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Carl Erskine oral history interview

Date1993 April 27

DescriptionAn interview of Carl Erskine that was conducted by Larry Moffi on April 27, 1993 in Anderson, Indiana. Content of the interview include: Side One -- Track 1 - (Conversation picks up in the middle, talking about Baseball Alumni Team, BAT) Commissioner (Peter) Ueberroth heard from former players calling for pension changes, and formed a foundation called BAT, Baseball Alumni Team, now Baseball Assistance Team, to assist former players in need; Chuck (?) took offense to that, because the players association had been doing that for years, players paid into it, Erskine paid into it, and became a life member and it helped in a small way; never had any resources, Chuck and Bobby Adams, Clark (?) and so they didn't want Ueberroth jumping into the picture; BAT has resources to generate big money, and they need to work together because Chuck a network of contacts and knows where the needs are; players helping other players should always be working together and help each other; a better relationship now; who they help is kept confidential; Chuck helps the Minor Leaguers also, which BAT does not; he has a lifetime membership card, as well as a lifetime pass to Major League games; got it after playing for 10 years (00:00:00 to 00:04:42) Track 2 - On playing in Brooklyn being special, the teams and the people being special; he has a sense of gratitude about being in baseball, grateful for the chance to play in the Big Leagues; moving to Brooklyn with his young family, he and his wife Betty were just kids when he was called up in 1948, his wife was 19 or 20 and they had a small child and it was scary to move to the big City; right away, they found that the neighborhoods were close-knit and family-oriented, similar to their small hometown; they lived there 10 summers, and had strong roots, still correspond with people from Brooklyn; the butcher, Joe Rossi, stayed in touch; went to a wedding in Long Island and went to find their old pediatrician, on East 19th Street, Dr. Morris Steiner, those ties have lasted years; poor performance was not appreciated in Brooklyn, had his share of cat calls from fans, but they never boo'ed Gil Hodges; heard (Joe) DiMaggio and (Stan) Musial booed, but never Hodges, he was a quiet strength on the field, he pulled up stakes in Indiana and moved permanently to Brooklyn, married a local girl and that endeared him to the Brooklyn fans; he had some slumps, but it never affected his fielding; a love affair between the fans in Brooklyn, the orphan borough in New York, didn't have a lot of political clout, a few restaurants, some good cultural institutions, but didn't have the same impact as the uptown folks; never had consistent success in baseball, would win a pennant occasionally, but never a Series; in the late '40s, the team that Branch Rickey put together began to gel; centerpiece was Jackie Robinson, a strong personality, strong player, first black; they became a team that drew well on the road and at home, and they started to win, for a decade, the team stayed together, there were very few trades, they traded for (Andy) Pafko to find a left fielder, traded for Preacher Roe and Billy Cox in the early '50s, and they became stars for the Dodgers, Robinson was signed as the first black; Roy Campanella came through the Minors, Don Newcombe came through the Minors, (Carl) Furillo, (Duke) Snider, all came through the system, (Pee Wee) Reese in the system longer, so the team was developed by Rickey and stayed together for all those years; Brooklyn became respectable on the baseball field; still had tragedies, losses, the team agonized over the loss in '51 because it hurt the fans to lose to the Giants, very bitter to lose in the playoffs to the Giants, still bitter today; Snider pointed out in his book "Duke of Flatbush” that a team devastated by that loss might have gone down, but they came back to win the pennant and the Series over the next few years; had an outstanding year in '52; in '53, (Chuck) Dressen wanted to tinker with the lineup, bring the kid (Jim) Gilliam in to play second and move Robinson to third, but they had a better season in '53; some of the Dodger players might say that '53 was the best team, three of the players in that lineup all had 140-150 RBIs; they won 103 games, and lost in six games in the World Series to the Yankees; the magic year of '55 vindicated all the other failures, gave the Brooklyn fans the World Series they wanted, did it against the Yankees, and in Yankee Stadium; a group in Brooklyn who have a countdown on that final seventh game victory, when Reese fielded the ground ball and threw to Hodges for the third out of the game; Furillo said it was for the people of Brooklyn; the ultimate prize was being able to present a World Championship to the borough of Brooklyn; they had won the pennant in '49, lost in '50 and '51, won it again in '52, '53, and finally the whole thing in '55; every player felt they could finally give it to Brooklyn; treasures the World Series ring from '55, but treasures more the letters from Brooklyn fans, who write about the thrill of being champions over the Yankees in '55 (00:04:42 to 00:18:32) Track 3 - On playing in an interesting time, a lot of chemistry; right after World War II, getting back to normal lives, the whole country felt that the fear and hardships of War were behind us, it was a pensive time, but there was a new momentum in industry, business in the country, getting back to our lives; baseball survived the War and we were rebuilding, the Dodgers had a farm system, bringing in new players, an acceleration of youth; Rickey was gifted and innovative, coming into his own with another dynasty, had been in Cincinnati, came to Brooklyn to make a consistent team out of it; competition was fierce in spring training, he had a youth movement on, moving guys up quick, he ended up with a team in the early '50s that influenced baseball for years to come; those people stayed in baseball after the '50s, coaches, scouts, managers, broadcasters, were shot through with Brooklyn people, Rickey disciples; a 50-year era will come to an end when Tommy Lasorda retires, he was the last one brought up by Rickey; baseball has changed, with free agency, so Rickey's system doesn't fit modern baseball, but his teaching and training methods survive; Robinson as the first black opened up a new area of talent and fan interest; ball parks were segregated in the early years, but that was a major social change, to see integration take place in the right way; Robinson deserved to be in the Big Leagues, he proved it without any help, affirmative action at its best; technology came into the picture, baseball went from day games to night games, from trains to planes, from radio to TV, from East Coast to West Coast; all impacted on baseball, a very special time; he wishes he could still play and make money, but his era was very special; look back to the 1900s, '20s, '30s, the guys who played and the owners, set the stage for the golden era of the '50s, the guys who played for virtually nothing, the owners who invested in stadiums, have to look back and see who set the stage, never felt shortchanged in terms of salary, they negotiated from a weak position, couldn't go anywhere else; he was making $18,000 and wanted $30,000, after he won 20 and lost 6, he didn't get it, they gave him $28,500, but also paid his family's spring training expenses, some dental work; but he did not feel cheated, he was happy; the owners said they needed a reserve clause because it kept the franchises healthy, and they believed in it; finally broken by Curt Flood, and (?) Messerschmidt; TV pumped in a lot of new revenues, league expanded with bigger parks, from 16 teams to 28 teams; the jet plane made it possible to travel; (Walter) O'Malley offered him a job to go to Japan and be a liaison, to shorten the time to Tokyo and Osaka and possibly make them Major League franchises, Mexico City, Havana, Cuba, probably see team in Europe, just a matter of time, you will see a real World Series; banking is now a world economy, and baseball is part of those changes, a reason to believe that baseball will be worldwide (00:18:32 to 00:30:10) Track 4 - On the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles, leaving behind a broken spirit, always a subtle inference that this is your team, identity of ownership (tape runs out) (00:30:10 to 00:30:49)

Object numberBL-2000-02292-007

Artist, Creator, or Manufacturer Moffi, Larry

Subject Erskine, Carl

Artist, Creator, or Manufacturer Erskine, Carl

Attributes

Classificationsaudio/visual materials

Collection NumberBA RMA 002 Larry Moffi oral history collection

Dimensions00:30:49|1 of 1

Copyrighthttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

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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.