The "Grandfather of the Red Sox" Story

It was an ordinary day. Was reading the sports section of the morning paper when I noticed a small article about the death of Johnny Pesky who was a pro baseball player. May not mean much to you, but I remember Johnny from when I was a kid. Johnny was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1940 and made his major league debut on April 14, 1942. Played shortstop and third base for the Red Sox. Was a teammate of some pretty good players; Ted Williams, Boggy Doerr and Dom Dimaggio. In his rookie season he hit .331 which would usually be good enough for a batting title except for the fact that his teammate, Ted Williams, batted .356. World War II came and Johnny entered the service for those years. When he returned to the Red Sox in 1946 he batted .335. He ended his career with a .307 career batting average. In 1946 he was voted to the American League All-Star team as the starting Shortstop. On June 3, 1952 he was traded to the Detroit Tigers and then on June 14, 1954 he was traded to the Washington Senators. The Senators released him later that year and the Orioles picked him up in December of 1954. Finally, on April 14, he was released by the Orioles. Even though he was traded by the Red Sox, his love and loyalty remained with Boston. I remember him as the coach of the Lancaster Red Roses which was a Class "B" team for the Detroit Tigers who played their games about two blocks from my house when I was a young boy. Johnny only coached one year in Lancaster, 1958, but I remember him as a pretty neat guy. My friends Kenny H. and Dave G. and I would walk over the railroad bridge on the Manheim Pike to get to the field. Field was fantastic, at least to a young boy in the 50s. The stadium was build right along the Fruitville Pike with the 1st base side having maybe 20 rows of seats before it reached the road. Directly across from the ball field on the Fruitville Pike was the Southern Manheim Township Fire Company which had many a foul ball land on their roof. The bleachers on the 3rd base side were under cover until it reached 3rd base where the remainder were not protected from the elements. No seating in the outfield at all. Scoreboard was hand operated and was in dead center field. The backstop area was really small and it was tough for a runner to score on a passed ball or wild pitch. Quite a few games had to be halted after the 1st or 2nd inning so the sun could set behind the left field wall. Sun was a killer for the batters, catcher and umpire. I can still remember the concessions stand and the great hot dogs they had. My friends and I would head out behind the outfield wall when the teams would take batting practice. If we could get a ball that was hit over the wall, we would take it to the ticket box and they would let us into the game for free. Another ball would give us a free hotdog and drink. One day the guy in the ticket window was giving us a hard time and Mr. Pesky, who was returning to the Roses locker room walked over and helped us get into the game. Introduced himself and told us we were doing a good job retrieving the balls in the outfield. Pretty neat for kids in their early teens to get to meet the manager of the Red Roses. Well, Johnny Pesky eventually worked his way up the Boston ladder and became a coach, manager and eventually provided color commentary for the team. He was one of the team's most loved figures and the right-field foul pole at Fenway Park in Boston was given the name "Pesky's Pole" for it's short distance from home plate where many of Johnny's homeruns ended in the seats. The Grandfather of the Red Sox died August 13 at the age of 92. Many in baseball will remember him for his baseball skill and knowledge of the game, while my friends and I will remember him for his kindness and love of the youth in Lancaster that one year while managing our beloved "Red Roses." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: baseball card from Johnny's playing days, recent photo, a program from the 1959 season and a recent view of what is left of Stumpf Field in Lancaster. Notice how close the 1st base path is to the road.