DailyNewsGems

Baseball Returns in Cleveland for the 1981 All-Star Game

Vice president George H.W. Bush is accompanied by Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller before baseball's 1981 All-Star Game Aug. 9, 1981, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

***

If IBM swept away competitors when it introduced its first personal computer, the 5150 for $1,565 (equivalent to $4,313 in 2018), a ticket to a Bruce Springsteen concert was $12, the cost of a postage stamp was 20 cents, a McDonald's hamburger was 50 cents, the price of a movie ticket was $2.78, and "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes was the no. 1 song, then it must be 1981.

Cleveland, it seems, has the worst luck.

In 1981, not only were they without a World Series championship for 33 long years, but they were hosting an All-Star Game for the first time in nearly 20 years, the same year, of all years, of a players’ strike.

The strike lasted 50 days. It began on June 12th and ended on July 31, forcing the cancellation of 706 regular-season games, or 38 percent of the season.

According to the New York Times, the strike cost the players $28 million in salaries.

When the strike was finally settled there was a mighty big question mark over whether there would be an All-Star game at all.

After all, with a 50-day layoff, many players were embarrassingly out of shape.

Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich, in concert with city officials, wanted the All-Star Game called off and rescheduled back in Cleveland in 1982.

There was even a lawsuit in the books to get the game postponed.

Cleveland lawyer Arthur F. Clark reportedly filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of his wife, Colleen, to have the game postponed until 1982. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and League presidents Lee MacPhail and Chub Feeney were named as defendants. The suit was subsequently dismissed.

Despite the grumblings, the All-Star was scheduled for a Sunday evening, August 9. It was already postponed twice, once on July 14 and again on the first alternate date of July 30.

So upset that the mid-season classic was still being played, Plain Dealer Sports editor Hal Lebovitz was moved to write: "I'm ashamed of Major League Baseball for scheduling the All-Star here a week from tomorrow. What an utter farce,” Lebovitz wrote. “To charge top prices for what has to be a charade, a workout, a non-contest is sinful."

When the regular season came to a screeching halt on June 12, the Indians were in 6th place (second to last) with 26-24 record (.520 winning percentage) but only 5 games out of first place. The Toronto Blue Jays were dead last, 16-24 (.276 winning percentage) 19 games out of first place.

The fact that the competitively challenged Indians were still within striking distance of first place, brought some timely sarcasm out of Cleveland Press columnist Bob Sudyk, who wrote: "the Indians just five games out of first place in the month of August? And playing over 500?” “I hate to bring this up,” Sudyk continued, “but the 50-day baseball strike has made the Indians contenders in the heat of the pennant race. The couldn't have done it alone. Or perhaps they needed to be alone, well away from the diamond. There was no place to fold this time."

Like it or not, the All-Star game was in Cleveland for the 4th time in Major League Baseball History.

Cleveland Press columnist Doug Clarke tried to put a positive spin on the game. “Right place, wrong time,” Clarke wrote. “This is the game nobody really wants and yet, as it approaches, people are succumbing to the spectacle--a chance to see people like Mike Schmidt, Dave Winfield, Steve Carlton, Fernando Valenzuela, George Brett, et al, in the flesh."

The Indians as the host city had only two representatives in the All-Star game: starting pitcher Len Barker and catcher Bo Diaz. Neither of them started the game. Indians manager Dave Garcia was selected as a coach.

But Barker pitched a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the season, May 15, only the 10th perfect game in MLB history.

When the regular season was halted, Barker was 5-3 with a historic perfect game under his belt. Many felt “Large Lenny” should have started the All-Star game in front of his home town crowd.

But American League skipper, Jim Frey of the Kansas City Royals, opted for Detroit Tigers ace, Jack Morris to start the game, who was sporting a 9-3 record with a 2.56 ERA.

Vice President of Public Relations for the Cleveland Indians, Bob DiBiassio, remembers vividly having an argument with his mentor, Bob Fishel, a native Clevelander who did PR work for the Indians, and later became vice president of the New York Yankees in the 1950s, a special assistant to American League President Lee MacPhail and eventually an executive vice president. According to DiBiassio, "we argued because they had decided the A.L.’s starting pitcher should be Jack Morris of the Tigers and not Lenny Barker who was having a great season to that point; pitched a perfect game on May 15 and was the “hometown hero.” The A.L. decided Morris was best choice. Still burns me,'' DiBiassio fumed.

Cleveland Indians beat writer for the Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto, made a strong case that Indians pitcher Bert Blyleven (7-4, 2.84 ERA) should have been added to the All-Star roster, who, after all, was tied for third in complete games and wins and second to teammate Len Barker in strikeouts.

To compound Cleveland’s problems of having to hurry to get the city in shape for the All-Star game, came a host of challenges, including an airline traffic controllers strike. Just four days before the All-Star game, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work, causing some flights to be cancelled.

In addition, the city of Cleveland, including the grounds crew at Cleveland Municipal Stadium were preparing for a Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game on Saturday evening, just a day before the All-Star game. The stadium grounds crew, in fact, worked feverishly until 4:30 a.m. replacing outfield divots kicked up by Browns and Steelers players the night before. The grounds crew was then back at 9 a.m. to paint the football stripes with water soluble latex green paint.

A mighty tall order, indeed.

Former Plain Dealer sports reporter Tony Grossi, now with ESPN in Cleveland distinctly remembers that Plain Dealer sports columnist, “Danny Coughlin came up with the great idea of delivering beer to the grounds crew." "So," Grossi explained, " we lugged a couple cases down there at night and they were greatly enjoyed. I recall me and Dennis Lustig joining Danny that night. Possibly Joe Maxse and others."

If the Browns-Steelers game and the All-Star game weren’t enough, just a few hours before baseball was about to played on a national stage, Roberto Duran was returning to the boxing ring to face Mike Nino Gonzalez in a 10-round junior middleweight bought at the Public Auditorium with 7,000 expected to attend. The 30-year-old Panamanian won a unanimous decision over Gonzalez.

Mayor Voinovich remarked, "this will be one of the most memorable sports weekends in the city's history."

One major downside of squeezing in the All-Star game in a shortened season meant that the All-Star festivities had to take place in one day instead of the traditional three-day carnival.

But the city nonetheless put on its best face.

There were a number of parties in town, the most prominent being at Stouffers restaurant, where approximately 1,000 guests attended, including the Baseball Commissioner who sponsored the event, along with the Cleveland Indians.

The Sporting News reported that the night before the All-Star game, L.A. Dodger first baseman, Steve Garvey and his friends went out for dinner only to find two of their cars in their entourage were stolen when they exited the restaurant.

 

The night of the All-Star game was a typical muggy August night, about 80 degrees, but the sky was clear and 72,086 fans in attendance were ready for baseball again in Cleveland once Rocco Scotti, the opera-trained singer (and local favorite) brought the house down with his signature rendition of the national anthem.

Just eight days before the All-Star game, the first 24-hour video music channel MTV (Music Television) launched and aired its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

Video may have killed the radio star; but it didn’t kill the TV stars. Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek provided the play-by-play for NBC-TV.

George H.W. Bush, the U.S. Vice President flew in to throw out the first pitch; he was accompanied by Bob Hope and Baseball Commission Bowie Kuhn, where they sat in a specially protected box to the right of home plate. Future Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski, who didn't make the All-Star game, was invited to attend the game with the vice president. They both flew together on Air Force II.

Also in the house was Bob Feller, 62, and Warren Spahn, 60, honorary captains, who last met in the 1948 World Series when the Indians beat the Boston Braves in six games to win their first World Weries since 1920.

The 52nd annual MLB All-Star game didn’t bode well for the Junior Circuit.

Going into the All-Star game, the NL won nine straight, 17 out of the last 18 games, and 28 out of the last 34, leading the series 32 to 18 with one tie.

The last time the AL won an All-Star game was in 1971, the same year Reggie Jackson walloped a 500 foot drive off the light tower in the center field roof at Tiger Stadium.

So sure the AL was in for yet another mid-season classic loss that Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer wrote that “the three safest bets in the history of sports: Ali over Wepner, Secretariat in the Belmont and the National League in the All-Star Game."

Two young pitchers were ready for battle.

For the NL, Fernando Valenzuela, the L.A. Dodgers rookie sensation, carried a 9-4 record with a 2.25 ERA, while The Detroit Tigers staff ace, Jack Morris, took to the hill for the AL with 9-3 record and a 2.56 ERA.

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Ken Singleton got things going for the AL in the second frame, belting a solo shot off of Tom Seaver (CIN) over the right field fence.

 

Len Barker took over for Morris in the third, drawing a thunderous round of applause from the home town crowd.

But before firing his first pitch, the Indians staff ace had a secret admirer who was dying to meet him. Morgana Roberts (The notorious Kissing Bandit) ran onto the field and planted a kiss on the Indians pitcher.

Unruffled, Barker set down six straight hitters, leaving to a standing ovation.

The AL held on to a 1-0 lead until the top of the 5th, when Gary Carter bashed Ken Forsch’s (CAL) first offering over the fence in left to tie the score at one.

The NL tacked on another run in the 6th when Dave Parker (PIT) drove a towering ball over the fence in right center off of Mike Norris (OAK), to put the NL on top, 2-1.

In the bottom of the 6th, there was a glimmer of hope that the AL might turn the tide, when they exploded for three runs and five hits to put the AL up, 4-2. After Singleton slapped a single to center, Dwight Evans (BOS) followed with another single to right, moving Singleton to second. Carlton Fisk (CHW) then loaded the bases after slashing a sharp single to right. Fred Lynn (CAL) batted for Bucky Dent (NYY) and beat out an infield single, scoring Singleton. Former Cleveland Indians star and hometown favorite, Buddy Bell (TEX) hit a sac fly to left, scoring Evans.

The AL’s final run in the frame came when Ted Simmons (MIL) batted for Willie Randolph (NYY) and singled to right, scoring Fisk and putting the AL up, 4-2.

Gary Carter’s bat never cooled off in the 7th when he smacked yet another first pitch offering, this time from Ron Davis (NYY) clearing the center field fence, to slice the AL lead to 4-3.

Mike Schmidt's 2-run homer in the 8th puts NL on top for good to secure the Senior Circuit's 10th straight All-Star game win.
Photo Credit: MLB

***

In the top of the 8th, the Cleveland crowd watched as Mike Easler (PIT), age 30, a native Clevelander and Benedictine High School graduate drew a walk from Rollie Fingers (MIL). Easler was taken in the 14th round of the amateur draft by the Houston Astros in 1969. His bonus was $500. The Pirates brought him to the majors in 1979 as a pinch hitter. In 1981, the Benedictine alum was hitting .317 with 6 home runs and 28 RBI's.

Back to the 8th.

With Easler planted on first, Mike Schmidt (PHI) must have come to the plate with his Roy Hobbs “Wonderboy” bat. The Dayton, Ohio native blasted a towering drive deep into the night in center field, putting the NL on top, 5-4 for good, and in doing so-sliced another dagger straight through the hearts of the AL.

The normally reliable Rollie Fingers who came into the All-Star Game with more saves than any other reliever in baseball, absorbed the crushing 5-4 loss.

Vida Blue (SF) was the winning pitcher, becoming the first to win All-Star games both in the National and American Leagues.

NL had sealed their 10th straight mid-season classic win or 18 of the last 19.

Gary Carter's two home runs (both on first pitches) earned him the Commissioner's Trophy as the game's MVP.

The game was far from perfect, the players were still a little rusty and working out the kinks. As The Washington Post’s Jane Leavy wrote: “Errors were charitably called hits and some plays belied the term, midseason classic.”

Undoubtedly, the 1981 MLB All-Star game wasn’t the most memorable (except, that is, for the kissing bandit), but it had just enough theatrics, long balls, and stars galore in a city hungry for baseball to make it enjoyable for fans thankful baseball was back in business.

As baseball prepared to continue the regular season (beginning August 10), there was plenty to look forward to. “Charlie Hustle,” Pete Rose was in pursuit of cracking Stan Musial's 3,660-hit record, which he tied just before the work stoppage. Ferguson Jenkins was 54 strikeouts from 3,000, Gaylord Perry needed just six wins for 300 and the Toronto Blue Jays were in hot pursuit of breaking their 11-game losing streak.

As for Cleveland, it would have to wait 16 years before another MLB All-Star game would roll into town with a President in the White House dubbed: “Slick Willie” and the “Comeback Kid,’’ appropriately enough, since the Indians in 1997 were most definitely, a comeback team in a comeback city.

 

–Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

April 26, 2019

 

Book a Date at Your Local Library

Photo: Eric J. Shelton-Hattiesburg American

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“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”

― Mark Twain

 

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”

― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho:  Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

***

This is the perfect time to get between the covers.

No, not in bed, between the covers of your favorite book.

National Library Week (April 7- 13), is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.

If you haven’t visited your local library recently, you’re overlooking one of the truly prized possessions a locality bestows on its residents.

Imagine, in the last presented year, 695 million printed books were sold in the U.S., up from 687 in 2017.

That’s a lot of books, and most of these books are available at your local library for absolutely nothing. All you need is a library card and you’re literally good to go.

And what better time to visit a library; during a particularly dispiriting time in our nation’s history when the vitriol on social media, whether on Facebook or Twitter, is getting nastier by the day. It doesn’t matter if it’s pro-Trump posts or anti-Trump posts-the political climate of late is positively toxic.

Myself, I find it refreshing to get away from all the annoying chatter on television and on the Internet and visit my local library, where they have a nice quiet reading room with comfortable chairs. I’m even permitted to bring in my Dunkin Donuts coffee. I shut off my phone and just relax as I plunge into my book for a couple of hours, free from any interruption.

On many occasions, the time I spend at the library reading is easily the most productive and meaningful few hours I’ve spent all week.

And I often wonder why we don’t do it more often.

Residents of Cuyahoga County in Ohio where I live are particularly blessed. The Cleveland Public Library (in the very heart of downtown Cleveland) is the third largest library in the United States. Sadly, a majority of its residents don’t take advantage of this tremendous institution as often as they should.

Most local libraries, of course, have evolved and have kept pace with the changing needs of its residents. Many libraries, for example, accept applications for applying for a passport. They also have a number of computer classes for beginners and seniors (including more advanced classes) taught by highly trained professionals in small settings, free of the hassle (and expense) of having to enroll in a community college or university class. Free access to computers and the Internet is additionally available to any patron with a library card.

Bestselling author and former Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett discussed her book of essays, "God Is Always Hiring: 50 Lessons for Finding Fulfilling Work" at the Kent Free Library in April, 2015.

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And libraries, like the Cuyahoga County Libraries in Ohio regularly feature well known writers and authors to discuss their upcoming books, along with private readings.

All of this, of course, is absolutely free.

Despite all the benefits libraries provide to its residents, recent surveys are a bit discouraging.

According to the Pew Research Center , just under half of all those age 16 and older (48 percent) say they have visited a public library or bookmobile in person in the prior year. More discouraging still, the share of Americans who read for pleasure on a given day has fallen sharply by more than 30 percent since 2004, according to the latest American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

April, then, is traditionally the time of year when there is a concerted effort to try to focus on books, reading, and libraries in general. In addition to the second week of April being designated as National Library Week; April is School Library Month; while National Library Workers Day is the Tuesday of the week, National Bookmobile Day, and Support Teen Literature Day is the Thursday of the week.

According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) website, “Library programs are designed to encourage community members to meet and discuss civic issues, work together using new technologies like 3D printing or learn alongside one another in English language or technology classes. Library staff also partner with other civic and service organizations to actively engage the people they serve, always striving to make sure their community’s needs are being met.”

The origin of National Library Week dates back to the 1950s. In 1954, a nonprofit National Book Committee was created between the American Libraries Association (ALA) and the American Book Publishers. By 1957, the committee developed the idea for National Library Week, hoping that it would motivate people to read and to support libraries.

Print books remain the most popular format for reading, with 67 percent of Americans having read a print book in the past year.

So, just like as Election Day nears, and civic leaders encourage everyone to get to the polls to vote; so too should we encourage each other to visit your local library this month if for no other reason than to learn of the invaluable and vast display of learning tools with trained professionals that are available to its residents.

–Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

April 8, 2019

 

116th Congress: By the Numbers

Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

***

There's a storm brewing.

And it appears to be radiating from the 116th Congress.

Ever since Congress swung open its doors in January, the new legislative body has been active advancing a progressive agenda, including stricter background checks for gun owners, climate change ("Green New Deal'), Medicare for All (single-payer health care), ramping up its oversight and investigations power on the activity of pharmacy benefit managers and health insurance mergers, while  delivering a sharp rebuke to President Trump's proposal for funding the border wall in the southwestern area of the country.

Since the Democrats now control the House of Representatives for the first time since 2014, they are pursuing their progressive agenda with the wind at their back.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than one-in-five voting members (22 percent) of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, making the 116th Congress the most racially and ethnically diverse in history.

The marked increase in minority representation in the House has benefited the Democrats by a wide margin. Of the 22 freshman representatives who are nonwhite, just one is a Republican (Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who is Hispanic).

The overwhelming majority of racial and ethnic nonwhite members of the new Congress, moreover, are Democrats (90 percent), while just 10 are Republicans.

To get a sense of the diverse makeup of the 116th Congress, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has compiled a membership profile of the new Congress.

What follows are some highlights of the report.

Membership Alignment

House of Representatives

• 239 Democrats (including 4 Delegates)
• 199 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), and 3 vacant seats.

Senate

• 53 Republicans
• 45 Democrats
• 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats.

Age

• The average age at the beginning of the 116th Congress was 57.6 years for Representatives and 62.9 years for Senators.
• The youngest Representative in the 116th Congress, and the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress, is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), born October 13, 1989, who was 29 at the beginning of the 116th Congress.
• The oldest Representative is Don Young (R-AK), born June 9, 1933, who was 85.
• Keeping in mind that Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office, the youngest Senator in the 116th Congress is Josh Hawley (R-MO), born December 31, 1979, who was 39 at the beginning of the Congress.
• The oldest Senator in the 116th Congress is Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), born June 22, 1933, who was 85.

Professional Occupation

• 95 Members have worked in education, including teachers, professors, instructors, school fundraisers, counselors, administrators, or coaches (75 in the House, including 2 delegates, 20 in the Senate).
• 3 Physicians in the Senate, 13 physicians in the House, plus 5 Dentists and 3 Veterinarians.
• 2 Psychologists (all in the House), an Optometrist (in the Senate), a Pharmacist (in the House), and 2 Nurses and 1 Physician assistant (in the House).
• 7 Ordained Ministers, all in the House.
• 41 Former Mayors (34 in the House, 7 in the Senate).
• 13 Former State Governors (12 in the Senate, 1 in the House) and 7 Lieutenant Governors (4 in the Senate, 3 in the House).
• 16 former judges (all but 1 in the House) and 42 prosecutors (10 in the Senate, 32 in the House) who have served in city, county, state, federal, or military capacities.
• 2 Former Cabinet Secretaries (1 in each chamber), and 3 Ambassadors (all in the House).
• 3 Sheriffs, 1 Police Chief and 3 other police officers, 1 Firefighter, 3 CIA employees, and 1 FBI agent (all in the House).
• 3 Peace Corps volunteers, all in the House.
• 1 Physicist and 1 Chemist, both in the House.
• 11 Engineers (10 in the House and 1 in the Senate).
• 20 Public Relations or Communications Professionals (4 in the Senate, 16 in the House), and 10 Accountants (2 in the Senate and 8 in the House).
• 6 Software Company Executives in the House and 2 in the Senate.
• 19 Management Consultants (5 in the Senate, 14 in the House), 5 Car Cealership owners (all in the House), and 4 Venture Capitalists (2 in the House, 2 in the Senate).
• 12 Bankers or Bank Executives (3 in the Senate, 9 in the House), 29 veterans of the Real Estate Industry (4 in the Senate, 25 in the House), and 10 Members who have worked in the Construction Industry (1 in the Senate, 9 in the House).
• 6 Social Workers (2 in the Senate, 4 in the House) and 3 Union Representatives (all in the House).
• 13 Nonprofit Executives in the House.
• 3 Radio Talk Show Hosts (1 in the Senate, 2 in the House); 4 Radio or Television Broadcasters, Managers, or Owners (all in the House); 6 Reporters or Journalists (1 in the Senate, 5 in the House), a Public Television Producer in the House, and a Newspaper Publisher in each chamber.
• 21 Insurance Agents or Executives (4 in the Senate, 17 in the House) and 4 Members who have worked with stocks or bonds (all in the House).
• 1 Artist, 1 Book Publisher, and 2 Speechwriters (all in the House), and 1 Documentary Filmmaker in the Senate.
• 6 Restaurateurs (5 in the House, 1 in the Senate), as well as 2 Coffee Shop Owners, 1 Wine Store Owner, and 1 Whiskey Distiller (all in the House).
• 27 Farmers, Ranchers, or Cattle Farm Owners (5 in the Senate, 22 in the House).
• 1 Almond Orchard Owner and Vintner, as well as a Forester and a Fruit Orchard Worker (all in the House).
• 1 Flight Attendant and 1 Pilot, both in the House.
• 3 Professional Football Players, 1 Hockey player, 1 Baseball player, and 1 Mixed Martial arts fighter (all in the House)
• 9 current members of the Military Reserves (8 in the House, 1 in the Senate) and 7 current members of the National Guard (all in the House).

Education

• 17 Members of the House have no educational degree beyond a high school diploma.
• 6 Members of the House have associate’s degrees as their highest degrees.
• 99 Members of the House and 18 Senators earned a master’s degree as their highest attained degrees.
• 161 Members of the House (36.6% of the House) and 53 Senators (53 percent of the Senate) hold law degrees
• 21 Representatives and 4 Senators have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or D. Min) degrees.
• 21 Members of the House and 4 Senators have medical degrees.
• 5 Representatives and one Senator are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, two Representatives and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
• 5 Representatives and one Senator were Rhodes Scholars, 2 Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, 2 Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and 2 Representatives and 1 Senator were Truman Scholars.

Religion

• 9 percent of Members (233 in the House, 60 in the Senate) are Protestant, with Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist.
• 5 percent of Members (141 in the House, 22 in the Senate) are Catholic.
• 4 percent of Members (26 in the House, 8 in the Senate) are Jewish.
• 9 percent of Members (6 in the House, 4 in the Senate) are Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
• 2 Members (1 in the House, 1 in the Senate) are Buddhist, 3 Representatives are Muslim, and 3 Representatives are Hindu.
• Other religious affiliations represented include Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Adventist.

Gender and Ethnicity

• A record 131 women Members (24.2 percent of the total membership) serve in the 116th Congress, 22 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.
• One hundred six women, including 3 Delegates as well as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 25 in the Senate.
• Of the 106 women in the House, 91 are Democrats, including 2 of the Delegates, and 15 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate as well as the Resident Commissioner.
• Of the 25 women in the Senate, 17 are Democrats and 8 are Republicans.

African American Members

• There are a record 58 African American Members (10.7 percent of the total membership) in the 116th Congress, 6 more than at the beginning of the 115th Congress.
• 55 serve in the House, including two Delegates, and three serve in the Senate.
• 54 of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and 1 is a Republican.
• 2 of the Senators are Democrats and 1 is Republican.
• 24 African American women, including 2 Delegates, serve in the House, and 1 serves in the Senate.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

• There are 50 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 116th Congress, 9.2 percent of the total membership and a record number.
• 45 serve in the House, including two delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and 5 in the Senate.
• Of the Members of the House, 37 are Democrats (including 2 Delegates) and 8 are Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner).
• 14 are women, including the Resident Commissioner.
• Of the 5 Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, two Democrats), 1 is a woman.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

• A record 20 Members of the 116th Congress (3.8 percent of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry.
• 17 of them (16 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in the House, and 3 (all Democrats) serve in the Senate.
• 10 of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: 7 in the House, and all 3 in the Senate.

American Indian Members

• There are 4 American Indian (Native American) Members of the 116th Congress; 2 of each party, all in the House.

Foreign Birth

• 24 Representatives and 5 Senators (5.3 percent of the 116th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Japan, Peru, and India.

Military Service

• At the beginning of the 116th Congress, there were 96 individuals (17.8 percent of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, 6 fewer than at the beginning of the 115th Congress (102 Members).
• The House as of January 2019 had 78 veterans (including 4 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate had 18 veterans, including 3 women.
• 8 House Members and 1 Senator are still serving in the reserves, while 7 House Members are still serving in the National Guard. 4 of the seven female veterans are combat veterans.

—Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

March 14, 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), CQ Member Profiles; Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life Project

 

The Meaning of "Giving Up" For Lent

Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday at St. Patrick's Cathedral on February 10, 2016 in New York City.

Photo Credit: WCPO.com

***

It’s hard to believe, but the beginning of Lent is two days away.

The origins of Lent—known as Tessarakosti in Greek and Quadragesima in Latin, for “the Forty,” traditionally begins on Ash Wednesday, a practice that stretches back to the 11th Century.

According to Catholic teaching, Ash Wednesday is meant as an outward recognition of the sins one has committed, with the mark representing penance for those sins.

For those who might not be aware, the ashes used for Ash Wednesday are made of palm branches used on the previous Palm Sunday, when Christians carry palms in recognition to the Gospels’ reference to Jesus’ path being covered in palm fronds on the day he entered Jerusalem.

As I quickly learned, the number of 40 isn’t just a random number associated with Lent and Easter Sunday. Biblical literature is in fact teeming with that precise number.

According to religious scholar, Nicholas V. Russo, from the University of Notre Dame, "The flood lasts forty days and nights (Genesis 7:4, 12, 17); the ceremonies surrounding the embalming of Jacob last forty days (Genesis 50:3); and the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years during which they receive miraculous sustenance (Exodus 16:35) before entering the land flowing with milk and honey."

In addition, Elijah travels for forty days and nights without food after slaying the prophets of Baal and fleeing the wrath of Jezebel (1 Kings 19:7-8). The Ninevites fast for forty days to stave off the wrath of God (Jonah 3:4).

More familiar to Christians, Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert (Matthew 4:1-2) preparing for his public ministry, a time that was punctuated with great trials and difficulties, times of searching, reflections and action. The church, then, challenges us to reflect on our faith, to search our hearts and to change our ways during our 40 days of Lent.

Technically, Lent is 38 days, but by adding the "paschal fast" on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, you arrive at 40 days of fasting before Easter.

Personally, I always find Lent a difficult time, mainly because I know that I should be giving up things I love. According to tradition, Catholics are called to three practices during Lent: alms giving, prayer, and fasting.

I generally breeze through the first two, but stumble, miserably, on the third practice, fasting or abstaining from something I enjoy like Hershey chocolates, Perrier water, or piping hot Dunkin’ Donuts black coffee.

And when I fail from not being able to give up chocolate, for example, I feel inadequate or that I failed a major test imposed on me by the Catholic Church, and more importantly, God.

I do make a concerted effort to attend mass followed by Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. But I know that’s not the same as giving something up that I enjoy.

I did take some solace after listening to a young priest at my parish a couple of years ago. He applauded those who were able to deprive themselves of their favorite habits, like chocolate.  But he went on to caution that many Catholics who give up chocolate or beer are doing nothing but earning “brownie points’’ with God (that is, something to brag about with friends); while ignoring other aspects of the Lenten season, namely, almsgiving, praying, and of drawing closer to Jesus and of being renewed by the Holy Spirit.

As my anxiety grew with the fast-approaching Lenten season, I sought out advice and guidance from Catholic priests and religious scholars on how best to embrace the solemn season.

Liam Bergin, Professor at the Theology Department at Boston College, warns that "giving up“ without the other aspects, "could well lead us to the sin of pride and presumption that sees us as the source of our own salvation."

Religious scholars tell us Lent began in the 4^th century; and from the 5th through the 9th centuries. strict fasting was required; only one meal was allowed per day, while meat and fish (and sometimes eggs and dairy) were forbidden. Beginning in the 9th century, fasting restrictions were gradually loosened so that by the 20th century meat was allowed, except on Fridays.

One priest said that abstaining from meat on Friday’s (during Lent) isn’t such a big sacrifice with many Catholics anymore; since so many are vegetarians. So, many think to themselves, “I’ve got this!” and end up having a sumptuous meal at Red Lobster, missing the whole point of the season.

Michael G. Witczak, Associate Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology at The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.), tells me that the "goal of the disciplines of Lent is to recalibrate our lives, get them back in balance within ourselves, with others, and with God. Small disciplines like giving up chocolate aren't valuable in themselves but valuable in reminding us of what is truly important: being in balance with God."

Some priests advise that food isn’t the only thing we can give up. Giving up judging others for every day during Lent or giving up a bad habit (swearing, perhaps) can be equally as effective. Others, say addition rather subtraction might be the order of the day, by devoting, for example, more time to helping the poor, almsgiving, volunteering, or devoting additional time to prayer. One nice piece of advice was to abstain from going out to dinner for one night of the week; the money saved from not going out can be given to a worthwhile charity.

Pope Paul VI (1966), after all, began a trend toward penitential works (such as acts of charity) in conjunction with Lent.

Rev. Richard Fragomeni, Professor of Liturgy and Preaching at the Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, Illinois), believes that "the Lenten season is a time for us to give God greater access to our hearts. Therefore, whatever we decide to do for Lent, I hope we do as a way to get out of the way enough for God to do a divine work of conversion within us. "

Brian Daley, who teaches the History of Christianity at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, takes a more traditional approach to what Catholics are called to during the Lenten season. "The things we do in Lent," Daley says, "are not meant to earn us God's favor ("brownie points"), but to help support and direct our reflections on our salvation in Jesus. "So traditionally,” Daley continued, "the Church has urged us to focus our efforts of recollection on the practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving - three traditional ways, recommended in the Old Testament prophets and the long Christian tradition, for helping us draw closer to God. "

Daley additionally emphasized that we turn more intentionally to God, so to let go of our unthinking consumption, and share some part of what we have with those who have not.  "Lent is really not just about "giving up chocolate" or about self-punishment!"

As I was writing this, I thought of something I enjoy most evenings when I’m at home, and that is watching Jeopardy, the television game show.

That being the case, and with Lent about to begin, I resolve (fingers crossed!) to give up watching Jeopardy for the next 40 days.

Alex Trebek is just going to have to get along without me until after Easter.

 

—Bill Lucey

March 4, 2019

WPLucey@gmail.com

 

These Forty Days of Lent

King's College Cambridge 2011 Easter 3 O Sacred head Sore Wounded JS Bach

Liberal Lions and Their Racist Past

A photo on Ralph Northam's page in the Eastern Virginia Medical School's 1984 yearbook

Source: Eastern Virginia Medical School

This 1942 poster, titled "This is the Enemy," circulated in the United States following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

**

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) must feel like he’s riding aimlessly on an old dilapidated raft in an ocean of impending peril, circled by ravenous sharks, anxiously waiting their next feeding.

It’s just a matter of time before he’s devoured.

The 73^rd governor of the Old Dominion is being strongly encouraged to resign after pictures from his Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook (1984) emerged showing one person in a black face, another in a KKK robe.

Northam, as widely reported, initially admitted being in the photo; but later retracted his statement, saying that it’s not him in the photo, after studying the photo in more detail.

The Virginia governor, however, does admit to once polishing his face black to make him appear as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, for a dance competition.

What’s striking about this furor, calling for Northam to resign, is that it happened 30 years ago before he entered the political arena.

Admittedly, polishing your face black, no matter the circumstances, is hard to ignore or downplay as mere youthful indiscretion.

The entire picture is appalling, tasteless, and difficult to look at.

Still, we don’t have to go back in history very far to think of the dumb and insensitive acts people have committed in their youth; only to change course, evolve as they got older, and blaze a new path in their professional careers, far removed from their reckless past.

Racist blunders from politicians isn't uncommon in U.S. 20th century history. From Richard Nixon's endemic anti-Semitism (captured on White House tapes), former Mississippi Senator Trent Lott’s praise for Strom Thurmond’s racist 1948 campaign to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell posing in front of a Confederate flag (in the early 1990s) have been well documented.

What’s even more interesting is that some of America’s most liberal lions had a racist past; but historians, for the most part, have swept them under the rug for fear it would damage their political legacy.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va), a child from Appalachia’s coalfields, in the 1940's, long before he entered the political arena, recruited 150 of his friends and associates to form a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Crab Orchard, W.Va. Byrd's affiliation with the Klan remained until 1952.

Returning to West Virginia after World War II, he wrote a letter to one of the Senate's most notorious segregationists, Theodore Bilbo (D-Miss.), complaining about the Truman administration's efforts to integrate the military.

Even during his political career when he renounced the Klan and all it stood for-his racism still clung to Byrd.

In 1964, he joined with other southern Democrats to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The W. Va. senator filibustered the bill for more than 14 hours, arguing it violated principles of states' rights. Three years later, he voted against the nomination of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court, a black Solicitor General of the United States.

Interestingly, over time, Byrd’s views on race evolved; so that by the time he died in 2010, he was hailed as not only the longest-serving member of the Senate and longest-serving member of Congress in American history, but one of the liberal icons of the U.S. Senate who became a strong advocate for the working class, ensuring accessibility to health care and greater educational and employment opportunities for constituents back home in W. Va.

Speaking at his funeral in 2010, President Obama said " We know there were things he [Robert Byrd] said, things he did, that he came to regret." “I remember," Obama continued, "talking about that the first time I visited with him. There were things I regretted in my youth. You may know that.’ I said, ‘None of us are absent some regrets, Senator. That’s why we enjoy and seek the grace of God.’ … Robert Byrd possessed that quintessential American quality — the capacity to change, to learn, to listen, to be made more perfect.”

In 1936, 18 African American athletes left the Berlin Olympics with 14 medals. None of them, including Jesse Owens (who came away with four medals) were invited to the White House. Only the white Olympians were invited by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Photo Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

***

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, another liberal lion, who guided America through the Great Depression to a miraculous national recovery; then boldly joining with our allies to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, is often considered one of the greatest presidents to have occupied the White House during his 12 years in office.

But through all the valiant tributes and glorious adorations heaped on FDR by historians, little about his blatant racism is ever discussed.

In 1936, Jesse Owens, an Alabama native, (son of a sharecropper) and Cleveland, Ohio high school and Ohio State University track star, made America proud by winning four gold medals, equaling the world record (10.3 seconds) in the 100-meter race and broke the world records in the 200-meter race (20.7 seconds) and in the broad jump (26 feet 5 3/8 inches).

In 1936, in fact, 18 African American athletes left the Berlin Olympics with 14 medals, a quarter of the total medals won by the U.S. team that summer.

FDR might be remembered for the New Deal; but he gave Jesse Owens and other black Olympians the Raw Deal, by not inviting any of them to the White House. Only white Olympians were invited to the White House. Roosevelt, the “all we have to fear is fear itself,” U.S. President didn’t even send Owens a telegram for his heroic achievement in Berlin.  Possibly, Roosevelt feared a backlash from voters. Owens told reporters, “Hitler didn’t snub me; it was our president who snubbed me."

It was 80 years later, that President Obama (in September, 2016) cleaned up FDR’s mess by inviting relatives of the 16 men and two female black athletes of 1936 Olympics to the White House, where they finally received their long overdue recognition by a U.S. president.

FDR’s racism reared its ugly head, yet again, during World War II when he issued Executive Order 9066, which sent 120,000 Japanese expatriates and American citizens of Japan to internment camps. This unconscionable act led to abrupt expulsions, mass detentions and the persecution of thousands, based solely on their ethnicity.

The internment of Japanese Americans was carried out despite the fact that two secret investigations commissioned by Roosevelt himself confirmed that Japanese Americans posed no threat to national security.

Taken together, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were confined to grimy and unlivable concentration camps, which included some Japanese being stripped of property, separated from families, along with a number of deaths due to the appalling conditions of the camps.

President Johnson was known to use racist epithets in private conversation.

***

Lyndon Johnson, the gregarious Texan and 36^th U.S. President, aside from dragging the United States deeper and deeper into the morass in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, is best remembered for the Great Society, a series of domestic programs whose chief objective was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice in the United States. His ambitious domestic agenda included improvements in education, medical care, urban decay, rural poverty, and transportation, among others.

Johnson is additionally remembered for bringing the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 to fruition.

What’s generally overlooked is LBJ’s frequent derogatory term for blacks when talking with colleagues or White House cabinet members.

According to Robert Dallek’s book, "Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times" (1991), when LBJ was discussing the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as associate justice of the Supreme Court, he told an aide in 1965, "Son, when I appoint a nigger to the court, I want everyone to know he's a nigger."

Another time, as reported in Ronald Kessler's book, "Inside the White House (1996)," when discussing the virtues of his 1964 Civil Rights Bill, Johnson supposedly told two governors (their names were omitted), "I'll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years."

So, it’s puzzling that liberal icons like Robert Byrd, FDR and LBJ’s shameless racism are forgiven or barely mentioned--while someone like Ralph Northam watches his political career go up in flames for acting foolishly for one snapshot in his wayward youth.

Northam seems about as much of a racist as Prince Harry is a Nazi, for foolishly dressing up in a Nazi uniform (in 2005) for a costume party.

Much like Robert Byrd, I think Ralph Northam should be allowed to prove his liberal chops in the here and now, instead of judging the man on one foolish act before, long before, he ever became governor of Virginia.

The embattled Virginia governor, after all, while campaigning for governor, reaffirmed his call for Confederate statues and monuments in the state to be taken down and moved into museums. "That means," Northam reportedly said, "memorializing civil rights advocates like Barbara Johns and Oliver Hill, who helped move our Commonwealth closer towards equality."

Northam also said that "Virginia should do more to elevate the parts of our history that have all too often been underrepresented."

During his State of the Commonwealth Address delivered on January 9th, the new governor of the Old Dominion said, "we're a state that supports our veterans, embraces diversity and inclusion, and attracts visitors from around the world. We work every day to make sure that Virginia is a place of opportunity, where everyone can build the life they want to live."

Unfortunately for Northam, the standard bearers of the Democratic Party, like Nancy Pelosi, are using the Virginia Governor as a political football-hoping to score some quick political points with liberals while ignoring that fact some people in this country are permitted the freedom to evolve, and to be judged on what they’ve accomplished during their long arduous journey through the political landscape.

–Bill Lucey

February 6, 2019

WPLucey@gmail.com

 

 

 

1963: All-Star Game Without an All-Star Performance

The 1963 All-Star game in Cleveland was noted for its unusually low attendance of 44, 160 with plenty of empty seats which this picture clearly shows.

Photo Credit: Major League Baseball

***

The experiment failed.

No one was happier than a majority of fans (including scores of players) to see Major League Baseball return to a single-game format, beginning with the 1963 MLB All-Star game in Cleveland on July 9.

From 1959 through 1962, MLB launched an experiment, holding two All-Star games a year. In order to get the players' consent to return to the single game format, the owners agreed to put 95 per cent of the net receipts of $250,384.59 and the TV-radio receipts into the players pension fund. Previously, players received only 60 per cent.

The 1963 midseason classic marked the 34th playing of All-Star game. In 1963, Cleveland was still very much a vibrant city, though its population had been in decline since the 1950s. The population in Cleveland peaked in 1950 with 914,808 inhabitants, the seventh largest city in the nation with a 15 percent foreign population. In 1963, Cleveland’s population was roughly 876,050 (according to the 1960 census), the 8th largest city in the nation with an 11 percent foreign population.

Prior to the All-Star game, there were a couple of hot issues brewing within the baseball community by the time everyone arrived in Cleveland. It had been widely reported that Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley wanted to relocate his team to Oakland. Though Finley never submitted a formal request, he was notified by the American League that such a bold move wouldn’t be permitted. At the same time, there were reports that a group from Atlanta, Ga., were in Cleveland at the time of the All-Star game in hopes of luring the Indians to Atlanta. Atlanta was scheduled to have a new stadium built by 1965. Since the Indians weren’t drawing well over the last two seasons, the Atlanta group felt confident that the Indians were ripe for the picking.

Cleveland Indians president and general manager, Gabe Paul, however, quickly put the kibosh on the wild rumors that his ballclub was headed to the Peach State.

Shortly before the All-Star game, Paul issued a concise and pithy statement: "We're doing fine here and have no intention of moving."

Finley would have to wait until 1968 before relocating the Athletics to the Bay area. And two weeks after the All-Star game, it was leaked that the Atlanta group was in talks with Milwaukee to relocate the Braves to Atlanta. The Braves officially abandoned Milwaukee after the 1965 season.

The body of Mervin Gold, a missing financial manipulator, twice convicted on fraud charges, was found in the trunk of his own car on Chagrin River Road in Solon, Ohio.

Photo Credit: Cleveland Public Library

***

Another explosive issue engulfing Cleveland before the first pitch of the All-Star game had nothing to do with baseball, but centered on a gruesome murder of a local financer.

On the morning of the All-Star game, July 9, 1963, readers woke to a grisly story splashed across the front page of The Plain Dealer by police reporter, Ed Kissell, reporting the murder of Mervin Gold, 32, a missing financial manipulator who was found stuffed in the trunk of his car in a secluded section of Solon, Ohio. A noose was tightened around Gold’s neck and strangled to death; his body wrapped in blankets with four.38 caliber bullets discharged into his body. His body was then dumped in the trunk of his car and driven to Chagrin River Road in Solon.

According to Gold’s wife, her husband was on his way to visit Alex (Shondor) Birns, a longtime Cleveland rackets figure. Birns was immediately arrested and questioned about the murder. The rackets kingpin provided an alibi, and was released.

A year after the murder, investigators publicly acknowledged that they were never able to piece together who murdered Gold as the killers’ trails increasingly grew cold. The case remained unsolved.

Nationally, 1963, was a year in which civil rights was put to the test.

A George Gallup Poll published at the time of the All-Star game showed that President John F. Kennedy's controversial proposal to ban discrimination in businesses that serve the public won only a narrow margin of support from the American public. 49 percent of the nation's voters, according to the Gallup poll, wanted Congress to pass a law giving all persons-black as well as white-the right to be served in hotels, restaurants, theaters, stores, and other public accommodations. A large proportion of the public-42 percent were opposed to such action on the part of Congress. Nine percent were undecided. Eight of ten white southerners, in the same poll, opposed passing a law guaranteeing blacks equal access to public places.

Other events taking place in 1963, prior to the All-Star game, included: John F. Kennedy barn burning "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in West Berlin (June 26); four charming mopheads from Liverpool, England: John, Paul, George and Ringo recording their debut album "Please Please Me" in a single day at the Abbey Road Studios in London (February 11); and long-running soap opera General Hospital making its debut on ABC Television (April 1). The four-digit zip code was also introduced on July 1st of the year.

The National League went into the midseason classic as 7-5-favorites to win the game.

With the game in Cleveland, Indians fans really didn’t have a horse in the race to cheer for. Jim "Mudcat" Grant (5-8 with a 3.92 ERA) was the only representative in the 1963 All-Star Game for the Indians. He never saw any action.

At the time of the All-Star break, the Indians were in sixth place in the A.L., 7 1/2 games out of first place with a 44-40 record (.524 winning percentage). The Yankees led the league with a 50-31 record (.617 winning percentage), 5 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. The Washington Senators were dead last with a 30-56 record, 22 ½ games out of first place (.349 winning percentage).

Though Mudcat Grant was the Indians sole representative, the A.L. staring pitcher was Ken McBride of the Los Angeles Angels, a Cleveland native, and a product of West High School in Cleveland (Franklin Boulevard and West 69th) who once pitched a high school championship game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

On the Senior Circuit, Jim O’Toole, the Cincinnati Reds southpaw got the nod to start the game for the N.L.

The manager for the A.L. was Ralph Houk of the Yankees, for the N.L., Alvin Dark of the San Francisco Giants.

Los Angeles Dodger announcer Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola handled the play by play for NBC, while Bob Neal and George Bryson were the radio announcers.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Locher threw out the first pitch (impressing many with the zip he put on the ball) on a refreshingly cool and bright afternoon with temperatures in the 70s. Mike Douglas, the KYW (later WKYC) television entertainer and host in Cleveland, belted out the national anthem.

For those star gazing: Milton Eisenhower, president of John Hopkins University (and brother of Dwight D. Eisenhower), Ohio Governor James Rhodes and former Cleveland Browns head coach, Paul Brown, were all in the house. As were Bob Feller, Jimmy Foxx, Bill McKechnie, Stan Coveleski, and Bedford, Ohio native, Elmer Flick.

Before players took the field, Casey Stengel, "The Ol' Perfessor” managing the dysfunctional New York Mets, shared a few pearls of wisdom of what this game really means, as reported by Bob Sudyk of the Cleveland Press: "Whoever wins this here thing today," Stengel said, "will prove he's the best there is no matter who tells you different, otherwise there's no point in fooling around with it and they might as well give it all to charity."

The game started promptly at 1 p.m.

To the surprise of many, the 34th All-Star game was largely a dud.

Between the two teams, there were 17 hits, 16 of which were singles. Interestingly, among the land of giants, the smallest guy on the field, the Los Angeles Angels 5-foot-5 Albie Pearson, had the only extra base hit, the loudest hit of the day, a double in the third inning.

After a scoreless first inning, Willie Mays led off the second with a five-pitch walk. The Giants center fielder scampered to second when catcher Ed Bailey (SF Giants) swung and missed on a 3-1 hit and run pitch. Bailey eventually walked. Dick Groat (St. Louis Cardinals, SS) playing in his first All-Star game for the Cardinals, cracked a single to second to score Mays for the first run of the game.

The A.L. came back to score in the bottom of the frame, when pitcher Ken McBride stepped to the plate with two on and two out, and sliced a ball just to the left of third baseman Ken Boyer (St Louis Cardinals); the ball deflecting off his mitt and sailing into left field, allowing Leon Wagner (LA Angels) to cross the plate, tying the game at 1.

In the third with Hank Aaron (Milwaukee Braves, RF) on second, Willie Mays, in a season long slump with the San Francisco Giants, produced a clutch two out hit (slashing a hit to center) to score Aaron. Mays then stole second, his second steal of the game and scored on Ed Bailey’s ground single to center to put the N.L. up 3-1.

Again, in the bottom of the third, the A.L. was equal to the task. Albie Pearson (LA Angels, CF) cracked Larry Jackson’s (Chicago Cubs, P) offering to the left-center field gap. Willie Mays skillful backhanding of the smash, limited Pearson to a double. Pearson scored when Frank Malzone (Boston Red Sox, 3B) managed a bloop single just over short. A ground out by Leon Wagner moved Malzone to second. Earl Battey (Minnesota Twins, C) brought the stadium crowd to life by smashing a hard single up the middle to tie the score at 3.

With the game knotted at 3, little did anyone in the stadium know that the run production for the A.L. dried up for the rest of the game.

Stan Musial (St Louis Cardinals), playing in his 24th All-Star Game, drew the loudest ovation, pinch hitting in the fifth. He flied out to Al Kaline (Detroit Tigers) in right.

The top of the 5th was noted for a critical error by the New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson who was put in to replace Nellie Fox (Chicago White Sox). With Tommy Davis (LA Dodgers, LF) on first and one out, Bill White (St. Louis Cardinals, 1B) squibbed a grounder off the end of his bat toward third. Frank Malzone (Boston Red Sox, 3B) rifled the ball to second for a force out, but Richardson was late covering the bag, mishandling the ball, for an error, allowing Tommy Davis to advance to third. Mays (yes, him again) followed with a slow grounder to first. Rookie Joe Pepitone (New York Yankees, 1B) appeared to have a play at the plate, but hesitated and ended up racing to first for the put out, allowing Davis to sprint home for an unearned run, putting the N.L. on top, 4-3.

The N.L tacked on another run in the 8th. Ron Santo (Chicago Cubs, 3B) blooped a single to short right to score White who was on second base, to put the N.L. up, 5-3.

Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale took the mound for the 8th and shut down the A.L. for the next two innings, turning in a solid pitching performance, which was punctuated with Richardson hitting into a game ending double play in the 9th. Drysdale got the save. The winning pitcher was Larry Jackson. Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) took the loss.

Though happy with the win, Alvin Dark, the skipper of the N.L. expressed disappointment he wasn’t able to pitch Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, and Juan Marichal because all had worked Sunday prior to the All-Star game. Dark pushed for a rule change that would prevent any pitcher selected for the game from pitching on the Sunday before the midseason classic.

The N.L. made history by fielding a starting infield made up entirely of St Louis Cardinal players, featuring first baseman Bill White, second baseman Julian Javier, shortstop Dick Groat and third baseman Ken Boyer.

Willie Mays was named the MVP of the All-Star Game. The "Say Hey Kid" managed only one hit, but drove in two runs, and stole two bases, making it 5 stolen bases in his All-Star appearances. Prior to the All-Star game, Mays had only stolen three bases all year. The Giants center fielder also flashed some leather in the 8th, running into the center field wired fence while chasing down Pepitone's long fly ball.

Bob Broeg, Sports Editor for the St Louis Dispatch singled out Mays in his column. "The National League might not have the greater power and the better pitching, after all, but they're faster than American Leaguers and must be wiser, too. They're smart enough to have selected a .271 [Willie Mays] hitter to play center field for them in the All-Star game."

What was most ironic about the klunker of an All-Star game was that at the Chamber of Commerce All-Star luncheon held at the Hotel Sheraton Cleveland ballroom a day before the All-Star game, Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick said "there has never been a dull All-Star game."

The baseball czar came to regret those words.

Arthur Daley, columnist for the New York Times, questioned such a statement after viewing the game. According to Daley, "It was so prosaic and routine that not even the stars could sparkle with their usual glitter. The Nationals beat the Americans, 5-3, although outhit, 11-6. Few of the hits were rip-snorters. Most were bloopers or grounders with seeing-eye ability to squirt through infield holes. A double by the littlest star, Albie Pearson, was the only extra base hit."

Similar sentiments were echoed by Plain Dealer columnist Gordon Cobbledick, who wrote: "For those that were unable to attend, there was the consoling thought that they missed nothing memorable."

Other than the unusually low attendance (44,160) for an All-Star game, what many found peculiar was how the crowd at Cleveland Municipal Stadium wouldn’t embrace the Yankee players when they stepped to the plate, not even for an All-Star game. There was nothing but a loud chorus of boos that rippled through the stadium when a Yankee was at the plate.

Of course, the Cleveland crowd had reason to boo the Yankees since they had such a bad track record when facing them in the regular season. At the time of the All-Star break in 1963, the Indians had won only 289 and lost 425 for a .406 mark against the Yankees, stretching back to 1930.

The Yankees less than stellar performance in the All-Star game was welcome fodder for a number of Indians fans and sports reporters. Yankee rookie first baseman Joe Pepitone went 0-for-4 at the plate (with two strikeouts) and neglected to throw home when fielding a ball at first allowing the N.L. to break a 3-3 tie in the 5th. And the usually dependable Yankee second baseman, Bobby Richardson, committed a costly error in the same inning. He also hit into two double plays. Oddly, Richardson hit into only three double plays all year heading into the All-Star game.

Charles Johnson, sports columnist for the Minneapolis Star, wrote: "The New York Yankees are the world champions of baseball through most regular seasons, but their representatives were the "goats" of the American League's 5-3 defeat by the Nationals in the All-Star game in Cleveland Tuesday...funny thing, but the Yankees forte has always been to capitalize on the oppositions misplays in tight contests. In this showdown, their misplays gave the Nationals their 16th win, only one less than the A.L."

Clearly, though, the most stinging indictment about the 34th All-Star game sprang from the notebook of Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich, who wrote: “The sick city in major league baseball is Cleveland, and this was known before Tuesday's All-Star game turned up 26,000 empty seats in the big lakeside stadium that used to beckon baseball's biggest mobs. The Indians may be on the move, to another clime. The malaise in Cleveland can be diagnosed as apathy."

"In Cleveland there is much to be apathetic about,” Povich continued. “The Indians have a cheerless sixth place ball team that lacks one exciting evening. The fan interest has dipped sharply enough to ring all the alarms in the front office. It has not been gradual, but steep. Twenty-two years ago, before the population explosion, the team was drawing more fans than in these last two seasons."

Others, too, began to question why the All-Star game was held in Cleveland.

According to one item from the Minneapolis Star: "Baseball moguls realize now that they made a mistake in giving Cleveland the game this year. The attendance of 44,160 was way below estimates (60 percent of capacity) made last winter when this city got the call over Minnesota. One of the better suggestions on these games for the immediate future is to stage them in areas which have new clubs like Met Stadium [Shea Stadium], and Houston before going to the old-time franchise holders. In two previous games as host, Cleveland turned out each time."

Instead of placing all the blame on Cleveland for the poor turnout, Dick Cullum, sports columnist for the Minneapolis Star, offered an alternative viewpoint. Cullum argues that baseball may have tarnished the novelty of the All-Star game when they had two games played each year.

"May it not be, however, that the greed of players and club owners has taken the charm from the game?” Cullum observed.” "They cheapened it by presenting two All-Star games a year for four years. This gave the All-Star idea a commercial aspect which clings to it even after the error has been corrected. The appeal existing in sports events is a fragile and often indefinable thing."

Cheapened it or not, Cleveland Press columnist Frank Gibbons welcomed the cross-pollination of the two leagues and hoped it would become more frequent during the regular season in the near future. “The All-Star game made me feel, again,” Gibbons wrote, “that one of the things major league baseball can do to promote itself is for the brass hats to get together and agree on an inter-league schedule.”

Sharp questions whether Cleveland was a fading baseball town flourished ever since 1963 All-Star game.

Cleveland, in fact, would have to wait nearly 20 years before they’d see another MLB All-Star game again.

NOTE: A big heartfelt thanks to the folks at Proquest for allowing me to access the historic archives of the St. Louis Dispatch and the Minneapolis Star.

–Bill Lucey
January 16, 2019

WPLucey@gmail.com

Is There No Room for Frankie and Hosey in Football Crazed Cleveland?

 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) lunges forward for a first down at First Energy Stadium on Sunday in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Photo Credit: UPI

***

Baker is indeed the man.

No doubt about it. The Oklahoma quarterback and the Cleveland Browns no. 1 pick has propelled his team to a 7-7-1 record, improving to 5-2-1 at home, and marking the first time the Browns have been .500 or better at this point of a season since 2007.

With 24 touchdown passes this season, the Austin, Texas native has moved within two of the rookie records held by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.

Ever since the rookie quarterback assumed center stage in week 3 of the season in a Thursday night nationally televised game against the New York Jets, replacing an injured Tyrod Taylor and heroically bringing the Browns back from a two-touchdown deficit, Baker has been the talk of the town. The Browns beat the Jets, 21-17, officially ending their losing streak at 19 games or 635 days.

Mayfield started the next game (week 4) and has never looked back. Since 1999, he’s become the 30th starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns final home game at First Energy Stadium pretty much sealed Mayfield’s stature in Cleveland as the new icon; giving the Browns fresh hope that their 16-season playoff drought may soon come to an end (beginning next season) with Baker as their Knight and shining armor and formidable field general.

In the Brown 28-16 win over the Bengals last Sunday in front of a sold out First Energy crowd on a cold December afternoon, Mayfield went 27 of 37 for 284 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a rating of 121.9.

Soon after the Browns win over the Bengals, their first sweep of the Bengals since 2002 and first sweep of any AFC North opponent since 2007, fans have taken to Twitter, posting that Baker is now the new undisputed sports hero in Cleveland, replacing LeBron James, who departed to La La Land at the end of the 2017 season.

Here are some tweets that were splashed across Twitter on Sunday

@ColeBuckus
Baker Mayfield is the new LeBron

Eric Spicer
‏@eric_spicer2
Baker Mayfield is already bigger in Cleveland than LeBron ever was. It shows how much more important the Browns are than every other Cleveland sport.

Michael Smith
‏@Smittyupsman
Time to put Baker and the #Browns banner up on the side of the building in Cleveland, this is a Football town!!! LeBron who???

Complete nonsense! roars this blogger from the peanut gallery.

Hailing Baker the new King of Cleveland wasn’t limited to Twitter.

"Baker Mayfield is just the gift Cleveland fans needed this season, especially in the wake of LeBron James’ departure,'' Mary Kay Cabot, Browns beat writer for Cleveland.com, wrote. 

As amazing as Baker Mayfield has been, have Cleveland sports fans really forgotten about the left field of the Cleveland Indians infield as far as star power and heroics goes, two remarkable athletes, who have been every bit as dramatic as Mayfield’s heroics? But somehow the spectacular accomplishments and frequent web gems of Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez gets overlooked, time and again, in this football crazed town.

Do we really have to review the feats and triumphs of Frankie Lindor and Hosey over the last few seasons to demonstrate just how incredible they have been?

Shouldn't Cleveland fans be tweeting until they run out of characters that Lindor and Ramirez were largely the reason the Indians advanced (in 2016) to their first World Series since 1997. The dynamic duo have become, moreover, the first two players in Indians franchise history to collect at least 35 home runs, 35 doubles, 90 RBI ‘s and 25 stolen bases.

Lindor and Ramírez have become the first switch-hitting teammates in MLB history to both reach 30 HR’s; they’re also recognized for becoming the first switch-hitting teammates in MLB history with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

 

As a stadium usher, I’ve attended a number of Indians’ games at Progressive Field since 2011. I never recall a more dramatic home run then when Lindor cracked a grand slam against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS in 2017. The Indians stormed back from behind to win, 9-8, in 13 innings. Unfortunately, the Indians lost the remaining three games of the Series and were ousted from post-season play.

Still, Frankie’s majestic blast made Progressive Field rumble on one memorable late afternoon; it was arguably one of the most dramatic, ear-splitting, home runs I ever witnessed at Progressive Field.

That blast alone in the 2017 ALDS should have placed Frankie right next to the King, LeBron.

But once again, Cleveland fans determined LeBron was the only real game in town.

Lindor continued his spectacular gallantry in the 2018 campaign; putting together six multi-homer games, tying him with Manny Machado for second most in the Majors behind Khris Davis (7).

The Indians advanced to the ALDS in 2018, but were quickly devoured by the Houston Astros in three games. Still, despite the Indians quick exit from the post-season, Lindor provided some offensive thunder, batting .364 with two home runs.

Somehow, José Ramirez hasn't risen to the rock star status as his Puerto Rican teammate, Francisco Lindor, but he's as equally as lethal at the plate with equally superior defensive skills at third base, a mighty hot corner.

And fans across the country have taken notice.

Ramirez was voted to the starting lineup of the All-Star game in consecutive years, something that hasn't been accomplished in Cleveland since Al Rosen in 1953 and 1954.

Hosey, moreover, set a club record with 29 first-half homers, tying him with Lance Berkman and Mickey Mantle for the most in MLB history by a switch-hitter.

It's not many teams who can boast players like Ramírez and Lindor who both belted 10 home runs in one month in becoming the first Indians to accomplish such a feat since Jim Thome and Karim García in 2002.

José Ramírez (on left) and Francisco Lindor, the dynamic duo of the Tribe's infield.

Photo Credit: SI.com

***

And consider this stat from ESPN: “José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor are the first teammates to each get 80 extra-base hits in consecutive seasons since Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig did so for the Yankees in 1936-37.”

How’s that for star power?

Amazingly, all this seems to have fallen deep beneath the surface among the sports fans in Cleveland.

If Frankie and Hosey were playing in New York, Boston, or L.A., I can’t imagine them being overlooked in any of those respective cities the way they are overlooked in Cleveland.

Yes, Baker is amazing, LeBron was phenomenal, but PLEASE, let's not forget about Frankie Lindor and José Ramirez, two All-Stars and potential Hall of Famers who somehow are not considered iconic figures who tower over the city like Baker currently does and Lebron once did.

They are every inch the Kings Lebron was and Baker purports to be.

–Bill Lucey
December 27, 2018

WPLucey@gmail.com

The Most Read Online News Stories of 2018: A Survey

A combative confrontation between President Trump, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer over exactly who is going to pay for the wall.

***

Yes, it’s that time again.

We are rapidly coming to the end of the year; a time to reflect on the highs and lows of the year, the most memorable moments and moments we’d just as soon forget.

As you might have guessed, the year has largely been punctuated by the flamboyant actions of the present occupant of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave: President Donald J. Trump, considered by many as the Tweeter-in-Chief. 

In keeping with his campaign promise, Mr. Trump plowed ahead with his proposal to build a wall on the southern border of the U.S. in hopes it would stop the flow of immigration from Central and South America.  This contentious effort has met with stiff resistance particularly from the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, whose recent sit down with Trump quickly turned into an explosive exchange captured by television cameras and whirring photographers.

Aside from his rants against illegal immigrants, there has been a drip!…drip!…drip! atmosphere surrounding the President with the Robert Mueller investigation looking into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and related matters. The special counsel’s investigation has so far resulted in criminal counts against more than 30 people and three Russian entities.

Stay tuned!

2018, to be sure, will also be remembered for the continuation of the MeToo# movement (which actually began in 2017) a powerful nationwide crusade against sexual harassment and sexual assault, whose shocking allegations (thoroughly investigated) ended the careers of a number of influential newsmakers, including Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer. In September, comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison for sexual assault.

Sexual harassment allegations continued apace through the year, culminating in a contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation battle in which Brett Kavanaugh defended himself against sexual misconduct allegations dating back to his time in high school and college.

In October, Kavanaugh was narrowly confirmed (50-48) as the 114th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Picture of Hurricane Michael's wrath.

***

One of the most destructive weather calamities of the year occurred on October 10, when Hurricane Michael made landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida, with packed winds of 155 mph and a minimum pressure of 919 mbar. It was reportedly the most intense hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Camille in 1969. By October 28, a total of 35 people were officially confirmed killed by the hurricane in Florida, with hundreds still unaccounted for.

Many news organizations spent a good part of October reporting the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. His tragic death sparked a diplomatic crisis for Saudi Arabia.

During the scorching hot summer, Apple Inc. the multinational tech company, achieved a remarkable milestone in becoming the world's first public company to achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion.

And Canada scored a new high in June when they became the first major industrialized country to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

Not all the news of the year was gloomy. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, after all, finally tied the knot, marrying American actress Meghan Markle in June. The ceremony was held at St George's Chapel, England, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.

Boston Strong was strong again this year. The Boston Red Sox won their ninth World Series, deposing the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games. It was the Red Sox fourth World Series win in the 21st century.

Well, these were just some of the major stories of the year.

To get a sense of some other big stories of the year, I reached out to a number of news organizations and asked them which single story drew the most traffic to their respective websites.

What follows are the responses I received.

New York Times

The Most-Read New York Times Stories of 2018

Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal splashed with a major scoop, when it reported that Donald Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 from his own personal funds before the 2016 election to silence her about allegations that she had sex with Trump in 2006. 

CNN

The top story on CNN.com in 2018 was the breaking news on Midterm Election Night, with 29 million-page views. 

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain’s obituary was their second largest story of the year with 24 million-page views.

L.A. Times

It should come as little surprise that the Los Angeles Times most populated online story was their ongoing coverage of the Woolsey Fire, a destructive wildfire that burned in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, which destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation Km of more than 295,000 people.

Fox News

A couple of the most widely viewed stories at FoxNews.com included Fox News star Charles Krauthammer revealing he had just weeks to live in an heartbreaking letter, which was read to viewers; along with a profile of Christine Blasey Ford, the  Palo Alto University psychology professor, who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

New York Review of Books

In an essay in the New York Review of Books, Holocaust historian Christopher Browning compares the heightened sense of nationalism under the Donald Trump administration to the rise of fascism in the interwar period. 

New York Magazine

Three of the most read articles at NYMag.com, included "In Conversation: Quincy Jones" By David Marchese ; “Donald Trump Didn’t Want to Be President” By Michael Wolff; and their eye-popping feature on Anna Delvey, a Russian-German woman, who scammed her way through the fashion scene in Manhattan.  

The Marshall Project

Since The Marshall Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan online journalism organization focusing on issues related to criminal justice in the United States, shares content with a number of news outlets, it's impossible to determine just how many readers actually viewed their stories. But based solely on the traffic they received on their website, their most read single story was "The Volunteer," about Scott Dozier, a Nevada death row inmate who dropped his appeals and demanded to be executed. (He's still waiting.) 

Weather.com

 The devastating effects of Hurricane Michael drew the most traffic at Weather.com.

 ProPublica

 The highly controversial topic of migrant children being separated from their families at the border is examined more deeply by ProPublica, a non-profit investigative journalism news organization in their feature: “Listen to Children Who’ve Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border “. 

PolitiFact

At Politifact, a nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida (with offices in Washington D.C.), the fact-check of the claim that Trump's family separation policy was the same as Barack Obama's drew more readers than any other in 2018. The claim rated false. 

Daily Beast

 The most viewed story of the year at The Daily Beast, the popular online news and opinion website, focused on politics and pop culture centered on how an ex-cop rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and stole millions. 

OpenSecrets.org

OpenSecrets.org, a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C., that tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections and public policy, most read feature of the year dealt with Robert Mercer who backed a secretive group that worked with Facebook, and Google to target anti-Muslim ads at swing voters.

FBI.Gov

At FBI.gov, the most read feature of the year was their post about Samuel Little, a convicted killer linked to 90 murders. 

Fortune Magazine

Fortune Magazine readers usually follow the money. So it's no surprise that the multinational business magazine's most-read story of the year on their website centered on a short news item about the House passing a $3.8 trillion tax cut, "Under the Fog of Kavanaugh, House Passes $3.8 Trillion More in Tax Cuts" 

Food Network

The Food Network's most read feature was "30-Minute Dinner Recipes" 

Travel Network

The Travel Channel drew the most traffic with "10 of the World's Most Underrated Destinations." 

MLB

Finally, "Starters and rosters for 2018 All-Star Game Astros, Indians, Red Sox lead way with 5 picks; Braves atop NL with 4'' was the top choice with readers at MLB.com for 2018 

***

Social Media: Year-in-Review

Google Year in Review 2018: Search Trends

Twitter: Biggest Tweets of the Year

Instagram Year in Review 2018 

Facebook’s 2018 Year in Review 

 

Happy Holidays!

–Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

December 13, 2018

 

 

 

1954: The MLB All-Star Game Returns to Cleveland

If ever the Greater Cleveland area needed a break to take their mind off their troubles, July, 1954, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

The 21^st annual All-Star Game took place at Cleveland Municipal Stadium off the shore of Lake Erie on July, 13, 1954. The last time Cleveland hosted an All-Star Game was in 1935.

What exactly was ailing the city? Let us count the ways.

The Indians final series before the All-Star break was held at Comiskey Park, where the Chicago White Sox swept the Tribe in four games. It was a miserable series for the Indians. They left 31 men on base with Al Rosen (last year’s AL MVP) stranding nine without picking up a single RBI. The Tribe star center-fielder, Larry Doby, also was without an RBI. What made matters worse, the New York Yankees ended the first half of the season sweeping the Washington Senators, winning nine in a row and 12 of their last 14 to slice the Indians once comfortable lead down to a half a game in the American League.

The deafening alarm bells were ringing in full force. Cleveland fans were fretting over yet another late season collapse.

Shirley Povich, columnist for the Washington Post, wrote on the morning of the All-Star Game, "The Indians, their hitting attacked defused by good White Sox pitching, have reason to be apprehensive. This was the year in which they weren't supposed to go into their customary fold-up routine, but you don't blow four straight to the White Sox at a time when the Yankees are charging in high gear, as the Yankees are doing....neither the Indians nor the White Sox have the depth to contest with the Yanks."

Al Wolf from the L.A. Times, echoed Povich’s sentiments: "Even the most ardent Cleveland rooters must be wondering if it's going to be the same old story. Three years in a row, the Indians have had to settle for second place. Something always seems to happen."

Outside of baseball, the All-Star Game was a welcome diversion to Clevelanders who were being flooded with press coverage, reporting a grisly murder case that gripped the city and quickly became a sensational national story.

Just nine days before the All-Star Game, in the early morning hours of July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard, a 31-year-old housewife and mother (four months pregnant) was beaten to death in her bed (at their lakeside home of Bay Village) with an unknown instrument. Her body was splattered with blood, pools of blood were found throughout the home. The blood-soaked victim was the wife of Dr. Sam Sheppard, a 30-year-old osteopath, who claimed he was sleeping on the family’s downstairs couch when his wife was savagely murdered.

It wasn’t until July 30, that the Cleveland Press screamed with the front-page headline: "Why Isn’t Sam Sheppard in Jail?” that Sheppard was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree. On December 21, the doctor was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently overturned his conviction in June, 1966.

Clevelanders, in fact, were accustomed to crime and colorful crime figures, such as Alex (Shonder) Birns, a mobster and racketeer from Cleveland, who was once labeled as the city's "Public enemy No. 1" by the local newspapers.  Just a day before the All-Star game, Birns went on trial for income tax evasion. He was convicted and served three years in the federal penitentiary.

More bad news came during All-Star week when it was reported that Hall of Famer Tris Speaker, 66, suffered a heart attack. The local hospital (Lakeside Hospital) said he was in good condition. Speaker, the “Grey Eagle,” was the player manager for the 1920 World Champion Cleveland Indians.

By July 13, 1954, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there were 32 cases of polio reported in Greater Cleveland, an increase from 23 cases reported at the same time last year.

So, Cleveland was ripe, to be sure, for the all-stars to roll into town and put on a show that would help them forget the doom and gloom weighing them down.

Many thought that holding the All-Star game in Cleveland was “altogether fitting and proper” considering the city’s deep roots to the national pastime.

As the Sporting News so eloquently wrote, "Rich is the history to which the 1954 All-Star game added another chapter. Charley Somers...Sunny Jim Dunn...Alva Bradley...Ernest S. Barnard...Billy Evans...Cy Slapnicka...Roger Peckinpaugh--all of them played major roles in making and keeping Cleveland a hotbed of baseball interest. The All-Star game will go to every city in both majors before it returns to Cleveland. But nowhere will it be more welcome, nowhere will visitors to the great mid-summer show feel more at home."

The manager for the American League was Casey Stengel; for the National League, it was rookie manager Walter Alston of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Cleveland Press reported that the betting along “Short Vincent” (a popular hub of activity in downtown Cleveland, between East 6th and East 9th streets) had the NL as 7-5 favorites to win the midseason classic. The Press also reported a moderate amount of ticket scalping in the lobbies of a number of downtown hotels.

Contrary to popular opinion, Jimmy Piersall, the Boston Red Sox center fielder, who was picked for the 1954 All-Star game and covered the 21st All-Star classic for the Boston Globe, wrote a column, predicting an AL victory. "I feel sure we'll beat those National Leaguers tomorrow," Piersall wrote, “but I think it's going to be a close game. I'd say about 5-4 for our side."

Despite the AL holding a commanding 12-8 All Star game advantage, there was good reason for the NL to be heavily favored.

The senior circuit was simply billowing with currents of power. Dodger center fielder Duke Snider was scorching the league in the first half of the season, batting .367 with 20 home runs and 70 runs batted in. Stan Musial (appearing in his 11th All Star game) was hitting .331 with 82 RBI's and 26 home runs. The Cincinnati Reds burly first baseman, Ted Kluszewski, was batting .312 with 22 home runs and 66 RBI's. And Willie Mays entered the All-Star game with a robust 31 home runs. Baseball statisticians, in fact, were buzzing whether the "Say Hey Kid" might very well surpass Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60 set in 1927. Mays was 11 games ahead of the Babe’s pace in 1927.

Additionally, the NL hitters combined for 230 home runs compared with 152 for the AL.

Despite a mediocre 7-6 record, Casey Stengel opted to use his own 25-year-old southpaw Whitey Ford to start the game. The Yankee manager thought he would be the best man for the job to face Duke Snider, Stan Musial, and Ted Kluszewski of the NL, all left-handed hitters.

Walter Alston, named Robin Roberts (11-8) of the Philadelphia Phillies as his starter for the NL, making it the fourth time in five years, the fireballing right-hander started for the senior circuit in an All-Star game.

The first pitch was set for 1:30 pm.

The television announcers were Mel Allen and Gene Kelly for NBC.  Jimmy Dudley and Al Helfer handled the radio play by play for WHK and WERE in Cleveland. The Chicago Tribune reported that a "Cleveland's summer orchestra entertained early arrivals with hit songs from recent Broadway musicals."

July 13^th was a hot day with a blazing sun beating down on the field; a soft breeze drifted through the stadium, making the game barely comfortable for the 68,751 fans who poured through the turnstiles. It was the second largest crowd in All-Star game history.

And Indians fans were thrilled to discover Stan Coveleski, celebrating his 66th birthday, was in the house. Coveleski won three games for the Indians in the 1920 World Series.

The first two frames of the game were quiet. It wasn’t until the bottom of the third inning when the American League exploded for four runs. With runners on second and third, the Cleveland Indians third baseman Al Rosen (penciled in at first base) who was mired in a slump with an injured index finger, cracked a home-run to left-center, the ball carrying 380 feet and putting the AL up 3-0. The very next batter, Ray Boone, a former Indian no less, smacked a solo home run to practically the same spot of Rosen’s mighty clout. This marked the first time in All-Star history back to back homers took place in the same inning.

In the 4th, the senior circuit was equal to the task. Sandy Consuegra, the Cuban-born right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, took the baton from Whitey Ford and proceeded to give up five consecutive hits (after retiring Alvin Dark of the Giants). Ray Jablonski, the Cardinals third baseman, slapped a hard single to center, scoring Duke Snider and Stan Musial. With runners on second and third, Jackie Robinson stepped inside the box and crashed a double off the right center field fence, scoring Kluszewski and Jablonski with the tying runs. Consuegra was lifted for Bob Lemon. With Robinson stationed on second, Don Mueller (Giants), pinch hitting for Roberts, drove a long double into the alley in right center, scoring Robinson to put the NL up 5-4.

The American League came roaring back to tie the score in the bottom of the 4th. After Chicago White Sox shortstop Chico Carrasquel lined a single to left, Minnie Minoso sliced a ball to left center field for a long single with Carrasquel scampering to third. Willie Mays (who just replaced Snider in center, with Snider moving to right) skillfully handled Minoso's hard smash to prevent extra bases. Cleveland Indians infielder Bobby Avila lifted a fly ball to medium left, deep enough to score Carasquel for a sac fly, and tying the score at 5.

The hitting assault continued in the 5^th

With Snider on base, Ted Kluszewski crushed a towering drive over the right field fence, for a two-run home run, putting the Nationals back on top, 7-5.

Cleveland's Al Rosen is greeted at home plate by the Yankees' Yogi Berra after Rosen hit his second home run for the AL in the 1954 All-Star Game.  Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

***

In the bottom of the 5th, Al Rosen, who prior to the game practically begged Casey Stengel to bench him because he didn't think he would help the AL, walloped his second home run of the game, a two-run shot (traveling 400 feet) with Yogi Berra on base. Rosen’s majestic blast gave him five runs batted in, tying an All-Star record set by Ted Williams in 1946.

The game was tied at 7 after 5 innings.

The AL tacked on another run in the 6th (with Warren Spahn on the mound) when Avila singled home Ted Williams who was planted on third, giving the junior circuit an 8-7 advantage.

In the top of the 8^th, with Mays on base, Cincinnati outfielder Gus Bell put the National League up again, 9-7, when he smashed a home run over the fence in right center. Dean Stone, the rookie southpaw (Washington Senators) replaced Bob Keegan to become the AL's sixth pitcher of the game.

Arguably, the most controversial play of the game was triggered when second sacker Red Schoendienst of the Cardinals attempted to steal home plate but was gunned down on close play at the plate to end the inning. Third base coach Leo Durocher stormed up to home plate umpire Bill Stewart and administered a severe verbal lashing as only the demonstrative Giants manager can, arguing vehemently that Stone never came to a complete stop before rifling the ball to home plate. Stone, according to the fuming Durocher, should have been called for a balk. After the game, Lippy Leo was still furious, telling reporters "Ed Rommel, the third base coach umpire saw it [the balk] and told me so, said Leo, "but he was helpless to do anything about it because Stewart refused to ask him for an opinion. I simply can't understand how this game of baseball is played today”, Durocher roared.

In the bottom of the 8th, down a run, the AL managed to put the score in double digits with a three-run outpouring. Another Cleveland Indian, Larry Doby, pinch hitting for Stone, tied the game with a solo home run over the left center fence. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, the tobacco chomping Nellie Fox (White Sox) managed to send a bloop single just out of the reach of Giants shortstop Alvin Dark on the edge of the outfield grass, scoring Berra and Mickey Mantle, and putting the AL up 11-9 heading to the 9th.

Before the Chicago Cubs Randy Jackson popped up to Berra to end the game, there were some nervous moments and high drama in the final frame when Stan Musial came to the plate with Snider on first base. The NL’s clean-up hitter laced two long drives that just went foul in the right-field stands, just missing tying the game.

The AL held on with an 11-9 victory for their first win in the All-Star game since 1949 when the junior circuit beat the NL, 11-7 with manager Lou Boudreau.

Dean Stone was credited with the win despite throwing only three pitches. Prior to the 1954 All-Star Game, Casey Stengel, the “Ol' Perfessor” had lost four consecutive All-Star games.

Many questioned NL skipper Walter Alston's decision to leave pitcher Jimmy Wilson with a 6-0 record on the bench with no action. The Milwaukee Braves right-hander was the only one of 8 pitchers never to throw a pitch.

Seven records were broken in the 54' All-Star game, including 17 hits by the AL, 31 hits for both the NL and AL; while the AL’s 4 home runs tied the record set by the NL in 1951.

The gross receipts for the game totaled $292, 678 or $259,204 after taxes, a record for an All-Star Game (another $110,000 from television and radio), with sixty percent of the proceeds going toward the players pension fund.

The post-game mingling among reporters at the Hollenden Hotel was appreciably dampened, when it was learned that sportswriter Grantland Rice , considered the dean of the nation's syndicated sports columnists (whose columns were carried in more than 100 newspapers) died after suffering a stroke while working in his downtown office. Granny was 73.

A striking irony of the 1954 All-Star Game centered on how Casey Stengel may have helped his chief American League rival, the Cleveland Indians, as both teams prepared for their second half of the season quest to clinch the pennant.

In a New York Times column published two days after the All-Star Game (July 15, 1954) with the headline: "A Pyrrhic Victory?" written by Arthur Daley; the Times prized columnist wondered if Casey Stengel may have inadvertently breathed new life into the Tribe.

Daley writes, "He [Stengel] used the ailing Al Rosen and that invalid cured his troubles with two homers (he hadn't one in seven weeks) and five runs batted in; the slumping Bobby Avila broke forth with three hits and two runs batted in; Larry Doby belted a game-tying pinch home run." "As a moral builder," Daley continued, "for the wilting Indians, the All-Star game was perfect...so it will be with the renewed vigor and spirit that the Tribe resumes its regular operations today."

Despite their uncharacteristic swoon just prior to the All-Star break, the Indians ended the season strong, finishing an impressive 111-43 (.721 winning percentage), which included an 11-game winning streak (September 8-20) 8 games ahead of their chief rival, the Yankees, to advance to their first World Series in six years and claim their third American League championship in franchise history.

The Tribe, of course, were unceremoniously swept by the New York Giants in the World Series.

One of the advantages of hosting an All-Star game is being surrounded by a swarm of reporters with a mission to fill their notebooks. Indians GM Hank Greenberg took full advantage of the abundance of journalists in town to press his case for interleague play. The former Tiger slugger was convinced interleague play wouldn’t diminish, one iota, the uniqueness and novelty of the All-Star game. Greenberg told Hal Lebovitz of the Sporting News, “In a schedule providing for inter-league play, the curiosity would remain and the competitive angle would be even stronger because the games actually would count in the standings."

A Footnote:

Though the All-Star game in Cleveland witnessed an abundance of future Hall of Famers,  July, 1954, was the month and year another future Hall of Famer was born, only it would take a few years for many to realize it.

It was in July, 1954, that a 19-year-old truck driver from Memphis Tennessee, Elvis Presley, entered the Memphis’ Sun Studio to record “That’s All Right” (Mama), an up-tempo blues song written by Arthur Crudup. The young, financially strapped musician fused the rhythm and blues song with a shade of country music. It quickly became Presley's first smash hit, sending him on the fast road to international fame and fortune.

***

NOTE: A heartfelt thanks to my friends at Proquest who allowed me to access the archives of the Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times.

 

–Bill Lucey

November 29, 2018

WPLucey@gmail.com

 

 

1935: The MLB All-Star Comes to Cleveland

The year 1935 was known for a number of alarming events.

Most prominent being Adolf Hitler announcing German re-armament in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles; it was the year of the first modern “race riot,” which took place in Harlem, where three died, with hundreds more wounded. It was also the year the FBI tracked down the Barker Gang, including its ring leader, Ma Barker, an American mother of several criminals who was gunned down (along with her son, Fred) in the small town of Ocklawaha, Florida at a rented house on Lake Weir.

In 1935, many Americans were still feeling the wallops of the Great Depression. Unemployment hovered around 17 percent, down from 25 percent, with many only able to find part-time work. Others, dropped out of the workforce completely.

But baseball, once again, made Americans forget about their troubles, at least for one sunny day in July. The third annual Major League Baseball All-Star game was held in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8, 1935.

The game wouldn’t be played, though, without a surge of protest from the fans and sports writers, who didn’t like how rosters would be selected.

This mid-season classic would deviate from the previous two; in that this would be the first All-Star game in which the fans would be shut out from selecting who would make the All-Star squad. In 1933 and 1934, selection of the All-Star teams was up to the fans, who could vote for the All-Stars through newspaper ads featuring official ballots. Beginning in 1935 (and lasting through 1946) each league’s eight managers selected the participants while the All-Star team managers chose the starters.

Despite taking a dim view of the rule change, Clevelanders were thrilled to have the All-Star game in their home town, a city that didn’t have much to cheer about since the Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) in seven games (five games to two) in the 1920 World Series.

Before the All-Star break, Cleveland was stuck in 4^th place, seven games behind the New York Yankees.

John Lardner, a sports writer and the son of Ring Lardner, writing in the Plain Dealer just prior to the All-Star game, wrote, " In the general excitement, the city of Cleveland is trying hard to forget its own troubles (otherwise known as the Cleveland Baseball Club). It has been declared a civic offense to mention the Indians at all during the next couple of days. You can mention Joe Vosmick and Mel Harder if you want to, because they belong to the All-Star squad, but everything else, including the standing of the club and result of the last series with Detroit, is verboten."

Looking through the Cleveland newspapers at the time, the city was bustling with activity to forget about the Indians lackluster season.

Vaudeville and radio star Bob Hope, who grew up in Cleveland, was performing at the Palace Theater, while popular newspaper columnist and humorist, Will Rogers, was lampooning the political climate in Washington at Keith’s 105^th Theater, a venue near University Circle (on the east side of Cleveland). Rogers died tragically the following month in a plane crash in Alaska along with the plane’s pilot, famed American aviator, Wiley Post.

If you wanted to catch a movie the night before the All-Star game, you could plop yourself down to take in Shirley Temple in "Our Little Girl" or "Reckless," a 1935 American musical film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, William Powell and Franchot Tone at a number of movie houses around town.

A day before the All-Star game, Babe Ruth, the “Sultan of Swat,” stormed into town like a hurricane. Ruth ended his professional playing career a month earlier (June 2) with the Boston Braves after 22 seasons, ten World Series and 715 home runs.

The former home run king reportedly took the morning train from New York into Cleveland. When he arrived, he played 27 holes of golf at a Country Club. He shot an 82.

The lobby of an unnamed Cleveland hotel was reportedly flooded with stars, including Eddie Collins, GM of the Boston Red Sox, Tris Speaker, Branch Rickey, vice president of the St Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox president, Tom. L. Yawkey, Thomas S. Shibe, president of the Philadelphia Athletics and Roger Hornsby who helped Mickey Cochrane manage the AL all-stars.

The temperature on game day was described as perfect for a baseball game with just a few non-threatening cloudy skies lurking over Cleveland Municipal Stadium on the shores of Lake Erie. Game time was scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon with gates opening sharply at 10:00 a.m.

Just prior to the game, Babe Ruth, whose heroics had long since faded from a bygone generation, still remained a big attraction with the crowd. The Plain Dealer reported that a gaggle of photographers hovered over the Babe with cameras whirring with lightning speed as he took his seat along the first base line.

"For more than 10 minutes," Plain Dealer reporter Alan Silverman observed, "the photographers photographed, while Babe smoked a heavy black cigar, brushed dust off his brown sports coat, straightened his flannel trousers and talked to smartly-dressed, Mrs. Ruth."

Once known for wolfing down hot dogs in a blink of an eye, the Babe turned down the 15 cent hot dogs’ vendors were selling.

When players realized the Bambino was in the house, they immediately darted over to the first base line to shake his hand. The Babe’s presence, in fact, overshadowed the presence of Ohio Gov. Martin L. Davey, and Cleveland Mayor, Harry L. Davis. Film star, Joe E. Brown, who appeared in the motion picture "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935), reportedly stood on the field near Ruth's box for several minutes before anyone noticed him.  Even the baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, turned few heads; that is, until it was time for him to throw out the first pitch.

Game announcers were reportedly Jack Graney for CBS radio; and Tom Manning announcing for NBC radio.

The stadium was packed with 69,812 in attendance, though less than the 80,000 they originally expected. The gross receipts from the game totaled, $93, 692.80, with a government tax of $12,000. Billy Evans, business manager for the Cleveland Indians said that roughly $60,000 from the $93, 692.80 taken in for the game would be directed to the poor and needy throughout the city.

Frankie Frisch (St. Louis Cardinals) manager for the National League selected his own ace, Bill Walker of the Cardinals to the start the game.  Player/manager Mickey Cochrane, skipper for the Detroit Tigers, went with Lefty Gomez (New York Yankees) to take the hill for the Junior Circuit.

The 1935 All-Star game was over before it ever really began when the AL delivered an early round KO.

In the bottom of the first frame with Lou Gehrig stationed on first, third sacker Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia Athletics) with a 3-2 count, drove a curve ball from the NL southpaw deep into the left-field stands, putting the AL on top, 2-0. The AL tagged on another run in the second inning when catcher Rollie Hemsley (St. Louis Browns) tripled off the wall, later scoring on Joe Cronin’s (Boston Red Sox) sac fly.

The NL's only run came in the 4th inning, when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Arky Vaughan slashed a double to right. New York Giants Bill Terry first baseman Bill Terry slapped a hard single to center field, scoring Vaughan for the NL's first and only run of the game.

With two quick outs in the bottom of the 5th, Cleveland Indians left-fielder Joe Vosmik slapped a single to left field. Tigers second baseman Charlie Gehringer then bounced a single past Chicago Cubs second baseman Billy Herman, moving Vosmik to third. Gehrig walked to load the bases. Foxx stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, ready to inflict some heavy damage. The Athletics power hitter laced a ball back through the pitcher's box; New York Giants pitcher Hal Schumacher couldn't handle the hard smash, only managing to deflect it, allowing a run to score with the bases still loaded. Philadelphia Athletics left-fielder Bob Johnson struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jimmie Foxx, “The Beast,” was responsible for three of the AL’s four runs in their 4-1 win over the NL. The convincing win gave the AL their third consecutive win since the mid-season classic was first launched in 1933.

Unusual by today’s standards, AL skipper, Mickey Cochrane, only used two pitchers. Lefty Gomez pitched through six innings. He then passed the baton to Cleveland Indians ace, Mel Harder, who only gave up one hit (a double by Jimmie Walker) in three innings of work. Gomez and Harder combined for a four hitter.

Despite Lou Gehrig going hitless, he registered the loudest out of the game.

In the bottom of the 7th, the "Iron Horse “drove a ball to deep center field in front of the bleachers at the 450 ft mark. Jo-Jo Moore (New York Giants) who entered the game as a reserve outfielder, managed to chase the ball down in a dead sprint. Many thought if the game had been played at the Indians other home, League Park (66th and Lexington), Gehrig’s long drive would have most certainly cleared the fence.

Though the 1935 All-Star game didn’t have as much fireworks as many had anticipated, the real fireworks were actually ignited in the days after the game by newspaper columnists.

One of the loudest grumblings about the game was the lack of players Mickey Cochrane used for the game. The Tigers skipper used only 13 of the 20 players on the roster. He never used Rick Ferrell, Boston Red Sox catcher or Buddy Myer (Washington Senators) at second base. Cochrane elected to keep his own second baseman, Charlie Gehringer, for the entire game.

Many columnists protested that fans deserved the chance to see a vast majority of all-stars on the field even for an inning or two.

Cochrane's motives were also called into question when he decided not to use his own pitcher, Schoolboy Rowe, in the game. Many believed the Detroit manager wanted to keep Rowe's arm fresh for an important upcoming east coast trip once the season resumed.

Frankie Frisch, by comparison, used 18 of the 20 players on his roster. Even when he found his team behind, the NL manager inserted reserves, if only to let fans see some of their favorites. Dizzy Dean (St. Louis Cardinals), for example, even though pitching six innings the following day was inserted late in the game.

Other than having Mel Harder relieving Lefty Gomez, the only changes Cochrane made was in the last inning when he removed left-fielder Bob Johnson and replaced him with Ben Chapman of the Yankees. And Doc Cramer (Philadelphia Athletics) replaced Al Simmons (Chicago White Sox) in the outfield.

By leaving the decision of selecting the roster to the managers, columnists roared, it meant fans were deprived of seeing the likes of Hank Greenberg (Tigers), Ted Lyons (White Sox), Cy Blanton, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Travis Jackson, shortstop for the New York Giants, and Pie Traynor, third sacker for the Pittsburgh Pirates, among others.

According to a number of columnists, managers were thinking strictly of the best players who would perform “best under stress”, not giving much thought to fan favorites.

A nagging issue with the All-Star game was that a number of managers didn’t like the mid-season game at all. They felt It interrupted with the general flow of the season and placed an extra traveling burden on a number of teams.

Stuart Bell, Cleveland Press columnist, slammed the managers for not embracing the All-Star game with more gusto.

“The game [All-Star game] is one of the few constructive moves baseball has made in many years. Managers and players ought to be sold on it.” “And fan appeal,” Bell wrote, “should come ahead of any desire to win out league pride.”

In the weeks following the 1935 All-Star game, there was a chorus of protests from team owners, arguing that the All-Star game should be abandoned altogether. The owners were reportedly dissatisfied with the share of the gate receipts they were receiving.

The owners decided to hold off deciding the fate of the All-Star game until their annual December meetings.

One small footnote about the 1935 All-Star game. Through 2018, pitcher Lefty Gomez holds the record for most wins in an All-Star game:  3 (1933, 1935, 1937).

And the six innings pitched by Gomez during the 1935 All-Star game still stands as a major league record for an All-Star game.

 

–Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

November 7, 2018

Field of Blood: Is the U.S. On the Road to Another Civil War?

In 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was severely beaten on the Senate floor by Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina.

***

Is the United States headed for another Civil War?

After reading Yale historian Joanne B. Freeman’s magnificent book, “Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War,” I was stunned to learn just how much physical violence took place within the halls of Congress before the Civil War, especially during the 36^th Congress (1859-1861).

Through her scrupulous research, Freeman reports that between 1830-1860, there were 70 violent incidents between congressmen in the House and Senate chambers, nearby streets, and dueling meeting grounds. Freeman, moreover, found clashes involving canings, fistfights, brandished pistols, and brick throwing, among others.

Most students of U.S. political history are well aware of the most infamous act of violence in the U.S. Congress.

On May 22, 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks (D-S.C.), viciously struck Sen. Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) in the head with a cane while he was sitting at his desk in the Senate chamber, leaving the Massachusetts senator semiconscious and near death, soon after Sumner delivered his famous “Crime Against Kansas” speech, in which he argued that Kansas should be admitted to the union as a free state. Sumner's inflammatory speech was a harsh indictment on the spread of slavery, while attacking several senators by name, including Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

Freeman presents scores of other physical clashes on the House floor and on the streets of Washington.

On April 17, 1850, during a debate on the Compromise of 1850, Sen. Henry S. Foote, D-Miss., a supporter of the compromise, pulled a pistol from his coat after Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, D-Mo. rose from his desk and stormed toward him. Senate colleagues grabbed Foote and wrestled him to the ground.  A motion was made to censure Foote, but failed to move beyond the committee level.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on February 6, 1858, Pennsylvania Republican Galusha Grow and South Carolina Democrat Laurence Keitt exchanged a series of insults, then blows during debate over the Kansas Territory’s pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution. "In an instant the House was in the greatest possible confusion,” the Congressional Globe reported. More than 30 Members joined the melee. Sergeant-at-Arms Adam J. Glossbrenner was instructed to use mace in order to restore order to the House. In one comical twist to the melee, Wisconsin Republicans John “Bowie Knife” Potter and Cadwallader Washburn ripped the hairpiece from the head of William Barksdale, a Democrat from Mississippi.

According to Freeman, fights and brawls became so frequent, that many congressmen strapped guns and knives each morning before heading off to the nation’s capital. Ever since the Sumner canings, Northern congressmen were strongly encouraged to arm themselves. Freeman documented more than a dozen fights in the 36^th Congress.

Freeman’s Field of Blood couldn’t have been published at a more timely moment in U.S. history.

160 years ago, the country was split down the middle over slavery. Having abolished slavery, Northerners sought to prevent its spread; the South was determined to assert its right to hold slaves. With no compromise in sight, war was the only solution. The Civil War was America’s bloodiest conflict with roughly two percent of the population, an estimated 620,000 men, losing their lives in the line of duty. 

When I think of the deep, spiteful divisions that gripped the country over slavery, I wonder if the sharp division over immigration in 2018 will have a similar harmful effect, to such an extent that it irreparably rips the country in two?

Back in July, a Gallup poll showed that immigration was the most important issue gripping the country with 22 percent of Americans citing it as the top problem. 

And on Monday, just eight days before the midterm elections, President Trump said he's prepared to deploy at least 5,200 active-duty troops to the southern border to confront migrants, preventing them from entering the country, citing national security concerns. 

 

The above video of a melee breaking out, isn’t from the United States Congress, it’s actually from the Mexican Congress.

But a similar brawl taking place in the U.S. Congress might be just around the corner, especially if the vitriol and toxic political climate we’re living in doesn’t simmer down.

Civility and comprise, after all, have left the building. We longer have the likes of John McCain and Ted Kennedy to engineer a grand bargain.

In Field of Blood, readers learned that Congress suffered a crushing blow when Daniel Webster and Henry Clay passed away in 1852, which reflected in Freeman’s mind the “passing of the spirit of compromise along with a passing of a generation.”

Congress might not come to blows in their respective chambers in the present 115th congress. Rather, their weapons of choice are to spew venom and vitriol through social media, especially Twitter.

Internet users are subjected to daily doses of anti-immigration vs pro-immigration rants, not only from congress members themselves but from their growing legion of supporters, spewing more hatred, demonizing opponents, and placing the country into a damaging specter of tribal warfare with little room for mutual agreement.

To me, the animus taking place on social media is just a 21^st century version of the pistols, knives, and bricks that Congress used to bully their opponents with in the 19^th century on the eve of the U.S. Civil War.

Another glowing similarity between the political climate in the slavery debate and the immigration debate is the role of the press.

In Field of Blood, Freeman chronicles the highly partisan nature of newspapers at the time of the slavery debate. It wouldn’t be uncommon for Southern papers, for example, to report Northerners were the aggressors, and the Southerners were the calm voice of reason throughout the crisis.  Newspapers and congressmen often struck deals to present Washington to its constituents back home as it needed to be presented. “Newspapers at the time,” Freeman wrote, “weren’t into truth telling.”

Reporters not into truth telling could just as easily be said about a number of news outlets of this present generation from Fox News to MSNBC to all the partisan blogs flooding the Internet, including Daily Kos, Red State, Breitbart News, or Mother Jones.

“With malice toward none, with charity for all,'' Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, fell from the heavens at just the right time to heal the nation during one of the most tumultuous times in the nation's history.

It was only a few months ago when Rasmussen Reports published a survey showing that nearly a third of U.S. voters expect civil war within 5 years.

As the nation, the U.S. Congress, and the American voters, come to terms with the present crisis of immigration, many are looking for the leader who will bridge the great divide tearing this country into smithereens before another Civil War takes place.

Who will that leader be before it’s too late?

 

–Bill Lucey

WPLucey@gmail.com

October 30, 2018