Vol. I -- Issue 3 A Tribute to Mothers and Fathers FREE JOURNAL Almost a Cardinal: My Father’s Baseball Story curveball pitchers and not hard career as a pitcher. By John Gary Pendleton fastball pitchers. The Cardinals Now it’s 1934, he has 100 comes into play. Good luck and wanted a hard fastball throwing bucks and no baseball contract. bad luck. pitcher to mix things up. Well, He was a nice guy and made In 1934, the first vestiges Dazzy Vance is getting older by friends among the Cardinal’s of the St. Louis Cardinals this time in his career and is not front office, people like Lou “Gashouse Gang” was being impressing anyone, and Dizzy Bouton, so he was able to get formed around three pitchers Dean shows up for training with a few temp jobs there until he and a first baseman: Dizzy the flu! found a manufacturing position. Dean, his brother Paul (who It just so happened that the He tried to join the army but the Glen Hobbie, young boy, Gary, Nelson was known as Daffy Dean), a Cardinals played an exhibition ripped ligament in his right arm Briles. guy who figures in the story by game with Mark Twain Coal at restricted how much he could n 1934 my father, John the name of Dazzy Vance, and this time and a scout saw my lift, so he was classified 4F. IPendleton, injured his first baseman Ducky Milner. dad pitch, so they thought it My father’s baseball career pitching arm, which allowed Dazzy Vance was one of the would be a good idea to sign was over, but he was able to a pitcher by the name of principal hard throwing baseball my father to the team just in Dizzy Dean to be the winning pitchers of the 1920’s. case. They signed my father for pitcher for the 1934 Cardinals 100 dollars and were Baseball Club. While my thinking about calling father never made it into the him up because it was big leagues, his story is bound not clear that Dazzy, 41 up with one of the magical years old, was going to times in baseball history. And be able to do the job. the story goes like this: They were really looking John Pendleton was born for a pitcher who could October 4th, 1907 in Moberly, throw heat, but my father meet Joe Garagiola and Stan Missouri. He graduated from was a curveball man. He Musial. Dazzy Vance went on to high school just as the Great had a fine curveball, but pitch in 19 games in 1934 and Depression started and could I don’t think he threw a finished the season with a record not find a job. In the 1920’s ball faster than 86 mph of 15 and 2. Dizzy Dean pitched you could get a job in a factory Dazzy played for the in his life. My father looked the final game of the 1934 in St. Louis for .11 to .20 cents Brooklyn Dodgers and was an at the situation and knew he World Series for the Cardinals, an hour, so that’s where he amazing strikeout artist. He had could not throw like 21-year- who won the Series that year. went. Someone who worked one of the hardest fastballs and old Dizzy Dean, but he could Dean became a sportscaster later in that factory told him that, the Brooklyn Dodgers said of possibly replace Dazzy . if he in his career and I got to sit with since he had graduated from Dazzy that he could throw a could learn to throw a fastball. my dad in the press box with high school, he could go to one cream puff through the side of a So, my dad goes to the them one year. My dad was an year of college and be making a battleship. He threw so hard, so Cardinals with the proposition avid fan his whole life and did dollar an hour. So, he went back they say, that you couldn’t even that he could be Dazzy Vance’s go back and do some coaching to Moberly and went to a junior replacement. for a couple of minor league college for two years. During They accept clubs, but that did not pay that time, he took up playing and send him to anything, so after that he took baseball and earned a reputation their farm club work as a wage earner because as a pretty good pitcher for the to teach him to he had married my mother and Moberly Travelers. throw harder. had me. He eventually went to When he got out of college Much harder. work at Wagner Electric. he was about 22 and he went He thought My dad was disappointed looking for that dollar an hour he could be because people told him he job, but it had gone by the making $5000 was good enough to be in wayside. He then moved to a year, so off the majors, and then things Northeastern Missouri and he goes in the conspired against him and it started playing baseball in see the ball. spring of 1933 and he starts to didn’t happen. Had he not had the summer for a farm club Anyway, the Dodgers traded throw as hard as he can, and he the friends from baseball that called the Mark Twain Coal Dazzy in a complicated player ends up throwing his arm away. he hung out with, it would have Club. Because of his pitching deal and the Cardinals ended First he developed tendinitis, but been harder to bear. One of experience in college, he was up with him. They wanted him he wanted to beat Dazzy Vance those friends was Lou Bouton. recruited to be a principal because their principal pitchers, so bad that he just kept throwing Lou never had children so he pitcher. My father was a good Paul and Dizzy Dean and a and he tore the ligament in his would take orphaned boys to pitcher, but here is where luck guy named Tex Carleton, were elbow. That ended my father’s Continued on page 3 618-960-7252 WWW.OneLegacy.com [email protected] One Legacy This past month we’ve been busy in the Metro St Louis It's All About Mothers and Fathers area collecting new stories and 1 2 hosting events which invite 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 seniors to share stories from 11 12 their past. A special thank you 13 goes to The Highland Home in 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Mike Stith - then and now Highland IL for hosting our 8 elcome to our third week Legacy Sharing program 22 23 24 at their community. And thank 25 26 27 28 Wedition of The Family 29 30 Historian Journal! Thank you you to the City of Highland for 31 32 33 for the nice comments from sponsoring the event. 34 In this issue, we’ll be sharing 35 36 37 38 39 previous issues. 40 This monthly journal is a special stories about Mothers 41 42 43 44 45 celebration of the fascinating, and Fathers from around the 46 area, along with a few sports 47 48 49 50 51 real-life stories told firsthand 52 53 54 by those who have lived and memories and, of course, a pet 55 56 57 58 59 60 story about a wonderful dog breathed them. 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 As the founder and publisher named Glory! of this publication and as a Thank you again and please 69 70 www.CrosswordWeaver.com caregiver, I’ve had the privilege keep sending us your feedback. ACROSS 41 '20's auto 4 comic strip dad or sandwich 43 Adult beverage for dad And as always we’re looking for 43 wedding ring 6 game, mystic's devise with 45 Austria mountainous area of sitting in waiting rooms just 1 Roman goddess of love 44 ".........of the Bride" letters & numbers 46 Mama's mate new advertisers and sponsors 2 popular wedding flower 46 short hair style 7 aid for stranded auto 48 Wedding venue like the one you may be in and 5 brides throw it 47 cause for "excuse me" 9 dad's favorite chair 49 busy commotion too. Please help support story 8 Verdi opera 50 Golf stroke 13 pear-shaped, fretted instrument 51 4:00 refreshment in Britain of listening to incredible, true 9 Far from polite 52 annoying insect, type of fishing 15 Getting into bath tub sound 54 Baseball or Cricket game sharing in your community! 10 Pronoun for you and me 53 Decorate in a new style 16 one who saves the day segment stories from perfect strangers 11 Palmer's game 55 Said "Do or do not. There is no 17 Decorate in relief 56 Shrek e.g. 12 carpenter's box with a saw try" 19 Body wrapper 57 "before" to a poet -- stories that had a profound 14 Popular honeymoon island 58 depend on 22 Gift wrapper 59 bride's walk Yours along the journey, 18 wedding promises 60 Louisville slugger 24 wedding "band"?? 60 abolish 20 "Shop ... you drop" 61 Pretty view 25 baby food collector 62 catch some zzzz's impact on me. These stories also 21 Little bit of sunshine 63 "Lassie" character 26 "The ..... of Frankenstein" 64 Good round of golf 23 Monopoly "Do not.........." 65 Layered dessert 27 Father-daughter ....... 66 slang for diamonds have a profound impact on those Mike Stith 25 Cartwright dad 68 Ex-ugly duckling 28 Slang for TV "......