AN ARTICLE FROM THE BASEBALL MAGAZINE:
DECEMBER
He had come from a farm in Virginia and here in 1942,
at the age of 21, WILLARD MARSHALL was about to play in his first game with
the NY GIANTS. He had never been to NY before, never seen the POLO GROUNDS
and now he was doing both. His journey had led him through countless numbers
of games played in dirt fields in RICHMOND, highschool baseball played in
a school without a gym, college
Ball with WAKE FORREST, Minor League ball with ATLANTA
in the SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION, a fabulous spring training with the GIANTS,
and now here, a starter in left field for the NY GIANTS at the POLO
GROUNDS.
MEL
OTT, in his first season as manager of the GIANTS, had taken him aside a
few days before and told him he was to start in the seasons opener.
They were to face the BROOKLYN DODGERS. OTT picked CARL HUBBELL, near the
end of his career, to pitch, and newly acquired power hitter JOHNNY MIZE
was starting at first base. For WILLARD MARSHALL this was a dream come true,
something he had never dreamed of in his wildest
thoughts.
The
world in 1942 was in turmoil. War raged all around. The Japanese were scoring
impressive victories in the South Pacific and were mounting a large offensive
in the Bay of Bengal around India and also making gains in Ceylon. On April
13th they bombed Corregidor twelve times but AMERICAN troops were
stubbornly holding on. A few days before, the Japanese had sunk the Langley
with the loss of many lives. Bataan was being threatened by Japan as well.
A small ray of hope for the Allies came with the news that an unnamed Japanese
carrier had been severely hit by several American bombs.
In
the states Americans were getting used to changes in their lives. Ration
books were now a way of life and recently the OPA (Office of Price
Administration) to fight inflation, began to freeze wholesale and retail
prices for consumer goods. Two days before, Americans were told they no longer
could buy bikes. The War Production Board halted all sales of bicycles to
adults in order to preserve existing stocks for the use of people who were
working in the war effort.
The
government released startling news that indicated that STANDARD OIL was aiding
NAZI airlines by selling them oil. The government threatened to blacklist
them and only then did they stop. There was also a report circulating around
that there might be voluntary registration of women between the ages of 18
to 65 for the Army.
The
news on the warfront might be discouraging, but Americans had a great deal
to choose from in the entertainment world. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey
Circus was in town. On Broadway, some of the finest shows in the history
of that thoroughfare were playing. On April 14th, the day Willard
Marshall was to play in his first ML game, the following shows were on the
boards: Paul Muni was opening in a new play called, Yesterdays
Magic. Louise Rainer was in A Kiss for Cinderella. Eddie
Cantor had a great hit in Banjo Eyes. Gertrude Lawrence was in,
Lady in the Dark and Paul Lindsay with
Dorothy Stickney were in,
Life with Father. Other shows included, Angel
Street, Arsenic and Old Lace, Noel Cowards Blythe
Spirit, My Sister Eileen, & Porgy and Bess.
Hollywood too was entertaining Americans. Gone With the
Wind was a spectaculer success. Abbott and Costello were in, Ride
Em Cowboy. Ronald Reagan and Anne Sheridan starred in Kings
Row (RANDY WHERES THE REST OF ME?). Sabu was a big hit
in, Jungle Book. Tracy and Hepburn were in Woman of the
Year. Other films included, my Favorite Blonde with Bob
Hope & Madeline Carroll, Mickey Rooneys, Courtship of Andy
Hardy, Joel McRea in Sullivans Travels &
The Shores of Tripoli with John Payne.
Americans had something else to look forward too. The 1942 baseball
season was about to start.
Whenever the giants played the Dodgers exciting things happened.
Todays game was no exception. The world was at war, American patriotism
was at its peak and baseball was feeling its effect as well.
Some players had been drafted and many were soon to join them. The Dodgers
had won the NL pennant the year
before, while the Giants were taking the field with several changes from
last years first game. They had a new first baseman (Johnny Mize), a new
second baseman (Mickey Witek), a new third baseman (Billy Werber), A new
outfielder in Babe Barna replacing Johnny Rucker and a new rookie outfielder
replacing the popular JoJo Moore in leftfield, Willard Marshall. For Willard
Marshall it would be a day to remember.
APRIL 14, 1942: WILLARD
MARSHALLS FIRST DAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES:
50,000 fans jammed into the Polo Grounds to watch the
defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers defeat a revamped NY Giants team 7-5.
Carl Hubbell at the age of 38 was chosen to face righthander Curt Davis and
lasted only 3 ½ innings. He had pitched only 15 innings in spring training
and it showed.
The
game opened with patriotism and good cheer. Just before game time Horace
Stoneham requested fans to return all foul balls so that they could be sent
to the Army and Navy camps. AT 2:35 both teams marched onto the field and
lined up with the 17TH infantry band to pay homage to Eddie Grant
at his memorial. Grant had been a former Giants captain who died in World
War one. Soprano Adelaide Gerwig came out and sang a stirring rendition of,
ANY Bonds Today? Right on cue, the popular mayor of New York,
Fiorello LaGuardia brought managers Ott and Durocher out and
presented them with $100,000
War Bonds. Durocher was lustily booed by Giant fans which prompted LaGuardia
to say, I see you brought your friends along. Besides the paid
attendance of 42, 653, there were 2,100 servicemen who attended, as well
as many distinguished guests. Jim Farley, former mayor Jimmy Walker, Thomas
Dewey, Mrs. John McGraw, Mrs. Peewee Reese & Mrs Pete Reiser. Harry
The Horse Danning caught Mayor LaGuardias perfect strike
and the game started. It was 3:PM.
By
3:30 the Dodgers had scored 4 runs and it was only the first inning. Peewee
Reese hit a double, newly acquired Arky Vaughan walked and so did Pete Reiser.
Ducky Medwick smashed a double to right to score two, a run scored on an
out, Babe Herman walked, and Mickey Owen scored the 4th run with
a single into the rightfield gap. Mel Ott, in his first year as manager decided
to keep Hubbell in there. He worked the top half of the 2nd and
had a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom half of the second Willard Marshall came
up to the plate for his first at bat in the Major
Leagues.
Curt
Davis had quietly built up a fine reputation in the years that he had played
ball. Without being a superstar he was considered to have been one of the
better pitchers playing in the National League at that time. Lifetime he
ended up with a 158-131 record. He possessed a better than average fast ball,
kept the ball over the plate, and used his curveball to good advantage. Here,
after all those years of playing in poorly prepared dirt fields, walking
miles to find a place to play in, leaving college in his second year to play
in the minors, here, today, Willard Marshall was getting his chance to plat
ML ball. He dug in against Davis and after a few pitches smacked a ball to
leftfield for a base hit. He rounded first base and the crowd gave the rookie
a big hand. It was his first hit in the Majors, in his first game, and later
on another one was to come.
Hubbell hung on till the 4th when he gave up a two-run
HR to Peewee Reese. When Pete Reiser followed that with a single, Ott replaced
him with Mountain Man Cliff Melton. For the rest of the
year
Hubbell would pitch decently and end up with an 11-8 record.
It was clear though that the great pitcher was nearing the end of the
road.
In
the 4th inning a fan caught a foul ball hit into the stands and
ignoring Stonehams request to throw the ball back for the servicemen
overseas, put it into his pocket. He was roundly booed and finally took it
out and threw it back onto the field.
In
the sixth both sides went down in order. Before the seventh inning started
an announcement was made that Sal Maglie and Rube Fisher were being released
to the Jersey City Giants. Maglie would come back, Fisher would
not.
In
the seventh the Giants made it close. Werber singled, Billy Jurgess drew
a walk, and Ott drove him in with a single to center. The stage was set for
Johnny Mize to do something special and he did with his first HR as a Giant.
Getting up for his fourth time in the game Willard Marshall smashed a single
through the infield for his second ML hit. He then raced home on a bad throw
by Vaughan which Dolph Camilli could not handle. Another highlight of the
inning was Hank Leiber fouling off ten straight pitches before he finally
walked.
The
game ended with the Dodgers winning 7-5. It had been an auspicious debut
for rookie Marshall who went 2-5 and scored one run. The next day would be
better.
APRIL 15, 1942: WILLARD
MARSHALLS SECOND DAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES.
The Giants got even. With a six run outburst in the
5th they won by a score of 6-4 to square the series at one game
each. The centerpiece for the Giants was a mighty blow by Willard Marshall.
As
a contrast to yesterdays packed house, this second contest only drew
12,448. The Dodgers, as in yesterdays game, were error prone and it was Peewee
Reeses 2ND error in two days that
enabled Willard Marshall to
come up with the bases loaded. Starting pitcher Kirby Higbe was still in
there for Brooklyn. It was the fifth inning and Marshall had made out in
his first at bat. This time he stood at the plate with Werber, Jurges, and
Mel Ott on the bases and one of the Dodgers toughest
pitchers facing him. With a
2-1 count, Marshall swung and meeting the ball solidly, hit a drive that
carried to the outfield. Pete Reiser headed back to rightfield and then gave
up the chase. The ball picked up momentum and finally ended up in the upper
tier of the rightfield stands. It was a grandslam and was Marshalls
first HR as a major Leaguer. 49 years later, in speaking to Willard, I asked
him if he remembered who he hit it off. He said no and then his face lit
up and he said yes, it was Higbe. He didnt mention that it was a grandslam
and came on his seventh time at bat. At 21 he happened to be the youngest
regular on the field for both teams and it was one of the memorable moments
in his life.
That
just about did in the Dodgers. After the game it was reported that Leo Durocher
would have to see Commissioner Landis (one of the many visits he would have
with him over his career) to explain why he refused to leave the field after
he was thrown out of an exhibition game with the Yankees.
Curt
Davis and Kirby Higbe, the two pitchers who gave up those 3 hits in
Willard Marshalls first
two games, are gone now. Hubbell, Ott, Johnny Mize, Reese, Vaughan, Durocher,
and Billy Herman went on to the HOF.
For
Willard Marshall those two first games were the beginning of what turned
out to be a fine eleven year
career. The following year he went into the army and served for three years.
Had it not been for that he could very well have ended up with a batting
average over.280 and possibly been close to 200 HRS. As it was his lifetime
BA was .274 with 130 HRs. In 1943, 47, and in 1949 he was chosen to
play in the All Star game.