreed Durocher would resign near the end of the season, clearing the way for the Cardinals to hire him.

Left hanging

On Sept. 22, 1964, three weeks after Busch and Durocher met, Milt Richman of United Press International reported Keane would be fired within two weeks and Durocher “most likely will succeed him.”

“The decision to fire Keane was reached some time ago” by Busch “who conferred with Durocher the last time the Dodgers were in St. Louis,” Richman reported.

Contacted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Busch said he had “great admiration for Durocher,” but denied he had met with him.

Durocher told United Press International, “I haven’t approached anybody and nobody has approached me.”

Asked about Keane’s performance as manager, Busch declined comment.

Busch “left Johnny Keane hanging by his thumbs,” the Post-Dispatch concluded.

On the day Richman broke the story, the Cardinals, in New York to play the Mets, were six games behind the first-place Phillies. It later was learned Keane met that day with a “trusted emissary” for the Yankees about the club’s managerial job, according to the Associated Press. The Yankees planned to fire manager Yogi Berra after the season and contacted Busch to get permission to talk to Keane. Busch gave his approval, but soon came to regret it.

The plot thickens

On Oct. 1, 1964, Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi announced Durocher would not return as coach “at his own request.”

Asked whether he was going to become Cardinals manager, Durocher told the Los Angeles Times, “My hands are tied. I just can’t say.” Bavasi said Durocher asked for his release so he could negotiate for a managerial job and he got the impression the Cardinals were the club.

Durocher’s timing was terrible because the Cardinals had surged while the Phillies had faltered. From Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, the Cardinals won eight in a row and moved into first place with three games remaining.

On Oct. 2, 1964, the day after Durocher resigned, Busch met Keane in the clubhouse and offered him a contract extension, but Keane said he preferred to wait until after the season to discuss an offer, the Post-Dispatch reported.

On Oct. 4, 1964, after the Cardinals clinched the pennant that day, Busch approached Keane at the team party and offered him “whatever you want,” but Keane said he wouldn’t talk terms until after the World Series.

October surprise

Busch’s attempts to sign Keane put Durocher in limbo. Durocher expected “to accept Busch’s offer to manage the Cardinals next season but when Leo pounced the cupboard was bare,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

On Oct. 9, 1964, the New York Journal-American reported Busch offered Durocher $100,000 to forget about their agreement. Durocher denied getting any payoff from Busch.

The Cardinals clinched the World Series title on Oct. 15, 1964. Busch scheduled a news conference for the next morning with the intention of announcing a contract extension for Keane, but when Keane arrived at the gathering he handed Busch a resignation letter. Keane cited Busch’s firing of Devine and flirtation with Durocher among the reasons for his decision.

A few hours later, the Yankees fired Berra.

With Keane’s departure, Busch could have hired Durocher, but he feared a backlash from a fan base who blamed the two conspirators for driving out Keane. “Although Durocher has the qualifications and credentials to do the job on the field, indications are that public pressure might make this choice unwise for the ballclub _ and the (Anheuser-Busch) brewery,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Thanks, Leo

Busch called Durocher and “right from the beginning I didn’t like the way the conversation was going,” Durocher said. “All hemming and hawing and not a word about managing his ballclub.”

“I could understand the fix he was in,” Durocher said. “He had become the laughingstock of the country.”

As Busch dawdled, Durocher said to him, “Apparently what you’re trying to tell me is you can’t make me manager of your club. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“Yeah,” said Busch, “in sort of a way.”

“It’s perfectly all right,” Durocher responded. “Forget the handshake. Forget you gave me the job.”

Busch replied, “Thanks very much, Leo. I knew you’d understand the predicament I was in” and hung up.

“There I sat, with the telephone in my hand,” Durocher said.

On Oct. 20, 1964, the Cardinals named coach Red Schoendienst to be the manager and the Yankees hired Keane to replace Berra.

Durocher did broadcasting for a year before becoming Cubs manager in 1966.

Posted in Executives, Managers | 8 Comments »

Jim Taylor power runs thwart Cardinals defensive schemes

October 23, 2018 by retrosimba

(Updated May 1, 2022)

The punishing rushes of Green Bay Packers fullback Jim Taylor shredded a daring defense of the St. Louis football Cardinals.

Taylor was a bruising rusher for the championship Packers teams of the 1960s. Paired in a backfield with “Golden Boy” halfback Paul Hornung, Taylor was a powerful force who twice led the NFL in rushing touchdowns and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1962, Taylor topped the NFL in rushing yards with 1,474 in 14 games. He faced the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time that season and his rushing and pass-catching skills were key to enabling the Packers to overcome a challenging defensive scheme.

Game plan

The Cardinals and Packers each had 1-0 records entering their game on Sept. 23, 1962, at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers were the reigning NFL champions and the Cardinals were looking to establish themselves as contenders.

Cardinals head coach Wally Lemm and his staff devised a plan to apply pressure on Packers quarterback Bart Starr by having St. Louis defensive players use stunting maneuvers and blitzing schemes.

The stunting meant two or more Cardinals defenders would alter their usual paths to the quarterback in an effort to confuse the Packers’ offensive linemen.

The blitzing freed a defensive back or linebacker to leave his usual post and become an extra pass rusher. New York Giants linebacker Donald “Red Dog” Ettinger is credited with being the first to use the technique from 1948-50 and blitzes came to be known as “red dogging.” In 1960, Cardinals assistant coach Chuck Drulis designed a blitz using safety Larry Wilson and named it “wildcat.”

Pressuring Pack

The blitzing and stunting of Cardinals defenders confused the Packers in the first half of their 1962 game. Starr “was under considerable pressure from the Cardinals’ determined rush, including red-dogging defensive halfbacks,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

Packers offensive tackle Forrest Gregg said the Cardinals “were doing a lot of jumping around in there and we weren’t picking them up.”

Said Packers coach Vince Lombardi: “Their defense upset us in the beginning. We had a hell of a time trying to find them. They did a lot of stunting in there … It was new to us. We hadn’t seen it before this year.”

Lombardi and his staff tried to make adjustments during the first half, but were unsuccessful in communicating effectively during the helter-skelter pace of the game. The best the Packers could do was hold on until they could regroup in the locker room at halftime. “We had to put it on the (chalk) board,” Lombardi said.

The Packers’ defense, led by linemen Willie Davis and Henry Jordan, stopped the Cardinals, and Green Bay led, 3-0, at halftime on Hornung’s field goal.

Fast learners

Using the chalkboard to illustrate what needed to be done to counter the Cardinals’ aggressive blitzing and stunting, Lombardi and his staff instructed their offensive linemen to block in assigned areas rather than man against man, and they told Starr to turn Taylor loose to rumble and mix in short passes to Taylor and tight end Ron Kramer.

The adjustments worked. Taylor, 6 feet and 215 pounds, pounded the Cardinals with runs up the middle and put the Packers in position to score a pair of touchdowns.

“In three years, nobody has run through our middle as the Packers did,” defensive tackle Frank Fuller, who played for the Cardinals from 1960-62, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Taylor “turned the tide with his powerful smashes in the second half,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported. Taylor “punished the Cardinals’ defense with his hard hitting … His thrusts up the middle helped the (Packers) loosen up the Cardinals’ defense and thus make their passing work.”

Taylor finished with 122 yards rushing on 23 carries and also had four catches for 40 yards. Hornung had a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Starr connected with Max McGee on a 19-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter and the Packers won, 17-0. Boxscore

“We adjusted between halves,” Lombardi said. “In the second half, we zone blocked and area blocked. The boys picked them up real well.”

Said Taylor: “We just got to zone blocking in the second half and they changed their defense. They weren’t red-dogging so much and the red dogs were not real hard to pick up.”

One of a kind

Lemm praised the Packers as “the best-balanced team in football. Father Time is the only thing that’s going to beat the Packers.”

Regarding Taylor, Lemm said to the Post-Dispatch, “He has a great ability to slide out and get moving. He takes a pitchout quick with that sliding ability.”

Lemm added, “The blocks Hornung throws for Taylor are really something.”

The Cardinals totaled 16 yards rushing and their top receiver, Sonny Randle, had one catch for five yards. Halfback John David Crow had nine yards on nine carries.

“We don’t have a Taylor,” Lemm lamented.

The 1962 Packers repeated as NFL champions and Taylor also played for league champions in 1965 and 1966. The Cardinals finished 4-9-1 in 1962.

Taylor played two more regular-season games against the Cardinals in his career. On Oct. 20, 1963, he rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-7 Packers victory. On Dec. 12, 1967, in his final NFL season with the Saints, the former Louisiana State standout had 34 yards rushing in a game the Cardinals won, 31-20.

Posted in Football, Games, Opponents | 9 Comments »

Why Cardinals considered Phil Clark potential relief ace

October 20, 2018 by retrosimba

The Cardinals projected rookie Phil Clark to be their top reliever in 1958, but the role eventually went to the opposing pitcher who earned a win in Clark’s major-league debut.

Clark was a well-regarded prospect for the Cardinals in the 1950s. After graduating from Albany (Ga.) High School, Clark signed with St. Louis before the 1951 season and was assigned to his hometown Albany Cardinals, a Class D farm club.

Clark, 18, pitched 219 innings for Albany and was 18-7 with a 2.96 ERA. He spent the next two years in the Navy before returning to the Cardinals system in 1954.

A sensational 1957 season with the Class AA Houston Buffaloes elevated Clark’s status. The right-hander was 16-6 with a 1.83 ERA in 63 relief appearances that year.

High hopes

At spring training in 1958, Clark impressed with a string of eight scoreless innings in three exhibition games. “He’s temperamentally and physically equipped to be our No. 1 man in the bullpen.” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told The Sporting News.

A sinkerball specialist with excellent control, Clark threw an assortment of pitches, but relied on a slider. Clark knew more about pitching technique than any other Cardinals prospect, scout Joe Mathes said.

The Sporting News reported Clark was “the best bet among the newcomers to stick and help the club” in 1958 and Sports Illustrated declared Clark as the rookie the Cardinals were “counting on most.”

On April 15, 1958, the Cardinals opened the season at home against the Cubs. Clark made his big-league debut in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings, but the Cubs won, 4-0. Cubs starter Jim Brosnan pitched six innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Boxscore

After losing their first four games, the Cardinals won on April 20, 1958, against the Cubs at Chicago. Clark earned the save, holding the Cubs scoreless over the final three innings of a 9-4 Cardinals triumph. Brosnan, the Cubs’ starter, gave up four runs in three innings and was the losing pitcher. Boxscore

In his first three Cardinals appearances, all against the Cubs, Clark pitched a total of six scoreless innings. His next two outings, however, caused the Cardinals to lose confidence in him.

Changing course

On April 23, 1958, at San Francisco, Clark relieved in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Giants runners on first and second and the Cardinals ahead, 7-4. The first batter Clark faced, Orlando Cepeda, hit a two-run triple and the next, Daryl Spencer, followed with a two-run home run, giving the Giants an 8-7 victory. Boxscore

In Clark’s next appearance, May 2, 1958, at St. Louis, he entered in the ninth with the Reds ahead, 4-3. He faced four batters and all reached base. Vada Pinson singled, Frank Robinson walked, George Crowe hit a three-run home run and Don Hoak doubled. Boxscore

Two weeks later, on May 20, 1958, the Cardinals sent Clark, 0-1 with one save and a 3.52 ERA in seven relief appearances, to their Class AAA Omaha farm club and acquired Brosnan from the Cubs for shortstop Alvin Dark.

In 12 starts for the 1958 Cardinals, Brosnan, an aspiring author, was 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA. Converted into a reliever by Cardinals manager Fred Hutchinson, Brosnan was 4-1 with seven saves and a 1.67 ERA in 21 relief appearances, successfully filling the role given to Clark at the start of the season.

Bullpen buddies

As the Cardinals began spring training in 1959, Brosnan was the closer and Clark, 10-6 with a 2.75 ERA in 44 relief appearances for Omaha in 1958, was a candidate for a bullpen role.

The two pitchers, whose career paths intersected so often in 1958, met for the first time during training camp and became friends. In his book, “The Long Season,” Brosnan wrote, “My first impressions of Phil Clark were reasonably soul-satisfying. Phil is a Georgia boy with a pleased-to-give-you-the-shirt-off-my back personality.”

Clark earned a spot on the Cardinals’ 1959 Opening Day roster and Brosnan wanted him as a road roommate, but the club assigned another pitcher, Alex Kellner, to room with Brosnan instead.

The erudite Brosnan, nicknamed “Professor,” and Kellner, a big-game hunter who roped mountain lions, were an odd couple. Kellner liked to watch TV westerns while Brosnan preferred to read. “I had to read my book with a pillow over my left ear, a pillow beneath my right ear and just enough light to see the larger type,” Brosnan wrote.

Tough game

Neither Clark nor Brosnan pitched well for the 1959 Cardinals.

On April 26, 1959, Clark entered a game against the Dodgers at St. Louis with the score tied at 9-9. He pitched a scoreless seventh, but in the eighth he gave up three runs, one earned. The Dodgers won, 17-11, and Clark was the losing pitcher. Boxscore

“Clark, being a good pitcher and knowing how to pitch, had made so many good pitches only to see them turned into handle-hits, bad hops over the infielders’ shoulders, bloops to the outfield and squibs through the infield, that a sympathetic observer, like a wife, could almost cry in desperation,” Brosnan wrote.

On May 9, 1959, Brosnan and Clark rode together to Busch Stadium for the game that day against the Cubs. Brosnan was in the training room when Clark walked in and asked Doc Bauman if he could use the phone. Clark called his wife and asked her to come get him. The Cardinals had informed him he was going back to the minors.

“He dropped the phone back onto its cradle, looked down at the floor for a moment and walked quickly from the room back to his locker,” Brosnan wrote. “I started to follow him, thought better of it, picked up the morning paper and went into the latrine to read.

“There was nothing I could say to Philip that would help. At cutdown date in organized baseball it’s every man for himself. My first reaction was relief that it wasn’t I who had just lost his job.”

Clark was 0-1 with a 12.86 ERA in seven relief appearances when the Cardinals demoted him. A month later, on June 8, 1959, Brosnan, 1-3 with two saves and a 4.91 ERA, was traded to the Reds for pitcher Hal Jeffcoat.

Brosnan regained his effectiveness with the Reds and was a relief ace in 1961 when they won the National League pennant.

Clark was with Omaha until July when he was traded to the St. Paul Saints, Class AAA farm club of the Dodgers, for pitcher Bob Darnell.

Clark pitched in the Dodgers’ minor-league system from 1959-61. He was a teacher, coach and assistant principal for public schools in Albany, Ga., from 1960-88.

Posted in Games, Pitchers | 4 Comments »

Why Gussie Busch fired Bing Devine a second time

October 17, 2018 by retrosimba

Bing Devine gave John Claiborne his first job in professional baseball, mentored him, promoted him and helped him get career opportunities. When Devine, the Cardinals’ general manager, got ousted for the second time, Claiborne replaced him in an awkward takeover.

On Oct. 18, 1978, Devine was fired after the Cardinals finished the season at 69-93, their most losses since 1916.

Claiborne, 39, was the choice of Cardinals owner Gussie Busch to replace Devine, 62. Claiborne was out of baseball at the time, but looking to get back in. He’d developed a reputation as an effective executive after being groomed in baseball operations by Devine with the Mets and Cardinals before continuing his career with the Athletics and Red Sox.

Immediately after informing Devine he was out as general manager, Busch asked him to stay with the Cardinals as a consultant; in effect, to continue to advise and mentor the protégé who took part in a coup to oust him.

Devine, of course, refused, though his rejection of the offer puzzled a clueless Busch. Devine understood it wouldn’t be fair to himself to be a subordinate to his successor, nor would it be fair to Claiborne to have his predecessor maintaining a voice in decision-making.

Besides, Devine was hurt by how Claiborne handled the takeover. In Devine’s view, Claiborne should have informed him beforehand he was taking his job. In his book, “The Memoirs of Bing Devine,” Devine said, “He knew just before they fired me that he would be the guy replacing me. John didn’t tell me. He later apologized for that.”

Fellow alumni

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Devine joined the Cardinals as an office assistant in 1939 and worked his way up through the organization. In November 1957, he became general manager and held that position until he was fired by Busch in August 1964, two months before the Cardinals won the World Series championship.

Devine went to the Mets as a special assistant and eventually became club president. In 1967, Devine met Claiborne at a Washington University function. Like Devine, Claiborne was a Washington University alumnus and he also was the school’s head baseball coach. Three months later, Devine hired Claiborne to be an administrative assistant.

Devine gave Claiborne the chance to learn many facets of baseball operations with the Mets. Among Claiborne’s tutors were Mets director of scouting Joe McDonald and director of player development Whitey Herzog.

In December 1967, two months after the Cardinals won another World Series championship, general manager Stan Musial resigned and Devine replaced him.

Devine hired Claiborne to be the Cardinals’ administrative assistant in scouting and player development. Claiborne thrived in the role, working for Cardinals director of player procurement George Silvey and director of player development Bob Kennedy.

Jack of all trades

In 1971, Athletics owner Charlie Finley was seeking an administrator with player development skills. Devine recommended Claiborne and Finley hired him to be director of minor-league operations and scouting for the Athletics.

The Athletics won three consecutive World Series titles from 1972-74 and Claiborne was promoted to assistant general manager.

“The years with Oakland gave me my biggest boost,” Claiborne said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I did just about everything.”

In August 1975, Claiborne was seeking a change. Finley was making cost cuts and considering selling the club. Devine later told the Post-Dispatch he recommended the Cardinals hire Claiborne, but the budget wouldn’t allow it. Claiborne left the Athletics to become special assignment scout for the Red Sox.

Two months later, the Red Sox swept the Athletics in the American League Championship Series and Claiborne’s scouting reports were credited with providing valuable insights. The Red Sox rewarded Claiborne by promoting him to assistant general manager.

In 1976, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey died and a year later, after the 1977 season, Yawkey’s widow Jean fired Claiborne and general manager Dick O’Connell to make way for new ownership and management.

Claiborne became a consultant for Monogram Industries. Wanting to return to baseball, he turned to Devine for help.

“He and I had been talking a lot on the phone about how he wanted to get back in the game,” Devine said. “This went on for a period of weeks and months during the 1978 season.”

Plot thickens

At the same time, Busch began thinking about replacing Devine. The Cardinals won a pennant in 1968, the first season of Devine’s second stint as general manager, but failed to qualify for the postseason over the next 10 years.

“For some time, there appeared to be a breakdown of communications between Busch and Devine,” the Post-Dispatch reported. Devine could contact Busch “only through intermediaries, usually Lou Susman, Busch’s personal attorney,” according to the newspaper.

Susman was urging Busch to make a change and recommended Claiborne. “Susman had a hand in it,” Devine said in his book. “He influenced Mr. Busch.”

Unaware of the plot against him, Devine was working his baseball connections, trying to help Claiborne. “So I was giving him recommendations on the side for other jobs while Susman was pushing for him to replace me,” Devine said.

Claiborne said he was first contacted about the Cardinals’ job on Oct. 11, 1978. He said he met with Busch the next day, Oct. 12, and they reached an agreement.

A week later, on Oct. 17, Devine said he got a confidential call from Al Fleishman, a public relations executive, who tipped off Devine that a press conference was scheduled the next day.

At about 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 18, Devine was called to a meeting with Busch. Claiborne was there, too. Both asked Devine, who had a year left on his contract, to take a subordinate role as consultant, reporting to Claiborne.

When Devine refused, they asked him to take a day to think it over, but Devine had made up his mind.

“John, I don’t think you would under the circumstances,” Devine said to Claiborne.

“You’re absolutely right,” Claiborne replied.

Busch later said, “I thought Bing would accept it because of (Claiborne’s) friendship with Mr. Devine.”

Said Devine: “He underestimated the self-esteem in which I hold myself.”

Two hours after the meeting with Devine, Busch and Claiborne held their press conference, announcing the change.

Claiborne admitted to “some awkwardness” in replacing his mentor and acknowledged Devine “has touted me, pushed me and recommended me.”

Asked why the change was made, Susman said, “Because of the availability of Claiborne. He might have been taken up. Quite a few people were after him. Mr. Busch wanted to get new thoughts, fresh ideas in the organization.”

Full circle

The Cardinals finished third in their division in 1979 and started poorly the next season. In June 1980, manager Ken Boyer was fired and replaced by Herzog.

Two months later, Busch fired Claiborne and elevated Herzog to the general manager role. Herzog hired McDonald, his former Mets colleague, to be his assistant. Herzog’s first choice for the assistant’s role had been Devine, but Susman opposed the move and blocked it, according to the Post-Dispatch.

After hiring McDonald, Herzog kept the dual role of general manager and manager. In February 1982, Herzog suggested to Busch that McDonald should become general manager. Busch agreed and the announcement was made in April. Six months later, the Cardinals were World Series champions.

After leaving the Cardinals, Claiborne launched a second career as a sports television executive. He was president of New England Sports Network, which carries Red Sox games, and he helped start a similar network in the mid-Atlantic region to televise Orioles games.

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