From the Files of HR
…Jake was a colorful character
Bygone baseball by C. Philip Francis
Regular readers of the Chatter from the Dugout will be familiar with Harvey Riebe who played for the Detroit Tigers before and after World War II. I was fortunate to know Mr. Riebe during the five years before his death in April of 2001 during which time we had a continued correspondence. Harvey was a prolific storyteller and very generous in sharing his comments on players he played with and against in the 1930’s and 1940’s, an era that some call - The Golden Age of Baseball”, and closed each tale with, “This is a true story from the files of HR.” You may or you may not remember the names below, but they should give much enjoyment to any fan of old time baseball.
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---I met BABE RUTH during spring training about 1948. (Note: Ruth died August 16, 1948.) It was the last days of his life, a sad situation seeing him in such terrible pain, something I can never erase from my mind. I came away from that meeting sort of wishing I had never met him. A day or two later one of the reporters wrote a column on Ruth who had remarked on Johnny Groth and myself as fine Tiger prospects. (Note: Johnny soon became the regular centerfielder for the Tigers.)
---I played with CHARLES GEHRINGER in 1942, and after that I went into the service. I remember him as the quietest man in baseball as he never said three words during a ball game. Terrific fielder and not a bad hitter as well. (Note: The year 1942 was Charlie’s last of his 19 seasons all with the Detroit Tigers, and finished with a career batting average of .320.)
---My wife, MARY, sat through all of the thrills of victory and agony of defeat. She would sit with the other wives behind 3rd base, up about 25 rows. She, of course, heard all the remarks, good and bad, but after a while the fans knew they were wives and were very careful of remarks. Now and then there were some what were unaware of the players’ spouses, and out would come a yell, “Get that Riebe out of there!” But I would tell her (my wife) that this guy is most likely a “loser” at home, and has to be an authority at the ballpark, so he thinks. When I went 0 for 4 (no hits in 4 at-bats) my wife would mention it. We called that the “horse collar” because it looked like an 0 and that was what it looked like in the box score in the newspaper the next day.
---Did I ever tell you the two stories about a manager of our Winston-Salem Ball Club in early 1941? His real name was JAKE ZIMMERMAN who was a cripple at birth and managed our club wielding a cane. His experiences as a minor league manager often left him without a paycheck because the paymaster was usually out of money when they got to the end of the alphabet - Zimmerman. So he finally wised up and became JAKE ATZ so he could now benefit financially.
We all wondered how a cripple could play ball, and he explained that at birth he was only mildly deformed and could still run well. (Note: Atz appeared in 208 games for the Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox in 1902, ‘07-’09 primarily as a second baseman, and the “mildly deformed“ Atz stole 23 bases. He died in 1945 at age 65.)
The other story happened in 1941 when the Winston-Salem team was among the worst. We were called the Twins because of the two names, and seldom had more than 400 fans day or night. People would chant “Same Old Twins” because we didn’t win too often. In one game at home in ’41 every player on the team had made an error except the 1st baseman, GALE SMITH. In the 8th inning we were behind 12-0 when a pop foul ball came over near our dugout and Smith ambled over under the ball. Well, guess who performed the next move? Manger Jake Atz reached out with his cane and belted Smith across the shins hollering, “You are going to make an error, too.”
Needless to say, Jake was a colorful character. His favorite pep talk before taking the field ended with his remark, “If we really try hard enough we can lose another one.” I had several managers in my career, but Jake stands out as my most unforgettable.
Smith dropped the ball for an error in case you wondered.
---Did you know I played with CHUCK CONNORS when we were with Memphis and Mobile, a Dodger farm club? He was a great fielder and 1st baseman, but not too much with the “stick” (hitting). We chatted quite often, and he told me back then that he wanted to break into the movies. We kidded him, but told him to “go for it as you’re not exactly leading the league here.” He replied “You guys are just pulling my leg, but wait and see because you all will be paying to see me on the screen.” He was right, and I for one enjoyed his role as The Rifleman on television. I was really surprised to hear Chuck had passed away not too long ago. (Note: Chuck had one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949, and 66 for the Chicago Cubs in 1951. He died in 1992 at 71.)
Next week: More tales from the files of Harvey Riebe including Hank Greenberg.