Your Sports Question Box 46xxxx 01 An Umpire's Question

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio – "Your Sports Question Box 46xxxx 01 An Umpire's Question"

Episode Details

• Title: Your Sports Question Box 46xxxx 01 An Umpire's Question
• Release Date: March 29, 2025
• Host: Leo Durocher, Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers
• Co-Hosts: Ken and Frank Chase
• Description: Delving into the Golden Age of Radio, this episode features Leo Durocher answering listeners' sports-related questions, blending expert insights with engaging banter.

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with Leo Durocher introducing himself in a friendly and approachable manner:

• Leo Durocher [00:42]: "Hiya, folks. Hello to all of you. Boy, what a wonderful world. It's sure great to be alive."

Ken and Frank Chase set the stage for the show, emphasizing the interactive nature of the program where listeners send in their sports questions for Leo to answer.

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Question 1: An Umpire's Dilemma

Listener: H.A. Brown of Cleveland, Ohio – An Umpire
Timestamp: [01:03]

Scenario: Brown describes a situation from a schoolboy baseball game where a player missed second base while running home. After completing the circuit, Leo, acting as the umpire, called the play, leading to the opposing team's captain contesting the decision.

Discussion: Leo initially reacts defensively but then appreciates the initiative of the young umpire, suggesting a job opportunity with the Dodgers.

• Leo Durocher [02:05]: "There's a job waiting for him on the Dodgers when he grows up."

Ultimately, Leo rules in favor of Brown's captain, advocating that umpires should refrain from unnecessary interference unless the opposing team highlights the mistake.

• Leo Durocher [02:22]: "The umpire should have kept quiet. ... the run should have counted."

Conclusion: Mr. Brown earns a $5 reward for his question.

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Question 2: Longest Swim Record

Listener: Mary Wallace of Oceanside, California
Timestamp: [02:42]

Question: What is the distance of the longest swim on record?

Response: Leo references a historical feat by Pedro Candisti, who swam 281 miles along the Parana River in Argentina back in February 1935.

• Leo Durocher [02:48]: "Pedro Candisti swam 281 miles between Santa Fe and Serique in the waters of the Parana river in Argentine South America."

Commentary: Leo humorously imagines supporting Candisti physically during the swim.

• Leo Durocher [03:02]: "I'm rowing the boat for the kid and handing him out hot coffee and axle grease."

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Question 3: The Pitcher in "Casey at the Bat"

Listener: KL Chavisi of New York City
Timestamp: [04:21]

Question: What is the name of the pitcher who fanned Casey in the poem "Casey at the Bat"?

Response: Leo explains that the poet, Ernest Thayer, never named the pitcher, leaving him as an anonymous figure in baseball lore.

• Leo Durocher [04:35]: "baseball's unknown man."

Recitation: Chavisi requests Leo to recite the poem, leading to a heartfelt rendition of the final stanza.

• Leo Durocher [05:21]:

  "Oh, somewhere in this favorite land the sun is shining bright,
  The band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light
  And somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout
  But there is no joy in Mudville, mighty Casey had struck out."

Co-Hosts' Reaction:

• Frank Chase [05:37]: "Beautiful, Leo, beautiful."
• Ken [05:40]: "Superb, Frank, superb."

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Question 4: Highest Automobile Speed

Listener: Mort Bloomberg of Washington
Timestamp: [05:46]

Question: What is the highest speed ever made in an automobile?

Response: Leo cites John R. Cobb's record from August 23, 1939, where Cobb averaged 369.7 miles per hour over two one-mile runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

• Leo Durocher [05:52]: "John R. Cobb... averaged 369 and seven 10 miles per hour."

Humorous Exchange:

• Frank Chase [06:10]: "Five dollars to Mr. Bloomberg and that ain't hay."

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Question 5: Most Lucrative Sport in America

Listener: A gentleman from Havana
Timestamp: [06:18]

Question: On what sport do Americans spend the most money each year?

Response: Leo identifies fishing as the top spender, followed by hunting, golf, motorboating, and bowling. He contrasts these figures with the relatively low spending on attending live sports events.

• Leo Durocher [06:30]: "The answer is fishing. Pre-war figures show that Americans spent about $1,200,200,000,000 a year on their rods and reels."

Insight: Leo highlights that attendance sports generate significantly less revenue compared to recreational sports activities.

• Leo Durocher [07:01]: "Sports fans spent only a measly $260 million on paid admissions to sporting contests according to the most recent figures."

Humorous Note:

• Leo Durocher [07:16]: "He never asked me, so I never told him."

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Question 6: The Four Kings of Playing Cards

Listener: R.M. Bell of Las Vegas, Nevada
Timestamp: [09:02]

Question: Who are represented by the four Kings in a deck of ordinary playing cards?

Response: Leo identifies the four Kings as historical monarchs: David, Alexander, Caesar, and Charlemagne.

• Leo Durocher [09:19]: "The four Kings are supposed to be four real kings of olden times. They're David, Alexander, Caesar and Charlemagne."

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Question 7: Record for Consecutive Scoreless Innings

Listener: Mrs. T.S. Atkins of Westerly, Rhode Island
Timestamp: [10:51]

Question: What is the record for consecutive scoreless innings?

Discussion: Leo first acknowledges a 19-inning scoreless tie between the Dodgers and the Reds mentioned by Mrs. Atkins but clarifies that a longer record exists.

Historical Insight: Leo recounts the 1918 game between the Pirates and the Braves, which went 21 innings with only two runs scored in the final inning.

• Leo Durocher [11:24]: "It was on August 1, 1918, that the Pirates beat the Braves in the 21st inning when they scored two runs, the only scoring of the game."

Further Clarification: He reveals an even longer game from 1893 between Washington and St. Louis, lasting 27 innings with the first 26 being scoreless before Washington secured a 1-0 victory.

• Leo Durocher [12:05]: "The official scores marked it down as a single game. It lasted 27 innings, and the first 26 of them were scoreless."

Conclusion: Mrs. Atkins' question garners the $50 award for being the most interesting of the week.

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Closing Remarks

Leo wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to continue sending in their questions, emphasizing the interactive and rewarding nature of the show.

• Leo Durocher [13:04]: "This is Leo Durocher saying. See you next week, same time, same station..."

Co-host Ken reiterates the instructions for submitting questions and highlights the monetary rewards for participation.

Final Quote:

• Leo Durocher [13:21]: "In life, as in baseball, a sacrifice never hurts your batting average."

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Notable Quotes

• Leo Durocher on Umpiring [02:22]: "In a baseball game, every player is supposed to be wide awake and on his toes every minute of the game."
• Leo on "Casey at the Bat" [05:21]: > "But there is no joy in Mudville, mighty Casey had struck out."
• Leo on Automotive Speed Records [05:52]: "Cobb averaged 369 and seven 10 miles per hour."
• Leo on American Sports Spending [06:30]: "Americans spent about $1,200,200,000,000 a year on their rods and reels."
• Leo on Playing Cards [09:19]: "They're David, Alexander, Caesar and Charlemagne."
• Leo on Scoreless Innings [12:05]: "The official scores marked it down as a single game. It lasted 27 innings, and the first 26 of them were scoreless."

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Conclusion This episode of "Your Sports Question Box" showcases Leo Durocher's extensive knowledge and personable demeanor as he navigates a variety of sports inquiries. From the intricacies of baseball rules to historical sports records, Leo provides insightful and entertaining responses, making the show both informative and engaging for listeners.

Transcript

[Ken]

Listen to Leo Durocher, Chimney Sweep. America's number one soot destroyer, presents the famous fiery manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Leo Durocher. And a sparkling new 15 minute program. Your sports question box. You send in the questions. Any question on any sport or game, and Leo answers it. For every question used, Chimney Sweep, Soot Destroyer pays the sender $5. And the question considered by Leo, the most interesting nets the sender $50, compliments of Chimney Sweep. Send in your question tonight. All questions become the property of Chimney Sweep. And here's the masterminding manager of those dashing, slam, bang Brooklyn Dodgers, Leo Durocher.

[Leo Durocher]

Hiya, folks. Hello to all of you. Boy, what a wonderful world. It's sure great to be alive.

[Frank Chase]

Leo, this from you. Why, I thought.

[Leo Durocher]

I know what you thought, Frank. I know what everybody thought. But this is the new Durocher, everybody's friend. Not mad at anyone. Yes, sir. Frank, you're looking at gentleman Leo Derocher.

[Frank Chase]

This I gotta hear.

[Ken]

You and me both, Frank.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, just keep your ears open, both of you.

[Ken]

That's more like it.

[Frank Chase]

Yeah. Now we can start the show. The first question comes from H.A. brown of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Brown was an umpire.

[Leo Durocher]

Never heard of him. And if I never heard of him, he's no umpire.

[Ken]

You're so touchy, Leo.

[Frank Chase]

The new Derocha can remember. It seems, Leo, that Mr. Brown acted as umpire during a schoolboy game one day last summer. He wants some advice from you.

[Leo Durocher]

This must be the end of the world. An umpire asking me for advice.

[Frank Chase]

In any case, here's Mr. Brown's letter. One day last summer, I was acting as umpire of a baseball game between two local choose up schoolboy teams. The Die Hards and the Murderers.

[Leo Durocher]

What names those kids can dream up, right?

[Frank Chase]

A member of the Die Hards hit a home run. But in circling the bases, he failed to touch second. After he'd completed the circuit, I rolled him out for the submission. The captain of the Die Hards was mad as a hornet.

[Leo Durocher]

That's not very mad in Brooklyn.

[Frank Chase]

The captain said I had no right to call the missed base to the scorer's attention. Unless some member of the opposing team, that is, the Murderers, had first called it to my attention. What he actually said was, I should have kept my big mouth shut.

[Leo Durocher]

There's a kid after my own heart. Find out his name, Frank, and tell him there's a job waiting for him on the Dodgers when he grows up.

[Frank Chase]

I suppose you'd use him as a pinch beefer. A Leo.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, how else, Frank? I can Just hear the announcer saying so and so now, screaming for Derocher. Yes, sir, I can use that, lad.

[Frank Chase]

And now, how about a ruling on the play?

[Leo Durocher]

Well, the captain of the Die Hards was absolutely right. The umpire should have kept quiet. In a baseball game, every player is supposed to be wide awake and on his toes every minute of the game. If they're not interested enough in their opponent's mistakes to catch them, then, like the captain of the Die Hard said, the umpire should have kept his big mouth shut and the run should have counted. $5 for Mr. Brown.

[Frank Chase]

Mary Wallace of Oceanside, California wants you to tell her the distance of the longest swim on record and jumping right.

[Leo Durocher]

Out of the pool with the answer. Frank, here it is. Back in February 1935, Pedro Candisti swam 281 miles between Santa Fe and Serique in the waters of the Parana river in Argentine South America.

[Frank Chase]

You sound like you were right there, Leo.

[Leo Durocher]

Me? I'm rowing the boat for the kid and handing him out hot coffee and axle grease. Next.

[Ken]

Well, now, if the lip will give me a chance, I've got a few facts and figures that will prove interesting to every homemaker. When your heating bills run high, if the temperature of your house stays low, folks, get rid of that soot in your furnace. Soot wastes fuel, steals heat. So right now, use chimney sweep, soot destroyer. Chimney sweep is the quick, easy, almost miraculous way to clean out soot from furnaces, flues, fireplaces and chimneys. Soot that steals valuable heat, dirties drapes and furnishings and exposes your family to chimney fire and cold gas explosion dangers. Chimney sweep is safe, perfectly safe. So easy to use. Just sprinkle a cup full of chimney sweep on the fire every week as directed. No fuss, no muss. Use chimney sweep and coal and oil furnaces, coal and wood fireplaces, stoves. Get chimney sweep soot Destroyer tomorrow. Only $1 big 3 pound can or only $1.89 giant 6 pound can. All hardware department and chain stores. Friends, don't accept an imitation. Insist on genuine chimney sweep. It's America's number one soot destroyer. And for more heat a cleaner home, just sprinkle chimney sweep on the fire every week. And now back to Leo Durocher and Frank Chase.

[Frank Chase]

KL Chavisi of New York City wants to know the name of the pitcher who fanned the mighty Casey in the poem Casey at the Bat.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, that's something I always wanted to know myself. I could have used that guy plenty last season.

[Frank Chase]

The pitcher's name, Leo. We'll get to your personal troubles later.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, I'm trying to tell you the guy didn't have a name.

[Frank Chase]

Oh, come, come, Leo. Everybody has a name, but this guy didn't.

[Leo Durocher]

See Ernest Thayer who wrote the poem. Never gave him a name. He's baseball's unknown man.

[Frank Chase]

Well, if you can't give Mr. Chavizi the pitcher's name, maybe you'd like to recite the poem for me.

[Leo Durocher]

Oh, sure. It only runs 13 stanzas and we got all the time in the world.

[Ken]

Well, how about the finale then? The last stanza.

[Leo Durocher]

Oh boy, wait til Mr. Ricky hears this Derocher reciting poetry. But here goes. Anything to please the customer.

[Ken]

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. We now present Mr. Leo Durocher, Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. And a heartwarming rendition of the final stanza of that greatest of all baseball poems. Casey at the bat. Mr. Derocher.

[Leo Durocher]

Oh, somewhere in this favorite land the sun is shining bright, the band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light and somewhere men are laughing and somewhere children shout but there is no joy In Mudville, mighty Casey had struck out.

[Frank Chase]

Beautiful, Leo, beautiful. Didn't you think so, Ken?

[Ken]

Superb, Frank, superb. Don't remember when I've heard anything so moving.

[Leo Durocher]

Very funny. Next question.

[Frank Chase]

Right now from Mort Bloomberg of Washington. What's the highest speed ever made in an automobile?

[Leo Durocher]

Well, of course, since Mr. Rickey gave the boys those cars at the end of the season, there may have been a whole lot of new records made. But the last official automobile time was set by John r. Cobb on August 23, 1939. In two 1 mile runs over the Bonneville Salt Flats. Cobb averaged 369 and seven 10 miles per hour.

[Ken]

Say, that ain't coasting.

[Frank Chase]

Five dollars to Mr. Bloomberg and that ain't hay. Now, Leo, I have a man from Havana.

[Leo Durocher]

You sound like Dr. IQ.

[Frank Chase]

That's who I meant to sound like. Glad you guessed it.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, wonderful to be on the mic with a guy who thinks he's a mimic. Okay, what does the Havana gent want to know?

[Frank Chase]

On what sport do Americans spend the most money each year?

[Leo Durocher]

The answer is fishing. Pre war figures show that Americans spent about $1,200,200,000,000 a year on their rods and reels. Hunting was in second place with an annual outlay of some 650 million dollars. Golfers laid another 600 million on the line for the love of that game. Motorboarding was fourth with about the same amount as in golf. And bowling was spit with the cash registers ringing up 450 million.

[Frank Chase]

And what about the so called attendance sports. Football, baseball, basketball games, track meets, that sort of thing.

[Leo Durocher]

Way down the line, Frank. Sports fans spent only a measly $260 million on paid admissions to sporting contests according to the most recent figures. Just chicken feed.

[Frank Chase]

Yeah. Does Mr. Ricky know that you consider $260 million chicken feed?

[Leo Durocher]

He never asked me, so I never told him. And don't you?

[Ken]

You're right there with all the answers today, Leo.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, you know, I'm beginning to believe what those say about me.

[Ken]

Yeah, what's that?

[Leo Durocher]

Derocher knows the answer to everything.

[Frank Chase]

Oh, you do, eh? Well, grab hold of this one. Each week, sports fans, we dream up one question that the lip hasn't heard about in advance. Today the question is on a subject dear to Leo's heart. Baseball. Here it is.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, fire away, Frank.

[Frank Chase]

Here's the situation, Leo. The first batter up hits a foul fly which the catcher catches. The batter still goes to first base.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, the only thing I can see there is that the catcher interfered with the hitter. In other words, tipped his bat.

[Frank Chase]

That's right. Now the next hitter up hits a long fly to center field which is also caught. The man on first scores. How do you explain it?

[Leo Durocher]

It's a long fly to center field which is caught right. The center fielder held the ball right. There was no wild throws after he threw it back into the infield?

[Frank Chase]

No, nothing of that sort.

[Leo Durocher]

I give up.

[Frank Chase]

The center fielder sees that the ball is going over his head, he leaps for the ball and in so doing loses his glove which hits and stops the ball in flight. The ball drops down into his bare hands. A piece of equipment interfering with the ball in flight carries with it a three base penalty.

[Leo Durocher]

In 20 years I've been in this game, I've never seen it happen. I got guys in the Brooklyn club can't even catch it with a glove on. You got them catching it with it off.

[Frank Chase]

Okay, Leo, let's get back to the customers and their questions.

[Leo Durocher]

Where'd you dig the last one up?

[Frank Chase]

Oh, I've become something of a student of the game these last few weeks.

[Leo Durocher]

Well, ease up on your homework or I won't be able to look at my own players next year.

[Frank Chase]

I'll have one of those surprise items for you every week, Leo. Just to let the customers see how you think.

[Leo Durocher]

On your feet, my pal.

[Frank Chase]

Now back to the show and a question from R.M. bell of Las Vegas, Nevada. It's about cards.

[Leo Durocher]

Why doesn't he write the St. Louis papers?

[Frank Chase]

His question has to do with playing cards, not the Cardinals Baseball Club. Mr. Bell wants you to tell him who is supposed to be represented by the four Kings in a deck of ordinary playing cards.

[Leo Durocher]

Why, this is a royal cinch. The four Kings are supposed to be four real kings of olden times. They're David, Alexander, Caesar and Charlemagne. Next.

[Frank Chase]

And now we come to the most interesting question of the week in baseball. What is the record for consecutive scoreless innings?

[Ken]

Just a minute, Leo. Before you answer that, I've got a word or two to say to the fans. Soot threatens your family. Yes. Clogging soot in your heating plant causes many a chimney fire. Causes many a furnace explosion by trapping coal gases.

[Frank Chase]

Right.

[Ken]

Now, use chimney sweep soot destroyer to clean out dangerous soot. Chimney sweep is the quick, easy, almost miraculous way to get rid of soot in furnaces, flues, fireplaces and chimneys. Soot that steals valuable heat, dirties drapes and furnishings and exposes your family to chimney fire and coal gas explosion dangers. Chimney sweep is safe, perfectly safe. So easy to use, too. All you do is sprinkle a cup full of chimney sweep on the fire every week as directed. No fuss, no muss. Use chimney sweep in coal and oil furnaces, coal and wood fireplaces, stoves. Get chimney sweep soot destroyer tomorrow. Sure. Only $1 or $1.89. All hardware department and chain stores. Chimney sweep is on sale in Canada, too. Don't take an imitation. Insist on chimney sweep. Genuine chimney sweep soot destroyer. And remember, be sure and sprinkle chimney sweep on the fire every week. And now for the most interesting question of this week.

[Frank Chase]

The most interesting question of this week comes from. And its $50 award goes to Mrs. T.S. atkins of Westerly, Rhode Island. Mrs. Atkins writes in reading about that 19 inning scoreless tie between the Dodgers and the Reds.

[Leo Durocher]

Oh, I guess I'll never hear the end of that one. And if Mrs. Atkins wants to know why we didn't win, tell her we're only human.

[Frank Chase]

Well, that isn't what she wants to know. She says newspaper reports of the game referred to it as the longest scoreless tie on record, but then went on to point out that more scoreless innings had been played in a game between the Pirates and the Braves back in 1918. Well, that's right.

[Leo Durocher]

It was on August 1, 1918, that the Pirates beat the Braves in the 21st inning when they scored two runs, the only scoring of the game.

[Ken]

So that Pirate Brave game actually ran 20 scoreless innings before a run crossed the plate.

[Frank Chase]

Mrs. Atkins knows all that, Ken. Here's what she Wants to know was the record for scoreless innings made in that Pirate Brave duel?

[Leo Durocher]

No, it wasn't. And a funny thing is, none of the sports writers mentioned the real record game back in 1893. Washington and St. Louis played, and here's what happened. On August 27, the teams went 12 innings without a run. Play was suspended on account of darkness. When the game was resumed on August 28, another 14 innings passed with nothing but goose eggs.

[Frank Chase]

Yeah, but was it the same game?

[Leo Durocher]

I wasn't there, Frank. But the official scores marked it down as a single game. It lasted 27 innings, and the first 26 of them were scoreless. Incidentally, Washington won the game in the 27th inning.

[Frank Chase]

By what score?

[Leo Durocher]

One to nothing, I hope.

[Frank Chase]

What do you mean, you hope?

[Leo Durocher]

What difference does it make? Washington won. And that's enough for any fall club to know. Let's get on to the next question.

[Frank Chase]

First, all congratulations on a check for $50 to Mrs. Atkins.

[Ken]

And that's all for today. Leo, I want a few seconds to tell the fans how to send in their questions. You know, folks, this is your sports question box. You send in the questions, any question on any sport or any card game. For every question used on any program, we'll mail the sender $5. But that's not all. If your question is judged most interesting of the week, we'll mail you a check for $50. Just write your question on a plain piece of paper and be sure to include your name and address. Mailed to Leo Durocher, American Broadcasting Company, New York City, 20, New York.

[Leo Durocher]

This is Leo Durocher saying. See you next week, same time, same station, when I'll be back for Chimney Sweep with more answers to your sports question box. Meantime, remember, in life, as in baseball, a sacrifice never hurts your batting average.

[Ken]

Friends, don't let soot in your heating plant. Start a chimney fire. Don't let soot clog your furnace flues and perhaps cause a dangerous coal gas explosion. Don't let soot steal heat, too, and dirty up your home. Get Chimney Sweep Soot Destroyer tomorrow from any hardware department or chain store and start using it right away. If your dealer happens to be out of Chimney Sweep, just mail $1 along with your name and address to chimney sweep, orange, New Jersey. That's chimney sweep, orange, New Jersey dot and we'll see that you receive your Chimney Sweep Soot Destroyer promptly and postpaid. Your Sports question box is the original production of Frank Chase.