Lloyd Waner interview
Date1981 September 28
DescriptionAn audio cassette featuring an interview with Lloyd Waner conducted by Rod Roberts on behalf of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on September 28, 1981 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Object numberHF-1994-0001-033
Interviewer
Roberts, Rod
Interviewee
Waner, Lloyd
Subject
Waner, Lloyd
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Library Call NumberCTA 846
Collection NumberBA RMA 001 Rod Roberts oral history collection
Dimensions1 audio cassette
TrannscriptionCassette 1 Side One Track 1 - Born in Harrah, Oklahoma on March 16, 1906; 20 miles out of Oklahoma City; five children in the family, he was next to youngest, three boys and two girls; youngest sister is only one still living; grew up on the farm, enjoyed farm work; grew cotton until the boll weevil ate it, switched to wheat, alfalfa and corn; had cows, horses and mules; went to Dewey School about two miles from home; he brother Paul was two years older and they played ball out by the barn; used to throw corn cobs at each other, Paul was left handed and Lloyd was right handed, so he learned to hit left-handed; chopped the corn cobs up into pieces to pitch, they were hard to hit; his father made bats in the blacksmith shop, the bats were flat with a handle; didn't play ball at Dewey School; started high school in Harrah, then went to McLoud High School, about three miles away; McLoud had a football team, but his father wouldn't let him play because he was too small; no baseball team, they just played for fun (00:00:00 to 00:08:08) Track 2 - Started playing semi-pro ball for the town team; father was a pitcher for Oklahoma City when they first had organized ball, they gave his father $50 a month to pitch; father originally from Illinois, part German, English and Dutch; mother was from Iowa (00:08:08 to 00:09:39) Track 3 - On brother Paul signing up for the Big Leagues the year before Lloyd; his first professional ball was 1925 in San Francisco for the Coast League (interviewer talks about Edd Roush) Lloyd was surprised at spring training, hit against Major League pitchers and they weren't as tough as he expected them to be; played in San Francisco for two years, they had an agreement they would give $1,250 after 90 days and $400 a month salary; father thought he was rich (00:09:39 to 00:12:30) Track 4 - When San Francisco didn't pay him, Paul had told him that if they released him, to come and join the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul had an agreement with the Pirates; they sent Lloyd to Columbia in the South Atlantic League, he was called up to Big Leagues in 1927 (00:12:30 to 00:14:18) Track 5 - On nicknames for he and Paul, Little Poison, Big Poison, didn't bother him, the brothers got along very well; Paul hit after Lloyd most of the time, he was a better hitter, but Lloyd was a better bunter; they were in vaudeville together on the Orpheum Circuit for nine weeks but had to quit to go to spring training; Lloyd didn't like it but Paul got a kick out of it, liked talking to the fans and clowning around; Mrs. Waner said it was fun back then, played violin and saxophone; he took 67 violin lessons on the farm and in East Central State College; his father was a fiddler and played square dances, also was a caller, Lloyd was "in the way;" his father had a pool table and they had a contest every Saturday; Lloyd got pretty good at shooting pool (00:14:18 to 00:19:41) Track 6 - On Pie Traynor, a great fellow, he was very honest, would have made a good manager but wasn't rough enough, always remembered everyone's name, a good ballplayer, always played close to the third base line so the ball wouldn't get by him (00:19:41 to 00:21:12) Track 7 - On Kiki Cuyler, he had problems, overran second base one time and they tagged him out; Traynor said it was a dumb play; the next day, Cuyler was out of the lineup, Donie Bush wouldn't play him because he was sore, even though he was a good hitter (00:21:12 to 00:22:08) Track 8 - On Heinie Groh, a real character, he was funny (interviewer talks about Edd Roush and Cool Papa Bell) he hit facing the pitcher, he was a good hitter because he was relaxed (00:22:08 to 00:23:31) Track 9 - On Joe Cronin, was with them in spring training in 1927, didn't play much, was awfully nervous, made errors, so Pittsburgh sent him to Hartford; one time they were having batting practice, he and Joe were waiting their turn, and he said he wanted a pinch of tobacco, they were in the clubhouse after practice and Cronin hadn't batted, so the clubhouse boy went out to look for Cronin, he was in the toilet, sick (00:23:31 to 00:26:22) Track 10 - On Dick Bartell, quite a character, he was hitting .298 and they had a double-header, Dick was trying to hit .300 and got a base hit; got to first and stood there; hit .301 and he was happy (00:26:22 to 00:27:20) Track 11 - On Rollie Helmsley, fastest catcher he ever saw, got in trouble because he was drinking too much, didn't last too long, he came back to the club after he quit drinking and played good ball, he had lots of natural ability, could run fast (00:27:20 to 00:28:27) Track 12 - Burleigh Grimes, when he first hit against him, Lloyd was scared, and he meant business, but he was good-natured off the field, he was quite a man, a rough man, if he said he was going to throw at you, you better look out, if you got a hit off him, he'd throw at you the next time, tell you "you're going down," he had good control even with a spitball; there was a rookie from Indianapolis, (Fisher?) and Grimes was pitching, and Grimes knocked him down, the rookie came out to gripe about it, and Grimes said he'd throw at him again; Grimes taught him a lesson; in baseball you have to have to study the game and be ready for anything that comes up; he used to get the papers and study them before they were playing a team (00:28:27 to 00:32:09) Track 13 - On his greatest day in baseball being his first game in the Major Leagues, against Cincinnati, he was a starter and ended up score was tied in the last inning and he got a single and Paul knocked him in for the winning run; hit against Pete Donohue and Lloyd didn't think he was that good; they went back to Pittsburgh and it was a big thrill to go back a winner; the World Series was great, he played against Babe Ruth, and he only got two hits, so that was good; 1927 was the only World Series he was ever in, he and Paul both were in the World Series; after he saw them pitch, he knew he could hit in Major Leagues (00:32:09 to 00:34:20) Track 14 - On playing against Ruth in exhibition games, getting acquainted with Ruth and Lou Gehrig, they would come out before a game, sit on the bench and tell jokes, they liked their jokes; Ruth hit a long home run in that game, clear over the stadium, looked like a golf ball; when Lloyd came up to bat, Ruth was supposed to be playing right field, but he moved in to second base, so Lloyd hit one over his head and got a triple; second time he came up, Ruth played back a little bit, and Lloyd hit another over his head; third time he came up, Ruth played where he usually did, and Lloyd hit another one over his head, it hit the fence and bounced back and Lloyd got a home run; Ruth called him in and said "son, how'd you hit that ball so hard?" and Lloyd said it was just timing and wrists; always enjoyed talking with Babe, just a jolly, happy ballplayer, never said anything bad about anybody; Earle Combs said people used to have to wait for Babe because everyone wanted autographs; when Combs was traded, Babe said "so long son," because he didn't know his first name; Ruth used to call people "kid" or "hey hey" (00:34:20 to 00:39:33) Track 15 - On Lou Gehrig, he was quiet, didn't talk too much, quite a hitter, good player all around, shame he had to go early (00:39:33 to 00:39:58) Track 16 - On George Grantham, he played second base, a great fielder and hitter, ran like a deer (interviewer asks about Arky Vaughan, but Waner keeps talking about Grantham) Grantham was one of the fastest on the club, very good, go around those bases heading for home, kept the same speed (00:39:58 to 00:41:41) Track 17 - On Cool Papa Bell, saw him run in exhibition games, very fast, they were in St. Louis, and Bell was playing, and he got on first base and stole second, Paul hit to center field, on the ground, and by the time the ball rolled in the outfield, Bell was crossing home plate, he could really run; Waner was fast, but Grantham was faster (00:41:41 to 00:43:04) Track 18 - On Arky Vaughan, he was a great all-around player, great arm from shortstop, a good hitter; a great fellow, everyone on the club was a great fellow; Arky was kind of quiet (00:43:04 to 00:43:46) Track 19 - On Freddie Lindstrom (wife getting water, interviewer talks about interviewing Hall of Famers, tape runs out) (00:43:46 to 00:45:22) Cassette 1 Side TwoTrack 1 - (Picks up in the middle of conversation about interviewing) In the old days, baseball was just for the local fans, didn't have TV or radio (00:00:00 to 00:01:14) Track 2 - On Freddie Lindstrom, a good ballplayer, but didn't hit well the last year, so they traded him, he missed a lot of ball games (00:01:14 to 00:01:47) Track 3 - On Waite Hoyt, he was quite a fellow, pitched the first game for the Yankees (big pause, background noise) (00:01:47 to 00:02:39) Track 4 - On holding out one year, 1929, they were playing 40 exhibition games in spring training, and Paul said he would wait to sign his contract until after the exhibition games, so Lloyd held out as well; just held out that one year; missed a year one time because he was sick, another time he was in the hospital with appendicitis; also had pneumonia in the spring and missed spring training (00:02:39 to 00:04:37) Track 5 - On Steamboat Struss, doesn't remember him (00:04:37 to 00:04:58) Track 6 - On Cookie Lavagetto, hit well in cool weather, couldn't stand the heat, start out the season hitting .300+, but the sun got to him in July and August, he'd just drag the bat (00:04:58 to 00:05:36) Track 7 - On Claude Passeau, an overhand pitcher, speedball pitcher, good stuff (00:05:36 to 00:05:48) Track 8 - On Dazzy Vance being the toughest pitcher he ever faced, threw so hard you couldn't see the ball; one time Fred Brickell, a left-handed hitter and a good hitter (pause to drink water and take pills) Brickell went in to pinch-hit and he didn't even get to swing because he couldn't see it; Vance was a big tall guy, didn't score many runs off of him (00:05:48 to 00:08:13) Track 9 - On Kenny Heintzelman, left handed pitcher, had good stuff but he was a bit wild, a quiet kid (00:08:13 to 00:08:39) Track 10 - On Heinie Manush, quite a hitter and runner, smart (00:08:39 to 00:09:07) Track 11 - On fights in baseball, not as many as there are now, people used to talk about all of these fights because the newspapermen reported them, but he never saw one (00:09:07 to 00:09:43) Track 12 - On Rip Sewell, "Old Ripper" he was a good pitcher, had good control, doesn't know what else to say (00:09:43 to 00:10:17) Track 13 - On getting hurt, falling at home, hitting the driveway, it was raining and he had mud on his shoes, the mud hit the concrete, his feet went out from under him and he hit the ground, couldn't feel anything, had to call for help; was in the hospital for two weeks after his operation; came down with pneumonia from being in bed, made him weak and he hasn't fully recovered (00:10:17 to 00:12:25) Track 14 - On Chuck Klein, left-handed hitter, pulled mostly to right field, hit a long fly ball; had an advantage because the Philadelphia park was so small, so he hit a lot of home runs; it added on to his numbers; Klein hit one off (Frankie) Frisch into right field, shouldn't have been a home run (00:12:25 to 00:13:58) Track 15 - On Bob Elliott, he was a good hitter, good natured, never met a baseball player he didn't like, so Lloyd doesn't know what to say about people (00:13:58 to 00:15:11) Track 16 - On Jim Tobin, knuckleballer, not much speed, a good guy (00:15:11 to 00:15:29) Track 17 - On moving to the Phillies, some bad ball clubs, they didn't have a pitcher that went the distance the whole time he was there; he was the best hitter on the club and he led off (talking about getting back in bed, looking for his wife) (00:15:29 to 00:18:12) Track 18 - On Cal McLish throwing with both hands, threw right handed a little better than left-handed; was from Oklahoma City, became a pitching coach (00:18:12 to 00:18:51) Track 19 - On Leo Durocher, they called him "all-American out;" had a big mouth, didn't say much to the players, but loud to the opposition (00:18:51 to 0:19:52) Track 20 - On Babe Dahlgren, wasn't with them too long (00:19:52 to 00:20:02) Track 21 - On Frenchy Bordagaray, played outfield, don't know too much about him, doesn't have any stories about him (00:20:02 to 00:20:30) Track 22 - On Eddie Stanky, don't know too much about him (00:20:30 to 00:20:47) Track 23 - On his last year, 1945, he got a job scouting in the Midwest for five years, lost his father, and his old legs just wouldn't go, so he knew it was time to quit; he quit two weeks before the season was out, and president William Benswanger offered him a job as a scout, which he enjoyed until it got to be too much traveling, too much away from his family; he quit scouting and went to work for the City in street maintenance, keeping the books for them and he enjoyed that for 18 years; when you work for maintenance, had to know what was going on with more than 200 people, keep good records (00:20:47 to 00:23:26) Track 24 - (Wife comes back, talking about getting him back in bed) (00:23:26 to 00:24:54) Track 25 - On playing ball in college (00:24:54 to 00:25:12) Track 26 - On best ball team being the 1927 Yankees, with (George) Pipgras, Waite Hoyt, had Lou Gehrig at first, (Mark) Koenig at second, (Tony) Lazzeri at shortstop, Jumping Joe Dugan at third, and the outfield was (Bob) Meusel, Babe Ruth in right field, and in center field was Earle Combs; can't remember who was catcher (00:25:12 to 00:27:17) Track 27 - On playing against black teams in exhibition games, they were pretty good but there weren't too many of them; one time in Kansas City, they had a big crowd when Satchel Paige pitched, they won the first game, with Babe Herman, Arky Vaughan, Paul and Lloyd in the outfield, the second game they lost; Paige wasn't fast but had great control (00:27:17 to 00:29:10) Track 28 - On Babe Herman, a funny guy; Lloyd roomed with him, one time they came to the room and there was a bottle of wine from a local farmer and they polished it off; he never cashed last year's paycheck, so he'd never be broke (00:29:10 to 00:31:08) Track 29 - Doesn't remember Phillies owner being thrown out (00:31:08 to 00:31:35) Track 30 - On he and brother Paul being very close, never fought much as kids; his father got them boxing gloves, but they were so big, they couldn't swing them hard enough; they used to hunt possums and sell hides, they would go out at night, Paul would get ahead of him and Lloyd couldn't see, so the next time, they took their own lights; got 75 cents per hide; also hunted muskrats by the river with traps; they had one but he got away, chewed his way out; hunted raccoons; hunted a lot in the off season when he was a ballplayer (drinking water); hunted around his farm; didn't have many deer around the farm, used to go to the Kiamichi Mountains to hunt deer (interviewer talks about Stan Coveleski hunting bear and deer, wrapping up, tape stops) (00:31:35 to 00:37:28) Public Access NotePlease note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. 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