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laceiel Oscar's association with baseball ie' began as soon as I could throw. His father was very sports-minded ! and earned baseball equipment in J his store— balls for a nickle, bets ljir- for a quarter, and gloves for 50 I cents. Oscar first played organized 1 baseball in the public schools and joined the pros in 1921, making or $175 a month.:h | Paid During Season fie ‘TVe only got paid during the ve season, so you did anything you ! could to get by the rest of the er | year, he said. We didn’t worry much about the future then. Baseball was it, and we were just happy to be playing.Over the years, Oscar has seen baseball undergo many changes. Television has increased public interest In the game, attendance is higher, night games are common, and players are better-conditioned. Players also make more money, perhaps too much money, Oscar said.— i You can’t begrudge the players Tor the high salaries, as long as the dubs are willing to pay that much, he observed. But the “jj (higher salaries have sent ticket prices, concessions, and everything associated with the game . jUp. I worry that the public just i won’t be able to afTord to go to baseball games if the trend continues.” • i?r.•Isas10rt-vea-r.edk-uentorht?r.heChange Game1 Developments in baseball to ;equipment have also changed the d, game, especially the evolution of ds the glove, which Oscar can recite iei with the accuracy of a historian, ey ! , Bill Doak—he was an excellent^ spitball pitcher for the Cardinalsueiwccn me wiuinu aiiuto. form a pocket, Oscar said. For years, the Bill Doak model was THE glove in baseball.Catchers' mitts have changed too. TTiey used to be just fl?t gloves. It took a year to break them in—the player would soak’ the glove and butt it with the end of a bat to form a pocket Catchers had to use two hands to catch the ball in those days.Baseball is still it for Oscar. He continues to work eight-hour days, attends Cardinals’ games regularly, and represents Rawlings at the' All-Star game arid world series. Each year, he travels to spring-training camps to measure players for their uniforms. And although his spreading middle has pushed him above the 180 pounds he weighed in his prime, he still moves his six:foot frame with ease about his memento-crowded office.Gets AwardsTwo of his more recent souvenirs, a Gold Glove Award for top Rawlings salesman of I960 and a painting commemorating various;-stages of his career, were given to; him at a surprise 80th-birthday' party held for him earlier this year. About 75 people attended the celebration in St. Louis, and cables of congratulations arrived from across the country.Oscartriedretiringoncein 1974, but he was back at work within a year, and he has no intention of trying it again. Says he:My7 association with baseball has kept me young. I know the time will coipe when I can't work anymore, but until such time. I’ll keep going.” . .
Newspaper Details
Williamsport Sunday Grit National Edition
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, US
Sun, Oct 12, 1980
Page 35
Full Page
Clipped by
Cassidy L.
NY, USA 13 Sep 2017
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