“The Teammates” by David Halberstam
Bobby Doerr, Dom Dimaggio and Ted Williams knew Johnny Pesky when all were associated with the Pacific Coast League. Doerr, DiMaggio and Williams were players for PCL teams. In what capacity did they know Pesky? The answer can be found by reading the first few pages of “The Teammates” by David Halberstam, Rocky Mountain SABR’s current book discussion selection. Join the discussion by answering the Pesky question. There will be more to come.
We’ll have a face-to-face discussion of “The Teammates” on February 25 at the Village Inn at Colorado Blvd. and Mexico Avenue. That’s just north of Interstate 25.
And, if you attend next Saturday’s Rocky Mountain SABR Day in America at the Blake Street Tavern, you may win a free copy of “The Teammates.”
January 29th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Jim Powers Johnny Pesky (birth name John Michael Paveskovich) was the clubhouse boy for the Portland Beavers before he became a professional ballplayer. To quote David Halberstam: :They were all four from the West Coast, and three of them, Doerr, DiMaggio, and Williams, started out in the Pacific Coast League, then a top mior league. The other three had encountered Pesky first not as a peer, an up-and-coming young shortstop with uncommon bat control who could hit to all fields, but instead as the boyish clubhouse attendant who worked in the locker room for the Portland Beavers in the PCL. It had been Johnny’s job to wash the athletic clothing and shine the shoes of the visiting players, and the players tipped 25 or 50 cents a game for the service.”