Morris Eckhouse - Where Cleveland Played: Sports Shrines from League Park to the Coliseum

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2010 by Morris Eckhouse and Greg Crouse

All rights reserved

Cover images: Front cover, top, left to right: Authors collection; Courtesy the Walter C. Leedy Postcard Collection, www.ClevelandMemory.org; Courtesy Jeff Suntala; Authors collection. Front cover, bottom: Courtesy the Rick Bradley Postcard Collection.

First published 2010

e-book edition 2011

ISBN 978.1.61423.213.1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Eckhouse, Morris.

Where Cleveland played: sports shrines from League Park to the Coliseum / Morris

Eckhouse and Greg Crouse.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-270-3

1. Sports--Ohio--Cleveland. 2. Sports facilities--Ohio--Cleveland. I. Crouse, Greg. II.

Title.

GV584.5.C58E27 2010

796.0977132--dc22

2010035215

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the authors or The History Press. The authors and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To all of my friends and family members who have enjoyed games with me. If you think I mean you, I do. And to my nephew Max. I hope you find as much enjoyment from something as I have from baseball.

GC

To Allen Eckhouse for his twenty-first birthday (a little late), Maria Eckhouse for our twenty-fifth anniversary (a little early), Ellen Eckhouse (proprietor of The Village Bookstore), Joanne Valenti for taking time away from Turner Classic Movies to read this and the memory of Eleanor Eckhouse, Melvin Eckhouse and Tony Valenti.

ME

Foreword

In this much too fast-paced life of ours, some of the foundations of living are either forgotten or ignored. This is certainly true in the world of sports in general and in Cleveland in particular.

Personally, I have had the good fortune to live in northeastern Ohio for more than forty years. In that time, I have worked in three of the four venues covered in this book and have stood in the remains of the other with pitcher Mel Harder, who recreated for me in the course of one day the structure of League Park.

This book, lovingly crafted by the authors, will do the same for the reader, who will be drawn into the days gone by, where some of the greatest names in Cleveland sports history gave fans moments to remember. Where Cleveland Played: Sports Shrines from League Park to the Coliseum is a work of art unto itself. Names and games are presented to the readers in a way that will help them understand why those of us who can remember embrace the book as a travelogue to where we have been. We are reminded in facts and figures of what happen in these venueswhen and why.

For the young fans who may have more interest in a fantasy game than the real thing, I urge you to take the time and effort to read this book and discover that the realities of the past are much more intriguing than the fantasy of the present. League Park is almost rubble. The Cleveland Arena and the Coliseum are totally gone. Municipal Stadium has given way to a new edifice on the lakefront. Now, through the magic of the printed words of Morris Eckhouse and Greg Crouse, Cy Young will pitch again in League Park, Johnny Bower will defend the Barons goal at the Cleveland Arena, World B. Free will fill the hoops at the Coliseum and Jim Brown will rumble into the end zone. Highlights and lowlights are recalled, and there were plenty of both.

I urge you to take the time to both learn and enjoy.

Joe Tait, The Voice of Cleveland

Acknowledgements

Joe Gartrell of The History Press was enthusiastic about this project from its outset and steered it efficiently to completion. Thanks to Joe and also to Project Editor Ryan Finn and everyone else at The History Press who participated in the project.

Lynn M. Duchez Bycko, MA, the special collections associate at Cleveland State Universitys Michael Schwartz Library, was always pleasant and helpful in handling all of our requests.

The CSU library with its Cleveland Press Collection is one of many wonderful resources for sports fans, researchers and scholars. Cleveland may well be the best location in the nation for sports research.

Cleveland Public Library with its microfilm room was a major asset in the completion of this book. The extended CLEVENET consortium of thirty-one library systems in northeast Ohio, the Akron-Summit County Public Library system and the Cuyahoga County Public Library system are a blessing to the greater Cleveland area.

There are many stories worth telling about Clevelands lost sports shrines. The books of Jim Toman (Cleveland Municipal Stadium), Russ Schneider (Cleveland Indians) and Gene Kiczek (hockey in Cleveland) have preserved large chunks of Cleveland sports history for generations to come. Stories of specific players, teams and seasons are recounted in numerous wonderful books. Thanks to all of the writers who have taken the time and effort to preserve and perpetuate these stories.

We have both listened to Joe Tait for most of our lives. We are honored by his eloquent foreword and his kind words. Congratulations to Joe on his receipt of the 2010 Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the latest of his many well-deserved honors for sportscasting excellence.

Thanks to Jeff Suntala for graciously allowing us to use his beautiful illustration of League Park. Visit Jeffs website, www.suntala.com, to view his other great artwork and for ordering information.

Thanks to the collaborative effort of OnCell, October Productions and the Baseball Heritage Museum, a companion audio tour to the book can be found at www.magicalbaseball.com or by calling the audio tour at 216-912-7087.

The following people know why they are listed. If not, just ask us.

Ken Barth

Tanya and Rick Bradley

Bill Bryan

Maria and Allen Eckhouse

Storm Miller

Joe Pryweller

Fred Schuld

Brad Sullivan

John Zajc

Introduction

For many of us, League Park, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland Arena and the Coliseum were homes away from home. We knew the quickest ways in and out, the closest concession stands and restrooms and the best parking spots. Even when we werent there, we were still there thanks to our friendly radio announcers like Tom Manning, Jack Graney, Jimmy Dudley, Harry Jones, Bob Neal, Gib Shanley, Jim Graner, Ken Coleman, Herb Score, Joe Tait, Steve Albert, Lee Hamilton, Nev Chandler, Casey Coleman and Tom Hamilton.

League Park is gone now. You can stand at the corner of East 66th and Lexington Avenue and, with a little imagination, envision the first game there in 1891, the Addie Joss benefit game, the 1920 World Series and any number of events. You can stand on the field in the footsteps of Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Hal Trosky, Bill Wambsganss, Lou Boudreau and Bob Feller.

Walk down West 3rd Street toward Cleveland Browns Stadium. Others before you walked the same path to see Boudreau, Feller, Larry Doby, Sam McDowell, Lou Groza, Jim Brown and other sporting greats. Look inside the gate and see the hallowed ground where Otto Graham, Frank Robinson, Brian Sipe, Len Barker, Bernie Kosar and Carlos Baerga made history.