Bad Boys, Bad Times
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In 1937, the Great Depression was still lingering, but at baseball parks across the country there was a sense of optimism. Major League attendance was on a sharp rise. Tickets to an Indians game at League Park on Lexington and East 66th were $1.60 for box seats, $1.35 for reserve seats, and $.55 for the bleachers. Cleveland fans were particularly upbeat—Bob Feller, the teenage phenomenon, was a farm boy with a blistering fast ball. Night games were an exciting development. Better days were ahead. But there were mounting issues facing the Indians. For one thing, it was rumored that the team had illegally signed Feller. Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was looking into that matter and one other. Issues with an alcoholic catcher, dugout fights, bats thrown into stands, injuries, and a player revolt kept things lively. In Bad Boys, Bad Times: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941 —the follow-up to his No Money, No Beer, No Pennants: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression —baseball historian Scott H. Longert writes about an exciting period for the team, with details and anecdotes that will please fans all over.
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Bad Boys, Bad Times
The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941
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Trainer Lefty Weisman believed a bone in the right arm might have been dislocated from the elbow. Weisman had no formal medical training, but had spent over fifteen years treating damaged ballplayers. He recommended a visit to a bonesetter practicing several blocks from League Park. Cy Slapnicka quickly discounted the suggestion, preferring to take the advice of experienced doctors. His lack of faith in Weisman proved to be a major error in judgment.
On Monday, May 10, Feller left Cleveland on a chartered airplane bound for Des Moines, Iowa. He was returning home to Van Meter to rest his arm and attend his high school graduation. He was taken aback by all the local folks waiting to greet him and asking pointed questions about his pitching arm. Feller thought he could go home and escape all the attention; however, any plans to rest quietly and study for finals were quickly foiled. He spent any time he could find cramming for final exams, which took place Thursday. The subjects tested were physics, literature, American history, and psychology. Feller passed with ease, scoring two seventy-nines, a seventy-four, and a seventy. Not bad at all when you consider he had left school over two months ago, yet still retained a good portion of what he had learned over the winter.
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