By David Frownfelder
The Daily Telegram (Adrian)
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) -- In 1945, an 11-year-old Adrian boy had a summer to remember. Not only did World War II come to an end, but his favorite baseball team brought home the world championship -- the first post-war champions.
The Detroit Tigers, a team populated by a number of players who would not normally have been there, defeated the Chicago Cubs in seven games in a World Series that marked the last time the Cubs got that far. Many of these players were older and filling roles played by regular ballplayers who were fighting in World War II.
In 1945, the Detroit Tigers seemed to be a rag-tag collection of over-the-hill athletes and untested youngsters, but to Burge Carmon Smith, they were as exciting as the 1968 and the 1984 Tiger teams were to later generations. Smith, retired and living in Florida, has written a book that commemorates that season, "The 1945 Detroit Tigers: Nine Old Men and One Young Left Arm Win It All."
"I had turned 11 years old that summer. I love the Tigers and this was the greatest team I ever saw," he said. "They were a great bunch. I loved those guys."
What began as an essay toward an advanced degree for the retired teacher and coach in 2001 became the book after Smith talked with Red Borom, a utility infielder on the team, who lived in Texas. Borom put Smith in touch with Virgil Trucks, who referred him to other players for interviews.
"It took me about six years, but it worked out," Smith said.
The Tigers had one of the oldest rosters in baseball, with an average age of 32. The 1945 World Series is also famous for being the last time the Chicago Cubs ever made it to the fall classic. Detroit won the series in seven games.
The young left arm belonged to future Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser. "Prince Hal," as he was called, anchored a pitching staff that included such well-known Tiger names as Billy Pierce, Trucks -- who later threw two no-hitters in one season -- Paul "Dizzy" Trout and Stubby Overmire.
The team hit just enough to win. The line-up for most of the season included Roy Cullenbine, Eddie Mayo, Rudy York and Bob Richards.
Another Hall of Fame player came back late in the season and was a major factor in the Tigers World Series win. Hank Greenberg came back from the military in July to play the final two months of the regular season. He also hit the pennant-winning grand slam home run on the last day of the season in St. Louis to propel the Tigers into the World Series.
"I did a little bit of culture and history in the book," Smith said. "There were a lot of ethnic problems at the time. But when World War II came along, there was a tolerance given toward other people. In the war, we all had to work together. Patriotism was hot."
Greenberg was a hero in the Jewish community, Smith said. He was also a Detroit favorite, despite the anti-Semitism that was prevalent, and Smith touched on that in his book.
The idea of writing a book was far from Smith's mind when he was working as a senior clerk at the information desk at Florida Atlantic University in 2001. He was 67 and retired after a 39-year coaching and teaching career. But the Adrian native was convinced to enroll in the advanced degree program.
"I had taken courses in oral history and found I kind of liked doing that -- talking and telling stories," Smith said. "A lot of people would come up and talk to me and one guy told me about Red Borom, who was 94 and lived in Texas."
On a hunch, Smith called him. Borom invited him for a visit, and after a two-hour interview and talk at Borom's Richardson, Texas, home, the former player suggested Smith talk to other players. Borom called Trucks, who lived in Alabama. The pitcher referred him to James Outlaw, an outfielder on the team, and from there, one after another of the Tiger players became available for interviews.
Each man gave about two hours of his time to talk about that 1945 team. By the time he had finished, Smith had interviewed every living member of the team except one, Eddie Mayo. "We just couldn't seem to make connections," Smith said.
This was a magical year in the life of an 11-year-old boy. Smith said he remembered the relief and the joy when the war ended, but mostly, he remembered the joy of listening to Harry Heilman on the radio with the exploits of Smith's beloved Detroit Tigers. It was a feeling he did his best to capture in the book.
Published: Wed, Sep 29, 2010
