TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!
by Susie Hodgson
Do you remember the old musical Damn Yankees? In it, middle-aged Joe keeps rooting for his home team who never ever wins. Well, there really WAS such a team. It was a major league team called the St. Louis Browns, and from 1949 to 1952, they spent their spring training right here in Burbank. In fact, they practiced mere yards from our museum, at Olive Memorial Stadium in what is now George Izay Park.
In spite of (or maybe because of?) their dreadful record, the underdog Browns had and STILL have many fans. Here in Burbank, many families, youngsters, and several celebrities came out to watch the Browns play real baseball! One such youngster was a fascinated baseball nut, a native Burbanker who helped contribute to this article – former baseball player and our own Historical Society’s beloved docent Brian Callahan. Brian got to see the likes of Satchel Paige, Willy Mays and Bobby Thompson play on that field. Some say Tommy LaSorda once played there too.
But the Browns really, truly weren’t very good. In fact, they were lousy! The Charlie Browns of baseball! The Browns held the record for most losses (4,465 losses) and was essentially the “losingest” team around. As Bob Costas said, “It’s not just that they’re bad – they’re comically, lovably, absurdly bad!” Another slogan often said about the Browns by the St. Louis fans (with affection): “First in shoes, first in booze and last in the American League!”
Here in Burbank, the Browns loved their spring training days. They loved our beautiful weather, our friendly people and small-town feeling. They weren’t the butt of any jokes here like they were in St. Louis, such as “The crowd didn’t dare boo the Browns. The team had them outnumbered.”
Many of the Browns players were interviewed about their experience in Spring Training in Burbank. With thanks to local Browns fans Brian Callahan and Dr. Joseph Dossen, we were able to read these interviews. Browns player Roy Sievers said that the players stayed in an inn across the street called the Olive Manor Hotel (now gone). He reported meeting Andy Devine, Rochester, Bing Crosby, and Bob Hope who came down to Olive Memorial Park often to watch the club practice. “It was a great area to train in, plus the city itself was great…!”
Browns’ player Jim Dyck said that in Burbank, the Browns “played the Cubs a lot… Good field, good lodging, everything first class!” Player Billy DeMars commented that they boys had “exciting times [going] to and from the Ball Park and hotel!” (Wonder what THAT means!!) Another player, Ned Garver, also enjoyed meeting movie stars: “Bing Crosby came in the clubhouse and I got a picture with him. The Brown team was also introduced on Groucho Marx’s TV show!” In addition, Marilyn Monroe met the Browns as did Ronald Reagan. We hear Monroe wore shorts to the occasion.
Another hot topic among the players - and the entire baseball world, for that matter - had to do with one-time manager Rogers Hornsby, who briefly coached the team while they were doing their spring training in Burbank. He had once been a great hitter (one of the greatest actually) but he was a notoriously NOT a nice guy. He was “mean, gruff and angry,” per player Jim Dyck, and co-player Ned Garver remarked that he “was baseball’s greatest right hand hitter [but he had] no friends – very sad.”
Still, morale went up in 1951 when Bill Veeck became their new owner. Veeck was a real character who the players AND fans loved. He used to own the successful Cleveland Indians and he thought he could turn around the Browns. Well, he didn’t, but Veeck did wonders for the turnstile! He was well-known for coming up with goofy antics that thrilled the fans. But before we get to the crazier PR stunts, Veeck also hired “old” Satchel Paige to pitch for the Browns. (Old by baseball standards, that is. Paige was about 45, but no one was ever really sure.) Paige did well, much to many people’s surprise. Veeck also hired ex-Cardinal Dizzy Dean to be a Browns broadcaster – another shocker.
As for the crazy stunts Veeck pulled, imagines these: having a circus perform after the game, putting up a basketball hoop at second base and having the Harlem Globetrotters play the Browns, and he even had jazz groups play. But the two best-known pranks were once when he gave every fan in the crowd placards to manage the game. For example, when a player was on third base, Veeck would ask the audience, “Should he steal home?” The crowd lifted their placards that said YES! So the poor guy tried and failed. Still, the Browns won that game and many a joke was made that the fans ought to manage the team more often!
Veeck was loved AND loathed. The baseball bigwigs thought he was making a carnival act out of America’s favorite pastime. Plus the team kept losing. And Veeck ran out of money. Baseball brass tried to stop Veeck from selling the team – they wanted him to go bust. But Veeck managed to sell the team to Baltimore in 1954. Baltimore changed the team’s name to the Orioles and effectively wiped out the history of the Browns. Nowadays, most people in Baltimore probably have no idea of their team’s fun, goofy, losing history.
They also wouldn’t know about the Browns’ fun-filled Spring Training days in Burbank. After the Browns disbanded, the stadium hosted the Rams, who practiced there for three years, but the stadium fell in disrepair and was razed in 1995. The baseball stadium we know at George Izay Park today was re-built.
Want to learn more about Burbank and see the Browns exhibit that Brian made for us? Then come visit!
Note: In addition to Brian Callahan and Dr. Dossen, thanks also go to Burbanker Richard Klein for his help in putting together this article.
The Burbank Historical Society/Gordon R. Howard Museum
OPEN SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, 1 TO 4 pm - FREE Admission!
Located in George Izay Park, right next to the Creative Arts Center
Phone: (818) 841-6333
Web site: www.burbankhistoricalsoc.org
Email: ghowardmuseum@sbcglobal.net