The American Association Almanac

KEN ASH “And now, ladies and gentlemen, here are your starting lineups for this afternoon’s ball game...” The deep-voiced public address announcer sent his richly hued sound waves reverberating through the humming grandstand on a sweltering late spring day at Columbus’s brand new ballpark. Calling fans to its attention, the resonant voice was as welcoming as a lighthouse spotlight to a wayfaring ship. It welcomed baseball fans from near and far who were milling about the grandstand, settling into their seats, and waiting expectantly for the grand occasion of the day to get underway. It represented the start of a new and hopeful era in Columbus as played out upon a virgin sea of green. Friday, June 3, 1932. The day had finally arrived. A heat wave engulfed the city. Temperature reports on city streets reached the mid-90’s by midday, although the...

Slugger Nick Polly was born on this date, April 18, 1917, in Chicago. He joined the American Association as a Louisville Colonel in 1944, leading the league in RBI with 120 and walks with 147 while posting a batting average of .290. He led the third-place Colonels with 20 home runs while covering the hot corner 142 games. In 1945, Polly's second and final season in the Association, he split between Louisville and Toledo, appearing in 118 games while doing outfield duty (33 games) and covering third base (79 games) while chalking up a .314 batting mark with nine home runs. Born Nicholas Joseph Polachanin, the 5' 11", 190 lb. third baseman/outfielder made his major league debut on Sept. 11, 1937. Polly died January 17, 1993 in Chicago. For more on Polly, go to: http://minors.sabrwebs.com/cgi-bin/player.php?milbID=polly-001nic visit the Almanac's home website: www.americanassociationalmanac.com

All the details have now been finalized, including the design for each grave marker selected. Payment has now been made. Last week I met with Ed Thompson of the Milwaukee Archdiocese Cemeteries at Mount Olivet Cemetery and discussed the arrangements with him. There will be an hour-long ceremony at Mount Olivet Cemetery on July 30 at 3 p.m. The cemetery is located at S. 35th and Morgan. It will honor the memory and baseball playing career of each player, Dan Lally and Donald "Dan" Marion. Marion was a pitcher who died in 1933. Lally was an outfielder who died as a resident of the Milwaukee County Insane Asylum (county grounds) in 1936. The major league record of both players may be accessed through baseball-reference.com. Each player had a career in the American Association, Lally with Minneapolis and Marion with Milwaukee. According to Minor League Registry, Lally was committed to the Wisconsin State Asylum in 1910, located in what is known as the Milwaukee County Grounds. I...

The baseball world lost one of the grand survivors of the golden age of baseball when Tommy Holmes died. Although his career in the American Association was scant, the former Dodger and Brave had played under Bill Meyer as a Kansas City Blues outfielder in seven games, hitting .150 in 20 at-bats before moving on to the Newark Bears. Both teams were double-A affiliates of the New York Yankees. The Brooklyn, NY native was 22 as a Kansas City Blue. At the time of his death, Holmes had celebrated his 91st birthday only a two weeks prior.

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The spring 2008 edition of the American Association Almanac is well underway and should be in the mail in two weeks, gods and goddesses willing. It will contain numerous photos and other graphics, including editorial cartoons published in local period newspapers. The topic of the spring issue centers on Red Bird Stadium in Columbus, Ohio which was built in 1932. This ballpark is still in existence and is in its last year of use by a professional baseball team. Now the home of the Columbus Clippers, an affiliate of the National League's Washington Nationals, the park is known as Cooper Stadium after a city father who helped promote the rejuvenation of the park some years back. As an American Association venue, Red Bird Stadium was in use from 1932 through the 1954 season when the Columbus Red Birds played there. The club was originally known as the Columbus Senators as an inaugural member of the American Association in 1902. They initially played their games at Neil Park, but the st...