Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-05-27
WIN, LOSE OR
DNAW By FRANCIS sTANN
In the Morning Mail

IN THE NEXT MORNINGS MAIL there came this
letter from Ross Bumps Horning of 223 North Washing
ton street, Falls Church:
There is a warm, refreshing story in The Evening
Star about Stan Musal giving home to Mr. and Mrs
Dicke Kerr While ball players warmhearted, base
ball corporations not only cold-blooded but need
lessy So
I'm l947 playing second base for Hutchinson,
Kans, of the Western Association. This Chicago
Cubs farm. We in sixth place 1t in August
and we were not going anywhere,
Somewhere in Iowa a storm had blown down the
lights of Cub-owned park and Morrie Arnovich,
manager, sent to handle the situation in Iowa. AS
replacement Dickie Kerr to Hutchin
All of the players liked Kerr. Even then he could
throw batting practice with smooth motion
"All of the players stayed at the American Legion
Hotel in Hutchinson This hotel had huge lobby and
large porch that completely around two sides of it,
"oNE MORNING CAME downstairs and saw about
10 players talking to Mrs Kerr in the lobby didn't think
anything of and went out the door to my right to the
outside porch AS had gone out casually turned
my head to the left and there in chair Dicke Kerr
crying.
II quietly turned around went back inside to find
out what the trouble of the other players told
me that Kerr had received telegram saying that he
fired and that Larry Flynn the business manager would
handle the club until the end of the season.
There couldn't have been more than two weeks to
the end of the We couldn't possibly get into fourth
place There was point in doing that to Kerr. Mrs
Sheehan the Cub general manager in charge of the farm
system about Kerr This wasn't true All of the players
liked Kerr.
an fact we we're so upset about it that we Clipped
and called Sheehan at Wrigley Field in Chicago He told
that it of business which it wasn't of
course but just wanted to let him know that liked
Kerr. We also composed a letter, which mainly wrote
but don't think sent it after the phone call"
THE EX-MINOR Lacquer concludes
There nothing could do about it. All of US
had been fired here and there before but it seemed
heartlesS to fire who had been in baseball for
80 years without word and with flat telegram You can
imagine how Kerr must have felt to be tossed out of base
ball in Hutchinson with only two weeks of the to CO.
Ever since that time have wondered what became
of Dick Kerr and it wonderfully refreshing to read
about Stan Mua gift to his old friends and to know that
the Kerrs are getting along fine"
The story of MuSals personal relationship with Dckie
Kerr to date back l94O when Stan STRIPPING
pitcher for Dayona Beach of the Florida State League
Kerr was the manager and ex-southpaw of medium
size he might have in Musial another tidy guy with
ability
He could not know that Musal doubling in the out
field, would bust up his throwing shoulder and with it,
his pitching But Kerr did advise the young Pole
from Donora, Pa that all wasn't lost He could still hit
Dckie pointed out, and why not make it ineder
outfielder?
KNOWING MUSIAL little bit . knowing of his
intense interest in the game that's made him moderately
wealthy young Quail InuSI nave Deen graCelul TO
Kerr long before he met him. About the time Musia
born-in November l920-Dickie Kerr mentioned fire.
quenty in the public prints He of the Chicago
BLACK Sox the gamblers couldn't reach in the infamous
World Series with Cincinnati in 19.
On game-to-game betting Kerr, small southpaw like
Bobby Shanz oused it up for the fixerS though
couldn't stop the whole rotten After the Reds had
the first two games while people wondered what had
happened to the peerless Sox Kerr threw
at the Reds and by 80. He the sixth game by
54 going 10 innings. They played 5-out-of-s in the
World Series in that year.
The guys in the fix got the headlines Cicotte and
Jackson and Gandl and Weaver and moving to the
athletes in New York. there Abe Atte and Arnold
RothStein.
Kerr not only clean but he also valiant. Do
you suppose that Musa making the gesture that did
didn't have that in mind?