(Columbia Daily Tribune, March 25, 1954)
There's at least one man around who isn't too sympathetic with the farmers about the drouth situation, and that's John Simmons, coach of the university baseball team, who would be quite happy over a long dry spell.
The Tigers' opener at Ft. Leonard Wood on April 3 is just a little more than a week away and Simmons hasn't been able to give his squad enough outdoor work to find replacements for a depleted pitching staff.
Bert Beckman, a junior righthander, is the only veteran back from last year's mound corps, and he was used mostly in relief. Simmons lost his top three hurlers - Don Boenker via graduation, John Jenkins, who dropped out of school, and John Willingham, who signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Otherwise the Tigers are pretty well set. They lost two veteran catchers in Herb Gellman and Bob Mohesky, but Sophomore George Gleason and Lloyd Elmore are expected to fill the bill behind the plate.
The infield is three-fourths veterans, with Bob Schoonmaker on first base, Buddy Cox on second, and Dick Dickinson at short. Ray Uriarte, the 1953 third baseman, has withdrawn from school and Todd Sickel, a shortstop on the freshman team last year, is getting first crack at the job.
Jerry Schoonmaker, a regular last season, and Sophomore Bob Musgrave appear to have two outfield berths clinched, with three veterans, Lee Wynn, Vic Swenholt, and Jim Doerr battling for the third spot. Swenholt lettered as a freshman in 1952 when he hit .303, but was out of action last year after a knee operation.
In the pitching department, Simmons rates Beckman, Bob Bauman, Emil Kammer, and Ed Cook as his top candidates. Two others working out with the staff are ex-basketballers Med Park and Norman Stewart.
Missouri finished third in the Big Seven conference last season, behind Oklahoma and Nebraska, with a 9-5 mark.
Coach John ``Hi'' Simmons knew he had hitters, but there was a pitching staff to be constructed. Right-hander Bert Beckman was the only returning starter. Sophomore left-hander Ed Cook and Emil Kammer, a converted third baseman joined Beckman in the regular rotation.
Kammer had not pitched in high school, but he had one prerequisite. ``I could always throw the ball hard,'' Kammer said. ``We just needed pitching. We had
third basemen.'' He also hit well enough to play the outfield when not on the mound.
(Columbia Daily Tribune, May 14, 1994)
Tiger Baseball Squad Has New Batting Cage
(Columbia Daily Tribune, March 27, 1954)
The University of Missouri baseball team has a new portable batting cage for use in practice sessions and pre-game hitting on Rollins Field, Coach John Simmons announced today. The cage, mounted on wheels, was used for the first time today.
Simmons also said that a wire screen, 15 feet high, will be constructed on top of the grandstand sometime before the Tigers open their home season.
FBI Warns Police to Watch Out for Midget A-Bombs
WASHINGTON, March 23 (INB) - The White House today confirmed reports that the FBI has warned police throughout the nation to be on the alert for midget atomic bombs, which might be smuggled into the country by saboteurs.
In a covering letter to police officials, which supplemented the circular describing small atomic devices, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover cautioned that "no attempt be made on the part of an individual law enforcement officer to dismantle an apparent atomic device."
Columbia police said today that they have received no request from the F.B.I. to be on the lookout for midget A-bombs.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Simmons to Take 26 Tigers to Ft. Wood
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 1, 1954)
John (Hi) Simmons, University of Missouri baseball coach, probably heard somewhere that old military axiom that the general who wins is the one who gets there fustest with the mostest. Maybe that's why Simmons, opening his 1954 Tiger baseball campaign against the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers at the fort Saturday, is taking no less than 26 men.
Making this mass attack will be eight pitchers - Simmons modestly admits that none of them will work more than three innings - three catchers, eight outfielders, and seven infielders. Bert Beckmann, only letterman among his moundsmen, probably will get the starting assignment.
Other lettermen on the trip include Lee Wynn, Vic Swenholt, Jerry Schoonmaker, and Jim Doerr, outfielders; and Bob Schoonmaker, Buddy Cox and Dick Dickinson, infielders.
Others making the trip are:
Pitchers - Norman Stewart, Emil Kammer, Bob Bauman, Gene Gastineau, Joe Hansen, Ed Cook and Tom Saunders.
Catchers - George Gleason, Lloyd Elmore and Norman Pearl.
Outfielders - Same Sayers, Bob Musgrave, Lloyd Allen, and Gene Sally.
Infielders - Herb Morgan, Jack Gabler, Todd Sickel, and Dick Jensen
The Tigers will leave here for the fort by bus Saturday morning and will return Saturday night.
Simmons' men will meet the Hilltoppers for a second time here next Monday, when the soldiers come to Columbia for the opening game of the M.U. home season. The Missourians will meet their first collegiate foe when they are hosts to the University of Arkansas here Friday and Saturday next week.
M.U. plans for a four-game series with Tulsa at Tulsa April 19 and 20. Tulsa, because of a misunderstanding of some sort, scheduled Oklahoma A&M college for those dates. The Tigers will go through with their scheduled series with Oklahoma A&M April 16 and 17, but will come home from Tulsa instead of going to Tulsa, and will play a team from the Sedalia Air base here April 19 and 20.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: I know that last paragraph makes no sense at all, but that's the way it was written up in the Tribune, word for word. ~ Trripleplay)
Big Seven Baseball Champ Qualifies For NCAA Meet
OMAHA, March 31 (UP) - The Big Seven conference baseball champion will qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic association tournament here June 10-15 without engaging in a playoff.
That word came from A.J. Lewandowski, University of Nebraska business manager who directs the tournament. He said the NCAA had given approval to the placing of the Big Seven winner in the meet as representative of District 5.
If the Missouri Valley conference champion is from the South, he said, it will be placed in playoffs in District 6. If the conference winner is Detroit or St. Louis, it will play in District 4.
John (Hi) Simmons, University of Missouri baseball coach, probably heard somewhere that old military axiom that the general who wins is the one who gets there fustest with the mostest. Maybe that's why Simmons, opening his 1954 Tiger baseball campaign against the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers at the fort Saturday, is taking no less than 26 men.
Making this mass attack will be eight pitchers - Simmons modestly admits that none of them will work more than three innings - three catchers, eight outfielders, and seven infielders. Bert Beckmann, only letterman among his moundsmen, probably will get the starting assignment.
Other lettermen on the trip include Lee Wynn, Vic Swenholt, Jerry Schoonmaker, and Jim Doerr, outfielders; and Bob Schoonmaker, Buddy Cox and Dick Dickinson, infielders.
Others making the trip are:
Pitchers - Norman Stewart, Emil Kammer, Bob Bauman, Gene Gastineau, Joe Hansen, Ed Cook and Tom Saunders.
Catchers - George Gleason, Lloyd Elmore and Norman Pearl.
Outfielders - Same Sayers, Bob Musgrave, Lloyd Allen, and Gene Sally.
Infielders - Herb Morgan, Jack Gabler, Todd Sickel, and Dick Jensen
The Tigers will leave here for the fort by bus Saturday morning and will return Saturday night.
Simmons' men will meet the Hilltoppers for a second time here next Monday, when the soldiers come to Columbia for the opening game of the M.U. home season. The Missourians will meet their first collegiate foe when they are hosts to the University of Arkansas here Friday and Saturday next week.
M.U. plans for a four-game series with Tulsa at Tulsa April 19 and 20. Tulsa, because of a misunderstanding of some sort, scheduled Oklahoma A&M college for those dates. The Tigers will go through with their scheduled series with Oklahoma A&M April 16 and 17, but will come home from Tulsa instead of going to Tulsa, and will play a team from the Sedalia Air base here April 19 and 20.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: I know that last paragraph makes no sense at all, but that's the way it was written up in the Tribune, word for word. ~ Trripleplay)
Big Seven Baseball Champ Qualifies For NCAA Meet
OMAHA, March 31 (UP) - The Big Seven conference baseball champion will qualify for the National Collegiate Athletic association tournament here June 10-15 without engaging in a playoff.
That word came from A.J. Lewandowski, University of Nebraska business manager who directs the tournament. He said the NCAA had given approval to the placing of the Big Seven winner in the meet as representative of District 5.
If the Missouri Valley conference champion is from the South, he said, it will be placed in playoffs in District 6. If the conference winner is Detroit or St. Louis, it will play in District 4.
Tiger Nine Opens Season In Fast Company - Meets Ft. Wood Champions Today
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 3, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers, opening the baseball season at Ft. Leonard Wood this afternoon, were scheduled to face a trio of Hilltopper hurlers back from last season's National Baseball Congress championship team.
Coach Dick Campbell planned to start Lefty Pete Burnside and follow with Jim DePalo and Ed Staab. Bert Beckmann was to open on the mound for the Tigers, with Emil Kammer and Ed Cook each working three-inning stints.
The Hilltoppers, who come to Columbia for a return game next Tuesday at Rollins Field, will have most of the same talent that won the NBC tournament at Wichita last season.
Heading the pitching staff is Bill (Bud) Black, a University City boy who started his major league career with the St. Louis Browns and was traded to the Detroit Tigers before entering the army.
Only two newcomers will be in the Hilltopper lineup and both have had professional experience. They are shortstop Phil Mateja, who played for Chattanooga in the Southern association last year, and first baseman Chuck Weiss, a Yankee farmhand.
Veterans Dick Gray at third base and Bob McKee at second round out the infield and another returnee, Keith Schmidt, will be behind the plate.
Vince Magi, Whitey Herzog and Pete Vitale, the Hilltoppers' outfield trio, were named All-Americans in the national tournament.
I almost got out of baseball at Mizzou before ever pitching in a game, though, all because of a fashion misunderstanding.
I had made the traveling squad, and we were about to leave on one of the first trips of the season, but I didn’t show up for the bus. When I came to school, I had three pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts and a suit. All of my dress clothes were winter clothes. In basketball, all I needed was a coat and tie. I assumed you needed the same in baseball, but I wasn’t going to wear my winter suit on the trip, so I just didn’t go.
When the team returned to Columbia, I saw the coach, John Simmons, coming down the hall, and I thought I was through with baseball. He asked me why I missed the trip and I told him. To my surprise, he said they didn’t require guys to wear suits. I was a baseball player again.
(Norm Stewart in Stormin' Back)
NOTE: The National Baseball Congress and its now well-established World Series were the brainchild of Wichita sporting goods salesman Hap Dumont in the midst of the Depression. Thousands of young prospects and ex-major leaguers have since played in the tournament, which has continued to be played at the stadium Hap built. In the first few decades, most of the teams were either barnstorming semi-pro clubs or town teams sponsored by local factories. The typical star was an ex-professional, and quite a few of the players had played major league ball. The NBC continues today, comprised entirely of amateur athletes
The Missouri Tigers, opening the baseball season at Ft. Leonard Wood this afternoon, were scheduled to face a trio of Hilltopper hurlers back from last season's National Baseball Congress championship team.
Coach Dick Campbell planned to start Lefty Pete Burnside and follow with Jim DePalo and Ed Staab. Bert Beckmann was to open on the mound for the Tigers, with Emil Kammer and Ed Cook each working three-inning stints.
The Hilltoppers, who come to Columbia for a return game next Tuesday at Rollins Field, will have most of the same talent that won the NBC tournament at Wichita last season.
Heading the pitching staff is Bill (Bud) Black, a University City boy who started his major league career with the St. Louis Browns and was traded to the Detroit Tigers before entering the army.
Only two newcomers will be in the Hilltopper lineup and both have had professional experience. They are shortstop Phil Mateja, who played for Chattanooga in the Southern association last year, and first baseman Chuck Weiss, a Yankee farmhand.
Veterans Dick Gray at third base and Bob McKee at second round out the infield and another returnee, Keith Schmidt, will be behind the plate.
Vince Magi, Whitey Herzog and Pete Vitale, the Hilltoppers' outfield trio, were named All-Americans in the national tournament.
I almost got out of baseball at Mizzou before ever pitching in a game, though, all because of a fashion misunderstanding.
I had made the traveling squad, and we were about to leave on one of the first trips of the season, but I didn’t show up for the bus. When I came to school, I had three pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts and a suit. All of my dress clothes were winter clothes. In basketball, all I needed was a coat and tie. I assumed you needed the same in baseball, but I wasn’t going to wear my winter suit on the trip, so I just didn’t go.
When the team returned to Columbia, I saw the coach, John Simmons, coming down the hall, and I thought I was through with baseball. He asked me why I missed the trip and I told him. To my surprise, he said they didn’t require guys to wear suits. I was a baseball player again.
(Norm Stewart in Stormin' Back)
NOTE: The National Baseball Congress and its now well-established World Series were the brainchild of Wichita sporting goods salesman Hap Dumont in the midst of the Depression. Thousands of young prospects and ex-major leaguers have since played in the tournament, which has continued to be played at the stadium Hap built. In the first few decades, most of the teams were either barnstorming semi-pro clubs or town teams sponsored by local factories. The typical star was an ex-professional, and quite a few of the players had played major league ball. The NBC continues today, comprised entirely of amateur athletes
Tigers Out to Even Series With Ft. Wood Here Tomorrow
M.U. Bows to Hilltoppers in Opener, 6-3
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 5, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers dropped their baseball opener to the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers, 6-3, at the fort Saturday, but they'll have a chance to square accounts here tomorrow afternoon when they meet the soldiers again at Rollins Field.
Coach John Simmons plans to use the same three Tiger hurlers who worked against the Hilltoppers Saturday, but in a different way. Emil Kammer is slated to work the first three innings, followed by Ed Cook and Bert Beckmann. Beckmann hurled the first three frames at Ft. Wood, Cook followed and Kammer finished up. The rest of the Missouri lineup will be the same, with a few possible alterations in the batting order, Simmons said.
The Hilltoppers jumped off to a 3-0 lead against Beckmann in the third inning Saturday, added another run off Cook in the fourth and picked up their final two tallies in the seventh on a two-run homer by Vince Magi.
The Tigers were stopped cold in the first three innings by Lefty Pete Burnside, who gave up but two hits and posted eight strikeouts. They loaded the bases in the first with one out, but Burnside worked out of the jam by fanning Jerry Schoonmaker and Buddy Cox.
The Hilltoppers dented Beckmann for three runs in the third on Bob McKee's single, a double by Keith Schmidt, a single by Nick Cappelli that eluded Jerry Schoonmaker in center field and rolled to the fence, and Magi's single.
Missouri tied the score in the fourth with three runs off Ed Staab on a walk, a double by George Gleason, and singles by Lloyd Allen and Bob Musgrave, but the Hilltoppers added two more when Whitey Herzog was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Magi's round-tripper.
Missouri's only threat after that was in the eighth when Gleason opened with a single and Kammer walked, but Dick Dickinson hit into a double play and Todd Sickel fanned.
Tomorrow's game is the first of three home engagements for the Tigers this week, with the University of Arkansas moving in on Friday and Saturday. Game time tomorrow will be 3:10 o'clock.
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 5, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers dropped their baseball opener to the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers, 6-3, at the fort Saturday, but they'll have a chance to square accounts here tomorrow afternoon when they meet the soldiers again at Rollins Field.
Coach John Simmons plans to use the same three Tiger hurlers who worked against the Hilltoppers Saturday, but in a different way. Emil Kammer is slated to work the first three innings, followed by Ed Cook and Bert Beckmann. Beckmann hurled the first three frames at Ft. Wood, Cook followed and Kammer finished up. The rest of the Missouri lineup will be the same, with a few possible alterations in the batting order, Simmons said.
The Hilltoppers jumped off to a 3-0 lead against Beckmann in the third inning Saturday, added another run off Cook in the fourth and picked up their final two tallies in the seventh on a two-run homer by Vince Magi.
The Tigers were stopped cold in the first three innings by Lefty Pete Burnside, who gave up but two hits and posted eight strikeouts. They loaded the bases in the first with one out, but Burnside worked out of the jam by fanning Jerry Schoonmaker and Buddy Cox.
The Hilltoppers dented Beckmann for three runs in the third on Bob McKee's single, a double by Keith Schmidt, a single by Nick Cappelli that eluded Jerry Schoonmaker in center field and rolled to the fence, and Magi's single.
Missouri tied the score in the fourth with three runs off Ed Staab on a walk, a double by George Gleason, and singles by Lloyd Allen and Bob Musgrave, but the Hilltoppers added two more when Whitey Herzog was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Magi's round-tripper.
Missouri's only threat after that was in the eighth when Gleason opened with a single and Kammer walked, but Dick Dickinson hit into a double play and Todd Sickel fanned.
Tomorrow's game is the first of three home engagements for the Tigers this week, with the University of Arkansas moving in on Friday and Saturday. Game time tomorrow will be 3:10 o'clock.
Home Runs Give Tigers 4-2 Triumph Over Hilltoppers
J. Schoonmaker, Musgrave Hit Circuit Clouts(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 7, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers employed baseball's most effective weapon - the home run - and got some tight pitching from a trio of hurlers as they downed the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers, 4-2, in their home opener at Rollins field here yesterday afternoon.
The Bengals were outhit by the solidiers, 9 to 5, but round-trippers by outfielders Bob Musgrave and Jerry Schoonmaker, each with a man on base, provided the margin of victory and avenged a 6-3 setback at Ft. Wood last Saturday.
Musgrave's homer, a solid wallop to the embankment beyond the right field fence, came off Ft. Wood starter Wayne Tjaden in the first inning after Duane Dickinson had opened with a single. Schoonmaker lofted a towering drive over the left field fence in the sixth with Musgrave on base to widen Missouri's lead to 4-1. Musgrave had coaxed a pass from Lefty Ken Reitmeier, second of three Hilltopper hurlers.
Emil Kammer, Ed Cook and Bert Beckmann divided the mound work for the tigers with Kammer, who started the season as a third baseman, turning in the most effective performance. The sophomore right-hander blanked the Hilltoppers for three innings, gave up but one hit, and fanned three.
Cook and Beckmann each gave up a run, and managed to work their way out of several uncomfortable situations, with Beckmann drawing the loudest cheers by fanning two Hilltoppers with the bases loaded in the ninth.
''I guess the turning point was that second game,'' outfielder Bob Musgrave said. ''When we beat the big boys and we just got progressively better. The more you win, the more confidence you get, and the younger you are the better you get if you have any kind of talent. ''They beat us the first game and we came back and, by golly . . . we beat them. Maybe we were better than we thought we were.''
(Columbia Missourian, March 13, 1994)
The Missouri Tigers employed baseball's most effective weapon - the home run - and got some tight pitching from a trio of hurlers as they downed the Ft. Leonard Wood Hilltoppers, 4-2, in their home opener at Rollins field here yesterday afternoon.
The Bengals were outhit by the solidiers, 9 to 5, but round-trippers by outfielders Bob Musgrave and Jerry Schoonmaker, each with a man on base, provided the margin of victory and avenged a 6-3 setback at Ft. Wood last Saturday.
Musgrave's homer, a solid wallop to the embankment beyond the right field fence, came off Ft. Wood starter Wayne Tjaden in the first inning after Duane Dickinson had opened with a single. Schoonmaker lofted a towering drive over the left field fence in the sixth with Musgrave on base to widen Missouri's lead to 4-1. Musgrave had coaxed a pass from Lefty Ken Reitmeier, second of three Hilltopper hurlers.
Emil Kammer, Ed Cook and Bert Beckmann divided the mound work for the tigers with Kammer, who started the season as a third baseman, turning in the most effective performance. The sophomore right-hander blanked the Hilltoppers for three innings, gave up but one hit, and fanned three.
Cook and Beckmann each gave up a run, and managed to work their way out of several uncomfortable situations, with Beckmann drawing the loudest cheers by fanning two Hilltoppers with the bases loaded in the ninth.
''I guess the turning point was that second game,'' outfielder Bob Musgrave said. ''When we beat the big boys and we just got progressively better. The more you win, the more confidence you get, and the younger you are the better you get if you have any kind of talent. ''They beat us the first game and we came back and, by golly . . . we beat them. Maybe we were better than we thought we were.''
(Columbia Missourian, March 13, 1994)
Looking at Sports, by J.P. Hamel
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 8, 1954)
Of course you may have your long underwear on again tomorrow when the Tigers meet their first college foe of the year - Arkansas - but it wasn't that way Tuesday when Coach John Simmons' team produced a couple of home runs for victory over Ft. Leonard Wood. Since the memory of man runneth not, Missouri baseball hasn't had such a real baseball opening day as the weather man dished up for the clash with the Hilltoppers.
If you are one of those who have been wondering what all that rhubarb was about Tuesday over the black spot on Keith Schmidt's bat - and who isn't - here is the story, directly from Coach Simmons. And there are rumors that Mr. Simmons' careful guarding of the athletic department's exchequer (baseballs at $2 each) may bring him a bonus, or at least a commendation, from the university's business office. Maybe even from the board of curators.
Mr. Schmidt, you'll remember, went to the plate with a bat with a black spot on it. Mr. Schmidt hit the ball foul, and the umpire threw the ball out because there was now a black spot on the ball. Mr. Simmons, who is (at the business office's order) very frugal with baseballs, promptly started to clean the all with a towel so that it could be restored to play. But the black spot wouldn't come off. Mr. Schmidt hit the ball again - and there was another black spot. That was too much for Mr. Simmons' frugality. He demanded that the umpire throw out the bat instead of throwing the balls out - at $2 per.
Now, it happened that it was Mr. Schmidt's favorite bat, and he became very unhappy, vociferous and threatening about the matter. It seems they had been creosoting some telephone poles down at Ft. Leonard Wood, and Mr. Schmidt thought if creosoting was good for seasoning telephone poles, then it ought to be good for seasoning his favorite bat. And he wasn't particularly concerned about how many baseballs Mr. Simmons had to coax out of the business office,
But frugality finally prevailed. Mr. Schmidt smoothed his ruffled feathers and accepted a clean and unseasoned bat. Mr. Simmons sat down. And Mr. Schmidt promptly used his clean bat to make a clean hit on a clean ball. Presumably everybody was satisfied.
So far as anybody knows there's no rule against putting creosote on a bat, but there is a rule against a pitcher throwing a ball with any foreign substance on it. And Mr. Schmidt was putting a foreign substance on the ball every time he whammed it, fair or foul. And, after all, Mr. Schmidt, at $2 a wham you can't do that all afternoon. No sir, not with unemployment figures going up like they are and television threatening gate receipts.
Kammer to Hurl Against Razorbacks
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 8, 1954)
Coach John Simmons today named Emil Kammer and Southpaw Ed Cook to face the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in a two-game series with the Missouri Tigers at Rollins Field here tomorrow and Saturday.
Kammer, who turned in three scoreless innings against the Ft. Wood Hilltoppers Tuesday, will pitch tomorrow's game, with Cook slated to start the Saturday contest. Bert Beckmann will be ready for relief work if needed, Simmons said. In two games with Ft. Wood, Simmons limited pitchers to three-inning assignments, but hopes that his starters are ready to go the distance now.
The rest of the Tiger lineup will be the same one that started against the Hilltoppers, with Bob Schoonmaker at first, Buddy Cox at second, Dick Dickinson at short, Todd Sickel at third, Sam Sayers in left field, Jerry Schoonmaker in center, Bob Musgrave in right, and George Gleason behind the plate.
Arkansas opened its season by sweeping a two-game series with Bradley, then dropped a pair to the University of Kansas.
Game time tomorrow will be 3:10 o'clock. Saturday's contest will start at 3:15.
Of course you may have your long underwear on again tomorrow when the Tigers meet their first college foe of the year - Arkansas - but it wasn't that way Tuesday when Coach John Simmons' team produced a couple of home runs for victory over Ft. Leonard Wood. Since the memory of man runneth not, Missouri baseball hasn't had such a real baseball opening day as the weather man dished up for the clash with the Hilltoppers.
If you are one of those who have been wondering what all that rhubarb was about Tuesday over the black spot on Keith Schmidt's bat - and who isn't - here is the story, directly from Coach Simmons. And there are rumors that Mr. Simmons' careful guarding of the athletic department's exchequer (baseballs at $2 each) may bring him a bonus, or at least a commendation, from the university's business office. Maybe even from the board of curators.
Mr. Schmidt, you'll remember, went to the plate with a bat with a black spot on it. Mr. Schmidt hit the ball foul, and the umpire threw the ball out because there was now a black spot on the ball. Mr. Simmons, who is (at the business office's order) very frugal with baseballs, promptly started to clean the all with a towel so that it could be restored to play. But the black spot wouldn't come off. Mr. Schmidt hit the ball again - and there was another black spot. That was too much for Mr. Simmons' frugality. He demanded that the umpire throw out the bat instead of throwing the balls out - at $2 per.
Now, it happened that it was Mr. Schmidt's favorite bat, and he became very unhappy, vociferous and threatening about the matter. It seems they had been creosoting some telephone poles down at Ft. Leonard Wood, and Mr. Schmidt thought if creosoting was good for seasoning telephone poles, then it ought to be good for seasoning his favorite bat. And he wasn't particularly concerned about how many baseballs Mr. Simmons had to coax out of the business office,
But frugality finally prevailed. Mr. Schmidt smoothed his ruffled feathers and accepted a clean and unseasoned bat. Mr. Simmons sat down. And Mr. Schmidt promptly used his clean bat to make a clean hit on a clean ball. Presumably everybody was satisfied.
So far as anybody knows there's no rule against putting creosote on a bat, but there is a rule against a pitcher throwing a ball with any foreign substance on it. And Mr. Schmidt was putting a foreign substance on the ball every time he whammed it, fair or foul. And, after all, Mr. Schmidt, at $2 a wham you can't do that all afternoon. No sir, not with unemployment figures going up like they are and television threatening gate receipts.
Kammer to Hurl Against Razorbacks
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 8, 1954)
Coach John Simmons today named Emil Kammer and Southpaw Ed Cook to face the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in a two-game series with the Missouri Tigers at Rollins Field here tomorrow and Saturday.
Kammer, who turned in three scoreless innings against the Ft. Wood Hilltoppers Tuesday, will pitch tomorrow's game, with Cook slated to start the Saturday contest. Bert Beckmann will be ready for relief work if needed, Simmons said. In two games with Ft. Wood, Simmons limited pitchers to three-inning assignments, but hopes that his starters are ready to go the distance now.
The rest of the Tiger lineup will be the same one that started against the Hilltoppers, with Bob Schoonmaker at first, Buddy Cox at second, Dick Dickinson at short, Todd Sickel at third, Sam Sayers in left field, Jerry Schoonmaker in center, Bob Musgrave in right, and George Gleason behind the plate.
Arkansas opened its season by sweeping a two-game series with Bradley, then dropped a pair to the University of Kansas.
Game time tomorrow will be 3:10 o'clock. Saturday's contest will start at 3:15.
Kammer Stops Razorbacks on One Hit, Tigers Win 18-0
Lone Arkansas Safety Comes In 8th Inning(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 10, 1954)
Tiger baseball fans who showed up at Rollins Field yesterday afternoon didn't get to watch much in the way of a ball game, but for seven and two-thirds innings they had hopes of seeing a no-hitter by Emil Kammer, the Bengals' sophomore right-hander who started the season as a third baseman.
The Tigers gave the University of Arkansas an 18-0 lacing and it was obvious in the first inning that the Razorbacks weren't going to be too much of a stumbling block in Missouri's path. But few people left the premises as Kammer kept mowing down the Arkansas hitters inning after inning and two were out in the eighth when Catcher Preston Carpenter laced a clean single to left for the first and only Razorback hit.
Kammer, apparently tired, then went out for a pinch-hitter in the Tiger eighth and Harold Gastineau hurled a hitless ninth.
The Tigers, posting their first victory in collegiate competition after splitting two games with Ft. Wood, made only 11 hits, but the Arkansas defense was something less than air-tight and 10 Razorback errors played a big part in the scoring.
Missouri scored in every inning except the eighth and a six-run first in which 10 men went to the plate left little doubt as to the outcome. The spree came at the expense of Southpaw Charley Bogan, who pitched the first five innings for the Razorbacks and gave up 15 runs on eight hits while his mates played footsie with the ball.
Singles by Dick Dickinson and George Gleason, three walks and three errors figured in the first inning scoring. The only other big inning was the fifth in which five runs crossed the plate on a pair of singles, a double by Kammer, a walk and two errors.
Gleason led the Tiger attack with three singles and two walks in six trips to the plate and drove in five runs. Doubles by Bob Musgrave, Bob Schoonmake and Kammer were the only Missouri extra-base blows.
Kammer gave up eight walks during his eight-inning stretch and only in the fifth and seventh did the Razorbacks fail to get a man on base. Three double plays by the Tiger infield helped him over the rough spots.
Southpaw Ed Cook, another sophomore member of the Missouri mound staff, was scheduled to oppose Right-hander Edsel Nix in the series final this afternoon.
After today's game, the Tigers will be idle until next Friday and Saturday when they meet Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater.
Briggs Urges Colleges Allow Athletes To Play Minor League Baseball
Minor league baseball and the nations' college athletic departments have reached a curious impasse.
The colleges accuse organized baseball of killing the sport on campus by raiding them of talent. Other professional sports keep hands off collegians until their classes have been graduated on campus in recent years.
Whichever way it turns out the colleges get good and angry, particularly if the boy happens to be not only a baseball player, but also - in the case, for example, of ex-Purdue punting star Bill Skowron, now a New York Yankee - a star in another sport as well.
Latest to come up with a suggestion on the matter is Spike Briggs, the president of the Detroit Tigers. He suggests that the colleges relax their eligibility rules to permit boys to play in the lower classification minor leagues during the Summer months.
As he sees it, the minor leagues would benefit, college baseball would get more experienced players, the schools would get some publicity and the boy would be earning money just as he would on any other Summer job.
So far there has been no agreement by the colleges, who would have to make a basic change in their thinking.
Tiger baseball fans who showed up at Rollins Field yesterday afternoon didn't get to watch much in the way of a ball game, but for seven and two-thirds innings they had hopes of seeing a no-hitter by Emil Kammer, the Bengals' sophomore right-hander who started the season as a third baseman.
The Tigers gave the University of Arkansas an 18-0 lacing and it was obvious in the first inning that the Razorbacks weren't going to be too much of a stumbling block in Missouri's path. But few people left the premises as Kammer kept mowing down the Arkansas hitters inning after inning and two were out in the eighth when Catcher Preston Carpenter laced a clean single to left for the first and only Razorback hit.
Kammer, apparently tired, then went out for a pinch-hitter in the Tiger eighth and Harold Gastineau hurled a hitless ninth.
The Tigers, posting their first victory in collegiate competition after splitting two games with Ft. Wood, made only 11 hits, but the Arkansas defense was something less than air-tight and 10 Razorback errors played a big part in the scoring.
Missouri scored in every inning except the eighth and a six-run first in which 10 men went to the plate left little doubt as to the outcome. The spree came at the expense of Southpaw Charley Bogan, who pitched the first five innings for the Razorbacks and gave up 15 runs on eight hits while his mates played footsie with the ball.
Singles by Dick Dickinson and George Gleason, three walks and three errors figured in the first inning scoring. The only other big inning was the fifth in which five runs crossed the plate on a pair of singles, a double by Kammer, a walk and two errors.
Gleason led the Tiger attack with three singles and two walks in six trips to the plate and drove in five runs. Doubles by Bob Musgrave, Bob Schoonmake and Kammer were the only Missouri extra-base blows.
Kammer gave up eight walks during his eight-inning stretch and only in the fifth and seventh did the Razorbacks fail to get a man on base. Three double plays by the Tiger infield helped him over the rough spots.
Southpaw Ed Cook, another sophomore member of the Missouri mound staff, was scheduled to oppose Right-hander Edsel Nix in the series final this afternoon.
After today's game, the Tigers will be idle until next Friday and Saturday when they meet Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater.
Briggs Urges Colleges Allow Athletes To Play Minor League Baseball
Minor league baseball and the nations' college athletic departments have reached a curious impasse.
The colleges accuse organized baseball of killing the sport on campus by raiding them of talent. Other professional sports keep hands off collegians until their classes have been graduated on campus in recent years.
Whichever way it turns out the colleges get good and angry, particularly if the boy happens to be not only a baseball player, but also - in the case, for example, of ex-Purdue punting star Bill Skowron, now a New York Yankee - a star in another sport as well.
Latest to come up with a suggestion on the matter is Spike Briggs, the president of the Detroit Tigers. He suggests that the colleges relax their eligibility rules to permit boys to play in the lower classification minor leagues during the Summer months.
As he sees it, the minor leagues would benefit, college baseball would get more experienced players, the schools would get some publicity and the boy would be earning money just as he would on any other Summer job.
So far there has been no agreement by the colleges, who would have to make a basic change in their thinking.
Tigers Sweep Series With Arkansas, 12-6
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 12, 1954)
The Missouri Tigers made it two in a row over the University of Arkansas at Rollins field Saturday, winning 12-6, but it wasn't quite as easy as the 18-0 shellacking they handed the Razorbacks on Friday.
The Bengals used three pitchers in Saturday's contest and never had a comfortable lead until they came up with four runs in the seventh off Bob Mitchell, who had replaced starter Edsel Nix.
Southpaw Ed Cook pitched the first two innings for the Tigers, was touched for two runs in the second, and might have been in worse trouble had it not been for a double play on Nix' liner to Jerry Schoonmaker in center.
The Tigers had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an error, Todd Sickel's single, and outfield fly, a walk to Jerry Schoonmaker and a single by Buddy Cox.
Lamar McHan drew a walk off Cook to start the Razorback second and advanced on a balk. Lyle Wilkerson singled to right, scoring McHan, and Billy Bowden followed with another single. Cook then fanned Bill Irby, but walked Jim Buffington and Joe Thomason to force another run. Nix then whacked a drive to center field and Thomason set sail for third. Jerry Schoonmaker made the catch and sent a throw toward the plate that Cook cut off and nailed Thomason trying to get back to second.
Missouri quickly got those two back in their second when Sam Sayers, batting for Cook, lofted a home run over the right field fence after George Gleason had walked.
Bert Beckmann, who replaced Cook, held the Razorbacks scoreless in the third and the Tigers made it 5-2 in their half when Bob Schoonmaker was safe on Buffington's low throw, stole second and scored on Gleason's liner to center that bounced over Frank Long's head for two bases.
Arkansas retaliated with one in the fourth on a walk to Wilkerson and singles by Bowden and Thomason. An error, a stolen base and Bob Schoonmaker's ground single through short produced another Missouri run in the fifth. Beckmann disappeared after the sixth and Norman Stewart came on to pitch for the Tigers in the seventh and served up a home run pitch to Long after getting Nix on a soft tap to the mound.
The Tigers' four-run outburst in the seventh came as a result of Jerry Schoonmaker's infield hit, Cox's double, a fielder's choice, an error and Dick Dickinson's two-bagger with the bases loaded.
The Razorbacks got two in the eighth on a walk and doubles by Bowden and Thomason, but the Tigers bounced back with a pair when Jerry Schoonmaker homered after Bob Musgrave had walked.
After Stewart retired the first two Arkansas hitters in the ninth, Wilkerson shot a single past third, but was out trying for second to end the game.
Slaughter Breaks Into Tears When Informed of Trade
Enos Slaughter - the old war horse - broke into tears yesterday when he learned he had been traded to the world champion New York Yankees.
He shook his head in disbelief, saying:
"This is the biggest shock of my life. Something I never expected to happen. I've given my life to this organization, and they let you go when they think you're getting old.
"What gets me is that they let you go before you're finished. I've still got some good years of baseball in me."
He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief while telling the newsmen he plans to leave tomorrow night to join the Yankees in Washington for the season opener Tuesday.
"I'll be there for the opening game," Slaughter said, "and I'll give Casey Stengel 100 percent - just as I've given every ball club I've played for."
Slaughter barely could talk, his usually husky voice wavered and broke.
"I've always hustled for the Cardinals," he said. "And I'll say that if a lot of other fellows would hustle more it would be a helluva lot better ball club."
Cardinal manager Eddie Stanky, his arm around Slaughter, wore a long face as he talked about the old war horse's departure after being in a Cardinal uniform since 1938.
It's one of those tough things managers have to face, said Stanky. "If there's any bright side to this," he added, "a champion baseball player is going to a champion baseball club."
The Missouri Tigers made it two in a row over the University of Arkansas at Rollins field Saturday, winning 12-6, but it wasn't quite as easy as the 18-0 shellacking they handed the Razorbacks on Friday.
The Bengals used three pitchers in Saturday's contest and never had a comfortable lead until they came up with four runs in the seventh off Bob Mitchell, who had replaced starter Edsel Nix.
Southpaw Ed Cook pitched the first two innings for the Tigers, was touched for two runs in the second, and might have been in worse trouble had it not been for a double play on Nix' liner to Jerry Schoonmaker in center.
The Tigers had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an error, Todd Sickel's single, and outfield fly, a walk to Jerry Schoonmaker and a single by Buddy Cox.
Lamar McHan drew a walk off Cook to start the Razorback second and advanced on a balk. Lyle Wilkerson singled to right, scoring McHan, and Billy Bowden followed with another single. Cook then fanned Bill Irby, but walked Jim Buffington and Joe Thomason to force another run. Nix then whacked a drive to center field and Thomason set sail for third. Jerry Schoonmaker made the catch and sent a throw toward the plate that Cook cut off and nailed Thomason trying to get back to second.
Missouri quickly got those two back in their second when Sam Sayers, batting for Cook, lofted a home run over the right field fence after George Gleason had walked.
Bert Beckmann, who replaced Cook, held the Razorbacks scoreless in the third and the Tigers made it 5-2 in their half when Bob Schoonmaker was safe on Buffington's low throw, stole second and scored on Gleason's liner to center that bounced over Frank Long's head for two bases.
Arkansas retaliated with one in the fourth on a walk to Wilkerson and singles by Bowden and Thomason. An error, a stolen base and Bob Schoonmaker's ground single through short produced another Missouri run in the fifth. Beckmann disappeared after the sixth and Norman Stewart came on to pitch for the Tigers in the seventh and served up a home run pitch to Long after getting Nix on a soft tap to the mound.
The Tigers' four-run outburst in the seventh came as a result of Jerry Schoonmaker's infield hit, Cox's double, a fielder's choice, an error and Dick Dickinson's two-bagger with the bases loaded.
The Razorbacks got two in the eighth on a walk and doubles by Bowden and Thomason, but the Tigers bounced back with a pair when Jerry Schoonmaker homered after Bob Musgrave had walked.
After Stewart retired the first two Arkansas hitters in the ninth, Wilkerson shot a single past third, but was out trying for second to end the game.
Slaughter Breaks Into Tears When Informed of Trade
Enos Slaughter - the old war horse - broke into tears yesterday when he learned he had been traded to the world champion New York Yankees.
He shook his head in disbelief, saying:
"This is the biggest shock of my life. Something I never expected to happen. I've given my life to this organization, and they let you go when they think you're getting old.
"What gets me is that they let you go before you're finished. I've still got some good years of baseball in me."
He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief while telling the newsmen he plans to leave tomorrow night to join the Yankees in Washington for the season opener Tuesday.
"I'll be there for the opening game," Slaughter said, "and I'll give Casey Stengel 100 percent - just as I've given every ball club I've played for."
Slaughter barely could talk, his usually husky voice wavered and broke.
"I've always hustled for the Cardinals," he said. "And I'll say that if a lot of other fellows would hustle more it would be a helluva lot better ball club."
Cardinal manager Eddie Stanky, his arm around Slaughter, wore a long face as he talked about the old war horse's departure after being in a Cardinal uniform since 1938.
It's one of those tough things managers have to face, said Stanky. "If there's any bright side to this," he added, "a champion baseball player is going to a champion baseball club."
Tigers Open A&M Series Tomorrow
(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 15, 1954)
Coach John Simmons made a couple of switches in the Missouri Tigers' batting order today as he mapped strategy for a two-game series with Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater tomorrow and Saturday.
Outfielder Jerry Schoonmaker, who hit two homers against Arkansas last weekend, moved up one notch to the cleanup spot and catcher George Gleason, heretofore the No. 8 batter, will hit fifth. Gleason leads the club in hitting with a .462 mark.
Simmons and a 21-man squad set out today for Stillwater, where the Tiger mentor hopes to reduce the 6-1 edge the Cowpokes hold over the Bengals in the all-time series. Emil Kammer, with a 2-0 record, will pitch the opener for Missouri and southpaw Ed Cook is scheduled to start Saturday's game.
The biggest worries on Simmons mind at the moment are a pair of left-handed hitting Cowpokes - first baseman Phil Finegan and outfielder Ron Bennett. When the teams split a series here last year, Finegan had five hits in seven trips and Bennet had four for seven.
Still seeking a third outfielder who can hit consistently, Simmons plans to send Sam Sayers back to left field and move Bob Musgrave to right. Sayers started the season in left, was benched for two games, but came through with a pinch-hit homerun against Arkansas last Saturday.
The Tigers will return to Columbia on Sunday afternoon and will play a two-game series with the Sedalia Air Force base team here on Monday and Tuesday.
The Missouri batting order, with averages to date:
Dickinson, ss (.250)
Sickel, 3b (.150)
Musgrave, rf (.385)
J. Schoonmaker, cf (.267)
Gleason, c (.462)
Cox, 2b (.143)
R. Schoonmaker,1b (.264)
Sayers, lf (.286)
Kammer, p (.200)
Coach John Simmons made a couple of switches in the Missouri Tigers' batting order today as he mapped strategy for a two-game series with Oklahoma A&M at Stillwater tomorrow and Saturday.
Outfielder Jerry Schoonmaker, who hit two homers against Arkansas last weekend, moved up one notch to the cleanup spot and catcher George Gleason, heretofore the No. 8 batter, will hit fifth. Gleason leads the club in hitting with a .462 mark.
Simmons and a 21-man squad set out today for Stillwater, where the Tiger mentor hopes to reduce the 6-1 edge the Cowpokes hold over the Bengals in the all-time series. Emil Kammer, with a 2-0 record, will pitch the opener for Missouri and southpaw Ed Cook is scheduled to start Saturday's game.
The biggest worries on Simmons mind at the moment are a pair of left-handed hitting Cowpokes - first baseman Phil Finegan and outfielder Ron Bennett. When the teams split a series here last year, Finegan had five hits in seven trips and Bennet had four for seven.
Still seeking a third outfielder who can hit consistently, Simmons plans to send Sam Sayers back to left field and move Bob Musgrave to right. Sayers started the season in left, was benched for two games, but came through with a pinch-hit homerun against Arkansas last Saturday.
The Tigers will return to Columbia on Sunday afternoon and will play a two-game series with the Sedalia Air Force base team here on Monday and Tuesday.
The Missouri batting order, with averages to date:
Dickinson, ss (.250)
Sickel, 3b (.150)
Musgrave, rf (.385)
J. Schoonmaker, cf (.267)
Gleason, c (.462)
Cox, 2b (.143)
R. Schoonmaker,1b (.264)
Sayers, lf (.286)
Kammer, p (.200)
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