I know I said I'd write about Dr. John's book, but I've also read some baseball books lately. One of the players I always wondered about growing up was Ted "Tiger" Lyons, who was on the Chicago White Sox for over 20 years and only won 20 games in 3 seasons but still had 260 wins; I guess it shows how lousy those teams were in the '20s and '30s that he didn't have more... anyway, I would see Ray Mack's comics of baseball stadiums, and in Comiskey Park he commemorated "Ted Lyons Day" in 1940, which intrigued me... and I've read some things in Ted's interview in a book by Eugene Murdock about him and that day. The fans had collected dimes in jars and bought him a car with them (1940 sticker price- about $1500), and he got a check for $1800 from management and a sterling silver bat from the team.
In Bill James's book, he mentions the odd way in which Ted got a scholarship to Baylor, and here it is in Ted's own words:
Well, it was really a half-trombone scholarship. No, thats not right it was a half-scholarship on the trombone. You must remember that they didnt have athletic scholarships back in those days. [1919- ed.] I had done pretty well in basketball and baseball in high school, but that didnt help me get into college. My trombone did, and we were happy to take what we could get.
I didnt play football [at Baylor], but I marched with the band at football games. Im afraid I didnt march for very long, however. We were playing Texas A&M and a fight broke out between the two bands. Naturally, I had to lay my trombone down so I could get into the fight. While it was laying on the ground this guy from A&M tromped all over the slide. It wasnt much good after that so I lost the scholarship.
Here's another page from the book:
Every team has its comedians, but few of them have the likes of Smead Jolley, who was one of Ted Lyonss teammates for a few years in the early 1930s. Every team should have a Smead Jolley, he chuckled. He was a good hitter, but not much of a fielder. A little clumsy and slow. But he could make [team manager] Donie Bush laugh any time. After some blunder Donie would ask him, Smead, what did you do that for? and Jolleys answers would set us to laughing and he wasnt really trying to be funny, either. It was just his way. One day we were playing an exhibition game and Smead gets picked off first base. The next day at our meeting, Donie asked him, Smead, what happened to you yesterday? Smead said, Oh, I just dont know, Donie. I took my lead like this [demonstrating] and I was looking down at the ground and all of a sudden I hear the smack of the ball in the glove and I wondered to myself what I was doing out there. You just couldnt get mad at the guy.
Now were in Boston, Lyons continued, where they have that little incline that ran up to the left-field fence. Donie told me to take Smead out there in practice and hit line drives over his head. Make him go up that incline, he said. Left fielders had a lot of trouble with it because it went up so quick. So we went out there and I stood on the edge of the infield and hit a lot of line drives just over Smeads head. Hed go back and make some good catches So now were in the game and the batter takes a big swing, hitting the ball on the end of the bat towards left field. Smead starts running up that incline like hed learned to do. Then he sees the ball is going to be short, so he puts on the brakes, turns around, and starts running in, but he got his feet tangled up and fell flat on his face. When were in the dugout, Donie asks him, Smead, what happened this time? Well, Donie, he said, Ted taught me how to go up the bank, but he didnt teach me how to come down.
The scoreboard at Comiskey Park [home field of the White Sox] had about a six-inch gap at the bottom; it did not come all the way to the ground. Cleveland was in town one day and Smead was playing center field. Earl Averill drove one to the scoreboard and the ball got in the gap underneath. Jolley went racing back, trying to keep his eye on Averill. As he stooped over to grab the ball, Averill was rounding the bases. The ball kept eluding Jolleys grasp and Averill scored on an inside-the-park home run. When the inning was over, Donie asked him, What happened this time, Smead? Jolley said, I dont know, Donie. That ball kept foolin around out there and I couldnt do nothin with it.
In Bill James's book, he mentions the odd way in which Ted got a scholarship to Baylor, and here it is in Ted's own words:
Well, it was really a half-trombone scholarship. No, thats not right it was a half-scholarship on the trombone. You must remember that they didnt have athletic scholarships back in those days. [1919- ed.] I had done pretty well in basketball and baseball in high school, but that didnt help me get into college. My trombone did, and we were happy to take what we could get.
I didnt play football [at Baylor], but I marched with the band at football games. Im afraid I didnt march for very long, however. We were playing Texas A&M and a fight broke out between the two bands. Naturally, I had to lay my trombone down so I could get into the fight. While it was laying on the ground this guy from A&M tromped all over the slide. It wasnt much good after that so I lost the scholarship.
Here's another page from the book:
Every team has its comedians, but few of them have the likes of Smead Jolley, who was one of Ted Lyonss teammates for a few years in the early 1930s. Every team should have a Smead Jolley, he chuckled. He was a good hitter, but not much of a fielder. A little clumsy and slow. But he could make [team manager] Donie Bush laugh any time. After some blunder Donie would ask him, Smead, what did you do that for? and Jolleys answers would set us to laughing and he wasnt really trying to be funny, either. It was just his way. One day we were playing an exhibition game and Smead gets picked off first base. The next day at our meeting, Donie asked him, Smead, what happened to you yesterday? Smead said, Oh, I just dont know, Donie. I took my lead like this [demonstrating] and I was looking down at the ground and all of a sudden I hear the smack of the ball in the glove and I wondered to myself what I was doing out there. You just couldnt get mad at the guy.
Now were in Boston, Lyons continued, where they have that little incline that ran up to the left-field fence. Donie told me to take Smead out there in practice and hit line drives over his head. Make him go up that incline, he said. Left fielders had a lot of trouble with it because it went up so quick. So we went out there and I stood on the edge of the infield and hit a lot of line drives just over Smeads head. Hed go back and make some good catches So now were in the game and the batter takes a big swing, hitting the ball on the end of the bat towards left field. Smead starts running up that incline like hed learned to do. Then he sees the ball is going to be short, so he puts on the brakes, turns around, and starts running in, but he got his feet tangled up and fell flat on his face. When were in the dugout, Donie asks him, Smead, what happened this time? Well, Donie, he said, Ted taught me how to go up the bank, but he didnt teach me how to come down.
The scoreboard at Comiskey Park [home field of the White Sox] had about a six-inch gap at the bottom; it did not come all the way to the ground. Cleveland was in town one day and Smead was playing center field. Earl Averill drove one to the scoreboard and the ball got in the gap underneath. Jolley went racing back, trying to keep his eye on Averill. As he stooped over to grab the ball, Averill was rounding the bases. The ball kept eluding Jolleys grasp and Averill scored on an inside-the-park home run. When the inning was over, Donie asked him, What happened this time, Smead? Jolley said, I dont know, Donie. That ball kept foolin around out there and I couldnt do nothin with it.
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
joscelyne:
I just got your post card today. You are so flippin' cool, you don't even know. 
hyenahell:
bartending is fun, i just got burnt out on it. no sense in opening an old wound. if you read my journal entries from earlier this year, march or april especially, you'll understand the burnout, though. 