Carl Erskine explains how he composed his curveball in Cuba

On the verge of his 21st birthday, fresh off his first full season in professional ball, Carl Erskine found himself in a place that was in stark contrast from his hometown of Anderson, Indiana.

In the winter of 1947, Erskine was sent to Cuba to play with the Cienfuegos team at the urges of Branch Rickey. Erskine would quickly be introduced to a different climate that had nothing to do with the weather.

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Joe Caffie Indians outfielder who started in the Negro Leagues, dies at 80

Joe Caffie, the Cleveland Indians an outfielder who started with the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro Leagues in 1950, passed away at his home in Warren, Ohio, on August 1st, 2011. He was 80.

"I have seen a lot of fast ones, but Caffie is the fastest, and that includes guys like Sam Jethroe," the legendary Luke Easter said in Moffi & Kronstadt’s Crossing the Line.

Caffie had his start as an outfielder with the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro Leagues in 1950, before being signed by the Indians in 1951. He died at his home in Warren, Ohio, on August 1st, 2011. He was 80.

Speed was his trademark, which was evident when he led Class-C Duluth with 18 triples and a .342 batting average in 1952. He led the league in six batting categories en route to winning the MVP award for the Northern League, which earned him a promotion to AAA Indianapolis.

Caffie continued to perform well at the AAA level, swiping bases, legging out extra-base hits and covering much ground in the outfield. Finally, Caffie was brought up to the Cleveland Indians in September, 1956. He hit .342 in 12 games and played without making an error on defense.

Unfortunately for Caffie, he did not make the club out of spring training in 1957. With the emergence of young stars Roger Maris and Rocky Colavito, as well as the veteran presence of Al Smith and Gene Woodling, manager Kerby Farrell could not find a spot for Caffie in the crowded Indians outfield.

Determined to find his way back to the major leagues, Caffie batted .330 for AAA Buffalo, making the International League All-Star team. When the Tribe optioned catcher Dick Brown in early August, Caffie was summoned from Buffalo. Only a few weeks later against the New York Yankees, Caffie would have what was his best game in his major league career, going 4-5, while swatting his first major league home run. He finished the season with three round-trippers in only 89 at-bats.

He spent the next three seasons at the AAA level, never receiving the call to return to the majors. He ended his playing career in 1961 with Charlotte. He returned to Warren, where he worked as a laborer at Thomas Steel for 37 years before retiring.

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Negro League legend Willie 'Curly' Williams left a lasting impact on many

Another eagle has ascended to the soaring skies and taken the legend of the Negro Leagues with him. Willie “Curly” Williams, infielder for the Newark, Houston and New Orleans Eagles of the Negro Leagues from 1945-51, died Tuesday in Sarasota, Florida. He was 86.

I had the good fortune of spending an entire day with Williams in September, 2007 as the city of Newark, New Jersey featured an all-day tribute to the Newark Eagles. Streets in Newark were named after former Eagles legends and the players were honored by the mayor in a private ceremony at the baseball stadium in Newark. Later in the day, the players spoke at the New Jersey Historical Society before being celebrated on the field before a Newark Bears game.

Willie "Curly" Williams (r.) with the author in 2007

Williams radiated as he spoke about his glory days in Newark, holding nothing back about both the highlights and hardships of his career. For a few short hours, Williams transformed into a man of his youth sixty years prior, as he spoke with such vigor about his life in baseball.

Born May 25, 1925 in Holy Hill, South Carolina, Williams was a shortstop for the 1946 Negro League Champion Newark Eagles which featured future Hall of Famers Leon Day, Larry Doby, and Monte Irvin. The departure of Irvin to the New York Giants in the following years opened up the shortstop position for Williams.

With the reins of shortstop secured in his hands, Williams flourished, earning a selection to the 1950 East-West All-Star game in Comiskey Park. By the following season, Williams signed with the Chicago White Sox organization and reported to their Class-A Colorado Springs affiliate.

For Williams, like many black players in the 1950s, playing minor league baseball in a small town was a cold reminder of the isolation they faced due to Jim Crow segregation.

“I went out to Colorado Springs, ain’t too many black people in Colorado," Williams said during a 2007 interview in Newark. “They found a preacher’s house for me to stay in. One black preacher was in that town; they found that house and that’s where I stayed the whole season.”

Williams climbed the ladder of the White Sox system, advancing to AAA the following season. He thought that an invitation to spring training with the parent club would follow in 1953. Sadly, that invite never arrived.

"I thought I should have got a better shot at the Major Leagues, and I didn't get it," Williams said in a 2008 interview with MLB.com. "I was madder than anything about it. I didn't even get an opportunity to go to spring training with a Major League team. After playing in Toledo I thought I could have gone to spring training the following year.”

Williams headlines with the Toledo Mud Hens / April 4, 1952 Toledo Blade

As one door closed for Williams, another opened, this time in a distant place, Canada. He played north of the border from 1953-1963, including an eight-year run with Lloydminster that earned him the title Mr. Baseball. He found something in Canada that he couldn’t find in the United States, peace.

“We had so much fun there and everybody was accepted, you know, didn't have problems going any place we wanted to eat. [They were] just wonderful people.  [I] may not have made a whole lot of money, but people were excited and they enjoyed you and would invite you to their homes,” Williams said in an interview with Jay Dell-Mah.

In addition to playing in the Negro Leagues, minor leagues, and Canada, Williams also starred for the Mayaguez team in the Puerto Rican Winter League from 1949-50. Upon his retirement from baseball, he moved to Sarasota, working 27 years as a crime scene investigator for the coroner’s office. In 2009, Topps gave Williams his first baseball card ever in their Allen and Ginter set.

2009 Allen and Ginter Willie Williams / Topps

His image and voice continue to resonate in my mind as I reflect on our day together in Newark. The clearest memory I have of Williams, besides the open invite to be a guest at his home in Sarasota, is the story he told that moved everyone in the room to tears. The picture he painted about enduring the harsh realities of segregation while in Colorado had a profound impact on all who were within earshot of his interview.

“I went to spring training in Avon Park with the Colorado team. They had a place with a preacher for me to stay. [There was] a café with my table in the kitchen. Every time that door swung open, all I could see [was] all my teammates out there. They had a table for me set up in the kitchen. That hurt. And what hurt so bad, they had a Mexican guy for my roommate; he could go in there. At night, I just cried and it made me feel better,” said Williams.

I cried a bit and gave Williams a hug after he told the story. He pulled out a kerchief and dried his eye. The memory of him sitting in the kitchen of the restaurant, only to see his teammates in the dining area while the door swung open has stuck with me every time I’ve thought about our meeting. I hope that the opportunity to tell his story, while painful, made him feel better to share it with us.

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Carl Erskine tells the story of his first major league home run

Nineteen-fifty-five was a banner season in Brooklyn. The Dodgers finally won the pennant, proclaiming themselves bums no more. Johnny Podres shut down the heralded Yankees in Game 7, rightfully placing the champagne on the Brooklyn side of the dugout. Roy Campanella edged out teammate Duke Snider for National League MVP honors. The Dodgers, for once, were the sole kings of New York.

This is Part 1 of a series of interviews with Brooklyn Dodger great Carl Erskine about his experiences playing with the storied franchise. Erskine appeared recently in New York on behalf of the Bob Feller Museum and was kind enough to grant us access to produce this series of vignettes regarding his career.

For pitcher Carl Erskine, 1955 holds a more special distinction in his heart. Every pitcher has dreams of swinging the lumber like their mighty counterparts. The Dodgers lineup was filled with many who could send the ball out of the park in a heartbeat. One June evening that season in Ebbets Field, a well placed fastball allowed him for a night to roll up his sleeves and take one leisurely stroll around the bases.

On the mound was the intimidating “Toothpick” Sam Jones, who earned the nickname because he pitched with a toothpick in his mouth. Known for his deadly curveball, he led the National League in strikeouts during three different seasons.

Just the mention of his name immediately evoked memories of Jones’ hammering curveball.

“Oh nasty, oh nasty! Oh it was one of the toughest!” exclaimed Erskine.



To illustrate just how great Jones’ pitch was, he relayed a story about a matchup Jones had against the aforementioned Campanella.

“Well his curveball was big and it broke late,” he said. “I could remember Campy one game in Chicago. Campy hit in a squat [as Erskine demonstrates Campanella’s stance] and Campy goes down, and he sits down! Strike! You don’t see that in the big leagues. His curveball was big and it was nasty.”

In the bottom of the 5th inning, Erskine stepped to the plate with one out. He didn't want any part of Jones's curveball.

“Sam Jones, he could throw hard; [that’s] probably why I hit it out,” he said. “We had a 6-0 lead at the time [it was actually 1-0, the Dodgers ended up winning 7-0], so it wasn’t like an important run or anything.”

Luckily for him, his first [and only] round-tripper had witnesses.

“I had some friends I left tickets for right behind the dugout,” he said. “So I had plenty of witnesses back in my hometown [to say], ‘Yes he did.’”

So frustrated was Jones for giving up a long ball to the opposing pitcher, Erskine said he did the unthinkable, he got rid of his trademark toothpick!

“What he did that night, when I hit that home run, he threw away his toothpick. As I’m going to first base, he throws it down on the mound.”

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Barry Lyons shares how B.A.T. sheltered him from Hurricane Katrina's destruction

Barry Lyons knows a thing or two about survival after seeing his home and personal possessions washed away by Hurricane Katrina. Lyons lost his home and his 1986 World Series ring when Katrina tore through his backyard. He has bounced back from the devastation that he faced becoming the athletics coordinator at the newly minted Ray and Joan Kroc Center in his hometown of Biloxi, Miss. Lyons’ road to recovery wasn’t done alone, as the baseball community stepped in to give him much needed support in the wake of Katrina’s path of destruction.

Barry Lyons / N. Diunte

The 51-year-old former New York Mets catcher was in Queens this past weekend as part of Darryl Strawberry’s Community Day in Douglaston, which benefited Strawberry’s Autism Foundation as well as local youth groups. Lyons shared how the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) rushed to his aid after Katrina turned his world upside down.

“The Baseball Assistance Team has been very helpful to many people over the years and it is a great organization for a great cause," Lyons said. "I was involved in the B.A.T. dinner in years previous to the Hurricane Katrina situation that I went through. When I suffered what I suffered, David Cone and Andrew Levy, two of my friends, contacted B.A.T. and [former president] Jim Martin. He was the one that contacted me and helped me right away, immediately for about a year after the hurricane. It really helped me out tremendously.”

The support that B.A.T. was able to provide Lyons so quickly after the impact of Katrina helped to stabilize a life-altering tragedy.

“It was awesome," he said. "I was really devastated and my family was devastated. It was tough on all of us down there that suffered the losses that we [experienced]. It’s very heartwarming and comforting to know that B.A.T. was there for me and in my corner [to] help support me through the toughest part of that time which was the first few months after [it happened].”

For those less familiar with B.A.T., Lyons explained that anyone in the baseball family (players, coaches, trainers, office staff, etc.) is eligible for help when tragedy strikes.

“They support helping people involved in baseball, not just players, but families of players," he said. “Anyone that really falls on hard times that has a connection to baseball will be helped through B.A.T. if they just go through the proper channels. B.A.T. is a well organized, wonderful organization that does tremendous things for a lot of people.”

Lyons returns to New York every winter for the annual B.A.T. dinner, which is a major fundraiser for their efforts. He feels his appearance is the least that he can do to help the organization that stepped in for him when Mother Nature turned his world upside down.

“Every year, I come back to the B.A.T. dinner and do what I can to help out and raise money so that B.A.T. can help others that fall on hard times,” he said.

For more information on the Baseball Assistance Team, visit their website - www.baseballassistanceteam.com

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