Carl Erskine - Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Dodger Stories Ever Told

Copyright 2004, 2014 by Carl Erskine

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61321-645-3

Printed in the United States of America

I dedicate this book to a range of people, all linked together over my lifetime. In the beginning was my Creator, who blessed me with some talents in baseball. Then my dad, Matt, and my brothers, Lloyd and Donald, who helped me develop them. Ray Brann, a good semipro player, who encouraged me. Archie Chadd and Charles Cummings, my high school coaches. About this time, my best girl, Betty Palmer, entered my life. She lived through every stage of my career with me while raising Danny, Gary, Susan, and Jimmy. They, too, shared some of the experiences.

Stanley Feezle, a Brooklyn Dodger scout who had just signed Gil Hodges, followed me in high school, along with my catching buddy, Jack Rector, and recommended us to the Dodgers.

Of course, Branch Rickey, who signed me in 1946 and was my mentor in baseball and a strong influence in my life. There are countless others in my hometown of Anderson, Indiana, who boosted and supported me.

I also dedicate this book to the baseball fans whose lives have been touched in some way by a pitch, a play, a game, or a season and who still write me about those wonderful years when I went to work every day at the ballpark and put on my No. 17 Dodger uniform.

Finally, I dedicate this book to The Game. Yes, its only a game, but its Americas game, and the roots are deep. The Game has survived wars, the Great Depression, and a number of natural disasters. It has woven itself into the fabric of America. The Game set the stage for America to find itself racially and now provides the perfect setting, where merit alone dictates acceptance.

Im grateful to all of the above and say a prayer of thanksgiving daily.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I t was just another mid-June game at Ebbets Field so many adjectives ago, and I was sitting in the Dodger dugout alongside Carl Erskine, who was to start against the Chicago Cubs. Small talk was the order of the day until Carl began to toss the game ball up in the air.

I wonder what this little ball has in store for me today, Carl mused aloud. Two hours later I shared his joy as he pitched his first no-hitter, which would have been a perfect game had he not walked a most imperfect hitter, opposing pitcher Willard Ramsdell. It was one of Carls two no-hitters during a brilliant career that saw him win 20 games in 1953, strike out 14 Yankees in a World Series game, win 122 games in a splendid 12-year career, and earn the respect and admiration of his teammates and opponentswhich might have been his greatest accomplishment.

Carl was also involved in a numerical believe-it-or-not. On October 5, he was selected to pitch Game 5 of the 1952 World Series against the New York Yankees. Before the game, if memory serves me right, he received a telegram from the mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, where Carl pitched in his minor league days, congratulating Carl and Betty on their fifth wedding anniversary. I collected the three fives in my memory bank and watched somewhat in disbelief as the Yankees scored five runs in the fifth inning. Carl, however, was in no mood to let the Yankees ruin his party, as he hung tough, went 11 innings to win, 6-5. Oh, one other thing. When the game ended, I swear it was 5 after 5 p.m. As Ring Lardner used to say, You could look it up.

The little man from Anderson, Indiana, was a very big man indeed back in those lovely days in Brooklyn, and it was with great fondness that the pure sound of Erskine was turned into the raucous Oisk. Carl Erskine was always dependable, prepared, consistent, and businesslike, with a change-up that brought many a good hitter right out of his shoes. He pitched his game like a banker filling out your loan application, with preciseness and care. It was no surprise then to those who know him that he would one day wind up doing just that. However, you will not be getting a dry bankers report from this book, but rather the warm memories of a lovely man.

Nor, for that matter, would Carl complete the line, See the Boys of Summer in their ruin . No maudlin man is he. Not now, not ever. For he is more like the sundial that only records the sunlit hours.

Here, then, are some of those golden moments, the shared laughter and thrills, the pure joy of being a big leaguer better yet, of being a Dodger.

Pull up a chair, get close to the dugout, and stay a while.

Vin Scully

Delivered by Carl Erskine. (Carl Erskine Collection)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I n appreciation, I acknowledge several people who assisted and encouraged me in the writing of this book: Mark Langill and the Dodgers for research, editing, and file photos. Mary Lou Fadely, my secretary, who had to decipher many pages of my longhand. The Hall of Fame for photos. Vin Scully, Duke Snider, Rachel Robinson, Ed Roebuck, and Roger Kahn, all part of the Dodger family, who helped verify these happenings. And then my wife, Betty, who shared the excitement and challenges of these years with me.

INTRODUCTION

T here is an old saying: You can no more tell something you dont know than you can come back from someplace youve never been. Over time, I have been asked thousands of questions about the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, and the wonderful baseball era when New York City had three major league teams. Ive also been asked about the historic move to Los Angeles. Often in relating the many fascinating events that took place during my career, in describing the personalities and retelling the bizarre, humorous, sometimes heartwarming stories, Ive also been asked, Are all of your stories true? I say, Yes, I couldnt possible make them up the way they actually happened. I can tell these stories because I was there.

What I did was soak up, like a sponge, all of the atmosphere around me. I was so grateful to be in the big leaguesplaying for a great team, living out my baseball career with close friends such as The Duke, Preacher, Pee Wee, Campy, Jackie, Hodges, Furillo, Newcombe, Clem Labine, and the rest of the cast of charactersI just naturally didnt miss much. Everybody on the scene was an important character: the grounds crew, the ushers, the ticket takers, the elevator boys, the special cops, the umpires, and, of course, the fans.

The following pages relate true events that took place during my career. I take great delight in telling and retelling them. After all, each one involves a friend or a baseball enemy, and at this mellow stage of my life, its hard to tell them apart. I loved them all. Thanks for being a baseball fan with whom I can share my stories.