The Squibber

THE DAVIDS CHAPTER E-NEWSLETTER

Fall 2007

This newsletter is produced by the Bob Davids Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), which serves SABR members in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Visit the chapter?s official website at www.sabrdc.org.

This quarterly newsletter is distributed electronically to members. The deadline for material for the next newsletter is February 1, 2008. Submissions can be sent to Squibber editor Walt Cherniak at wcherniakjr@aol.com. Keep sending us those squibs, and those ideas for squibs!

CONTENTS Fall 2007

1 # An Unholy Alliance? The Yankees-A?s Shuttle System in the Fifties, by Jeff Stuart

2# Talkin? Baseball: Baseball Authors Scheduled to Speak, by David Paulson

3. Orioles Rise From the Ashes: New Book Recalls Baltimore?s Minor League History

4. Historian Bayne to Discuss New Documentary: ?Show People? Continues Work to Raise Racial Awareness

5. Final Chapters: A Listing of RFK Stadium ?Lasts? by David Vincent

6. From the BioProject: Here?s to you, Bill, by Jan Finkel

1. AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE? The Yankees-A?s Shuttle System in the Fifties ? By Jeff Stuart

?Not many people know this. But one of us has been traded to Kansas City.?

-- Casey Stengel, speaking to outfielder Bob Cerv 1956

It was a harbinger of things to come. On Dec. 16, 1953, the New York Yankees traded Jim Finigan, Dan Bollweg, John Gray, Jim Robertson, Vic Power and Bill Renna to the Philadelphia Athletics for Harry Byrd, Eddie Robinson, Tom Hamilton, Carmen Mauro and Lauren Babe.

Power was the key man in the 13-player trade. The twenty-four year old native of San Juan, P.R., with a reputation for being flamboyant and combative, had 16 homers, 10 triples and 93 RBI with the Yankees? Kansas City Blues farm team in 1953. He won the American Association batting championship with a .349 average.

The trade was the first of many between the two clubs. The A's gave up 32-year-old first baseman Eddie Robinson, and 28-year-old old righthanded pitcher Harry Byrd, two quality veterans. But in Power, they got a valuable prospect, and Renna had batted .324 in 40 games with the Yankees

"I think the Athletics have helped themselves plenty, too," Yankee manager Stengel remarked. "They're all good men." Maybe so. But in future dealings with the A's -- and there would be many -- the Yankees would not be so generous.

In the fall of 1954 the A's franchise was awarded to Chicago businessman C. Arnold Johnson and relocated to Kansas City. Johnson was a close friend of Yankee President Dan Topping and co-owner Del Webb

Moreover, Johnson was the sole owner of Yankee Stadium, and the Kansas City Ball Park, home of the Yankees? affiliated minor league Kansas City Blues. Indeed, Topping had helped engineer the sale of the A's to Johnson.

Washington Senators' owner Clark Griffith and Cleveland's Hank Greenberg, citing the "irregular tie-in" between Johnson and the Yankees, opposed the move, but they were the only teams to do so It was clear that the Mack family could not continue to operate the A's successfully in Philadelphia, and that the sale was in the Mack?s best interest.

Having enthusiastically backed Johnson from the start, the Yankees asked no compensation in return for yielding their rights to the Kansas City territory. The Blues moved to Denver.

In the 1950s, the Yankees were the richest and most resourceful club in baseball. Some things never change.

Even before George Steinbrenner was outbidding the rest of the league for the free agent services of Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield and others, the Yankees played the player-acquisition game better than anybody, signing future stars like Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

By 1954, the Yanks had won five World Series in a row. However, despite winning 103 games, the Yankees lost the pennant to Cleveland, and they perceived their dominance to be threatened. Other teams appeared to be catching up.

The Dodgers were an immediate threat. The Cardinals had built an outstanding minor league system, as had the Braves and Pirates. Moreover, some talented young players were deciding to sign elsewhere because they did not want to get stuck in the large Yankee farm system.

So the Yankees found a novel way to ensure themselves a continuous supply of good players. They turned one of their American League rivals, the Kansas City Athletics, into a virtual farm team, an arrangement that became known as the ?Yankee Shuttle.?

Over the next six years, the Yankees rarely traded with any other team, gaining many outstanding players from Kansas City and surrendering little of value in return..

It started modestly enough. The first trade involved only cash, when on March 30, 1955, the A's sent $50,000 to New York for Ewell Blackwell, Tom Gorman and Dick Kryhoski.

Though Blackwell was the most recognizable name on the A's in 1955, he pitched only four innings all season. Gorman pitched fairly well going 26-29 with a 3.77 ERA over five seasons.

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Trying to establish a new identity in Kansas City, the A's quickly reached out again to the Yankees, sending Sonny Dixon and cash to New York on May 11, for two more big-nameers, Enos Slaughter and Johnny Sain.

Sain, in his final big-league season, finished just 2-5. Slaughter, however, was the A's best hitter in 1955, batting .322 with 5 homers. When the Yankees needed a veteran hitter for he 1956 stretch drive, Slaughter returned to New York via waivers,.

On June 14, 1956, the A's sent Bill Renna, Moe Burtschy and cash to the Yankees for Lou Skizas and Eddie Robinson. Robinson didn?t contribute much, but Skiza batted .316 with 11 homers in 83 games. Neither Renna or Burtschy appeared with the Yankees.

In 1956, the Yankees had the highest payroll in baseball, at $492,000 per year. Some things never change.

The quote at the beginning of the article refers to 30-year-old outfielder Bob Cerv, who had batted .304 in 54 games with the Yankees in 1956 and .341 in 55 games in 1955.

After the 1956 season ended, the New York sent Cerv to Kansas City for cash. There was no room for Cerv in the Yankee outfield, so rather than farm him out they sent him to K.C. to get some playing time. Over the next five seasons, Cerv performed admirably for the A's. He was an All-Star in 1958, hitting .305 with 38 homers and 104 RBI.

This deal was clearly advantageous to the A's. But despite playing in a new city the Athletics continued to be one of the worst teams in all of baseball.

The Yankees began to get more adventurous and exploitative. Prior to the start of spring training in 1956, the Yankees and the A's completed a 12-player swap.

Art Ditmar, Bobby Shantz, Jack McMahan, Wayne Belardi and two players to be named later went to New York for Billy Hunter, Rip Coleman, Tom Morgan, Mickey McDermott, Milt Graff and Irv Noren. The A's later sent Curt Roberts and Clete Boyer to New to complete the deal.

Shantz, Ditmar, and Boyer all played important roles in the Yankee pennant-winners of 1957, 1958, and 1960, and the Yankees didn't have to give up a single key player in exchange. Hunter batted only .191 in 1957 for the A's, while Graff batted .181. None of the other players did much better.

Boyer was an 18 -year-old bonus baby signed by the A's in 1955, with encouragement from the Yankees. Under the rules of baseball, a player signed for a large bonus had to remain on the major league roster for two years. The Yankees coveted Boyer, but had Andy Carey at third base and couldn?t send Boyer to the minor leagues. So the A's obligingly signed Boyer, and then sent him on to New York when the two years were up.

On June 15, 1957, the Yanks and A's completed another multi-player deal. Ryne Duren, Jim Pisoni, Harry Simpson, and Milt Graff went to to NY for Billy Martin, Woodie Held, Ralph Terry, and Bob Martyn. Duren became a premier reliever, while it was an exile for New York for Martin, who had embarrassed the Yankees in an incident at the Copacabana nightclub.

During this time, the A?s often were burdened by players who were either old, in Stengel?s doghouse, or no longer wanted or needed by the Yankees. They continued to struggle, and their reputation as an unofficial Yankees farm club caused concern.

But the Yankees were largely unrepentant.

On June 15, 1958, they sent outfielder Harry Simpson and pitcher Bob Grim to K.C. for Virgil Trucks and Duke Maas. Maas was the key man in the deal, and pitched well for the Yankees for the next three seasons. Grim had a sore arm, and soon found himself traded to Cleveland..

In a mid-season 1958 deal with the Indians the A's sent former Yankees Vic Power and Woodie Held to Cleveland for Roger Maris.

Even here, the Yankees lurked in the background. A.L. owners protested that this was just a setup for a future trade that would send Maris to New York, and the league office issued a warning.

But that only delayed the inevitable.

Having virtually clinched the 1958 pennant, the Yankees needed another veteran in the bullpen for the World Series. In late August. they sent Zeke Bella to Kansas City for Murry Dickson. Although Dickson was 41, he was one of Kansas City's few reliable pitchers.

There was a flurry of activity between the two clubs in 1959.

Before the start of the season the A's sent pticher Jack Urban to New York for pitcher Mark Freeman. Mike Baxes and Bob Martyn went to N.Y. in return for Russ Snyder and Tommy Carroll.

On May 9, K.C. reacquired Dickson from for the waiver price, and returned Mark Freeman to N.Y., also for the waiver price. In effect, the Yanks had borrowed Dickson for a few games in 1958.

A few weeks later, Kansas City sent Ralph Terry and Hector Lopez to New York for Johnny Kucks, Tom Sturdivant, and Jerry Lumpe. Having served his ?apprenticeship? with the A?s, Terry was now ?promoted? to the parent club. Lopez was a valuable utility player.

The deal was lopsided in favor of the Yankees. Lumpe was a pretty good second baseman, but But Kucks and Sturdivant did not distinguish themselves with the A?s.

For Kansas City, the worst was yet to come.

On December 11, 1959 , in one of the most lopsided trades in history, the A?s sent Roger Maris, Kent Hadley, and Joe DeMaestri to New York for Norm Siebern, Hank Bauer, Marv Throneberry, and Don Larsen.

Siebern hit well and played hard for the As. But Bauer retired and became the A's manager in 1961. Larsen went 1-10 in 1960, Throneberry ended up a memorably inept member on the expansion Mets.

Maris, on the other hand, belted 39 homers for the Yankees in 1960 and broke Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record by hitting 61 more in 1961. He won the MVP award both years

The Yankees added insult to injury in May 1960, finally making room for Bob Cerv. With forme K.C. star Clete Boyer now at third, they sent Andy Carey to the A's.

When K.C. owner Johnson died of a heart attack in early 1960, the A's were put up for sale. But the sale of the club was barely completed before the Yankees tapped Kansas City one last time .On June 14, 1961, the shuttle stopped in K.C., picked up Bud Daley,and dropped off Art Ditmar and Deron Johnson.

This was rather jarring because Daley, very popular with A's fans. He won 16 games in both 1959 and 1960 and was Kansas City's only reliable starting pitcher.

However, the Yankees needed a lefty, and when the Yankees needed something, the A?s gave it to them. New York swapped Ditmar, a 15-game winner who started the first game of the 1960 World Series, for Daley. Ditmar didn't win a game in K.C., while Daley won 8 games for New York and pitched in the Series that fall

Pretty silent until now, the Kansas City fans finally protested this move, and vehemently.

Before the start of the 1961 season, Charles Finley purchased controlling interest in the A?s. He had lost out to Johnson in an earlier attempt to purchase the franchise in 1954. Finley often interfered with on-the-field decisions, but he did promise to stop trading with the Yankees

In an arranged media event, he burned an old bus, symbolically ending the era of the "Yankee Shuttle."

Brighter days were ahead for Finley, but not in Kansas City. He moved the franchise to Oakland in 1968. Brighter days were ahead for Kansas City baseball fans, too, but not with the A?s. Their success had to wait until the Kansas City Royals took root and a new ball park was built.

From 1955 to 1961 there were 16 trades between these two clubs involving 62 players and and cash. The A's never finished higher than sixth, and finished last in 1960 and 1961 following the Maris deal.

The Yankees won five pennants and three World Series.

Ten players from the vaunted 1961 Yankees came directly from the Athletics.

The core of that team stayed intact for several more years, helping New York to pennants in 1962, 1963 and 1964. Though these trades were not solely responsible for the A?s poor showing during this era, the relationship was clearly an unhealthy one that helped New York much more than Kansas City.

Could such an arrangement happen today? Probably not, at least not as blatantly.

But poorer teams still have to trade their good players for whatever they can get when the price gets too high. And if the Yankees don't come calling, free agents will continue to make their way to other major market teams. It is hard for small-market teams to keep a core of players long enough to establish an identity in a community. The days when an Al Kaline Ernie Banks, or Cal Ripken could remain with one franchise their entire career are probably over.

2. TALKIN? BASEBALL: Baseball Authors Scheduled to Speak ? By David Paulson

Here is the schedule for "Talkin' Baseball" presentations by baseball authors over the next two months:

Dec. 8 ? Jim Hartley: Washington Expansion Senators (1961-1971)

Jan. 12 ?Jack Smiles: ?Ee-Yah?: The Life and Times of Hughie Jennings, Hall of Famer

The ?Talkin? Baseball group meets at 9 A.M., usually on the second Saturday of each month, at the Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD, although when school is out, we may revert to meeting at the nearby East Columbia Branch of the Howard County Library.

3. ORIOLES RISE FROM THE ASHES: New Book Recalls Baltimore?s Minor League History

Frank Lynch reports that his new book, ?Orioles Rise From the Ashes: Baltimore?s Journey to the Majors,? is now available through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com

The book chronicles Baltimore?s final 10 seasons as a member of the International League, leading up to the St. Louis Browns? move in 1954 that created today?s Orioles.

Lynch spent 30 years as a sportswriter and copy editor at the Baltimore News American and the Baltimore Sun.

Got a Baltimore fan on your Christmas list?

4. HISTORIAN BAYNE TO DISCUSS NEW DOCUMENTARY: ?Show People? Continues Work to Raise Racial Awareness

Historian Bijan C. Bayne, best known for his work on early Black baseball and professional basketball and, is scheduling speaking appearances, salons and fundraisers to support his upcoming documentary "Show People."

Bayne won a Robert Peterson Research Award from the Society of Baseball History's Negro League Committee.

Bayne is the author of "Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball."

His essays appear in the books "Baseball in the Carolinas," "Between Race and Empire," and "Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game."

He has taught, lectured or given readings on subjects from the business of music to using sports books to engage young pupils.

Bayne will speak at events ranging from informal gatherings in homes to slide presentations in auditoriums. Kefa Cafe in Silver Spring, Md. was the site of Bayne?s presentation in September.

Award-winning cinematographer and producer Vic Losick ("Piano Blues," "The Trials of Alger Hiss" ) will shoot the film, which is the first to focus on cases of non-whites who were displayed as exotics or curiosities.

At every World's Fair into the 1920's, one could visit a human exhibit (called a "village") of peoples of color, from Filipino to pygmy to Native American. Since the time of Columbus, and likely before, spectators, scientists, and royalty have viewed exhibitions, stage "acts" or traveling shows in which humans were displayed as odd or savage foreigners.

Through narrative, interview, and archival imagery, "Show People" will tell this story. The film covers well-documented instances such as "The Venus Hottentot" and "The Siamese Twins," as well as lesser-known cases, some displayed posthumously, dating into the 1990's.

Those interested in hosting Bayne, or tailoring an event to their own setting or audience, may phone him at (513)-515-3602 or e-mail him www.bbayne.com.

5. FINAL CHAPTERS: A Listing of RFK Stadium ?Lasts,? By David Vincent

With the Washington Nationals preparing to move into their brand-new stadium next April, here is a list of some of the ?last? events to take place at RFK Stadium. Information comes courtesy of www.retrosheet.org

Last Game: 23-Sep-2007. Nationals 5, Phillies 3

Last Win: Luis Ayala

Last Save: Chad Cordero

Last Batter: Jayson Werth (strikeout)

Last Hit: Aaron Rowand (single)

Last Run: Chase Utley

Last RBI: Aaron Rowand

Last Home run: Chase Utley (22-Sep-2007)

Last grand slam: Dmitri Young (04-Jul-2007)

Last stolen base: D'Angelo Jimenez

6. FROM THE BIOPROJECT: Here?s to you, Bill, By Jan Finkel

To know Bill Hickman is to know that he?s chairman of the Pictorial History Committee, an expert in the field who has saved me, among many others, from embarrassment.

Not as well known is that Bill is an outstanding writer who has produced two exceptional biographies for the BioProject. To read Bill?s work on John Carden and Pat Flaherty is to experience two diametrically opposed reactions, both of the kind that only a sensitive writer and thorough researcher can evoke.

Once you see the pictures Bill paints in his writing, you?ll only want to see more.