A Good Life
Once upon a time there was a boy, a ball, and a ballplayer…
Bygone
baseball by C. Philip Francis
Harvey Riebe was a back-up catcher for the Detroit Tigers before and after World War II, and spent his retirement days with his lovely wife, Mary, in the Cleveland, Ohio area. From his modest big league career and combat soldiering in World War II, Riebe has many interesting and fascinating stories. This is one of them - a true baseball tale that began some 50 years ago and ended…well, almost yesterday.
*****
It
was before the game of June 3, 1949 at the corner of Trumbull and Michigan, then
called Briggs Stadium and later Tiger Stadium, when Harvey handed one of his
club’s baseballs (signed, of course, by American League president Will
Harridge) to a young boy sitting behind in the stands.
The catcher recalled, “When I put that ball in the boy’s hand his
eyes got as big as saucers.” A few days later Riebe received two letters.
One came from the boy’s mother who wrote:
June
4, 1949
Dear
Mr. Riebe:
Please
accept my wholehearted thanks for your generosity at the game of 6-3-49.
As you may have guessed, the baseball you presented my son with will be
used strictly for exhibit purposes only.
I know not one member of our family will ever forget the thrill of being
given a ball from a member of our own Detroit Tigers.
I think you know who our favorite ballplayer is.
Thanks
and the very best of everything to you.
Sincerely,
Mrs.
E.Y.
There
was a second letter enclosed that came from the boy himself who wrote:
Dear
Mr. Riebe:
I
want to thank you for the ball. I
like it very much.
Kennie
Y.
Now
fast-forward 50 years. Riebe had
kept the letters for those many years, maybe because he always remembered that
boy with the big eyes. Not long ago
the former Tiger decided to see if he could track down that “little boy.”
With the help of a granddaughter, the Internet, and a lot of luck, Harvey
was able to find Kennie. “It was
sort of a wild shot, but it turned out to be the right person 50 years ago. I
just decided out of the blue to write to him.”
The
former Tiger’s letter did get to the boy with the big eyes, and half a century
later Harvey received another letter from “little Kennie”.
Dear
Mr. Riebe:
Yes,
I am the youngster you gave a ball to nearly 50 years ago.
I can not tell you how shocked I was when my wife told me that your
letter came. I had called her from
work and she asked if I knew a Tiger ballplayer.
I really did not know what to think.
Then the only thing I could think of was one very memorable day long ago
at Briggs Stadium. Even then I
wouldn’t have believed it in a million years that you chose to write back now.
I am thrilled to say the least.
…I’ve
been a lineman for the last 33 years. If all goes well, I will be retiring in
about 16 months. Or less.
The week I got your letter my mother became very ill and passed away.
Things
were a little crazy for the next week or two.
Then work became pretty heavy. A
few little storms came through and then all broke loose.
A lineman’s life seems to be nothing but long hours away from the
family.
I
wish I could tell you I still have that ball, but it got played to death on an
old sandlot in our old Detroit neighborhood.
I was able to keep it for about 3 years, so I hope I did not completely
break our promise of displaying it. It
had a good life. …I can’t
believe you kept that letter all these years.
…We are expecting our first grandchild in September, and are thrilled.
Again
thank you for the baseball and thank you for the letter, the timing was perfect,
it really helped take my mind off of other things.
We'll just say it was a fastball right down the middle, a home run pitch.
Your
friend,
Ken
Y.
*****
Chatter
from the Dugout was able to contact Ken regarding this story, and responded
with, “All I can tell you now is I still consider that day something very
special. Now that I have grandkids,
I hope to be able to pass this little story on to them.”
And
as for Harvey, “I can still see that youngster’s eyes.”