than not, juicy red apples, ripe bananas, and large pieces of cake were delivered by the ladies to Jack Graney in the WHK radio booth. If he was in a generous mood, some of the bounty would find its way into the Indian clubhouse, where the players devoured the prize.
Denny Galehouse opened the game for Cleveland. A Yankee base hit brought cleanup hitter Lou Gehrig to the plate. In the off-season Gehrig had gone Hollywood, auditioning to replace actor Johnny Weissmuller in the popular Tarzan features. Although Lou did not pass the screen test, photos of him in the famous loincloth appeared in newspapers throughout the country. When Gehrig stepped into the batter’s box, a large group of ladies stood up and gave the Tarzan yell. Laughter rocked the stands while Gehrig stood at home plate, staring at the crowd.
In the bottom of the first, the Indians added to the good-humored mood at the park by hammering New York pitcher Bump Hadley for five runs. Earl Averill belted a home run in the fourth inning to make the score 6–0. Galehouse blanked the Yankees for seven innings until he ran out of gas in the eighth. After one run had scored, George Selkirk clouted a three-run homer to cut the lead to 6–4. Manager O’Neill called for reliever Carl Fischer. The thirty-one-year-old pitcher had bounced around the American League, doing time with Washington, St. Louis, and Detroit. He looked fairly good in Cleveland’s spring training and subsequently made the club as a late-inning option. He entered the game with Tony Lazzeri at first and Roy Johnson batting. The Indians fans were no longer smiling from ear to ear. They cringed as Johnson lined a base hit, moving Lazzeri to second.
Fischer stood rigid on the mound, waiting for the sign from catcher Frankie Pytlak. He continued to stare at home plate, oblivious to the runners. Lazzeri, now an aging veteran with heavy legs, took off for third, stealing the base with ease. Steve O’Neill flew out of the dugout and raged at his relief pitcher. Whether he was taking Ed McAuley’s advice to get mad or simply asserting himself, he screamed at Fischer to go to the clubhouse and pack his bags. Fischer’s days with Cleveland were abruptly over.
In the bottom half of the inning, Pytlak doubled and came home on a single by Roy Weatherly. That made the score 7–4, with the Yankees coming to bat in the ninth. Pitcher Earl Whitehill came in to close out the game. With one out and a runner on first, Joe DiMaggio grounded to third, where Sammy Hale fielded the ball and fired to second to start a game-ending double play. But shortstop Lyn Lary inexplicably dropped the throw. To further complicate matters, Whitehill walked Lou Gehrig to load the bases. Bill Dickey stepped to the plate with a chance to do some real harm. Instead, he hit a soft bouncer right back to the mound. Whitehill had only to whip the ball home for the force play and give Pytlak a chance to throw to first to end the game. For some odd reason, he chose to whirl around and throw to second. Lary barely fielded the throw, touched second, then fired in the dirt to first baseman Hal Trosky. The ball got under Trosky’s glove and rolled into foul territory. Two runs crossed the plate while Gehrig raced to third and Dickey to second. The crowd had gone full circle from leisurely watching a blowout to standing up and screaming at the Indians players. Luckily, Whitehill got the last out before a major riot ensued. Cleveland, in spite of playing like amateurs, had won 7–6, yet the fans were boiling and muttering to themselves about the poor exhibition they had just seen.
Although the season had a long way to go, the Indians had stumbled out of the gate. Silly errors all over the field, Feller’s arm injury, and Johnny Allen’s appendicitis caused sportswriters and fans to ponder if the 1937 campaign was already headed for disaster.
Chapter 3
BROADWAY AND A MOOSE
Even though the Indians were struggling, there were a few bright spots to ease some of the fans’ anxiety. Lyn Lary got off to a hot start, batting near .400, though, as already noted, the veteran shortstop had some difficulty fielding his position. Lary also stole a few bases, reminding fans he still had the good speed and baserunning ability that most of his teammates lacked. To date, the Indians front office had to be pleased with at least part of the big trade with the St. Louis Browns.
Lynford Lary was born in Armona, California, on January 28, 1906. He played all three big sports in high school in Visalia, earning a reputation as one of the premier athletes in the state. After graduation he decided to attend college at the University of California. Just before he officially enrolled, he got an offer to play semipro ball. Lary had little money to pay for a college education, making it an easy decision to forget higher learning and go for the cash instead. Soon the Oakland Oaks ball club in the Pacific Coast League offered a contract for the 1925 season. Lary jumped at the chance to make some decent money and began to concentrate all his efforts on becoming a professional ballplayer.
After several seasons at Oakland, Lary became one of the most sought-after prospects in the league. In 1928 he batted .314, getting the rapt attention of the New York Yankees. The Major League club wanted Lary and second baseman Jimmie Reese as a package deal. The two represented the slickest fielding combination in the entire PCL. Both players eagerly signed deals, then traveled cross-country to report for 1929 spring training. The Yankees turned heads by paying Oakland an outrageous sum of $125,000 to acquire the great double-play combination. Years later, the Yankee front office ranked this deal as one of the poorest transactions they had ever made in the history of the organization.
Lary impressed his new teammates from the start, eventually beating out Leo Durocher and grabbing a spot in the starting lineup, which included the marquee names of Ruth, Gehrig, and Bill Dickey. Jimmie Reese, on the other hand, would flame out quickly, setting up Lary as the lone survivor of the six-figure transaction. In his first season, the shortstop played in eighty games and batted a reasonably good .309. The following year Durocher was gone, traded to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1930 Lary hit for a lower average but played in 117 games and scored 93 runs. He really hit his stride in 1931, belting 10 home runs and knocking in 107 along with 100 runs scored. The Yankees now had at least something to show for the $125,000 spent.
While living in New York City, Lary gravitated toward the high-society nightlife. He saw every new movie and attended all sorts of trendy Broadway plays. He began to dress like a movie mogul, often being seen wearing the latest fashion of flannel trousers, brightly colored silk shirts, and navy blazers with coordinated handkerchiefs in the breast pocket. In addition, he smoked a pipe, looking every part the Hollywood director. One day Babe Ruth walked into the Yankees locker room and noticed Lyn wearing one of his classic outfits. The Babe smiled and said, “Hi, Broadway!” The nickname stuck immediately and followed Lary the rest of his playing career.
Though Lary had a great season in 1931, another milestone was just around the corner. While watching a new feature film, he indirectly met his wife-to-be, the beautiful Mary Lawlor. The two did not have a conversation because Mary was on the screen, the lead actress of the popular comedy being shown. Lary viewed the movie several times, convinced he had found his one true love. Via a great stroke of luck, Miss Lawlor would soon leave Hollywood for an extended run on the Broadway stage. Lary wrangled tickets to the play and, through a mutual friend, David Marks, got a quick introduction. The encounter did not go well, as Mary paid little attention to the smitten Lary. Undeterred, he thought he could impress her by dropping off complimentary box seat tickets to the next Yankee game. The day came and Lary kept peering into the stands, hoping to catch a glimpse of the classy star. Much to his disappointment, the actress never arrived. He discovered later that Mary knew nothing about baseball and had no interest in seeing a game.
Broadway Lyn did not give up the quest, persuading his Marks to set him up with Mary for an evening of dinner and dancing. This time the two celebrities really hit it off, dancing to the popular song “Lucky in Love,” and soon were an item. After a brief courtship they were married on July 14 in New York City, with Babe Ruth serving as the best man. With no time for a honeymoon, the young couple cruised around town in a huge eight-cylinder automobile with Lary’s name plate on the side door.
Ballplayers around the American League took notice that Lary had
