figured on bringing another fifteen to twenty wins to the table.
Billy Evans sat in his upstairs office, dreaming of the new stadium and the prospect of filling double or triple the number of the twenty-five thousand seats available at the current home grounds. A full house at League Park would net the club roughly $20,000, but a crowd of just forty to fifty thousand at the new site would bring the team $35,000 to $40,000. No wonder Evans had dollar signs floating around his brain.
Alva Bradley took out a newspaper ad urging Clevelanders to support their team. The three-quarter-page ad spoke of all the changes his regime had made: “In all probability Never In The History Of Baseball has the personnel of a team been so changed from one year to another as the Cleveland Club of 1929. A dozen old faces eliminated and a dozen new ones added. Come out and help us put it out!” Bradley had really done his part. Now the focus shifted to Roger Peckinpaugh and how he would guide his team.
WTAM Radio reached a deal with the Indians to broadcast all the weekday games, beginning with the opener. Tom Manning was back in the booth to do all the play-by-play. The station had found a sponsor for the entire season, the automobile dealership Reeke-Nash Motors. The advertising element was fast becoming a staple of radio broadcasts. Soon, Manning would have his hands full trying to squeeze in the numerous commercials.
Radio listeners in Cleveland also had the choice of tuning in WHK, which was carrying Columbia Broadcasting’s national feed of the Yankees–Red Sox opener. As an added bonus there would be a cut-in to the Washington-Philadelphia game in the nation’s capital. Fans could hear the description of President Herbert Hoover throwing out the first pitch. Avid fans were taking the initial steps toward the concept of channel surfing.
The weather for Cleveland’s Opening Day against Detroit was better suited for a football game, with gray skies and temperatures in the upper thirties. To protect against the wind and cold, the fans arrived wearing heavy coats (including fur in the more expensive seats) and carrying blankets. There were unconfirmed reports of flasks being passed around the stands. At game time there were nearly nine thousand empty chairs: many fans decided to stay home rather than freeze to death. The left-field bleachers were all but deserted. Those staying home missed a rousing contest between the Tigers and Indians.
After the ceremonial first pitch and flowers for Peckinpaugh, the Indians jogged onto the field in crisp new uniforms. The jerseys had black piping and a black C on the chest. Each player had a ferocious-looking Indian on the left sleeve. The socks were black with narrow white stripes. Meanwhile, it wasn’t just the uniforms that had changed. The Indians lineup bore little resemblance to the one in the previous year’s opening game. Only Joe and Luke Sewell and Charlie Jamieson had started the previous season. Joe was now playing third base, as he could no longer cover the ground at shortstop. There were three new infielders and two more in the outfield.
The Tigers opened the scoring against Joe Shaute with a run in the top of the first inning: Harry Rice singled and went to second on a walk to Charlie Gehringer, then a sacrifice fly and an infield out brought him home. The excitement really began in the bottom of the inning when Earl Averill came to bat. There were two outs when Averill walked to the plate for his first Major League appearance. Detroit pitcher Earl Whitehill threw two strikes past the highly touted rookie. The third pitch was over the plate and Averill smacked a rising line drive over the right-field wall. The Cleveland fans jumped out of their seats when the baseball cleared the high screen by six feet and landed far up Lexington Avenue. Averill trotted around the bases to thunderous applause. He would always remember this trip to the plate as his finest moment while playing for Cleveland. Detroit scored two more in the third inning: Harry Rice was on first when Charlie Gehringer blasted a home run. Cleveland came back with a run in the fourth on a single by Charlie Jamieson. The Tigers added another run in the sixth to go up 4–2.
The score remained there until the eighth inning, when the Indians pushed across a single run. Willis Hudlin entered in relief and Detroit went out in the top of the ninth still holding a one-run lead. With three outs left, the home crowd began to make a significant amount of noise. Lew Fonseca drilled his third hit, a double off the right-field wall. Jamieson reached on a bunt single, Fonseca advancing to third. Luke Sewell drove a clutch base hit to center field, sending the game to extra innings. Neither team did anything until the bottom of the eleventh when Luke Sewell singled. Willis Hudlin flied to center. After a walk to reserve shortstop Ray Gardner, Carl Lind lined a double to deep left field, scoring Sewell with the game winner. Derby hats went flying through the stands as the fans celebrated a thrilling 5–4 win. This was not looking like a seventh-place ball club.
That night, the Hotel Winton hosted a meet and greet with old-timers from the Spiders and Naps. The honored guests in the chic Rainbow Room included Cy Young and Chief Zimmer from the Spiders. Representing the Cleveland Naps were Bill Bradley, Elmer Flick, Terry Turner, and Earl Moore. Two of the Delahanty brothers, Frank and Jimmy, were on hand, along with Patrick “Paddy” Livingston from the old Athletics and the Naps. A full orchestra provided the dance music while fans mingled with the popular stars of the past. The much-admired Jack Lynch’s Rainbow Girls performed during the evening. It had been a great day in Cleveland with hopefully many more to come.
The next day featured a matchup of the two recently traded pitchers, George Uhle and Ken Holloway. Uhle showed his old team a thing or two by beating the Indians 15–3. The only difficulty he had was giving up another tremendous home run to Earl Averill. The Tigers drove Holloway from the mound by scoring seven runs in the first two innings. Manager Peckinpaugh went to the bullpen early, calling for Wes Ferrell to relieve. In his first significant action as an Indian, Ferrell pitched a strong four and two-thirds innings. He did not allow a run, giving up only three hits. Gordon Cobbledick marveled at what he saw. He wrote in his column, “The big kid has a terrific fastball and a fine curve together with excellent control. Moreover he uses his head when he’s out there in the box.” Manager Peckinpaugh indicated Ferrell would soon get his chance to join the starting rotation.
Even though the season was just two days old, Cleveland fans were starting to notice Averill and Ferrell. One was pounding out line drives all over League Park while the other showed some exceptional pitching. The new players brought instant excitement to the field, which was surely good for business. With these young stars in the lineup, the Indians really had a chance to win their share of games. Over the course of the season, the American League would feel their impact.
Wes Ferrell was born on February 2, 1908, to Rufus and Alice Ferrell. The family lived in Greensboro, North Carolina, where his father worked for the Southern Railway. After twenty-five years of devoted labor, Rufus bought a large allotment of land just outside of Greensboro. In 1914, after some fiddling with the land, he added a herd of cows and started a dairy farm. The property had a great quantity of wide-open spaces where the seven Ferrell brothers learned to play baseball. They had an amazing team, with older brother Rick catching and other brother George in the outfield. Later, Rick would begin his Major League career with the St. Louis Browns. George played many years for Memphis in the Southern Association, compiling over two thousand hits before he retired.
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