Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1956 • Baseball Clip • Joe Adcock Interview - Radio

Transcript

1956 • Baseball Clip • Joe Adcock Interview - Radio · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

• 0:00
  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
• 0:07
  This is Joe Edgecock. In a few moments I'll tell you about my greatest sports thrill.
• 0:21
  This is Harry Wismer. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of baseball's great power hitters.
• 0:27
  In a sports event our special guest Joe Edgecock considers his greatest sports thrill.
• 0:32
  And Joe himself is here to tell us all about it.
• 0:35
  But first, here is Bill Reddick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force.
• 0:41
  Experience is the great teacher in sports and in many other fields too.
• 0:45
  Right now if you have service experience gained in any of the armed forces, opportunity is knocking on your front door.
• 0:53
  The U.S. Air Force needs skilled veterans in many technical categories.
• 0:57
  And they offer you valuable incentives and guarantees.
• 1:00
  If your skill can fit a current Air Force shortage, you will receive a grade based on your ability and military background.
• 1:08
  If you do not have such a skill, you may qualify for the finest of technical training, putting you out front in this jet age.
• 1:16
  An Air Force career means job security, a guaranteed annual wage, big re-enlistment bonuses, regular pay increases,
• 1:24
  plus tax-free quarters, rations, clothing, and survivor benefits.
• 1:29
  Your local Air Force recruiter has a new personalized prior service booklet that gives you all the facts.
• 1:34
  Call or visit him right away. Find out why today and tomorrow you're better off in the U.S. Air Force.
• 1:41
  Now back to Harry Wismer.
• 1:43
  Charlie Grimm's last official act before resigning as manager of the Milwaukee Braves June the 16th, 1956,
• 1:50
  was to name Joe Adcock as the first baseman for the doubleheader with the Dodgers the following day.
• 1:55
  Adcock had been warming the bench most of the time up to then.
• 1:58
  Ebbets Field had always been his favorite part.
• 2:01
  What Adcock did in that doubleheader will never be forgotten, either by Fred Haney,
• 2:05
  Charlie's successor, or the capacity crowd at Ebbets Field.
• 2:09
  The big guy hit three home runs plus a single in seven times at bat.
• 2:14
  His second homer in the opener was the first ever to clear the double deck roof in left field at Ebbets Field.
• 2:21
  The roof is 83 feet high and 351 feet away from home plate, so it seems safe to assume Adcock's drive went 550 feet.
• 2:32
  Joe Adcock's tremendous Ebbets Field home run gave him the dual distinction unapproached by any other player.
• 2:38
  In addition to being the only player ever to hit a ball over the double deck left field bleachers at Ebbets Field,
• 2:43
  Adcock is the only one ever to slam a ball into the center field bleachers at the polo grounds in a regular league game.
• 2:51
  He accomplished that feat on April 29, 1953.
• 2:56
  Joe Adcock came to the majors back in 1950.
• 2:59
  A big, slow-moving, mild-mannered southern gentleman, he was far from being the most graceful-looking man on the field.
• 3:06
  Since joining the Braves in 1953, the handsome first baseman's fielding improvement has been something to see.
• 3:13
  In 1953, he committed 13 errors.
• 3:16
  In 1954 and 55, his combined total was only 14.
• 3:21
  His hitting, except for his offseason in 55, has picked up even more impressively.
• 3:27
  Whereas he used to hit an occasional long one, such as the record-breaker at the polo grounds, he now makes a habit of hitting those long balls.
• 3:34
  Against the Dodgers in 1954, in a four-game series at Ebbets Field, Joe Adcock staged an awesome one-man display of hitting power,
• 3:43
  the likes of which has never been seen in Brooklyn before or since.
• 3:47
  In the first game of that series, Joe hit a single, double, and home run.
• 3:51
  The next day, he really struck his stride.
• 3:53
  He went to the plate five times, slamming out four home runs and a double.
• 3:58
  His 18 total bases in a single game set a new major league record.
• 4:03
  Only four other players since 1900 hit four homers in one game.
• 4:08
  The list includes Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Pat Ciri, and Gil Hodges.
• 4:13
  None of them, however, added a fifth extra base hit, as Joe Adcock did, and none of them hit their homers off four different pitchers, as Adcock did.
• 4:22
  It was the first time in the history of the National League that any player had socked five extra base hits in one game.
• 4:30
  Joe Adcock's lusty hitting is taken for granted now, but at first base he also has comported himself like a big leaguer.
• 4:38
  That's a remarkable thing in view of the fact he didn't play his first game of baseball until he entered Louisiana State University in 1944.
• 4:46
  Working on his father's farm in Cushatta, Louisiana, there was no time for baseball.
• 4:51
  In high school at Cushatta, they had a basketball team, and Joe went up for it.
• 4:56
  It was so good that he won a basketball scholarship to LSU, and in his freshman year was the varsity center.
• 5:03
  Up to that time, Adcock had never played a real game of baseball, worn a pair of spikes, or even had a glove.
• 5:09
  The basketball coach, Red Swanson, also handled the baseball team.
• 5:13
  In the spring of Joe's freshman year, Swanson asked him if he wanted to play baseball.
• 5:18
  No replied Adcock, I don't know how.
• 5:21
  Swanson told him to come out anyway.
• 5:23
  LSU, with Adcock on first, won the Southeastern Conference title in 1946, Joe's senior year.
• 5:30
  The Cincinnati Red Legs signed him and sent him to Columbia in the South Atlantic League, where he started his professional baseball apprenticeship.
• 5:37
  He developed as a first baseman, and in 1950 the Reds brought him up.
• 5:41
  With Ted Kleszewski established as the regular first baseman, Joe had no chance at first, so manager Luke Sewell switched him to the outfield.
• 5:49
  Adcock realized he'd never make the grade in the pasture, so after Rogers Hornsby succeeded Sewell, Adcock asked to be traded if he couldn't play first base.
• 5:58
  Why don't you talk to General Manager Gabe Paul about it, Hornsby replied.
• 6:02
  Adcock did.
• 6:03
  Gabe agreed with Adcock's premise and told him if he could make a deal for him that would benefit the Reds, he would do so.
• 6:10
  The Braves then in Boston expressed an interest in getting the first baseman.
• 6:14
  The Reds wanted an infielder in return, and the Braves didn't have one to suit Paul.
• 6:19
  Lou Perini and John Quinn, the Braves president and general manager, contacted every club in the league.
• 6:24
  Then they set in motion a trade that was as complex as any in recent years.
• 6:28
  They found out that the Dodgers were willing to let infielder Rocky Bridges go if they could get a pitcher in return.
• 6:35
  Then the Braves discovered the Phillies were willing to trade for Earl Targison, so they sent Targison to Philadelphia for pitcher Russ Meyer.
• 6:43
  Forthwith, they shipped Meyer to Brooklyn for Bridges, and Bridges moved right on to Cincinnati for Adcock.
• 6:49
  Everybody was happy, especially the Braves, but the happiest of them all was Joe Adcock.
• 6:56
  He was finally going to play first base.
• 6:59
  It was on Milwaukee's first trip to the East in the 1953 season that Joe Adcock slammed his historic homer into the center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds.
• 7:08
  They've been playing ball at the Polo Grounds as it is presently laid out for more than three decades.
• 7:14
  Since 1923, the year the present bleachers were erected, giving the park the deepest center field point in baseball a whopping 483 feet.
• 7:23
  In those 30 years, the great hitters of the National League had their chance to reach the bleachers, which jut out around the flagpole at the most distant center field point.
• 7:32
  Not one of them, not Bill Terry, nor Hank Lieber, nor Hack Wilson, nor Mel Ott, nor Johnny Mize, nor Stan Musial, ever reached the bleachers.
• 7:40
  But in 1953, Joe Adcock did. He was hitting against Jim Hearn.
• 7:46
  The count was two balls and one strike when Jim came in with a high fastball, which Joe Adcock caught on the meat part of his back.
• 7:53
  The ball started to rise, and Bobby Thompson, then with New York and center field, drifted back.
• 7:59
  He went all the way to the four-foot wall in front of the open stand to the left of the clubhouse exit stairs.
• 8:04
  Then he watched the ball sail over his head, clear the wall and the five-foot wire fence atop the wall, and with something to spare, land ten rolls up in the stands.
• 8:15
  Press box guesses measured the drive anywhere from 475 to 500 feet.
• 8:21
  Joe Adcock laughs off his record distance blows, saying he is really not that kind of a hitter.
• 8:26
  But around Milwaukee, they disagree with him. They think Joe Adcock is one of the top stars of the National League.
• 8:34
  Now, before you meet our special guest, Joe Adcock in person, in an interview from Milwaukee County Stadium, and hear about his greatest sports thrill,
• 8:43
  here is a message of interest to all young men who want to go places faster.
• 8:49
  Everybody has his own favorite players in the world of sport.
• 8:53
  And while we're on the subject of favorites, there's a group of young men in blue uniforms who are always mighty popular wherever they go.
• 9:01
  Yes, the world looks up to young Americans who serve on our first defense team, the United States Air Force.
• 9:08
  Through valuable Air Force training, Airmen acquire skills that prepare them not only for key jobs in this very important service, but also for a rewarding personal future.
• 9:18
  With more than 400 specialties available, a qualified Airman is sure to pick a field in which he can move ahead fast.
• 9:25
  That's why so many forward-looking high school graduates today are enlisting in the all-volunteer U.S. Air Force.
• 9:33
  The recruiter in your community will discuss Air Force opportunities with you without obligation.
• 9:38
  So call or visit him soon, and be sure to ask for the free booklet, Pocket Guide to Air Force Opportunities.
• 9:46
  And now back to Harry Wismer.
• 9:49
  Joe Adcock, what was your greatest sports thrill?
• 9:53
  To be honest, Willie, that's a hard question because I've had many thrills in baseball.
• 9:57
  But July the 31st, 1954, when I hit the four home runs and a double at Ebbets Field, I believe tops all of my sports thrill.
• 10:06
  Joe, how did you get started as a ballplayer?
• 10:09
  Well, Harry, I come from a very small town, Cachata, Louisiana, and in 1944 when I finished high school,
• 10:16
  the population of my hometown was not over 500 people and there were only five boys in my graduating class.
• 10:22
  Therefore, we did not have any baseball, but we did have a real good basketball team,
• 10:26
  and all five of the boys were given scholarships at Louisiana State University, basketball scholarships, that is.
• 10:32
  And that's where I became interested in baseball and first got my start in baseball.
• 10:37
  Joe, you've been hit by pitch balls a great deal for a power hitter. How do you come for that?
• 10:42
  Well, Harry, I might add that being a big fellow like I am, I might not be as agile and I might not move as quick as another fellow.
• 10:51
  I might stand a little too close to that plate. I know I stand in a spread stance, a wide stance that is,
• 10:58
  and I'd say that my reflex is not quite as good maybe as the other fellow.
• 11:03
  Joe, is there any particular reason for your being able to hit Brooklyn Dodger pitching so well, so consistently?
• 11:10
  Well, that's another good question too because they have real good pitching in my books now.
• 11:15
  Why I hit them so well, I really don't know, but at Ebbets Field it's a real small ballpark and the ball seems to carry it real well.
• 11:22
  In other words, the long flat ball there is a home run or up against a fence somewhere where the long flat ball in Milwaukee and Apollo Grounds,
• 11:31
  St. Louis, especially in center field is a big out.
• 11:35
  So therefore when you go in there and you know you hit the ball real good, will you have a chance of that ball bouncing off the wall or going into the seats?
• 11:42
  You've played both first base and the outfield. Do you personally have a preference?
• 11:47
  Yes, I do. I came into the major leagues as a first baseman playing three years as first base in the minor leagues.
• 11:54
  When I came to Cincinnati in 1950, they had a big guy there by the name of Ted Krasinski who I'm sure you know real well
• 12:00
  and is one of the better first baseman, better ball players in the National League.
• 12:03
  They had one room for both of us to play first base at the same time.
• 12:06
  So they made an outfielder out of me and I played the outfield there three years, but still my heart was at first base.
• 12:12
  You seem to be in the ballgame more at first base than you are in the outfield and a lot of action around there, which I like.
• 12:18
  And really you've got something to look forward to.
• 12:20
  In other words, you handle the ball most of the time and all the put outs you do and you're right in the ballgame.
• 12:25
  It gives you something to really play for.
• 12:27
  It keeps you on your toes and outfield, you know, you might stay out there the whole ballgame when you've got a real good pitcher like we did have there.
• 12:33
  You're a black one. I know he pitched one ballgame one day and I only had one chance all the ballgame.
• 12:38
  So you're not in the ballgame at all. First base, you're right in the middle of the ballgame.
• 12:42
  Joe, you hold many long ball hitting records and have also tied some home run marks.
• 12:47
  Is there one record you share in baseball that you'd like to forget?
• 12:51
  Harry, as you know, everyone's got a few records that they'd like to forget in this game.
• 12:55
  It's no question in my mind that I do have one that's hitting into three double plays at Pittsburgh one night.
• 13:01
  Sure, I'd like to forget that.
• 13:03
  Joe, is there one thing you'd like to accomplish in baseball before you retire?
• 13:07
  Yes, it is. I'm sure that every ballplayer that plays in the major leagues would like to play in one World Series.
• 13:12
  I've never played in one yet and that's my ambition in baseball at the present time.
• 13:16
  Thank you very much, Joe Adcock, one of baseball's outstanding players.
• 13:28
  Greatest Sports Thrills with Pop Personalities in the World of Sports is narrated by Harry Wismer,
• 13:34
  directed by Gene Kirby, written by Arthur Susskind Jr. and presented by the United States Air Force in cooperation with this station.
• 13:42
  This is Bill Reddick speaking. The preceding was transcribed.