Joe Sewell interview
Date1986 August 01
DescriptionFour audio cassettes featuring an interview with Joe Sewell conducted by Rod Roberts on behalf of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York on October 1, 1986.
Object numberHF-1994-0001-013
Interviewer
Roberts, Rod
Interviewee
Sewell, Joe, 1898-1990
Subject
Sewell, Joe, 1898-1990
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Collection NumberBA RMA 001 Rod Roberts oral history collection
Library Call NumberCTA 756
Library Call NumberCTA 759
Library Call NumberCTA 754
Library Call NumberCTA 755
Dimensions4 audio cassettes
TrannscriptionCassette 1 Side One -- Track 1 - Born in Titus, AL on Oct. 9, 1898, the capitol on the world; his father was a country doctor practicing medicine for 40 years in the horse and buggy days; he hitched up many a horse; had to take care of seven horses; had three brothers, Luke was in baseball for 22 years, played for Cleveland Indians and managed the St. Louis Browns; Tommy was with the Chicago Cubs, was in baseball 9 years; oldest brother Toxey played college and semi-pro ball, even though he was the best athlete, but he went into World War I and became a doctor, he was named after a medical professor, he only lived until 29; mother and father both born and raised in Titus, within a mile of where he was born; father's mother was born in Ireland, maiden name was Kelly; the family background was English, Irish and Scottish; mother's maiden name was Hannon (00:00:00 to 00:03:49) Track 2 - Titus formerly had two stores and a post office, now only one store and a post office; they put a plaque up honoring Sewell after he was inducted into the Hall of Fame; baseball was all they had to do growing up, played baseball year round, every crossroads had a baseball team and they'd play anyone; good athletes came out of that country; Titus only had a grammar school that went through 9th grade; finished high school in Wetumpka, AL, the county seat, 15 miles away went in a T-Model Ford; then went to University of Alabama in 1916, he and Luke went to University together; two sisters went to Montgomery to what is now Huntington College; another sister and the boys went to Wetumpka in the T-Model Ford (00:03:49 to 00:07:46) Track 3 - High school had football and baseball, no one paid much attention to basketball; had a good baseball team; had some good athletes; he played with his brothers as long as he can remember, he used to be the "pigtail," the boy who stood behind the catcher to get the foul balls; one day they put him in the outfield, he could always hit; he was always able to get the bat on the ball; he could throw up a bottle cap or a rock and hit it with a broom handle or a stick, developed reflexes, coordination and timing; he very seldom struck out, just kept looking at the ball; the easiest part of the Major Leagues was hitting; he can see the ball leave the bat; today's players getting paid a million and they miss the ball by 6-8 inches, even a foot, because they aren't looking at the ball; in 1925 Sewell went to bat over 600 times and struck out 4 times, took the third strike three out of those four, one of those was a bad call by Bill McGowan, he was a good umpire, but he made a bad call, and he came out the next day and apologized to Sewell for blowing the call; he never cussed out an umpire and was never thrown out of a game in his life (00:07:46 to 00:13:30) Track 4 - Played a variety of positions; didn't have much fun pitching; played in the town team and in high school; towns would close up shop to come to the baseball games; in college in went to Birmingham and played in the TCI League, Tennessee Coal Iron Railroad Co., division of US Steel; gave him a job for $90 a month to play (00:13:30 to 00:15:53) Track 5 - On finishing college in 1920, was in the Army during WWI for three months, then went back to school; he joined Cleveland Indians in 1920, had signed a contract with a New Orleans club for a month and a half; Ray Chapman got killed so the Indians needed a shortstop and called him up; finished out that year with the Indians, and went back and finished college mid-term and got his diploma in 1921 (00:15:3 to 00:18:30) Track 6 - On college graduates in baseball, Larry Gardner, finished University of Vermont; Bill Wambsganss studied for the Lutheran ministry; in the outfield, Joe Wood, Elmer Smith, Tris Speaker, Charlie Jamieson; catcher was (Steve) O'Neill; a good ball club, some of the nicest people you ever wanted to be around (00:18:30 to 00:19:44) Track 7 - On Stan Coveleski, one of the best spitball pitchers he ever saw; had no problem with the spitball; some of the boys hitting today couldn't hit their weight with a real spitball; Burleigh Grimes, John Quinn, Red Faber, Ed Walsh good spitball pitchers; Coveleski as good as you'd ever see; fellows today can't hit a knuckleball, must less a spitball; Coveleski could throw a spitball sidearm, and it breaks like a curveball, right-handed hitter would fall on the ground and the ball would break over the plate for a strike; Coveleski had good control; a quiet man; Speaker was the manager and they used to have a meeting with the club; one day Coveleski was going to pitch and Speaker was going over the batting lineup for the opposite team and ever batter, Coveleski said he was going to fire that spitball at him, every pitch; never said a word to anyone who made an error behind him, would pat them on the back, so they played every game as hard as they could (00:19:44 to 00:23:55) Track 8 - Enjoyed every minute of baseball, dedicated to the game, tried to improve every day, no easy way to play baseball; the only thing that has changed is the batter's box; game is the same but the players are different (00:23:55 to 00:25:05) Track 9 - (Machine squealing on this track, duplicate track spliced in below as Track 10) On Chapman getting killed; people being upset and demoralized; he joined Cleveland without ever seeing a Major League game; thought all Major League players were superhuman; took him two days to get over his nerves, then was never nervous again; if you're qualified and can do the job, never have a problem in the Major Leagues; first day he got to Cleveland, they were playing the Yankees; Babe Ruth was just starting, and Sewell saw him hit is 28th and 29th home run; Doc Johnson playing first base got five base hits in five times up and stole home; Elmer Smith went to right-center and caught a ball back handed that was like it was shot out of a gun; he felt he didn't belong; when he got to Cleveland, outfielder Joe Evans was playing shortstop, doing the best he could as an outfielder; the next day, they brought in the Athletics, getting dressed next to George Burns, and manager Tris Speaker told him he was playing shortstop that day, so he got ready, had a crummy glove and a pair of shoes and a jock strap, didn't have a bat, but liked using a Ty Cobb bat; Cobb was his idol; Burns had him pick out three bats; picked out one bat and used it that day, got two base hits, and went down to the shop and balanced the bat to 40 ounces, he still has the bat in his showcase in Tuscaloosa; used it 16 years in the Major Leagues, just as firm now as a table, still has the tape on it that he used hitting (tape runs out) (00:25:05 to 00:30:34) Track 10 - (Duplicate track pulled from CTA 757 Side 1 and spliced onto this recording) On Chapman getting killed; people being upset and demoralized; he joined Cleveland without ever seeing a Major League game; thought all Major League players were superhuman; took him two days to get over his nerves, then was never nervous again; if you're qualified and can do the job, never have a problem in the Major Leagues; first day he got to Cleveland, they were playing the Yankees; Babe Ruth was just starting, and Sewell saw him hit is 28th and 29th home run; Doc Johnson playing first base got five base hits in five times up and stole home; Elmer Smith went to right-center and caught a ball back handed that was like it was shot out of a gun; he felt he didn't belong; when he got to Cleveland, outfielder Joe Evans was playing shortstop, doing the best he could as an outfielder; the next day, they brought in the Athletics, getting dressed next to George Burns, and manager Tris Speaker told him he was playing shortstop that day, so he got ready, had a crummy glove and a pair of shoes and a jock strap, didn't have a bat, but liked using a Ty Cobb bat; Cobb was his idol; Burns had him pick out three bats; picked out one bat and used it that day, got two base hits, and went down to the shop and balanced the bat to 40 ounces, he still has the bat in his showcase in Tuscaloosa; used it 16 years in the Major Leagues, just as firm now as a table, still has the tape on it that he used hitting (tape runs out) (00:30:34 to 00:36:02) Track 11 - (machine squealing) More on the bat, that one bat he got more than 1,000 base hits with it; that bat right now just a solid as it can be; when it got hot, he dropped down to a 37- or 38-ounce bat; his regular, 40-ounce bat, he shaved the round part of so it took away the top-heavy weight; bat has grace and is balanced to his hand; he took care of his equipment; rubbed tobacco on his bat and a smooth bottle and rub it, he worked on his bats every day (00:36:02 to 00:38:25) Track 12 - On Ty Cobb using a slender bat, Sewell had one bat that Cobb gave to him; Cobb was the nicest fellows Sewell ever saw in baseball; he moved like a freight train, Sewell would jump on Cobb if he tried to slide around you; played against him seven years; Sewell stepped on Cobb once at second, and Cobb needed stitches; Cobb visited Sewell a few months before he died; he was nice, well-read, intelligent; Cobb was the greatest baseball player ever, better than Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, George Sisler, roomed with Lou Gehrig, all those guys were great players, but Cobb was the best; never someone born who can hit a ball as consistently and as far as Ruth, the greatest long distance home run hitter ever, and did it consistently; had a standing order from Speaker in Cleveland, anytime Ruth came to bat where he could tie or beat you, they would walk Ruth (00:38:25 to 00:45:52) Track 13 - On bitterness towards Carl Mays over Ray Chapman's death; Cleveland was hungry for a pennant, Sewell came in with pitcher Walter (Duster) Mails, and he won seven straight ball games; Sewell made .329 after he got there; and that picked up the morale of the ball club and the fans, who were demoralized after Chapman's death; a lot of talk about Carl Mays, he was a tough pitcher; Sewell never saw Chapman play, but the talk was that Chapman couldn't hit Mays pitches (interview talks about Waite Hoyt and Edd Roush) Sewell read the pitches well; they didn't have helmets, so you had to get out of the way of the ball if the fellow was mean; Cleveland pitcher John Allen would tell someone they were going down, and then he would throw at you, and then strike you out; Sewell had problems with Dutch Leonard, a left-handed spitball pitcher, a good curve, a good fastball, toughest pitcher Sewell ever hit against, but a nice person, never hit him; had no problems hitting against Walter Johnson or Lefty Gomez (00:42:52 to 00:48:49) Track 14 - On playing under Speaker, (Jack) McAllister, then (Roger) Peckinpaugh, Speaker and Joe McCarthy were the best two managers he ever played for; they could handle the men and knew the percentages; Peckinpaugh should have been a better manager than he was but he was on the conservative side; McCarthy would manage a month ahead (00:48:49 to 00:50:06) Track 15 - Sewell arrived at Cleveland and then went into the 1920 World Series right away, waited until 1932 for the next one; his second day in baseball, the day after he first saw all the Major League players; the Athletics came to play and they had a pitcher, Scott Perry, he was a nice person, his first time up at bat he hit a ball to left center, Tillie Walker caught it; the next time up at bat, Scott Perry threw him a slider, and he hit it over the third baseman's head, line drive way down in the corner, wound up at third base, touching the bases with the tips of his toes, and he said "this ain't so tough" and was never nervous after that, even at the World Series; Brooklyn had a good ball club, Burleigh Grimes and Sherry Smith, Leon Cadore, Ed Konetchy; was a nine-game series, Cleveland won in five; Bill Wambsganss made the only unassisted triple play in a World Series; Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to hit a home run in a World Series; and Elmer Smith hit the first grand slam home run, all in the fifth game, one of the most historical games ever (00:50:06 to 00:54:06) Track 16 - On Wambsganss triple play; Otto Miller was on first base and Pete Kilduff was on second base, and pitcher Clarence Mitchell was a good hitter so they used him as a pinch hitter, he hit a line drive and Wambsganss saw the ball and jumped 20 feet and caught the ball back-handed, going towards second base, so he tagged the base and Otto Miller was coming down from first and Sewell hollered "tag him" and Wambsganss touched him with the ball; they all threw their gloves down in the infield, the fans went wild and threw straw hats, looked like a snowstorm—took the groundskeepers 10 minutes to clear the field (00:54:06 to 00:57:02) Track 17 - (Partially duplicates Track 1 on CTA 754 Side 2, entire story is on this track) On 1932 World Series when Ruth pointed to the fence and hit the home run; Sewell had hit a ball to Hack Wilson and he caught the ball, and so Sewell came back to the bench and got a drink of water, and sat down next to Jimmy Burke, a fine person and good baseball man; Babe Ruth was hitting and Burke was fussing at Ruth; Ruth was cussing at Burleigh Grimes, Bob Smith and Jeff Bush; Ruth held up one finger, two fingers, then stepped into the batter's box, kicked up a little dirt, ball was just above his knees and he reached down and hit the ball and it went right through a tree in center field, outfielder Sam Byrd said the kids fell out of the tree trying to get the ball; Ruth rounded third base and they threw cabbages, oranges, lemons, eggs; took the groundskeepers 15 minutes to clear the field; Grimes had a towel over his head and waved it at Ruth; a very rough Series; for the 4th game, (Kenesaw) Landis had written Joe McCarthy a letter saying that if there was any profanity in the stands, he would fine the player $500 and suspend him indefinitely, you could hear a pin drop that day (00:57:27 to 01:02:50) Side Two -- Track 1 - Intv: (tape picks up in the middle of comment, this story is entire on CTA 754 Side 1, spliced in from CTA 757 Side 2) Sat down next to Jimmy Burke, a fine person and good baseball man; Babe Ruth was hitting and Burke was fussing at Ruth; Ruth was cussing at Burleigh Grimes, Bob Smith and Jeff Bush; Ruth held up one finger, two fingers, then stepped into the batter's box, kicked up a little dirt, ball was just above his knees and he reached down and hit the ball and it went right through a tree in center field, outfielder Sam Byrd said the kids fell out of the tree trying to get the ball; Ruth rounded third base and they threw cabbages, oranges, lemons, eggs; took the groundskeepers 15 minutes to clear the field; Grimes had a towel over his head and waved it at Ruth; a very rough Series; for the 4th game, (Kenesaw) Landis had written Joe McCarthy a letter saying that if there was any profanity in the stands, he would fine the player $500 and suspend him indefinitely, could have heard a pin drop that day (00:00:00 to 00:4:25) Track 2 - On Ruth having words with a lot of other players; not as much talking between players today (00:04:25 to 00:05:21) Track 3 - On seeing a bushel of great fielding plays, playing in Cleveland, a crucial game, bases loaded, and Tris Speaker went to the cement fence and jumped up with his foot and caught and came down with the ball, saved the game (interviewer talks about Griffey and Mays plays) Sewell played with Speaker for seven years, and calls Speaker the greatest center fielder ever, better than Willie Mays, (Joe) DiMaggio and (Mickey) Mantle (interviewer starts another tape but this tape continues) Sewell says he never saw Speaker turn on a ball and go back, he was always moving towards the ball as soon as it was hit, just knew where the ball was going; a great hitter also (00:05:21 to 00:09:59) Track 4 - Ty Cobb was the greatest ball player of his era; Babe Ruth was without a doubt the greatest hitter; the year Hank Aaron broke Ruth's record, if they had pitched to Ruth the way they pitched to Aaron, Ruth would have hit 160; Ruth had tremendous legs, not spindly legs, Sewell used to hit right ahead of Ruth and when he got on base, would move towards right field because Ruth was dangerous hitter; one time playing the Browns, Ruth hit a line drive and the left-handed first basemen threw his glove up and the ball took the glove off and took the glove right down into the bullpen, Ruth got three bases off of it; another time in New York, a knuckleball pitcher Dewey Melivier, Sewell was on shortstop and used to stand on the bag and wave his hands; Melivier threw the knuckleball and Ruth hit the ball right back over the pitcher's head; Sewell missed it by about 8 inches; Speaker was in center field and kept it from going over the fence; another great center fielder was Sammy West for the Browns; Ruth was an incredible hitter, to strike out that much and still have such a high average, and all those home runs; farthest Sewell ever saw Ruth hit was in Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, hit out of the ballpark, down Grand Avenue and on top of a three-story building; Mickey Mantle had good power; one day Sewell saw (Lou) Gehrig hit four home runs in Shibe Park and could have hit a fifth one except for the scoreboard (00:09:59 to 00:16:45) Track 5 - On rooming with Gehrig, one of the nicest fellows ever want to be around; loyal to everybody, if he liked you, couldn't do enough for you; never said bad things about anyone; one time in '33 or '34, Ruth and Gehrig were neck-in-neck on home runs, and they were in Washington, Lyn Lary was on second base and Gehrig hit a ball that hit into the old center field bleachers, and bounced back onto the field; Sammy West saw the ball come back out and caught the ball; as Lary rounded third base, he saw West catch the ball and got 3/4ths of the way to home plate, and turned and went to the dugout; Bill McGowan was umpire and called Gehrig out; Joe McCarthy charged McGowan wanting to know what happened, and it turned out that Lary turned and went to the dugout instead of home; and so Ruth and Gehrig tied for home runs that year; every time someone mentioned Lary around Gehrig he would just shake his head; he was devoted to his parents, used to go home to see "Mom, Pop and the pup;" Sewell was rooming with Gehrig when he was courting his future wife, Eleanor Twitchell; a fine person and a winner; Ruth was a winner too; the Yankees practically managed themselves (00:16:45 to 00:22:20) Track 6 - On Ruth and Gehrig being very different personalities, but playing to win; all the ballplayers were winners on that team: (Bill) Dickey, (Frankie) Crosetti, (Tony) Lazzeri, (Ben) Chapman; Chapman a great guy but sometimes got into fights (00:22:20 to 00:23:17) Track 7 - On playing shortstop for 11 years; 3rd base for one year because he slowed up, started to miss balls that went over the pitcher's head; in his era, the world was full of good ballplayers; the Yankees brought Red Rolfe in and McCarthy asked Sewell to teach him 3rd base, knew that Rolfe was going to take his job; Yankees offered him a job managing in the Minor Leagues, but he didn't want to manage; he coached the last two years with the Yankees; coaching is a good job; came back to Alabama and coached for the University of Alabama for seven years, until age 70 (00:23:17 to 00:26:49) Track 8 - Was in the hardware business for 17 years in Tuscaloosa, had a nice hardware store with seven employees, until he got tired of it; took him two years to sell his business; when he was coaching Alabama, Coach (Bear?) Bryant was athletic director, and he hit mandatory retirement age of 70, he told Coach Bryant it was the most fun he ever had except for the Major Leagues; coaches have to be leaders, coaching is different today, better than it was then (00:26:49 to 00:29:41) Track 9 - On being inducted into the Hall of Fame, thought he was qualified, but got lost in the shuffle, so it took a long time for him to be included (tape runs out) (00:29:41 to 00:30:35) Cassette 2 Side One -- Track 1 - (Comments pick up in the middle, interviewer talks about who should/should not be in the Hall of Fame; bad umpire calls) Sewell was never thrown out of a ballgame because he never cussed at an umpire; first thing to do to be a good hitter is to learn where the strike zone is, and get into a comfortable position so you can hit any pitch in the strike zone, knuckleball, screwball, curveball, should be able to hit any ball in the strike zone; umpire's job is to do the best he can on every pitch; when he went to the plate to hit, he figured the umpire was doing his job; good umpires, Tommy Connolly, Bill McGowan; having confidence in the umpire makes you a better hitter; someone today who could be a much better ballplayer (Dale?) Murphy out of Atlanta, the worst-looking good hitter he ever saw; Sewell and other ball players had to improve every year because they had other players breathing down their necks and no multi-year contracts; acted as his own negotiator (00:00:00 to 00:05:52) Track 2 - On traveling, getting used to it; traveling by train and not having good ventilation; having problems when it was hot in the hotel; staying in St. Louis one time, he and Gehrig put water in the tub, dunked the sheets in the tub, got naked and wrapped the wet sheet around themselves; sun so hot it would burn your eyeballs; he took a thermometer to 3rd base and it registered 118, they played two ball games and he sweated off 11 pounds; never played a night baseball game in his life, but it might have been cooler; on highest salary, $25,000 with the Yankees (problems with tape recorder) (00:05:52 to 00:09:23) Track 3 - On hunting, fishing in the off season; baseball takes a lot out of you, so takes time to get your body back to normal; he owned some property that had to be maintained; back to spring training in March and then back on the road; caught two wild turkeys this spring; on going to a hunting preserve (00:09:23 to 00:12:24) Track 4 - On today's ballplayers, on the caliber of baseball deteriorating, no really exciting ballplayers in either League; on taking so much away from the pitchers today; they had one pitcher, Sherry Smith in Cleveland, who could catch players off every time they got on first base; today, umpires will call the pitchers balks; he used to play with lined shoes and felt pads over shin guards (00:12:24 to 00:15:40) Track 5 - On double plays, had to be on the bag at second base or they'd call you out; on the shrinking strike zone; pitchers from his era would not be able to pitch today; strike zone from armpit to knees over the plate, but the umpires aren't calling it that way; (interviewer calls Pallone the worst umpire in the Major Leagues, Sewell doesn't know who he was but agrees that he was making bad calls at the Mets game) bad umpire makes a bad ballgame, bad calls can destroy a hitter; World Series can turn on a bad call, means a lot to a ballplayer, to the team, to the League (interviewer gives his opinions) (00:15:40 to 00:20:08) Track 6 - On Smoky Joe Wood, nicest man but never saw him pitch because he hurt his arm; he was a right fielder for Cleveland in 1920 and a good clutch hitter; he slowed up a bit but could catch the ball when he got to it; an intelligent fellow, could carry on a conversation about anything; he ought to be in the Hall of Fame (00:20:08 to 00:21:39) Track 7 - On Ike Kahdot, heard of him but never met him; don't really remember too much about him (00:21:39 to 00:22:15) Track 8 - On Lew Fonseca, he was a good right-hand hitter, led the League one year; he was playing for Cincinnati, and Cleveland brought him over to play first base, but he played second base and first base; a good athlete; they played together 6-8 years; Sewell had a rule put in the rulebook that came about when Sewell was playing 3rd base for the Yankees; they were playing the White Sox one Sunday, Charlie (Red) Ruffing was pitching, and Fonseca came to the plate, the 3rd baseman moved really close; Fonseca had a trick bunt that he would use, Bill Dickey was catching and came up to grab the ball; Ruffing ran over also; ball started to roll foul, and Sewell scratched a trench across the foul line with his spikes so that the ball would roll foul; umpire Bill Dinneen called it foul, Donie Bush was managing the White Sox and came out to yell at Dinneen, that was strike two; Ruffing struck him out and Fonseca threw his bat way up in the air and cussed out Sewell, who had to put his face behind his glove because he was laughing; the next day, Dinneen came looking for Sewell, and said he shouldn't have dug a "canyon;" they put it into the rulebook right after that; a tough play for a 3rd baseman; today's third basemen use one hand to catch, instead of two (00:22:15 to 00:28:17) Track 9 - On the changes in playing third base; the reason they dive after the ball is because they've lost spring in their legs; larger gloves (00:28:17 to 00:29:02) Track 10 - On Red Ruffing, a good "money" pitcher, a good hitting pitcher, along with George Uhle, Jim Bagby, Joe Wood, Babe Ruth; Ruth pitched one game when Sewell played, against the Red Sox; (Ed) Barrow was the manager and said Ruth would pitch the last game, pitched the whole game; Boston had a bunch of misfits playing Ruth could still throw strikes (tape runs out) (00:29:02 to 00:30:38) Side Two -- Track 1 - (Comments pick up in the middle) On what might have happened if they had pitched to Babe Ruth the way they pitch to Maris, Ruth would have hit way more, 160 or more; on moving Ruth from field to field, he didn't like the sun field; Ruth would switch with (Ben) Chapman or (George) Selkirk to avoid the sun field; Ruth was the greatest throwing outfielder Sewell ever played with; Ruth could nail the throws, only had two bad throws in five years, both in the rain in the same game; didn't have the strongest arm, but Ruth was accurate; (Tris) Speaker was good, but not as good as Ruth (00:00:00 to 00:02:58) Track 2 - On being friendly with Ruth, no one resented him (tape glitches) the newspapers resented Ruth; a lot of players envied Ruth; (Lou) Gehrig got 184 RBIs in '32; Sewell played third base that year; he thought that year was a better club than the '27 club; had great pitching, (Red) Ruffing, (Lefty) Gomez, (George) Pipgras, (Herb) Pennock, (Johnny) Allen, some young fellows, Bill Dickey was catching; he had a good year playing 3rd, (Frankie) Crosetti had a good year; (Ben) Chapman in the outfield, along with (Earle) Combs and Ruth; Selkirk was the utility man; Sam Byrd, Myril Hoag; (Tony) Lazzeri on second base; everybody had a good year that year (interviewer talks about playing games with his sons); Joe Dugan was third base and didn't have as good a year in '27, versus Sewell in '32; Dugan was a prince of a fellow, he gave Sewell pointers about playing third, said "jump at the hard ones and dive at the easy ones;" why they called him Jumpin' Joe (00:02:58 to 0:07:20) Track 3 - On Stuffy McInnis, Cleveland got him from Boston, towards the end of his career, he was a good fielding first baseman and wasn't a bad hitter; he had slowed up a bit when Cleveland got him as a trade with Boston for George Burns, he was old at that point and didn't move too well; McInnis was a good fielding first baseman and wasn't a bad hitter; Cleveland wanted Burns back after the trade; McInnis a nice person, a good fielder but wasn't a good "target" at first base; Sewell has thrown to better targets, Burns was a good target, Lou Gehrig, good target; they would fight for the ball; saw a first baseman the other day, didn't even reach for the ball, disgusting to watch the modern players (00:07:20 to 00:10:00) Track 4 - Didn't like barnstorming or exhibition games, a man in Cleveland planned an exhibition with (George) Uhle, Sewell, his brother Luke and others; one of the other players broke his leg at first base, and that was the end of his career; Sewell played 1,903 games, 1,130-something consecutive games, always gave it his all, that was his bread-and-butter (00:10:00 to 00:11:34) Track 5 - On not being able to play ball on Sunday in some cities; he never tried to play on Sundays to make extra money; the Philadelphia Athletics used to come to Cleveland, ride all night, play that afternoon on Sunday, then go back to Philly and play Monday; one day Eddie Rommel pitched for Philly and Uhle pitched for Cleveland, game only took 1 hour and 28 minutes; some fans were arriving at the game when the players were leaving to catch the train (00:11:34 to 00:12:55) Track 6 - On Connie Mack, a credit to the game, to baseball, to the general public, respected Mack's judgment, a great sense of humor; Mack always carried a scorecard; Sewell used to get angry, he'd hit a line drive right at Mack, and he would just laugh; one time in NY, when they retired Gehrig's uniform and put a plaque on the building where he was born, Sewell sat in the stands next to Mack and Gehrig's mother and Mack would ask him who different people were so he could say something personal to them (00:12:55 to 00:15:33) Track 7 - Jimmie Reese, a good utility player, on second base, still coaching, he developed into a good hitter; a likeable guy, an asset to a ballclub, calmed people down and kept things even; most people aren't content to sit on the bench because they want to get a better contract by playing in more games (00:15:33 to 00:17:20) Track 8 - On platoon rotation on the 1920 team, Joe Wood rotating with Joe Evans, George Burns and Doc Johnson, the only people in the infield who played every game were Bill Wambsganss, Sewell and Larry Gardner (00:17:20 to 00:18:10) Track 9 - On hitting just as well against left-handed or right-handed pitchers; liking the diversity; a lot of it is mental, all in your head; saw a left-hander hit a left-handed curveball two feet off the plate (00:18:10 to 00:19:02) Track 10 - On Dixie Walker, Sewell played with him on the Yankees, he was a good hitter but hurt his arm sliding or jumping after a ball in the outfield; a good hitter, good outfielder; Harry Walker was good too, but Dixie was the better all-around player, both fine ballplayers; from Birmingham, Sewell used to play against their father, (Ewart) Black Dixie Walker; Dixie used to get excited but not as much as Chapman (00:19:02 to 00:20:31) Track 11 - Never played against black players in professional ball; not all of the players in the Negro Leagues were Major League caliber; Sewell saw Satchel Paige pitch when he was young; some people said he was better than Walter Johnson, but "he couldn't carry Walter Johnson's glove;" there were people who were as fast as Cool Papa Bell, (Maurice) Archdeacon was the fastest person going to first base ever, but not to the other bases; going to first base he could fly (00:20:31 to 00:23:14) Track 12 - On Cy Perkins, came to the Yankees when he was old, he could fill in as catcher but couldn't do the work of Bill Dickey; he was a great peacemaker, a real asset to the club; a lot of real nice boys on the 1932 Yankees; Edd Roush didn't like anyone in baseball; one time, they were playing an exhibition game in Lakeland, FL, had a left-handed pitcher, Carl Yowell, throwing against Roush, a left-handed hitter; Yowell threw a sidearm curveball and Roush fell back and sat down on the ground, and the ball went right down the center of the plate; Roush was a good outfielder, stubborn, held out one full year for better money; on Roush being the oldest man in the Hall of Fame; Sewell turning 88 in October (00:23:14 to 00:27:01) Track 13 - On Johnny Murphy, great relief pitcher, a better reliever than starter; McCarthy tried him both ways; Murphy finished up a lot of games for (Lefty) Gomez; Murphy got to the point where he wasn't effective, lost his control, couldn't get the curve ball over the plate; went up the Rex Sox as a manager; a good baseball man; (Herb) Pennock was a good baseball man, too; on Murphy being one of the first relief pitchers; Fred (Firpo) Marberry was the first relief pitcher; he could bring the ball, he was a big showman, he'd charge out of the bullpen, and get the ball and first throw he's kick his feet way up high and fire the ball 10 feet over the catcher's head, and they would all laugh (00:27:01 to 00:30:04) Cassette 3 Side One -- Track 1 - After Marberry finished his career, he moved down to Texas and was in the automobile business, he was going somewhere in his car with his arm resting on the window; someone sideswiped him and pulled his arm completely off; he was a hard worker, and when he was on the mound, put every ounce into his playing (00:00:00 to 00:01:06) Track 2 - On Ruth always giving his all, never dogging it in the outfield (00:01:06 to 00:01:27) Track 3 - End of interview, wrapping up; Sewell on the times he struck out, he only swung on third strike one time; he was a left-handed hitter, he kept the bat down and in the same plane as the ball; saw Don Mattingly playing for the Yankees, he wasted motion; you don't have to take a big stride, keep your bat level and your eyes on the ball, look right at it; if your bat has good wood, just have to lay the bat on the ball, let the pitcher do the work, the harder they throw the ball, the harder you hit it; Sewell's 7,132 at bats and 113 strikeouts; he heard Joe Garagiola talk about Nellie Fox; if he owned or managed a ball club, give him eight ball players that can make contact with the ball and he'll beat anyone; more on statistics, anytime you hit that ball, you have a chance; if Ty Cobb was playing today, with the Astroturf, he'd hit at least 30 points more; Sewell would hit 15 to 20 points more because he hit a lot on the line; he tried to hit every ball good, on the line or on the ground (tape stops) (00:01:27 to 00:09:38) Cassette 4Side One -- Track 1 - Entire section duplicates CTA 755 Side 2; that tape is better quality so that is the one that is tracked. (00:00:00 to 00:20:23) Track 2 - (Part of this story is on CTA 755 Side 2, the other part is on CTA 756 Side 1) On Johnny Murphy, great relief pitcher, a better reliever than a starter; when (Lefty) Gomez was having a lot of good years, Murphy was the one who saved the game; he lost his control from a sore arm; his best pitch was the curve, and got to where he couldn't the ball over the plate, a nice person, good baseball man, became a manager for the Red Sox; Pennock a good baseball man too; Murphy was one of the first relief pitchers; Sewell says Fred (Firpo) Marberry with Detroit was the very first relief pitcher, a right-handed pitcher; he was a big showman, come out of the bullpen almost charging, get the ball and the first ball he'd throw it way up high over the catcher; people in the stands were all impressed and they would laugh (interviewer changing tapes) (00:20:23 to 00:22:28) Track 3 - After Marberry finished his career, he moved down to Texas and was in the automobile business, he was going somewhere in his car with his arm resting on the window; someone sideswiped him and pulled his arm completely off; he was a hard worker, and when he was on the mound, put every ounce into his playing (00:22:28 to 00:23:27) Track 4 - On Ruth always giving his all, never dogging it in the outfield (00:23:27 to 00:23:48) Track 5 - End of interview, wrapping up; Sewell on the times he struck out, he only swung on third strike one time; he was a left-handed hitter, he kept the bat down and in the same plane as the ball; saw Don Mattingly playing for the Yankees, he wasted motion; you don't have to take a big stride, keep your bat level and your eyes on the ball, look right at it; if your bat has good wood, just have to lay the bat on the ball, let the pitcher do the work, the harder they throw the ball, the harder you hit it; Sewell's 7,132 at bats and 113 strikeouts; he heard Joe Garagiola talk about Nellie Fox; if he owned or managed a ball club, give him eight ball players that can make contact with the ball and he'll beat anyone; more on statistics, anytime you hit that ball, you have a chance (tape runs out) (00:23:48 to 00:30:33) Side Two -- Track 1 - (Picks up from Track 3, CTA 756 Side 1) he tried to hit every ball good, on the line or on the ground; don't have a chance if you hit it in the air; (interviewer talks about Ty Cobb, about possibly continuing the interview after lunch or the next day,) Sewell wants to tell another funny story: Smead Jolly making three errors on one ball, in Ripley's Believe or Not three times; Jolley a big guy 6'3" and weighed 230, used to hit just for exercise, probably would hit .350/.350 today; he was with the White Sox, Jimmy Dykes was manager, the Cleveland park had a big cement wall, and Dykes put Jolley out by the wall; it started to rain, just enough to wet the grass; Glenn Myatt was catching for Cleveland and got up to bat, hit the ball like it was shot out of a cannon, right at Jolley, and the ball went between his legs, error #1; Jolley took out after the ball, and it bounced right back at him off the cement wall, went back through his legs, error #2, he finally got to the ball and braced himself and threw to third base and threw it 15 rows up in the stands, error #3; Jolley took off his cap and said "My god, I didn't know I could throw a ball that far!" One of the funniest things he ever saw in baseball (00:00:00 to 00:05:44.5) Track 2 - Sewell works every day in Tuscaloosa, public relations for the Dairy Fresh milk and ice cream company, he enjoys it; tells some of his stories and they eat it up (00:05:44.5 to 00:07:12) Track 3 - On Babe Ruth, Sewell was on the club with him five years and played with him 11 years; heard a lot of stories about him getting tight, but Sewell only saw him drunk twice, once when he came from a yacht and they got on a train to Boston, and once when they were in Chicago, Joe McCarthy was managing the team; Sewell was player-coach for Yankees; his assignment was to hit Ruth's fungo; on that day, there were 55,000 people in the stands to see Ruth and Gehrig; they got through infield practice and Ruth hadn't shown up yet; Sewell went over to put away the fungo bat; McCarthy asked him if he'd seen Ruth and to check in the clubhouse; Ruth was sitting on a little stool with his cap on, his pants on backwards and his socks on; he got on a laughing jag; (Little?) Daily was the clubhouse boy, and he helped Sewell get him dressed, and then went to McCarthy and told him Ruth was loaded and laughing; Art Fletcher came in, and Fletcher said put him in anyway, McCarthy asked the groundskeepers to go over the grounds again; Ruth showed up and just looked around like he was lost, adjusted his cap and uniform, spied us across the field, sat down on the edge of the bench; umpires came out and the game started; Earle Combs got up to bat; Frankie Crosetti was the second batter, Ruth was the third hitter and was still sitting on the bench, hadn't warmed up at all, they told him he was up and he reached over and got one bat and used it as a walking stick, walked up to the plate and the first ball pitched, he hit a half mile over the top of Comiskey Park, rounded the bases and came in to the dugout, and drank two gallons of water/bicarbonate of soda; he let out a huge belch like a walrus; Ruth was playing right field and came up to bat five times that day, got two home runs, a triple and two doubles; they beat the White Sox 7 to 5 and Ruth drove in five of the runs; last play of the ball game the White Sox had three men on base, two outs, Jimmy Dykes got up and hit to right center, and Ruth just stuck out his glove and the ball game was over; they all went to the clubhouse laughing and rejoicing; McCarthy was sitting on a stool untying his shoes, and asked "What are you going to do with a son-of-a-gun like that?" and Sewell said "Get that son-of-a-fun drunk every game" (00:07:12 to 00:14:58) Track 4 - More on Ruth, women chased him; women chased Sewell, he and Luke roomed together and needed two keys; those women wanted a meal ticket (00:14:58 to 00:16:06) Track 5 - Sewell offers to continue the interview tomorrow, but Roberts declines; explains about the oral histories (tape glitches) Sewell talks about enjoying baseball all they had to do growing up; played baseball all his life, on hunting and fishing in Geiger, AL, large hunting preserve, good homes, water; (wrapping up interview, promise to do it again the next year) Sewell says he has a lot of good stories, and a lot of years to accumulate them (00:16:06 to 00:20:46) Track 6 - Interviewer talks to someone else who wants the room, John Ford, a former player (00:20:46 to 00:24:25)" Public Access NotePlease note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. 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