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The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., is a community-supported educational and research organization that collects, interprets, and shares the history of our nation’s capital. Founded in 1894, it serves a diverse audience through its collections, public programs, exhibits, and publications. THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS FINDING AID
Title: MS 591 The Joseph S. Branzell Papers, 1930s-1998.
Processors: Gail Redmann, Tom Reese, Andria Leo Field
Date: April 5, 2003
Joseph S. Branzell (1918-1997) was born in Georgetown on December 6, 1918, the son of Isaac and Agnes Branzell. He grew up on the 3200 block of P Street and attended Holy Trinity School. In 1931, he became a charter member of the Georgetown Branch of the Washington Boys Club. His relationship with the Boys Club and the passion for team sports that he developed there would remain throughout his life. He was a member of the Georgetown Boys Club championship 135-pound football team in 1935, the same year he graduated from Gordon Junior High School. Childhood friend Frank Cady also recalls his success as a first baseman on local sandlot softball teams. Joe joined the staff of the Boys Club in 1939.
Joe was also an all around athlete at Central High School, but left school to care for his beloved father who was suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. In 1958, upon being named “Mr. Washingtonian” by the Junior Chamber of Commerce for over two decades of work with the Boys Club, he noted that “When I was a kid I was always the leader of the bunch,” but because of his father’s illness and early death in 1941, “I never had the guidance or education that every kid ought to have.”
After serving in the Navy during WWII, Joe returned to the Georgetown Boys Club to begin a lifetime of providing leadership and guidance. Joe coached and managed many Boys Club teams, but the most successful were the high school all-star teams that were created in 1946 under the initial sponsorship of Marx Jewelers. The teams consistently outshone other amateur leagues in the Mid-Atlantic region, taking the American All-Star Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) championship in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1949. Joe continued to develop this team, choosing the best high school baseball players in the metropolitan region for an arduous summer season of practice and traveling competition. From 1950 to 1954, the team was known as the Washington Boys Club Varsity Baseball Team. In 1955, it reached its most successful incarnation under the sponsorship of E.K. Morris, owner of the Federal Storage company. The Federal Storage team dominated the local Clark C. Griffith Memorial League and won four AAABA championships between 1955 and 1962, when it lost the sponsorship of Federal Storage and disbanded.
Joe served as Director of the new Jelleff Boys Club on S Street in Georgetown from 1953 to 1961, when he was hired as a metropolitan area Scout for the expansion Washington Senators, 2 which later became the Texas Rangers. He was a local scout for the Rangers until his death. Joe also served as Director of Athletics and Football and Basketball Coach at Maret School, 1964-1966, and as Chief Personnel Scout and Recruiter for the University of Maryland football team, 1967-1968. Although no longer an employee of the Boys Club, Joe continued to coach and mentor the young men on his Boys Clubs teams.
Some of the young men who played on the Federal Storage teams went on to careers in professional sports, but Joe Branzell taught the boys on all of his teams more than just the rudiments of skill and strategy. Several members of the Federal Storage Alumni Association recall a tough but caring counselor who taught boys skills they would need in life, such as self- discipline, self-respect, and self-confidence. Tom Brown, former all-pro defensive back for the Green Bay Packers, remembers a “great teacher of young men” who taught “the fundamentals in baseball and life.” On October 9, 1997, Brown, along with Ray Miller, then pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles and former Federal Storage player, and Joe Klein, former Washington Senator and then General Manager for the Detroit Tigers, presented a tribute to Joe as a “father figure to thousands of young men in our region” as part of the ceremonial first pitch of the final American League playoff game.
Bob Glaser, former Brooklyn/L.A. Dodger and Federal Storage team member, compares Joe, a devout Catholic, to the legendary Father Flanagan of Boys Town, a strong leader who demanded respect, but earned it through his encouragement and support. After Joe’s death on September 28, 1997, his priest, Rev. Msgr. John F. Hogan of Holy Trinity Parish, eulogized Joe for recognizing that “sports were not mere games, but ways of expressing total team dedication, which could be translated into winning life styles.”
Scope and Content: The Joseph S. Branzell Papers, 1930s-1998, are arranged in three series. Oversized materials are described at the end.
SERIES I: SCRAPBOOKS consist of Joseph Branzell’s personal memorabilia and newspaper articles about Washington Bys Club sporting events and teams.
SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS is arranged in two sub-series. For photographs for which a negative exists, a notation has been made on the reverse of the photo. Negatives are stored separately in folder order. See reference staff to view negatives for which prints are available.
Sub-series A: Joe Branzell Photographs consists of photographs of Joe Branzell, family, friends, a Holy Trinity School reunion, and his career as a major league baseball scout, 1940s-1990s.
Sub-series B: Youth Sports Photographs consists of photographs documenting youth activities in Washington. primarily related to the local Boys Clubs. The images of sports teams include both action shots and group portraits. In addition to team sports, the collection documents other activities of the Boys Clubs, including the marching band, majorettes, Christmas parties, dances, 3 marbles tournaments, and parades. A small portion of the collection is devoted to youth activities Joe directed through his affiliations with the Big Brothers program and Holy Trinity and Maret Schools. Most of the photographs are undated and the people in the photographs are not specifically identified. When possible, dates are provided in folder descriptions. Most of the photographs of Boys Club events date from the 1940s-1960s, but most of them are not dated. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by type of sport; other activities follow, arranged alphabetically by subject. Teams are arranged within a particular sport alphabetically by the first letter of the team name shown on uniforms. The series includes some photographs of non-Washington Boys Club teams and Washington Senators and other professional teams.
SERIES III: MOTION PICTURE FILM consists of 26 rolls of 16 mm film. They are dated from 1949 through 1961 and undated. The subject matter is mainly (25 reels) Boys Clubs of Washington football games, in which the teams are divided into weight groups listed in categories of 80 lb., 90 lb., 115 lb., 120 lb., and 140 lb. There is one reel of baseball footage.
Donor: The Estate of Joseph Branzell, 1998.080
Size: 2.85 cubic feet (4 containers and 1 oversize folder)
Restrictions: None
Preferred Citation: [Identified item], Joseph S. Branzell Papers, [cont. #, folder #]. The Historical Society of Washington, D.C./City Museum.
Related materials: Photographs CHS 10660A-P
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Container List
SERIES I: PERSONAL MEMORABILIA AND NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
Container 1
Folder 1: Certificate awarded to Joe Branzell for completing a course in the organization and administration of a boys club, 1948; Major League Scout identification card, 1993; Testimonial Dinner ticket, April 22, 1978; and “Casey at the Bat” poem.
Folder 2: Correspondence, 1952 – 1990; concerning Boys Club and other sports activities.
Folder 3: Diagrams of football plays.
Folder 4: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1933-1939.
Folder 5: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1940-1944.
Folder 6: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1945-1946.
Folder 7: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1947.
Folder 8: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1948.
Folder 9: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1949.
Folder 10: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1950.
Folder 11: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1951-1953.
Folder 12: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1954.
Folder 13: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1955.
Folder 14: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1956.
Folder 15: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1957-1959.
Folder 16: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, 1960-1966.
Folder 17: Newspaper clippings of Boys Club activities, undated.
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Folder 18: Newspaper clippings of Maret High School activities, 1964-1965.
Folder 19: Programs and program notes for Boys Club activities, 1930s-1950s, including National City 135 lb. football league schedule, 1938; All-High, All-Prep basketball games, 1947-1954;Santa Claus Bowl (Lakeland, Florida), December 1952, and related testimonial dinner for the National Midget Football Champions, February 1953; Jelleff Branch brochures and history, 1953-1954, and proposed expenditures, ca. 1950s; All-American Amateur Baseball Association tournament report, 1956; and Camp Reeder brochure, ca. 1950s.
Folder 20: Programs and program notes for Boys Club activities, 1960s, 1990s, consisting of tournament elimination chart, All-American Amateur Baseball Association, 1960; Federal Storage baseball team banquet program, 1962; Jelleff Branch awards programs, 1963, 1968; Memorial Day program, 1991; reunion notices, 1995-1997, and Fiftieth Annual Reunion program, 1996.
Folder 21: Speech cards, 1956, 1961.
Folder 22: Training manuals and instructional materials for Boys Club leaders, including personnel forms, 1940s.
Folder 23: Audio tapes of interview with Joe Branzell, December 17, 1996.
Folder 24: Video tributes to Joe Branzell, 1997, 1998.
Clippings from Basketball Scrapbooks
Folder 25: First Annual All-Star Game, 1947.
Folder 26: Fifth Annual All-Star Game, 1947.
Folder 27: Sixth Annual All-Star Game, 1952.
Folder 28: Seventh Annual All-Star Game, 1953.
Folder 29: Eighth Annual All-Star Game, 1954.
Folder 30: Ninth Annual All-Star Game, 1955.
Folder 31: Tenth Annual All-Star Game, 1956.
Folder 32: Eleventh Annual All-Star Game, 1957.
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Folder 33: Advertisements (for companies that supported the All-Star Game?)
SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS
Sub-series A: Joe Branzell Personal Photographs
Container 2
Folder 34: Personal photographs (black and white), 1940s-1980s of Joe Branzell, family and friends (most unidentified), including an image of Joe and a friend at Chevy Chase amusement park, 1940s. Also includes a photograph of two baseball players, one in a Pittsburgh Division uniform and one in an Arlington uniform, with a small boy in a baseball uniform, undated and unidentified, ca. 1930s?
Folder 35: Holy Trinity Grade School reunion, 1960, including copies of Holy Trinity grade school class pictures, 1926-1929. Includes negatives.
Folder 36: Personal photographs (color), 1970s-1990s, of Joe Branzell, friends, and events related to his career as a major baseball league scout.
Sub-series B: Youth Sports Photographs
Baseball
Folder 37: All-Stars, 1946 and undated.
Folder 38: All Stars (tinted), undated.
Folder 39: Baltimore Orioles, St, Louis Cardinals – players’ portraits, undated.
Folder 40: Bowie’s (WBC), undated.
Folder 41: Brooklyn (NY) Navy Yard, undated.
Folder 42: Corson and Gruman (WBC), 1954.
Folder 43: Chrysler Leary’s Service Plymouth, undated.
Folder 44: Doc Bell’s Yankers, undated. 7
Folder 45: Federal Storage – ellipse, Johnstown champs, 1956 (Branzell, mgr); alumni photos, 1959 Clark C. Griffith champs on blazer; 1955 Branzell, mgr; 1959, Branzell, mgr; (5th place, Johnstown, 1959); 1961, Branzell, mgr.
Folder 46: Foggy Bottom, 1947.
Folder 47: Georgetown Boys Club, undated.
Folder 48: Hennage Lithograph, undated.
Folder 49: Hinkles Cleaners, ca.1958.
Folder 50: Holloran Murray Post #55 (American Legion), undated.
Folder 51: Hutchinson Furniture, undated.
Folder 52: Jelleff Branch, 1954, 1959.
Folder 53: Joseph A. Herbert’s Son, undated.
Folder 54: Judd and Detweiler, 1954.
Folder 55: Lion’s Club of Georgetown, undated.
Folder 56: Marx Jewelers – Baseball, 1949 (D.C. champs; Johnston Runner-up); coach: Jim Munro; manager: Joe Branzell.
Folder 57: May Hardware, undated.
Folder 58: National Capital Optimists Club, undated.
Folder 59: N.Y. Life – Arlington, 1955.
Folder 60: Peoples Drug Store, undated.
Folder 61: Jack Pumphrey, ca.1958.
Folder 62: Roma Restaurant, ca.1958.
Folder 63: Rotary Club, undated.
Folder 64: Sealtest Milk, undated. 8
Folder 65: Sommers Camera Exchange, undated.
Folder 66: Unidentified or mixed team games and trainings, 1945, 1950s and 1960s.
Folder 67: Washington Boys Club, 1951-54.
Folder 68: Washington Flour, 1946.
Folder 69: Washington Senators– team and individual portraits, ca. 1961-1971.
Folder 70: Washington Senators– team and individual portraits, ca. 1961-1971.
Folder 71: Washington Senators, Jim Lemon, ca.1959.
Basketball
Folder 72: All-High - All-Prep teams and games, 1950.
Folder 73: Arlington Boys Club, undated.
Folder 74: Benson Jewelry, undated.
Folder 75: BPO Elks no. 15, undated.
Folder 76: Cammerer’s Calc-Adders, ca. 1958.
Folder 77: Crown Moppers, undated.
Folder 78: D.C. Tax –Post 51, 1948.
Folder 79: Doc Belle’s Yankers, ca.1958.
Folder 80: Georgetown Boys Club, 1936-37, 1950’s.
Folder 81: Girls teams, ca. 1950s
Folder 82: Hennage Lithographs, ca.1958.
Folder 83: Jelleff Branch, 1958-59.
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Folder 84: Maret School, 1965.
Folder 85: May Hardware, 1963-64.
Folder 86: Portraits - Individual team members, no specific team identified; some identified by name, 1950s-1960s.
Folder 87: Potter Equipment, undated.
Folder 88: Unidentified and mixed team games and trainings, 1950s-1960s.
Folder 89: Uptown Optimists Club, undated.
Folder 90: Washington Boys Club, 1954.
Football
Folder 91: Big Brothers, teams and individual players, undated.
Folder 92: Big Brothers, Georgetown – 50th anniversary, March 20, 1993.
Folder 93: Connors Grill/Georgetown Trojans– Sandlot football champions, 1944-45.
Folder 94: Georgetown Boys Club, 1930s-1940s.
Folder 95: Georgetown Boys Club, 1950s-1960s, and undated
Folder 96: Hot Shoppe, Jr. 120 lb. Division, ca. 1960s.
Folder 97: Jelleff Branch, 1963.
Folder 98: Maret School, undated.
Folder 99: National Capital Optimists, 1958.
Folder 100: Portraits - Individual players and coaches, undated.
Folder 101: Portraits - Team photographs, most unidentified, undated.
Folder 102: Riverside Rollers, 1950.
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Folder 103: Trinity A.C., 1937 (Includes photo of “Plansky” team with Holy Trinity Church in the background. ca. late 1920s, early 1930s.)
Folder 104: Unidentified games, 1930s-1960s.
Folder 105: Washington Boys Club, 1948, 1953.
Various Subjects
Folder 106: Archery, ca.1956 and undated.
Folder 107: Arts and Crafts, including model airplane building, drawing, woodworking (ALSO includes “Soapbox Derby”), and photography, ca.1939-1960s.
Folder 108: Awards banquets and ceremonies, 1940s-1950s.
Folder 109: Awards banquets and ceremonies, 1960s.
Folder 110: Awards banquets and ceremonies, 1970s-1980s. (color)
Folder 111: Boxing, undated.
Folder 112: Boy Scouts, 1939 and undated.
Folder 113: Boys Club Band and Majorettes, including parades, 1949.
Folder 114: Building exteriors, Eastern and Georgetown (Jelleff) branches, ca. 1950s.
Folder 115: Camping, picnics, ca. 1950s.
Folder 116: Celebrity events, undated.
Folder 117: Choir, ca. 1950s.
Folder 118: Christmas parties, 1950s
Folder 119: Circus (horseback riding act and caged tiger; no identification of group attending), undated.
Folder 120: Dances – Gordon Junior High School, 1952.
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Folder 121: Games, including bobbing for apples, bingo, marbles, checker/chess tournaments, role-playing, and other games, 1950s-1970s.
Folder 122: Groundbreaking, ca. 1950s (Jelleff Branch, 1952?)
Folder 123: Health, including photographs of Health Department activities, ca. 1940s, and winner of the “Healthiest Boy Contest,” undated.
Folder 124: Homecoming Queens; candidates, 1957, and parade, 1961.
Folder 125: Jelleff Boys Club construction, 1952-1953.
Folder 126: Library activities, undated.
Folder 127: Memorial Day, ca.1960s (one color view with Boys Club boys); 1993, 1996 (Boys Club Alumni).
Folder 128: National Capital Optimist Club, awards, 1940s-1950s, donation of van for the Boys Clubs of Greater Washington, 1972.
Folder 129: Other Activities, 1936, 1939, 1945, 1956-1958, 1961, and undated.
Folder 130: Outings, including a trip to New York, ca. 1958, and unidentified locations, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s.
Folder 131: Parades, depicting sports teams and “Boys Club Sweetheart,” ca. 1950s.
Folder 132: Pool, undated.
Folder 133: Portraits – individual: Lavezzo, Steve Mason, Billy Bromley, Mile Zahra, John Dill, Chris Dill, Sammy Howell, Dan Morrison, Tim Cavanaugh, Ivan Gorman, Charles Cotton, Jim Papanicoloa, Bobby Papanicoloa, Lopez, Bill Webber, Jimmy Binns, Harry Dalton, Roland Hemond, and some unidentified; photocopies of oversized portraits, undated.
Folder 134: Portraits – group, undated.
Folder 135: Swimming, undated.
Folder 136: Tumbling, undated.
Folder 137: Negatives; Georgetown Boys Club 135 lb. football team (two negatives), 1934; Georgetown Boys Club 135 lb. football team (two negatives), 1935; Georgetown Boys Club football team with Coach Joe Branzell, 1939; Georgetown Boys Club 105 lb. city football 12 champs, (two negatives – one large with players names listed and one smaller without names), 1942; Connors Grill/ Georgetown Trojans 165 lb. football team (two negatives), 1944-45; Marx Jewelers baseball team, National City Jr. Champs at AAABA Tournament, 1947; Jelleff 75 lb. football team champs, 1964; Series of 21 negatives of the National Capital Optimists Club donation of a van to the Boys Clubs of Washington, 1972; Series of 19 negatives of trophies, ping pong, basketball, swimming pool, Jelleff building, dog, dog with older man, and countryside scenes, undated; Series of 21 negatives of diving, swimming, baseball, and archery, undated.
Container 3
Folder 138: Portraits – individual; Calvin Bryant, Buddy Disney, Wayne Gochenour, Johnny Herbert, undated.
Folder 139: Portraits – individual; Henry Hester, Bubby Kelliher, Carl King, undated.
Folder 140: Portraits – individual; Mike King, Billy Lacy, Steve Mason, George McCarthy, undated.
Folder 141: Portraits –individual; Danny Wheeler, unnamed boy, unnamed man, undated.
Folder 142: Portraits (Sports) – group; Baseball: Holloran Murray Post 55, 1945, Hutchinson Furniture, 1946, Marx Jewelers, 1947, Bunker Hill runner up, 1955, Washington Flour, 1946, Georgetown Boys Club / Holloran Murray Post 55, undated. Basketball: Georgetown Boys Club, 1939-1940. Football: Georgetown Boys Club, 1935.
Folder 143: Portraits (Misc.)– group; 60 men including Joe Branzell, undated, Jelleff Boys Club Band, undated, four boys camping, 1953, Carling Open – benefit for Washington Boys Clubs, 1961.
Folder 144: Awards banquet ceremony photos, individual and group, undated.
Folder 145: Awards banquet ceremony photos, individual and group, undated.
SERIES III: MOTION PICTURE FILM
Container 4
Football
1. 80 lb, 1949. 13
2. 80 lb, 1949.
3. 80 lb, 1949.
4. Half Time and 120 lb, ca.1950.
5. 120 lb, ca.1950.
6. 90 lb, ca.1950.
7. 105 lb., ca.1950.
8. 80 lb. vs. Merrick, 1950.
9. 80 lb. vs. Merrick, 6-6 tie, 1950.
10. 80 lb. Potato Bowl, West vs. East, 0-0, 1951.
11. 80 lb. Potato Bowl, West vs. East, 0-0, 1951.
12. 90 lb. vs. Alex. (Alexandria?) at the Ellipse, Saturday December 1, 1951.
13. 90 lb. vs. Alex. (Alexandria?) at the Ellipse, Saturday December 1, 1951.
14. 120 lb. West vs. East, Rosedale ca.1951.
15. 140 lb. Thanksgiving; West 25, East 12, 1951.
16. West Br. (Branch?) vs. Merrick 115 lb., Saturday November 8, 1952.
17. West Br. (Branch?) vs. Merrick 115 lb., Saturday November 8, 1952
18. Santa Claus Bowl, 1956.
19. Santa Claus Bowl Activities, 1956.
20. Santa Claus Bowl Activities, 1957.
21. Camp Winslow (film exposed), 1961.
22. Camp Winslow (film exposed), 1961.
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23. Camp Winslow (film exposed), 1961.
24. Camp Winslow (film exposed), 1961.
25. Last Half (of game ?), 120 lb., undated.
Baseball
26. Opening of baseball league, April 30, 1955.
Folder 146 (oversized): Joseph S. Branzell’s Gordon Junior High School Graduation Certificate, January 31, 1935; “Farewell to RFK” Redskins Poster, 1996; Signed poster for the book, Walter Johnson: Baseball’s Big Train written by Henry W. Thomas, undated; Hand painted caricature of Joe Branzell on a poster, autographed by team members, February 24, 1973.