Frank Russo - The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseballs Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises

The Cooperstown

Chronicles

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Russo, Frank, 1959

The Cooperstown chronicles : baseball's colorful characters, unusual lives, and strange demises / Frank Russo.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-3639-4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-3640-0 (ebook)

1. Baseball playersUnited StatesSocial life and customs. 2. Baseball playersUnited StatesDeath. 3. Baseball playersUnited StatesBiography. 4. BaseballUnited StatesHistory. I. Title.

GV865.A1R863 2015

796.3570922dc23 [B]

2014019500

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to the various players, managers, coaches, and umpires who have graced major league ballparks since the inception of the professional game in 1871. This volume is also dedicated to my wonderful mother Rose, who was born but a scant few miles from Yankee Stadium, and my late father Frank Sr. (19211971), whose love of the New York Yankees was handed down to me, for which I am forever grateful. In addition, this book is dedicated to My Palmy wife Joannefor her constant encouragement, which was vital during the writing of this book.

Frank Russo, one of the pioneers in the activity that has become known as baseball necrology, has outdone himself. The coauthor of Bury MyHeart at Cooperstown and creator and webmaster of thedeadballera.com, he has now written The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseballs Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises.

This is a book of short biographical profiles on a number of baseball personalities. The subjects range from the early days of the National League (even the short-lived National Association is mentioned) to the current decade. Little-known players like Terry Enyart, who pitched only one and two-thirds innings in the majors, and superstars like Mike Flanagan, who had an 18-year major league career and continued working in baseball administration and broadcasting, are included.

So many baseball player biographers cover only a players major league career and list, ad nauseum, at bats, hits, batting average, innings pitched, earned run average, etc. Not Frank. He realizes there is more to baseball than just numbers. He addresses players careers in the minor leagues, which so many ignore, and also delves into their personal lives, personalities, and interaction with societal issues of the day.

Todays game of baseball, like the world around it, has become money-driven, technology-driven, and dominated by political correctness. Many of the players in this book competed for the fun of the game long before speed-monitoring devices, pitch counts, and sabermetrics. They were a rowdy, fun-loving group of guys who had a talent for playing baseball, enjoyed what they did, and didnt worry what they said or to whom they said it. This is obvious from Franks description of the lives of his subjects. He also dispels some of the myths perpetrated by the press and revisionist historians.

Prepare to be entertained!

Bill Lee, The Baseball Undertaker

Foley, Alabama

Many people helped me when it came to researching the various ballplayers included in this book. My undying gratitude goes to my wife, Joanne DiGiovanni Russo, for help with the editing of this book; Bill Lee, The Baseball Undertaker; Dr. Fred Worth, professor of mathematics, Henderson State University, and grave hunter extraordinaire; Dr. Stephen Boren, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago; Tim Copeland; Connie Nisinger; Bill Carle, head of SABRs biographical committee; and Bill Diz Deane.

Thanks also to Jim Tipton, Russ Dodge, and A. J. Marik of findagrave.com; Ty Cobb historian Wesley Fricks; New York Yankees historian Marty Appel, the most positive person in the world; Brandi Miss Congeniality Davison-Edralin (Brandi, youre a fine girl); my long-lost sister/buddy, Lisa Koster, physician assistant certified; Robin Axel, licensed clinical social worker; Kristian T. Peterson; Mike Hi Ho Silva, freelance radio host, blogger, and writer and proprietor of MikeSilvaMedia.com; Sergeant Kenneth Gunny Dawson, USMC, retired; Sharlene Caruso, Tim Wiles, Fred Berowski, and Claudette Burke of the Baseball Hall of Fame; and Tony Siegel, senior advisor of baseball operations, San Francisco Giants.

Special thanks go out to the various cemetery employees and office personnel who helped with the grave locations for the players listed in this book.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that Major League Baseball has always been an obsession, in particular the lives of the players. Since the summer of 1968, when I researched my first player, the great Eddie Plank, I have been fascinated with the lives of the players who laced em up.

For several years it seemed like every time Ive had a discussion with a fellow baseball fan or researcher, I would always be asked, When is your next book coming out? Well, it is finally here! I give you, for your reading pleasure, The Cooperstown Chronicles: Baseballs Colorful Characters, Unusual Lives, and Strange Demises. Writing this book was a true labor of love. I cant begin to tell you how many hundreds of hours I spent in my office (usually at night), working on this project. The most frustrating part of the process, of course, was deciding which players to include and which ones to leave out. After all, Major League Baseball has been around for more than 140 years if you include the National Association of 18711875 (which I do). Thousands of men have played in the majors, each with their own special, interesting story to tell. My goal from the beginning has always been to write a book that is both informative and educational, and sometimes even funny. My sincere hope is that you will find the players included in The Cooperstown Chronicles to be as interesting as I find them to be.

Baseball has long had its share of tough guys and bad asses sprinkled throughout its long, rich history. In the early days of the game, it was common for teams to cheat and take advantage of every situation on the field by breaking the rules. Infamous teams like the Cleveland Spiders and old Baltimore Orioles drew huge crowds that came to see the hooliganism on the field. Some players, like Ty Cobb and Enos Slaughter, played the game hard and clean but wound up gaining unfair reputations for being dirty and racist players without any facts to support the claims. Others, like Cap Anson and Ben Chapman, as well as catchers Boss Schmidt and Clint Courtney, were considered the toughest hombres to ever lace up a pair of spikes, and they deserved the negative publicity. One of the things that makes the game of baseball so great is that it truly takes all kinds of personalities. The following are but a few of the close-knit fraternity of players who were truly bad to the bone.