Danny Litwhiler : A First-Class Big Leaguer Remembers the 1940s

Join Baseball Almanac as we take a look into the amazing life of an inventor, an outfielder, an Armed Services supporter, and a hall of fame coach.

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"Billy (Southworth) was the best manager I played for. He went into all the fundamentals." - Danny Litwhiler

Danny Litwhiler

A First-Class Big Leaguer Remembers the 1940s | Yesterday's Heroes

Daniel Webster "Danny" Litwhiler may be best remembered as a successful college baseball coach who was later inducted into the American Baseball Coaches' Hall of Fame. But he started his long career as a good-fielding flychaser who played with four National League ball clubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Braves, and the Cincinnati Reds.

When Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers were coming to Cincinnati for the first series of the 1948 season, Litwhiler, then in his seventh big league season, was called into the office of Warren Giles, president of the Reds.

Born on August 31, 1916, in Ringtown, Pennsylvania, Litwhiler, unlike most major leaguers, was a college graduate. He earned a bachelor's degree in Science and Social Sciences in 1938 from Bloomsburg State Teacher's College.

Remembering the meeting with Giles, Litwhiler explained, "I'm wondering, 'What happened?' You don't get called upstairs unless you're getting traded or sold, or something like that. When I got there, the mayor of Cincinnati and a representative of B'nai B'rith were also there.

"Mr. Giles said, 'You are a college graduate, and I believe you will agree that Jackie Robinson should play major league baseball.'

"I said, 'Yeah, if he can play baseball, that's fine. I wouldn't want to see anyone come in just for reasons of color or race. But if he can play, let him play.'

"Giles said, 'We thought you'd feel that way. We want you to pose for a picture with Jackie, who's coming a day early. That will let people know the Cincinnati Reds welcome him.'

"I agreed to have the picture taken, and the photo ran in the papers the day before the first Dodger game. We got to be friends after that.

"Years later, in 1967, Jackie came to Michigan State to speak, and I had him sign the photo. I have a copy in my den, and the original is at my alma mater, Bloomsburg University."

The photo shows Litwhiler and Robinson smiling and looking at a poster sponsored by the Mayor's Friendly Relations Committee. The poster shows several white boys and one black youth, with the batter saying, "What's his race got to do with it? Can he can pitch?"

Given his Pennsylvania Dutch upbringing, his basic sense of fairness, and his educational background, Litwhiler, who admitted taking "a lot of flack from a few of the players over the picture," had no qualms about his friendship with Robinson.

A very committed individual, Danny gave the game everything he had every day. As a result, he overcame many injuries and hustled his way to a fine 11½-year career in the majors. The 5'10" 190-pounder, a hard-swinging right-handed batter, averaged .281 lifetime with 107 home runs and 451 RBI.

Asked about how he ended up with the St. Louis Cardinals, Litwhiler explained about his collision with Redbird catcher Walker Cooper in September 1942:

"It happened in the last week of the season. I was with the Phillies, and we were playing the Cardinals in Shibe Park. In the ninth inning with the score tied, I stretched a single over second into a double. The next batter got a single into center field to Terry Moore, who had an outstanding arm and was a fine fielder. They told me Moore picked up the ball barehanded and fired it to home plate.

"I rounded third, and the ball and I arrived at home plate at the same time, and I crashed into Walker Cooper. I was knocked out when my head hit his shinguard, and he got a dislocated shoulder. St. Louis was fighting for first place with Brooklyn, and that play hurt them. I scored a run and we won the game, but the Cardinals finally won the pennant."

In 1943 St. Louis traded for Litwhiler. Manager Billy Southworth soon invited him to dinner. Danny recalled that his new manager told him, "'I figure with the way you hustled for a last-place team, you would make a great ballplayer for a first-place team.'

"Southworth liked me, and over the years we became good friends. When he went to the Braves in 1946, he brought me over to Boston. So I played for him from 1943 until 1948, except for 1945, when I served in the Army.

"Southworth liked to platoon, you know, left-handed hitter against right-handed pitcher, and vice versa. I didn't like to platoon, but I liked to play for him.

"Billy was the best manager I played for. He went into all the fundamentals. In spring training everybody had to learn how to bunt and slide. You had to learn everything over each year. We really learned how to play baseball, and I carried his training into my coaching."

Reflecting on his degree and playing baseball, Litwhiler explained, "I went to Bloomsburg State Teacher's College in 1934, and I played college ball in 1935 and 1936. I also played for the Bloomsburg town team. And my brothers, Woody and Truman, played town ball.

"We played three games a week and made $5 a game, and $10 on Sunday. But my father used to say, 'Why don't you give up this baseball and get a job on a farm and make a good living?'

"A good living? Farm workers earned $2 a day and carried their own lunch!

"One day the mayor of Charleroi, Pennsylvania, was attending a mayors' meeting in Shamokin. He owned the Charleroi club, which was a class D Tigers' farm team. He asked if there were any good players, and he was told about me. I didn't play that weekend, because I had a tonsil operation.

"When I was able to play, I called him, went for a tryout, and signed up for $75 a month. My college coach, Dr. E.H. Nelson, gave me $10 for the bus ticket. I had just finished my sophomore year in 1936, and I played for Charleroi."

At that time in Pennsylvania, the fourteen teacher's colleges allowed pro players to play college ball during the academic year-as long as they were not playing professionally during that period.

Danny's summer of pro ball for Charleroi proved successful. In 66 games he batted .313, producing five home runs and 15 RBI. He returned to Bloomsburg State, finished his junior year, and reported to Charleston, West Virginia, of the class C Mid-Atlantic League in 1937.

"Everyone was already in good shape. The manager asked if I could play right field, and I told him I could. So I shagged some flies in batting practice. But I came in for one popup, stepped in a hole, and broke my ankle.

"So I was sent home until I had healed. I reported back in August, and I finished the season earning $100 per month."

Despite the injury, Litwhiler swung the bat well, averaging .287 in 48 games. While he hit only one homer, he slugged 10 doubles and five triples, plus he knocked in 26 runs.

After graduation in 1938, Danny signed for $125 a month with Alexandria, Louisiana, of the Evangeline League. For first-place Alexandria he batted .369, including 10 home runs and 71 RBI.

With his degree in hand, Litwhiler secured a job teaching Science and Biology at Bolton High School in Alexandria. That winter he received a 1939 contract from Toledo, Detroit's AAA club. But he had to keep teaching until the school obtained a replacement.

When he reported to spring training in Arlington, Texas, he was two weeks late and hardly in playing condition. The first day of practice, Danny tried to make a shoestring catch of a line drive, and he tore cartilage in his right knee. That finished him for 1939.

Danny sat out the season, but he returned home and played town ball. Bloomsburg used him at first base. The other teams allowed a courtesy runner-if he hit safely and legged it to first. In effect, he was a designated hitter.

That summer he got a big break. His brother Woody taught in Woodstown, New Jersey. Woody's friend "Curley" Ogden was the brother of John Ogden, the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles of the triple-A International League.

The upshot was that Danny received a tryout with Baltimore. He and his brother drove to Baltimore for the tryout, Danny hit well, and returned to the hotel to wait for Ogden's call-which never came.

"After two days, my brother and I had just enough money for two hot dogs, two pina colatas, and the gas to get home. That was the end of the Great Depression. He wasn't making much money, and I wasn't making any. The hot dogs cost 15¢ each, and the drinks cost 10¢ apiece!"

The brothers drove back to Bloomsburg, where Danny found a phone message to call Jerry Nugent, owner of the Phillies.

"I made the call, and John Ogden answered the phone. It turned out that Ogden had been hired as general manager of the Phillies, and he wanted to sign me.

"Mr. Nugent got on the phone and said, 'We'll operate on your knee, we'll give you $500 for signing, and we'll pay you $500 a month.'

"I agreed to that. The Phillies sent the check, the contract, and a letter to go to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, where I had the operation in the Fall of 1939.

"I went to spring training with Philadelphia in 1940. Everything worked out real well. I led the team in home runs, base hits, doubles, triples, and RBI. I played every inning of every game in spring training, and I got a lot of good press.

"The season opened in New York with the Phillies playing the Giants at the Polo Grounds. But I wasn't in the lineup. All the ballplayers were saying to me, 'What's going on?,' 'What happened?' I had no idea. We lost two games to the Giants.

"We went home to play the Dodgers. Hugh Casey was the pitcher, and Brooklyn led, 2-1. The manager put me in to pinch-hit with one man on and two out in the ninth inning.

"Casey hung a curve ball, and I can still see it coming. Boy, it just hung there! I took a good cut, but I popped it straight up. If I had hit it well, it was a home run, and I probably would have stayed with the team. But I popped it up, and I think before the ball came down, they assigned me to Baltimore of the International League."

At Baltimore Danny played in 10 games, hitting .226. After three weeks, he returned to Philadelphia. The Phillies agreed to pay half of his $500 salary and optioned him to the Wilkes-Barre in the Eastern League.

In 1940 the Phillies finished last, 50 games behind pennant-winning Cincinnati. But Litwhiler, after batting .305 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI in 103 games for Wilkes-Barre, was called up in August. In 36 National League games, Danny sizzled at .345, while clouting five homers and contributing 17 RBI.

Playing 151 games in 1941, Litwhiler continued his strong hitting. He averaged .305 with 18 round-trippers and 66 RBI, while ranking fourth in the National League in total bases with 275.

In 1942 the Bloomsburg State product enjoyed another good season, again playing 151 games. But his average slipped to .271, with nine homers and 56 RBI.

Still, he made the All-Star team (his only appearance). Danny picked up a pinch single off Detroit's Al Benton, but the National League lost, 3-1.

World War II made an impact on baseball in 1942, as large numbers of ballplayers began joining America's armed forces. But Litwhiler, classified 4-F because of his knee, was rejected for the draft.

Despite the knee, Danny

But injuries hurt Danny in 1942. He jammed his right shoulder in June during a head-first slide into second base. After that, he could not throw to home plate.

"Danny Murtaugh was the shortstop at the time. The manager would send him out, I would catch the ball, flip it to him, and he would throw it to home. Murtaugh used to tell me he ought to get my throwing salary!"

Ironically, he jammed his left shoulder shortly after the right shoulder healed, but the manager played him anyway.

"That hurts statistically, you know, when you have to play like that. But fortunately, it allowed me to set the major league fielding record."

But on June 1, 1943, Litwhiler and outfielder-pitcher Earl Naylor were traded to the Cardinals for flychasers Coaker Triplett, Buster Adams, and Dain Clay.

Cardinals Outfielder Danny Litwhiler

"I went to the Cardinals, and Billy Southworth put me in the lineup right away. I played in 325 consecutive games. But in my first game as a Cardinal, I crashed into the wall going after a foul fly ball. That sidelined me for a while.

"We had a great outfield. Johnny Hopp, who sometimes played first base, and Harry Walker platooned in center field. Stan Musial played right, and they put me in left field."

Who was his greatest teammate ever?

"That's easy," Litwhiler replied. "Stan Musial. He was a great hitter, a great guy, and a silent team leader. Even opposing fans liked to see him. They wanted to win, but they would stand and applaud Stan's homers!

"But outfielder Bob Elliott, my roommate at Boston, was a close second. We called him, 'Mr. Team.'"

In 1943 the Cardinals lost outfielders Enos Slaughter and Terry Moore, second baseman Jimmy Brown, and pitchers Johnny Beazley and Howie Pollet to the military. St. Louis still fielded a strong team, and Stan Musial led the National League with a .357 average.

Despite injuries, Litwhiler came through in 1943, batting a combined .272 with 12 circuit blasts and 48 RBI. Also, he started the first four games in the World Series and hit .267. His 4-for-15 performance included one double and two RBI.

While St. Louis won game two, 4-2, behind Mort Cooper's six-hitter, the Yankees won the Series in five games. Spud Chandler paced New York with two victories and a 0.50 ERA.

After the fall classic, Litwhiler was selected by league president Ford Frick to join Musial, Pirate manager Frankie Frisch, Dodger outfielder Dixie Walker, and Yankee pitcher Hank Borowy, on a USO tour to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. It was Major League Baseball's first attempt to entertain troops.

"I was 4-F because of my knee," Litwhiler recalled, "and I figured I could do something for the service people if I went on the trip. We were up there about three weeks. It was a tough trip, but it was worthwhile. We would show our World Series film and answer questions at the different bases, and they liked it. Afterward, Frick asked for our suggestions.

"I suggested that the troops would like to hear 'A Game of the Day,' which the military could pick up on short-wave. Frick thanked me, and they started broadcasting a major league game every day.

"Ford said, 'If I can ever do you a favor, let me know.'

"In 1955 I was called to interview at Florida State for the baseball job, and I got it. Don Veller, the golf coach, was on the selection committee. Later, he told me that the athletic director wanted a coach with major league playing and coaching experience and also a college degree. Veller suggested they write to Ford Frick, who was then Baseball Commissioner.

"Frick's reply was, 'There's only one person that I can name who could do the job, and that's Danny Litwhiler.' That's the favor I got from Frick, twelve years later."

But in 1944 the Cardinals fielded the best team in baseball. St. Louis won 105 times and captured the pennant by 14½ games over Pittsburgh. The Redbirds won their second World Series in three years by defeating the cross-town Browns in six games - after trailing in the series, two games to one.

Litwhiler led off the eighth inning of the fifth game by cracking a 400-foot solo homer to right center. The Cardinals won, 2-0, behind the shutout pitching of Mort Cooper. The next Day St. Louis won the title with a 3-1 victory, as Max Lanier and Ted Wilks combined to hurl a three-hitter.

"The time I hit the home run, my knee was flaring up. Billy Southworth had me leading off because I couldn't run well. Denny Galehouse was pitching, and I doubled off the center field wall at the 420-mark. It just missed going in the bleachers. Galehouse struck out the side. But in the sixth inning, Ray Sanders hit a solo homer to put us ahead, 1-0.

"In the eighth inning, Denny hung a slider on the outside, and I went with it. I had never hit a home run in right center. I started out for first base, and the crowd was cheering. But you didn't know if they were Cardinal fans or Brownie fans, because all the games were played at Sportsman's Park!

"I thought, 'Aw, some guy made a crazy catch out there,' and I looked out to center. I saw the ball bouncing around in the stands, and the people running after it. I was just going with the pitch, and I hit a home run. It was really a thrill. I still don't remember touching any of the bases!

"Incidentally, the guy who finally got the ball came up to me after the game and said, 'This is your home run ball. I'll give it to you if you'll give me a new ball.' "So I gave him a new baseball, and I have that home run ball in my den."

In 1945 Litwhiler joined the Army Special Services, after being turned down seven times for his weak knee. He was finally accepted for "limited service." Within a month he began five weeks of basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington.

The battalion commander, learning of Litwhiler's

"We also had a baseball team for the post," Litwhiler said, "and we won the Ninth Service Command Championship. I coached the basketball team, and we won that championship, too."

After being mustered out, Litwhiler reported to the Cardinals on June 1, 1946.

"By then the club was set. Enos Slaughter and Terry Moore had returned, Southworth was managing at Boston, and Eddie Dyer was the manager. When Southworth found I was out of the service, Boston purchased me. I played there until 1948."

Under Southworth's platoon system, Litwhiler batted .286 in 85 games in '46 and .261 in 91 games in '47. However, he totaled only 15 home runs during the two seasons.

"In 1946 the Braves finished fourth. In 1947 we finished third, and in 1948 I got traded. As it turned out, Southworth needed a left-handed hitter in '48."

In early May Litwhiler was traded to Cincinnati for Marvin Rickert. Danny played regularly for the Reds in 1948 and 1949. He responded by hitting .275 with 14 homers in '48 and .291 with 11 homers in '49. When the ball club began a youth movement in 1950, he started mostly against southpaws, hitting .259.

1951 Bowman #179 Danny Litwhiler

In 1951 Warren Giles asked Litwhiler to serve as a coach. At that time roster were limited to twenty-four players. But if someone was injured, a coach could be activated. Danny signed up, coached first base, and a player was injured in September. Manager Luke Sewell needed another outfielder. He learned that his coach needed just three days to get in condition.

One day later, Sewell inserted Litwhiler into the lineup against the Cubs to face right-hander Paul Minner. The former coach came through with a home run!

"When I came back to the dugout," Danny reminisced, "Luke laughed and said, 'It didn't take you three days, did it?!'"

In his last 12 games Litwhiler hit .276 with a pair of homers for sixth-place Cincinnati. He retired as a big leaguer after the season.

In 1952 Danny signed with Oakland of the Pacific Coast League, but he hurt his knee and was released after 28 games. But before he was released, manager Mel Ott had persuaded Danny to hold his hands closer to his body when hitting.

Litwhiler began managing and playing in the minors, first at Fargo-Moorehead of the class C Northern League in 1952. There he also hit .312 and connected for 19 home runs. Danny had a young player named Frank Gravino, whom he coached to hold his hands the same way. Gravino ended up hitting .311 with 32 homers and 108 RBI.

"In 1953 I managed at class A Wilkes-Barre, and Rocky Colavito of Reading led the league with 28 home runs. I was right behind him by hitting 26. Recently, I learned I still hold the record for career homers in the Eastern League with 40."

After one more season of managing and playing (.306 with 19 homers) for Duluth in the Northern League, Litwhiler was selected to coach baseball at Florida State.

From 1955 to 1963, while teaching and leading his FSU teams to three College World Series, Litwhiler compiled a record of 189-81. He also produced major leaguers such as Dick Howser, Woody Woodward, and Ken Suarez.

In 1964 Michigan State University lured Danny to the cooler Midwest. The former big leaguer, "Skip" to his players, coached his MSU teams to Big Ten Championships in 1971 and 1979. His Spartans compiled an overall record of 488-363 (plus eight ties). The major leaguers Danny turned out include Kirk Gibson, Rick Miller, Steve Garvey, Bruce Look, and Rich Billings.

Throughout his years of college teaching and coaching, Litwhiler stressed education over athletics. He also emphasized learning baseball fundamentals over winning games.

In addition, Danny invented a number of devices to improve the game, including:

a 3x6 foot, 3/4" thick unbreakable mirror for pitchers to perfect their delivery

the radar gun (now called JUGS gun) to measure pitching speed

a bottom-only bat for bunting practice

a product that today is called Diamond Grit, for drying wet fields

The longtime coach accumulated many honors, including being selected to Halls of Fame for the state of Pennsylvania, for Bloomsburg University, for Florida State University, for the American Baseball Coaches, for the Helms Athletic Foundation, and, in 1994, for the MSU Sports Hall of Fame.

Although he would have preferred suffering fewer injuries, the Hall of Fame coach has no regrets about his first-class playing career. After all, few big leaguers have played in a World Series, let alone on a World Series winning ball club and slugged a home run in the process.

"If I had it do all over again," Danny Litwhiler reminisced, "I'd love to do it.

"You know, the best part of the memories is that every year I become a better player!"

Danny Litwhiler : A First-Class Big Leaguer Remembers the 1940s
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baseball almanac fast facts

Did you know that during the 1941 season Danny Litwhiler collected at least one home run in every single National League ballpark?

The article discusses Litwhiler's feat of playing errorless baseball in 1942, but did you know that during the 1941 season he led all National League outfielders in putouts and had an uncanny fifteen errors?

Danny Litwhiler and Jim Sargent have co-authored a memoir highlighting Danny's major league career, his college coaching experiences, and his baseball innovations. The book, Danny Litwhiler: Living the Baseball Dream, is available on-line (Click Here) and at bookstores.