Bob Cerv oral history interview
Date1994 September 19
DescriptionAn interview of Bob Cerv conducted by Larry Moffi in Nebraska on September 19, 1994. Content of the interview include: Side One -- Track 1 - (Recording starts in the middle of comments) (Vic) Power was one of the best first-basemen he ever saw; in Minor Leagues, he was one of best hitters, could hit it down the right field line, and hit it there; he was with Kansas City, then went to Philadelphia, and then on to Cleveland; he was a smart guy, could speak Spanish, French and English fluently; played in Canada early in his career; he stood his ground, Cerv always got along with him; Cerv started his career late, began playing at age 25, was in the service for three years and then at the University of Nebraska for four years, then signed with the Yankees and played in the Triple AAA farm team; the next year he went up for a “short cup of coffee" when Mantle was sent down, he went up and down for the next few years until his option was up in '54, and in '56 they sold him to Kansas City, where he played for three years, hit 70 home runs, more than 100 RBIs every year, hit .300 and beat Ted Williams out of the All Star position in ‘58 (00:00:00 to 00:03:44) Track 2 - On signing with the Yankees, no one else gave him a chance to go to Triple AAA; he thought he was starting higher; he had a good first year starting in July, hit 12 doubles, 13 triples and 14 home runs, hit over .300, the next year he won the batting championship in '51; when they called him up, he went into a slump, just keep trying to hit the ball hard; he hit fairly decent, had good power; used to worry if you didn't do well; today, they hit .220 and make money; his first raise was when the raised the minimum from $5,000 to $6,000; in spring of '56 he was making $6,000 and he had graduated college with a degree and he could have made more money teaching; he raised 10 children and put 10 through college; but they offered him a $3,000 raise; that year the Yankees traded him to Kansas City; he found out a miserable hot day in New York, after batting practice, (Casey) Stengel came up and said they just got (Enos) Slaughter and one of you guys was going to Kansas City, and he was the only one sitting there, so he knew it was him; Don Larsen was supposed to go to Kansas City as well, but then he pitched the perfect game, so they kept him; Slaughter was in the outfield for the perfect game; there could have been two no-hitters, but Slaughter missed two balls in the outfield; great games, it always came down to who pitched better; the last game they changed everyone around, took (Joe) Collins off first base and put (Bill) Skowron there; started (Jim) Coates, (Elston) Howard went to left field, (Mickey) Mantle, (Hank) Bauer, Billy Martin at second; (Gil) McDougald, Andy Carey was at third, Yogi Berra caught, and they won 9-0; the next year he was traded; he still goes back East to sign cards, but doesn't like to travel much; he was at JFK and saw (Allie) Reynolds, (Gene) Woodling, Charlie Silvera; hadn't seen them since the ‘50s but they had a good time (00:03:44 to 00:11:59) Track 3 - (Contains profanity) Never did much in the off-season, stayed home to take care of the kids and take them to school, don't know how his wife did it when he wasn't there; went to Nebraska on the GI Bill; last time they won a championship in baseball or basketball was 1950 and he was on the teams; he was the first baseball All-American from Nebraska; he graduated from high school and went into the Navy in 1943; they would go out on picket duty as “sacrificial lambs" to the kamikazes; he was aboard the USS Claxton, on Nov. 1, 1944, they were the first ship to get hit by a kamikaze in the Philippines campaign, killed five guys and wounded 23, they were sinking, and the USS Abner Read came to help but was hit by two and sunk; only time he was hit; his squadron went up to Okinawa; people never realized how many ships were sunk in the Pacific, he was a radar man and a first-loader; he joined the Navy so he wouldn't get drafted and wind up in the Army, he hated mud from growing up in Nebraska; he went to Idaho for training, and first he was in an Argus unit, the “all-seeing eye" radar unit; then was sent to Pasco, WA, a small Navy air base where they trained pilots from the carriers; the Hanford Atomic Plant was next door and they were actually protecting the plant but no one told them that (00:11:59 to 00:18:56) Track 4 - On playing ball in high school; his father and uncle played a lot of ball and he was the bat boy and shagged balls; he lived in town in Weston, but went out to his grandparents' farm on the weekends and during the summers; they had work horses and had to rest them for 2-3 hours, so during those hours, his grandfather would hit fly balls for his uncle; they had a local semi-pro team, the Pioneer Night League, a lot of ex-pros; about 1942, when he was a sophomore in high school, he played Legion ball but then started playing in the Pioneer Night League, did very well; then when he went into the service, he was in California and played softball, and they suggested he should go to the baseball team, but he got his orders to board the Claxton, and didn't get back until after the War; just before the second atomic bomb was dropped, they were heading back to the U.S.; got orders to proceed to Washington D.C., their squadron got the Presidential Unit Citation, he met President Harry Truman when he came aboard to give them the citation; shook Cerv's hand because he was a neighboring Midwesterner; later on, in '58 they had a Bob Cerv night in Kansas City, and President Truman presented him with an embossed, signed Saturday Evening Post, and he remembered him from the ship; Cerv used to stop and see him when he lived in Kansas City; a heck of a nice guy (00:18:56 to 00:24:36) Track 5 - On his father playing ball, his father was left-handed, and Cerv wishes he was left-handed; some of the grandchildren were left-handed, one was an All-American and played for the San Diego Chargers for 3-4 years; his father was a truck driver, didn't stay on the farm after '29-'30, the bottom fell out, so he started working for an uncle delivering gas and oil in '30; Cerv retired in '83 (00:24:36 to 00:26:20) Track 6 - On playing basketball for Nebraska, last time they won a Big Seven championship; was just voted into the Nebraska basketball hall of fame; also getting a honored by his high school (00:26:20 to 00:27:11.4) Track 7 - On breaking his jaw in '58 sliding into home base, catcher was Red (Wilson) and he caught him with the elbow and broke his jaw on a Saturday; couldn't play Sunday, off Monday; played Tuesday with his jaw wired; also played with a broken hand and a broken toe; hit 38 home runs that year, but not while his jaw was wired, because it hurt too much when he swung hard, can't swing with your mouth tight (00:27:11.4 to 00:28:28) Track 8 - On being signed out of Nebraska by Joe McDermott, also signed Skowron, (Johnny) Blanchard, also Johnny Hopp, with the Cardinals; he signed a lot of guys; he was positive Cerv could play Triple AAA ball right away; the Yankees expected to send him to Class C, but he hit so well, over .300 and drove in more than 60 runs in just half the season (00:28:28 to 00:29:44) Track 9 - On the University of Nebraska players being older, having been in the service first and then coming back to go to college (00:29:44 to 00:30:33) Track 10 - On Cerv hitting Nellie Fox, knocking him out onto the grass, people didn'think Cerv was very fast, but he would take out the second basemen all the time; one guy, Kenny Aspromonte would run away from him; today he would be an automatic out because they don't let them run into the second basemen anymore; Martin, McDougald would always play that way, would ask if you wanted “spikes or knees" (tape runs out) (00:30:33 to 00:31:37)
Object numberBL-2000-02292-005
Artist, Creator, or Manufacturer
Moffi, Larry
Subject
Cerv, Bob, 1925-2017
Artist, Creator, or Manufacturer
Cerv, Bob, 1925-2017
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Collection NumberBA RMA 002 Larry Moffi oral history collection
Dimensions00:31:37|1 of 3
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RestrictionsDue to copyright restrictions, this interview can only be listened to at the Giamatti Research Center at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Object number: BL-2001-00092-017
St. Louis Cardinals (Baseball team)
1968 February 08