mundane. The season would open on April 19 and close on October 2. The All-Star Game was awarded to the Cincinnati Reds. Some disagreement occurred over the type of ball to be used: the American League owners favored the livelier ball used in their league for more hitting, while their counterparts in the National League preferred their league’s dead ball to highlight pitching. The meetings ended with no other significant business or any blockbuster trades.
In the middle of January 1938, Bradley made known to Cleveland fans that he wanted to schedule twenty-five games at Municipal Stadium. He proposed that all Sunday games and holiday dates be played at the seldom-used facility. He acknowledged that Bob Feller and Johnny Allen were big draws, and as many fans as possible should have the chance to see them in action. He added that the Cleveland Baseball Company would put in a strong bid for the concessions at all games played at the stadium.
Bradley’s plans were a mixed blessing to Cleveland City Council. They would be able to negotiate with the ball club for a percentage of the gate while keeping all parking revenues. On the flip side, council knew few other concession companies qualified to handle the food and drinks required for a crowd of 50,000 or 60,000. Once again they had little choice but to yield to Mr. Bradley, who had taken away $50,000 in city rent when he vacated the stadium after the 1933 season. There had been several different administrations of city managers and mayors, yet none had been able to keep Alva Bradley from imposing his will on the city of Cleveland.
A month later, activities in the League Park office began to gather speed. Player contracts were being negotiated at a rapid pace, while plans for spring training were just about finalized. Bob Feller was rumored to have been offered a substantial deal of $17,500 plus a bonus for attendance at the games he pitched. Feller’s strong performance in September convinced a now-healthy Cy Slapnicka that his pitching prodigy was just about on par with the best pitchers in baseball. Johnny Allen got a tremendous contract calling for a team-high salary of $40,000 for two years. It seemed most of the players were able to get raises without much of a tussle from the front office.
Baseball Magazine published an old classic anecdote about salary negotiations between players and owners. The tale concerned Colonel Jacob Ruppert, the proprietor of the New York Yankees. Ruppert’s grandfather and father had founded a large brewery in the New York area years ago, where they produced the popular Knickerbocker Beer. Colonel Ruppert was already an enormously wealthy man when he purchased the Yankees in 1916. With some wise player acquisitions named Ruth and Gehrig, the Yankees became the top-drawing team in all of baseball. Knowing the franchise had cash to burn; the players started to get aggressive in their contract demands. Waite Hoyt, one of Yankees’ best pitchers, met with Ruppert about his salary for the next season. A frustrated Ruppert, said, “Hoyt where’s this going to end? Ruth wants more money, Gehrig wants more money, Pennock, Meusel and all the others want more money. What do you fellows think I am anyway, a millionaire?” Hoyt’s reply went unrecorded.
Alva Bradley and his front office remained quite energetic throughout February. An announcement soon came that the Indians had acquired St. Louis Browns catcher Rollie Hemsley for third baseman Roy Hughes and backup catcher Billy Sullivan Jr. Cy Slapnicka had had his eye on Hemsley for some time. The initial motivation came from Bob Feller, who been barnstorming with Hemsley and loved the way he caught a game. He mentioned this to his general manager, who started efforts to get the veteran in a Cleveland uniform. The Browns hesitated at a Frankie Pytlak–Rollie Hemsley straight-up deal. Slapnicka countered with a starting third baseman and an alternate catcher. This time the Browns said okay.
Rollie Hemsley came to Cleveland with some outstanding credentials. An All-Star in 1935 and 1936, Hemsley had excellent defensive skills along with an above-average bat. He knew how to handle his pitchers as well as call a good game. He did not shy away from collisions at home plate, nor did nagging injuries force him out of the lineup. Bruised shins and swollen hands were just part of the everyday routine for Rollie. There did exist one small detail that made Cleveland his fifth stop in the Major Leagues. Hemsley had a severe problem with alcohol, and it was becoming worse each season.
Ralston “Rollie” Hemsley was born on June 24, 1907, in Syracuse, Ohio, located in the southeast portion of the state. The small Meigs County mining town sat across the Ohio River from West Virginia. Local folklore claimed when the river reached a certain low point, anybody could wade across and visit the neighboring state.
Rollie’s father, Joe, had a keen interest in baseball. When not laboring in the coal mines, he played or watched games at the nearby King Field. Rollie and his brothers, Doug and Joe Jr., followed the head of the family to the mines, collecting six dollars a day for backbreaking work. Rollie would later remark, “Baseball’s a soft job compared to blasting your way through those hunks of coal.”
When Rollie reached his twelfth birthday, he began training to be a big-time catcher. Joe took him into the backyard and threw him curveballs by the hour. Before long Rollie played at King Field, catching for Joe’s semipro team. The ballpark had a grandstand, a dirt field, and a deep center field, complete with a wide area of cornstalks. Teams from the Ohio Valley League scheduled games at the ground, and occasionally a Major League club stopped by for an exhibition game.
Rollie, now known as “Dutch” by his teammates, proved fearless behind home plate. He would reach a height of five feet, ten inches and never weigh more than 170 pounds. He had unusually big hands that helped him stop pitches in the dirt and whistle throws to second base. He played like a polished veteran, soon drawing attention from several minor league clubs. At age seventeen he got an opportunity to join the 1925 Frederick, Maryland, club in the Blue Ridge League. Rollie showed steady progress in his three seasons in Frederick, batting .311 in 1927 with nine triples and twelve home runs. In one of the games Rollie went five for five with two home runs, two doubles, and a single. In another contest he took part in a rarely seen double play. With a runner on first base, the batter lifted a short fly into right field. The Frederick first baseman dashed to the outfield and made a fine over-the-shoulder catch. Hemsley, alertly noticing that the base runner had strayed too far from first, whipped off his mask and sprinted down the first-base line. He yelled for the ball and got the return throw before the startled runner could slide back to the bag. These top-rate performances earned him a promotion to Wichita of the Western League, though he never actually played a game there. The Pittsburgh Pirates tracked Rollie down and bought his contract outright. Hemsley would report in 1928 to spring training and compete for a spot on the roster.
The Pirates were not aware that Rollie had begun drinking in the 1927 season. To complicate things, the Pirates’ star outfielder, the great Paul Waner, besides being a tremendous hitter and all-around player, had a serious problem with alcohol. Before long the two players became drinking buddies, starting Rollie on an eleven-year binge. He often arrived at the ballpark with abrasions on his face and sometimes a grotesque black eye. Regardless, he managed to play through the hangovers, well enough to remain the backup catcher.
In one particular game he got livid with umpire Bill Klem regarding his judgment of balls and strikes. Rollie called Klem a “blind bat.” Klem replied, “Young man, you’ve been drinking!” Hemsley fired back, “And from the way you’re umpiring, you could have too!” The veteran umpire then told the fuming catcher to go take a seat on the bench and sober up for the remainder of the game.
In spite of this terrible behavior, Rollie somehow improved his game, working his way up to be the Pirates number one catcher. In 1931, just after the regular season got underway, manager Jewel Ens agreed to let Hemsley stop home in Syracuse for a day before embarking with the team on their first road trip. Rollie took off and was not heard of or seen again for a full week. He did not try to contact the Pirates front office during the entire time he went AWOL. He eventually reported with a flimsy explanation he was sick. Ens, completely fed up, suspended him for two weeks, then traded him to the Chicago Cubs.
Rollie moved on to a new environment in Chicago that featured two of the most notorious drinkers in all of baseball, outfielder
