In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

2 Taking Flight with the Cardinals The change was 10 local baseball what helium is /0 balloons, Bing Crosby is to crooning. -Bill McCarthy describing rhe 51. Louis Cardinals' purchase of [he Red Wings following fhe 1927 season Several years after he became president and general manager of the debt-ridden St. Louis Cardinals in 1917, Branch Rickey proposed forming a network of minor-league teams whose main purpose would be to develop players for the big leagues. In baseball's pre-farm system days, minor-league clubs operated independently and would make profits by selling their star players to the major-league rcams making the highest offers. Rickey reasoned that if the cash-poor Cardinals couldn't afford to bid with cash-rich tcams such as the New York Yankees, rhey would have to develop a system where they grew their own stars. "Starring the Cardinal farm system was no sudden stroke of genius," the egotistical Rickey said in an uncharacteristically humble moment. "It was a case of necessity being the mother of invention." Initially, the idea was widely criticized by the baseball establishment , which derogatorily referred to it as "Rickey's chain gang." But Rickey was undaunted, and with the blessing of Cardinals owner Sam Breadon, the baseball visionary quietly went out and began purchasing teams and contracts of young players. Rickey bought into the Houston Buffaloes in the Texas League and got control of the entire player supply in the Nebraska State and Arkansas-Missouri leagues. In 1926, the Cardinals' top minor leaguers were assigned to the Sytacuse Stars of the 22 TAKING FLIGHT WITH THE CARDINALS 23 International League. Rickey occasionally would visit the Stars on scouting trips to Rochester, and he couldn't help but notice how the city was undergoing an economic as well as a population boom. It didn't take long for both Rickey and Breadon to determine that the Rochester market had much greater growth potential than did Syracuse, and therefore might be a better location for their highest-ranking minor-league affiliate. A bigger population base would mean bigger crowds, and bigger crowds would mean bigger profits for the parent club. It just so happened that, at the time, Rochester baseball was going through yet another round of musical owners. The wooden bleachers at Baseball Park on Bay Street were beginning to rot, resulting in declining attendance and public debate over the need for a new park. Despite the mess, the Cardinals remained interested in affiliating with Rochester. After the 1927 season, they terminated their agreement with Syracuse and transferred the entire Stars roster to Rochester. Although that roster included former star major-league players such as Rabbit Maranville and Heine Groh, Rochester went through twO managers and finished in sixth place. Owner Sam Weidrick, who the year before had spent $5,000 to purchase a pitcher from Reading who never reponed, could no longer keep the team financially afloat, and the franchise filed for bankruptcy. It appeared that for the first time in thirty-two years, Rochester would be without professional baseball. The Tribe's poor showing on the field and at the gate did not alter the belief of Rickey and Breadon that Rochester could become a baseball boomtown again. They purchased the team and, to show their commitment , announced that they would fund the building of a new ballpark. The Cardinals had done the same thing in Houston, but Rickey, in typical bluster, vowed that Rochester's new stadium would become "the envy of not only the minor leagues, but of several major-league cities as well." As McCarthy pointed out, the Cardinals offer to build a new ballpark "suggested that the St. Louis-Rochester nuptials would be sealed for a longer period than a Hollywood marriage." The renamed Rochester Red Wings would be headed by general manager Warren C. Giles and manager Billy Southworth, two men who would become prominent figures in Rochester baseball history. Before going on to gain fame as president of the Cincinnati Reds and later of the National League, Giles would establish himself as onc of the more popular GMs in Red Wings annals. "No front office ever had a morc efficient or progressive executive, a bener ambassador of public relations than the affable Giles," McCarthy gushed. Southworth had a managerial role in five International League pennants, including 1930, when he led perhaps the greatest minor-league team of all time. [18.118.7.85] Project MUSE (2024-04-16 08:08...

Share