Brooklyn Against the World: Ebbets Field Welcomes Young Stars in 1946

This article was originally published in Ebbets Field: Great, Historic, and Memorable Games in Brooklyn’s Lost Ballpark (SABR, 2023), edited by Gregory H. Wolf.

The Brooklyn Eagle, beginning in 1946, staged its “Brooklyn Against the World” competition at Ebbets Field. The main forces behind the game were Branch Rickey of the Dodgers and Lou Niss, the sports editor of the Brooklyn Eagle.

Players from around the United States, Canada, and Hawaii were brought to Brooklyn as part of the “World” team for a three-game series that was played August 7, 8, and 9 at Ebbets Field. Most of them were sponsored by newspapers. Vic Marasco, a player representing the Los Angeles Times, had the time of his life: “Those people from the Brooklyn Eagle and the Brooklyn Dodgers didn’t spare the horses when it came to taking us around.” He summed it all up by saying, “I think I learned more on this trip than all the time I was in Fremont High and I just want to congratulate the kid who makes it next year. He’s in for the biggest treat of his life.”1 The “fence-denting” Marasco had family in Brooklyn and thus had a built-in cheering section for the series.2 He signed with the Dodgers, spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues and put up some pretty good numbers, but Triple A was as far as he would get. He retired after the 1958 season.

Marasco came a long way, but 130-pound pitcher Henry Kiyoshi Tominaga came an even longer distance – from Honolulu, complete with a shirt with “Hawaii – 49th State,” across his chest. He was accompanied by Wilfred Rhinelander of the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

The BAW contests had topflight managers. Brooklyn was managed by Leo Durocher, who brought along Chuck Dressen, Dixie Walker, and Johnny “Red” Corriden as coaches. The World was managed by Hall of Famer George Sisler, who had as his coaches Andy High, Fresco Thompson, and Clyde Sukeforth. The “World” players were housed at the St. George Hotel.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, New Orleans States, Toronto Star, Buffalo Courier-Express, Mobile Register, Montreal Newspapers, Charleston Gazette, Boston Post, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Indianapolis Star, Charlotte Observer, Wichita Eagle, Cleveland News, Philadelphia Record, St. Paul Amateur Baseball Association, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Chicago Daily News, Honolulu Star Telegram, and Bridgeport Post sent players to Brooklyn.

Jimmy Murphy and Tommy Holmes of the Brooklyn Eagle chronicled the games. Murphy was a champion of sandlot ball and the youth of Brooklyn looked forward to seeing their names in his articles. The “World” players started arriving in town in late July and had their first practices on Thursday August 1. The dream agenda was printed in the Eagle on July 28.

On August 1 the players worked out at Ebbets Field and Erasmus High School and witnessed the finale of a three-game series between the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. Later that day, they went to a show at Radio City Music Hall, which included the movie Anna and the King of Siam with Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne.3 On the way to and from the theater, coach Art Dede acted as tour guide, pointing out the sites along the way. On August 2 the teams traveled up the Hudson River to West Point and went on to Bear Mountain, where they practiced and had a steak dinner at the Bear Mountain Inn.

The climax of their day was seeing welterweight boxers Willie Joyce and Danny Kapilow lace up their gloves in a bout at Madison Square Garden. The following day, after practice and dinner, they saw the Dodgers play the Cincinnati Reds at Ebbets Field and took in Ice-Time at the Rockefeller Center Theater in Manhattan. On Sunday, August 4, there was no practice, but the boys were kept busy. They were back at Ebbets Field to see the Dodgers and Reds in the afternoon. That was followed by a trip to Jones Beach, where they had a seafood dinner and witnessed the water show, which featured the Magic Water Ballet, diving exhibitions, clowning and a water polo match. After that players Henry Tominaga, Lenny Yochim, Roger Breard, Alex Romanchuk, and Joe Della Monica appeared on the We the People broadcast on CBS radio.4 A group of players dined at Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant in Manhattan.

There were a couple of days left until the series was to begin, and the kids continued to practice hard, eat well, and be entertained as they had never been in their lives. Next up was a Monday trip to see Oklahoma! at the St. James Theater. After the performance, the boys went backstage to visit members of the cast. Beatrice Lynn, who hailed from Flatbush, posed with Chris Kitsos and Joe Torpey of the Brooklyn squad.5

On August 6 the boys were off to Coney Island and its famous Steeplechase amusement park, dinner at Bossert’s Marine Roof with its majestic view of the New York skyline, and a trip to the Polo Grounds to see the Dodgers play the Giants. The next morning, they were up early for deep-sea fishing.6

During the series, there was even more sightseeing scheduled. From the Brooklyn Museum and nearby Botanical Gardens at the northeast end of Prospect Park to the zoo in the park, the kids saw all that Brooklyn had to offer, including a trip to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on August 8, where they toured the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge.

National League umpire-in-chief Bill Klem worked the series at first base. Klem was no longer an active umpire, and he felt that the plate required the services of an active umpire. Butch Henline was chosen for the task. Klem’s reasoning was, “It will be a great series for the boys, and I want to make certain that the game is not spoiled by incompetent officiating. That’s why Henline has been assigned for all three games.”7

The games were broadcast on WHN radio by Dodgers announcers Red Barber and Connie Desmond.

On August 7, the date of the first game, Tommy Holmes introduced the starting Brooklyn nine to his readers.8 All of the boys were heroes. Fifteen of the Brooklyn players, including each of the starting nine, were signed by big-league teams. Two of the boys on the Brooklyn roster made it to the majors, one all the way to Cooperstown.

The boys woke up to cloudy skies and rain on August 7. As afternoon turned into evening the rain stopped. Before heading to Ebbets Field on August 7, the players dined in Sheepshead Bay and were joined by baseball’s Clown Prince, Al Schacht. Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore threw out the first ball, and Brooklyn legend Gladys Gooding sang the National Anthem.9 Also in attendance was Hilda Chester, the most vociferous fan of the Dodgers. Hilda was hard to miss. She came to each game equipped with her cowbells and heckled the opposition with an unmatched fervor. The young “World” players were not spared.10

The opening game was won by Brooklyn. The score was 4-2, and the game was completed in 97 minutes. Al McEvoy, a lefty who starred at Brooklyn Prep, pitching three no-hitters during his time there, had a complete-game victory for the Brooklyn team, striking out 13, allowing only five hits and no earned runs. McEvoy went to Holy Cross, going 7-0 in his freshman year, before signing with the Yankees. He went 11-4 in two minor-league seasons. At the end of the 1949 season he pitched very briefly at the Triple-A level and went no further.

New Orleans’ Lenny Yochim was almost as good as McEvoy in his BAW appearance. In 4⅓ innings of work, he allowed four hits, only two of which left the infield, and struck out eight. He was signed by Pittsburgh and made it to the majors for brief visits in 1951 and 1954, appearing in 12 games with a 1-2 record. In 10 minor-league seasons, many of them spent with the Bucs’ Double-A club in New Orleans, Yochim compiled a 100-68 record. After his playing days, he became a well-respected scout for the Pirates.

An unsung coach working with the Brooklyn youngsters was Art Dede. Thirty years earlier, Dede had played with the Brooklyn Robins – for one game on October 4, 1916, in the team’s second-to-last game of the season.11 He had one plate appearance and was unable to reach base safely.

In 1946 Dede was working with Brooklyn first baseman Arnold Wallis. He taught him a play in which the first baseman, with runners on first and second and none out, a definite bunt situation, would charge toward the third-base line and toss the ball to third base for the force play. He worked the play in the first Brooklyn Against the World game. (In his playing days “World” manager Sisler, a top first baseman of his day, had often used this play, as did first baseman Hal Chase.)12

In the second game, Vernon Frantz of Wichita and Rickey Rowe of Fort Worth handled Brooklyn, as the World won 4-3 in front of 10,222 spectators. Brooklyn’s pitcher was Artie Raynor of Rockville Center, Long Island. Raynor had played right field in the first game. Playing right field in the second game was Ed Ford of Astoria, Queens, and Aviation High School in Manhattan. Ford had played his sandlot ball with a group of his friends in Astoria, Queens. They called themselves the 34th Avenue Boys.13 Raynor pitched brilliantly, allowing no hits and no runs in four innings, but the pitchers who followed him to the mound did not enjoy as much success.

Frantz ran into misfortune in top of the fifth inning when Brooklyn scored twice without the benefit of a hit. Angelo Palmieri replaced Raynor in the bottom of the inning and relinquished the lead. The World loaded the bases without a hit. Chicago’s Art Sepke, pinch-hitting for Frantz, ended Brooklyn’s no-hitter with a single, chasing two of the runners home. An inning later the World went out in front with another unearned run. Brooklyn tied the game in the seventh inning. The game was decided in the eighth inning when the World scored another unearned run, this time off pitcher Bob Cowherd, who was tagged with the loss.

Frantz signed with the Dodgers and was in their organization from 1947 through 1951. He was out of baseball at age 22.

In the finale, Brooklyn’s Bill Mackel, from the University of Pennsylvania, and Bob Kunze, who had overcome a childhood battle with infantile paralysis, shut down the World by 5-1 to win the series for Brooklyn, defeating Dick Baptista of San Francisco. Mackel pitched the first six innings, striking out nine, and yielding but two singles. The World’s only run was unearned.

Mackel signed with the Giants in 1949 and fashioned a 16-7 record for Bristol in the Class-D Appalachian League. In 1950 the dream ended at age 22. After college, Kunze played with unaffiliated minor-league teams through 1952. As no major-league organization was interested in his services, he called it a career at the age of 23. Baptista did not play in Organized Baseball.

Brooklyn used six Brooklyn pitchers in the three games. None made it to the majors. Ed Ford, who played in only the second game and played in right field, was signed by scout Paul Krichell of the Yankees as a pitcher. He did return to Ebbets Field as a player on October 3, 1953, in the fourth game of the 1953 World Series. Along the line, he had become known as Whitey Ford and, although he did not have success on October days at Ebbets Field in 1953 and 1956, he did have a Hall of Fame career with the Yankees.

Chris Kitsos of Brooklyn’s James Madison High School played his sandlot ball with the Sheepshead Bay Boy’s Club. BAW coach Art Dede encouraged Kitsos to try switch-hitting. He signed with the Dodgers and spent five seasons in their minor-league system.

He made seven stops in the Dodgers organization, and then he got noticed. He batted .334 in 1951 with Asheville in the Tri-State League. He led his league in runs scored (134), doubles (43), and stolen bases (30). Next stop – Brooklyn? Not quite.

The Dodgers infield was populated by fellows named Robinson, Reese, and Cox, and their minor-league system had an abundance of talent. Kitsos was expendable and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs called the shortstop up in 1954, and on April 21, he was inserted as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning after a struggling Ernie Banks had been pulled for a pinch-hitter. He handled two groundballs flawlessly, returned to the dugout, and never reemerged. His major-league career was over.

Art Sepke, who was chosen to go to the game by Rogers Hornsby and represented the Chicago Daily News, was a man of many positions and talents. He batted .405 (17-for-42) in his senior year at Schurz High School and hurled his team to five wins as well.14 Sepke signed with the Yankees and his dream of a big-league career ended after a poor performance in 1949. He continued in baseball and served as an area scout for the Kansas City Royals.

The Spokane Sportsman-Review sponsored the Inland Empire All-Star Baseball Game, featuring the best 30 players from Washington, Montana, and Idaho, on July 10. Players were observed by the committee headed by longtime Dodgers scout Howie Haak.15 Selected to go east was Lou Damman of Lewiston, Idaho, who went 3-for-4 with a sensational catch on a ball hit between shortstop and third base.16

Damman was accompanied east by writer Denny Spellecy. In the first game of the series, he batted second, and went 1-for-3 with an RBI while handling four chances at third base.17 He banged his head coming through the hatch on the tour of the Kearsarge on August 8 and wound up “with a bad headache, a feeling of loginess, and a slight fever”18 that caused him to miss the final two games of the series. Damman signed with the Dodgers and played in the minors from 1947 to 1954.

From the Twin Cities came the St. Paul Amateur Baseball Federation’s representative, Alex Romanchuk who had completed his first year at St. Thomas College, where he went 5-0. In his five years of playing amateur ball in the Twin Cities, Romanchuk had gone 60-18.19 Romanchuk received an offer to sign with the Dodgers, but his Russian-born mother wanted her sons to be engineers. Professional baseball was not an option, and he went on to complete his studies at the University of Minnesota. Although Romanchuk did not play in Organized Baseball, he was sought after by amateur teams in Minnesota and was a fixture in the Independent North Star League.

The chief beneficiary of the three games in Brooklyn was sandlot baseball. The monies raised, $22,371 in all, went to a foundation with the goal of providing greater opportunities for youngsters to play baseball and stay out of mischief. Over the coming years, boys from Brooklyn and Long Island would find their way to new fields with new equipment in any number of leagues.

SOURCES

In addition to Baseball-Reference.com and the sources cited in the Notes, the author used:

Barrouquere, Peter. “A Scout on Honor: 50-Year Baseball Love Affair Spiced with Grief, Rewards,” New Orleans Times Picayune, April 16, 1995.

Gould, Ben. “Ed Ford Second Grad of Brooklyn vs. World to Reach Big Leagues,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 12, 1950: 22.

Gould, Paul. “Brooklyn Crowned ‘World’ Series King,” The Sporting News, August 21, 1946: 32.

Holmes, Tommy. “As Brooklyn Moved One Up on the World,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 8, 1946: 15.

Peterson, Armand, and Tom Tomashek. Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006)

Correspondence:

Steve Romanchuk (son of Alex Romanchuk)

Sheryl Sepke Hart (daughter of Art Sepke)

NOTES

1 Al Wolf, “Sportraits,” Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1946: 9.

2 Whitney Martin, “Baseball World Against Brooklyn,” Altoona Tribune, August 7, 1946: 8.

3 James J. Murphy, “Sisler Tales Over as Pilot of World All-Star Combine,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1946: 15.

4 “Boro, World Pilots Announce Starting Lineups Tomorrow,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 5, 1946: 10.

5 “Brooklyn Born and Bred,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 6, 1946: 13.

6 “Thrilling Program of Entertainment Awaits All Stars,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 28, 1946: 21.

7 “Big League Umps to Work Star Tilt,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 27, 1946: 6.

8 Tommy Holmes, “Eagle All-Stars Face the World,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 7, 1946: 17.

9 James J. Murphy, “Brooklyn All-Stars Seek 2nd Win Tonight,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 8, 1946: 1, 15-16.

10 “Array of Notables See Brooklyn Triumph,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 8, 1946: 15.

11 “Superba Rookies Beaten by Giants,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 5, 1916: S2.

12 Tommy Holmes, “Clinical Notes as the World Got Even,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 9, 1946: 12.

13 Fay Vincent, We Would Have Played for Nothing (New York, Simon and Schuster, 2008), 149-150.

14 “Chicago Selects a Handy Man for World All-Stars; Sepke Plays Infield, Hurls – Hornsby Among Experts Making Choice,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 24, 1946: 15.

15 “Spokane to Choose Player for World Team vs. Eagle: Game Among Stars of 3 States to Aid in Selecting Athlete,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 6, 1946: 15.

16 Danny Spellecy, “Brooklyn Jaunt to Lou Damman: Lewiston Boy named as Outstanding Young Player,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 12, 1946: 1, 14.

17 Danny Spellecy, “Brooklyn Stars Top World Nine,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, August 8, 1946: 10.

18 Danny Spellecy, “Damman Bumps Head, Misses Chance to be Pinch Hitter,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, August 9, 1946: 16.

19 “World Grabs College Ace: St. Paul ‘Star’ Picks Romanchuk, Unbeaten 17-Year-Old Hurler,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 26, 1946: 10.