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Roy Smalley Jr., 85; MLB SS, Cubs Milwaukee Braves, Phillies
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Bill Schenley
Oct 24, 2011, 11:28:24 PM10/24/11
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Cubs standout Roy Smalley Jr. dies at 85
1951 Bowman (#44) baseball card:
http://tinyurl.com/5revp45
FROM: The Green Valley (AZ) News ~
By Dan Shearer and Scott Dyke
Roy Smalley Jr., who was signed as a free agent at 17 and went on to play
for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies during
baseball's Golden Era, died Saturday. He was 85.
Smalley, father of baseball great Roy Smalley III, hit 21 homers and drove
in 85 runs in 1950. But it was his marriage that year to Jolene Mauch -
sister of Braves player Gene Mauch - that made headlines as they walked down
the aisle when the Cubs were in town for a matchup with the then-Boston
Braves. Mauch later became a heralded manager, and Smalley played for him
with the AAA Minneapolis Millers after he retired in 1958 from the Major
Leagues.
That club ended up in the Little World Series for minor league teams against
the Havana club from the International League, Smalley recalled during a
June interview with the Green Valley News. In the seventh and deciding game,
the outcome came down to the bottom of the ninth when the Cubans had a man
on second.
"It was a bizarre experience," Smalley said. "Everywhere in Havana there
were armed troops. Castro had seized power. When the Great Bearded One made
an appearance in our dugout, he was accompanied by machine gun-toting men."
"Havana won the game when a base hit sent the runner home. He tripped
rounding third and spent the rest of his journey to the plate scrambling on
all fours. No one really knows if he made it because, by then, our team and
the umpires had left the field."
Smalley's first assignment was with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific
Coast League. He did a stint with the Navy from 1944-46, then resumed his
baseball career with the Des Moines Bruins in 1947.
The Cubs saw promise in the young shortstop and brought him up in 1948.
Smalley anchored the infield for the Cubs into the 1953 season, when he was
replaced by Ernie Banks, who became a Hall of Famer and still bears the
monicker "Mr. Cub."
Smalley moved to Sahuarita, Ariz., south of Tucson, in 2004.
---
MLB stats:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smallro01.shtml
1951 Bowman (#44) baseball card:
http://tinyurl.com/5revp45
FROM: The Green Valley (AZ) News ~
By Dan Shearer and Scott Dyke
Roy Smalley Jr., who was signed as a free agent at 17 and went on to play
for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies during
baseball's Golden Era, died Saturday. He was 85.
Smalley, father of baseball great Roy Smalley III, hit 21 homers and drove
in 85 runs in 1950. But it was his marriage that year to Jolene Mauch -
sister of Braves player Gene Mauch - that made headlines as they walked down
the aisle when the Cubs were in town for a matchup with the then-Boston
Braves. Mauch later became a heralded manager, and Smalley played for him
with the AAA Minneapolis Millers after he retired in 1958 from the Major
Leagues.
That club ended up in the Little World Series for minor league teams against
the Havana club from the International League, Smalley recalled during a
June interview with the Green Valley News. In the seventh and deciding game,
the outcome came down to the bottom of the ninth when the Cubans had a man
on second.
"It was a bizarre experience," Smalley said. "Everywhere in Havana there
were armed troops. Castro had seized power. When the Great Bearded One made
an appearance in our dugout, he was accompanied by machine gun-toting men."
"Havana won the game when a base hit sent the runner home. He tripped
rounding third and spent the rest of his journey to the plate scrambling on
all fours. No one really knows if he made it because, by then, our team and
the umpires had left the field."
Smalley's first assignment was with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific
Coast League. He did a stint with the Navy from 1944-46, then resumed his
baseball career with the Des Moines Bruins in 1947.
The Cubs saw promise in the young shortstop and brought him up in 1948.
Smalley anchored the infield for the Cubs into the 1953 season, when he was
replaced by Ernie Banks, who became a Hall of Famer and still bears the
monicker "Mr. Cub."
Smalley moved to Sahuarita, Ariz., south of Tucson, in 2004.
---
MLB stats:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smallro01.shtml
Turban Joe Balasootoe
Nov 9, 2011, 5:39:23 PM11/9/11
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