Billy Martin pealing potatoes at Fort Carson
Legendary Yankees in Colorado
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
Growing up in Colorado, and long before Little League baseball, I wanted to be a Yankee.
Little League baseball came to Dolores the first year I was eligible to play — when I was eight-years-old, and about three-feet tall. Orioles, Tigers, Twins and, of course, Yankees.
Some kind of draft, based on age, ability, siblings? … I’m not sure what all … was conducted and the aspiring hall-of-famers donned blue, black, navy or red caps. I ended up a Yankee, which is good, because my Grandma (who spent a lifetime following Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and the like) always wanted me to be a Yankee. Fortunately, I didn’t disappoint.
But just any Yankee, for most, never seems to be enough.
Better to be a Yankee legend. Like, say Babe Ruth, or Goose Gossage, or at least Billy Martin. Colorado had early connections to the Yankees. The 1911 Grizzlies were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.The Bears were affiliated with four MLB teams, including the Yankees, from 1932 to 1954 before being replaced in 1955 by an American Association team of the same name that would eventually relocate to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1993.
"Legendary New York Yankees manager Billy Martin got his first managing job in Denver – taking over for the Triple A Denver Bears mid-season in 1968. The Bears had a record of 7 wins, 22 losses when Martin took the helm, and under Martin’s fiery leadership the team had a complete turn around, winning 66 games and losing 50 in their remaining games." writes in his baseball blog April 10, 2010.
"The success with the Bears led to Martin being promoted as manager to the American League Minnesota Twins the next season. Martin would never manage in the minors again, serving as manager for the Twins, Tigers, Rangers, A’s, and of course the Yankees over his career."
"One of the stars of that Bears team, third baseman Graig Nettles, would later star for Martin’s New York Yankee teams. Art Fowler was Martin’s pitching coach for the Bears – Fowler also followed Martin to serve as pitching coach in New York."
But Martin spent additional time in Colorado, before that. Bill Vogrin, a friend of mine, and my boss for awhile at the Courier and Tribune. His"Baseball's spring training is underway, and that news had fan David Raith recalling how legendary New York Yankees second baseman Billy Martin spent his spring 60 years ago: coaching, playing ball and holding youth training camps with his fellow soldiers at Fort Carson.
"That's right. Two years after Martin had been MVP of the 1953 World Series, leading teammates Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and manager Casey Stengel to the championship, he was just another GI who peeled potatoes on KP duty, marched with the infantry troops and, by the way, was player-manager on a baseball team of soldiers," wrote Vogrin.
"He was pretty well-known in Colorado Springs," Raith said as he described Martin's Army stint, to Bill Vogrin, and Martin mostly served at Fort Carson.
For proof, Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, offered a stack of Gazette Telegraph clips that documented the activities of the colorful Martin, who was credited by Stengel with sparking the Yankees to seven pennants and six world championships when the fiery infielder wore pinstripes.
"There were plenty of photos of Martin in Army uniforms, in baseball uniforms and even civilian clothes as he served his nearly two-year hitch."Gazette photos showed him ripping a triple in a game against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox minor league team, washing pots in the kitchen at Carson and reuniting with Mantle when the slugger visited the Springs during the offseason."
"It must have been hard
to ignore Martin, who arrived in town driving a baby blue Cadillac
convertible, given to him by friends in his hometown of Oakland, Calif.,
after his '53 World Series heroics," Vogrin notes.
In two autobiographies, Martin wrote about his 22 months of Army service.
While on KP, Martin befriended "a group of Italian cooks who really took care of me."
While attached to a company of mountain climbers, he recalled a particularly difficult two-day training climb.
"We were supposed to carry extra socks, shorts and winter gear, plus stuff you need if you're in a battle, in our knapsacks," Martin wrote. "But it was so hot at the bottom none of us packed that stuff.
"However, when we got to the top, there was three inches of snow on the ground and none of us was dressed for it."
They spent a cold night wrapped in newspapers to keep warm.
The hot-tempered Martin got in fights in the Army and clashed with officers bent on bringing the baseball star down a notch.
Eventually, he was assigned to run the post gymnasium and manage the baseball team, foreshadowing his 19-year career as a major league manager that included winning two American League pennants and the 1978 World Series with the Yankees.
As a player-manager at Fort Carson in 1954-55, Martin's batting average was over .500 and his teams finished 25-4.
He wrote with pride about his Fort Carson teams, which didn't just beat up on other soldiers.
"We played a number of professional teams and we beat them," Martin said.
He enjoyed the authority that came with managing.
"I had other guys who could play the infield, so I played where I felt I would be needed most," including relief pitching, he said.
In August 1955, with the Yankees struggling in second place, Martin was granted 30 days leave and he immediately rejoined the team in New York. Over the next four weeks, he sparked the Yankees to the World Series, which they lost to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
"Martin returned to Fort
Carson, staying only long enough to complete his discharge paperwork. He
left as a corporal and was awarded an honorable discharge with a good
conduct medal," Vogrin says.
"Now that's one for the books," Martin wrote. " 'Bad Boy' Billy Martin with a good conduct medal from the U.S. Army. Who would ever believe that?"
When I first managed the Ute Pass Courier in Woodland Park, back in the 1990s, Larry Ferguson, the sports editor at the time, told an amazing brush-with-fame story about playing short stop on the same high School team with Colorado State Champion at Wasson High School with Rick "Goose" Gossage. I didn't believe him at first, but looked up old newspaper clips, and it was true.
According to ta post he National Baseball Hall of Fame, Bob Watson, both an opponent and teammate of Rich “Goose” Gossage, once said of the fireballing pitcher: “He’s all arms and legs and he’s not looking at you. That doesn’t make you feel good when he’s throwing 100 miles an hour. I don’t mind a guy throwing 100 miles an hour if he’s looking at you. I’ll tell you it’s a lot better playing behind him.”
Gossage could be an intimidating presence on the mound, standing 6-foot-3 inches with a penetrating scowl. But of all his attributes, it was his overpowering fastball, which could reach 100 miles per hour, which made him one of the top relief pitchers throughout the 1970s and ‘80s.
“My wife wouldn’t know me out there,” Gossage said. “If she ever came to the mound and talked to me, she’d divorce me. I don’t like anybody with a bat in his hands because he’s trying to hurt me with that thing.”
A rookie relief pitcher with the White Sox in 1972, Gossage established himself as a premier closer by the mid-1970s. After spending 1976 as a starting pitcher, he was traded to the Pirates, where he began a 12-year streak of double-figure save totals.
“I love the feeling of coming to the ballpark every day and knowing I’ve got a chance to work,” Gossage said. “I’d go crazy as a starter. Imagine having a bad game and then having to sit around four or five days before you pitch again. You’d be thinking about it all the time. That would be terrible.”
Free agency followed his one season in Pittsburgh and Gossage signed a contract with the Yankees in November 1977. His six years as the New York closer included four All-Star teams, 150 saves and a 2.10 ERA. He was also on the mound to finish the 1978 American League East one-game playoff against the Red Sox.
“We know before the game starts that he’ll be coming in in the eighth or ninth if the game is close,” said fellow Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. “There’s nothing you can do.
“Well, there is. You can try to have a big lead.”
Signing a free agent deal with the Padres prior to the 1984 season provided immediate dividends for Gossage’s new ball club, as his 10 wins and 25 saves helped San Diego to its first-ever World Series.
When Gossage, a nine-time All-Star, retired after the 1994 season he had built up quite a resume, finishing a 22-year big league career with nine different big league clubs. His lifetime statistics included a 124-107 record, 3.01 ERA, 1,002 games, 310 saves, 1,809.1 innings pitched and 1,502 strikeouts.
“I gave them their money’s worth,” Gossage said.
Gossage was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.
Later, Danny Summers, a huge Yankee fan and sports writer, also for the Courier, and later for the Gazette, wrote about his favorite team
"Babe Ruth has been dead for 69 years, yet his legend continues to
live on. Ruth was — and probably always will be — the most popular
athlete in the history of professional sports. One could argue he is
still the most famous sports icon on the face of the earth. He has been
immortalized in movies, books and television shows," says Summers
"On July 4, 1940, several thousand saw Ruth take a few swings right here in Colorado Springs. And his stay in the area included sightseeing raising the spirits of dozens of adoring kids."
"The accounts of Ruth’s trip to Colorado Springs are not well chronicled. I went to many lengths and looked through many resources to get dig up information on his time here. A special thanks goes out to the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, which allowed me access to old Gazette-Telegraph newspapers in their original form."
Why did the Babe come to Colorado Springs?
"The
story of Ruth’s trip to Colorado began on July 1, 1940, when his wife,
Claire, and youngest daughter, Dorothy, arrived in Colorado Springs at
8:35 a.m. on the Rock Island Lines passenger train. Jack Riddle, the
Rock Island Lines district passenger agent, announced Claire’s arrival
to a waiting crowd. Claire was shuttled to The Broadmoor, where she
checked in. Interestingly, about a month earlier, the Ruths’ other
daughter, Julia, honeymooned at The Broadmoor," Summers wrote.
The Gazette-Telegraph covered the Babe’s arrival a few days later with articles and photographs. Five years removed from his playing days, and 45 years old, the Babe still drew massive crowds. Colorado Springs would follow suit.
"The Babe got into the city the morning of July 4
with his business manager, Ray Doan. Ruth had given a hitting display in
Iowa days earlier. The afternoon of July 4, he was scheduled to
demonstrate his still prodigious power at Sportsman’s Park, located near
North Nevada Avenue and Fillmore Street. The park has since been razed
and the Elks Lodge is now in the general area.," he said.
"The Babe’s Sportsman’s Park exhibition was supposed to take place between games of a doubleheader that featured a team from Pueblo and the Colorado Springs Orioles, semi-pro teams that played in the State League. Admission to the games, as well as the exhibition, was 50 cents. That’s right, you could get a glimpse of the Babe for four bits. Kids under 12 were admitted for 25 cents."
Summers reported: "The park was jammed with thousands of spectators. Plans changed when the Babe was introduced to the crowd about 2 p.m. between the fifth and sixth innings of Game One by Colorado Springs Mayor George G. Birdsall, who also gave Ruth the keys to the city and extended a wish that he “make himself at home” while in Colorado Springs."
Judge Irvin Jones, president of the Colorado Springs Baseball Association, also welcomed the Babe, as well as David Strickler, who represented the Myron Stratton Home, a home for orphans located in the southwest part of town.
"Ruth was given a bouquet of
flowers and had his photograph taken with two children who lived at the
Stratton Home, Robert Morris Armentrout and Nancy Marie Martin. The
Babe promised the children that he would make a visit to the Stratton
Home before he left town. He kept his word," Summers said.
"Ruth performed his exhibition in front of an overflowing crowd. Fans lined the baselines. Jimmy Thompson of the Orioles took the mound against the Babe, who promised the crowd he would “send one over the fence.” Later, Jim Verrone of the Orioles pitched to Ruth, who still displayed his famous step-into-it swing."
After he was done, the Babe signed autographs for adoring fans, everything from new baseballs to gloves and candy wrappers. He spoke to fans “in a voice made hoarse from a cold he picked up in Iowa,” reported The Gazette-Telegraph.
"Ruth told the crowd
he was interested in seeing Ford Frick’s home. Frick was a former sports
writer for The Gazette and Ruth’s ghostwriter during his playing days
with the New York Yankees. President of the National League at the time,
Frick kept a home in Colorado Springs until his death in 1978," says Summers.
Before heading to Frick’s home, Ruth headed downtown to sign more autographs at Blick’s Sporting Goods.
What else did The Bambino do while he was in Colorado?
"Ruth turned the Colorado Springs portion of hitting exhibition into a vacation that included golfing and sightseeing. On July 5, the Babe, along with his wife and daughter, toured the area, visiting Garden of the Gods, Bear Creek Canyon and High Drive, and the Cheyenne Mountain summit. They were chauffeured by Bill Clements of Colburn Mountain Tours. That afternoon, Ruth played golf and smoked cigars at The Broadmoor Golf Club, where he shot an 85. He was joined by Howard Swan, Lyman Wright and Bibb Lamar. The Babe remarked that the course was “one of the sportiest he ever played.”
On July 6, the Babe was honored at a picnic at Seven Falls. During an impromptu hitting display, he belted a baseball over the uppermost falls. Melvin Weimer, general manager of the Seven Falls Company, estimated Ruth’s blast at 266 feet up to the top of the falls. That evening, he and Claire attended a lavish play called “The Coronado Entrada” at Spencer Penrose Stadium. He signed autographs for patrons.
The following day, Ruth visited about 90 orphan children at the Myron Stratton Home and then headed to Pueblo that afternoon for a hitting exhibition at Runyon Field — named after the famed sports writer Damon Runyon.The Babe concluded his stay in the area on July 8 and headed by train to Salt Lake City for an exhibition on July 9, and another one July 10 in Ogden.
The Pueblo County Historical Society has spotty records from the Babe’s brief visit there. The society states that Ruth was in Pueblo for an “exhibition game in 1938.” Records show that the Babe also played a game in Pueblo in 1922 as part of a barnstorming tour — popular in those days — along with former Yankees teammate Bob Meusel.
There is no record Ruth making Denver part of his hitting exhibition tour in July of 1940. The only record of the Babe ever playing baseball in Denver comes from Mark Foster in his book “The Denver Bears: From Sandlots to Sellouts.” Foster wrote that Ruth and Meusel stopped in Denver in 1922 as part of a barnstorming tour. Ruth went 5-for-5 in the game, “ ... including two long home runs over Merchants Park’s short right field fence.”
In 1927, Ruth and former Yankees teammate Lou Gehrig made another stop in Denver as part of their barnstorming tour.
"Ruth is arguably the only athlete in history who can be described as mythical. He was more than the ultimate sports celebrity. He was the ultimate celebrity. During the 1920s, the Golden Age of Sports, Ruth transcended sports onto the front pages of newspapers. Babe Ruth single-handedly made baseball the national pastime."
"His accomplishments can only be described as “Ruthian.” He single-handedly changed the game of baseball from a pitcher’s game into a hitter’s game. He introduced the world to the home run, now one of the most exciting plays in sports. He promised home runs to sick kids in the hospital. He pointed over the outfield fence in the World Series to announce where he was going to hit the next pitch. And then he did."
He was the best player on the best team in history. Babe Ruth and the Yankees are synonymous, and Yankee Stadium will always be remembered as the “House That Ruth Built.”
"And for a short time in the summer of 1940, the Babe walked among us in Colorado Springs," says Summers.
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