http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/other/baseball/article422896.ece
Warren Spahn: Truth and some urban legend
Hall of Fame pitcher coached by father
Updated: May 13, 2011, 10:33 PM
*Warren Spahn (1921-2003), the Hall of Fame left-hander, was probably the most famous athlete born and raised in Buffalo. In a 21-year career from the early 1940s to the mid '60s, he won 363 games -- the fifth most all-time and most ever by a left-hander. Only Christy Mathewson won 20 games in a season as often (13) as Spahn, a baseball legend.
*Sometimes the legend exceeded the truth. Here are some of the details of Spahn's Buffalo upbringing that people have mistakenly believed for years:
** Born on April 23, 1921, the fifth of six children and the first of two boys to homemaker Mabel and $27-a-week wallpaper salesman Edward Spahn.
** Grew up in South Buffalo, in a multifamily house with a tavern on the ground floor at 189 Roberts Ave.
** Moved from first base to pitcher, because Billy Benzerman, who later became pro wrestler Killer Kowalski, was an All-Scholastic first baseman and teammate of Spahn's at South Park High School.
** Led South Park to championships his junior and senior seasons.
** Threw a no-hitter in his senior season and signed with the Boston Braves after scout Billy Myers quit the Red Sox and joined the cross-town team when he didn't like the deal the Sox offered Sibby Sisti, who also was from Buffalo.
*Thanks to a review of public records and research assistance from Buffalonians Michael Billoni, former general manager of the minor league Buffalo Bisons, and brothers Lou and Paul Motyka, a different but equally interesting picture emerges.
*Warren was indeed the first boy, but the second of six children born to the Spahns. The family actually spent most of Warren's formative years in the German enclave of Kaisertown, not South Buffalo. The Spahns moved from 109 Baitz Ave. to 105 Roberts Ave. in 1936 and to 131 Roberts, the highest number on the street, in 1937. In this close-knit industrial neighborhood, Mabel's sister was married to Edward's brother.
*How many ballplayers have said, "My best coach was my father"? A semipro player who was small at 5-foot-7, slight at between 135 and 150 pounds (accounts differ) and no Wee Willie Keeler at the plate, Edward Spahn atoned for his baseball shortcomings by exhaustively tutoring Warren. In case the youngster couldn't hit well enough to play every day, Edward built a mound in the backyard and taught him pitching, including the signature high kick that deceived hitters. Above all, Edward lectured Warren on control -- personal as well as pitching. "Don't pop off too much," said Edward, who was a packer for an ice-cream company and a clerk, as well as a salesman for paint and wallpaper companies. "The guy who is noisy, always blowing off, is the guy who has an inferiority complex. Be yourself, be polite, respect other people's feelings, and treat them with deference."
*While in elementary school, Warren played in the Buffalo Evening News' Midget and Legion leagues, among others. In a dream sequence on the Lake City Athletic Club team, the 13-year-old son played first and the 37-year-old father third. "I gave him heck for making bad throws, and he gave me heck for not catching them," Warren told an interviewer.
*The kid listened to Yankee games on the radio and imagined that his hero, first baseman Lou Gehrig, was a dead ringer for Tarzan. But when he entered South Park High School, Warren discovered that an All-Scholastic player named Billy Benzerman, who later became a pro wrestler (though not Killer Kowalski), was at first base. Warren spent a year batting .487 in the outfield before converting to pitcher, where he led South Park to two city championships and threw a no-hitter his second year.
*But here's the rub. Billoni and I discovered a 1940 copy of The Dial, South Park's yearbook. In it, Warren Spahn is pictured with the baseball team, but he's listed as a junior! A 19-year-old junior who probably was kept back twice. Because there was no baseball draft, however, he was free to turn pro before graduation.
*The scout who landed him was Billy Meyers (not Myers), who left employment with the Red Sox to sign Sisti with Boston's National League team, but it was known as the Bees in 1936-40, not the Braves. Meyers signed Spahn for $80 a month, plus a $150 bonus and two sets of clothes, according to his father.
*After a brief stint in the minors and a cup of coffee with Boston in 1942, Spahn enlisted for World War II, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and for the vital bridge at Remagen, receiving a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for bravery. He returned to baseball in 1946, had his way with major-league hitters, and in 1973 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That's not just legend. It's fact.
eos Jim Kaplan is author of The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn and the Pitching Duel of the Century (Triumph Books), from which this article is adapted. Kaplan will give a talk about the book at 7 p.m. May 24 at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.
sports@buffnews.com
Warren Spahn: Truth and some urban legend
Hall of Fame pitcher coached by father
Updated: May 13, 2011, 10:33 PM
*Warren Spahn (1921-2003), the Hall of Fame left-hander, was probably the most famous athlete born and raised in Buffalo. In a 21-year career from the early 1940s to the mid '60s, he won 363 games -- the fifth most all-time and most ever by a left-hander. Only Christy Mathewson won 20 games in a season as often (13) as Spahn, a baseball legend.
*Sometimes the legend exceeded the truth. Here are some of the details of Spahn's Buffalo upbringing that people have mistakenly believed for years:
** Born on April 23, 1921, the fifth of six children and the first of two boys to homemaker Mabel and $27-a-week wallpaper salesman Edward Spahn.
** Grew up in South Buffalo, in a multifamily house with a tavern on the ground floor at 189 Roberts Ave.
** Moved from first base to pitcher, because Billy Benzerman, who later became pro wrestler Killer Kowalski, was an All-Scholastic first baseman and teammate of Spahn's at South Park High School.
** Led South Park to championships his junior and senior seasons.
** Threw a no-hitter in his senior season and signed with the Boston Braves after scout Billy Myers quit the Red Sox and joined the cross-town team when he didn't like the deal the Sox offered Sibby Sisti, who also was from Buffalo.
*Thanks to a review of public records and research assistance from Buffalonians Michael Billoni, former general manager of the minor league Buffalo Bisons, and brothers Lou and Paul Motyka, a different but equally interesting picture emerges.
*Warren was indeed the first boy, but the second of six children born to the Spahns. The family actually spent most of Warren's formative years in the German enclave of Kaisertown, not South Buffalo. The Spahns moved from 109 Baitz Ave. to 105 Roberts Ave. in 1936 and to 131 Roberts, the highest number on the street, in 1937. In this close-knit industrial neighborhood, Mabel's sister was married to Edward's brother.
*How many ballplayers have said, "My best coach was my father"? A semipro player who was small at 5-foot-7, slight at between 135 and 150 pounds (accounts differ) and no Wee Willie Keeler at the plate, Edward Spahn atoned for his baseball shortcomings by exhaustively tutoring Warren. In case the youngster couldn't hit well enough to play every day, Edward built a mound in the backyard and taught him pitching, including the signature high kick that deceived hitters. Above all, Edward lectured Warren on control -- personal as well as pitching. "Don't pop off too much," said Edward, who was a packer for an ice-cream company and a clerk, as well as a salesman for paint and wallpaper companies. "The guy who is noisy, always blowing off, is the guy who has an inferiority complex. Be yourself, be polite, respect other people's feelings, and treat them with deference."
*While in elementary school, Warren played in the Buffalo Evening News' Midget and Legion leagues, among others. In a dream sequence on the Lake City Athletic Club team, the 13-year-old son played first and the 37-year-old father third. "I gave him heck for making bad throws, and he gave me heck for not catching them," Warren told an interviewer.
*The kid listened to Yankee games on the radio and imagined that his hero, first baseman Lou Gehrig, was a dead ringer for Tarzan. But when he entered South Park High School, Warren discovered that an All-Scholastic player named Billy Benzerman, who later became a pro wrestler (though not Killer Kowalski), was at first base. Warren spent a year batting .487 in the outfield before converting to pitcher, where he led South Park to two city championships and threw a no-hitter his second year.
*But here's the rub. Billoni and I discovered a 1940 copy of The Dial, South Park's yearbook. In it, Warren Spahn is pictured with the baseball team, but he's listed as a junior! A 19-year-old junior who probably was kept back twice. Because there was no baseball draft, however, he was free to turn pro before graduation.
*The scout who landed him was Billy Meyers (not Myers), who left employment with the Red Sox to sign Sisti with Boston's National League team, but it was known as the Bees in 1936-40, not the Braves. Meyers signed Spahn for $80 a month, plus a $150 bonus and two sets of clothes, according to his father.
*After a brief stint in the minors and a cup of coffee with Boston in 1942, Spahn enlisted for World War II, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and for the vital bridge at Remagen, receiving a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for bravery. He returned to baseball in 1946, had his way with major-league hitters, and in 1973 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. That's not just legend. It's fact.
eos Jim Kaplan is author of The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn and the Pitching Duel of the Century (Triumph Books), from which this article is adapted. Kaplan will give a talk about the book at 7 p.m. May 24 at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.
sports@buffnews.com
