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Hank Aaron and the '52 Bears

by Jason Christopherson


Manager Bill Adair had to be feeling a little confident as the 1952 Northern League season approached.

After all, his Eau Claire Bears were the defending champions of the loop. Actually, were it not for a near-miss in 1950, his Class C Boston Braves affiliate would be seeking their fourth straight crown. Don Jordan, staff ace in 1951 with a 16-6 record, would be back in the fold. Rightfielder Earl Bass, a member of the 1949 championship club, was also wearing the Eau Claire uniform again

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Adair

And yet, Adair had again been given a young, largely unproven talent base to work from. Bass was the only player other than himself (Adair still played when needed) to have more than three years of playing experience. Though this was fairly typical for the low minors, it was clear why Adair wasn't offering any predictions for 1952 as the season began on May 4thagainst the Superior Blues.

The Bears stumbled out of the blocks, despite the solid play of John (later known as Wes) Covington in left. A month and a half into the season, Eau Claire was still under .500, lurking in 4th place. On June 11th, the Eau Claire Leader reported attendance was severely lacking, threatening, "Unless there is a big climb in attendance…… there may be no Eau Claire Bears in 1953." Attendance was averaging a mere 647 fans per game, off by more than 300 fans per game from 1951. Potential reasons were many: a sub-.500 club, poor weather, an increased number of radio broadcasts, and the rise of television, which was competing for the entertainment dollars of the nation. The Leader even mentioned, "There have also been grumblings about the number of Negro players." (In all fairness, the paper did downplay this as a reason). Little did anyone know that the arrival of another "Negro" in the next few days would likely save professional baseball in Eau Claire for another decade, not to mention previewing one of the most feared home run hitters in the history of the game.



Covington

Wednesday, June 11, 1952 edition of the "Leader":

"The Bears may put a new shortstop into action Friday, a Negro named Aaron, who was signed by the Boston Braves while hitting at a sensational clip for the Indianapolis Clowns. He comes on option from Evansville's Three-I club."


Henry Aaron was actually placed on the active roster on Saturday, June 14th, replacing the aforementioned Earl Bass, who was hitting only .220. Aaron made his professional debut on that day, starting at shortstop and hitting seventh in the lineup against the Rox of St. Cloud (MN). Heading into the game at Eau Claire's Carson Park, the Bears were in 4th place with a record of 17-19, 12 games behind the upstart Blues and 3 ˝˝ games back of the Rox. After spotting St. Cloud two runs in the second inning, the Bears got one back in their half of the frame. Bear centerfielder Collins Morgan ripped a double to right-center off Rox starter Art Rosser, and Aaron followed by slamming a pitch to left for a hit, scoring Morgan. Perhaps a little over-anxious, Henry was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. In the fifth, dééjàà vu as Morgan doubled and Aaron singled him home to tie the score at 2. Not a bad way to start a career! If only it were that easy. With one out and a runner at first in the top of the sixth, Henry bobbled what would have been an inning-ending double play. Two Rox players ended up crossing the plate later on in the inning to make the score 4-2. The Bears had their chances in the final three innings, but John Covington struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh. A Lantz Blaney solo homer in the eighth closed the gap to 4-3, but Covington looked at the game's final pitch for strike three with the tying run at second. Aaron ended up 2-4 with two RBI and handled seven chances without officially being charged with an error, though his bobble was certainly costly



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Aaron

Aaron's first few weeks were eventful, to say the least. Given the chance to bat in the second slot of the order (ahead of "Flash" Covington), Henry responded nicely. In a three-game set against a Superior Blues team that had lost only seven of its first forty games, Aaron was only 3-12 but had four RBI and had a big hand in the outcome, directly or not, in two games of the surprising sweep by the Bears. In game one, Henry came up with the bases loaded in the sixth and promptly unloaded them with a triple to right-center, providing the margin of victory in an 8-5 win. Aaron was virtually non-existent in game two of the series-even dropping back to sixth in the order. He went 0-4, but the Bears slipped past the Blues 4-3 on a manufactured run in the eighth. The final game of the series saw Aaron drive Blaney in with the Bears' second run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, but that had a minor impact compared to what happened in the Superior half of the eighth. Superior's Gideon Applegate led off the inning by being hit by Eau Claire starter Gordie Roach and immediately stole second. Blues' catcher Chuck Wiles then walked but was then forced at second on a grounder to Bob MacConnell. MacConnell flipped to Aaron, but Henry's attempt for a double play hit Wiles squarely in the head. Applegate scored the tying run as Wiles lay unconscious. He was taken to Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, where three days later the Leader could only report his condition as "improved" from critical. He would need several days in the hopsital to recover from his concussion. Back to the game: the Blues were forced to replace Wiles with Alfredo Ibanez, a pitcher. It cost them dearly as Roach, who led off the ninth with a single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice, went to third and finally home with the winning run……on two passed balls!

The winning ways continued against 1952 League doormat, Fargo-Moorhead. The Twins were only 13-33 before being swept at home in a four-game set against the surging Bears. Aaron hit his first professional home run on June 22, a 10thinning shot off the Twins' Reuben Stohs. The following day, Aaron hit his second, an inside-the-park clout to centerfield. The win that day gave the team a streak of nine wins and moved the Bears into third place, ten games behind front runner Superior. After only thirteen games, Aaron was hitting a robust .345 (19-55) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 14 RBI. Covington was the power source for the Bears with nine homers and 42 RBI, while catcher Julie Bowers was at .347/5/29 in his 150 at-bats. Aaron, Covington, and Bowers were the only black players on the team, and the trio was ripping league pitching apart! However, when the Boston Braves' respected former manager and now roving scout Billy Southworth stopped by Eau Claire to have a look at the team, the only player about whom he commented to the Leader was Dick Engquist. Engquist was steady with the glove at first base, but his season numbers (.256/0/26) didn't seem to warrant special attention. According to an article in the Leader, Southworth did mention that several players "have showed well" so it should be safe to assume that Aaron, Covington, and Bowers were among those players.

At that time the Northern League was considering a proposal by Fargo-Moorhead to split the season in order to help attendance for teams that started poorly out of the gate (such as the Twins). However, the attendance of the Bears, another team off to a slow start, was beginning to soar. In a six-game homestand ending July 1, the average crowd was 1,304 with a peak of 2,050 fans for a tilt with Grand Forks on June 30. In that game, the Bears rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eighth to win, 11-6. Aaron had three hits, including a homer, 3 RBI, and a stolen base. Of course, a Little League game was also played at Carson Park that night and a "double header" billing was advertised. The Leader mentioned the combination with the Little League worked so well "that it may be used for future home stays." It was used at least two more times early in July. Fargo-Moorhead's proposal was voted down.

Taking three games out of four against St. Cloud, Eau Claire secured third place in the Northern League, four full games ahead of the Rox. The Bears still trailed Superior by 6 ˝˝ games and second place Sioux Falls by 6. Aaron provided the Independence Day fireworks, going six-for-ten with three doubles, a grand slam, and five RBI in a double header sweep of the Rox. The homer came in the eighth inning with the Bears trailing, 7-6. Henry had a chance to be a hero the next night as well, coming up with the bases loaded and trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth against a scrappy Duluth team. But the Dukes' Vern Belt, throwing a masterful game, coaxed Aaron to hit a sharp liner right at third baseman Dick Getter. The Dukes swept the two game home-and-home series the following night, and the Bears headed into a key three game set at Superior trailing the Blues by 8 ˝˝ games. The lack of momentum didn't seem to faze Eau Claire as the Bears walked out of Superior with a sweep. Reliever Bobby Brown worked nine innings in the series, gave up only one earned run, and was credited with a save in the opener and the victory in the finale. Brown had given up an unearned run in game one on Aaron's second error of the night, but it wasn't enough to spoil the win. The Bears came home with a 40-28 mark, only 5 ˝˝ games behind the Blues and 3 ˝˝ behind Sioux Falls, the first opponent for Eau Claire on the homestand.

Henry opened the scoring against the Canaries with his fifth home run of the season, a towering shot to right in front of 1,640 of the hometown faithful. Sioux Falls rallied for two runs in the second inning, but future major league player and manager John Goryl quelled the rally with a sparkling double play. In the sixth, Covington doubled in Aaron and Collins Morgan to put the Bears in the lead 4-2. Gordie Roach bailed out tiring starter Ken Reitmeier in the seventh and went on to close the door in a 5-3 victory. Future major leaguer Don Elston dominated the Bears in game two of the series, giving up only three runs (one earned) and eight hits in a complete game 4-3 win in front of 2,386 fans. He got stronger as the game progressed, allowing only three base runners in the final five innings. Aaron made up for a quiet night by homering in the series finale, a 7-4 Bears win



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Goryl

Meanwhile, the votes from league baseball writers and managers were tabulated, and the All-Star team was announced. In the Northern League at that time, the club in first place at midnight on July 4th earned the right to host and play against the All-Stars from the other teams. Superior, of course, won the right to host the game held on July 16. Aaron, hitting .367 and now with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, clearly had made an impression all around the league in his 30+ games, as he was named to the team. Other Bears joining Henry were Covington, Brown, Bowers, and pitcher Don Jordan, along with manager Bill Adair. The Canaries placed six on the squad, including Elston. Duluth's Joe Caffie was the only other major leaguer-to-be representing the All-Stars.

But there was still a little baseball to be played before the All-Star break. Aaron hit another opposite-field home run in the series-opening win against fourth place Aberdeen. Collins Morgan's grand slam in the bottom of the seventh provided the margin of victory in a 7-3 win over the Pheasants. But in what very well may have been the turning point in the season, the Bears bobbled and fumbled away both ends of a double header the following day. The Pheasants scored 14 runs in the twin bill, 11 of them were unearned as a result of six Eau Claire errors. Though solid defensively, Aaron could only manage a single in seven at-bats on the day. To compound the agony, Superior swept Grand Forks and Sioux Falls split a twin bill with St. Cloud. This left the Bears 3 ˝˝ games out of second place and 7 ˝˝ out of the Northern League lead heading into the All-Star game.

For Eau Claire players and fans, the All-Star game couldn't have gone much worse. Seven All-Star errors added up to an 8-6 victory for the Blues, but that wasn't half the story. Bear players managed four hits in ten at-bats, but neither scored nor drove in any runs. Brown, Covington, and Bowers each had an error that led to runs for the Blues. Brown was tagged with the loss. And Aaron? After lacing a single up the middle in the top of the first, he sprained his ankle sliding into former Bear Jack Pelosi at second base while trying to break up a double play grounder off the bat of Fargo-Moorhead's Frank Gravino. The Superior fans, recalling that Henry's throw a month earlier had likely ended the season of their catcher, Chuck Wiles, had little sympathy as Aaron hobbled off the field. (Incidentally, Wiles was announced prior to the game and got "the biggest hand from the crowd." (Leader, 7/18/52). A collection was taken up for Wilesand brought $723.) Clell Buzzell, sports editor for the Leader, reported:

"Eau Claire fans at the game got a sickening feeling as they watched the 18-year-old star hobble to the dugout. They were jolted again when the public address system called for a doctor and once more when he was sped by ambulance to the hospital. Not until they received word that the injury was nothing more than an ordinary sprain did Eau Claire officials relax."

--Leader, 7/15/52

John Goryl filled in admirably for Aaron in the first game Henry missed due to the injury. Goryl doubled in four trips to the plate and scored the eventual winning run in a 2-1 win over Sioux Falls. The Bears pulled within 1 ˝˝ games of the Canaries with Aaron back in the lineup the following night but slipped back a game in the series finale, a three-hit, ten-strikeout performance by Don Elston. Aaron had to sit out again, and the Bear offense had no answer for Elston. Eau Claire bounced back, taking two of three at Aberdeen before coming home and taking three of five from St. Cloud behind some masterful pitching performances. Bobby Brown fired a four-hitter in the first game of a double header, winning 6-2. Brown was then given the ball to pitch game two and promptly shut out the Rox on three hits! Don Jordan followed up that performance by throwing 7 2/3 innings of no-hit ball but lost, 3-1. Bill Conroy breezed through St. Cloud's hitters the following night, winning 6-1 on a five hit gem. Aaron was fairly quiet in the eight games after he came back permanently and, aside from a homer in a 26-3 drubbing of Grand Forks, remained in a mini-slump for the majority of the week.

By August 2, it was clear that the Northern League had become a three-team race. The Bears remained in third place, nine games behind Superior and one game back of Sioux Falls. Aberdeen was a distant fourth, 18 games out of the lead. Though Aaron had been slumping, he still led the league with a .344 average and had contributed eight home runs and 44 RBI. On Aaron's tail was Covington at .341/17/80. A three-game sweep of Fargo-Moorhead, combined with a Superior sweep of Sioux Falls, propelled the Bears into second place by two games over the Canaries. The third win, however, came at a huge price. Leading off the eighth inning, Covington was hit in the head by Twins pitcher Howard Simmons. He lay on the field motionless, only regaining consciousness in the ambulance en route to Luther Hospital. He would not return for more than two weeks. A dejected Eau Claire team lost an exhibition game to the House of David club the following night, 5-2. Aaron, nursing a sore hand, had a pinch single and stole a base in the ninth. The Bears were perhaps looking ahead to a three game set with Sioux Falls, hoping to put some distance between them and the Canaries.

It didn't happen. Aaron doubled in a run and scored two in an opening 10-5 victory, but he could manage only a single the rest of the series while committing an error in each game (running his error streak to five games). The Bears dropped the final two games, falling into a virtual tie with Sioux Falls. The finale had the Canaries winning on a bases loaded walk in the ninth by ace hurler Gordon Roach. A frustrated Roach threw his glove, striking umpire Pete Jaworsky and drawing a suspension from the league in the process. At a time in the season when Eau Claire really needed to come together, it was clear the Bears were falling apart.

The loss of Covington hurt the team greatly. The team struggled to a 5-10 record in his absence. Aaron performed like the champion he was, hitting .359 and stealing six bases in attempts to spark the team. After surging Aberdeen swept past the Bears in a three game set, Eau Claire split a short two game homestand with Duluth. Aaron went 5-8 with some key hits to keep rallies going. Meanwhile, Sioux Falls swept a double header from Grand Forks, the nightcap giving the Canaries a 1 ˝˝ game lead over Eau Claire. In that game, Don Elston struck out 16 and came within a walk of a perfect game in the best pitching performance in the Northern League that season.

A key three-game series at Superior gave the Bears an opportunity to draw closer to the leaders. However, Eau Claire could only get one victory, a 3-0 win for Roach with Aaron pacing the way with three hits. A four game split in Duluth left the Bears two games behind Sioux Falls and still ten games behind Superior as the Blues came to town for three games. Aaron went 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in the opening 4-0 victory. Covington returned after fifteen games but was 0-3. He shook the rust off the following night, getting three hits and stealing a base in another Bear shutout, 4-0. An 11-9 loss in game three dropped Eau Claire back to nine games out of first with only eleven to play. Clearly, it was time to focus on taking second place. The Bears swept three games at St. Cloud and returned home to close the season out with three games against Aberdeen, three against Sioux Falls, and two more against St. Cloud.

Covington and Adair homered, and Elmer Toth scattered nine hits in a 5-1 win over Aberdeen. Since Sioux Falls was rained out, this win moved Eau Claire into a virtual tie for second place. Aberdeen evened the series with a 5-2 win in the first game of a double header, but Gordon Roach fired a no-hitter for the win in the nightcap. The Canaries also split a double header to keep pace with the Bears as they geared up for the second place showdown. The drama ended early for Eau Claire. Don Elston opened with a five-hitter and the Canaries beat the Bears 6-2. Aaron was 0-3 with a stolen base. In game two, John Mudd shut down the Bear offense once again. Covington homered in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Bears to within one at 3-2, but they could draw no closer. Mudd finished with a two-hitter. Again, Aaron was 0-3 and had to leave the game early with a bruised thumb. The Bears fell in the series finale as well, assuring a third place finish, the team's lowest finish since 1948. Eau Claire ended strong against St. Cloud, winning both ends of the double header by scores of 4-3 and 10-9. Aaron showed no ill effects of his injury, going 5-9 with five runs and three RBI in the twin bill.

The wins gave Eau Claire a final regular season record of 72-53, much improved over the 17-19 start they had endured before Aaron arrived. Henry finished the year with a .336 average, six points behind hitting champion Joe Caffie of Duluth. Aaron had 19 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, and 61 RBI to go along with the healthy average. For his efforts, Aaron was overwhelmingly voted the league's Rookie of the Year for 1952. He grabbed 13 first place votes, three second place, and one third place vote of the 21 writers, managers, and umpires who voted. Aaron became the third successive Bear to win the award. Bill Bruton and Horace Garner led the poll in 1950 and 1951, respectively. Covington finished fifth in voting and Goryl tied for sixth.

The third place finish meant the Bears would have to face Superior in the first round of the playoffs, while fourth place Duluth would tackle Sioux Falls. The opening round was a best of three series. The first game found Eau Claire quickly down 4-1 due in part to a costly error on Aaron which led to three runs in the fifth inning. Aaron's clutch two-run home run in the sixth pulled the Bears to within one run, and Lantz Blaney's single tied the game one inning later. Superior's Alfredo Ibanez and Eau Claire's Bobby Brown both pitched into the 12th inning, but Don Phalen of the Blues came through with a clutch single in the twelfth to drive home the winning run and give Superior a 1-0 lead in the series.

Gordon Roach was roughed up early in game two, and when the Bears came to bat in the bottom of the seventh they were trailing, 7-0. Three consecutive walks followed a single by Bill Conroy. Covington then drove in two more with a single of his own to make the score 7-3. In the eighth, Bob MacConnell singled and Conroy and Manager Adair walked to load the bases. Dick Engquist hit into a fielder's choice as MacConnell scored and Conroy went to third. Conroy scored Eau Claire's fifth run of the game on a wild pitch that also sent Engquist to second. Blaney then hit a grounder as Engquist broke for third. The throw to third was not in time, and the Bears had runners on the corners for Julie Bowers. In what must have been the highlight of the season for him, Bowers launched a ball deep into the Eau Claire night to complete an improbable comeback. Don Jordan pitched the ninth and preserved the 8-7 victory. Though not having a direct impact on the scoring, Aaron had a good night, going 2-4 with a double and a stolen base.

Normally a right fielder, Gene Collins was tabbed as the Blues' pitcher in the rubber match, facing the Bears' Bill Conroy. Once again, the Blues jumped ahead early, scoring two runs before Eau Claire came to bat. The Bears, though, answered with two runs of their own in the bottom on the first. The pitchers then took control of the game. Collins struck out 12 in seven innings and only gave up four hits while Conroy scattered eight hits in 7 2/3 innings. Conroy ran into trouble in the eighth, and Superior's Jose Bustamentes narrowly beat a throw to the plate to break a 3-3 tie. Jordan came on and struck out all four batters he faced, but the Blues' Alfredo Ibanez, the league's winningest pitcher, slammed the door on the Bears' season. Superior would go on to sweep Sioux Falls in three games to capture the Northern League crown for 1952.

The 1952 Eau Claire Bears were an enigma. They combined a powerful offense with a solid pitching staff and a better than average defense (second in the league in fielding as a team), but they were only able to manage a third place finish and an early exit from the playoffs. Maybe this team would have dominated any other Northern League season, but 1952 was clearly the year of the Blues. What this team did achieve, though, was to save baseball in Eau Claire, if only in the short term. The tear the Bears went on after Henry Aaron arrived boosted attendance dramatically and allowed the franchise to stay operational.





Though professional baseball left Eau Claire in the early 1960's, Carson Park still stands as a monument to the history of baseball in the city and as a source of civic pride. A restoration project a few years ago injected life into the stadium, and the amateur Cavaliers draw thousands of fans every summer for some quality baseball in a beautiful facility. And as the fans arrive, they are greeted by a statue of the 18-year old Eau Claire Bear, Henry Aaron.


1952 Standings:
W L Pct. GB Place Playoff finish Attend.
Superior Blues 81 42 0.659 -- 1 champs 65282
Sioux Falls Canaries 73 48 0.603 7.0 2 won series #1, lost #2 87149
Eau Claire Bears 72 53 0.576 10.0 3 lost series #1 61429
Duluth Dukes 63 59 0.516 17.5 4 lost series #1 62907
Aberdeen Pheasants 63 62 0.504 19.0 5 87897
St. Cloud Rox 60 64 0.484 21.5 6 45612
Fargo-Moorhead Twins 44 80 0.355 37.5 7 71624
Grand Forks Chiefs 38 86 0.306 43.5 8 32059

Bears Stats:

Pitchers (W, L, ERA):
Bill H. Conroy 16 9 3.25
Gordon Roach 14 4 3.14
Robert J (Bob) Brown 14 10 3.29
Don D. Jordan 10 5 4.72
Ken Reitmeier 8 7 3.13
Elmer Toth 3 5 4.32
George Kornack

Hitters(Ave., HR, RBI):

 2 2 4.20
Henry (Hank) Aaron 0.336 9 61
Wes Covington 0.330 24 99
John Gierek 0.317 5 39
Chet Morgan Jr 0.300 14 63
John Goryl 0.294 8 25
George Patterson 0.292 0 16
F Tyler Robinson 0.292 0 0
Charles Doehler 0.278 0 1
Marion (Bill) Adair 0.273 6 24
Lantz Blaney 0.272 3 54
Ron Gendreau 0.254 3 19
Dick Engquist 0.247 1 51
Don Auten 0.226 3 29
Art Howard 0.224 0 5
Mike Walsh 0.224 0 7
Earl Bass 0.220 1 22
Bob S MacConnell 0.219 4 31
Jim Fairchild 0.216 3 12
Orlando Casellas 0.175 1 2


Sources:

"Eau Claire Leader", 1952

Thanks to Bob Buege for assistance in editing the article

[Jason Christopherson was born, raised, and still lives in Eau Claire with his wife, Shelley, and two children. He has written "Baseball in Eau Claire" a history of professional baseball in his community.]

[This essay originally appeared in the 2002 SABR publication "The National Pastime" (No. 22) and it appears here with the consent of the author.]