Leo, Chuck, & ?

[JACKIE42]

I don't know who Leo is pointing at only know he was with the Montreal Royals, any idea's?

Clay Hopper?

[donzblock]

Who is the guy in the middle, who appears to be out of it?

[Giantfanforever]

Looks like this may be the exchanging of lineups at home plate prior to the annual exhibition game between the Dodgers and their Triple-A minor league affiliate.

If so, the managers of the Montreal Royals during the period when Leo was the Dodgers' manager and Chuck Dressen was his coach (1939-46) were:

1939-Burleigh Grimes
1940-42-Clyde Sukeforth
1943-Fresco Thompson
1944-45-Bruno Betzel
1946-Clay Hopper

Information is from the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition, published by Baseball America, Inc.

Now all we need to do is figure out what year the photo was taken.

[JACKIE42]

Originally Posted by Giantfanforever

Looks like this may be the exchanging of lineups at home plate prior to the annual exhibition game between the Dodgers and their Triple-A minor league affiliate.

If so, the managers of the Montreal Royals during the period when Leo was the Dodgers' manager and Chuck Dressen was his coach (1939-46) were:

1939-Burleigh Grimes
1940-42-Clyde Sukeforth
1943-Fresco Thompson
1944-45-Bruno Betzel
1946-Clay Hopper

Information is from the Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd edition, published by Baseball America, Inc.

Now all we need to do is figure out what year the photo was taken.

I remember seeing a photo of Clay Hopper years ago and if memory serves me thats not him in the photo, so i believe its Bruno Betzel, also 1944-45 i think was when Leo and Chuck were together. But don't bet the farm that im right.

[DODGER DEB]

Well, it is NOT Fresco Thompson, and it doesn't really look at all like Clyde Sukeforth, so YOU may be right, Jackie.

c.

[gizmo61]

Definitely not Bruno Betzel. He was my grandfather and I was his batboy in 1952 when he managed the Syracuse Chiefs. I don't know who the guy in the Royals uniform is, but not Bruno.

[VIBaseball]

I think this may be Montreal native and Royals third baseman Roland Gladu. Roland was with the club in 1945 after getting his only taste of major-league action the previous year with the Boston Braves. He was their leading hitter that year. But then he jumped to Mexico in 1946, lured by Jorge Pasquel's money. Joining him was fellow Montrealer Jean-Pierre Roy, who briefly pitched for Brooklyn.

Tell me what you think:

http://quebec.sabr.org/media_gladu.htm

http://quebec.sabr.org/media_1948sherbgladu.htm

It's mainly the nose, but also the hair color and height (Gladu was 5'8").

[Paulmcall]

I'd say it's him by a nose.

[VIBaseball]

Gladu, who passed away in 1994, is an interesting character. He played in a professional league in England (!) that existed before World War II. There's a book about this league by a guy named Josh Chetwynd. He also played in Cuba. This Cuban card from the winter of 1945-46 shows that Roland was then in the Dodgers organization.

I wondered why he didn't get a look-see with the Dodgers. The war was still on in '45. My hunch was that the local hero was too popular a drawing card in Montreal.

So I looked at the newspapers, but the only clue I found was that Brooklyn did purchase Roland's contract (along with those of J-P Roy, John Corriden, and Claude Crocker) on September 25, 1945. But only the youth Crocker actually came south because the International League playoffs were going on.

When Roland jumped to Mexico, Branch Rickey said this (NY Times, 2/24/46):
"Gladu's case is different from Olmo and Roy. Gladu is not, nor will he be, a major league player. He is 32 years old and the offer he received was very tempting. I don't blame him for accpeting it."

That offer was $25,000 for three years!

[VIBaseball]

Here's the front of that Felices candy card from Cuba:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...tem=8831724913

Roland, according to "The Pride of Havana" book, was a popular player in Cuba. He batted .330 that season. Jean-Pierre Roy was also there.