From Chapter 1:

1956-1960: The Judgment of 8,000 People

1960

The 1960 season would be Clyde King's first full year as Rochester's manager. His disciplinary style and eye for details showed in his training camp, where Luke Easter was quoted as saying, "I feel like I've been through paratroop training."

Unlike 1959, King's major area of concern was the offense, most pointedly a lack of power. Easter was a potential solution to that problem, although every year the aging first baseman had to fight off predictions of his demise. He was the "best-spirited and hardest worker" in the Florida camp, giving no quarter in his fight to be the regular first sacker. Easter was not the only returning player in the infield. Ron Kabbes, who disappointed at the bat (.177) in his stint with the Wings the previous season, was the favorite to open at second base. Bill Harrell was back as well, but looked to begin the year as a spare infielder/outfielder, although he could move in at third base if projected starter Bob Sadowski struggled. Sadowski hit .290 with Omaha, but preferred second base. The major infield question was at shortstop, which had been an annual Red Wing weak spot since Eddie Kasko's all-star performance in 1956. This season's candidate was Julio Gotay, 20, a colorful Puerto Rican. He hit .284, 17, 64 with Omaha and had great tools, but was a "bundle of nerves" primarily due to his problems with the English language. He was a great prospect, but also a giant question mark.

Another key player was catcher Dave Ricketts. The 24-year-old switch hitter, brother to pitcher Dick, hit .306 for the Wings in 1957 before active duty in the Army had taken away his next two seasons. He was the most impressive player in camp, but if he failed when the bell for the regular season rang, there was nobody of any quality behind him.

Ben Mateosky (.288, 18, 88 with Omaha) was the only back-up receiver and he was primarily an outfielder. He was similarly a reserve in the pasture, behind returning starters Jim Frey (LF) and Charley James (RF). Duke Carmel was back for his third shot at Triple-A after a .291, 23, 70 season at Tulsa. He was the team's other question mark, along with Gotay, and a quick start was seen as crucial for his confidence.

Pitching was seen as the foundation of the club. Bob Keegan, Cal Browning and Dick Ricketts all returned in the rotation. Browning was 21 pounds lighter in his continuing effort to regain the form he flashed in the first part of the 1958 season. The two new starters were at opposite ends of their respective baseball careers. Right-hander Frank Barnes, 32, was a veteran who saw time in St. Louis in '57 and '58 before spending a full season at Omaha in '59, where he went 15-12, with a 2.87 earned run average. Southpaw Ray Sadecki was just beginning his career. A 20-year-old who received $50,000 to sign out of high school, he also spent the previous campaign in Omaha. He notched a 13-9 mark with a 4.06 ERA, winning 12 of his last 15 decisions. He had a lot of stuff, but had trouble controlling it, witnessed by his 175 strikeouts and 145 walks in 193 innings of work.

Nineteen-year-old Lynn Rube was the other rookie to make the club, fresh off his 16-win season in D ball. He would open the season in the bullpen. The other relievers were seasoned campaigners. Tommy Hurd returned as the key right-hander while six-year major league vet Dean Stone (0-1 with the Cardinals; 9-6 with Omaha) matched him from the left side. Jim "Whip" Donahue, 8-7, 2.39 at Omaha, completed the bullpen quartet.

Late in spring training King stated it was "by far the best club I've ever managed. It has fewer problems at this stage than any other club I've had." General Manager George Sisler Jr.'s take on the situation was "strong pitching, better defense than last year with more speed." His only qualifier: "We hope the club will hit up to expectation." The D&C's George Beahon labeled them "potentially good" and picked them for third place. The club finished with a 16-11-1 exhibition mark.

The only conceivable problem facing the Wings was the season opener in Havana. Prime Minister Fidel Castro had been stirring up anti-American sentiment as of late. A proposal to move the team had been tabled at a league meeting in December, but IL chief Frank Shaughnessy had been given the authority to yank the franchise if he considered visiting teams to be in danger. All spring he had been denying rumors that had the organization moving, either to Newark, Jersey City or San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wings' brass Sisler and Horton stated they would undertake a "personal inspection" of Cuba before the team traveled there for the April 20 opener.

The club was still in Havana by the time the season opened. The Wings were not enthusiastically welcomed by some of the media, so Horton, along with Easter, who was greatly respected by the Cuban fans, felt compelled to accept an "invitation" to appear on Cuban TV the night before the opener. Guarded by armed soldiers, as the apprehensive pair approached the studio, Easter graciously gestured to the club president that he should enter first. Horton responded, "Luke, you go in first. You're bigger."

Officially, the Red Wings were given the red carpet treatment. But starter Keegan had to go through three different warm-up sessions as Castro was 47 minutes late in arriving. On the mound with Castro for the pre-game ceremonies, Horton later recalled a Cuban colonel turning away from the American flag and puffing on a cigar as the Star Spangled Banner was played. The game began an hour after the scheduled start time, yet Keegan carried a no-hitter into the sixth. The Cubans rallied with three to tie the game. It stayed that way until the 10th, when Easter propelled one out of the park and the Wings had a 4-3 win.

Rochester won the next two games for its first sweep in Cuba during the seven years the franchise had been in Havana. A pair of rainouts and a doubleheader loss were the results in Miami before the team headed home for its Red Wing Stadium opener.

Columbus was the Opening Day opponent. Head groundskeeper Dick Sierens had the mix of Kentucky Bluegrass, Fancy Redtop, Kent clover and Chewing red fescue a marvelous shade of green for the 12,911 who appeared. The team also debuted batting helmets, navy blue with red visors. A winged-ball emblem was hand-painted on the headgear, the over-sized wings extending well onto the sides of the helmet. Sno cones were among the new concession offerings.

The amenities were secondary to the game. The Wings had a 4-3 lead in the seventh when Carmel homered with two on to provide the final margin in a 7-3 victory. After the game pitcher Frank Barnes was called for by St. Louis, with Gene Oliver coming back to Rochester, with instructions that he was to see time at first base.

Easter's early-season performance made it hard to move him. On April 30, he closed out the tenth inning with a solo home run to cap a 5-4 win over the Jets. Five days later in Columbus, he smacked a pinch-hit, three-run shot in the eighth to snap a 3-3 tie. The youngsters, however, were a different story. With Oliver sidelined by a broken finger, the team was hitting .218, with 122 strikeouts in its first 15 games (7-8 record). Ricketts, Carmel and Gotay were all struggling. Part of Gotay's problems were off the field. Breakfast was the only meal of the day he knew how to order; the rest of the day he spent downing milk and milk of magnesia. He was benched.

As the Cardinals' roster cut-down day approached the Wings were looking forward to receiving possibly an outfielder and a catcher from St. Louis. Their hopes came true as they acquired catcher Chris Cannizzaro and outfielder Ellis Burton on option from St. Louis. Both were American Association All-Stars with Omaha in '59. Burton, a switch-hitter who put up a .292 mark, was installed in right field, with James in left and Carmel in center. The infield shifting settled with Kabbes at short, Sadowski at second, Harrell at third, and Easter and Oliver sharing time at first once the latter returned.

The roster additions meant player departures. Gone to Double-A were Julio Gotay, Lynn Rube and Jim Hickman, the latter being acquired just earlier in the month of May. Rookie right-hander Ted Thiem was brought up from Tulsa and shutout Buffalo in his first start. But disturbing news was heard from St. Louis - pitcher Frank Barnes was lost due to a waiver snafu by the Cardinals. King's concern was evident in the moves but he wrote it off by stating his club was in a rare simultaneous defensive and offensive slump and that there was "no reason to panic."

A major franchise milestone was achieved on Sunday, May 15, when the final payment of $10,000 was made to pay off RCB's loan. During pre-game ceremonies the Wings ritualistically burned their mortgage, although technically it was not considered one, since the banks had loaned the money on good faith and had not asked for collateral. On the same day the squad received another present as Bob Gibson was sent down from St. Louis. Gibson went 9-9 in Omaha and 3-5 with St. Louis the previous season. The price, however, was Ray Sadecki (2-1).

The Wings fashioned a modest three-game winning streak, which was snapped in Buffalo. King protested the 11-2 loss, because in the third inning, with the Wings down 2-1, the umpires ruled a ball that went through the fence at decaying Offerman Stadium (it was the last year the Bisons would play there) was a home run. The protest was later denied.

Gibson was late in reporting, so while the team waited to hear from him, Easter put on another display of late-inning pinch-hitting heroics. On May 20 he had a pinch-hit single in the ninth to provide the winning runs in a 4-2 win at Montreal. The next night he came off the bench to tie the game with a ninth-inning double; the Wings went on to a 5-3 triumph. The wins put Rochester at the .500 mark.

That particular Canadian trip (Montreal, Toronto, then Montreal again) was full of interesting developments. The first game in Toronto was fogged out, with a fourth inning 5-0 Rochester league. Harrell lost two hits to the cancellation, which would have boosted his league-leading average from .363 to .384. In a doubleheader loss the next night, the Wings' "slickest" infielder, shortstop Kabbes, was lost when he ran into a concrete and steel fence after ranging into foul territory to catch a pop-up behind third base. X-rays showed a fractured right knee. Harrell was temporarily moved to short, with 18-year-old Jerry Buchek called up from Tulsa.

The next night the Wings lost two players to the Cards as a result of a trade at the major league level. Cal Browning (3-3) and Ellis Burton, who had displaced Carmel as the regular center fielder, went to St. Louis. Second baseman Wally Shannon was sent down to Rochester.

Browning was the third member of the Opening Day rotation to be recalled, joining Barnes and Sadecki. Sisler moved to bring in more pitching, at first purchasing a veteran who refused to report. Instead the Wings got youngster Bill Carpenter from Class C Winnipeg, where he had dominated the league. He won 19 in '59, and his first six in 1960. The Red Wings received a potential gem the next day when the Cardinals purchased Bobby Gene Tiefenauer from Cleveland and assigned him to Rochester. The 31-year-old knuckleballer played for the Wings in 1951-53, with a combined record of 23-16, and had most recently competed in the IL with Toronto in '58, when he went 17-5 with 18 saves and a 1.89 ERA. He had since been traded to the Indians, where he suffered various arm ailments. If healthy he would provide a boost of experience of the Red Wing staff.

Nagging injuries sidelined Shannon, Sadowski and Frey, bringing the bench down to two men, and the Wings continued to flounder below the .500 mark. Easter continued to defy time, his latest exploit a 500-foot shot out of Richmond's Parker Field, said to be the longest ball hit in the park's seven-year existence. The Wings and Cardinals continued to deal, replaying the past season's habit of picking up veterans. Thirty-seven-year-old Del Rice was signed in early June to be player/coach. The catcher played with Rochester in 1943 before going on to a 15-year major league career, mostly with St. Louis and Milwaukee. Less than a week later, right-hander Willard Schmidt, 31, was purchased from Seattle of the Pacific Coast League. He also had previous experience with the Wings (1952) and spent parts of seven seasons in the majors.

The Cardinals had taken away three of the regular rotation, but were at least making efforts to replace them, dropping $20,000 to purchase Tiefenauer and $7,500 on Schmidt. Yet the parent club was far from done tinkering with the Red Wing roster. Two roster spots needed to be cleared for Schmidt and Frey (coming off DL) and so catcher Dave Ricketts was optioned out. By the next sundown Ted Thiem, Bob Gibson, Jim Donohue and Duke Carmel were all gone. Thiem went down, Donohue and Carmel were shipped to St. Paul in a trade with the Dodgers and Gibson returned to St. Louis, taking his deceptive 2-3 record (he had a 25-inning scoreless streak in his Rochester stint). Returning to Rochester was Ellis Burton, along with another outfielder, Leon Wagner. The lineup shifts approached the ridiculous and the line in the Rochester clubhouse was that "We've got three clubs; one coming, one going, one playing."

At the time of the roster revamp, the Wings stood at 23-27. They were 14 games back from the top, but Buffalo and Toronto were the only two squads over .500. The rest of the league was in a log jam and the Wings actually stood in fourth place. Wagner paid immediate dividends, smacking a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth in a doubleheader nightcap against Columbus to erase a 1-0 deficit. The entire offense showed signs of rejuvenation; two days later the Wings again swept the Jets, hitting seven out of the yard and coming back from deficits in both games during the 8-7, 8-6 triumphs. On June 20th Manager King spoke to the RCB board, stating that for him, the season started on June 16, when the (hopefully) last shipment of players were received from St. Louis.

The final roster spasm was on the 24th, when right-handed reliever Artie Kay was acquired from Miami. Disappointing infielder Bob Sadowski (.223) was part of the exchange. Kay led the IL with a 2.08 ERA the previous season and his addition gave the Wings what was arguably the best and most experienced bullpen (Kay, Stone, Hurd and Tiefenauer) in the league. Kay joined the team when it traveled to Miami after four games in Havana. On the last date in Cuba, a doubleheader was delayed by a hour-and-a-half when a munitions dump blew up in the city. The explosion was close enough to the park to cut power and put quite a shock into some of the visiting Wing players.

The IL All-Star game was played on June 27 with the Wings represented by Harrell and Dick Ricketts, Harrell as a starter at third. During the break RCB President Frank Horton was officially named IL executive vice president, the league's second-highest office. Horton, as the circuit's legal counsel, had become very visible among IL leadership, mostly due to his service as spokesman in the league's fight with the Continental League.

The Continental League, unveiled in 1958, was to be a third major league. It was the brainchild of long-time major-league front office magnate Branch Rickey. It had powerful political and financial backers, primarily in states and cities eager to acquire major league baseball. The planned loop, along with continued Congressional threats of a revoked anti-trust status, forced the majors to handle the rivals with caution. On their part, the upper minors were worried that a new league, acting independently from the existing majors, would continue the erosion of their markets. Among the cities targeted for inclusion in the league, which planned to open in 1961, were Buffalo and Toronto. The CL's organizers and the IL brass had been arguing over satisfactory compensation for the loss of those two territories.

The negotiations were hardly civil - or even close. The International League wanted $750,000 each for the Buffalo and Toronto territories, along with an additional $100,000 per franchise for relocation costs. The Continental League countered with about $60,000 for each, based on the calculations of seven cents per fan for total attendance in the three seasons from 1958-60. (The same formula had been used to indemnify the league when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954.)

Communications were strained due to the wide difference in figures and when officials of the new circuit announced they would push back the start until 1962, they blamed the International League's inability to negotiate indemnification. Horton fired back, calling the operation a "bush league." (His promotion to executive vice president had been a not-so-subtle rebuke to Toronto owner Jack Kent Cooke. Cooke, while acting as the IL's second in command, had been on the ground floor of the Continental League's plans and was named its vice president.)

The Continental League's main fight was with the major leagues. While publically receptive to the new circuit in order to appease Congress, the press and the public, the majors employed stonewalling tactics they hoped would kill the idea. The Continental League lost a major battle in late June when Congress defeated the Pro Sports Bill. The bill would have taken away Organized Baseball's anti-trust exemption and opened all major league rosters to an unrestricted draft.

Major League Baseball ultimately agreed to expansion, by two teams in each league: the American League in 1961, the National League in 1962. Franchises were promised to Continental League syndicates, including William Shea, co-creator of the league, who wanted a National League team in New York City to replace the Dodgers and Giants. With that, the Continental League folded its tent. The IL had one less problem with which to contend.

After the all-star break, Miami and Havana traveled to Rochester. Losses to the Marlins dropped the Wings into fifth place, still under .500 and at 13 1/2 games back, realistically out of the pennant hunt. When fourth place Havana followed on July 1, Charley James, who had not been matching his rookie of the year numbers (.246, 10 RBI), found himself on the bench. The Cardinals were not happy having one of their top prospects not playing and quickly responded. Wally Shannon Sr., St. Louis' director of minor league personnel, stated, "This is no criticism of King, because we realize his job is to win games with what he considers his best lineup. But we are faced with a serious problem. James must play here or somewhere else.... Either James plays, or we have to move him."

King refused to unbend and on July 7, James was assigned to Charleston of the American Association. The International League had a bigger move that day, announcing that, in order "to protect our players," the Havana franchise was to be moved within days. Jersey City was the destination, rejoining the league after losing its franchise to Ottawa in 1950.

The Wings continued to have to shuffle their pitching staff. Ray Washburn, a recent Cardinal signee after graduating from college, was inked at the end of June. Bill Carpenter was moved to make room. Keegan, struggling at 3-5, was placed on the DL with arthritis in his back. To take his spot, pitcher Bob Sadowski (no relation to the former infielder) was assigned to Rochester from Memphis.

Pitching wasn't the problem, though. The offense continued to sputter, with the team's .247 average sixth in the league. After a doubleheader loss at Toronto in which they scored only one run, King checked all his players in at the curfew time, then got them out of bed at 10 o'clock the next morning for a two-hour workout. He announced that the practices would continue until the team hit with men on base. Shortstop Buchek, who had been brilliant with his glove, began to slump in the field. Without his sterling leatherwork, his weak bat could not be afforded in the struggling lineup and so the spot was given back to Kabbes upon his return from his knee injury. The job appeared to be Kabbes' for the rest of the season if his leg held up.

The workout paid immediate dividends. After a rainout the Wings swept a twin bill from the first place Leafs. The opening 11-4 win featured a nine-run outburst in the sixth. Leon Wagner put himself in the record books by hitting a pair of two-run home runs in the inning. He became the first Red Wing ever to hit two homers in one inning. The feat had been accomplished 10 other times in IL history, the last in 1947.

It was not a sign of better days, at least not yet. St. Louis General Manager Bing Devine came to town in late July, "just for [a] look." He saw three straight losses to Toronto, in which his top minor-league club scored only five runs. The Red Wings hold on the final playoff spot had been shaved to a mere half game.

The Redbird administrator following the club to Buffalo and witnessed the long-awaited awakening. Rochester swept the third-place Bisons 17-9, 13-10 and 7-2. Harrell, who remained the league's best hitter, slugged a grand slam in the opener, while Wagner and Burton had crucial home runs in the 13-10 win, the first game of a doubleheader.

Home runs continued to play a key role in the resurgence. The team traveled to Columbus next, winning the first of the five-game set on Frey and Mateosky round-trippers in the 15th frame of a 7-4 win. The next evening Oliver's two-out solo homer in the ninth provided the winning run in a 3-2 victory. Three more triumphs in the Ohio city, including a twin bill sweep in which the Wings hit four home runs, brought the streak to eight straight wins, taking the team over the .500 mark and within a half game of third place.

The only down note of the streak was King's seeming epitaph of Luke Easter's career. "I'm afraid Luke is through," said the Rochester manager in Columbus. "He can't pull the ball anymore. He's a great guy, though and he's a good influence on our ballclub." Whether or not Easter could still get around on pitches didn't seem to hurt his value; the next night his pinch-hit single to left field in the eighth inning broke a 4-4 tie on the way to a 5-4 win.

The Wings continued their strong play into August. Easter accepted his new role - clubhouse leader, pinch-hitter and occasional first baseman - and hit the team's 100th home run on Aug. 5, the day after he and Keegan both celebrated their 40th birthdays. (Easter's age was much debated, and the figure he gave was believed by almost no one.)

The two early-season mound purchases were leading the pitching staff. Willard Schmidt was labeled the "bargain buy of the year" for his performance. His ERA had been under two well into July and although it had recently ascended above the 3.00 mark, he still had a 7-2 record. Tiefenauer, nicknamed "The Hangman," almost single-handed carried the team through its summer surge. He was named the International League's "Player of the Month" for July (the award had been instituted in May). He was 9-1, 1.90 through the end of the month; in early July he notched his 10th win and the next night in a doubleheader sweep over Jersey City, recorded his 11th and 12th saves. The rookie duo of Washburn and Sadowski also contributed. Vets Keegan, Browning and Ricketts were all struggling and the "Kiddie Corps" pitched in admirably.

Tiefenauer's 10th win was in front of a sparse home crowd of 2,231 and dwindling attendance was the topic of discussion in the dugout. Attendance was down almost 30,000, mainly due to the "incredibly bad" weather, which had occurred mainly on Sunday, holiday and doubleheader dates, the sources of best attendance. When the climate did improve, both in the skies and on the field, the crowds had not increased.

Nonetheless the team continued to solidify its hold on a playoff spot, occasionally bouncing up into third place. Some personnel moves in August put the finishing touches on the roster that King and Sisler hoped would taken them into the post-season. Outfielder John Glenn came down, as did shortstop Julio Gotay. Catcher Del Rice was sold to St. Louis, leaving the Wings with Cannizzaro as their sole receiver. (Not even Mateosky was available should Cannizzaro go down; he was sidelined with a abdominal ailment that cost him 18 pounds in 10 days.) The Wings quickly acquired receiver Ray Katt from Tulsa.

On the same day as the Katt acquisition, King went down with a torn achilles tendon. Waving home a run from the third base coaching box, during the the first game of a Aug. 16 doubleheader at Jersey City, he jumped and fell, popping the tendon. The incident happened on the first leg of an 18-game road trip and the team lost games the first three days after King's injury, dropping the lead over fifth place Jersey City to three.

King would remain in the dugout in street clothes for the remainder of the season, deciding to turn the on-field reins over to Jim Frey, until the experienced Katt was acquainted with the team's personnel. Tommy Hurd took over the pitching coach duties of King. Frey's tenure was cut short, however, as he was challenging for the league batting crown, and King didn't want to overburden him.

Easter refused to let the team slide into the second division. Before the trip began, in a twin bill against Richmond, his pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning of the opener led the Wings to a come-from-behind 8-7 win. He continued his heroics when the Wings traveled to Montreal. They captured the series opener 2-1, in ten innings. The next night featured a doubleheader in which both games went overtime. The Wings dropped the first game, but Easter's pinch-hit double plated the game-winning runs in the nightcap. He gave an encore performance the following game, slamming a pinch-hit, 450-foot home run with two out in the ninth to break a 1-1 tie and give Rochester a 3-1 win.

Another extra-inning win (raising the team's overtime mark to 11-3) gave the Wings four of five games in Montreal and a secure 4 1/2-game hold on fourth. With Mateosky and Oliver (middle ear infection) in and out of the lineup, Easter became a constant presence, going 22 straight games with at least one hit, the longest such streak in the league that season.

Third place Buffalo was not out of reach. After Montreal the Wings made their final appearance in Offerman Stadium, which had housed Buffalo professional teams since 1924. The teams split four games, but a subsequent Buffalo loss on a Red Wing off-day vaulted the Rochester club into third. Buffalo came into Rochester on Sept. 2 down two games and picked up no ground with another four-game split. The Sept. 4 game was notable as "Easter Sunday;" a tribute to the aged fan favorite. Easter was honored between games of the doubleheader, receiving among his many gifts the key to the city, a $300 wrist watch with diamond numerals, and from his teammates a complete poker set, including table, chairs, chips and cards.

The late-season run was not, however, without its trouble spots. Surprising rookie hurlers Washburn and Sadowski were both sidelined, Sadowski with a torn rib muscle that looked to end his season, Washburn a sore elbow. Potentially more damaging was the loss of Tiefenauer. Suffering from a stiff arm in early September, he awoke one morning with severe shoulder pain, a symptom of the problem which had sidelined him the entire previous season. Some help was received when righty Bob Milliken was purchased from Memphis, where he had compiled a 21-15 record over the past two seasons.

The Wings closed out against Montreal, clinching a playoff berth on Sept. 9, and third place the next night. A win in the season finale gave Rochester a final mark of 81-73, in third place, 19 behind the flag winners in Toronto.

Despite the Maple Leafs' runaway pennant, they were not the playoff favorites. Richmond, the pre-season pick, finished second due mainly to a mediocre pitching staff. But its overpowering offense made the Braves the bettors' choice. Rochester, which had to pare its 24-man roster down to 21 for the playoffs, dropped three ailing players: Hurd, Gotay, and most telling, Tiefenauer. King, the "practicing psychologist," mentally boosted his team by stating before the series' opener against Richmond, that his team had "a better chance to win this whole thing than anybody."

Late-season acquisition Milliken started the first game in Richmond. Poor fielding and a lack of clutch hitting doomed the Wings to a 4-3 loss. Washburn was given the ball for Game Two and responded by only allowing three hits and one run in seven innings. Cannizzaro smacked a pinch-hit, two-out single in the eighth which scored two runs, giving the Wings a 3-1 triumph.

Keegan went Game Three in Rochester. His teammates scored six runs in the third to open a 7-2 lead which expanded to the final 10-5 margin. Artie Kay made his third relief appearance in the four games the next night, a 5-2 win that gave the Wings a 3-1 advantage in games. Over his playoff appearances, Kay had faced 11 batters, allowing only one hit and striking out six.

He made another appearance the following night. The Virginians climbed to a 5-0 lead after five and still led 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh. The Wings scored four runs, helped by two muffed fly balls by the normally-reliable Richmond left fielder. Kay closed out the 8-7 win, and the series four games to one.

The powerhouse Maple Leafs swept their series. Their success was built on a pitching staff that blanked opponents 32 times, surpassing the league record of 29, set by the pennant-winning 1910 Rochester squad. Ace Al Cicotte gave an example by stifling the Wings on three hits in the 4-0 series opener.

Rochester inflicted the first post-season loss on the Maple Leafs the following night. Trailing 2-0 after five, King's team rallied for three in the sixth, a Shannon hit the tie-breaker. Two insurance tallies were added in the eighth on a Buchek single. Dean Stone got four of his five outs on strikeouts to close out the game.

Noticed by few that day was the Cardinal's acquisition of Buffalo outfielder Don Landrum, who had led the IL in several offensive categories. Former Wing infielder Bob Sadowski, who spent the remainder of the season in San Diego, was the player named to complete the trade. He was not, however, the sole player going to Buffalo. The bombshell came the next day, when the Cards announced that Jim Frey, Billy Harrell, Wally Shannon and Dick Ricketts would go to Buffalo to consummate the deal. The foursome would be allowed to complete their seasons in Rochester, but the deal, which took three regulars and a starting pitcher, loomed dark over prospects for the next season.

Sisler had no prior knowledge of the deal. The transaction infuriated Red Wing fans and quickly became known as the "5-0 trade." Rochester faithful cried foul and even Buffalo General Manager Don Labbruzzo's statement that he wanted to pull the trigger on the trade in July, but the Cards refused, did not apply salve to the wounds. Most of the reaction centered around Frey, who, after winning a batting championship, was assumed to be getting a shot at the majors with St. Louis. Buffalo, an independent, could not assure him such a chance.

Frey was "shook up," Sisler "utterly disgusted," and King "tongue-tied." A "shocked" RCB director stated, "All I know about the deal is what I read in the papers.... What can we do? Well the last time we voted for a working agreement it was awful, awful close. Maybe it will be different next time." What some fans were saying about St. Louis and the working agreement was "not possible to reprint" in the city's newspapers.

The development damaged Red Wing spirits and the team dropped the final three games in Rochester to give Toronto the Governors' Cup. None were particularly close: 8-1, 6-2 and 8-4. King refused to give the trade any credence in the loss, stating that defense won, noting that his squad committed 11 errors in the five games, against only one for Toronto. "We played our worst at the finish," admitted the Red Wing skipper.

The disappointing and shocking finish took some luster off what had been a fine season. The strong performances of Frey (league-leading .317, with 16 home runs, 65 RBI), Harrell (.292, 15, 79, 85 runs) and Shannon (.251, 15, 58) only served to remind Rochester fans that they would be most likely playing for the rival Bisons come the new season. Ricketts had a somewhat disappointing year (9-13, 4.18), but won two games in the playoffs. Frey ended up third in the Most Valuable Player voting and Harrell was the league's all-star third baseman.

It was a year of heroics by the part-time players. With starters Bob Keegan (6-9, 3.44), Cal Browning (5-9, 3.60) and Ricketts less than reliable, performances by "minute men" bullpenners Bob Tiefenauer (11-4, 3.35, 15 saves), Artie Kay (league-leading 61 appearances), Willard Schmidt, Ray Washburn, Bob Sadowski and Bob Milliken were crucial. They went a combined 42-25 as relievers and spot-starters. Schmidt tied Tiefenauer for the team lead with 11 wins.

Luke Easter closed at .303 and added 14 home runs and 57 RBI. He was one of eight players with over 10 home runs, along with Frey, Harrell, Shannon, Ben Mateosky (.300, 12, 47), Oliver (.285, 12, 56), Leon Wagner (.265, 16, 48), and Ellis Burton (.257, 14, 38). Mateosky joined Easter as pinch-hitter extraordinaire, hitting .500 with five home runs off the bench. The team was second in hitting (.254), second in runs and first in home runs. But the defensive statistics were more telling. The Wings finished last in fielding percentage, seventh in errors (172) and tied for the bottom in double plays.

Credit was due as well for Manager Clyde King. Considering the number of players moves and the fact that more than once the team had teetered on the brink of sliding into second-division obscurity, it was a masterful performance. He was unafraid to go against "the book" in his managerial moves and was as active working his players' minds as their bodies. It was not unlike him, stated one local baseball columnist, to "utter barefaced lies in his efforts to condition his troops mentally for certain games and situations." He was rumored to be sitting on an offer to manage one of the expansion clubs, but St. Louis officials would not make a quick decision on his future.

The "five for nothing" trade and the uncertainty of King's situation, made it look as if the off-season would be long and controversial. But it was nothing of the sort. Moving with stunning swiftness, just as the Cardinals had four years before, the Red Wings made their play.

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