1944 browns luncheon streetcar series commemoration

5/20/2018 1944 Browns Luncheon Streetcar Series Commemoration

Sheraton Chalet WestportSheraton Chalet WestportSheraton Chalet WestportSheraton Chalet Westport

September 18, 2014September 18, 2014September 18, 2014September 18, 2014

Annual Player/Fan Reunion Lunch

Commemorating the

70th Anniversary of

the 1944 Streetcar

World Series

St. Louis Browns Fan Club


Seventy years agothis year, 1944, theSt. Louis Brownscompleted their

season in first placein the American

League and playedthe St. Louis

Cardinals in the allSt. Louis

World Series.Also referred to as

the Streetcar series.

Y E A R S

70

2

FrankSaucier

JohnnyGroth

EdMickelson

BudThomas

JoeDeMaestri

JimRivera

BillyDeMars

DickStarr

RoySievers

HalHudson

AlNaples

BillyHunter

DonJohnson

GeorgeElder

JohnnyHetki

NeilBerry

ChuckStevens

TomJordan

NedGarver

TomWright

BillyDeMars

Surviving Browns Players

Don

Larsen

J.W.Porter


Program10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Browns players available for autograph (subject to limit)

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Browns Bazaar - New 1944 pennant, 1944 lapel pin, Brownslogo shirts, DVDs, collectors items, scorecards, autographs,photos, posters, lapel pins, more

11:30 a.m. Welcome, Introduction Bill Rogers, President/COO

12 Noon Lunch

12:40 p.m. B.F.C. Presidents Report Bill Rogers, President/COO

Recognition of Special Guests

Player Interviews: by Emmett McAuliffe and Bill RogersChuck Stevens (41-48) Bud Thomas (51)Ned Garver (48-51) Ed Mickelson (53)Roy Sievers (49-53) Billy Hunter (53)

Commemoration of Deceased Browns Players since Sept. Special commemoration

Don Footsie Lenhardt -( 50-53)b. Oct. 4, 1922, Alton, Il. d. July 9, 2014 St. Louis, Mo.

Frank Bud Kane b. Nov. 29, 1929d. March 4, 2014

Keynote Speaker Introductions: Emmett McAuliffe

Don Schicker (St. Louis)The Greatest Job I Ever Had:

The Browns Front Office in the 1940s".

Mark Goldfeder (St. Louis)Gone But Never Forgotten: The St. Louis Streetcar System

World-renown streetcar and horseless carriage expert Goldfeder will give an account of the St. LouStreetcar System (1859-1966), which was near its pinnacle in 1944, and discuss the important rolethe streetcar played in the popularity of baseball as a spectator sport.

David Heller (Milwaukee, Wi.)As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns

Baseball Author David Heller champions the 1944 Browns as legitimate pennant winners, worthy othe same respect given to the '43 Yankees and the '45 Cubs of the same era. Heller offers a wealthof biographical information on the team's colorful cast of characters. He recounts the entire seasonfrom spring training woes through one of the most exciting pennant races of any decade, to the all-St. Louis Streetcar World Series versus the cross-town rival Cardinals.

2:40 p.m. Adjourn3


Roy Sievers played for the St. Louis Browns from 1949 - 1953 followed by the old WashingtonSenators, White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and then the new Washington Senators. He won theAmerican League Rookie of the Year in 1949 as a member of the Browns. He batted .306 with 16home runs and 75 RBIs. At a time when achieving 300 home runs was still a rarity, he holds thedubious distinction of being the first player to hit 300 home runs and not be in the Baseball Hall ofFame. Sievers led the AL in Home Runs, RBIs and Total Bases in 1957. Roy is thought to be thgreatest right-handed hitter of the pre-expansion era.

Ed Mickelson was called up from the Cardinals Montgomery team in 1950 where he hit .417 thaseason with 21 home runs and 102 RBIs. Ed appeared in 5 games with the 50 Cards; 7 games withthe 53 Browns; and 6 games with the 57 Cubs. He made history on September 27, 1953 as theBrownies played their last game in franchise history . . . A 2-1 loss to the White Sox! Johnny Groth hia double followed by a single by Ed driving him home thus becoming a trivia question, Who drove inthe last run for the Browns?

J.W. Porter is the youngest of the Browns players and seems to stay that way every year. Jay had6-season career (1952, 1955-59) in the big leagues, starting with the Browns in 1952, where he

hit .250 in 104 times at bat. After a return to the minors for a couple of years, Porter was back in themajors for 3 years as a Tiger (1955-57), 1 year with the Indians (1958), and for a final a split seasonwith the Senators and Cardinals (1959). J.W. was a catcher but also played a few games at 1st and3rd base and was a handy player on any roster he joined. Over his career, J.W. Porter batted .228with 8 HR. He was a fiery baseball guy all the way.

John (Bud) Thomas, born Sedalia, Missouri played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1951season. In 14 career games, Thomas had seven hits in 20 at-bats for an average of .350, with oneHome Run. He batted and threw right-handed and played Shortstop.

Dave Heller, Milwaukee resident Heller has over 20 years of sports-writing experience, havingappeared numerous times in many newspapers, including the Washington Post, Detroit Free-PreCincinnati Enquirer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Philadelphia Daily News, and magazines.Heller is the author of two books - As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns and Facing TedWilliams - and writes for the website Seamheads.com, mainly on topics dealing with the St. LouisBrowns.

Don Schicker shares "The Greatest Job I Ever Had: The Browns Front Office in the1940s".

Schicker worked in the Browns front office from 1948-1950: first for the Farm System, then in thePublic Relations Department. Schicker was in the last class to graduate from South SideCatholic High School (currently St. Marys. Schicker worked for many years in businesses largeand small, including Asst. VP of Operations for the Anheuser-Busch transportation operation andVP of Smith & Wesson.

4


Chuck Stevens 96, is one of only seven living players who can be said to have played baseball in the GoldenAge, i.e. before World War II. Chuck was signed by the Browns in 1937, out of the hot-bed of Southern California, ye

-round, pre-war baseball that also included fellow prune pickers Vern Stephens (with whomChuck went to high school) and Al Zarilla, and Hall of Famers Bob Lemon, Ted Williams andBobby Doerr. Chuck was the Browns switch-hitting, slick-fielding, first baseman for the war-interrupted years between 1941 and 1946. In 1947 he requested that he be sold to theHollywood Stars an opportunity to return home. The Browns graciously relented. ChucksHollywood years, were a stroke of luck for Chuck. He was reunited with old Browns managerFred Haney, with whom he became a lifelong friend.

As a speedy, leadoff-hitting first-sacker he led theStars to three titles. He was the first professionalplayer to bow in short pants. Chuck mingled regularlywith A-list Hollywood actors who would often sit on thebench and coach the Stars. He acted in threemovies. He became friends with a fellow castmember, Ronald Reagan, and later, both PresidentsBush. But it was his role as head of the APBPA from

1960-1998, helping ex-ballplayers in need, that really catapulted him intobecoming one of the most well-known and influential persons workingbehind the scenes in baseball. Chucks exclusive three-hour interview with Emmett McAuliffe, backed by a pro filmcrew, is available for sale in the Browns Bazaar. For more info about Chuck Stevens, see longer biography on pg. 17.

Chuck Stevens

Ned Garver played from 1948 to 1961 winning 129 games in his major league career. In 1951, Garver fashioned anoutstanding season with the St. Louis Browns compiling a 20-12 record, which was noteworthy consid-ing the Browns lost 102 games that year.

Garver remains the only pitcher in American League history and modern baseball history (post-1920) win 20 or more games for a team which lost 100 or more games in the same season and the onlypitcher in Major League history to do so with a winning record. Garver was the starting pitcher for the

American League in the 1951 All-Star Game. Ned comes to us via telephone interview connection.

Billy Hunter was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. With his path tothe majors blocked by Pee Wee Reese, he was sold to the St. Louis Browns on

October 14, 1952, after leading the Texas League in fielding and stolen bases.

Hunter was the starting shortstop for the last Browns club in 1953, an AL All Star

and Gold Glove winner that year, and the slugger of the last Browns home run.

Although he never received more playing time than he received from the Browns,

he played shortstop, mostly as a starter, for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yan-

kees, Kansas City Athletics and Cleveland Indians. He was the third-base coach

for Baltimore during their championship-winning years and is in the Orioles Hall of Fame. He also

managed the Texas Rangers. Miami Herald, called him a throwback to the days when baseball

was peppered with hoot n holler guys. (Billys exclusive 90-minute interview with Bill Rogers,backed by a pro film crew, is available for sale in the Browns Bazaar. For more information about Billy Hunter, see

longer biography on page 13.

Billy Hunter

Mark Goldfeder B.S., Transportation, Parks College, is president of the St. Louis Railroad Enthusiasts, and VP othe Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri. As a youngster, he lived by the Hodiamont Streetcar. His collection of photoand film reels of the historic streetcars is 2nd to none. He is the author of many articles on the streetcar and wrote theforeword to the 2002 book Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis: A Sentimental Journey which included over 300 photos from Goldfeders collection. Mark is a graduate of University City H.S. where Ed Mickelson coached for years.

5


The old St. Louie Browns' oneand only pennant,achieved in, of allthings, a four-gamesweep of the NewYork Yankees, wasclimaxed by thegreatest final-dayreversal of anyplayer. Chet Laabs,

who once struck out five times in

a final game, clinched theBrownies' 1944 Cinderella seasonwith two home runs.

Typical of the makeshift situationin World War II, when just abouteveryone including most GIswanted the game to continue,some served outside the militaryas if in it. For instance, Laabs, asawed-off slugger best known forhis ability to strikeout often and tohit the long ball occasionally,

worked in anarmory factory.

With the stubbyblond outfielderspending more timein a Detroit warplant than in a St.Louis uniform,manager Luke

Sewellwanted Laabs' potentialpower in the lineup for the

showdown series with theYankees, not of prewar prowess,but still New York. And theBrowns hadn't swept the Yanksfour straight since 1929 and here itis - 1944.

In a season in which the Brownsopened with a record ninestraight victories, their early footnarrowed to a point in the finalweek whereSewell forced the

Boston Red Sox to play a nastynight game in the rain. "Luke,"said rival manager Joe Cronin,"you'll be sorry."Defeat forced a showdown withthe Yankees or a one-gameplayoff at Detroit. Dramatically,that last day at Tiger Stadium,Washington's knuckleball right-hander Emil (Dutch) Leonardbrushed off a bribed hotel-room

phone call and beat Detroit 4-1.

So the Browns could win if theycould beat Joe McCarthy'sdepleted rroops one more time.Some of the oldest in a localAmerican League record of 37,815shoehorned into Sportsman'sPark could remember back to1922. That's the year the Yanksnosed out the Browns by onegame.

For the showdown, Sewellgambled on an alcoholiccharacter named Sigmund (Jack)Jakucki.Jack, age 35 with arecord of 12-9, exhibitedbaseball's worst. At a nationalsemi-pro game at Wichita, angryJakucki had dangled an umpireatop a river bridge.

Drunk or sober, big Sig wascompetitive, and after he yieldeda first-inning triple to HectorMartin, followed by a throwingerror by shortstop Vern Stephens,he limited the Yankees to onlyone run, also unearned.

Still, it was 2-0 New York in thehome fourth when thick-neckedLaabs stepped in there with a

man on against right-hander MeQueen. Now, as mentioned, thiwas the same Laabs who, facinfast-firing Bob Feller in a 1938Detroit windup at Cleveland, wafive of Feller's record 18 strikeoutvictims.

This time Laabs lofted a game-tying two-run homer, ringingdown the house. Later, Laabswould hit another two-run home

giving him two for the day andfive for the season in 35 gamesAnd Junior Stephens also hit onin the 5-2 game that brought witit a pennant, the Browns' firstsince they were an AmericanAssociation ball club managed bCharley Comiskey in 1888.Despite only 88 victories, the1944 Brownies . deserved itbecause they lost no season'sseries to any competitor.

There's a tendency, then andeven now, to deprecate asunderachievers the '44 Brownsput together shrewdly by generamanager Bill DeWitt of 4-F's,castoffs, cutthroats. and over-aged gaffers but they epitomizeteam play, forced a much betterand deeper Cardinals' team in asix-game World Series theyalmost won.

Besides, they had a guy namedChet Laabs, who would recall,"Don't call me a dumb Polack. Ismart enough not to let BobFeller skull me on the day schoois out and, later, to spoil my onlycrack at a World Series."

_______________________

The 100 Greatest Moments iSt. Louis Sports

Brownies Biggest Day

Sunday October 1, 1944, Sportsmans Park, St. Louis

Little Chet Laabs Won Famed Showdown

Chet Laabs

Luke Sewell

6


7


By Bill Borst

It is roughly twenty years since I

wrote The Best of Seasons, which isarguably my best baseball book onthe Saint Louis Browns. In theinterim nothing new has beenuncovered about the series sincevirtually all of the participants haveeither died or have suffered seriousmemory loss.

For St Louisans, it was indeed theBest of Seasonsbecause they had amonopoly on the teams in the series.Only three cities have had that honor

in the history of baseball. In 1906Chicago earned that privilege whileNew York had both the Yankees andthe New York Giants play for all themarbles from 1921 to 1923 andagain 1936 and 1951. If you countthe Borough of Brooklyn, you wouldhave to add another seven times tothe mix. (1941, 1947, 1949, 1952-1953 and 1955-56)

Several years before I wrote mybook, BFC member Bill Mead wrotea similar and arguably better bookthan mine, entitled Even the Browns.He took his title from a pejorativestatement made during the time that

baseball was so badduring the war when allthe good players wereoff fighting the Nazisand the fascists thateven the Browns couldwin a pennant. Thepolite quip to that is

that the Browns 4-Fs were betterthan those of the seven other teams.

The Browns were alsofortunate to haveseveral keyplayers holddefensejobs, suchas Chet

Laabs and DennyGalehouse. Theseplayers were allowed todivide their time between

factory work in defense industries andbaseball, allowing them to play mostlyon weekends.

The statistics dont provide any strongantidote to Meadsthesis. The top team inthe American Leaguewas the St. LouisBrowns, whichcollectively batted .252in route to their onlypennant. They only hadone .300 hitter in

outfielder Mike Kreevich, who barelymade it at .301. Shortstop Vern

Stephens provided the

only power with just 20home runs and 109 runs.Pitchers Nelson Potterand Jack Kramercombined for a lackluster36 wins to lead thepitching staff.

The general makeup ofthe Browns roster was a

classic reflection on the state of thegame during World War II. Bothleading pitcher Potter and Kramer

were considered washed up aftersubpar years during the late 1930s.Infielders Don Gutteridge and MarkChristman, both out of the majorsafter 1940, were back in simplybecause they were available.

Outfielder Milt Byrnes was playingfull-time in the second of what wouldbe his only three years of big leagueball. Pitcher Denny Galehouse had amuch greater success during the warbut he was available only on Sundays

because of his defense job in Akron,Ohio.

Vern Stephens, who hadbeen classified 4F with abad knee, was by far theirbest players but personalproblems with alcohol andlate-night activitythreatened his productive-ity. He received someviable assistance from first basemanGeorge McQuinn, who was Sisler-

like around the bag.

The key to the Browns surprisingsuccess was the fact that during thLong Underwear League,which wthe wars equivalent of SpringTraining the Browns were able tosecure an in-door facility at the FaGrounds near what is the Southea

Missouri University campus in CapGirardeau, Missouri. CommissioneKenesaw Mountain Landis hadestablished the Landis-Eastman Lthat prohibited all the major leagueteams, save the St. Louis teams,from any training facility south of thMason-Dixon Line.

In relatively warm temperatures ofthe in-doors they could sweat out twinters aches, pains and excessein relative comfort. The Cardinals

were just across the river in Cairo,Illinois. Teams like the Giants trainin Bear Mountain and the White Sohad to stay in French Lick, Indiana

This advantage allowed the Brownto break from the pack to set anAmerican League record by winnintheir first nine games in successioThe White Sox finally stopped theistreak on April 29th.

Eventually some of the pack caughthe Browns but as the hot summerneared the Browns caught fire andspent 70 consecutive days in firstplace until August 8th. This broke tclubs previous record of 69 days ifirst place, which was set in 1922. predictable slump ensued as theBrowns slipped to a half gamebehind the New York Yankees with22 games left to play.

This set up one of the mostdramatic moments in St.Louis Browns history as the

last week of the seasonproved highly consequen-tial. One team that stayedwith the Browns to the veryfinish was the DetroitTigers, who wereblessed with the double-barreled pitching sensa-tion of Hal Newhouserand Dizzy Trout, a pairof 4Fs, who won 56games between them.

The Best Season

Chet Laabs

DennyGalehouse

Vern

Stephens

GeorgeMcQuinn

8


Trailing the Tigers by agame going into the finalweekend of the regularseason, with the NewYork Yankees coming toSt. Louis for the seasons

final four games, the Browns rose tothe occasion.

While Detroit divided the first twogames in a doubleheader withWashington, the Browns swept theYankees in a twinbill with Kramer andPotter, earning well deserved wins,allowing a combined total of just onerun. Both the Browns and Tigersboth won the next day to remain tiedfor first.

The Browns enjoyed the excitementfinancially as well. The game was acomplete sell-out at Sportsmans

Park - the first in 20 years for theBrowns with an additional 15,000fans being turned away at the gate.

St. Louis starter Sid Jakucki, knownto be more than a recrea-tional drinker, was literallylocked away in his hotelroom the night before tokeep from loosening upat the bar. In what wasarguably the mostdramatic win in franchise

history, the Brownstrailed early, 2-0.

After they had tied the score, part-time slugger Chet Laabs put themahead with his second home run ofthe game. With Stephens lateinsurance homer, Jakucki waltzedthe Browns way to their first and onlyworld series as Detroit had alreadylost to the Senators.

The luster was somewhat diminished

in the fact that their opponent fromthe National league just happened tobe their tenants the St. LouisCardinals, who had won their thirdpennant in a row with a 105-winseason.

The record book also placed a tingeof shame placed upon the Brownspennant-winning performance. Their89-65 effort was historically the lowpoint for an AL winner. (Fortunatelythe next season the Tigers won the

pennant with an 88-65 mark, onefewer win than the Browns had)For better or worse the Browns weredefinitely the cream of the Americanleague crop. They were remarkablyconsistent against AL competition,winning anywhere from 12-to-14games each against the other sevenball clubs

The Baseball Almanacoffered acurious quote from Stan Musialabout the St. Louis fans:

The funny thing about that World Series

the fans were

rooting for the

Browns, and it

kind of surprised

me because we

drew more fans

than the Browns

during the

season. The fans

were rooting for

the underdog,

and I was

surprised about that, but after you

analyze the situation in St. Louis, the

Browns in the old days had good

clubs. They had great players like

George Sisler andKenny Williams,

and the fans who were there were

older fans, older men, old-time

Brownie fans. But it was a tough

series.

Perhaps Stan was correct. The loveof the underdogwas largely apparentin St. Louis. The downtroddenBrowns had fallen into virtualobscurity before their luminous rise in1943 and 1944 under their eruditemanager Luke Sewell.

103,653 people attended this historicseries. The largest crowd was forGame #5 when 36,568 standing roomfans attended the game. With the

Browns down three games to two,only 31,630 fans came out to cheer.The Browns history ofcollapse had precededthem no doubt.

Perhaps as an answer tothe lack of pre-gamerespect they hadreceived in the papers,Luke Sewell's American League

titlists came out swinging againsttheir heavily favored rivals for the 2opening victory in what has beenbilled as the Streetcar Seriesor evTrolley Seriesby the sports mediaDenny Galehouse out-pitchedSeries veteran Mort Cooper andGeorge McQuinn hit a clutch, fouinning, two-run homer that decidedthe game. Unfortunately the homerun was the only one they couldmuster during the entire series.

Brownie fans will always hold GamII as the one that got away. TheCardinals held a 2-0 lead, thanksmostly to the Browns charitableinstincts. The Browns committed misplays on a bunt by pitcher maxLanier in the 3rdinnings. ThreeBrownie players converged on thepop bunt without catching it. Pottefumbled it and then threw it past D

Gutteridge, who was slow to covethe bag. Gene Moore fumbled it ithe outfield and then threw it past hcutoff man. Emil Verban, who wasfirst made it all the way to third whLanier surprisingly, remained at fir

Potter was charged with two of thefour errors the Browns made thatafternoon. He surrendered anotheunearned run to put the Brownsbacks up against the wall. They drally to tie it in the seventh but BlixDonnelly's stellar relief pitching thatallied no runs, two hits and sevenstrikeouts in fourinnings. Ken O'Deacame up big as wellwith a run-scoringpinch single in theeleventh for the 3-2victory.

The underdogsprevailed again inGame 3 as JackKramer pitched a seven-hitter and

struck out ten batters on the way to6-2 Brown's triumph. With theAmericans ahead two games to onthe moreexperienced Nationals proceeded show what it takes to play in the bishow.

Had the Browns prevailed in Gamthey would have been up 3-0 and team had ever come back from sua deficit to win a world series. Ala

(Continued on pag

Sig Jakucki

Stan Musial

Jack Kram

9


The St. Louis Browns Historical Society was organized in 1984 with amission to preserve the history and memory of the St. Louis Brownsbaseball team. This year is our 30th anniversary.

You can help achieve that goal by donating Browns baseball memorabiliaitems to the St. Louis Browns Fan Club. Please contact us at:314-892-8632. Wed like to tell you about our plans.

St. Louis Browns Historical SocietyP.O. Box 510047St. Louis, MO 63151-0047

Tel: [email protected]

http://www.thestlbrowns.com - 17 pages of Browns history, memorabilia, memories & more

http://thestlbrowns.blogspot.com - Most recent news from today to older at the bottom

http://stlbrownsmuseum.blogspot.com - Memorabiliaof St. Louis Browns history at its fines

http://brownsmerchandise.blogspot.com/ - Logo shirts, caps, jerseys available from Brown

http://stlbrowns.qbstores.com - Order Browns items on-line direct from supplier

http://bit.ly/181JL9W - Browns music. Check out songs #7 & #8 about the Browns

Since 3 years befor

the Browns left.

314-631-5300

harsterheating.com

10


Continued from page 9

it was not in the Cards!

Sig Jakucki, who had won thirteengames for the '44 Browns after beingaway from baseball for five years,lasted only three innings in Game 4,a contest in which Cards lefthander

Harry Brecheen, (16-5 in the regularseason) kept the Browns off stride.Stan Musial finished the contest witha two-run homer for the 5-1 win. -his only career World Series homerun.

The following day, Cooper, who wascoming off of a twenty-two-winseason, beat Galehouse with aseven-hit, 2-0 shutout. Somethingseemed to be wrong with theBrowns bats.

In Game 6, Max Lanier and TedWilks (who both had seventeen winsand shared a 2.65 ERA) who wrotethe final chapter to the Brown'sCinderella seasonwith a 3-1 victorythat wrapped up the Cardinals'second Series title in three years.The game time temperature was amere 54 degrees

Despite the outcome 1944 was thebest season in St. Louis Brownshistory. Despite gas rationing

several thousands fans made thetrip by car from all around theMidwest. It was the Cardinalpitching that frustrated all theBrowns hopes.

Most series have a definingcharacteristic. The strikeout reignedin 1944 for both teams. Every fourthbatter that walked to the plate, hadto walk back to the dugout afterthree strikes. The Browns had beenout-slugged as well and failed to

play crisp defense and get the timelyhit. While the fans sang a softrefrain of next year, more sober fans

realized that this hadbeen their big chanceand they had let it slipthrough their sweatyfingers.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

July 20, 1944:Nelson Potter took to

the hill against Yankees pitcherHank Borowy. The Yankees thirdbase coach Art Fletcher noticed thatPotter was moistening his fingers.After Browns manager Luke Sewellconsulted with Potter, Potterproceeded to make a deliberatemotion with his fingers to his mouth.Umpire Cal Hubbard ejected Potter

from the game. On July 22,American League President WillHarridge suspended Potter for 10days for throwing an illegal pitch.Potter was the first pitcher to besuspended by Major LeagueBaseball for that reason.

Every team in the league hosted agame where net proceeds wenttoward the National War Relief andService Inc. On July 26, the secondgame versus the PhiladelphiaAthletics was that game. Everyone

had to pay their way into the stadiumincluding team management,umpires and players. The crowd of24,631 was the greatest for aBrowns home game since the teamsfirst night game in 1940.

On August 3, the Browns played theminor league Kansas City Blues. TheBrowns lost the game by a score of 9-8. The attendance was 5,965, whichwas Kansas Citys best attendanceall season. Despite losing, the

Browns got 14 hits and Gene Moorewent 4-5 with three Runs Batted In.

The Browns beat the New YorkYankees on August 12th. It markedthe first four game series victory overthe Yankees since 1940.

Nelson Potter

A departmen

store window

in downtown

St. Louis atthe time that

the Cardinal

played the

Browns in th

1944 World

Series.

11


Coming_20159Beer . . . Brats . . . Baseball . . . And Browns

12

Bill Borst Emmett McAuliffe Vicki MartinLewis LeveyBill RogersFred Heger

Your St. Louis Browns Historical Society & Fan Club Board of Directors


13

Bill Hunter5This article was written by Mike Huber.

Billy Hunter played shortstop with aflashy glove, great team spirit, and azest for the game. The Brooklyn

Dodgers thought he could somedaysucceed Pee Wee Reese. But asthings turned out, they traded Hunteraway before he reached the majorleagues, and by the time Reese re-tired, Hunter was playing out thestring.

Gordon WilliamBilly Hunterwas born onJune 4, 1928, inPennsylvania.His father grewup with MikeRyba, who spentlots of time withDodgers bossBranch Rickey inthe Cardinalsorganization in

the 1930s and moved to the RedSox organization in 1941.

Shortly after the 1946 World Series,Ryba contacted Hunter and ex-pressed interest in his shortstop

abilities. Hunter had accepted a foot-ball/baseball scholarship to attendPenn State, beginning in 1947. How-ever, Penn State did not take anyfreshmen on its State College cam-pus to leave room for servicemenreturning from World War II, so Billyattended Indiana State TeachersCollege in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

He then enrolled at Penn State as asophomore (1948) for spring footballpractice and played as a T-formation

quarterback. In reality Hunter wantedto play professional baseball.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers invitedhim to Vero Beach, Florida, for 1948spring training, the 19-year-old metMike Ryba again (Ryba was thenmanaging the Red Sox Scrantonclub, who were training in CocoaBeach). Mike had been waiting forHunter to give him a call and Billyhad been waiting for Rybas call. Not

wanting to wait any longer, Huntersigned a contract with the Dodgersfor $2,000. Ryba tried to talk him outof it, saying, You know what theDodgers arelike? Theyhave 21 farmclubs. Billyreplied, If I

have it, Ill getthere. If Idont have it,it wouldntmake anydifferencewhether I wasin the RedSox camp orin the Dodg-ers camp.

Hunter spent five seasons in the mi-nors before reaching the majors in1953. He played for Three Rivers (inthe Canadian-American League) in1948, for Nashua (New EnglandLeague) and Newport News(Piedmont League) in 1949, and forPueblo (Western League) in 1950.In 1951 and 1952 he was with theFort Worth Cats in the Double-ATexas League before being sold tothe St. Louis Browns in October1952.

The 52 season had been Hunters

best in the minors, as he sporteda .285 batting average with 174 hitsin 161 games. He knocked in 75runs and stole 24 bases. His room-mate for his two seasons with FortWorth was Don Zimmer.

Hunters 1952 Texas League MVPseason put him at the top of everygeneral managers wish list. Brownsowner Bill Veeck pried Hunter awayfrom the Dodgers in exchange for$95,000 plus three players, Ray

Coleman, Stan Rojek, and Bob Ma-honey, making Billy the highestpriced rookie in team history.

Hunter found out about the tradewhile reading the New York DailyNewsin Puerto Rico, where he wasplaying winter ball. He called hiswife, who confirmed it by finding astory in the New York Times. The

league minimum salary was $5,00and Veeck signed Hunter for a salary of $6,000. According to HunterVeeck apologized for only beingable to pay me $6,000. Bill, werebankrupt, he told me, but Ill takecare of you next year.

Well, you know what happened ne

year. The Browns moved to Balti-more under new ownership. Theshortstop didnt get the raise.

At the age of 25, Hunter began hismajor-league career, debuting forthe Browns on April 14, 1953, as tteams Opening Day shortstop. Hehit his first home run on Septembe26, the next to last day of the sea-son, off Connie Johnson of the Chcago White Sox. It was the finalhome run in St. Louis Browns his-tory. Before the next season thefranchise was transferred to Balti-more. In his first season in the majors, Hunter played in all 154 game(152 at shortstop), garnering 124hits in 567 at bats (.219) for theBrowns, who finished in the American League basement with a 54-1record.

Despite his low batting average atthe end of the season, Hunter washitting well enough at All-Star timemake the American League team

the All-StarGame, repre-senting theBrowns alongwith SatchelPaige. He did-nt get to bat inthe game, buthe pinch ranfor MickeyMantle. I wasin the top 10 inhitting at the

end of June, Hunter later said. Ialways joke that I must not have ganother hit the rest of the year be-cause I ended up at .219!3 His career average in 630 major-leaguegames also turned out to be .219.

A solid fielding shortstop, Hunteroften played deep in the hole. Hetold Sports Collectors Digestin Ap1997 that I could come in on grouballs very well and playing deep


14

gave me more range, so I wouldhave a whole lot of assists.

This attitude helped him to saveBobo Hollomans no-hitter on May 6,1953, with a dazzling defensive gem,a play that Holloman later called thegreatest hed ever seen. The fieldwas wet from an earlier rain, but

Hunter snared a line drive up themiddle off the bat of Joe Astroth. Itshould have gone through the mid-dle, as St. Louiss surface was usu-ally like concrete, but the shortstopdove for the ball, caught it, and threwout Astroth from his knees.

Hunter later said, The funny thingabout it was that there were only2,000-some people there to see Hol-lomans no-hitter because of the badweather. The Browns beat the Ath-letics, 60, in the sole no-hitter of themajor-league season.

Before the next season the Brownsbecame the Baltimore Orioles. Billynoticed right away a change from theBrowns organization, later describingthe trip from St. Louis to Baltimore inJohn Eisenbergs From 33rd Streetto Camden Yards: When we got toCamden Station, we got into con-vertibles and made the trip fromdowntown out to the park. It was un-believable. There were people every-

where. I was in a car with VernStephens and Vinicio Garcia, thethree of us in back, up on top, throw-ing balls or something out to thecrowd.

People were hanging out of win-dows. It was a big deal, like we wonthe war or something. We werethinking, What a huge differencefrom St. Louis. The Orioles finishedtheir first season with a 54-100 re-cord, matching the 53 Browns, but

they drew over a million fans to thepark, compared with just under300,000 for the Browns in 1953.

Hunter was third on the team ingames played (125), second in sto-len bases (5), and third in triples (5).He had 100 hits in 411 at bats (.243).After the 1954 season Hunter waspart of the massive 17-player tradebetween the Orioles and the NewYork Yankees. The big names wereHunter and pitchers Don Larsen, and

Bob Turley, all of whom went to theYankees.

The trade was started on November17 and completed on December 1.Hunter spent most of 1955 and all of1956 with the Yankees. After 98games as the regular shortstop in1955, he was optioned to Denver in

the American Association to makeroom for Enos Slaughter on NewYorks active roster. The Yankeesbrought him back in 1956, but Hunterplayed in only 39 games behind GilMcDougald, getting 21 hits in 75 atbats.

Hunters biggest disappointment inprofessional baseball was being onthe roster for the 1956 World Seriesand not getting into a game. TheYankees played seven games whileHunter warmed the bench.

In early 1957 Hunter was involved ina 12-player deal between the Yan-kees and Kansas City Athletics. In aninterview many years later he re-membered hitting two home runs offHall of Famer Early Wynn in a gameon August 17,1957, thensqueezing inthe winning runin the bottomof the ninth.

But he man-aged only a.191 averagein 116 gamesfor the Athlet-ics, who fin-ished seventh.After batting adisappoint-ing .155 in 22 games in 1958, Hunterwas traded to Cleveland, where heplayed in 76 games and batted .195.After the season the Indians sent him

to San Diego of the Pacific CoastLeague.In 1959 Hunter smacked eight homeruns, batted .249, and scored 51runs for the Padres, in what provedto be the end of his playing career.

After the season his contract wassold to Toronto in the InternationalLeague. In a 1992 interview he re-

called thinking, At age 31, if I canget back to the big leagues after thseason I just had, then I might aswell retire. He had told Torontoowner Jack Kent Cooke that the onway he would play again in the mi-nors would be as a player/manage

Cooke had hired Mel McGaha the

day before as manager, so Hunterretired. Hoot Evers was the actinggeneral manager for Cleveland anoffered Hunter a part-time job scouing players in the InternationalLeague. The pay was $3,000 plusexpenses. The next year, Evers offered him the same opportunity. Inthe meantime Lee McPhail of theOrioles offered him a full-time scouing position, which Hunter accepte

In 1962 Hunter managed the Oriolrookie team in Bluefield, West Vir-ginia, with the understanding that icoaching opportunity on the Orioleopened up, he would be considerefor it. Hunter piloted Bluefield to cosecutive Appalachian League pen-nants. Speaking in 1992, the skippwas extremely proud of the fact thahe had managed shortstop MarkBelanger in Bluefield and laterBelangers two sons, Rich and Robat Towson State University.

In 1964 Hunters former Yankee

teammate Hank Bauer was namedmanager of the Orioles, and he hirHunter as the third-base coach andbase-running instructor. In 1968,when Bauer was fired, the Orioleshired Earl Weaver to manage.Hunter was clearly disappointed, bWeaver rallied in support of Huntetelling the press, I really think I nehim. Hunter stayed on for nine yeaunder Weaver. In the not uncommevent of Weaver being ejected froman Orioles game, it was often Hun

who took over the reins for the durtion. In fact, Hunter managed theOrioles in the fourth game of the1969 World Series (a 2-1 loss toTom Seaver and the Mets), whenWeaver became the first manager 34 years to be ejected from a WorSeries game.

In 1974 Hunter displayed a new gimick. When an Oriole hit a home rBilly would unbutton his shirt anddisplay his T-shirt to the crowd.


There was only one word on theshirt: ZAP. The New York DailyNewscalled the gimmick bush.

In May 1975, the coach was struckby a line drive off the bat of futureHall of Famer Rod Carew, fracturingHunters left arm. It didnt deter hisenthusiasm. Hunter was a loud

coach, often described as feisty. In1975 Jim Martz, a columnist for theMiami Herald, called Hunter athrowback to the days when base-ball was peppered with hoot n hollerguys. Martz quoted Hunter as say-ing, I just wouldnt know how to actif somebody on the center-field wallcouldnt hear me.

During his 13 years as the Oriolesthird-base coach, Baltimore enjoyedunprecedented success. The Orioleswon two World Series titles (1966and 1970), four American Leaguepennants, and five AL East titles.

Frank Robinson, noted as thejudge in the Orioles KangarooCourt, credited Hunter with starting

the Court as a way to loosen theclub up and point out some mistakesat the same time. Laugh and get apoint across in a light atmosphere.

Hunter was named the Texas Rang-ers manager on June 28, 1977, thefourth Texas manager of the sea-son, accepting a three-year,$250,000 contract. (The Rangershad fired Frank Luchessi and re-placed him with Eddie Stanky, who

quit after two games claiming home-sickness.

Connie Ryan managed eight gamesbefore Hunter accepted the job.) Bill,as he now became known, guidedthe Rangers to a second-place finishwith a 60-33 record, and the rookieskipper received considerable men-

tion in the Manager of the Year bal-loting, won by his former boss, EarlWeaver. At the end of the 1977 sea-son, Hunter told reporters that ourcrying need is a big RBI man. Andwe could use a starting pitcher. Imsatisfied with our defense and ourbullpen, but we need a man who candrive in 90 to 100 runs.

Texas first baseman Mike Hargrovedescribed playing under Hunter: Hecame in here and showed a perfect

blend of knowing how to handle peo-ple, plus knowing the game. Hecombines the best qualities of bothour previous managers.

The successful skipper was offeredeither a three-year or five-year con-tract in the middle of the 1978 sea-son, but he wanted a one-year con-tract instead. Hunter had becomedisenchanted with long-term con-tracts and didnt see how to motivateplayers with long contracts. In addi-tion, his wife had no desire to live in

Texas. The latter sentiment had a lotto do with his decision to turn downthe offers. In a strange turn ofevents, Hunter was fired on the sec-ond-to-last day of the 1978 season,despite a record of 86-75, which hadthe Rangers in second place.

Shocked by his dismissal, Huntervowed that he would never managor coach in the majors again. Hecalled the president at Towson StaUniversity, outside Baltimore, andbecame the head baseball coach,leaving the major leagues for a saary of $5,000. The Rangers installPat Corrales at the helm.

In 1979, Hunters first season atTowson State, he guided the Tigeto an 18-10 record.

One of Hunters assistant coacheswas Ron Hansen, who left in themiddle of the 1980 season to jointhe Milwaukee Brewers coachingstaff.

In 1984, Hunter was named the atletic director at Towson, an NCAA

Division I program. He served in thdual role of baseball coach and atletic director for three years.Hunters baseball coaching recordthe collegiate level ended at 144-166-3.

Towson enjoyed unprecedentedathletic success during Hunters 1years as the director of athletics.The Tigers mens basketball teammade back-to-back appearances the NCAA Tournament in 1990 an1991 and the mens lacrosse teamplayed for the national championsin 1991. The Towson baseball teawent to the NCAA Tournament in1988 and 1991, and the gymnastiteam was a nationally-ranked pro-gram and finished ninth in the natiin 1991.

15


Fans traveled from these statesto attend todays lunch.

16


17

Chuck Stevens5This article was written by Mark Armour

Chuck played 211 games in the ma-jor leagues, all of them for the St.Louis Browns, most of them on theshort end of the score. Were that the

only thing he had ever achieved inbaseball, Chuck Stevens would haveplenty to be proud of, having climbedseveral rungs of the minor leagueladder to achieve the dream of mostevery boy of his generation, to com-pete at Yankee Stadium and Sports-man's Park, to play a game he lovedat the highest level. But that was notall he accomplished in the game, notby a long shot.

He spent the better part of twenty

years playing, coaching and manag-ing professional baseball, much of itin the Pacific Coast League duringthe tail end of its heyday. When hiscareer in a baseball uniform finallycame to an end, he spent almostforty years lending a hand to formerbaseball people who had fallen onhard times. Stevens would tell youthat he was lucky to be associatedwith baseball for so long, doingsomething he loved to do and gaininghundreds of lifelong friends.

Charles Augustus Stevens Jr. wasborn July 10, 1918, in Van Houten,New Mexico, up near the Coloradoborder.

Within a few years the Stevens familymoved to Long Beach, California,while maintaining the ranch in NewMexico. The principal reason for re-locating to Long Beach was to pro-vide a better education for their chil-dren. The new arrangement providedthe best of both worlds, as the familycontinued to spend their summersback in New Mexico throughoutChuck's childhood.

The family was very interested insports, and Long Beach's strong rec-reation department, with its competi-tive baseball environment, made it arewarding place to grow up. Chuckplayed baseball and basketball at ayoung age, but he also was alwaysinterested in music; he studied per-

cussion for 12 years, and was alsoan accomplished tap dancer in hisyouth.

There was no "major league" base-ball on the west coast in the 1920sand 1930s, but the Stevens familycould still watch a high brand of ballby traveling to old Wrigley Field to

see the Coast League's Los AngelesAngels. The PCL ball players wereChuck's heroes, the major leaguersbeing but a rumor in those days be-fore television.

Long Beach in the 1930s was a fertilebreeding ground for major leagueplayers. Chuck's teammates in highschool or American Legion includedpeople like Vern Stephens, BobLemon, and Bob Sturgeon, amongmany other future professionals. It

wasn't just Long Beach: some of Ste-vens' opponents in these years in-cluded Ted Williams, Bobby Doerrand Jackie Robinson. Beginning thesummer following his junior year inhigh school, he remained in LongBeach during the summer months onarea diamonds playing first base, hislife-long position.

Following his graduation from LongBeach Poly High School in early1937, Stevens enrolled in school atthe University of California at Berke-ley, in the pre-dental program. He

didn't stay long, signing a profes-sional baseball contract with WillisButler, the west coast scout for theSt. Louis Browns.

He went to spring training in San Atonio, before reporting to Williamsto(North Carolina) of the Class-DCoastal Plains League. He went

through culture shock living in to-bacco country, seeing the devastating effects of racial segregation upclose. He was much more comfort-able on the diamond, hitting .288 w10 home runs in 97 games.

Although Chuck was naturally left-handed, he spent his youth hittingfrom the right side. In 1938, theBrowns convinced him to try switchhitting, and he stayed with it the resof his career. In fact, it wasn't long

before he felt more comfortable hit-ting left-handed, likely because a hter always sees many more right-handed pitchers. He started this experiment with Johnstown(Pennsylvania) of the Class-C MiddAtlantic League, where he hit .290 128 games.

For 1939 the Browns promoted Stevens to Springfield (Illinois) of thelass-B Three-I league, and he en-joyed his best minor league season(.316 with 74 runs batted in) for ateam that won the Three-I champioship. Now 21 years old, Stevens'rapid advancement through the system indicated that he was considera major league prospect. Stevensmoved up again in 1940, this time tSan Antonio of the Class-A TexasLeague. He didn't hit quite as well(.264 in 158 games), but was drawattention for his flashy defense andaggressive base running. He wasadded to the Browns roster in Sep-tember, but did not get into any

games.

The best move Stevens made in hilife took place in January 1941, whehe married Maria, d in the LongBeach community. They raised onechild, a daughter named Randall.

For the 1941 season Chuck joinedToledo of the Double-A AmericanAssociation, one step below the major leagues. He had a fine year for


the Mud Hens (.290 in 145 games).At the close of the season, Stevensjoined the Browns again, and got intofour games, collecting 2 hits in 13 atbats before a pulled groin muscleshut him down for the season.

In December 1941 Stevens was hav-ing breakfast with his wife when he

got word of the Japanese bombing ofPearl Harbor. This was a life-changing moment for all Americans,but especially for the people on theWest Coast who had to deal withrumors of another attack closer tohome. As a married man Stevenswas not subject to military inductionimmediately, but he knew that hisday would soon come.

Stevens returned to Toledo in 1942but had a disappointing season. Con-

sidered the heir apparent to GeorgeMcQuinn, the Browns' incumbent firstsacker, Stevens slumped to .250 anddid not get the September recall hewas likely hoping for. After the sea-son, Stevens' draft board let himknow that his call-up was imminent,and he subsequently entered theArmy Air Force.

He spent the next three years in theAAF, first in California and later in thePacific theatre, in Tinian, Guam, and

Okinawa. Ste-vens' specialtywas crash-and-burn recovery,saving menand supplies indowned air-craft.

Like most of hisbaseball peers,the ending ofhostilities in

1945 brought Stevens home to re-sume his life and baseball career in1946. George McQuinn, who playedthrough the war and had held theBrowns' first base job for eight years,was traded during the off-season forthe Athletics' first baseman, DickSiebert. However, Siebert refusedthe Browns' proffered salary cut, pro-viding Stevens a job opening.

Stevens played 122 games for the1946 Browns and hit .248 with threehome runs. He never had muchpower, topping out at 12 home runsin the minor leagues, and this un-doubtedly kept him from a longercareer in the majors. His defenseand base-running were generally firstrate.

In 1947 Stevens was outrighted backto Toledo, switching jobs with JerryWitte, who had hit 46 home runs forthe Mud Hens in 1946. The Brownssoon regretted the move and tried torecall Stevens in June but were toldthat he would have to pass throughwaivers to come back up during theseason. Accordingly, Stevens spentthe entire campaign in Toledo, wherehe batted .279 in 141 games.

The Browns gave Stevens his old jobback in 1948, just in time to take partin a bit of baseball history on July 9in Cleveland. Chuck's old friend BobLemon started for the Tribe, butwhen he fell behind 4-1 he was re-lieved by Satchel Paige to start thefifth inning. It was Paige's first gamein the "major leagues," and the firstbatter he faced was Chuck Stevens.Chuck had faced Paige many timesin exhibition matches in California,and remembered hitting him prettywell. In this instance, he spoiled thestory by lining a single to left field onthe second pitch he saw. Paige re-tired the next three hitters to get outof the inning unscathed.

The Browns' devotion to Stevenslasted only 85 games this timearound, during which Chuck hit .260.They tried to farm him out to SanAntonio on July 26, but by this timeStevens had had enough and re-fused to go. Stevens requested thathe be sold to the Hollywood Stars,and the Browns relented a fewweeks later. Stevens hit .321 over 38games for Hollywood at the tail endof the 1948 season.

The Hollywood years, which lastedinto 1954, were the favorite ones ofStevens' baseball career, back homewith his friends and family. In 1949,

Fred Haney became the manager othe Stars, reuniting Stevens with hifavorite skipper. Even better, theStars won three PCL championshipwhile Chuck was their first basema(1949, 1952, and 1953), and hadstrong teams in the other seasons well.

Stevens also parlayed his local faminto roles in two baseball relatedmovies, appearing in Sam Wood'sThe Stratton Story, which starredJimmy Stewart and June Allyson,and Lewis Seiler's The WinningTeam, featuring Doris Day andRonald Reagan. Stevens playedEarle Combs in the latter film.

Stevens was remarkably consistenduring his Hollywood years, hit-ting .297, .288, .292 and .278 from

1949-1952, playing his typical soliddefense at first base. He did not haa lot of power (topping out at 12home runs in 1950) but was oftenemployed as the team's leadoff hit-ter. His best stretch of hitting oc-curred in the first half of 1950, highlighted by 10 straight hits in May.

Chuck's teammates looked to him more than just slick fielding and anoccasional big hit. The SportingNews reported in 1950 that Steven

was "bellcow, mother hen and watcdog all rolled into one." Calling himthe team's "unofficial assistant manager," he was described as theplayer who held the team together the field: encouraging, prodding, exhorting.

Stevens began to slow down at theplate in 1953 (.230 in108 games) alost playing time to Dale Long (whoplayed the outfield when Stevenswas in the lineup). The next year

Long won the position outright, andthe Stars sold Stevens contract tothe San Francisco Seals. Chuckplayed for the Seals for the next yeand a half as a reserve player andpinch hitter, also serving as a playecoach for the 1955 campaign.

At the end of the 1955 season, theBoston Red Sox, who purchased thSeals after the 1955 season, sentChuck along with some of their othsurplus players to Louisville of the18


American Association, their formerfarm club. Stevens had no interest ingoing to Kentucky, instead buyingout his own contract so that he couldtake an opportunity to manage theAmarillo Gold Sox in the WesternLeague.

He hit well in Texas (.335), and also

managed his team to the league'stitle series, copping the circuit's man-ager of the year award. Stevens hadbeen considered managerial timberby the Browns several years earlier.

His career was not quite finished.Tommy Heath was now managing atSacramento, and he convinced Ste-vens to join him as a player-coach in1957. He played sparingly, gatheringjust three singles in twenty-one atbats. Heath moved to Portland in

1958 and tried to convince Stevensto come with him, but Chuck decidedthat the end had come. He finallyhung up his uniform at age 39.

Rejoining his Long Beach commu-nity full-time, Stevens first took a jobworking in private industry, for acompany that acidized oil wells. Hesoon ended up as the general man-ager, but only long enough to helpbroker the sale of the company.

In early 1960 Pants Rowland con-tacted Stevens about a vacant job assecretary of the Association of Pro-fessional Ball Players of America(APBPA). Founded in 1924, APBPAis an association of former baseballpeople that supports those of itsmembers in need. The organizationis not limited to major leaguers or toplayers, assisting umpires, scoutsand trainers as well. Stevens inter-viewed for the post with J. G. TaylorSpink of The Sporting News, a long

time supporter of the Association.Stevens soon became its fourth sec-retary. He kept the job for 38 years,until he had reached the age ofeighty.

Stevens was immediately instrumen-tal in modernizing the structure oforganization, setting up a constitu-tion and By Laws to conform to newtax laws. The heart of the job wasnot organizational, however. It washearing from people every day who

needed help, and working out a wayto provide that help.

His job kept him in touch with thebaseball community. The group getsits operating funds from the dues of itsmembers, with donations also comingfrom the commissioner's office andmajor league teams. Stevens was re-

sponsible for keeping players aware ofthe organization, either via face-to-face meetings or mail solicitations. If abaseball person was in need, some-one would get hold of APBPA, andStevens was responsible for verifyingthe claim and working out a way tohelp. In Stevens' words, he wanted allof these people to "live with dignity."

In 1982, the Association got a meas-ure of fame by staging the CrackerJack All-Star game at RFK Stadium in

Washington, D. C. It was an old-timersgame, but one in which the playersplayed seriously and to win. Unlikeother vaguely similar events, it wasnot held prior to a major league game-it was a standalone event. Chuck wasresponsible for getting the players,and he rounded up almost all of theliving members of the Hall of Fame.

Stevens was the secretary of APBPAfrom 1960 until 1998. It was a job thatrequired a lot of work, involved long

hours at the office, and "broke yourheart every day." The files of the asso-ciation are filled with letters thankingStevens personally for his kindnessand thoughtfulness.

He has received a lot of pleasure fromthe this old game, but one can't helpthinking he has put more than hisshare back into it.

19


20This 20x30 poster is available from the St. Louis Browns Fan Club, donation $50.

1944 browns luncheon streetcar series commemoration

Documents