William Penn Life, 2018 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2018-04-01 / 4. szám

Tibor's Take with Tibor Check, Jr.

Take me out to the labdameccs

*

Part One Baseball is my favorite sport. I

have played various versions of America's pastime since preschool. Nowadays, I'm the pitcher of my office's interagency softball team.

As I have grown older, I've come to appreciate in new ways the game and those who play it. Recently, I've been watching with great interest as my brother sifts through his growing collection of baseball cards. I'm not so much interested in the stats of a player or team in a given year, but I do enjoy the personal stories of the players and the sociological aspects of the game. One of these interesting aspects is the role of Hungarian Americans in the growth and maturation of baseball.

Since the late 1800s, Hungarian Americans have played and enjoyed watching this glorious pastime with great enthusiasm.

The earliest Magyar participants in baseball were the young cavalrymen fighting for the United States during the Civil War. As waves of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire came to America, the popularity of the sport grew in ethnic communities. Baseball eliminated language barriers and moderated some of the starker socio-economic divisions between immigrant and native populations and between the working and upper classes. During the early 20th Century, baseball became a way for a young man to escape the hard life of manual and physical labor—whether for a summer afternoon or for an entire lifetime.

As more and more immigrant sons joined various teams, the owners of baseball franchises learned that rosters containing players who had unique surnames attracted spectators who would come to see a brother, cousin or a friend from the old country play baseball-and fill the less-than-desirable "nosebleed" seats.

As a fringe benefit to their workforce, companies began

sponsoring teams in organized leagues. Fielding a good team was a point of pride in the business community. The businesses would benefit as they received free publicity via uniforms, media coverage and a happier workforce.

Workers would be given vouchers to ride the trolley to see the game or to purchase food. Of course, if a laborer was skilled enough, he would be recruited and placed on the team roster. Playing on the team was considered a promotion as it oftentimes led to the better jobs within the company. As added incentive, there was extra pay and time off to practice.

If a company player became a star, their services and contract might be sold to larger or more sophisticated businesses, who in turn organized their own leagues. Eventually, a rising star within a company league would be sold to a major league team's minor league affiliate.

There was a time when a typical major league team had between 40 and 60 minor league franchises. Only a few out of the many thousands of participants in company team baseball would eventually make it to the majors.

Here are a few stories of Hungarian Americans that made it all the way.

• One of the greatest Hungarian Americans to play in the Major Leagues was bom in Carteret, N.J., in 1911. Joe "Ducky" Medwick was a left fielder and played for four different teams in the major leagues. While in high school, he starred in four sports. Upon graduation, he was offered a scholarship to play football for Knute Rockne at Notre Dame but decided upon baseball because he could not afford to play a sport that did not pay him. Medwick was a 10-time All-Star, won the Triple Crown and was voted into The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1968.

Medwick was considered hotheaded and was a perfect addition to the "Gashouse Gang" of the St. Louis Cardi-Points to Ponder....

• In subsequent parts of this Take, I plan to discuss more contemporary Hungarian baseball players. I also plan on writing a similar article highlighting the many Hungarian American football stars.

• I owe special thanks to “Lucky,” who was kind enough to provide the photograph of the 1930 Windber Magyars Baseball Club, who were champions in Somerset County, Pa. I would love to hear from anyone who knows more about this interesting photograph. I also owe thanks to several baseball history websites, especially the Society for American Baseball Research, for their meticulous record-keeping and research.

• Finally, mark your calendars for Hungarian Heritage Night with the Cleveland Indians’ minor league affiliate, The Lake County Captains, on Saturday, June 30, sponsored in part by William Penn Association. Inside sources tell me that a Jose Ramirez/Francisico Lindor Twin Bobble Head will be given out to the first 1,500 fans in attendance that night. I’m sure that more details will follow, so stay tuned! - Tibor

6 0 April 2018 “ WILLIAM PENN LIFE