October 6, 1947: The Triumph and Tragedy of Larry MacPhail

Left to right: Joe DiMaggio, Joe Page, Larry MacPhail.

At the moment, MacPhail seems to be happy to celebrate with Page.

October 6, 1947: This was a day for goodbyes, as the 1947 World Series came to an end with the Yankees beating the Dodgers in Game 7. Three of the heroes of the Series -- Bill Bevens of the Yankees, and Cookie Lavagetto and Al Gionfriddo of the Dodgers -- never appeared in another big-league game, although Lavagetto would become a big-league coach for years to come, including with the early Mets.

But it was at the postgame celebration that the fireworks really started. At the time, the Yankees had 3 owners: Dan Topping, 35, a wealthy playboy (translation: He spent the tin-industry millions made by his father); Del Webb, 48, a construction magnate who'd made his fortune building Army bases in World War II, casino-hotels in Las Vegas (with the help of men involved in organized crime), and retirement communities in Arizona; and Larry MacPhail, 57, who had previously built Pennant winners as general manager with the Dodgers and, before that, the Cincinnati Reds.

As general manager of the Yankees, MacPhail did with them what he'd done with the Reds and the Dodgers: He modernized the ballpark (giving Yankee Stadium lights and expanding the clubhouses), favorably renegotiated the broadcasting contracts (including putting the team on television starting with the next season), and making roster moves to revitalize the team (although they had won the World Series in 1943 and fallen just 1 game short of the Pennant in 1944, the year before the triumvirate bought the team from the heirs of the late Jacob Ruppert).

But MacPhail had a thin skin and a big ego. Presaging George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin on the Yankees by more than a generation, he fired and rehired Dodger manager Leo Durocher within a span of a few hours, several times. And he was an alcoholic: It was said that with no drinks he was brilliant, with one he was wonderful, with two he was impossible, and he rarely stopped at two.

The Reds had won the Pennant in 1939, but lost the World Series to the Yankees. In 1940, they won the Series, beating the Detroit Tigers. But, by that point, MacPhail was already in Brooklyn. The Dodgers won the Pennant in 1941, but was already feuding with the team's owners. After the 1942 season, accepting an officer's commission for the U.S. Army in World War II enabled MacPhail, a genuine hero in World War I, a quiet way out that made him look good.

In just 3 seasons, MacPhail had built the Yankees into World Champions. A scrappy Dodger team, built in the image of their since-suspended manager, Durocher (replaced for this season by Burt Shotton), and led by barrier-breaker and National League Rookie of the Year Jackie Robinson, had extended the World Series to a Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. It would be the last gasp for the Dodger team built by MacPhail and managed by Durocher: Over the next year, MacPhail's replacement, Branch Rickey, built the team that would become known as "The Boys of Summer."

Neither starter, Yankee rookie Frank "Spec" Shea or Dodger Hal Gregg, got out of the 4th inning. The Dodgers scored 2 runs in the top of the 2nd inning, driven in by singles by Bruce Edwards and Johnny "Spider" Jorgensen. Phil Rizzuto got a run back in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI single.

Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. With 1 out in the bottom of the 4th, Gregg walked Billy Johnson. He struck Aaron Robinson out, but Rizzuto singled. Pinch-hitting for Bevens, who had replaced Shea, Bobby Brown doubled Johnson home to tie the game. Reliever Hank Behrman walked George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss, and then Tommy Henrich -- once again, victimizing the Dodgers and earning the nickname bestowed on him by Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen, "Old Reliable" -- singled Rizzuto home to give the Yankees the lead.

The Yankees added a run in the 6th, Rizzuto scoring again on a single by Allie Clark; and another in the 7th, on a sacrifice fly by Robinson that scored Johnson. Joe Page got Fred "Dixie" Walker to ground out to start the top of the 9th, but he allowed a single to Eddie Miksis. Edwards grounded to Rizzuto, who started a season-ending double play, throwing to Stirnweiss to eliminate Miksis, and over to George McQuinn at 1st base to eliminate Edwards.

Yankees 5, Dodgers 2. Bucky Harris was a World Series-winning manager for the 2nd time, 23 years after doing it as the "Boy Wonder" manager of the Washington Senators.

This remains the only World Series where the Yankees have won Game 7 on their home field. They lost Game 7s at the old Yankee Stadium in 1926, 1955 and 1957; won Game 7s at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn in 1956, Milwaukee County Stadium in 1958, Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1962; and lost Game 7s at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh in 1960, Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis in 1964, and Bank One Ballpark (now named Chase Field) in Phoenix in 2001.

One of the best World Series ever came to an end with a Game 7 that was a little anticlimactic. If it was drama that anyone was looking for, it came after the game. First, MacPhail went into the Dodger clubhouse to congratulate Rickey for the job he'd done assembling that Pennant-winning team.

But Rickey was a hyper-moralist, who only put up with shenanigans when people made him money. He told MacPhail, "I am taking your hand only because people are watching us." He launched into reasons for his disappointment in MacPhail as a man, and ended their relationship once and for all: "Don't you ever speak to me again."

That ticked MacPhail off. He went into the Yankee clubhouse, starting insulting people, punched a sporswriter, and announced his resignation. Then came the team's official celebration, a formal affair at the Cascades Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. In between, MacPhail had had plenty of time to drink.

MacPhail walked into the Ballroom, and the sportswriters, knowing he was a quote machine, rushed up to him. He gave them a quote, all right: "Stay away or get punched!" He found the Yankees' farm system director, George Weiss, cursed him out, and fired him.

He found John McDonald, a friend from his Dodger tenure, and called Rickey "That Bible-quoting, hypocritical, tightwad son of a bitch!" While Rickey was cheap and, in some ways, a hypocrite, McDonald stood up for him. MacPhail called McDonald, "You Judas!" and punched him. (Using a Biblical reference? Who's a hypocrite now?)

Topping saw this, and got between them. MacPhail said, "Hey, Topping, do you know what you are? A guy born with a silver spoon in your mouth, who never made a dollar in your life!" This wasn't true: Topping had made some money running a bank.

Like a lot of rich guys, Topping couldn't handle it when people questioned his money management. Unlike a lot of rich guys, Topping was no coddled wimp, unable to stand up to a physical challenge: He was a prep-school athlete, and had served in combat as a Colonel in the Marine Corps, as one of World War II's "island-hoppers" in the Pacific. He grabbed MacPhail, pulled him to the nearest door, and threw him into the kitchen, saying, "I've heard enough from you. We've taking everything from you we're going to take. If you act up again, Larry, I'm going to knock your head off."

Half an hour later, MacPhail came back. He walked up to Joe Page and his wife Kay, and said, "What were you, Joe, before I picked you up? A bum! You and this broad here, you were nothing!" Joe, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, stood up. So did Topping. MacPhail knew he had crossed the line into "I deserve to get knocked out" territory. He backed off, and walked out of the room.

It became known as the Battle of the Biltmore. The next day, MacPhail met with his partners for the last time. Topping and Webb each put up a million dollars, and bought out MacPhail's share. MacPhail never worked in baseball again, at any level. He died in 1975.

His son Lee, grandson Andy and great-grandson Leland Stanford MacPhail IV (also called Lee) have all worked in major league front offices. Larry and Lee are the only father and son both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Topping and Webb promoted Weiss to the GM's slot, and he built the most dynastic Yankee team of them all, until his resignation in 1960. Dan Topping Jr. was briefly Yankee GM in 1966, while his father and Webb were in the process of selling the team to CBS. Dan Topping III was briefly a catcher in the San Francisco Giants' minor-league system. Del Webb was the only member of his family involved in baseball.

The Biltmore Hotel was at 355 Madison Avenue, at 45th Street. Built in 1913, it was closed in 1981, gutted, and converted into an office building.

Although he only played for the Dodgers, in 2007, on the 60th Anniversary of his debut, the Yankees placed a plaque in Monument Park to honor Jackie Robinson, and, in general, the contributions of nonwhite players to baseball.

*

October 6, 1947 was a Monday. There were no other scores on this historic day.

October 5, 1947: The 1st Televised White House Speech

President Harry S Truman (left) and Charles Luckman,

Chairman of the President's Citizens Food Committee,

under a portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant

October 5, 1947: President Harry S Truman becomes the 1st President to deliver a speech from the White House that is broadcast on television.

With World War II only a little over 2 years in the past, there are still food shortages. The Marshall Plan, devised by his Secretary of State, former General George C. Marshall, is trying to do something about this, but it hasn't yet been approved by Congress. (That will take until the following March.) So Truman asks the American people to voluntarily observe meatless Tuesday and poultryless Thursdays. Most do.

Truman said:

The situation in Europe is grim and forbidding as Winter approaches. Despite the vigorous efforts of the European people, their crops have suffered so badly from droughts, floods, and cold that the tragedy of hunger is a stark reality.

The nations of Western Europe will soon be scraping the bottom of the food barrel. They cannot get through the coming Winter and Spring without help, generous help, from the United States, and from other countries which have food to spare.

I know every American feels in his heart that we must help to prevent starvation and distress among our fellow men in other countries.

But more than this, the food-saving program announced tonight offers an opportunity to each of you to make a contribution to the peace. We have dedicated ourselves to the task of securing a just and a lasting peace. No matter how long and hard the way, we cannot turn aside from that goal.

An essential requirement of lasting peace is the restoration of the countries of Western Europe as free self-supporting democracies. There is reason to believe that those countries will accomplish that task if we aid them through this critical Winter, and help them get back on their feet during the next few years. They must do most of the job themselves. They cannot do it if thousands of their people starve. We believe they can, and will, do the job if we extend to them that measure of friendly aid which marks the difference between success and failure.

Their most urgent need is food. If the peace should be lost because we failed to share our food with hungry people there would be no more tragic example in all history of a peace needlessly lost. 

As a gesture of bipartisanship, Truman asked former President Herbert Hoover to assist. Hoover had become known as the President who presided over the start of the Great Depression and didn't do enough to solve it. But one of the reasons he was elected in the first place is that, during World War I, he led a food drive for the starving nations of Europe. Truman knew that he could do it again, and Hoover was moved by Truman's invitation.

*

October 5, 1947 was a Sunday. Game 6 of the World Series was played at Yankee Stadium. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees, 8-6, and forced a Game 7, which the Yankees won. I have a separate entry for this event. On this day, Harry Truman giveth, and Al Gionfriddo taketh away.

These games were played in the National Football League:

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-0 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Boston Yanks (yes, baseball fans, a team with that name existed), 21-7 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-26 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cardinals beat their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Bears, 31-7 at Comiskey Park.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-14 at the Dairy Bowl in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. The Dairy Bowl was a football stadium built in the infield of a speedway, now known as the Milwaukee Mile, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.

And in the All-America Football Conference:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Browns, 26-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers played to a tie, 28-28 at Baltimore Municipal Stadium (later converted into Memorial Stadium).

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Dons, 27-25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In old Spanish California, a "Don" was equivalent to an English "Lord." The title was also in Italy, which is why Mafia boss were called "Dons."

As for the Bills, this is not the team we know today: When the NFL absorbed the Browns, the Colts and the 49ers after the 1949 season, many people expected them to take the Bills as well, but they didn't. It became known as "The Screwing of Buffalo." When the AFL was founded in 1960, a new Bills team was established, and that's the team we know today.

* Two days earlier, the football version of the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Rockets, 35-31.

Also on this day, Brian Johnson, who was hired to replace the late Bon Scott as lead singer of rock band AC/DC, was born.

October 5, 1947: The Al Gionfriddo Game

October 5, 1947: Game 6 of the World Series. The New York Yankees trail the Brooklyn Dodgers, 8-5 in the bottom of the 6th inning, but have 2 men on. Joe Hatten pitches to Joe DiMaggio, and the Yankee Clipper rips the ball deep to left-center field.

But, in Yankee Stadium, that's "Death Valley." Dodger left fielder Al Gionfriddo makes a leaping catch near the bullpen gate. Red Barber had the call on the Dodgers' radio station, WMGM, AM 1050:

Here's the pitch. Swung on, belted, it's a long one! Back goes Gionfriddo, back, back, back, back, back, back, he makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Oh, Doctor!

In a rare show of emotion, DiMaggio kicked the infield dirt, caught by at least 2 newsreel cameras.

The Yankees closed to within 8-6, but that was as close as they would get. Ralph Branca, winner of 21 regular-season games this year at age 21, but to whom baseball history would get considerably less kind, was the winning pitcher. Hugh Casey, to whom baseball history was nasty in 1941 but had already been the winning pitcher in Game 4, got the save in Game 6.

Game 7 was played the next day, and the Yankees won it, 5-2. The Dodgers won the 2 best-remembered games of the Series, but the Yankees won the Series itself. It was similar to 1975, when the Boston Red Sox won the memorable Game 6, but the Cincinnati Reds won Game 7.

Gionfriddo became a hero, but, like Game 4 heroes Bill Bevens and Cookie Lavagetto, he never plays another major league game after the next day's Game 7. He played in the minors until 1953, managed in the minors until 1959, and died in 2003.

This was also the day that the 1st televised speech by a President from the White House was delivered, by Harry Truman. I have a separate entry for this event.

*

October 5, 1947 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. And it was too early for the NBA or the NHL to start there seasons. But there were professional football games played. In the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-0 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Boston Yanks, 21-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Yes, there was a football team named the Boston Yanks, who existed from 1944 to 1948. Yes, these Yanks played at Fenway. No, they did not wear Pinstripes, choosing instead the kelly green and gold of Notre Dame.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-26 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cardinals beat their cross-town rivals, the Chicago Bears, 31-7 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Cardinals would win the NFL Championship in 1947. In the three-quarters of a century since, including moves to St. Louis in 1960 and Phoenix in 1988, including 2 Super Bowl defeats as the Arizona Cardinals, they have never won another.

* And the Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-14 at the Dairy Bowl in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. The Dairy Bowl was a football stadium built in the infield of a speedway, now known as the Milwaukee Mile, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.

In the All-America Football Conference, which challenged the NFL from 1946 to 1949, and produced 3 teams that would join it in 1950:

* The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees, 26-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. These football Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium, were owned solely by Yankee half-owner Dan Topping, and had former NFL Giants star Ray Flaherty as head coach. They lost the AAFC Championship Game to the Browns in 1946 and 1947, and were not welcomed into the NFL, as the Browns were.

* The Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers, the other 2 AAFC teams that would be absorbed into the NFL, played to a 28-28 tie at Baltimore Municipal Stadium. In 1954, this facility was converted into Memorial Stadium.

* And the Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Dons, 27-25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In Spanish-era California, "Don" was a term meaning "Lord," and was given to the landowners. The term was also used in Italy, and the term "Don" for a Mafia boss comes from this.

The Bills reached the 1949 AAFC Championship Game, losing to the Browns, but were not invited into the NFL. This quickly became known as "The Screwing of Buffalo."

In 1959, Ralph Wilson, a former part-owner of the Lions, was offered a team in the American Football League by founder Lamar Hunt. He wanted Miami, but was turned down. When the first choice for a Buffalo team's owner backed out, Wilson told Hunt, "Count me in with Buffalo." And he named the team after the AAFC team, the Buffalo Bills, who were named after Wild West showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Also on this day, Brian Johnson, who was hired to replace the late Bon Scott as lead singer of rock band AC/DC, was born.

October 3, 1947: The Cookie Game

October 3, 1947: The New York Yankees' Floyd "Bill" Bevens takes a no-hitter into the bottom of the 9th inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series. He gets to within 1 out of the 1st World Series (and thus the 1st postseason) no-hitter ever. But 10 walks put him in danger, including putting the tying and winning runs on base -- Al Gionfriddo and Eddie Miksis, respectively.

Dodger manager Burt Shotton send Harry "Cookie" Lavagetto up to pinch-hit for Eddie Stanky. Lavagetto hits a double-off the right-field wall at Ebbets Field, which the Yankees' Tommy Henrich can't catch, and the Dodgers win, 3-2.

Red Barber, calling the game for the Dodgers' radio station, WMGM, AM 1050, watched the hit, and the play, and the pounding on the back Lavagetto got from his teammates, and said this, concluding with one of his Southern expressions:

Gionfriddo walks off second, Miksis off first. They're both ready to go on anything. Two men out, last of the ninth. The pitch, swung on, there's a drive hit out toward the right field corner. Henrich is going back. He can't get it! It's off the wall for a base hit! Here comes the tying run, and here comes the winning run! Friends, they're killin' Lavagetto, his own teammates, they're beatin' him to pieces, and it's taking a police escort to get Lavagetto away from the Dodgers! Well, I'll be a suck-egg mule!

Hugh Casey, the Dodgers' closer throughout the 1940s, and the losing pitcher in The Mickey Owen Game in 1941, is the winning pitcher this time.

Instead of the Yankees being up 3 games to 1, the Series is now tied. This becomes known as The Cookie Game.

Two days later, Al Gionfriddo will rob Joe DiMaggio with an amazing catch to preserve the Dodgers’ lead in Game 6, but the Yankees win the Series in Game 7. By a weird twist of fate, neither Bevens, nor Lavagetto, nor Gionfriddo will ever play again.

Floyd Clifford Bevens (1916-1991) was called "Bill" because, in a minor-league game, he caught a popup after it bounced off the bill of his cap. He said, "I'm lucky it didn't bounce off my nose!"

Harry Arthur Lavagetto (1912-1990) was called "Cookie" because he was signed by Victor Devincenzi, the owner of the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Oaks, whose nickname was Cookie. The Oaks played from 1903 to 1955, winning Pennants in 1912, 1926, 1948 (managed by Casey Stengel, and with Hall of Fame catcher Ernie Lombardi, and 2nd baseman and future manager Billy Martin) and 1954.

A 3rd baseman, Cookie was a fan favorite in Brooklyn, especially in the Pennant season of 1941. A Dodger fan and commercial artist known as Fierce Jack Pierce would buy tickets for 2 seats, one for himself, and one for a helium tank. With the tank, he would blow up balloons with "COOKIE" written on them every time Lavagetto came to the plate, chanting, "Coooo-kie! Coooo-kie!" He was probably not the inspiration for the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster.

*

October 3, 1947 was a Friday. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Fred DeLuca, who went on to found the Subway fast-food franchise, was born.

It was too soon for the NBA and the NHL. And the NFL played no games. But there was a game in the All-America Football Conference, which challenged the NFL from 1946 to 1949. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Rockets 35-31 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Mickey Colmer scored 3 touchdowns for the football version of "Dem Bums," who were coached by former Washington Redskin Hall-of-Fame running back Cliff Battles. The Rockets were coached by Jim Crowley, one of "The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame" in 1924. But their best player, receiver Elroy Hirsch, had suffered a fractured skull earlier in the season, and was out for the season. This gave "Crazy Legs" another nickname, "The Highest-Paid Waterboy In Football." He would later become a Hall-of-Famer for the Los Angeles Rams.