January 17, 1944 - The Brooklyn Eagle
BROOKLYN EAGLE, MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 1944
CLEARING The BASES
BY TOMMY HOLMES
THE TABASCO KID--Norman Elberfeld. who died in a Chattanooga hospital the other day, was a ballplayer of the oId, old school. His generation came along in the wake of he famous Baltimore Orioles. It was partial to eating tobacco, profanity and free-hand scrapping mixed with its baseball.
The Tabasco Kid. as he was called, was a little guy. but hard and as rough as a strip of corrugated Iron. One of his favorite tricks was to get himself hit by a pitched ball. Old timers claim that. Elberfeld was hit more often than any man who ever played ball.
I often wonder what Elberfeld and the shade of Hughey Jennings thought of those hysterical rhubarbs that followed outbreaks of temper and consequent dust-off duels in recent years. In 1896, for instance. Jennings was hit 49 times. In 1943 Dick Bartell hit seven times. was the favorite target in the National League and doubtless feels grievously put upon.
"Nowadays." remarks Casey Stengel. "a fast ball will whiz past a batter's ear and he'll come back to the bench and say, 'I think he was throwing at me.' When I broke in I knew damn well they were throwing at me."
Memo to Ford Frick: Leo Durocher did not invent the bean ball.
SERIOUS FUN--Kid Elberfeld played for the New York Americans, then known as the Highlanders. for many years and managed that club for the last half of the 1908 campaign. Later he was with Washington. He finished up in the major leagues playing a few games for Brooklyn in 1914. For almost 30 years after that he beat the bush along minor league trials, first as a player, later as manager. scout and what have you.
He was managing Little Rock in the Southern Association when he had an interesting and rather typical encounter with Spencer Abbott, another journeyman manager of vast experience. Abbott was new in that league and his club—Atlanta, I think—was to play its first home game against Little Rock.
The night before Elberfeld sought out Abbott.
''Tell you what." said the Kid, enthusiastically. "You're new in this town, see! S'pose just before the game tomorrow we get into a big argument over the ground rules. It'll put you in solid with these fans. They'll know they've got a fightin' manager."
"Well," relates Abbott, "the act started great. We jawed away at each other and waved our index fingers under the other's nose and the crowd was reacting nicely. And then all of a sudden it stopped being an act.
"The Kid reached down and picked up a handful of dirt. He threw it in my face. That was bad enough, but I had my mouth open at the time. Naturally, I wasn't gonna let the runt get away with that. I took a poke at him. Next thing I knew we were wrestling all over the place with cops trying to pull us apart and the fans screaming murder.
"Maybe the funniest part of the whole business was that the Kid was sore at me for months afterwards. He could hold a mad about as long as any one I ever knew."
HOW HERMAN GOT HERE—You probably don't remember Spencer Abbott, but he did have a Dodger connection at one time which led to an intriguing chapter of Brooklyn baseball history.
Abbott discovered Babe Herman. Perhaps that isn't exactly the way to put it. The Babe had previously been with the Tigers and the Red Sox and whatever else they thought about him they must have known he could hit. But Abbott did buy him for the Dodgers from Seattle for $15.000, then sat down and wrote Wilbert Robinson an apologetic letter.
"I don't know whether you'll laugh or cry when you see him at first base," he wrote, ''but when I see a guy get six for six I've got to go for him."
Robbie optioned Herman to Minneapolis as part of a deal before he even looked at the Babe. If that was a "rock" it doesn't compare with that of the Minneapolis club, which indignantly sent Herman back before Spring training was over.
''You keep him." telegraphed Mike Kelley. "No. 1: This guy sits in the hotel lobby after a workout wearing his uniform and smoking a big. black cigar. No. 2: I gave him a bunt sign today and he hit the right field wall for three base."
CLEARING The BASES
BY TOMMY HOLMES
THE TABASCO KID--Norman Elberfeld. who died in a Chattanooga hospital the other day, was a ballplayer of the oId, old school. His generation came along in the wake of he famous Baltimore Orioles. It was partial to eating tobacco, profanity and free-hand scrapping mixed with its baseball.
The Tabasco Kid. as he was called, was a little guy. but hard and as rough as a strip of corrugated Iron. One of his favorite tricks was to get himself hit by a pitched ball. Old timers claim that. Elberfeld was hit more often than any man who ever played ball.
I often wonder what Elberfeld and the shade of Hughey Jennings thought of those hysterical rhubarbs that followed outbreaks of temper and consequent dust-off duels in recent years. In 1896, for instance. Jennings was hit 49 times. In 1943 Dick Bartell hit seven times. was the favorite target in the National League and doubtless feels grievously put upon.
"Nowadays." remarks Casey Stengel. "a fast ball will whiz past a batter's ear and he'll come back to the bench and say, 'I think he was throwing at me.' When I broke in I knew damn well they were throwing at me."
Memo to Ford Frick: Leo Durocher did not invent the bean ball.
SERIOUS FUN--Kid Elberfeld played for the New York Americans, then known as the Highlanders. for many years and managed that club for the last half of the 1908 campaign. Later he was with Washington. He finished up in the major leagues playing a few games for Brooklyn in 1914. For almost 30 years after that he beat the bush along minor league trials, first as a player, later as manager. scout and what have you.
He was managing Little Rock in the Southern Association when he had an interesting and rather typical encounter with Spencer Abbott, another journeyman manager of vast experience. Abbott was new in that league and his club—Atlanta, I think—was to play its first home game against Little Rock.
The night before Elberfeld sought out Abbott.
''Tell you what." said the Kid, enthusiastically. "You're new in this town, see! S'pose just before the game tomorrow we get into a big argument over the ground rules. It'll put you in solid with these fans. They'll know they've got a fightin' manager."
"Well," relates Abbott, "the act started great. We jawed away at each other and waved our index fingers under the other's nose and the crowd was reacting nicely. And then all of a sudden it stopped being an act.
"The Kid reached down and picked up a handful of dirt. He threw it in my face. That was bad enough, but I had my mouth open at the time. Naturally, I wasn't gonna let the runt get away with that. I took a poke at him. Next thing I knew we were wrestling all over the place with cops trying to pull us apart and the fans screaming murder.
"Maybe the funniest part of the whole business was that the Kid was sore at me for months afterwards. He could hold a mad about as long as any one I ever knew."
HOW HERMAN GOT HERE—You probably don't remember Spencer Abbott, but he did have a Dodger connection at one time which led to an intriguing chapter of Brooklyn baseball history.
Abbott discovered Babe Herman. Perhaps that isn't exactly the way to put it. The Babe had previously been with the Tigers and the Red Sox and whatever else they thought about him they must have known he could hit. But Abbott did buy him for the Dodgers from Seattle for $15.000, then sat down and wrote Wilbert Robinson an apologetic letter.
"I don't know whether you'll laugh or cry when you see him at first base," he wrote, ''but when I see a guy get six for six I've got to go for him."
Robbie optioned Herman to Minneapolis as part of a deal before he even looked at the Babe. If that was a "rock" it doesn't compare with that of the Minneapolis club, which indignantly sent Herman back before Spring training was over.
''You keep him." telegraphed Mike Kelley. "No. 1: This guy sits in the hotel lobby after a workout wearing his uniform and smoking a big. black cigar. No. 2: I gave him a bunt sign today and he hit the right field wall for three base."
