Bridesmaids With Strong Arms

As memories flow from the Fifties for an aging fan,
Cleveland’s teams are recalled from that time span;
Bridesmaids they were, far more often than not,
Claiming six times in that decade the league’s second spot!

The Yankees excelled during Stengel’s time at the helm,
But the Indians were annually in the same realm;
Though chasing Pinstripes became tiresome over the years,  
Municipal Stadium resounded with vigorous cheers.

The home team had flourished under a youthful Boudreau,
But 1948 seemed long, long ago;
So for The Mick’s first season and Joltin’ Joe’s last,
Al Lopez replaced Lou to lead a strong cast.

Gone was the mercurial owner of the Tribe, Bill Veeck,
Whom fans loved but owners considered a pain in the neck;
With Veeck’s antics having ended, every night and every day,
Attention was focused on Jimmy Dudley’s play-by-play.

The club to the east was a team of great lore,
With a level of talent no one could ignore;
Nearly all the Bronx Bombers were skilled with a bat.
The pitchers were Reynolds, Raschi, and Lopat.

On the mound, though, the Tribe gave absolutely no quarter,
For the Yanks’ roster of skilled hurlers was actually shorter
Than the list from which Lopez could select the right guy
To frustrate the opposition and make batters sigh.

Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia, Bob Feller, and Early Wynn
Caused hitters much dread. The last threw under the chin.
Those four were present when the new skipper arrived,
With any offense at all, the Indians thrived.

Doby and Rosen had been the top threats at the plate,
Ever since Doby came to the lake to integrate
The American League, as well as Cleveland’s crew,
Months after Rickey and Robinson had changed baseball’s hue.

Luke Easter blasted long shots as the decade began,
The Negro League star was no flash-in-the-pan;
But restrictions on race caused his stay to be brief.
For him Father Time was a veritable thief!

Bobby Avila was another hitter of note,
His best year was one of which Cleveland would gloat.
Bobby won the batting title, and the Tribe game after game,
Surely ’54 was the year Cleveland would reign.

But dominance in summer led to nothing but frowns
When the World Series began at New York’s Polo Grounds;
Mays corralled Vic Wertz’s drive; Rhodes’s shorter pop brought defeat.
Four days later the Indians’ fall was complete.

The lofty legacy the team had seemed destined to claim
Was thus spoiled by an indelible stain;
But despite Al Smith’s and George Strickland’s hapless fate,
Who can forget them, Houtteman, or Hegan behind the plate?

Mossi and Narleski were vital to their club’s cause;
As young pitchers they exhibited very few flaws.
But neither of these ’54 rookies was truly superb,
As was a rising star in the farm system named Herb.

Herb Score’s great velocity and incredible curve
Signaled potential that all would observe;
Thirty-six wins in two seasons placed his stock high,
Until McDougald’s line drive struck poor Herb in the eye.

The Tribe finished sixth in ’57 and fourth in ’58.
Quick improvement was hard to contemplate.
Attendance was down, the farm system was weak,
And many a player had passed his peak.

Though Score had been injured, and young Maris was traded,
In 1959, the feared Yankees faded;
Tito Francona’s high average and Colavito’s home runs
Keyed a lineup with adequate offensive guns.

But the great pitching staffs of the past were gone,
So the “Go-Go Sox” seized the American League throne.
Chicago’s speed impressed. Pierce, Shaw, and Wynn threw well …
Better than McLish, “Mudcat” Grant, Jim Perry, and Gary Bell.

The Tribe climbed to second, surpassing the Yanks,
At a time when roster moves were Trader Frank’s;
In April of ’60, all Cleveland went into shock
When Kuenn came to the Indians in exchange for “The Rock”!

Arriving, too, were Vic Power and Jimmy Piersall
Who entertained and occasionally provoked a brawl;
When Lane sent Joe Gordon to Detroit for Jimmy Dykes,
His trading of managers trumped balls and strikes. 

The GM’s deals generated headlines galore,
But early in ’61 he was shoved out the door;
Frantic Frank’s strategy of “dispose and acquire”
Had produced few results, but plenty of ire.

For decades the Tribe suffered a terrible drought:
Until by the Nineties it merely floundered about;
Municipal Stadium would grow old and be replaced by “The Jake,”
Ridiculed near its end as “The Mistake on the Lake.”

Skippers passed in and out of the old ballpark:
Kerby Farrell, Bobby Bragan, and former Giant Al Dark.
But none could match the success achieved by Lopez
When his pitching was strong and Ike was the Prez.

Why did fortunes in the Teepee grow worse?
Certainly not because of a “Colavito Curse”!
No, the stars of the Fifties had grown very old
And the players who followed weren’t from the same mold.

Where in history do the mid-century Indians stand?
How much respect do Rosen and his teammates command?
In terms of quality, those clubs certainly deserve mention.
They were seldom champs, but they were always in contention.

So many years later, does it matter where they rank?
Or how often in celebration champagne they drank?
More significant than the ’54 pennant or the title of ’48
Is their lasting identification with one special trait.

Their everyday players were not “hitless wonders,”
And as fielders they committed relatively few blunders;
But the keys, without doubt, were the men on the mound,
To this day those great pitchers are widely renowned.

Nearly a half-century after Lane was replaced by Gabe Paul,
The exceptional hurlers are distinguished most of all;
Feller, Lemon, Wynn, Garcia and a heralded Score.
All in one decade! We will see that no more! 

FRANCIS KINLAW has contributed to eight SABR convention publications and written extensively about baseball, football, and college basketball. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, and serves as Guilford County’s tax director.