RetroSimba

Jimmy Piersall and his NL debut against Cardinals

June 11, 2017 by retrosimba

When Jimmy Piersall made his Mets debut in St. Louis, the league and the opponent were new to him, but the ballpark was quite familiar.

On May 24, 1963, a day after he was acquired by the Mets from the Senators in a deal that paired one of the game’s most mercurial characters with baseball’s most inept team, Piersall played against the Cardinals in his first National League game.

Piersall, batting leadoff and playing center field, was 1-for-4 with a walk against Bob Gibson at Busch Stadium. Piersall’s single drove in a run, but the Cardinals prevailed, 10-4.

Ten years earlier, while in the American League with the Red Sox, Piersall had his most productive game. He had six hits in six at-bats against the Browns in the opener of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium. Boxscore

Piersall, whose struggles with mental illness were detailed in the book and movie, “Fear Strikes Out,” was known as much for on-field antics and feuds with umpires as he was for his sterling outfield play.

When he joined the Mets and their rougish manager, Casey Stengel, in St. Louis, it was a match that attracted attention.

That’s entertainment

The Mets had released first baseman Gil Hodges so that he could become manager of the Senators. Piersall was sent to the Mets in return.

The Mets had opened the 1963 season with Duke Snider, 36, in center field. Snider soon was moved to a corner outfield spot and Jim Hickman, 26, took over in center. Hickman, too, was better at playing right or left. Piersall, 33, was a defensive upgrade.

“Piersall can play center field beautifully, which I hate to say has not been done for us,” Stengel said to The Sporting News.

The Mets were terrible. They had finished 40-120 in their inaugural season, 1962, and they were 16-25 when they got Piersall. Some suspected the move was made to keep fans and media interested in a team that couldn’t compete.

“I know he will be an attraction with the club and with the fans,” Stengel said.

Piersall understood that.

When he arrived at Busch Stadium and met with reporters, Piersall said, “Baseball is like show business. If I don’t hurt the club, I might do anything to entertain the fans. What’s wrong with that?”

Regarding his relationship with Stengel, Piersall told the Associated Press, “I only hope New York is ready for both Casey and me. Casey is one of my biggest boosters, but he baffles me. Case is beautiful, but I don’t always know what he’s talking about.”

As for his new team, Piersall said, “The Mets and their fans are helping to save baseball and they are keeping the writers in business and it is better than being in Russia.”

When photographers gathered to take photos of Piersall and Stengel together in the dugout, Piersall said to his manager, “I better not pose with you, Case, because I’m prettier than you are.”

Making an impression

In the Friday night opener at St. Louis, Piersall went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first four plate appearances against Gibson. In the eighth, with the Cardinals ahead, 8-3, Piersall singled, scoring Choo Choo Coleman. Boxscore

Asked his impressions of Gibson, Piersall said, “Gibson put one pitch right on the very edge of the plate for a strike. I turned to the catcher (Gene Oliver) and remarked, ‘If they keep on doing that in this league, I’ll starve to death.’ ”

Piersall started in center again the next day, May 25, and was 0-for-4 against Ray Sadecki and Harry Fanok.

On Sunday, May 26, Piersall started in the opener of a doubleheader and had three hits _ two singles and a double _ off Cardinals starter Curt Simmons. Piersall also successfully disputed an umpire’s call.

Ed Sudol ruled a ball hit to right by George Altman was trapped, not caught, by Hickman.

Piersall “sprinted from his center field post all the way to first base to exchange a few not too pleasantries with Sudol,” the Associated Press reported.

Crew chief Stan Landes overruled Sudol and called Altman out. Boxscore

Piersall didn’t start the second game. The Mets, suspecting the Cardinals were stealing signs, sent Piersall to the bullpen to watch the Cardinals’ first-base coach. “I couldn’t spot anything,” Piersall said.

In a letter to The Sporting News, a Cardinals fan, John T. Copeland of Piedmont, Mo., wrote, “Piersall hardly saw enough of the game to know the score, much less to discover any sign stealing. He was in arguments with fans during the entire game. I hope the Cards never have to hire a Piersall-type clown to draw crowds.”

Fun while it lasted

Two weeks later, on June 9, the Cardinals were in New York for a Sunday doubleheader with the Mets.

In the opener, the Mets led, 3-2, in the sixth when Piersall hit a two-run double off Simmons. Boxscore

Piersall didn’t start the second game, but he again made his presence known.

Between innings, while Mets catcher Norm Sherry was putting on his gear, Piersall went out to warm up the pitcher. Piersall piled dirt onto the plate before returning to the dugout. As umpire Ed Vargo dusted the dish, Piersall mocked him, making dusting motions with his cap and a towel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted.

Piersall appeared in 40 games for the Mets and batted .194. On June 23, he hit a home run, the 100th of his big-league career, off the Phillies’ Dallas Green and backpedaled around the bases. Released in late July, Piersall returned to the American League with the Angels.

Previously: Cards were victims of historic homers by Gil Hodges

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 5 Comments »

How Cardinals gambled on Rick Ankiel in 1997 draft

June 8, 2017 by retrosimba

(Updated Jan. 6, 2019)

Every club in the major leagues knew Rick Ankiel was a pitching prospect worthy of being taken early in the 1997 draft. Many, though, thought it would cost too much to sign him. The Cardinals decided to take a chance.

On June 3, 1997, the Cardinals selected Ankiel in the second round. Ankiel, who had indicated he wanted between $5 million and $10 million, signed two months later with the Cardinals for $2.5 million.

The move sent a clear signal Cardinals ownership, in its second year under a group headed by Bill DeWitt, was committed to investing in talent.

Prep sensation

Ankiel, a left-hander, was a standout pitcher at Port St. Lucie High School on Florida’s Treasure Coast. He had a three-year record of 30-4.

As a senior, Ankiel was 11-1 with an 0.41 ERA. He pitched three no-hitters and four one-hitters and struck out 162 batters in 74 innings.

“He went from being good his sophomore year to great his junior year and this year he became the best,” John Messina, baseball coach at Port St. Lucie High School, told the Palm Beach Post.

Said Marty Maier, Cardinals scouting director: “We think he’s the top left-handed high school pitcher in the draft.”

Ankiel also batted .359 with seven home runs and 27 RBI as a senior.

John DiPuglia, who scouted Ankiel for the Cardinals, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “In Florida, I’ve never seen a left-handed pitcher with his type of composure and stuff on the mound.”

In March 1997, Ankiel signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Miami. Ankiel and his adviser, Scott Boras, told major-league organizations it would take as much as $10 million, and no less than $5 million, to sign him, or else he would play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes.

“A couple of teams said, ‘Will you take less than ($5 million)?’ and I told them no,” Ankiel said. “I was firm.”

Steal of a deal

No organization wanted to pay the price Ankiel was asking and few were willing to risk using a high draft choice on a player they might not be able to sign.

“He should have been drafted in the top 10,” said Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty.

Deep into the second round, Ankiel still was undrafted.

When it was the Cardinals’ turn to make their second choice, with the 72nd overall pick, they took Ankiel, not knowing whether they could sign him.

“We thought long and hard about it,” Jocketty said. “We took our time … Bill DeWitt was there with us.”

Wrote the Post-Dispatch: “The Cards might have taken a risk in the second round, but possibly got the steal of the draft.”

Boras, a former Cardinals minor-league player, had warned Ankiel he might slip past the first round because of his financial demands. “It was something we talked about and we kind of knew in a way it was going to happen,” Ankiel said.

Sales pitch

Two weeks after the draft, Jocketty, Maier, vice president of player personnel Jerry Walker and player development director Mike Jorgensen met with Ankiel and his parents at their home in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Jocketty said they talked about how the Cardinals develop pitchers and informed them about the history and philosophy of the organization. He said they didn’t discuss money.

When contract discussions got under way with Boras, both sides played hardball. “At one point,” Jocketty said, “we were prepared to go the other way and he was prepared to go to school. It was a tough negotiation, but not any tougher than most.”

On Aug. 25, a month after his 18th birthday and three days before he was to enroll at Miami, Ankiel agreed to a deal with the Cardinals. He signed the contract on Aug. 28 in St. Louis.

Though the $2.5 million was much less than what he said he wanted, Ankiel received more money than infielder Adam Kennedy, the Cardinals’ first-round pick who signed two months earlier for about $1 million.

“We told (Ankiel) all along we would approach him like a first-round pick,” Jocketty said.

In recalling the signing in his book, “The Phenom,” Ankiel said, “The only job I’d ever had was helping a friend’s father tear up carpet and scrape floors. He’d pay me out of his pocket. I didn’t have a checking account. I didn’t have a savings account. Whatever money I had was in my wallet, maybe $50, but probably not. And then I was rich. I was really rich.”

High hopes

The Cardinals projected Ankiel to develop fast. “If he stays healthy and progresses like he should, he should move quickly through our organization,” Jocketty said to the Associated Press.

Said Ankiel: “I’m thinking I’ll make it to the big leagues in three years. My goal is to be here when I’m 21.”

Ankiel advanced ahead of schedule, making his Cardinals debut at age 20 in August 1999.

After achieving an 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings during the 2000 regular season, Ankiel had a meltdown in the postseason, losing his ability to throw strikes consistently.

He gave up pitching after the 2004 season, transformed into an outfielder and made his big-league comeback with the 2007 Cardinals.

Ankiel played in the majors for 11 seasons, four as a pitcher and seven as an outfielder. He posted a 13-10 pitching record and a .251 batting average with 49 home runs.

Posted in Pitchers, Prospects | Leave a Comment »

Home run helped Roger Maris feel at home in St. Louis

June 5, 2017 by retrosimba

The first home run Roger Maris hit in St. Louis as a Cardinal was worth the wait.

On June 10, 1967, two months into his first Cardinals season, Maris hit a walkoff three-run home run in the 11th inning at Busch Stadium, giving St. Louis a 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.

The home run was Maris’ third for the Cardinals _ the first two occurred at New York and at Pittsburgh _ but was his first in his home ballpark since being acquired by St. Louis from the Yankees in December 1966.

Maris, who six years earlier had established a major-league single-season record with 61 home runs for the Yankees, no longer was a consistent power hitter, but he was a key member of a Cardinals club that would win the World Series championship.

His first Busch Stadium home run enabled the Cardinals to continue a hot streak that one week later would propel them into first place in the National League.

Stormy night

The Cardinals were 3.5 games behind the front-running Reds entering their Saturday night game against the defending NL champion Dodgers. Maris, batting .291, was held out of the starting lineup by manager Red Schoendienst. The Dodgers were starting a left-hander, Jim Brewer, and Maris did much better against right-handers.

Tornado warnings were issued in the St. Louis area that evening and a severe thunderstorm struck downtown St. Louis, delaying the start of the game 64 minutes and creating treacherous conditions in the outfield.

The Dodgers scored twice in the first inning off their nemesis, Larry Jaster, who had pitched five shutouts against them the previous year.

Brewer, primarily a reliever, held the Cardinals scoreless for six innings. “He told me he was tiring a little going into the seventh,” Dodgers manager Walter Alston said to the Pasadena Independent Star-News, “but you couldn’t take him out the way he was going.”

Curt Flood led off the Cardinals’ half of the seventh with a walk and Bobby Tolan lined a home run over the right-field wall, tying the score at 2-2.

Maris entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Jaster and popped out to second baseman Ron Hunt. Maris stayed in the game, replacing Alex Johnson in right field, and Joe Hoerner relieved Jaster.

Extra innings

Phil Regan, who came in for Brewer in the eighth, held the Cardinals scoreless for three innings.

In the 11th, Alston brought in Bob Miller to pitch. Miller, a St. Louis native, had made his major-league debut in 1957 with the Cardinals and pitched for them in four seasons.

Tim McCarver led off the 11th against Miller with a double. Dal Maxvill attempted to advance McCarver with a bunt, but Miller fielded the ball and threw out McCarver at third.

With Maxvill at first and one out, Tolan singled.

That brought Maris to the plate against the right-hander.

Easy swing

Maris swung at a 2-and-2 pitch.

“I was just trying to avoid making an out,” Maris said. “I didn’t swing hard. I just wanted to meet the ball.”

Said Dodgers catcher John Roseboro: “That’s the way it looked when he swung. He just dropped his bat in front of the ball.”

Joe Hendrickson of the Pasadena newspaper wrote, “The ball sailed like a rocket over the fence and into the seats.”

Said Maris: “That was my most satisfying hit since coming to St. Louis.” Boxscore

The victory was part of a stretch in which the Cardinals won 15 of 17 and surged to the top of the NL standings.

“This Cardinals team reminds me of my Yankees days,” Maris told United Press International. “The Yankees at one time played for the big hit. The atmosphere is also something like we had in New York. In those days, we’d get some runs behind, but we knew we were going to win it.”

Previously: With last homer, Roger Maris helped Cards clinch title

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 11 Comments »

How World Series hero Bob Kuzava landed with Cards

June 2, 2017 by retrosimba

Seeking a left-handed reliever to help their pennant push, the Cardinals got Bob Kuzava, a proven producer under postseason pressure. The price, though, was steep: To open a roster spot for Kuzava, the Cardinals cut loose a future Hall of Fame pitcher.

With nine games left in the 1957 season, the second-place Cardinals, in pursuit of the Braves, were without a left-hander in their bullpen. On Sept. 19, general manager Frank Lane filled the need, acquiring the contract of Kuzava, 34, from the Pirates.

With their roster at the limit, the Cardinals needed to remove a player to create a spot for Kuzava. They opted to send Hoyt Wilhelm to the Indians for the waiver price.

Wilhelm went on to pitch in 1,070 big-league games and became the first reliever to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kuzava pitched in three games for the 1957 Cardinals, who lost six of their last nine and finished eight behind the pennant-winning Braves.

A World Series standout with the Yankees, Kuzava never got a chance to pitch in the postseason for the Cardinals.

Series star

Kuzava made his major-league debut with the 1946 Indians and also pitched for the White Sox and Senators before being dealt to the Yankees in June 1951.

In Game 6 of the 1951 World Series, the Yankees led the Giants, 4-1, entering the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Johnny Sain, in his second inning in relief of starter Vic Raschi, yielded singles to the first three Giants batters. Yankees manager Casey Stengel called on Kuzava to end the threat.

Kuzava retired all three batters he faced, earning the save in the Yankees’ 4-3 championship clincher. Boxscore

A year later, Kuzava did it again. In Game 7 of the 1952 World Series at Brooklyn, the Yankees led, 4-2, but the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. Stengel brought in Kuzava to relieve Raschi. Kuzava got Duke Snider to pop out to third and Jackie Robinson to pop out to second. Kuzava held the Dodgers scoreless in the eighth and ninth, sealing the championship for the Yankees. Boxscore

Placed on waivers by the Yankees in August 1954, Kuzava went on to pitch for the Orioles and Phillies. He opened the 1957 season with the Pirates, but was sent to their Class AAA farm club, the Columbus (Ohio) Jets, in May.

Comeback in Columbus

Used primarily as a starter, Kuzava won his first six decisions with Columbus. The highlight occurred on July 20 when he pitched a one-hitter against Richmond. Kuzava retired the first 17 batters before yielding a ground single by pitcher Marty Kutyna in the sixth.

In August, Kuzava was sidelined because of elbow trouble. Still, he won two of his last three decisions and finished the minor-league season with an 8-1 record and 3.41 ERA in 20 appearances.

Cardinals manager Fred Hutchinson wanted a left-handed reliever. The staff’s lone left-hander was starter Vinegar Bend Mizell.

“We’ve been unable to jockey against tough left-handed hitters who don’t like southpaws,” Hutchinson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Columbus general manager Harold Cooper, who had been trying to interest the Reds in Kuzava, was glad to make a deal with the Cardinals.

(A day after acquiring Kuzava, the Cardinals obtained another left-handed reliever, Morrie Martin, from the Class AAA Vancouver Mounties, an Orioles farm club, for outfielder Eddie Miksis.)

Too little, too late

The Cardinals had three games remaining with each of three foes: Reds, Braves and Cubs. Figuring the Cardinals needed to win nearly all nine to have a chance to overtake the Braves, Hutchinson wanted left-handers to use against sluggers such as Ted Kluszewski of the Reds and Eddie Mathews and Wes Covington of the Braves.

The Cardinals won two of three against the Reds at Cincinnati and went to Milwaukee five games behind the Braves with six to play. The Braves clinched the pennant by beating the Cardinals in the series opener, 4-2, on Hank Aaron’s two-run home run off Billy Muffett in the 11th inning.

Kuzava appeared in three games _ one against the Reds and two versus the Cubs _ for the Cardinals and posted a 3.86 ERA in 2.1 innings pitched. Left-handed batters were 0-for-3 with a walk against him. Right-handed batters were 4-for-8 with a walk.

After the season, the Cardinals assigned Kuzava to the minors, but promised he would be given a chance to make the St. Louis staff in spring training.

Kuzava got his chance, but pitched poorly for the Cardinals in spring training in 1958.

On March 11, he yielded four runs in three innings against the Athletics. On March 25, he gave up six runs to the Dodgers in the ninth inning. “It was dangerous all over the field the way they were bombarding Kuzava,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Kuzava, 35, spent the 1958 season with the Cardinals’ Class AAA Rochester Red Wings club on a staff that included 22-year-old Bob Gibson. Kuzava was 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 25 games.

Kuzava finished his playing career in the White Sox farm system in 1959 and 1960.

Previously: How Hoyt Wilhelm got traded to Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades | Leave a Comment »

Epic showdowns: Jim Bunning vs. Bob Gibson

May 30, 2017 by retrosimba

As might be expected of two Hall of Fame pitchers, Jim Bunning and Bob Gibson engaged in a couple of classics when facing one another.

Bunning and Gibson were matched against each other as starters six times.

In those encounters, Bunning got 1 win, 2 losses and 3 no-decisions. Gibson got 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 no-decisions.

In the two most memorable Bunning vs. Gibson duels, Roberto Clemente and Dick Allen played key roles.

Seeking support

Bunning pitched in the major leagues for the Tigers (1955-63), Phillies (1964-67 and 1970-71), Pirates (1968-69) and Dodgers (1969). He had a 224-184 record, with 118 wins in the American League and 106 in the National League.

The right-hander’s record against the Cardinals was 5-11, but his teams were shut out in five of those losses and were held to one run in each of two others.

Bunning and Gibson faced one another on June 26, 1964, and Sept. 10, 1965, without either getting a decision.

On May 18, 1966, the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 4-3, at Philadelphia. Gibson, who allowed four runs in 6.1 innings, was the losing pitcher. Ray Culp, who pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Bunning, got the win. Bunning gave up three runs in five innings. Boxscore

Three weeks later, on June 11, 1966, Gibson pitched a shutout against the Phillies in a 2-0 Cardinals victory at Philadelphia. Bunning yielded two runs in seven innings and took the loss. Boxscore

Heated rivalry

The final two career matchups of Bunning vs. Gibson were the best.

The Pirates were in St. Louis to play the Cardinals in a doubleheader on a sweltering Sunday afternoon, July 13, 1969. Bunning, in his second season with the Pirates after being traded by the Phillies, was pitted against Gibson in Game 1.

Larry Shepard, the Pirates’ manager, pitched 10 minutes of batting practice in the 95-degree heat. In the second inning, Shepard, 50, experienced chest pains and was rushed to a hospital. Coach Bill Virdon took over as acting manager. Several fans were overcome by heat and given treatment, The Pittsburgh Press reported.

Bunning, 37, and Gibson, 33, dueled impressively in the oppressive conditions.

In the sixth inning, Gibson got his 2,000th career strikeout. It came against Roberto Clemente, the fellow future Hall of Famer, who two years earlier had hit a smash that struck Gibson and broke his leg.

Neither Bunning nor Gibson yielded a run through seven innings.

In the eighth, Matty Alou, who had reached on a bunt single, was on first with two outs. Next up was slugger Willie Stargell, who had struck out three times on outside pitches from Gibson.

“So I decided that I couldn’t do any worse looking for a fastball away,” Stargell said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Stargell slapped a single to left, advancing Alou to second.

The next batter, Clemente, slashed a Gibson delivery over the right-field wall for a three-run home run.

“Gibby gave Roberto a high pitch to hit after getting him out with low-and-away pitches,” said Pirates pitching coach Vern Law. “Gibby was bound to get tired in that heat. When a pitcher gets tired, he gets his pitches high.”

A wilting Bunning pitched a scoreless bottom half of the eighth. In the ninth, Virdon replaced him with Bob Moose, who preserved the 3-0 victory for Bunning and the Pirates. Boxscore

“I had good off-speed stuff, especially my change of pace,” Bunning said. “Everybody knows that control is the name of the game.”

Power game

The final career matchup of Bunning vs. Gibson occurred on May 23, 1970, a rainy Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Bunning had been reacquired by the Phillies in October 1969, but Dick Allen had the attention of fans and media. Allen, the slugger acquired by the Cardinals from the Phillies after the 1969 season, was playing his first games in Philadelphia since the trade. A controversial player with the Phillies, Allen had drawn a mix of boos and cheers in the first two games of the series.

Two weeks earlier, on May 11, 1970, Allen had hit a three-run home run off Bunning in the ninth inning at St. Louis, breaking a scoreless tie and giving pitcher Steve Carlton and the Cardinals a 3-0 victory. Boxscore

During a rain delay before Bunning and Gibson squared off in Philadelphia, Cardinals player Leron Lee put on Allen’s jersey and glasses, wrapped a towel over his head and ran across the field to the Phillies’ dugout to shake hands with infielder Tony Taylor.

“Don’t blame me if you get shot,” Allen told Lee.

The fans, thinking Allen was making a friendly gesture to a former teammate, cheered. Frank Lucchesi, Phillies manager, playfully pushed Lee out of the dugout, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In the third inning, with Lee on second base, Allen crushed a Bunning fastball well beyond the 410-foot sign in center for a home run and a 2-0 Cardinals lead.

Two innings later, Allen hit a Bunning curve onto the roof in left for a solo home run, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-0.

“He hit that second one one-handed,” Bunning said admiringly.

Said Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon: “Watching Richie hit is like watching a stick of dynamite go off.”

Gibson, meanwhile, dominated the Phillies. He struck out 16 and got the win in a 3-1 Cardinals triumph. Boxscore

“That’s the hardest I’ve thrown since 1968,” Gibson said.

Allen Lewis of the Inquirer wrote, “It was difficult to tell which balls were traveling faster _ the ones Rich Allen hit or the ones Bob Gibson threw.”

Gibson struck out 17 in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against the Tigers. His 16 strikeouts against the Phillies were the most he achieved in a regular-season game. “I get keyed up with Richie playing here,” Gibson said. “Tonight, I had something extra and I got just about every pitch where I wanted.”

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 4 Comments »

Harry Glenn, ex-Cardinal, died serving in World War I

May 27, 2017 by retrosimba

Harry Glenn was 28 and deep into a professional baseball career that included a stint with the Cardinals when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War I. Soon after being assigned to the Aviation Mechanic Training School in St. Paul, Minn., Glenn contracted pneumonia and died, a month before the war ended.

Glenn is one of eight players who appeared in the major leagues and died while serving in the United States armed forces in World War I. He is the only one of the eight who played for the Cardinals.

According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the others, in alphabetical order, are Tom Burr, Harry Chapman, Larry Chappell, Eddie Grant, Newt Halliday, Ralph Sharman and Bun Troy.

Three Negro League players died while serving in the United States armed forces in World War I. In alphabetical order, they are Ted Kimbro, Norman Triplett and Pearl Franklyn Webster.

Career path

A native of Shelburn, Ind., near Terre Haute, Harry Glenn was 19 when he began his professional baseball career with the Vincennes (Ind.) Alices in 1910.

A left-handed batter and catcher, Glenn was 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. In 1913, the minor-league Akron Giants sold Glenn’s contract to the Cardinals, but he broke a leg soon after and sat out the season, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The Cardinals sent Glenn to the St. Paul (Minn.) Apostles of the American Association in 1914 and he batted .267 in 104 games.

In 1915, Glenn made the Opening Day roster of the Cardinals as a backup to starting catcher Frank Snyder.

The 1915 Cardinals had intended to start the season with Snyder and Mike Gonzalez as their catchers after agreeing to a deal to acquire Gonzalez from the Reds, but the trade hit a snag and Gonzalez was in roster limbo while details were sorted out. That gave Glenn the opportunity to be the Cardinals’ reserve catcher.

In the lineup

On Opening Day, April 14, 1915, against the Cubs at Chicago, Snyder was hit on the right hand by a foul tip off the bat of Heinie Zimmerman and had to leave the game. Replacing Snyder, Glenn made his big-league debut and got his first hit, a single off starter Hippo Vaughn. The Cubs won, 7-2. Boxscore

With Snyder sidelined and Gonzalez still not cleared to join the Cardinals, Glenn started each of the next four games at catcher.

In his first start, April 15 against the Cubs, Glenn had a single, two walks and scored a run, helping the Cardinals to a 4-2 victory. The Cubs stole a base in their only attempt. Boxscore

The next day, April 16, the Cubs were successful in three stolen base attempts against Glenn and Cardinals pitcher Dan Griner. “The fault was evidently not wholly Glenn’s for (manager Miller) Huggins gave Griner … a calling for allowing the men too big a lead,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported. Glenn got his first RBI, but the Cubs won, 4-2. Boxscore

On April 17, the Cardinals won the finale of the four-game series, 7-4, and Glenn contributed two singles. Boxscore

Reds run wild

The Cardinals’ next game was against the Reds at Cincinnati on April 18 and Glenn again started at catcher.

The Reds won, 6-2, and had seven stolen bases against Glenn and Cardinals ace Bill Doak. Boxscore

“After watching the woeful exhibition of Harry Glenn … the Cardinals are more anxious than ever to obtain (Gonzalez),” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared.

The Star-Times asked: “Was it the great base running of (the Reds) or was it the poor catching of Glenn?”

While acknowledging the Reds’ rampage “looks especially bad for Glenn,” the Star-Times added, “The big fellow seems to possess all the qualifications for a good receiver and perhaps the finishing touches will come with a little more experience. His arm is as good as any, but he has not mastered the trick of getting rid of the ball with any great rapidity.”

Brief stay

Snyder returned to the Cardinals’ lineup the next day, April 19, and Glenn was relegated to the bench. The deal for Gonzalez was resolved and he made his Cardinals debut on May 6. Glenn got a pinch-hit appearance on May 12 before being demoted to St. Paul.

Glenn batted .313 (5-for-16) with three walks in six games for the 1915 Cardinals, but base runners were successful on all 11 stolen base attempts against him.

With St. Paul in 1915, Glenn batted .296 in 63 games. He also spent the next three seasons, 1916-18, with St. Paul.

Glenn could have continued playing baseball, but with World War I raging, he enlisted in the mechanical branch of aviation late in the summer of 1918, according to The Indianapolis News.

Deadly disease

In October 1918, Glenn became ill and was admitted to a hospital. A victim of an influenza pandemic, Glenn developed pneumonia.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were caused by bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia developed when bacteria invaded the lungs on a pathway created when the virus destroyed cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.

Glenn was in the hospital for a week. His father, Thomas, left Indiana on a Thursday to be at his son’s bedside in Minnesota.

“A telegram was received Friday saying he was better and Saturday morning a telegram was received saying he was dead,” The Indianapolis News reported.

According to Stanford University, the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed between 20 million and 40 million people worldwide. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague of 1347-1351.

Glenn was survived by his parents, two sisters and a brother.

On Nov. 11, 1918, almost a month to the day Glenn died, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies, ending the fighting.

Previously: Mike Gonzalez became 1st Cuban manager in majors

Posted in Games, Hitters, Prospects | Leave a Comment »

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