The Legend of Steve Dalkowski

[oldpro56]

Small part of a segment from my book "Beating About the Bushes"

ME AND HOLLYWOOD

I doubt anyone from my Norwalk, Ohio graduating class ever had lunch with a bona fide Hollywood blonde sex symbol, but I did. My purchase of a 1963 Playboy came to life in Lodi, California three years later when I broke bread with Mamie Van Doren and her husband, Lee Meyer, in their apartment.

Mamie had posed twice in Playboy to promote her movie, “Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt” with the character name of “Saxie Symbol”. Lee and I had competed against year other for three straight years and had become very good friends. My invitation to dine came one afternoon after running into each other while shopping in Stockton.

My favorite men’s store was located near the University of Pacific campus. It was upscale and pricy but I would visit every other week looking for the largest markdowns I could afford. Across the street was a record shop that was jammed all afternoon with college students meaning, a lot of girls were there. In this day there were listening booths where vinyl records could be played before buying but the main purpose was to check out the crowd while listening.

Early afternoon I entered John Fall Men’s Store to look for bargains and there was Lee sorting through racks at the rear. He was so intent my approach wasn’t noticed until I was almost standing next to him. When we did make eye contact, there was an immediate flush to his face and I could see why. He was going through a display of satin underwear of various colors. This was very radical for the time, even for California.

“What’s going on”? Lee’s color returned to normal and he answered, “Oh man, Mamie’s done with summer stock in LA and she’s coming up here for a couple of months. She likes this **** and I’ve got to buy a supply. I’m not even going to try them on because I know they’ll feel creepy. I can’t let anyone know about this. You won’t tell anyone on your club will you”? After assuring Lee his secret would go to the grave with me, we settled into normal banter. But, I think his guilt built to a point when he made an amazing offer. “Do you want to come over to the apartment some day for lunch and meet Mamie”?

[olehippi]

Just had a flashback to my one contact with Dan Duquette. In the early 80's I was instructing a local pitcher who had a lot of potential (subsequently drafted by Toronto). His high school catcher was one of the best defensive catchers I had ever seen. I followed this catcher through his career at Coastal Carolina and called the Brewers before the '86 draft. Duquette had been hired by Harry Dalton because they were both graduates of Amherst college. Duquette seemed disintrested in talking to me and finally dismissed me by saying the player wasn't a prospect and the Brewers weren't interested. The player Kirt Manwaring-13 years in the major leagues and winner of a Gold Glove.

Tim.....little gems like this are fantastic. And although this one wasn't included, your book is full of such goodies, which is what made it such a great read. Thanks!

[cindyluvsbrady]

I hope to order one also......When I can

[oldpro56]

WINTER BALL WAS A VACATION

As a reward for my 1968 season I was selected to play winter ball in the Florida Instructional League. This was the platform for up and coming prospects plus those whose major league credentials had slipped due to injury or poor performance. Since I hadn’t played in the bigs, I put myself in the first category. Our manager was Cal Ripken, Sr and the roster had Don Baylor, Curt Blefary, Rich Coggins, Terry Crowley, Ron Dunn, Roger Freed, Bobby Grich, John Montague, Jim Palmer and Al Severinson, all of whom made major league clubs at various times in their career.

I just finished a project that I have wanted to do for years. Using the Baseball Guide, I looked at everyone who played winter ball in the '68 season and tallied just how many players there were who eventualy played in the major leagues. I was staggered by the number. A generally accepted percentage of professional players to ever reach the major leagues is 3 to 4 percent. We had 45% this year! I didn't realize at the time because I was young just like them, how much talent there was until now. I had a flashback when I saw the name Tony Conigliaro. Tony was trying to make a comeback from a severe injury. I remember feeling guilty when I struck him out the one time I faced him. This was the only time I felt guilty over a strikeout.

[oldpro56]

Everyone be forewarned. I'm taking the initiative because I'm finding myself having way too much fun here at the OH. I will be posting very small, sampling segments of my book, "Beating About the Bushes" plus, contacting members via the private message mechanism. Today, I had a great interaction with cindyluvsbrady. I received a message in my inbox that questioned, "Do I know you?" I had posted notice to her about my book on a small thread about members enjoying autographed books. I let her know through several exchanges, how to reach this thread. The more I get into the depth of this site, I am amazed and left wondering as to the logic of the Orioles for minimizing their assistance in maintaining a great public reations connection. This forum extends far beyond the general area of Baltimore when I read responses about people flying in to see the opening game.

[oldpro56]

A question to everyone in the Orioles Hangout. To anyone's knowledge, is there any former professional player in the O's organization participating in the OH?

[weams]

A question to everyone in the Orioles Hangout. To anyone's knowledge, is there any former professional player in the O's organization participating in the OH?

Does a former Spring Training Bat Boy count?

[oldpro56]

Weams, technically I think you qualify since Cal, Jr. was our bat boy in winter ball '68 and that was really close to spring training. Would love to see an expansion on this experience for all to share.

[weams]

Weams, technically I think you qualify since Cal, Jr. was our bat boy in winter ball '68 and that was really close to spring training. Would love to see an expansion on this experience for all to share.

No, No. Roy Firestone, not me

[oldpro56]

Another small posting from my book, "Beating About the Bushes" I'm getting great response from the OH members.

HOW HARD IT WAS TO SURVIVE

Few people realize how little money came the way of minor league players during this era. Even though a minimum salary of $500 per month was in place, the cash didn’t flow until season start and ended the last day. When checks stopped everyone had to scramble to survive until the following spring. It was a matter of pride to tell all what unusual occupation had been found. The best had to have been that of John Sepich.

John was very fair skinned and our minor league trainer, Jack Baker, invented a secret potion to cover Sepich each day. I remember walking into the training room earlier than normal to find Jack mixing, like a mad scientist in the movies, the last ingredient, iodine, drop by drop.

The unusual nature of Sepich’s job was that he worked in a mushroom mine in Pennsylvania. This meant John never saw the light of day for an entire winter except for weekends. Apparently, played out coal mines are ideal for this type of thing. The temperature is constant all year long, humidity can easily be controlled and most importantly, it is always dark. This was why Baker’s invention had to work for the person having the nickname of “Casper”.

[oldpro56]

The BASEBALL RELIQUARY Inc.


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SHRINE OF THE ETERNALS
2009 INDUCTION DAY
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Pasadena, California

Another standing-room-only crowd of nearly 200 Reliquarians was in attendance for the 2009 Induction Day ceremony for the Shrine of the Eternals on Sunday, July 19, 2009. The eleventh anniversary ceremony was in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at the Pasadena Central Library. The 2009 inductees -- Roger Maris, Jim Eisenreich, and Steve Dalkowski -- were elected by the membership of the Baseball Reliquary in voting conducted in April and May 2009, and they received the highest number of votes from a ballot consisting of fifty candidates.
The Keynote Address was delivered by Don Malcolm. The ceremony also featured the presentation of the 2009 Hilda Award to Bob Colleary and the 2009 Tony Salin Memorial Award to Mike Shannon.
For additional coverage of the ceremony, see Tom Hoffarth’s column in the Los Angeles Daily News, July 18, 2009, entitled “A new chapter too good to be true, even for Dalkowski.”

~ All Photographs Courtesy of Jeff Levie ~


A packed house at the Pasadena Central Library’s Donald R. Wright Auditorium, where the Shrine of the Eternals Induction Day ceremonies have been held annually since 1999, awaits the beginning of the afternoon’s festivities.






The Baseball Reliquary’s Executive Director, Terry Cannon, rings a cowbell to commence the 2009 ceremony.









One of only a handful of skilled musical glass players in the world, Douglas Lee performs his unique arrangement of the National Anthem before a mesmerized audience.

Then, Douglas Lee switches to the musical saw for his version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”






Bob Colleary accepts the 2009 Hilda Award, which is presented annually by the Baseball Reliquary to recognize distinguished service to the game by a baseball fan. Born in Brooklyn, Colleary considers himself a baseball nomad and the biggest fan anywhere without a favorite team. One of his main passions is collecting baseball relics from its past. At one time or another he owned Donn Clendenon’s 1969 Mets World Series ring, Babe Ruth’s spittoon, and the lineup card from Game Six of the 1975 World Series which was won by Carlton Fisk’s 12th-inning homer. As a gift to his long-suffering Bucky Dented Red Sox fan friends, he also performed a complex ritualistic exorcism which Reversed The Curse using a straight razor which had once shaved Babe Ruth. While much of his collection has been redistributed throughout the collecting landscape, Colleary’s prize possession remains Bill Veeck’s wooden leg, which is the centerpiece of his Strat-o-Matic baseball league, which is known as Bill Veeck’s Leg. The annual draft lottery is conducted each New Year’s Eve by placing dice inside the leg and rolling them onto the floor.












Mike Shannon walks to the podium to accept the 2009 Tony Salin Memorial Award, which is presented annually by the Baseball Reliquary to recognize an individual's commitment to the preservation of baseball history. Shannon is the founder and editor of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine since 1981. While Spitball originally debuted as a baseball poetry journal, it quickly evolved into a broader literary magazine that included baseball short fiction, prose, art, and book reviews. In 1983, Spitball inaugurated the CASEY Award, the first award specifically designed to honor authors and publishers of outstanding baseball books, and this prestigious annual award has been presented for 27 consecutive years. The author of 15 baseball books himself, Shannon, who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, concluded his acceptance remarks by reading a poem that he wrote specifically for the occasion, "I Was the Kid."





Reliquarians Mark Diamond (decked out in his Reliquary finest) and Tom Tully await the Keynote Address.






The 2009 Keynote Address is delivered by Don Malcolm, who has had a shadowy literary career ever since the mid-1970s, when he wrote the first "hypertext" novel -- before "hypertext" had even been invented. In the 1990s he turned his offbeat style and disturbing, ambiguous tone to baseball, crashing together numbers and literature in the controversial follow-on to Bill James' Baseball Abstract, called The Big Bad Baseball Annual. He went on the lam in 2001 and has last been seen editing and writing for the Film Noir Foundation's e-zine, The Noir City Sentinel. His book on noir, The Dark Embrace, will be published in 2011. While working assiduously to remain "under the radar," Malcolm has become a stalwart (though covert) ally of the Baseball Reliquary, an organization he steadfastly refuses to join "because they are the only ones who would accept me as a member."






Andy Strasberg, who takes enormous pride in being referred to as Roger Maris' most loyal and faithful fan, introduces Maris and accepts his induction into the Shrine of the Eternals on behalf of the Maris family. Strasberg, who established himself as one of baseball's most innovative marketers in 22 years with the San Diego Padres, told some wonderful anecdotes about his baseball hero, including the story of how his own life fatefully intersected with Maris' life over and over again, the details of which have been published in Sports Illustrated and Chicken Soup for the Baseball Fan's Soul.






Jim Eisenreich's induction into the Shrine of the Eternals was accepted by his close personal friends, Jill and Mike Magnante. Eisenreich was unable to attend due to a coaching commitment. Mike Magnante, who is currently a schoolteacher in the San Fernando Valley, was a star pitcher at UCLA, was drafted by Kansas City in 1988, and made his major league debut with the Royals in 1991 as a teammate of Eisenreich's. He had an excellent career as a left-handed relief pitcher with the Royals, Houston Astros, Anaheim Angels, and Oakland Athletics, retiring from the pro game in 2002. The Magnantes provided considerable insight into Eisenreich's battles in overcoming the debilitating effects of Tourette Syndrome.







Filmmaker Ron Shelton introduces Steve Dalkowski prior to his induction into the Shrine of the Eternals, while Dalkowski and his sister, Patricia Cain, listen attentively from their seats. A former minor league ballplayer himself, having spent five years in the Baltimore Orioles system from 1967-1971, Shelton played in some of the same towns as Steve Dalkowski did a few years earlier in the Appalachian, California, and International Leagues. After retiring from baseball, Shelton would establish himself as one of the preeminent filmmakers of our times, with his filmography including, among others, Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, and Tin Cup.







Steve Dalkowski, now 70 years of age and living in New Britain, Connecticut, accepts his induction into the Shrine of the Eternals. Dalkowski etched his name in baseball lore during nine legendary minor league seasons from 1957-1965. The lefthander threw terrifying fastballs estimated, in the days before radar tracking, at 105-110 mph, amassing nearly 1,400 strikeouts in only 995 innings pitched. In addition to being fast, Dalkowski was also wild, walking a career total of 1,354 batters in the same 995 innings. On the cusp of making the Baltimore Orioles roster in 1963, Dalkowski blew his arm out. While he never made it to the big leagues, his mystique as the fastest pitcher of all time has grown in the ensuing decades.





Arnold Hano, the renowned author of 26 books including A Day in the Bleachers, attends the ceremony with his friend, Jean Hastings Ardell.





Ron Shelton with Tony Salin's brother, Doug, who was attending from his home in San Francisco.





Adrienne Bratton, the daughter of late umpire and 2008 Shrine of the Eternals inductee Emmett Ashford, visits with Ron Shelton.
An admiring fan shakes the hand of Steve Dalkowski.




Hilda Award winner Bob Colleary shows off his prized possession, Bill Veeck's wooden leg, which he purchased many years ago through an auction.








Among those enjoying the ceremony were Carmen Fanzone and Sue Raney.



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[oldpro56]

From my book "Beating About the Bushes"

When a significant death occurs journalism protocol requires the story to be framed with a black box containing a short synopsis of the person’s life. Longer, detailed stories come later fully describing why such an honor was accorded.

The Sporting News is a national publication covering all major sports. Everyone hungered for their name to be mentioned in some way each week. My biggest disappointment came when I struck out four batters in one inning only to read the same had been done by a pitcher who had been demoted to Stockton the week before. Joe Rowden got the ink instead of me.

Knowing the importance of black lines surrounding an article, my eyes were drawn to the upper left portion of the Sporting News front page. A six inch, one column obituary announced the end of Steve’s career. There was a single sentence about his release from professional baseball and then career statistics. This legend was gone but I didn’t know Dalkowski would offer a secret from his past when we came together again the following year.

[oldpro56]

This is from my book "Beating About the Bushes"

NOBODY KNOWS THESE LEGENDS

The worst thing in professional baseball is the unrecorded histories of all who didn’t arrive at the major league level. Lost are the tales going back to an era before a minimum salary of $500 per month had been established and blacks were denied access to professional baseball. This encompasses legendary people who will only be remembered by a diminishing base similar to that of survivors of America’s wars where most memories are lost and unrecorded. I signed a contract only fifteen years after Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier and minor league players of his era typically made entry level salaries of $150 or less each month, but only because they were white.

I had the privilege of playing with three of these characters. One is legendary within baseball’s inner circles and the others are only slightly less recognized. The most unique aspect is only one of this trio was considered for the major leagues. But all have reputations spawning stories that, to some, are unbelievable. Baseball, at this time, teetered on the edge as a game played for fun versus the grab for money and soon went the wrong way.

HARD AS A ROCK

As if my nerves weren’t bad enough about making a team my first camp, a strange group arrived during an afternoon lunch. Twenty plus unknown strangers were ushered into our cafeteria and treated like royalty. Word quickly spread they were the Wake Forest baseball team on a southern swing and would be playing the next day against one of our four groups. This initiated a feeling for how large my pond had now grown and the new bigger fish I had to battle for survival. The most intriguing member of the team was out of perspective with the rest. The shortest, stockiest, best dressed, baldest person was Billy Scripture. The disparity jumped out and I could identify with this person who didn’t fit the norm.

Billy was to become an All American at Wake and has been inducted into their Sport Hall of Fame. This status was achieved even though he was almost expelled for practicing his batting stroke by chopping down beautiful old trees in the woods next to the football stadium. A negotiated settlement resulted in having Scripture chopping the felled trees into firewood and delivering the logs personally to professor’s homes on campus. Little did I know Baltimore would draft him and we would play together for five seasons.

[oldpro56]

Another portion of my book "Beating About the Bushes"

An enduring memory of Billy is his taking infield practice without a glove. Scripture’s reputation was so great that if he decided to perform on a particular night, the opposing club would come back to the dugout rather than relaxing in the clubhouse. Our coach launched ground balls with a thinly shaped instrument called a fungo. He knew what Scripture wanted and hit the ball as hard as he could, producing drives hit harder than most balls during a game.

Billy would drop to his knees blocking the ball with his chest and casually throw to first base in a manner that would have resulted in an out every time. This was repeated until he knew a psychological imprint on the opposition had been established. Few knew this was not an act. It was part of Scripture’s meticulous preparation because this might happen during the course of the game and he wanted to be prepared.

Scripture’s teeth were also legendary. To this day, my lament is that I didn’t ask him for x-rays because what I saw over the years couldn’t have occurred without implants attached to the jaw bone with titanium screws. Even Letterman asked him about this aspect. His teeth were large, perfectly formed and, like Billy himself, well maintained.

During the years we played together, it was common to see Billy rip the cover of a baseball off with his choppers. He would make a gouge with incisors and then grab the cover with everything but his molars and dismantle the ball. This was always done to amuse and not out of anger. Anger he would take out on other things, mostly wooden items such as his bat that had failed him. But one Sunday afternoon in Elmira produced a memory.

We had an unusually large crowd of about three thousand in the stands and we all wanted to put forth a little bit of extra effort. Fans do provide an incentive that is directly tied into a player’s ego. All professional athletes have something wired in totally different than the average person or, more importantly, their competition who won’t survive. The differences were very subtle, but noticeable to me over time. Billy had one of those unbelievably bad days and snapped. Even though this was our fourth season together, I had never seen this happen before.

Scripture was an adequate third baseman but limited in range. His strength was anticipation on every pitch as to the variables and where he should place himself. Like a super computer, every factor was being processed constantly. Who was the batter, what type of pitch had been called for, was the pitcher tiring, what were the circumstances of runners on base, what direction was the wind blowing, how close was the dugout to his right, who was the umpire observing the line, was the popcorn salesman in the first row going to represent an interference problem if he had to lean over the railing, etc. This analysis occurred during each and every pitch.

[weams]

Another portion of my book "Beating About the Bushes"

An enduring memory of Billy is his taking infield practice without a glove. Scripture’s reputation was so great that if he decided to perform on a particular night, the opposing club would come back to the dugout rather than relaxing in the clubhouse. Our coach launched ground balls with a thinly shaped instrument called a fungo. He knew what Scripture wanted and hit the ball as hard as he could, producing drives hit harder than most balls during a game.

Billy would drop to his knees blocking the ball with his chest and casually throw to first base in a manner that would have resulted in an out every time. This was repeated until he knew a psychological imprint on the opposition had been established. Few knew this was not an act. It was part of Scripture’s meticulous preparation because this might happen during the course of the game and he wanted to be prepared.

Scripture’s teeth were also legendary. To this day, my lament is that I didn’t ask him for x-rays because what I saw over the years couldn’t have occurred without implants attached to the jaw bone with titanium screws. Even Letterman asked him about this aspect. His teeth were large, perfectly formed and, like Billy himself, well maintained.

During the years we played together, it was common to see Billy rip the cover of a baseball off with his choppers. He would make a gouge with incisors and then grab the cover with everything but his molars and dismantle the ball. This was always done to amuse and not out of anger. Anger he would take out on other things, mostly wooden items such as his bat that had failed him. But one Sunday afternoon in Elmira produced a memory.

We had an unusually large crowd of about three thousand in the stands and we all wanted to put forth a little bit of extra effort. Fans do provide an incentive that is directly tied into a player’s ego. All professional athletes have something wired in totally different than the average person or, more importantly, their competition who won’t survive. The differences were very subtle, but noticeable to me over time. Billy had one of those unbelievably bad days and snapped. Even though this was our fourth season together, I had never seen this happen before.

Scripture was an adequate third baseman but limited in range. His strength was anticipation on every pitch as to the variables and where he should place himself. Like a super computer, every factor was being processed constantly. Who was the batter, what type of pitch had been called for, was the pitcher tiring, what were the circumstances of runners on base, what direction was the wind blowing, how close was the dugout to his right, who was the umpire observing the line, was the popcorn salesman in the first row going to represent an interference problem if he had to lean over the railing, etc. This analysis occurred during each and every pitch.

I read the first part of the Billy Scripture post. Thanks for the quick followup Tim.

You sure had some characters back in the day.