Cyril “Cy” Buker, one of the long standing Brooklyn Dodger alums,
passed away Tuesday October 11, 2011,
at the Marshfield Care Center in Wisconsin. He was 93.
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| Cy Buker / Baseball-Almanac.com |
“I wasn't there two days before I was in the Army,” Buker said in
an interview with Jim Sargent.
“The Army finally released me about May 15. I was in what they call the
observation unit. I had asthma, and I was wheezing up a storm.”
While in Brooklyn, he
compiled a 7-2 record with a 3.30 ERA in 42 appearances during the 1945
campaign. With that type of record, one would think Buker was a shoo-in
for a spot on the club the following season. What followed was an
intense set of contract negotiations with
Branch Rickey
that delayed Buker’s arrival to spring training in 1946.
After months of back
and forth letters, Rickey offered Buker a $1,500 raise contingent on his
ability to make the team. Resigning from his teaching job, Buker
finally reported to spring training, albeit three weeks late. His
prospects didn't look good.
"I could see that
everyone was mad at me," Buker recalled. "Nobody would even talk to me. I was assigned to
the 'B' squad immediately, without throwing a ball. It went that way
throughout spring training and into the season. I sat on the bench. I
never pitched one ball in 1946. They didn't want anyone to see me. I sat
on the bench until the final hour of the last day before cut-down, and,
you guessed it. I was optioned to Montreal.”
Going to Montreal, Buker found himself in the middle of history as
Jackie Robinson
was beginning baseball's integration. Robinson had just entered the
minor leagues and was beginning to build his legend north of the border.
Buker noted in a 2008 interview that some teammates were weary of his
presence.
“There were many,
especially those from the southern United States who were very
skeptical," he said. "They didn’t think it would work. They were mistaken and after
several months, [they] accepted him.
Buker developed a
relationship with Robinson, so much that he was offered to travel with
him after the end of the season.
“We got along well. In fact, he wanted me to join his barnstorming team after the season,” he said. Unfortunately for him, a home plate collision prevented him from joining Robinson. “I didn’t go because I wasn’t recovered from my injury.”
“We got along well. In fact, he wanted me to join his barnstorming team after the season,” he said. Unfortunately for him, a home plate collision prevented him from joining Robinson. “I didn’t go because I wasn’t recovered from my injury.”
This injury would
plague him for the rest of his career and Buker would continue to
moonlight between his love for teaching and playing baseball, joining
most clubs after the school year was finished and leaving once football
started. He continued in this fashion until 1952, leaving pitching
behind to fully focus on teaching and coaching. His prowess in the
school system as a coach would see him inducted in to the Wisconsin
Baseball and Football Coaches Associations' Halls of Fame.
After retiring from
teaching in 1970, he started his own body repair and painting business
in Greenwood, which he operated until he was 88 years old. With Buker's
passing, that leaves 44 living former
Brooklyn Dodgers.
* This article was originally published for Examiner.com October 15, 2011.
* This article was originally published for Examiner.com October 15, 2011.