Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode Summary: Dizzy Dean 48-09-18 (12) Dizzy's All-Star Lineup

Date: October 24, 2025

Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Featuring: Dizzy Dean
Original Broadcast: September 18, 1948

Episode Overview

This episode is a lively, nostalgia-rich broadcast featuring Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean in his role as radio host and baseball sage. Set in the golden age of radio, Dean blends baseball insights, colorful anecdotes, and homespun humor, focusing especially on advice for young pitchers, current (1948) rookies, his all-time all-star team, and the inside banter of big league life. The chemistry between Dean and his sidekick Frank Ashton is warm and playful, capturing the charm of mid-century sports radio.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Musical Introduction & Dean’s Mood

[01:10–01:51]

• Dizzy Dean opens the show by singing a snippet of “The Wabash Cannonball,” prompted by a burst of good spirits:

  “Maybe I can’t, Frank, but I’m especially happy today and I just busted out with it.” — Dizzy Dean [01:46]

2. Advice for Young Pitchers

[01:56–04:40]

• Dean delivers encouragement and practical tips, especially for up-and-coming pitchers, dividing his advice into two big buckets:
  • Control:
    • Practice pitching to precise spots, even during warmup.
    • Use contraptions like a window the size of the strike zone for training.
    • “Try half a dozen pitches at the low outside corner…don’t just throw to your catcher. Concentrate on every pitch.” — Dizzy Dean [02:30]
  • Pitching with Men on Base:
    • Learn to be effective pitching from the stretch.
    • “Many a pitcher…does all right until somebody gets on base. Then when he can’t take his wind up no more, he loses some of his stuff, especially speed.” — Dizzy Dean [03:28]
• Dean shares a memory with Gabby Hartnett about losing speed but not effort:

  “Gabby, I am throwing twice as hard as I ever thrown in my life…the only trouble is that I throw hard enough, but I can’t throw fast enough no more.” — Dizzy Dean [04:18]

3. Rookie of the Year Contenders

[04:58–06:03]

• Responding to a mailbag question, Dean names his 1948 top rookies:
  • National League:
    • Alvin Dark (Boston Braves): Key for tightening defense and contributing offense.
    • Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies): Would be a “cinch” for the honor with a pennant contender. “He’s been a great little outfielder all year.” [05:34]
  • American League:
    • Lou Brissie (Philadelphia Athletics)
    • Gene Bearden (Cleveland Indians): Race so close that the pennant outcome may decide.
    • “I don’t see anybody in the American League close to Bearden and Brissi.” — Dizzy Dean [06:01]

4. Dean’s All-Star Team

[07:55–10:27]
By popular request, Dean announces the best players he ever saw, with colorful explanations for each:

• First Base: Lou Gehrig — “I don’t think there’ll be any argument there.” [08:01]
• Second Base: Frankie Frisch — “Frank could win a game for you all by himself…Great man on bases, a good switch hitter, and a great defensive man.” [08:17]
• Shortstop: Lou Boudreau — “I really don’t think there ought to be no argument about Boudreau at shortstop.” [08:42]
• Third Base: Pie Traynor — “Great defensive man. You couldn’t get anything through him, and he had a great arm.” [08:55]
• Outfield:
  • Babe Ruth
  • Joe DiMaggio
  • Stan Musial
  • “I didn’t see Ty Cobb and I didn’t see Tris Speaker. But I have seen Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial and Babe Ruth should. Just couldn’t be left off a nobody’s ball club.” [09:34]
• Catchers:
  • Gabby Hartnett
  • Jimmy Wilson — “I am picking Gabby Hartnett and Jimmy Wilson, the two greatest catchers I’ve ever seen behind the plate. And I pitched them both.” [09:47]
• Pitchers:
  • Carl Hubbell (with “the greatest butterfly curve ever pitched”)
  • Lefty Grove (“tops in the American League as far as I could see”)
  • Himself (Dizzy Dean), after much prodding from Frank Ashton [10:12–10:27]

5. Baseball Storytime: Umpires and Antics

[10:30–13:39]

• Dean shares classic ballpark stories about umpire-player antics, focusing on Frankie Frisch:
  • Boston Incident:
    • Frisch, coaching third, is ejected after joking to umpire Larry Getz, likening him to a cigar store Indian.
    • “‘Have you a couple of cigars in your pocket?’…‘Because Lawrence you look so much like a cigar store Indian.’” — Dizzy Dean [11:29]
  • Brooklyn Flashlight Trick:
    • Frisch fetches a flashlight to show he can find the bullpen in the dark—prompting another ejection.
  • Rain Delay Umbrella:
    • Frisch parades in front of the dugout with a wagon umbrella, attempting to draw a rainout call—and gets tossed again.
  • Dean on Frisch’s rapport with umpires:

    “Frisch never gets vicious. It's all good, clean. And the umpires have to laugh, too. But, of course, them umpires got dignity, and they got to protect that.” [12:30]

• Grounds Crew Joke:
  • Dean tells of a blowout game in Philadelphia where a persistent group of “fans” turn out to be the grounds crew, waiting to finish their job. [13:05]

6. Pennant Race Prognostications

[13:59–14:45]

• On the National League:

  “The Braves have a comfortable lead and Billy Southworth has put the job on of protecting that lead into the hands of his two pitching stars…Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn…” [14:09]

• On the American League:

  “That may go right down to the wire, Frank, but the Yankees are within easy striking distance... If those Yankees ever get ahead, the Red Sox won’t catch them again.” [14:31]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the importance of pitching control:

  “Control, I believe everybody will agree, is the most important asset to a pitcher can have. In fact, you just have to have it.” — Dizzy Dean [02:07]

• Playful banter on his own pitching velocity:

  “Gabby, the only trouble is that I throw hard enough, but I can’t throw fast enough no more.” — Dizzy Dean [04:33]

• On picking himself for his all-star team:

  “I just can’t seem to think of any good right hander, Frank.” — Dizzy Dean, feigning modesty [10:16]

• Classic umpire quip:

  “Lawrence, have you a couple of cigars in your pocket? ...Because Lawrence you look so much like a cigar store Indian.” — Dizzy Dean (retelling Frankie Frisch’s words) [11:29]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:10] – Dizzy Dean sings “Wabash Cannonball”
• [01:56] – Advice for young pitchers on control and pitching from the stretch
• [04:58] – Dizzy’s rookie of the year picks for 1948
• [07:55] – Dizzy Dean announces his all-star team by position
• [10:30] – Humorous umpire/player stories from Dean’s playing days
• [13:59] – Dizzy Dean’s pennant race predictions

Episode Tone & Spirit

Dizzy Dean’s folksy, candid voice defines the tone: warm, funny, down-to-earth, and engaging. The camaraderie with Frank Ashton ties the show together with good-humored give-and-take.

Summary

For anyone yearning for the sights and sounds of classic baseball, this episode provides plenty: practical advice, sincere nostalgia, legendary names, and a dash of good-natured mischief. Whether detailing the subtleties of throwing a strike or recounting dugout shenanigans, Dizzy Dean brings to life an era where baseball, radio, and Americana were intertwined.