Todd Anderson
03-23-2008, 02:42 PM
After my Vero Beach/Dodgertown excursion, I rocketed to the west side of the state (Homosassa) to hook up with the last remaining person who was a part of the 1947 starting lineup. Outfielder GENE HERMANSKI. Gene played nine seasons of major league baseball with an average of .272. He played in the World Series against the Yankees in both 1947 and 1949. I had written to Gene some time back and was so thrilled when he responded with some great recollections of my dad. He had told me that if I was ever down his way, to call and we would "have a lot of fun." Now I would finally get to meet the guy who hit three consecutive homers in a nine-inning game on August 5, 1948! WOW!
As luck would have it, I had also been in touch with Don and Sylvia Hatten. Don's father—Joe "Lefty" Hatten—was a tremendous pitcher for Brooklyn, arriving in 1946, the same year as my dad. Don and I had a lot in common, as NEITHER of us had ever seen our dads play. And we were both blessed with trips into Dodgertown the same weekend. So we talked about connecting at Gene's and getting to meet face to face. Gene was thrilled to play host, so [ace organizer] Sylvia Hatten helped us make the date.
Me and my buddy Neal arrived at Gene's about 15 minutes before Don and Sylvia showed up. Once they pulled up, we discovered they had brought guests! Joe Hatten's brother John, AND Billy Phifer and his lovely wife. Billy was the Brooklyn Dodgers batboy from 1950-53! Hoo, boy! I gotta admit: I've already blanked on Billy's wife's name (argh!). My heartfelt apologies for that faux pas. I kinda think it's JUNE, but wasn't quite sure. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to help me out. She was a wonderful lady. I told both her and Gene's wife how I bet they grew weary of the baseball stories all the time. Neither said they did. They enjoyed our time together and were gracious in every way.
After some quick exchanges, we all caravaned over to the clubhouse where we sat down for a wonderful lunch, provided by Gene and his wife, Carol. (You two shouldn't have. Our heartfelt thanks for making us feel at home!) Two photos below: TOP ROW: my lifelong pal Neal Ball, Don and Sylvia Hatten, John Hatten, June (?) and Billy Phifer; BOTTOM ROW: Me, Gene Hermanski and his lovely wife, Carol.
Bottom pic: Myself, Gene, Billy and Don all strike a pose. Don and I commented how our dad's certainly couldn't have envisioned the internet, OR how it helped us all connect like this!
What a great time of listening to the memories of both Gene, Billy, John and Don. It was such a great honor meeting all of these wonderful guys. Their remembrances shed a lot of light on what it must have been like to be around in those days. Their combined memories should have been taped—they are a treasure! After a long lunch, we headed back to Gene's house where we talked additional baseball. Like a pinhead, I failed to take photos of some of the incredible stuff Gene had on the wall. Lots of great action shots from his heyday with Brooklyn. One of favorites was a series of action shots that showed Gene sliding into home plate, and missing the tag by the catcher (the photo PROVED it!). However, the ump still called Gene OUT. So the photos showed Gene coming into home, being called out, and him leaping to his feet in disbelief. He didn't get kicked out and managed to walk away in disgust. For one thing, he mentioned that staying in the ump's face would have resulted in a $500 fine! That kind of punishment represented a hefty hunk out of the paltry annual salary that players got back then. Made me wonder why we don't have the same kind of hefty penalties today! Anyway, Sylvia Hatten may have done a much better job of taking photos of Gene's memorabilia than I did. I'm hoping that she and Don will be able to post their photos as well. If she does, I'm sure you'll get a much better view than I'm giving you on this part of the trip.
Gene was generous enough to not only buy me lunch, but to sign my autograph book, a Brooklyn hat I like to wear (not shown), and even a ball for my own wall of fame! Then, I even got Billy to sign my book! Life is good!
Hats of to these WONDERFUL folks for allowing me the rare privilege of sitting at their table. They don't come any better than this bunch. My adopted Dodger family grew a lot bigger that day!
As luck would have it, I had also been in touch with Don and Sylvia Hatten. Don's father—Joe "Lefty" Hatten—was a tremendous pitcher for Brooklyn, arriving in 1946, the same year as my dad. Don and I had a lot in common, as NEITHER of us had ever seen our dads play. And we were both blessed with trips into Dodgertown the same weekend. So we talked about connecting at Gene's and getting to meet face to face. Gene was thrilled to play host, so [ace organizer] Sylvia Hatten helped us make the date.
Me and my buddy Neal arrived at Gene's about 15 minutes before Don and Sylvia showed up. Once they pulled up, we discovered they had brought guests! Joe Hatten's brother John, AND Billy Phifer and his lovely wife. Billy was the Brooklyn Dodgers batboy from 1950-53! Hoo, boy! I gotta admit: I've already blanked on Billy's wife's name (argh!). My heartfelt apologies for that faux pas. I kinda think it's JUNE, but wasn't quite sure. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to help me out. She was a wonderful lady. I told both her and Gene's wife how I bet they grew weary of the baseball stories all the time. Neither said they did. They enjoyed our time together and were gracious in every way.
After some quick exchanges, we all caravaned over to the clubhouse where we sat down for a wonderful lunch, provided by Gene and his wife, Carol. (You two shouldn't have. Our heartfelt thanks for making us feel at home!) Two photos below: TOP ROW: my lifelong pal Neal Ball, Don and Sylvia Hatten, John Hatten, June (?) and Billy Phifer; BOTTOM ROW: Me, Gene Hermanski and his lovely wife, Carol.
Bottom pic: Myself, Gene, Billy and Don all strike a pose. Don and I commented how our dad's certainly couldn't have envisioned the internet, OR how it helped us all connect like this!
What a great time of listening to the memories of both Gene, Billy, John and Don. It was such a great honor meeting all of these wonderful guys. Their remembrances shed a lot of light on what it must have been like to be around in those days. Their combined memories should have been taped—they are a treasure! After a long lunch, we headed back to Gene's house where we talked additional baseball. Like a pinhead, I failed to take photos of some of the incredible stuff Gene had on the wall. Lots of great action shots from his heyday with Brooklyn. One of favorites was a series of action shots that showed Gene sliding into home plate, and missing the tag by the catcher (the photo PROVED it!). However, the ump still called Gene OUT. So the photos showed Gene coming into home, being called out, and him leaping to his feet in disbelief. He didn't get kicked out and managed to walk away in disgust. For one thing, he mentioned that staying in the ump's face would have resulted in a $500 fine! That kind of punishment represented a hefty hunk out of the paltry annual salary that players got back then. Made me wonder why we don't have the same kind of hefty penalties today! Anyway, Sylvia Hatten may have done a much better job of taking photos of Gene's memorabilia than I did. I'm hoping that she and Don will be able to post their photos as well. If she does, I'm sure you'll get a much better view than I'm giving you on this part of the trip.
Gene was generous enough to not only buy me lunch, but to sign my autograph book, a Brooklyn hat I like to wear (not shown), and even a ball for my own wall of fame! Then, I even got Billy to sign my book! Life is good!
Hats of to these WONDERFUL folks for allowing me the rare privilege of sitting at their table. They don't come any better than this bunch. My adopted Dodger family grew a lot bigger that day!