Johnny Baseball Program: Authors’ Note

Johnny O’Brien is a fictional character. There was a player called Johnny O’Brien who played second base for Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Milwaukee in the 1950s. His twin brother Eddie O’Brien also played for Pittsburgh. They were the first twins to play on the same team in a major league game. There is no connection between this Johnny O’Brien and our character.We just liked the name.

There was also a major leaguer called Fred Snodgrass, who played for the Giants and the Braves between 1908 and 1916. There is no relation between him and our character. Again, we liked the name. The Worcester Boosters played in the Eastern League 1919–1921. They were not extant in 1948. We have created a fictional affiliation between the Boosters and the Red Sox. Willie Mays did not try out at Fenway Park in 1948 or ever. The highly touted Mays was playing for the Negro League’s Black Barons, which had a lease agreement with the Birmingham Barons, a Red Sox affiliate. As part of this agreement the Sox had the exclusive rights to sign Mays. The Sox had been strongly encouraged to scout him. Larry Woodall, a scout for the Sox, was in Alabama to see Mays, but there was rain and he refused to stay until it passed. He was reported as saying, “I am not going to waste my time waiting for a bunch of niggers.”

In another accounting of the Mays debacle, a scout named George Digby told the Red Sox that Mays was the greatest single talent he had ever seen. Joe Cronin, the manager at the time was reported as saying, “We have no use for the boy at this time.”

For dramatic purposes we have Willie Mays trying out at Fenway Park in 1948. But the inspiration for this is drawn from a notorious chapter in Red Sox history.

Following World War II and the heroic military service of many African-Americans, there was pressure on the Red Sox to integrate. The most persistent of their critics was a Boston City Councilman named Isadore Muchnick, who threatened to challenge the waiver of Boston “Blue Laws” which allowed the Red Sox to play games on Sunday. In response to pressure from Muchnick and several sports writers, including Wendell Smith, Doc Kountze, and Dave Egan, the Red Sox held a tryout for three Negro League stars on April 16, 1945. After several delays, Jackie Robinson, Marvin Williams, and Sam Jethroe worked out for Red Sox management. It is said that a voice was heard from the stands yelling, “Get those niggers off the field!” While some believe it was owner Tom Yawkey, General Manager Eddie Collins, or Manager Joe Cronin, it has never been conclusively proven and some historians would argue that such a statement was not in keeping with Eddie Collins’ character.. We have combined Isadore Muchnick with these sportswriters in the fictional character of Kaplan.

Institutional racism was not the sole provenance of the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees reportedly refused to give Willie Mays a tryout, despite glowing reports on his talent from the scouting community. Other teams that notably passed on Willie Mays include the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Braves. Many believe that Willie Mays was the best ever to play the game.

—Richard Dresser and Willie Reale