Backroads and Ballplayers #2
Stories of the famous and not-so-famous men and women from the days when Baseball was "Arkansas' Game." Always free and always short enough to finish in one cup of coffee.
Otey, Traveler’s History, Ballpark Memories, and a Game with the Mayor 8-16-2023
“The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen is a field of brown and green and Ole Glory flyin’ high above the wall…Sittin’ up there in the stands, with a hotdog in their hands tyin’ to forget their troubles for awhile. Sing along…(From the Cards are Pitching Dizzy Dean Today)
I had planned to write about Shohei Ohtani today, but the mayor invited me to join him at the Travelers’ game on Wednesday. Although my friend Harold is actually the “Honorary Mayor of Section 107” at Dickey Stephens Park, you really cannot say no to the mayor. Especially for a gloriously sunny lunchtime game during the first homestand of the season.
So, maybe someone else will write about Ohtani today. I would guess thousands of writers will find something remarkable to say about baseball’s biggest story. I will write about Arkansas things, Travelers’ games past, and introduce a former player so beloved that the Travs named a possum after him.
Travelers baseball, the first decade…A minor league team occasionally called the Little Rock Travelers played a few ill-fated seasons prior to the turn of the century, but little things like not being able to make payroll or the league folding at midseason ended most of those campaigns by mid-summer. To keep things simple, I usually think that the first full season of Travelers’ baseball was played in 1901 when Little Rock joined the Southern Association.
They hired a colorful “Yankee” named Mike Finn from Massachusetts as manager. Of course, the press called him “Mickey Finn.” The “round-bellied, fast-talking, and sometimes gruff” Mr. Finn had a history of success in dog racing, sprinting, boxing, and a traveling circus. If an event involved competition, training, and promotion, Mike Finn was the man. His baseball resume, however, was somewhat sparse with uneven results.
Little Rock’s new field boss had a total of four seasons in pro baseball. He had won a pennant, managed teams that folded in mid-season, and been jailed for playing on Sunday. His last experience was a dismal season managing the Marion Glass Blowers that ended with a court date for a “Blue Law” violation and a finish deep in the standings, 47 games out of first place.
Mickey Finn’s first Travelers played well, but the fledgling Southern Association was a trustless group that argued over everything from the schedule to the construction of the baseballs. Typically, Little Rock actually won the pennant on the field, but after protested games were awarded to Nashville in an October board meeting, the Travelers were dropped to second place.
After three second-place finishes, most of Finn’s Northern heritage had been forgiven, but the 1904 edition of the Little Rock club tumbled to sixth place. Mickey Finn looked for a job elsewhere, and the Travs, under new managers, fell to last place in 1905 and 1906. So disappointed were the locals that Finn looked good again. He was rehired in 1907.
In 1908, Finn negotiated to keep a Boston Red Sox prospect in Little Rock for the season in payment for allowing Boston to train at the Travs home field, West End Park. The young outfielder was Tristam (yes with an M) Speaker, and he is on the short list of the greatest players in baseball history. I promise to tell his story later.
Things only got worse, Speaker was promoted to the majors, Finn left again, and finances became so uncertain that the Little Rock club sold its equipment after the 1909 season and ceased operations. It would be five years before a young livery stable owner named Ray Winder and a judge from Kentucky, by way of Clarksville, Arkansas, revived the Travs in 1915. That story and more about pennants, colorful players, and heartbreak will also be for future essays.
Days at Ray Winder Field…Sitting in beautiful Dickey Stephens Park on a school day, I think back to my first days watching the Travs at Ray Winder Field. “The Greatest Show on Dirt” was tucked between the Zoo and I-630 on Fair Park Boulevard. I saw my first games there in the late 1960s while in college at State College of Arkansas (UCA), but my favorite times were taking Susan, my non-fan wife, on a cheap date.
Our pre-game meal would be at Case Bonita. I am sure most of you over 50 have been to Arkansas’ iconic Mexican Buffet. The raise-your-flag special was $1.98, but we could afford it. The game was always free! General Manager Bill Valentine had convinced banks, tire stores, and supermarkets to sponsor the game and each location had free tickets.
The games were fun. The Travs were competitive, and Valentine always provided interesting between-inning entertainment. He gave away ponies, junk cars, and cash. For three consecutive years, we were there for a doubleheader when a character called “Captain Dynamite,” blew himself up in a box at second base. Miraculously, after an uncomfortable breath-holding pause, the old fellow stumbled to his feet to a standing ovation. Obviously, it was a tough way to make a living, especially since he would do the same the next night in another minor league park somewhere down the road
We were there in 1971 when future Cardinals’ All-Star Kenny Reitz went after an irritating fan with a bat between innings. We were there with our two boys and assorted friends in 1991 when Fernando Valenzuela pitched a rehab assignment for Midland at Ray Winder Field. The Travs allowed the overflow crowd to line up around the outfield fence in play, while the fire marshal looked the other way. I would love to read about your favorite Travelers’ baseball memories in the comments.
Wednesday at Dickey Stephens, Otey was excused…It was about 75 degrees on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, for student day at Dickey Stephens. Thousands of kids from preschoolers to high school teams attended and seemed to love being there. After 50 years in education, I realize the bar for liking something better than class on a beautiful spring day is very low. They stood and cheered at the appropriate time and sang YMCA at the top of their lungs, just like their parents had done three decades or so before (if they only knew). The school-day singers were less confident singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game in the seventh inning, and somewhat dismayed at what to do when Cotton Eyed Joe followed. By the eighth inning, they were on the bus headed home. I hope they come back often. This game needs the kids.
Otey the Possum was held out on student day, likely for health reasons…6,000 kids would not have been good for his well-being. This is Otey the Possum’s tenth year with the club. The same number of years his namesake, R. C. Otey, played in the old ballpark across the river.
What kind of player was Redic Caldwell Otey? He was good enough to have played more games than any Traveler in team history. He played for ten years and appeared in more than 1,300 games. He batted .305 in the pennant-winning 1951 season and led the team in hits. After his record-setting career ended in 1958 when the franchise was sold to Shreveport, he stayed with the club for thirty years as grounds supervisor. R. C. Otey died in 2011 and Otey the Possum joined the team in 2014. R. C. would have been honored.
Photo of the week: The Mayor and the Possum
I loved my day in the sunshine at Dickey Stephens Park. The mayor showed me around, introduced me to his friends, and gave me the inside story of his personal favorite players.
By the way, the Travelers looked good. They hit line drives all over the park, scored 12 runs, and got excellent pitching from several good-looking young hurlers. You might want to go take a look if you live in Arkansas!
Reading of the week:
My favorite memory was attending Camera Day in 1964, only my second Travelers game. These were the Boom-Boom Travelers, winners of the Pacific Coast League Eastern Division. A total of 24 guys who played for that team made the big-leagues. The best known were Alex Johnson, Adolpho Phillips, Pat Corrales, Lee Elia, Fergie Jenkins, John Boozer, Paul Brown and Dallas Green. The best player on the team was first baseman Costen Shockley. The third baseman was Wayne Graham, who went on to an illustrious career as the coach at Rice. The manager was Frank Lucchesi, who had a mediocre big-league managing career with the Phillies and Rangers. I have no memories of the game itself, but I still have the photos I took.