Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball--And America--Forever (37 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is one thing to have a notion creep into your mind while watching television one evening. It is quite another to turn it into a book. For that to happen, you need a lot of people in your corner.

Jonathan Crowe, my editor at Da Capo, heard me out from the beginning and offered guidance and enthusiasm throughout this project. He’s a delight to work with.

Special thanks to Chris Park, my agent, and the folks at Foundry Media. Chris was with me every step of the way and she always has my back.

Kärstin Painter and Anais Scott at Perseus Books helped in the final stages, making sure that
Summer of ’68
became a reality, while Lissa Warren championed it in the marketplace.

When I’m working on a new book, I become a big believer in omens—constantly keeping an eye out for signs that this will really play out. On an early trip to Detroit, my good friend Tom Stanton took me on a tour of the Motor City and I saw that it was true: that sports, politics, race, culture, and music can connect in ways that we seldom acknowledge.

Months and months later, with deadlines fast approaching, I took a trip to Memphis at the urging of a new friend, David Waters. It was a roll of the dice really. So little was set up when it came to appointment times and the like. But twenty minutes after my plane landed, my cell rang and it was Erica Cunningham with the Monumental Baptist Church. If I could be there within the hour, Rev. Billy Kyles would see me. Rev. Kyles was a member of Dr. Martin Luther King’s inner circle, and after talking with him I saw that that’s where things truly went over the edge in 1968. For King’s assassination was followed by Robert Kennedy’s shooting, the riots in Chicago, and so on. Just as importantly, what happened in Memphis couldn’t be ignored. Whether we liked it or not, everybody in America, even athletes, were buffeted by what was going down.

I’m grateful for interviews and conversations over the years with Hank Aaron, Bud Anzalone, Budd Bailey, David Black, Erik Brady, Nellie Briles, Lou Brock, Gates Brown, Gary Brozek, Orlando Cepeda, Thurston Clarke, Dr. Jack Daniels, Paul Dickson, Larry Dierker, Greg Downs, Dave Duncan, Tim Gay, David Granger, Phil Grisdela, Ken Harrelson, Tom Hayden, Hugh Hefner, Willie Horton, Frank Howard, Tommy John, Tony La Russa, Mickey Lolich, Howard Mansfield, Juan Marichal, Bill Mead, Dick McAuliffe, Tim McCarver, Jack McKeon, Tim McQuay, William Mead, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Annie Phillips, Scott Pitoniak, John Pietrunti, Phil Pote, Scott Price, Dick Rhoads, David Rowell, Nolan Ryan, Tom Stanton, Robert Thompson, Luis Tiant, Joe Torre, Jon Warden, David Waters, Lonnie Wheeler, and Paul White.

Dave Raglin and his fellow members of the Mayo Smith Society are a treasure trove of information about the old Tigers. Sam Moore of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association always takes the time to talk with me. Thomas Mann and David Kelly at the Library of Congress in Washington put things in perspective for me. Special thanks to Chris Willis, who opened the vaults at NFL Films so I could view the end of the “Heidi Game.”

In looking back at things, I realize that much of this book took root when I was involved with an amazing group of advisors—Milton Jamail, Rob Ruck, Adrian Burgos, and Alan Klein–as we were involved with “Viva Baseball,” an exhibit about Latinos in baseball for the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. There we worked with Erik Strohl, John Odell, Ted Spencer, Tom Schieber, Brad Horn, Lenny DiFranza, Mary Quinn, Tim Wiles, and Jeff Idelson. Hang with those people for a while and you start to see things in a different light.

In addition, a special nod to the Hall of Fame’s Bill Francis, who is one of the best researchers in the business. Also, with the final deadline looming, Jim Gates located several vintage interviews from the Cooperstown archives and Freddy Berowski sent them along. Pat Kelly of the Hall of Fame helped me locate many of the iconic images in these pages that bring the year 1968 to life—several at the eleventh hour.

Special thanks to Charles Eisendrath and the Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan. That 1995–96 school year in Ann Arbor started me in a new direction.

The Writing Department at Johns Hopkins University has been my base camp for a decade now and it’s no coincidence that I’ve produced some of my best work while with them. Thanks to David Everett, my students, and the faculty.

And, finally here’s to Jacqueline Salmon, Sarah Wendel, and Chris Wendel—my wife and children. They are the ones who insist I keep swinging for the fences.

NOTES

PREFACE

xi
Vince Lombardi’s second Super Bowl victory:
www.nfl.com
.

xi
short view:
Bill Russell and Taylor Branch,
Second Win: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man
, 96–97.

PART I

1
Asking for autograph:
Willie Horton, author’s interview, September 9, 2010.

2
“basis of intimidation”:
Bob Gibson, with Lonnie Wheeler,
Stranger to the Game
, 153–157.

2
color of the afternoon:
“St. Louis Turn Off, Tunes In on Series Opener,”
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
, October 3, 1968; “Conventional View Is Taken of Game,”
New York Times
, October 3, 1968.

3
643 batters at major-league level in 1968:
Baseball Hall of Fame research department. Figure supplied by the HOF Library in Cooperstown, N.Y.

3
Seasonal statistics:
The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Major League Baseball,
Macmillan, 1993.

3
“No hitter had an easy time”:
Orlando Cepeda, author interview, August 31, 2010.

3
Bob Gibson/Denny McLain statistics:
Baseball Encyclopedia
.

4
approaching a crossroads:
Sports Illustrated
, “One Hundred and One,” April 14, 1969.

4
“People forget how honest”:
Horton interview.

5
Gibson was in rare form:
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
; author interview with Tim McCarver, October 3, 1968.

5
top arms in 1968:
Allan Roth,
Who’s Who in Baseball,
published by Who’s Who in Baseball Magazine Co., Inc., 1969.

5
“Against studs like Gibson”:
Don Drysdale and Bob Verdi,
Once a Bum, Always a Dodger,
168.

6
“ You could see”:
Gates Brown, author interview, September 9, 2010.

6
Start of season:
Baseball Hall of Fame research department.

7
“Strikeouts weren’t the problem”:
Nolan Ryan, author interview, June 16, 2009.

7
“The evidence”:
William Mead, author interview, October 15, 2010.

7
Catfish Hunter’s perfect game:
“Catfish Makes Perfecto Look Easy,”
Sporting News
, May 25, 1968; “Catfish as Excited About His Hitting as Perfect Game,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 9, 1968; “No runs, No Hits, No Errors,”
New York Times
, May 14, 1968.

8
Hunter background and signing:
“Finley Gifts Hunter with $5,000 Bonus for Perfect Game,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 9, 1968; “In the Wake of the News . . . ,”
Chicago Tribune
, May 10, 1968; “The Catfish Enigma,”
New York Times Magazine
, September 7, 1975.

9
“It was the times”:
Jon Warden, author interview, May 11, 2010, and May 17, 2010.

10
Vietnam War/Tet Offensive:
Mark Kurlansky,
1968: The Year That Rocked the World
,” 50–53.

10
Walter Cronkite trip/televised remarks:
Daniel Hallin, “Vietnam on Television,” online at Museum of Broadcast Communications,
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=vietnamonte

11
“I experienced”:
Ryan interview.

12
“Let’s just say”:
Mickey Lolich, author interview, August 16, 2010.

12
Detroit scene:
Mead interview.

12
Red light:
Lolich interview.

12
Detroit burned in 1967:
“The Great Rebellion,”
http://www.detroits-great-rebellion.com/
.

13
“There was no getting around it”:
Frank Howard, author interview, September 15, 2010.

13
Howard background and home-run streak:
“Howard Becomes Monster,”
Washington Post,
May 19, 1968; “Howard Breaks 2 Home Run Records,”
Chicago Tribune,
May 19, 1968; “Howard Set Record,”
Los Angeles Times,
May 18, 1968; “Howard, Platooned and Dropped by Dodgers, Thrives as Regular,”
Los Angeles Times,
May 19, 1968; Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson,
Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & A Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played.

PART II

17
“best baseball town”:
Tony La Russa, author interview, August 1999.

17
St. Louis Cardinals
Sports Illustrated
cover:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8096/index.htm

18
“complete shock”:
Cepeda interview.

19
The “El Birdos” routine
was mentioned by several players and arguably the best description can be read in Gibson’s
Stranger to the Game
, 131–132. It is also detailed in Doug Feldmann’s
El Birdos: The 1967 and 1968 St. Louis Cardinals
.

20
“no problem fitting in”:
Nellie Briles, author interview, June 2003.

20
“my reputation”:
Gibson, 133–135.

21
Reds brawl:
Cepeda interview.

21
“rainbow coalition”:
Gibson, 148.

22
“I’ll never forget”:
Sporting News
, January 15, 1968.

22
“in the other man’s shoes”:
Gibson, 165.

23
Busch Stadium:
Gary Gillette and Eric Enders,
Big League Ballpark: The Complete Illustrated History
, 290–298.

24
Jim Ryun’s struggles:
Richard Hoffer,
Something in the Air
, 41–43; Dr. Jack Daniels, author interview, July 14, 2010.

24
three times the amount:
Roone Arledge, Museum of Broadcast Communications,
http://www.museum.tv/
.

26
“changing events”:
Daniels interview.

26
“plain of Lethe” :
James Hillman,
The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling,
46–47.

27
“to be a ballplayer:”
Gibson, 15.

27
Monarchs:
Ibid., 19.

28
Globetrotters:
Ibid., 46–48.

28
Passing Martin Luther King:
Ibid., 184.

28
“Martin enjoyed sports”:
Rev. Billy Kyles, author interview, June 15, 2011.

30
“greatly admired”:
Gibson, 124.

30
King and Jackie Robinson:
SI.com
, Dave Zirin, January 18, 2010,
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/dave_zirin/01/18/mlk/index.html

30
King meeting with Olympic athletes:
Ibid.

30
“I agree with them”:
“Bob Gibson: Black Man Nobody Wanted—Until He Was a Hero,” Dwight Chapin,
Los Angeles Times
, July 5, 1968.

31
John Carlos speechless:
Hoffer, 156.