Lew Freedman - Game of My Life Chicago Cubs: Memorable Stories of Cubs Baseball

LEW FREEDMAN
WITH STUART SHEA

Copyright 2007, 2012 by Lew Freedman

New material copyright 2012 by Sky horse Publishing, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or sportspubbooks@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

ISBN: 978-1-61321-069-7

Printed in the United States of America

There is no explaining the Cubs. They defy the law of averages. They defy the law of common sense. One would think that they wouldve won a pennant by accident just once since 1945. One would think that they would win a World Series by accident just once since 1908.

Nah.

The mystique surrounding this National League franchise dates back to its foundings in 1876. So many of the players who passed through the clubhouse over the years remain smitten with the team, the town, the ballpark, the experience. Relatively few of those players (the ones still living, anyway) enjoyed the type of success that most Major League players hunger for, dream about, reflect on in their old age, yet they remain Cubs to the core.

There is something unique about the Cubs, a kind of tradition that cannot be duplicated in the modern world, a sense of belonging to an organization that has been around since long before automobiles clogged the neighborhood around its park. Wrigley Field, an architectural gem and shrine, is worthy of pilgrimmage for the long-distance fan. It is both ancient marvel and trendy gathering place, a must-see and a must-be-seen-there structure.

The lack of institutional success, dating back a century, makes it more difficult for Cubs players to highlight a game of their career that took place while wearing the big C on their chests. No former living Cub can describe the emotion of bringing the World Series title home to the North Side. Only a few Cubs are alive who can describe what it meant to bring a pennant home to the North Side.

That does not mean, however, that we have been devoid of glorious and exciting Cub baseball moments in recent decades. From no-hitters to division championships, players have created memories theyand fanscherish.

From Andy Pafko and Lennie Merullo, who are among the very few living Cubs who participated in the 1945 World Series, to the players of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s who hit home runs, drove in key runs, pitched big games, there are many special occasions to remember. The Cubs have provided enough entertainment to amuse, delight, and thrill their remarkably loyal fans (who came out 3.2 million strong in 2006 to watch a team that finished 30 games under .500).

Although there has been a shortage of championship moments to celebrate, there have been an abundance of great players to toast. Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert, Bruce Sutter, and several other Cubs greats always put on a show worth the price of admission.

Lew Freedman

Born into a Polish family, Andrew Pruschka grew up on a farm that grew primarily corn in Northwest Wisconsin, closer to the Minnesota twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and closer still to the city of Eau Claire than to Chicago.

There were cold winters up there, said Pafko, whose name was Americanized from the one written on his birth certificate.

Pafko was a talented athlete as a youth, but Boyceville was a little community that offered few opportunities in organized high school sports. Pafko played amateur baseball on Sundays with a local team, but his high school fielded a softball team, not a baseball team. He liked basketball, but there was no school hoop squad, either. Pafko was muscular and played some football, but compared to post-World War II Americawith the startup of Little League and other organized baseball leagues for teensPafko was a novice in the sport even by the end of high school.

Given the limited background, Pafko was surprised and flattered when a local coach encouraged him to pursue the game.

He says, Andy, youve got some ability, Pafko recalled. Why dont you try out for professional baseball?

The baseball landscape differed substantially in the 1930s from the 2000s. Minor league clubs all over the United States ranked from Class AAA down to Class D. Nearby Eau Claire had a Class D team. For Pafko, it was like trying to walk on to the junior varsity. He showed up for an open tryout and flashed some raw talent, but not enough polish to be retained. The manager took Pafko aside and delivered a mixed message of hope and disappointment. Manager LB. Griffin told Pafko he was going to be a good ballplayer, but that there was no room for him on the roster. He suggested Pafko return to the farm and wait for an openingthat some player was bound to get hurt once the season began, and Pafko might get a spot.

Ill remember you, Griffin promised.

Pafko took the news like a youngster after a dose of vile cough medicine. He never believed that Griffin would ever retrieve him for the Eau Claire Bears. As he glumly returned to Boyceville, Pafko thought, Well, there goes the career.

Time passed. The corn sprouted on the Pruschka farm. It was harvest time when a big, shiny automobile rolled into the family driveway. Pafko was wearing overalls and sitting atop a stack of straw some distance away, and thought, Oh, my goodness, whos that?

The man stepped from the vehicle and asked, Wheres Andy Pafko? He was pointed out sitting on the straw. When he recognized Griffin, Pafko said, Oh, my God, and climbed down. He remembered me and said, One of my boys got hurt. I want you to come back and finish the season for me.

Pafko changed from overalls to traveling clothes about as swiftly as Clark Kent changing to Superman, making it to Eau Claire to play the last dozen or so games of the season. Pafko was no miracle story who lit up the pitchers, but his appearance in the games put his name into public view.

NAME: Andrew Pruschka

BORN: February 25, 1921 in Boyceville, Wisconsin

HOMETOWN: Boyceville, Wisconsin

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Mount Prospect, Illinois

OCCUPATION: Retired major league baseball player; former major league coach and scout; former minor league manager

POSITION: Outfielder, third base

HEIGHT: 6 feet

PLAYING WEIGHT: 190 pounds

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Played 17 major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Milwaukee Braves, appearing in 1,852 games with a lifetime average of .285; five-time All-Star; played in the World Series with all three of his major league teams.