Klugh: How Pat Seerey made two kinds of history in six days
From Justin Klugh at The Hardball Times on August 6, 2019:
It was the start of the 1930 baseball season in Philadelphia, a time of gleeful applause and goodwill to all men. On the field at Front and Chew Streets, before Wentz-Olney beat the Lancaster Eighth Ward 12-5, Mayor Harry Mackey gifted Wentz-Olney’s popular manager, Charley Ziehler, a “large radio,” which we can only assume was a sign of great affection at the time.
“Community baseball is a wonderful medium,” the mayor announced. “It builds fine character and other traits which are invaluable.”
Several years later, community mainstay Ziehler had gone from having a radio handed to him to having mud slung at him. Acting as a football official on the same field in a 1934 contest between the Wentz-Olney football team and the Palmyra Red Devils, Ziehler didn’t have a whistle for some reason, which really cheesed off the visiting fans as he attempted to call penalties. This, as perceived slights and annoyances sometimes do at sporting events, eventually resulted in physical violence. It was still early in the first quarter when the mud slapped against Zieher’s cheek, setting off a brawl that, even after it was broken up, lingered on in the form of “several other battles” throughout the rest of the game.
Read the full article here: https://tht.fangraphs.com/crushing-it-how-one-slugger-made-two-kinds-of-history-in-six-days/
Originally published: August 7, 2019. Last Updated: August 7, 2019.