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Gabby Street, a Fighter All ot HisLite, Spurns■33300CCCCClt;»CO0a:Clt;XXCCCCCXXX:. ' * OGOOOOaoOO(XZ)OCCGc6iXG9e»CXof Miracle Man, but Career Shows HeDeserves ItLed Cardinals to Victory in Same Spirit He Faced ’Frisco Quake and WarCaught Ball Dropped from Top of Washington MonumentfWhile Member of Senators; Battery Mate of Johnson’s When The Big Train Was at Height of SuccessBy HARRY T. BRUNDIDGE.Copyright by The Star-ChroniclcHARLES EVARD STREET, bclovad Old Sergeant anti miracle manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and known to the baseball world as plain Gabby, intertwined his gnarled and knotted fin* gars, Spat a stream of arabor toward the third base lino and grinned that slow grin of his. A ‘Miraclo Man’?” he asked, repeating this writer’s question. Who? Me? Hell, noJ I'm, just an old ball player with a bunch of fighting cocke on my roster that would a-won this pennant with Butch the Bat Boy directing them. Forget that ‘Miracle Man’ stuff, woncha?Forge! It nothing, Interjected Frankie Frisch. How cnn he? You'll go down In the history of baseball as- one of ttao Miracle Managers and your name always will bo linked with that of Goorgo Stallings. How. about It, gang?”You damned right! said Jim Bottoin-ley, and every man on the bench ugrecd with him.What- kind of a man Is this fellow Street? What is hlB background? Let's take a look into the all but forgotten part. xw T IS 5 a. m.—zero hour In the Amerl-9 can trenches, on Septombor 20, 1918. A The First Gas Roglment, Chemical Warfare Division, has installed 400 gas throwing guns at the base of Hill 267, just oiilsldo .the Avgonne, during the night. And now at ‘5 a. , m. a hard-' bollod sergeant, watch in hand, blows hill whistle and In a bull-like voice, yells: “C'mon monl Let 'ey go!Hell broke loose all about him, but the sergeant only grinned. His name was Charles T3vard Street, and he was known to bin men as Gabby.’’Adverso winds prevented the gas barrage, but Sergt. Street and his men laid down a smoko screen for the 138th (St. Louis) Infantry of the 36th Division, and a few moments after 6 a. ra., Uio gallant 138lh plunged Into the Battle of the Ar-gonno. On and on, ahead of iht artillery calculations at times, and without artillery support, they moved forward, Streot and his men with them.September passed and on October 2, Street and four of his men, dragging the last of tholr guns, consolidated a couple of •shell holes and with a Springfield rlflo banged away nt a Gorman airplane whose pilot ivaa busily engaged In that sport known us ground strafing.'' The bullets from the rifle worried tho Gorman pilot and after doing a half loop he flew up-sido down oyer the shell holo and raked it-with his machine gun. Street, shuklng liia flat at tho flyer, fell Into the mud with a machine gun bullet through his right log, and that ended tho war for “Gabby. ,Down South, Street told this writer, ub he finished his dessert on tho roof of t Now York hotel, “if.you see u blockHIS ROAD NOT ALWAYS PAVED WITH SUCCESS IABBV CAUGHT A BALL i- v^om . theWASHINGTON MONUMENT.iiNE op -mis Ten■FINGERS -HAVE BEEN BROKEN.TSgEET GOT AN Ey.E-PUL.L OP THE-SAN FRANCISCO HAgYl-OUAkEjideuL Mvtso - if-- you AiK Mfe | „ I'D MUCH SSATHKR BcaLUH'i gL -fur: signal FCity. ant: o-5~S uAVnEf5 OCMtyi.ifH’C ^=.T«MGnY•FAST ONES_ ABBT HELPED WlN A, WAR IN IS 18CHARLES EVARD STREET AND SOME STOPS HE MADE TRAVELING AVENUE OF LlfE_r_boy, and want , him, and don’t know his name, you yofl, 'Hey, Gabby.' It works in SI. Louis, too, and It you don't believe it, try It. To mo, all tyaok boys have been 'Gabby,* and I got my nickname from tho use? of that word, and not, an Is commonly believed, because I am a chatterbox,X was born In Huntsville, Ala., September 30, 1883, and played ball on the grammar and high school teams there, and then at South Kentucky College, at Hopkinsville. In 1900, Just 20 years ago this Summer, u small league was formed, and c-allcu tho ‘Kit* League, tho right name of which was tho Kentucky, Illinois and Teantsneo League. I wns offered $C0 a month to catch for the . Hopkinsville team, and accepted. That * was big monoy. I played there several months and war? sold to Terra Haute, in tho Central League, for tho season of 1901, and then was sold to Cincinnati. I cutlght there In 1902-8-4 and 5, and In the Winter mtis sold to' San Francisco, where I opened tho 1906 .season. I wub jiving In the Goldon Gato Hotel, patronized largely by baseball players and members of the theatrical profession and during the woe sma* hours of April 18 of that your, I was thrown from my bed.Out In San Francisco they still rofor to the act of God which tossed me from my bed as 'Tho Five,' but the forcu that removed mo from the mattress to the floor was an earthquake. Aroused, I rubbed my eyes, looked out tho window and saw buildings, crumbling, and, havingheard whispers of quakes, started for tho strcot. If I live to bo a hundred I shall utways remombsr that scone. The ‘Beauty und tho Boost' and tho ‘Babes In Toyland’ companies wero living In tho same hotel and what tho female membora of thoso troupes wore as they hiked for the exits Is nobody's business. As wo hit tho streot, on masse, tho rear of the hotel collapsed and tho water tank on the roof, halved by tho second shock, washed evoryone of us. I walkod through showers of brick and mortar to tho Golden Gato Park, where X spent tho night. The funny part of this story is that I was going to Jump tho team tho next day to join an outlaw league in Williamsport, Pn., and my transportation and $100 wips waiting for mo at the ofllco of the Santa Fo railroad. Tho fire destroyed tho evidence. On. the .third day X .'started for ORklnnd, A big militiaman to'ok a look at me^pn.d asked: tu 'Where are you going?’*To Oakiond,' I nnmvcrcd, •YOU'IVB mistaken/ ho said, ‘You'ro going to take off your coat and begin pitching bricks out of . the street.’.And I did. I hurled bricks • for two days and was then recognized by another militiaman, tVlio, prior to the quake, had boon a pitcher on our team..“’Don't hurry,* he said, 'But start’for the ferry ut tho end of Market street and pilch brick all tho way.'“It took mo nine hours, but I got to the ferry1, ond across to Oakland, and theFlks* Lodge guvo me transportation to Denver, whore I obtained a ticket fen I Chicago from the Red Cross. In Chicago I wuk greeted by tho Refugee Com- ; mlttoc, and sent to Pittsburgh, where 1 i met Georga McBride, whoso last appearance In the .majors was as coach for the Detroit Tigers, then shortstop for tho St. ! Louis Browns, and I borrowed enough money from him to got to Williamsport, whore 1 finished the seasofi. In 1907 I returned to Sun Francisco \ and in 19P8 I was sold to ‘Washington, and caught there in 1008-09^19 and 3911, In 1912 I was with the Yanks and In 1913 and 1914 with Chattanooga. In 1915 I caught for Nashville,' where I continued to play until tho outbreak of the war, when I got into tho real World’s Series.“I was sent to Port Slocum, 1ST. Y., and everybody interested in baseball thoughr It ffnu great .that I should be on bond to catch the army team. X finally, convinced my Ueutonnnt that £ joined the army to fight, pointing'out that I could have continued playing baseball for a salary. I was one of tho first 50,000 to . got over and took party ip three major engagements; Chateau Thierry, St, Mihiel and tho Argonne. / . ■“That St. Louis roglment, tho 138th, was as fine ru outfit as I ever saw, nnd I waa proud to have been. nttached to.lt. The men were badly officered, hut they wore real fighters!. “After’ tho war I returned to Nashville.I managed soveral ball teams and thon In 1929 niy ambition was realized and . Ibaenrno ctmnootert with tho CarOlnal organization a6 r* coach.. My spcnlntmont t.e manager of tho Carrie Vollmred fuid X-hopu I aponfi tho rest of ,p bapcbaU yours vrlUt the Brtmdon-ftltkr evgnnizn- \ lion.”.1
Newspaper Details
St Louis Sporting News
St Louis, Missouri, US
Thu, Oct 02, 1930
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Michael W.
NA, 18 Oct 2023
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