The View from the Dugout: The Journals of Red Rolfe

Illustrations Gallery Pages 1.1-1.15

A product of the Tiger farm system, shortstop Johnny Lipon, like several others, played his best baseball in 1950. He collected 176 hits, which produced a .293 batting average. (Photograph courtesy William M. Anderson.) Just as players perform roles, third-base coach Dick Bartell was Red Rolfe’s whip in the Tiger den. Bartell had contributed mightily to Detroit’s 1940 American League championship team and brought a well-known reputation as a holler-guy and bench jockey to his new assignment as coach. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Neil Berry played in 109 games in 1949, but the acquisition of second baseman Jerry Priddy and the emergence of shortstop Johnny Lipon limited his playing time. Red Rolfe liked his speed. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Long-time fan favorite Dizzy Trout proved to Red Rolfe that he could still be an effective starting pitcher. His 13-5 record in 1950 literally kept the Bengals in the hunt when Virgil Trucks and Ted Gray dropped out of the rotation. (Photograph courtesy William M. Anderson.) Red Rolfe’s brain trust gathers for a briefing. Left to right: Rolfe, Ted Lyons, Rick Ferrell, and Dick Bartell. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) An absorbed skipper scrutinizes his hitters in the cage at Henley Field in 1951. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Red Rolfe meets the press at Lakeland during his first spring training as Detroit’s new manager in 1949. Standing left to right: Hal White, Don Lund, Pat Mullin, Saul Rogovin, Johnny Groth, Ted Gray, and Vic Wertz. Former player Eddie Mayo, who would become manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, is kneeling on the far left. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Outfielder Pat Mullin, left, and first baseman Don Kolloway pose on the dugout steps. Mullin could never seem to crack Detroit’s set outfield, although he filled in admirably when one of the big three slumped. Kolloway proved to be a valuable acquisition from the White Sox, hitting .279 over four seasons in the Motor City. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) The mainstays of the starting rotation during the Rolfe years (left to right)—Virgil Trucks, Fred Hutchinson, Hal Newhouser, Dizzy Trout, Ted Gray, and Art Houtteman. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Red Rolfe and the general manager who hired him, Billy Evans, survey the action at spring training in 1949. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Isabel and Red Rolfe arrive in Lakeland to begin spring training in 1952. Although a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Isabel Rolfe, like many women in this era, lived her life supporting her husband’s career. By keeping score for every game and quickly getting her scorecards into Red’s hands, she remained a major contributor to his ability to maintain a daily journal. Particularly following his death, Isabel became known as an exceptionally generous financial contributor to community projects in Pennacook, New Hampshire. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) When Red Rolfe held a team meeting, he was usually upset, and in this closed-door session, not everyone is listening. Some of the players are identifiable: third from left—Johnny Lipon, seventh—Hoot Evers, eighth—Pat Mullin, and ninth—Virgil Trucks. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Manager Red Rolfe seemed attracted to former New York Yankees. Left to right: Aaron Robinson, Jerry Priddy, Red Rolfe, Dick Kryhoski, and Charlie Keller. (Photograph courtesy William M. Anderson.) By 1952, everyone seemed to agree that the aging Detroit Tigers needed a change in personnel . Before the season began, general manager Charlie Gehringer engineered his first big trade, sending Gene Bearden, Bob Cain, and Dick Kryhoski to St. Louis for (left to right) Ben Taylor, Matt Batts, Dick Littlefield, and Cliff Mapes. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) Waiting to take batting practice at Henley Field in Lakeland, Florida, are (left to right) Johnny Groth, Joe Ginsberg, and Matt Batts. (Photograph courtesy Grand Rapids Public Library.) The established ace of the pitching staff, Hal Newhouser, had won twenty-one games in 1948 and compiled 152 victories en route to Cooperstown. (Photograph courtesy William M. Anderson.) After his brilliant season in Red Rolfe’s first campaign, in 1949, hard-throwing Virgil Trucks suffered with a nagging sore arm that probably cost the Tigers the pennant in 1950. Although he and his mates withstood...