title: The Boys of the Summer of '48 author: Schneider, Russell J. publisher: Sports Publishing, Inc. isbn10 | asin: 157167179X print isbn13: 9781571671790 ebook isbn13: 9780585046945 language: English Cleveland Indians (Baseball team)--History, subject Baseball--Ohio--Cleveland--History. publication date: 1998 lcc: GV875.C7S34 1998eb ddc: 796.357/64/0977132 Cleveland Indians (Baseball team)--History, subject: Baseball--Ohio--Cleveland--History. The Boys of the Summer of '48 by Russell Schneider SPORTS PUBLISHING INC. CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS © 1998 Russell Schneider All rights reserved. Editor: Susan M. McKinney Book design: Michelle R. Dressen Book layout: Jennifer L. Polson, Susan M. McKinney Dustjacket design: Julie L. Denzer ISBN: 1-57167-179-x Library of Congress Number: 98-84788 Printed in the United States. SPORTS PUBLISHING INC. http://www.SportsPublishing.com This book is dedicated to the men who live within its pages, and also to my wife Kay, for her love, encouragement, understanding and help; to my family, whose love and patience provided me with the incentive and opportunity to pursue my career interests; and to the loyal baseball fans of Cleveland, who deserve many more World Championship teams. Russell Schneider Page v Contents Acknowledgments vii Foreword viii Prologue xi Chapter 1 2 When They Were the Boys of the Summer of '48 Chapter 2 16 A One-Game Season Chapter 3 28 End of the Rainbow Chapter 4 38 From the U.S.S. Alabama to a Spy at the Stadium Chapter 5 44 Lou Boudreau Chapter 6 58 Bob Feller Chapter 7 72 Ray Murray Chapter 8 80 Larry Doby Chapter 9 92 Steve Gromek Page vi Chapter 10 104 Eddie Robinson Chapter 11 112 Bob Lemon Chapter 12 124 Gene Bearden Chapter 13 136 Al Rosen Chapter 14 146 Ray Boone Chapter 15 154 Bob Kennedy Chapter 16 164 Allie Clark Chapter 17 170 Mel Harder Chapter 18 182 Gone But Not Forgotten Epilogue 199 1948 Cleveland Indians---Pitching/Batting Statistics 204 Page vii Acknowledgments Many people contributed to this book, beginning, of course, with the surviving members of The Boys of the Summer of '48: Gene Bearden, Ray Boone, Lou Boudreau, Allie Clark, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Steve Gromek, Mel Harder, Bob Kennedy, Bob Lemon, Ray Murray, Eddie Robinson and Al Rosen. Heartfelt appreciation is extended to Joe Simenic, an exceptional baseball researcher and dear friend; to Kay Schneider, a wonderful wife, an excellent reader, editor and critic, and to sportswriter Hal Lebovitz, a mentor, advisor and valued friend. Special thanks to those who worked for the Cleveland Indians in 1948: groundskeeper Marshall Bossard, former catcher Hank Ruszkowski, public relations director Marsh Samuel, business manager Rudie Schaffer, and batboy Billy Sheridan; to members of the families of the players and employees of the Indians organization in 1948: Mike Hegan (whose father was catcher Jim Hegan), and Fred Weisman (whose father was trainer Lefty Weisman); and to Morris Eckhouse, executive director of the Society for American Baseball Research, and his staff. Also providing assistance with their recollection of that wonderful season a half century ago were the following members of the 1948 Boston Red Sox: second baseman Bobby Doerr, pitcher Denny Galehouse, pitcher Mel Parnell, third baseman Johnny Pesky, and catcher Birdie Tebbetts; as well as pitcher Johnny Sain of the 1948 Boston Braves; employees of the Red Sox in 1948; visiting team batboy Donald Fitzpatrick; and visiting team clubhouse attendant Vince Orlando; and current Red Sox public relations director Dick Bresciani. Numerous books also were of significant help: Covering All The Bases, by Lou Boudreau with Russell Schneider (Sagamore, 1993); The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, by Russell Schneider (Temple, 1996); The Baseball Encyclopedia, edited by Rick Wolff (MacMillan, 1990); The Ballplayers, by Mike Shatszkin and Jim Charlton (Arbor House, 1990); Veeck As In Wreck, by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn (Signet, 1962); The Hustler's Handbook, by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn (Fireside, 1965), Hank Greenberg, The Story of My Life, by Hank Greenberg with Ira Berkow (Times Books, 1989); and Bill Veeck: A Baseball Legend, by Gerald Eskenazi (McGraw-Hill, 1988). Thanks also for the use of many of the photographs in this book to the Cleveland Indians, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, the Cleveland Press collection at Cleveland State University, Jet Media, publisher of Indians Ink, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Lou Boudreau's collection, Mel Harder's collection, and Larry Binz of the Helena Daily World. Page viii Foreword by Hal Lebovitz In The Boys of the Summer of '48, Russell Schneider, a meticulous researcher and chronicler, has fashioned a treasure chest filled with anecdotes, remarkable characters, drama and the story of Cleveland's most exciting season in its long, illustrious baseball history. Plus this bonus: interviews with all the remaining members of that World Championship team, a championship which has eluded the Indians in these subsequent 50 years. To put that season in perspective for readers under 50, it was like the tense, heart-pounding playoffs of October 1997, with so many late- inning thrills and chills, except that this was the way it was from April through September in 1948. With a happier ending. For me, Schneider's treasure chest unlocked so many personal memories, gems from that time when I was on the sports staff of the late Cleveland News. The immediate flashback was to the historic playoff game, when the Indians, after finishing in a tie with the Boston Red Sox, had to go the Fenway Park for the scary confrontation that would decide which team would play the Boston Braves in the World Series. One game. Just one game. One game: the climax to a season that had captivated all of us from the day it began. It was as though the entire city was holding its collective breath. The News had three editions in those days, one that hit the streets shortly before noon, a home edition which locked up about 1 p.m. and was delivered to subscribers' doorsteps in the late afternoon, and the Five O'Clock Final, sold on street corners and drug stores with all the