Bill Owen, radio and television announcer, reminisces sixty years of entertainment.
Bill Owen, radio and television announcer, reminisces sixty years of entertainment.
Famous Baseball Families
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Well, hi everybody. This is Bill Owen, back behind the microphone once again for a podcast. It's been a while since we got together, so let's do it. We're going to talk about America's famous baseball families. Baseball, the so-called great American pastime. And I mean families such as the DiMajos, Joe and Dominic and Vince, the Aloos, the Delahantes, there were five brothers. The Griffiths, the Boyers, the Boons, and then Fred Walker, better known as Dixie Walker, and his brother Harry the Hat Walker. And by the way, he got that nickname from adjusting his cap between pitches while he was at bat. Dixie was from Villarica, Georgia, that's in the Atlanta area. He was known to Brooklyn Dodger fans as the People's Churse, in the Brooklynese accent of those days. The People's Churse. He played with the Yankees earlier, then the White Sox, then the Tigers, then the Dodgers, and then finally the Pirates. He had a lifetime batting average, very impressive, 306. He later managed the Pirates, the Cardinals, and the Astros. And then there was his brother Harry, center fielder for the Cardinals. He was traded to the Phillies in the 1947 season, and he wound up with the Cubs. In that 47th season was a big one for him. He won the Nationally Title with a batting average of 363. But he was even more famous for a double in the 1946 World Series when the Cardinals were playing the Red Sox. He drove in Enus Country Slaughter from first base with a winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 7 dramatically to win the World Series. Incidentally, both Walkers batted left and threw right. A true baseball family, their father Ewart, who was the original Dixie Walker, he was a pitcher for the Washington Centers. Then there was Uncle Ernie Walker, an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns. Unfortunately, Dixie's legacy was tarnished by his opposition to Jackie Robinson joining the team in 1947. And Harold Pee Wee Reese, who got his nickname for being a great marbles player, Pee Wee. He had the opposite approach to Jackie and famously put his arm around Jackie when he became his teammate at second base. Well there's the story of Dixie and Harry Walker among the famous baseball families of Major League Baseball. Well, I always enjoy getting together with you, and I hope you look forward as I do to next time we do a box podcast here and uh talk about various subjects. Goodbye for now.