From Chapter 1:

1956-1960: The Judgment of 8,000 People

September 25, 1956

The Toronto catcher crouched and flashed the sign. A pair of Rochester baserunners paced off their leads. There were two down in the top of the ninth and the Red Wings held a 4-1 lead in the seventh and deciding game of the International League's Governors' Cup final.

At the plate was Gene Green, already with two hits in the game. The Wings' primary offensive weapon, he batted .300 during the regular season, leading the team with 23 home runs and 95 RBI. As the offering neared the plate the right-handed hitter uncoiled, driving the ball high toward Maple Leaf Stadium's right field fence. It rocketed into the September night, and seemingly before it disappeared over the wall, the crowd of 7,958 began to drain toward the exits. The blast clinched the Wings' 7-1 win and a come-from-behind series victory over the pennant-winning Maple Leafs.

It was the second consecutive year that Rochester, despite not finishing near the top of the league during the regular season, captured the Governors' Cup championship. Yet the back-to-back flags had not raised Rochester attendance back to anywhere near the glory-year levels of the late '40s and early '50s. The faithful fans who did visit Red Wing Stadium, at 500 Norton Street on Rochester's northeast side, did not have long to celebrate their championship. The St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball club, which owned the Rochester franchise, made it clear during the season that it intended to pare down its minor league holdings.

Even with an increase of over 25,000 in attendance, Rochester's deficit for 1956 was estimated at close to $100,000, similar to the red ink recorded over the past four seasons, all of which featured playoff teams. So it was not entirely unexpected - but still shocking - when on Oct. 30, rumor became fact. The St. Louis Cardinals announced they were dropping four minor league clubs for 1957 and one would be the Rochester Red Wings.

The Cardinals' intention reflected an industry-wide movement. The minor leagues had peaked in 1949, when 442 teams played in 59 leagues in front of 40 million fans. Since then the numbers had drastically fallen: seven years later only 28 leagues and 212 teams were able to finish the season. The main problem was that the two main sources of income - ticket sales and player sales - had been plunging rapidly.

Since the late 1800s the majors and the minors had operated as two entities, functioning almost entirely separate from each other. Players that could not step out of high school into the majors - and most couldn't - were signed by independently-owned minor league clubs. Those clubs would develop the talent and then sell them to the highest bidder at the major league level. But the Depression years weakened the minors and the development of the "farm system" led to more control by major league organizations and more ownership, both of players and teams. By 1957 about 80 percent of all players in the minor leagues were already owned by a big league club.

The majors also snapped up the minor's most lucrative markets. The 1950s were a decade of franchise shifts and thriving minor league teams in Milwaukee, Kansas City, Baltimore and soon Los Angeles and San Francisco were pushed aside for new major league franchises and owners. The concern of the big league barons was for their own coffers and they were at times callously indifferent to the well-being of their poorer cousins.

By the latter part of the 1956 season the majors began to make some moves to help shore up the minors. A committee established by Commissioner Ford Frick recommended a "stabilization fund" of half a million dollars be established, funded by equal contributions by each major league team. The aid was earmarked for minor league clubs of all classifications. Yet other than the financial help, major league owners were unwilling to make substantial changes in a system that worked to their benefit. The minor league clubs accepted the money, but warily, with a worry that it would portend the end of their already slowly-decreasing independence.

Social changes also played a role in the dropping turnstile counts. Minor league baseball had numerous competitors for America's recreation dollars. Changing demographics, the country's love affair with the automobile, and the introduction of air conditioning, all cut into the minor league fan base. Television was the newest entertainment medium, bringing not only the likes of Milton Berle and Lucille Ball into the nation's living rooms, but also major league baseball's "Game of the Week." This invasion of their markets by major league broadcasts was the development that most infuriated the minor leagues. Threats of lawsuits were carried to the majors and pleas of intervention to the United States Congress.

The International League managed to remain the minor's most stable and long-standing circuit, with roots dating back to 1884, but western New York had been particularly hard hit by financially-sinking franchises. In 1955 Syracuse lost its International League club to Miami. Buffalo went the independent route, but was on extremely shaky ground.

Professional baseball in Rochester dated back to 1877, when a team represented the city in what was the first league established outside of the self-proclaimed "major leagues." Leagues and teams had a nomadic existence and it was not until 1885 that a Rochester team began an uninterrupted presence in what would become the International League. The city lost its team mid-way through both the 1897 and 1898 seasons, but Rochesterians saw to their return in both instances. In 1928 the franchise was again on unsound footing, but a potential shift was headed off by the purchase of the team by the St. Louis Cardinals, who, one year later, built Red Wing Stadium at a cost of $400,000.

The Cardinal era started off in unparalleled style. The first four St. Louis-stocked squads in Rochester (renamed "Red Wings" in a fan contest) captured International League pennants. Subsequent regular season flags were also achieved in 1940, 1950 and 1953. Junior World Series (IL playoff champ versus American Association winner) crowns were won in 1930, 1931 and 1952. The early '50s were notable not only for the two pennants, but also the three Governors' Cup playoff championships (1953, 1955, 1956). (Fans could only dream of the Red Wing domination had the Cardinals only stocked one Triple-A team. From 1931-1954 St. Louis also owned and supplied players for the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association. Those squads won three pennants, five playoff championships and three Junior World Series.)

Baseball fans that flocked to Red Wing Stadium saw a number of future major league stars, including Jim "Ripper" Collins, Stan Musial, Johnny Mize, Red Schoendienst, "Pepper" Martin and Paul Derringer. Some never made it big at the major league level, but nonetheless left indelible memories (and numbers), among them George Puccinelli, "Specs" Toporcer, Ray Pepper, Don Richmond, Estel Crabtree, Dom Ryba, Russ Derry, Tony Jacobs and Tom Poholsky. In 29 seasons with the Cardinals, Rochester squads had finished in the bottom half of the eight-team circuit only eight times.

World War II weakened all of baseball, but the minor leagues survived, and then thrived in the immediate post-war years. Yet by 1957, Rochester and Montreal were the only IL teams owned by their major league affiliates. The Cardinals also owned Omaha (moved from Columbus in 1955) of the Triple-A American Association and Houston of the Double-A Texas League. Of the three, the Wings had drawn the fewest: 176,850 compared to 245,000 for Omaha and 300,000 for Houston. Furthermore, Rochester's attendance paled in comparison to the 443,536 that had passed through Red Wing Stadium turnstiles just seven seasons prior. The numbers made it an easy decision from the Cardinals' standpoint.

The initial announcement was tempered by word that the Cardinals were negotiating with unidentified Rochester groups for the sale of the franchise. But it was soon apparent that there would be no white knight coming forward to save the team. Carl S. Hallauer, a member of the team's local board of directors, stated "It is my thinking that no individual or small group in this community will put up enough money to take it over."

Community ownership was floated as the solution. It had been done before in the minors, in places like Buffalo, Columbus, Richmond and Indianapolis, but it still remained to be seen if the idea, still in its relative infancy, would provide a lasting solution. Cardinals' Assistant to the General Manager Vaughn "Bing" Devine confirmed an asking price of $500,000, close to what St. Louis received for its Columbus franchise in 1955.

Rumors floated of other reasons for the Cardinals' departure. Red Wing management handed out over 52,000 free tickets the previous season and what was seen as generosity on the local level was not looked on as favorably in St. Louis. Others pointed to the fact that the Busch Brewery, which took over ownership of the Cardinals in 1953, could not, due to local ordinances, sell its product in Red Wing Stadium. It could, however, peddle brew in Omaha and Houston.

Whatever dark reasons could be placed on the Cardinals, the organization was more than willing to cooperate with local efforts to purchase the franchise. The Rochester-based directors of the club met with Red Wing General Manager (but St. Louis employee) George Sisler Jr.; however by mid-November no serious progress had been made. Cardinals' General Manager Frank Lane stated the team was "apprehensive" about the delay, while affirming that the major league club was "doing everything we can to give Rochester the opportunity to retain the franchise." He balked at issuing a threat, but confirmed that he had offers from two other cities, later identified as Atlanta and Jacksonville.

Devine was more sympathetic to the locals, but even he was not encouraged after a meeting between he, Cardinals' real estate specialist Al Banister and the Wings' board of directors. St. Louis was asking for a minimum down payment of $75,000 and gave a Dec. 1 deadline for action. Banister opined that the stadium and surrounding real estate could be sold relatively quickly, most likely for light industrial use.

It was clear that community ownership was the only option. Fortunately for Rochester baseball fans, a friend of Hallauer's had taken up his challenge to save baseball in Rochester. His name: Maurice E. "Morrie" Silver.

The 47-year-old Silver was a Rochester businessman well-known for his civic pride, honesty and entrepreneurial skill. He had graduated from the city's East High School and planned to attend Cornell University, but his father's illness forced him to find work. He began by selling newspapers on street corners and became so proficient that the local Gannett Newspapers hired him in their circulation department.

In 1937 he opened a music school that peaked at 500 students. He expanded this into a music store specializing in the sale of phonograph records. The business, Columbia Music Co., subsequently became the largest seller of records in the country. In 1945 he diversified, changing the name of his business to the Columbia Music and Appliance Company. Five years later the M.E. Silver Corp. was born. It became a leading distributor of appliances and electronics products in Western New York and Pennsylvania. Once asked by a reporter to explain the secret of his success, he replied "Because I love people and I try to live by the Golden Rule. Maybe that's corny, but it's true."

Silver threw $25,000 of his own money into the pot (insisting it not be revealed) and took his case to the public. The front page of Rochester's Thanksgiving Day newspaper asked the public for $200,000 to save the Red Wings. (The directors felt that figure would cover the $75,000 down-payment as well as give the club some working capital.) Sisler set up shop at the club's Norton St. offices, and former Brooklyn Dodger batboy Bill Gannett of the Rochester Convention and Publicity Bureau established operations downtown to begin accepting pledges. The total purchase price was set at $550,000, so 55,000 shares were ticketed to sell at $10 apiece.

The drive started at 9 a.m. on Nov. 26. Rochester had five days to raise the money. The first day was a heady success, bringing in $55,220, over a quarter of the required sum. International League President Frank Shaughnessy visited town on the third day, during which the drive hit $138,420. The campaign included a $500 pledge from the players and officials of the first-year Rochester Americans' hockey club. The Amerks also arranged to give two free game tickets to the first 500 making pledges, and designated their next game at the War Memorial as Red Wing Appreciation Night and set up a booth to accept pledges. Shaughnessy called the response "an amazing reaction, better than in any other city forced with a similar problem."

The next day the leaders of the Italian Civic League announced pledges totalling a minimum of $20,000. The final 24-hour period brought in promises of $96,130, pushing the five-day total to $290,880. Among the final total was $4,000 from the National Basketball Association's Rochester Royals. A seventh grader promised his life savings of $100, while a 13-year-old made the rounds of his neighborhood and came up with $1,100 in commitments. It was noticed that an increasing number of pledges were in children's names and were planned as Christmas gifts.

On Dec. 2, Silver was officially named as executive chairman of the community group. "I'm not looking for any personal publicity in this job," he said. "My aim is a sound club that will produce top entertainment and dividends for all of us." Silver, who would receive no pay in the position, traveled to the baseball winter meetings in Jacksonville to begin preliminary talks with the Cardinals.

Silver and Cardinal officials worked out a proposed working agreement. The arrangements were more than fair, but one sticking point had developed. Silver insisted on the right of first refusal on six players, all of whom had been key factors in the Wings' 1956 success: Eddie Kasko, Gene Green, Ronnie Plaza, Joe Cunningham, Bob Blaylock and Gary Blaylock. If any of these players, did not make the Cardinals, Silver wanted them returned to Rochester, and not sent to Omaha or Houston. Silver held his ground and the Cardinals consented.

Both the International League and the Cardinals were impressed by the drive, and league approval of the sale was predicted to be routine. There was talk of dropping Red Wings as the team name, but that was squashed when the "man on the street" voiced his strong opposition. On Dec. 11 the fledgling organization, dubbed Rochester Community Baseball, Inc., announced its directors and corporate officers. A 15-person board of civic and business leaders was named, along with a four-man advisory committee consisting of the team's former board members. Silver's position was redesignated as president. He was joined by vice presidents Frank Horton and Fred Weismiller Sr., treasurer Warren Allen and secretary Bill Gannett.

Three days later, after a 10-hour negotiating session, the Wings and Cardinals agreed upon a price of $525,000. RCB would acquire the stadium, 12 acres of real estate, and all clubhouse, stadium and office equipment, including uniforms. The Cardinals made concessions worth an estimated $150,000 in order to consummate the deal. The agreement included the outright acquisition of 12 players by the Red Wings (the team would own the contracts of these players, and could sell or trade at their desire), an annual payment of $10,000 by the Cardinals during the agreement (which was renewable up to five years at Rochester's option) and the right of first refusal on the six Rochester stars from 1956. St. Louis would also pay the salaries in excess of $750 a month of all players optioned to Rochester and cover the manager's salary in excess of $9,000 annually. Devine stated the Rochester story "will go down in baseball history for many years to come."

RCB went to the table with promises of $325,000 in hand. Of that total, $25,000 was earmarked for the International League in order to cover a performance bond, $225,000 was the planned deposit, and the remaining $75,000 would give the team some working capital. However club officials hoped that the drive could continue and allow them to cover the entire purchase price. The cash was needed on Jan. 15, 1957, and during the last days of December letters began going out to the 8,000 who had pledged, asking them to back up their promise. Silver sounded a warning beforehand: the key factor, he stated, was "how much shrinkage from the pledges" would be seen. He felt it essential for RCB to avoid any heavy mortgage payments on whatever balance would need to be financed.

Attorney and transplanted Texan Frank Horton was appointed legal counsel for the franchise and handled the necessary paperwork for incorporation. A form to purchase shares was printed in the Democrat & Chronicle and the $100,000 mark was passed in the first four days. But the flow of money stagnated and after the fifth day Silver admitted he was "definitely concerned." The Cardinals sent GM Lane to Rochester to keep tabs on the situation. By Jan. 9 however, the day's receipts were down to $13,760. "It doesn't look good right now," said Silver, who announced plans to hold a "Seventh Inning Rally" under the lights at Red Wing Stadium. With organ music in the frigid, arc-lit January air, the rally pulled in another $6,000.

Rochester's daily newspapers published half-page photos of the immaculate, but empty Norton Street ballpark with the caption: "Will Red Wing Stadium Look Like This?" Personal campaigns were organized by scores of local grocers, barbers and bartenders. A trend developed as those who had earlier pledged returned to buy more shares. With two days left, the Red Wings announced they would keep their offices open day and night. Downstate, reported D&C columnist George Beahon, New York City sportswriters were "sneering" in print about how the cash returns were running far below the promised amounts.

RCB had only $272,000 by the deadline, but without fanfare the Cardinals gave another seven days, while warning that there would be no extra time beyond that. The league issued a continuation on the $25,000 bond, the third such extension from the original Dec. 15 deadline.

The daily take dipped down into the four-figure range. Slowly the Wings crawled toward the goal. The final pitch was given on the a special "Red Wing Report," broadcast at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20 on WVET-TV (Channel 10). The next night, at the Press Radio Club benefit for polio dinner at which the S. Rae Hickok belt was presented to Mickey Mantle, Silver announced that the group was over the $300,000 mark - enough to make the purchase. On Jan. 22 RCB agreed to the purchase with a $25,000 down-payment, ending 28 years of Cardinal ownership.

With the sale finally confirmed, Rochester baseball could move ahead and plan for the future. (Silver and Horton also had to see that the near-8,000 stock certificates were issued - and every one of them signed by hand.) On Jan. 25, George Sisler Jr. was named general manager. The 40-year-old Sisler, son of the Hall of Fame first baseman, had been a Cardinals' employee for 16 years, the last two as the Wings "Gee-em." He served as the front office chief of Columbus before coming to Rochester.

The Wings also needed a skipper. Fred "Dixie" Walker, who took over in mid-1955 and led the franchise to two consecutive Governors' Cup championships, left in December, unsure of the team's future. He took the managing reins of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Shortly after Sisler's selection, Ellis "Cot" Deal was signed as player/manager. The popular and versatile Deal, who saw time as outfielder, catcher, coach and pinch-hitter in his primarily pitching career for the Wings, had spent four of the last five years in Rochester. He broke into organized baseball in 1940 as an outfielder and was converted to a hurler in 1943. His pitching mark was 52-29 for his four years in Rochester, including 15-7 in 1956. He was still a threat at the plate as well, hitting .314 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 122 at-bats the previous year.

The sale was formalized by International League officials at a circuit meeting in New York City. League secretary Harry Simmons said "the Rochester club is the baseball story of the year," while Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick stated, "The people of Rochester have reason to be proud of what I believe to be an outstanding accomplishment." RCB's success was the talk of the baseball world and as a gesture to Silver's contributions he was elected to the International League's board of directors.

The official closing date was March 1. The Cardinals waved a further incentive: if RCB could pay cash on that day they would outright six more players to the Wings. One of those identified as a potential "bonus" was Deal. His acquisition was seen as crucial - if his contract was owned by Rochester, he would answer solely to the Red Wings' front office and not St. Louis.

Further pledges were received after the deal was announced. The recreation clubs and athletic association of Eastman Kodak, Rochester's largest employer, kicked in $15,000. By late February, stock sales had eclipsed the $400,000 mark and Silver announced he would close the deal 48 hours ahead of schedule. Silver made arrangements to borrow approximately $175,000 from four local banks. On Feb. 27 the RCB president presented the Cardinals with a check for half a million dollars. In what was dubbed the "72-day miracle," 7,562 Rochester and area fans owned a ballclub.

Copyright © 1997 Brian A. Bennett. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system - except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper - without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, please contact Triphammer Publishing, P.O. Box 45, Scottsville, NY 14546-0045.