Ron Berler is a 1967 Staples High School graduate, and a longtime magazine and newspaper writer.
He played Westport Little League baseball, then was cut during tryouts at Long Lots Junior High and Staples.
He writes frequently about the sport. Some years ago, he wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated on Mose Solomon, the “Rabbi of Swat.” The other day, he posted it here, on Medium.com.
With the approach of both the baseball season and Passover, Ron has written this for “06880”:
Last July — a month after graduating — Staples High School’s Hiro Wyatt was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 3rd round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft.
The pitcher — who finished his Wrecker season 8-0, with an 0.51 ERA, 107 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 54 2/3 innings — was named Connecticut High School Coaches Association Player of the Year.
If he reaches the major leagues, he’ll be the second Westport native to do so. The first was Hezekiah Allen, in ’84.
1884, that is.
You might say Allen was a prodigy. He reached the big leagues at 21, the same age the Yankees’ Derek Jeter did. A sinewy 5-11, 160-pound catcher, Allen played just 1 game for the 1884 Philadelphia Quakers (now the Phillies), batting 3 times and smacking 2 singles, for a career average of .667.
The Philadelphia Quakers in 1884. Hezekiah Allen is probably not in this photo.
One might wonder: Given that his team would finish the season 39-73, with 1 tie, why wouldn’t manager Harry Wright offer him a second opportunity?
There’s good reason to believe Wright was just plain scared. Allen committed 3 passed balls in his 5 innings on the field, the equivalent of a rabbi dropping 3 matzoh balls in his lap before finishing his soup.
And yet honor him we must. To this day, Allen remains (as far as can be determined) our town’s sole, home-grown major leaguer. You can visit his grave in Willowbrook Cemetery.
And with the coming of the baseball season, it is time to pay tribute to a couple of the sport’s other very minor contributors. I’m thinking, for example, of Larry Yount, the older brother of Hall of Fame Milwaukee Brewers shortstop/ outfielder Robin Yount. Larry was a pitcher for the Houston Astros.
Well, not exactly. Near the end of the 1971 season, he was promoted to the big club. On September 15, with the team trailing the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in the 9th inning, Astros manager Harry “The Hat” Walker signaled for Larry to take the mound. It was the moment Larry had prepared for all his life.
He took the ball from Walker and threw several warmup pitches. Then suddenly, he stopped. His elbow, which had caused him minor pain while throwing in the bullpen, had suddenly grown worse. He called for the trainer and was removed from the game without having thrown a pitch.
And that was it for him. Though his arm soon healed, he never got another chance in the majors. Larry is quite possibly the only player to take the field in his one big league game and never actually play.
Mose Solomon
Which brings us, this Passover season, to Mose Solomon, who in September 1923 jumped from the low, low minors to the New York Giants.
Though the Giants were in first place at the time and would go on to win the National League pennant (they lost to the Yankees in the World Series, 4 games to 2 – the Yankees’ first championship), few fans were trekking to the Polo Grounds to see them play.
John McGraw, the Giants’ manager, blamed Babe Ruth, who would lead the majors that year with 41 home runs and further burnish his nickname, the Sultan of Swat.
Yet that season, Ruth was not the home run leader of all professional baseball. That title belonged to Solomon, a first baseman/right fielder for the Hutchinson (Kansas) Wheat Shockers of the financially unstable Southwestern League, who walloped 49 homers in 1923 against teams like the Salina Millers and the Coffeyville Refiners.
McGraw brought the slugger, who was Jewish, to New York and introduced him to the press, and to the city, as the Rabbi of Swat.
Great nickname. A name that promises the stuff of legend. And for the last month of the season, New York, which was 20 percent Jewish, went wild. As the newsboys from the Roaring ’20s would hawk, read all about it!
So as the 2024 baseball season nears, let’s not forget 20th-century players like Mose Solomon.
Or 19th-century ones like Hezekiah Allen.
Play ball!
(“06880” is the only place you’ll read about Hezekiah Allen. Looking back is part of our mission. So is looking forward. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
There’s the “Hebrew Hammer “ who hit 58 homers one year and I think was the first player to make $100,000 dollars. He wasn’t from Westport, but if you’ll excuse the play on words, he was a “staple” of the Detroit baseball team!
like some Jewish athletes on a staples lacrosse field Greenberg faced tremendous anti sentic remarks as a player. The Hank Greenberg Story is a movie that should be part of the Staples curriculum and shown at our library. I would guess 80 peycrvt of 06880 have no clue about t this history
Thanks, I neglected to mention his name, Hank Greenberg. I had no idea there was a movie about him.
You should elaborate on anti-Semitism faced by Staples lacrosse players. If such an issue exists, it should not be passed over but immediately addressed.
well said a few years ago a lacrosse game took place at Staples. One of Staples top players is Jew. During the game participants and players on a Jesuit School starting telling and screaming Yiddish words. I do not recall the words but its intention was to humiliate the Jewish player. It wasn’t the Middle East. it was a local Jesuit school if I am correct. if I am wrong forgive me but Dan and many others will know. The rabbis from Westport met with Jesuit clergy. No punishment was administered. it’s about 3 to 4 years ago to the best of my knowledge. The reply to baseball by Jack jogged my memory. The recent articles on bullying and bigotry also jogged my memory. it’s hard to believe this happened in 06880. it did. never forget
I believe Richard is talking about this:
https://06880danwoog.com/2018/06/02/opinion-time-to-defuse-the-bomb-squad/
I was always under the impression that “the Mick” was the first to be paid $100k a year and that wasn’t until 1963. A quick on the the internets show others being cited for this achievement, including “the Yankee clipper” and the “say hey kid”.
Joe DiMaggio was the first
Babe Ruth never got paid that much–but was paid more then Herbert Hoover, the president at the time. He famously replied that he was having a better year than Hoover.
We had a distant relative, last name Pierpont, that played for the Yankees in the early 20th century. His parents objected because the games would play on Sunday which was the Sabbath. Pierpont changed his baseball name to Stonebridge so they wouldn’t know.
Branch Rickey also wouldn’t play on Sunday. When he owned the Brooklyn Dodgers, they were sponsored by Wheaties–he wouldn’t allow beer or tobacco sponsors.
Randy: fascinating, thanks.
While I realize it’s not quite the equivalent of making it to Major League Baseball, I still think one of the best—and coolest—pro sports accomplishments by any Staples alum happened in 1977 when Tim Hunter, ‘71, scored a goal against the New York Cosmos who had all-time legends Pele, Beckenbauer, and Carlos Alberto on the field at the time.
And Tim’s younger brother, Paul, ‘73, was on the Cosmos’ bench that game.
Later in the season, Paul was in the starting lineup when the Cosmos won a semifinal match on its way to the NASL title—also an amazing pro sports accomplishment by Paul.
Coming back to baseball, I believe I was a better wiffle ball player than both Tim and Paul if my memory from an occasional game in their backyard is correct.🤨