The Detroit tribune., 1962-05-19

Dear Edna:
We have been prseficing hard
every day. then playing games
al night. ! am so busy with
baseball that I won't have time
&c write . LOT. I'm having fun here
and everywhere ! 90. seeing
things I'll tell you about soon.
Say hello TO your brother and
all the kids for me. The two guys
I'm living with are from the Do.
miniesn Republic and they're
teaching me Spanish. Te Amo.
We have the toughest team in
the Midwest but we can't win
any games. ! guess you know why
we can't win any esmcs. That's
right. Nobody wins games but
me. Our team won't win a game
until pitch. Remember what /
told you. Mays made il and I'm
soinq TO make II. got 70.
miss you. Write soon.
Love
MIKE
Signed to a Cardinal contract
before finishing high school. Is
year-old Mike Jones. one season
out of the Little Leagues Of ST
Louis and infinite seasons away
from the major leagues of his
dreams. thought he had II made
lie soon learned otherwise.
II is also where the dream grew
In his first long season. profeS-
sional baSeball's youngest rookie
dreamed far more than he played
boy blesser with an aduls body
A boy blessed with an adults
body and a professional athletes
ability. he was still struggling TO
learn to live and succeed in a
mans world Enthusiastic and
confident in his weekly letters TO
his girl Edna Mitchell and his fam.
lily hundreds of miles away from
II Louis. he was unhappy SITTING
m the bench for keokuk. Iowa in
The Class d Midwest League. and
later he was uncertain. playing
occasionally for Johnson City.
r"nossec. in the Rookie League
Figuring out what to do with
Mike was a problem and no mat
ter what happened he had TO
suffer said UnSer. a one-time
i maior-leapue catcher with De
troit and Cincinnati who had fig
ured out what TO do with many
Youngsters before but none as
Young as Jones. a Negro.
I'VE knew he had TO play to
develop and be happy. but we had
to play the l9 and 20-ycar.olds
To see If they were ever going to
make it, Besides. with a l5.year.
old pitcher, you've cot TO be very
careful he doesn't throw his arm
out Whose fault was ito Certain
" not the kids guess bascballs
to blame"
Unser guessed right parti-
ally For years. baseball men. op-
posed to the system of giving
out sizable bonuses to unproven
Youngsters. yet still committed to
IT, liked TO listen TO a Joke on
themselves If this keeps up. we
will probably run out of kids and
thcre'll be no one left to give
money to- Frank Lane liked to
say. Then well have only one
thing left. Well have to start
bidding for the Little Leaguers y
II was a joke. everyone always
laughed, but no one Frank
Lane included - ever thought
it could possibly happen Mike
Jones of Webster Groves. a Ne
gro suburb of ST Louis, was not
Joke But he was a Little Lea
gucr or a khoury Lacquer. the
ST. Louis equivalent of it, and he
did receive bonus. One minute
he was kid playing across the
street who should have been in
terested in his school work and
then suddenly everyone started
talking about him" said his ia
ther. who works in a lead plant
The next thing we knew. Pitts
burgh. Kansas City. the White
Sox. the Cubs and the Cardinals
all were interested in Mike. Even
Ernie Banks called the house and
made an appointment to see him.
Can Voil imaoIn0 fhafo'