Around Cincinnati; Baseball Special

Good evening. This isn't a round Cincinnati baseball special I'm leaving on tonight's two hour show martini and I invited a number of baseball fans into the studio to talk about the great Reds player and hitting coach Ted closed Tuesday including his wife Eleanor. Bernie Stone his wife Priscilla shared memories of his long career with the Reds. Mark and I also visited a baseball exhibition at the prize so Historical Society the Big Red Machine exhibition at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and sports investments in question here a preview of Brad's best phone interview with Ken Griffey Sr. and memories of Reds player we mire a celebration of baseball this evening on around Cincinnati. My name's Purcell a stow married to Bernie and name's Bernie Stowe with Cincinnati Reds. I'm still work in that time when they're on the road and yet off he just Potts's around down dairy

his chores like cleanin issues and helping him with the dishes. They cater to him two meals a day so they always have a lot of dishes. Bernie your What's your title now it's seeing your clubhouse manager himself. Yes senior clubhouse manager Priscilla when you were a teenager. They had player fan clubs right what ones were you part of our fower Corky Valentine. Ted closes ski. And B only I think those were the four that was mostly affiliated with it. You're part of the take the fan club. What was that like what were the activities that you did. What are your memories from that. Mostly we girls would go to the ball games we'd have meetings in the winter because there was no ball games and we'd write up blue newsletters. One of our big activities is the biggest I guess that we did in a summer that included the players we always had a picnic

at Burnet woods and all of the fan clubs would participate and all the players and their families would be invited. As far as other activities we get together with each other. Mind you we heard how many high school girls and we didn't have cars. We did everything we had to go on the bus. RI where we went none of us drove a set or big activity was the picnic in our meetings it was a social thing for us and going to the games and talking about the players. Some of the girls would get in touch with the families during the winter. We had a president I wasn't an officer so she'd sometimes through Christmas cards or something like that and get in touch with the families. That's about all we did. That lasted well about four years 15 19. How did you first get interested in baseball. My mother worked at a Crosley the so auntie and she got

tickets and my father took me and my brother. My father was interested in. And those days when you listen to the radio you sat in front of the radio and I'd always seem game set and I'm from the radio. Sometimes I join him and then when I was a sophomore in high school I met a couple of girls I'd lived on Columbia Parkway and they lived down in sedans ville and they were into baseball and she knew somebody that had started the Frank Smith fan club. So I honed my ears perked up because I was so winter stood in baseball. So that's how I got affiliated with a bunch of people that were that same interests that I did. And we had girls from all over the city in northern Kentucky. It's amazing how we all got together and it was this word of mouth I think. And meeting at the ballpark mostly on Ladies Day because it was only 25

cents to go to the ballgame on Lady Staveley sat in the far left field a far right field. And then as we got older and had a little bit of money we'd buy tickets in the grandstand and sit down in left field by the bullpen and we always knew if we went to the game they'd always be somebody that ne'er another. A couple girls that came in we did have a little social are there. What are your memories of Ted Kaczynski. He was a big guy but he was like a gentle giant. I mean he was soft spoken. You would think you would be afraid of him because he was a pretty good sized guy. But no he was a very soft spoken guy. He didn't have any children other than come into our picnic. I don't have a whole lot of memories from way back then. How did you and Bernie meet. He was a bad boy so I always say we met across the field but we really didn't.

He had another friend that worked in the Empire's room. So he didn't have anything to do when the game started. So he came down and sat with us down in left field. So we always because we didn't drive we took buses we went down to downtown and on Sunday they were Sunday afternoon games and we go to it's called Minute chef. It was in the Gibson hotel. We always stop and get a sandwich or something like that. They knew we always went there and him and Hoagy as we called him. His name was Bill Herbst. They came down and met us. Bernie had a car and he's so he offered to take us home. That's how we met your memories of Ted Kaczynski he was playing when you were a bad boy correct. Right. What was it like working with clue when you were a bat boy had on leg grabbed me by the way I hold me up there on to the end.

So when they opened the sand and I little kind of stumbles he gets really balance and I laugh like that. As it is saying he was that strong. Well Bernie probably didn't weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet in those days too. He was small. That's how come they let him be bat boy for so many years he was a back boy till he was 21 and want you to only 22 yeah he's still sure but he was role skinny too then. That's still pretty amazing that he's 100 pounds. Miley yank your hair around as a bad boy man. Ted was when he had cut out sleeves he was the first woman he had me pictured my money lead me to his forearm and then his forearm was bigger than my legs or they blowed it made him look like he McKenna meanly of the Oilers.

And he used to go on the road. We're here to Chicago they take me along and anyway they had the Sokoto clue nine posed in Belo and sitting in the lobby. Runs some 300 flyin by was clues dawg he had one time to another box and Boxer and I baby was well to be sure. Clue picks it up and I'm like picking up with this chair. Eleanor you never know when you go to Chicago. Well her no his family is from Helen Elliot now so you have to visit them and you know the game. Bernie do you have a particular Ted Kaczynski game that sticks out in your mind. Yeah no I'm a one time I was always in me and I certainly think you know the clue had gone round and looked like he was in one in the chicken run out and

around in the middle of the in the moon back. HALL Yeah the man and one woman everybody when I feel his muscle says yeah you know what this is. Oh Paul a lot of him are instantly helpful and he. Replied Oh they kid him about been Kohli's. And this is in his poli stopper right here boy. Teddy. What do you remember about him when he was a coach for the Big Red Machine I think it was the hitting coach was me. What do you remember about that. Some of the coaches I see now how they were the closer their kids is it try to change everything on them closer to the plate and choke up Bunuba know this and clue in that way. He was the guy and he says and there was one and then swings the comfortable on then he worked and did that

instead of changing everything on the guy and say enjoyed the thought of him on this. So he didn't try to teach like hitting for power hitting for average You just know it on you with just so your head that you are relaxed to. Turn in the head and he says as how they got here through all these years and well I'd change of now because he was working the Big Red Machine I guess you work with people like Pete Rose and Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Folks like that how was he working with these star players. That's the way he started it with them is. Do it this way you don't like it. Or yet at the lead us towards anything. He wasn't in name or by their big boobs if they had a years he didn't let that get in his way. Bernie do you remember like Ted Kaczynski. What kind of back that he used what weight. Yeah he had a 30. And once known me

and this in this Leslie one in the here now thirty eight ounce is pretty heavy for a bad as lawyer. Nobody uses them that having any other like 32 aren't they I think as they're uninsured. Yeah yeah. Clearly he had the heaviest that he already had a close call with a foul ball. Yeah when you write them. So you were sitting one knee my back in those days sit back boys knew you would deny on deck circle and then I guess the next player came out and knew it by now the bad boys don't do that. They keep me and that doubt pretty much I just get the bat. I remember Willie Mays sand the clue that he knew me that we didn't did my just ironing board the seabed Bo can squeeze you in by me. He says that those things might move. If I don't want a clue. He says

do you what do you see in the business. Strong guy. Yeah well old visiting stars when they come in they stand around bending hazy and you know look for a clue. There's clearly a man that lived to see. Let me look at this. Did none in balloons and the heavy bat Priscilla did you socialize with Eleanor. I do more now than I did back then. She socialize more with the other players wives than and I did a little bit when she was a coach's wife. We went on functions where all the coaches wives and the players wise we did some of that. But now I socialize whether we go to lunch. We meet up with fans out and that's all. And Joy sparrow and myself and we discriminants about the olden days and the difference between the olden days and now Bernie out.

What year did you start working for the Reds when your team 40 47 as a visiting team but boy who just three. And when the home team. Ever since. So when you're bat boy your job's got to be more than just gathering errands. Looks like a real nice though in the brains of her two and three I was at a time when the spikes in inches of mud on the splay. That is 15 to 30 minutes. You get the mud off of what was the best part was it exciting to be able to see your favorite players up close. Oh yeah the kids are your friend I'm only six and you decide to graft as and as a boy was just the evidence. You're here to work then here you have a gf. Who it was. As I tell people now they've asked me how Lee's do one if he's really happy when he comes I says. Bonnie doesn't get too high when they win or too

low when they lose. He stays pretty even keel and I guess that's the way he is at work. You know how many players have came and went and he's the same person to all of them is to the big stars. How did you eventually become the clubhouse manager. Let's just test the evidence. Was the equipment men and the money to travel and they said to see the traveler we had to get somebody else. There was Dick Wagner and he his. One that they said will you send a resume and how many years were you the clubhouse manager from 68 till the sea My son took over the news around 99 or 2000 I guess. Somewhere in there they made Rick the home team clubhouse manager I mark the visiting clubhouse manager and they made him a senior clubhouse manager before they

all three worked together in the home clubhouse from the time the boys were in their teens 16 they started and it just evolved. It's hard to say but he did start as clubhouse manager and 68 before that he was a clubhouse assistant or a bat boy or something like that. He always was around the clubhouse but not in that capacity. Can you kind ascribe what it's like to be a clubhouse manager that you had to get a spring training they had to get everything they trucked in that you know there's a lot of responsibilities because you know when he was clubhouse manager by then they expected him to go on a road course when he was home there was 12 hour days because he had to get there before the players and get things lined up. By the time he took over they were starting to have me all say he had a plan a meal he had and make

sure the clubhouse was clean the uniforms Mark Twain there was a lot of responsibilities in the winter. There was inventorying everything packed and things getting ready for spring training. Then you start all over in January getting the truck packed and leaving for spring training. So there wasn't a lot of down time no uniforms equipment a clubhouse pretty much everything right ordering the kind of food there was in beans and when it's free they said back then yeah by now they use a layman that is laced as you name it. Did you ever get any really weird requests for food that you can remember. We did the basic the Latin players always like tails and oh yeah and that was black beans and then yeah rice beans and that I have or. Had back then they brought their own stereos in the unit

shipped in. Who are some of your favorite players and your memories of them. Rocky bridge is in the on me you know. Do you remember anything about her home when my marriage was the same and the way the fans treated him here he wouldn't get his head out of the dugout maybe billing me. I was babbling then really it's just looked in on this face soon I stay here and have it leave as he had a chance to be in the trade they had there was permission that Herman. He's pissed away any enemy I still see is Santa and us and it's down here by there and she is about her and me. Really touched and seen like me your nothing say something about me meow. And who really they knew of him from western

hills and from the Legion teams that he played on so they knew who he was so spectacular then but this was the big leagues and that was different. The why were they so tough on him. Own town boy. I think maybe for him he had some bad studs in the fixes you didn't hear such a strong team then in the years he was say or I think the whole league was a teams then. And the Reds seemed to finish sixth pretty here for a long time. I guess since he was the hometown boy are they. Took it out on him I don't. Judge we Myers the son of Herm we Meyer who played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1945 and also promote 1947 to 54. He was born in Cincinnati and went to Western Hills High School. Jeff tell us about your father's baseball career. Like you said he graduated from Western Hills High School and he signed a contract to play with

the Reds out of high school at the tender age of 18 and played a few years in the minor leagues had a couple short stints with the Reds and then came up for good in 1918 like you said played through the 1954 season and he played during that time with Ted cluess ski. He was great friends with Ted Kaczynski and Eleanor Ted's widow in my mother who passed away a couple years ago remain fast friends until my mom died actually sometime in the 90s. My mom and Eleanor got together a group of Cincinnati Reds baseball widows and they would take a common vacation every year. 0 0 to San Antonio or New Orleans Mexico Puerto Rico Joyce Belle Ted's widow was part of that. Joe McMillan running Millan's widow so 30 years after the fact they got together for a week every year and relive old times it was a very special time for her it was special for us kids just that she got a chance to do that reconnect with that

part of her life. I understand you had some home videos. I have some home video of my mom and dad showing up at Ted in Eleanor's house and Ted taking my brother out of the car and trying to feed him to his boxer. Not really but he was putting his head down letting his boxer lick him in the face. I also have some video of my dad playing winter league baseball in Puerto Rico were the team was taking batting practice and bathing trunks. It was a different time. Your dad was a pitcher. He was a pitcher. He was a starting pitcher which most pitchers were back in those days. And he also went for the Reds to other organizations. He played for two years with the Philadelphia Phillies and two years with the St. Louis Cardinals where he played with Stan The Man Musial and all those greats of that era. The end of his career with the Detroit Tigers. He had an elbow surgery that didn't allow him to come back and play any longer. From 1959 to 61 your dad scouted for the Reds and he recommended

that they sign Pete Rose who also went to Western Hills High School Is that true. That is true. He was told Time that he was too small too slow and didn't have strong enough arm. They said that about Pete Rose. Yes well you and your family must be very proud of your dad. Absolutely are I mean not just the fact he was a major league baseball player that he was a great father who unfortunately died in a very young age of 46 when I was 20 and a little too young to really appreciate what he had done and what he and my mom had sacrificed raising a large family of five siblings. Of course back in those days the ballplayers worked real jobs during the off season it wasn't anything like it was today. My dad's overall record was under 500 in the C.R. it was between four and five which means today he would probably only be making five or six million dollars a year. It was a little different back then. Did you get to see him or Ted close to ski play. I was born in 153 my dad's last fall season was 1958. But my

mom certainly bundles up and took us down to games so I actually did see him I don't remember that much about that. My memories are more retrospective. I think I've seen you walkin in the thinly market parade with Jim Tarbell How did that it get started. Probably over a beer. Arnold's or grammars at some point Jim was honoring someone that he admired. You know Jim Sheldon who wrote and sold peanuts outside across the field for years and years and years and actually at Riverfront Stadium I think before he passed away and I happened to have a 1952 road uniform My dad actually pitched in for the Reds and we decided that it would be nice for me to honor him as well so we've been doing that. Gosh I don't know how long but 20 years anyway it's something we always look forward to in. It's a wonderful time to spend a day with my dad and drink a couple beers with him and then the opening day for 2013 is going to be April 1st. Are you going to be in the parade again. I certainly hope to. Ted closes key

was the hitting coach for the Big Red Machine around in the 70s. Did you have any contact with him then you or your family. Well my mom at that time was living in Texas my dad accepted a job transfer to Dallas the year I graduate from high school in 1991. But she would come to visit once a year and of course my mom would always get in touch with Eleanor and I would get together with Eleanor sometimes Ted Ted owned with a partner a steakhouse in Cincinnati back in those days Jack includes Steakhouse which started out on Central Parkway and then relocated to Walnut Street between six and seven so we would you know we would go down and have dinner and get together with Ted and his wife there. What do you remember about that. He was gruff. He was a big burly gruff exterior of a guy but he was very sweet. He was very sweet to the people that he trusted and that he knew well. He was a teddy bear around my mom. He was always very helpful and gentle men around myself. Jeff Wiemar son of former Reds pitcher Hermy Meyer thanks for coming in tonight.

Thank you. And Cincinnati. Baseball collectibles are a popular hobby for sports lovers throughout the country. Steve Walter is the president of Sports investments on Montgomery road in Cincinnati. I recently visited with him in his museum and memorabilia store to talk about Ted Kaczynski his career and collectibles. I grew up as a teenager in the 50s and was a tremendous baseball fan mainly because of my collecting of baseball cards. That's where it all started. But I kind of fell in love with the Reds because the reds here had a tremendous team in the team stayed together on like today where they may have a player for a year and they're gone but back then you had a team and it remained a team. And the five players that were so well known back in the mid 50s for the Reds were losing ski post temple bell McMillan the whole team was built around those five and close to ski was the most popular of any red. In fact he's probably one of the. For

five most popular Reds players of all time going all the way back. And of course the big red machine had a big influence on that later on with Rose and bench especially but in the 50s it was close. He was an interesting player because he was such a big guy and he had such big arms. And at first the league didn't like it that he cut his sleeves because he was altering the uniform and he appealed it. And they eventually let him continue. But what was neat about clue was his home runs were awesome to watch because they were usually line drives. They were not long fly balls. They were hard line drives and the other interesting thing I remember when teams would get into fights and I remember one specifically back in the 50s. Close to ski was not ever an instigator he was the peacemaker and he was able to accomplish that very easily because no one wanted to mess with me. It was his role to kind of pull people apart and pick

them up and set them away from the melee going on and he did that over his career three or four times. We call him in our hobby a cult figure of baseball kind of like Rocky Kala Vito was in Cleveland. Not a Hall of Fame baseball player but an all star baseball player who was just loved by the fans and he had some unique characteristics about him that made him interesting. Willie Mays once compared clues heading of wind drives to an ironing board of all things. Yeah that's the way you described Oh like an ironing board is straight and flat right. And that's the way it closes ski's hit. He could decapitate some pitchers with some line drives back off his bat. I mean he was well-known for that as much as any player in the league at that point. He was a pull hitter. And so almost all his home runs were to right center right field because he was a left handed batter and they would end up in the sun deck as we called it. They would get out real

fast. But he was fun to watch. You talk about some of the Ted Kaczynski memorabilia you have here in the store. There's only one interesting thing here in the store everything else is at home but in the store I bought maybe 15 years ago. His complete uniform from 1954 it's a home Reds. So it's cream color with the red and blue trim. But it's the complete uniform it's the jersey the paints the bell the socks. And I had it all framed up in a big frame with a photo of him wearing an identical uniform clues big years were fifty three four five and six he made the All-Star game each one of those years. And his biggest season by far was 1954. In fact many people felt he should have been MVP that year in the league. But he was narrowly edged out. Willie Mays got it that year actually close it was more valuable to his team than Mays was. But the

Giants went to the World Series that year so I think that had a big influence on their voting. Tell us about this baseball this ball is actually dated March 8th 1947. First homer on spring training. And this is the ball that Ted hit for his very first home run as an official read in spring training then of course he went on the big league roster after that. And Eleanor his wife kept the ball and she did the inscriptions on it. In fact it's interesting in that same spring training Babe Ruth was there. He wanted his autograph on a baseball. Ted did. And Eleanor said it will go over any asking any of you I'm not going to do that. You go over an esky. So he forced her to go over and get that baseball. Of course Ruth was a very willing signer. He was a prolific signer but he was in the last year of his life he was sick he had cancer. You know it's interesting but

Ted for such a big guy his personality was very meek and he was a teddy bear in effect. And I think people respected that and so I just thought it was interesting when Eleanor told me that story about and he said no you go get it I don't want to go over it. I don't though she still has that ball or not I can't remember now Kloos wife Eleanor gave the Baseball Hall of Fame one of Ted's baseball gloves so he'd be in the Hall of Fame somehow. According to reports she had it bronzed and shipped it to Cooperstown. Well actually there are a lot of things in the Hall of Fame that aren't from Hall of Fame players. Now if the Hall of Fame is that the highest level closes key is at that next level all star player great player does unfortunately never made the Hall of Fame. In fact all those names I mentioned Kaczynski McMillan temple post bell. They're kind of all in that category of the Kaczynski was the best known of those five. Do you get a lot of baseball fans asking for takeaways escape collectables at your shop.

Yeah actually we do and the thing that people want the most is a take closes key single sign baseball. They're hard to find even not sign a lot of baseballs single sign signed a lot of team balls that his baseball today on an official ball. Nice condition everything being right about it is 700 to a thousand dollars but we still sell on a fairly consistent basis has signed 8 by 10 photos those are much more available. Not nearly as expensive as the baseballs. This photo it's a little snapshot photo I like to buy for maybe black and white obviously. It's a photo of Ted swinging a bat in his Indiana University baseball uniform. So this is is his earliest known photo of him in a baseball uniform that I've ever seen it's actually dated on the back. Indiana University campus 1944. But the irony of this is that he was much better known as a football player and in

college and in the Big Ten he was in the end I think then he was baseball. And somehow he that got switched toward the end of his senior year where the emphasis right when he graduated I think he felt he probably had a better long term future in baseball than in football and so didn't take him very long to get to the big leagues I mean I think his first year was 47 maybe 48. But his minor league career was brief and actually for his size. Obviously a great hitter power hitter in the average two for his size he was a very good defensive per spaceman's every year his league the league and fielding percentage. So he was kind of a complete all around player. Do you have any photos of clue as a coach with the Reds. Actually a lot of our photos that we have for sale here are him as a coach signed 8 by 10 photos. Ted was a hitting coach for a long time

for the Reds very well respected as a hitting coach. He had not only the technical skills but his personality was such a demeanor that players liked team and would let him coach them. Ted was not the kind to be forceful and say hey your swing is totally wrong you got to change this I don't think that was his personality my guess is that he would work with what the player had and enhance it as opposed to trying to changing totally. And I think that would match the kind of person that he was. Today they make so much money that they don't feel like they have to pay attention the managers coaches. And back when Ted was coaching which really was what maybe the early 70s through the mid 80s players just had started to make big money but they still I think had a lot of respect for him and I'm sure he developed a lot of the good hitters on those teams.

Eleanor Clift is the wife of legendary Cincinnati Reds player and hitting coach Ted was a ski clue played for the Reds in the 40s and 50s. He returned to the Reds and became their hitting coach in the 70s working with the players of the Big Red Machine. Eleanor still lives in Cincinnati and remains a Reds man. We were honored to have her come into the studio this summer to share memories of her husband Douglas. Eleanor your history with Ted begins in the 1930s in Argo Illinois which is a few miles from the old Kamisese park when you were both kids. We were in grade school together and high school together. We started dating in our junior year. We were married in 1946 and his parents died in 44 and my night in 47. So they didn't really get to see his career at all. But we maintained he had brothers and sisters. And my side of the family so they really enjoyed his career. He lived a good life with watching him become a good ballplayer. You were also an athlete and your husband credited you with helping his major league career.

I just bought him and a 16 millimeter camera at the Christmas forty seven and just took it obviously down to spring training and sat in the stands and just took pictures as we knew it was something new. And then we just spotted the fact that when he was having a bad day or a couple bad days we just ran the film and that's how it started. I could see little things that he was doing wrong. So it worked out to his advantage. I still have the film. I don't know what conditions him but I still have it. Now when did you get married to Ted and when you to move to Cincinnati. February of 1946. And then he went down to spring training. We decided to make Cincinnati our home in 1948 so often and we've been here since 1946 but then 46 and 47 We went home back to Argo Illinois. We're about three families in one house and that didn't work out too bad so we just decided we liked Cincinnati and whoa. That it would work out for us so we decided to make sense now here at home.

Now professional baseball was different back in the 50s for me by far. Did you socialize with the other baseball players and their families. Oh yeah we had picnics and get togethers and the wives got together when the killers were on the road. The usual baby showers and shopping and we built our own swimming pool and we got a lot of help from some of the ballplayers they pitched in and helped us stick out some dirt and shape out the pool. Well we did have our trainer back in the 40s not the trainers that they have now they're really professionals and that's good too but he was the trainer they hand back Anderson and he came out to help Ted one day shape up some trees and he was sitting on the limb and cut off the limb that he was sitting on and sail in our creek. And then well actually the same gentleman Dr. Anderson when we put an addition to our house we had an outdoor an indoor fireplace for cooking. And he said well I'm going home now and he opened the door and stepped in the hole where they hadn't finished putting in the foundation for the

fireplace. So he was a character. And the ladies. We had a bowling team. So I was a bowler. Yes we had a lot of fun. I used to get out at the airport or train station that's what they did travel by train when Ted was playing and two and three o'clock in the morning I am sure the wives don't do that now. They probably have somebody pick them up or they have the cars parked there or whatever. It's different. What was the neighborhood that you lived in. We bought our house it said Down below Kennedy Heights in Pleasant Ridge in that area. Actually we were in the county we were not actually in the city we were in in the county. But right up off of the Red Bank area and there were some of your friends among those players and then there was. Well actually I still have a close relationship but I talked to her at least two or three times a month Mrs. McMillan right McMillan's wife Joyce bail. I don't see a downside of that much because she was out of Fairfield and get together that often. So those three Yeah and Mrs. we met her but she's

since died but we took trips together got together and giggled like high school girls college kids sat on the bed and dangled it was fun. Did you go to all those games across the field and kept score. Minor league. And the double header sets they don't play now. Now across the fields where it is usually set behind home plate. Did you attend many of the games when he was coaching with the Big Red Machine at Riverfront. No not that many but I would have to take him down then come back and go down again so I saw a fair share but when it got to be really exciting I really when I went to get close to where we knew we were going to probably be in the World Series. Any memorable games that you saw. All the games that I saw when he was playing to me were memorable because they had a nice career. The big red machine of course that was exciting and the winning in the World Series back to back then was very exciting to me but nothing really stands out in my mind really as far as any one particular

game except the World Series that he played in that he finally got to play with the White Sox in 1959. That was really exciting. I didn't miss any of those games they saw all of us. Well I understand he had a really good series where yes he had a good series for a couple days they even named a street after him in Chicago. No I don't think it's there now but during the series they didn't tell us about that he had an oversized commemorative bat that he posed with for opening day 1955 you still have that bat. Yes it's downstairs in his so kind of trophy room that he built downstairs. It was a humongous bed rest and I can put dimensions on it but it was at least triple maybe more than what a normal bat would be. And it was on a big plaque was very nice it was given to him by the ball players of yesterday. That organization isn't around anymore. I did sell little bits of stuff. Because I did what was I going to do with all of it so I did start selling some of it but the major

stuff I've kept the bats and the homerun balls and things like fan. We played in Columbia South Carolina. Yes first year in the minors. And then 47 in Memphis and that was interesting because they ran an article in the paper that he couldn't catch a bear in a telephone booth kind of crude. I was not a happy camper. I learned in a hurry that you don't talk back. You keep your mouth shut. Fortunately he had a nice career and didn't get booed. So that was the nice part of it. But it's kind of hard when they're saying something nasty about your husband and you're sitting there. But I did learn I didn't want to be called a bag of worms too many times. Now he cut the sleeves from his jerseys because he had such big arms. What about his everyday clothes How did you deal with that that he have to have custom made suits or clothing made. He can pretty well wear shirts but the pants and the jackets have been tailor made. But you know that back in the 50s they wore those heavy flannel

uniforms and he couldn't move his arms especially when they got wet so he just one day just cut him off and they told me you can't do that. But he did so that's how they started with the sleeveless stuff. Of course now they have the Nets which is neat which is far more comfortable. I don't know how they manage to play back then with those heavy wood flannel uniforms on but they did and so it's just a different era that they're in now and for the better. They have bad in gloves sliding gloves helmets and the helmets are a good thing for sure. I just still can't get used to that strike zone that they have nowadays though it's it's so different than when Ted was playing. Sometimes I think they're calling a strike when it's by their toes for heaven's sakes it looks like that to me so. But that's the new room where they played. You think I would have a strong opinion about the way the game is played today and about the players of today. You know he was not one to speak out about things and he just went along with it. And I

guess if you pin him down he would answer you but I think the players keep themselves in better condition than back when they do it in the 50s. I mean they work out now and they stayed in shape during the winter. Overall most of them do. And I think that's a definite advantage. We're I think the players intent there they didn't do that. You have to understand they aren't making the kind of money that these players are making. Kids first contract was a major league contract it was $6000 a year. And then he was playing minor league ball but he was signed to a major league contract and that's what Major League may salary was then $6000 a year. You were speaking about conditioning as I understand it Ted never really lifted weights so he had a great physique how did he keep himself so fit. He came from a big family for a while he worked in a factory at home lifting bags. But I don't think that really had that much influence on it he was just big. His younger brother was even an inch taller than 10 and they were house key people not obese or fat. This mother was probably 5

8 9 10 big person. I didn't get to meet his father his father was ill at the time that I get to meet him but I think that's what it involved from just from the stature of the rest of the family. What about his diet what kinds of things to eat anything that was in front of him he was a big eater. I mean that guy when we got out he would try everything and I wouldn't thinking how did he even know to eat this stuff because he came from a very poor family and sometimes a sandwich was made in a sandwich that was as a dinner and then all of a sudden he's eating snails and steaks and I was trying to have Mexican food Chinese food and they were to have come from to know that. So it was interesting how it involved into a nice comfortable life. Ted was popular with I think with the female fans. How did he handle the adoration from them. Contrary to what every primary thinks he really was very shy around women. But yeah you know I didn't like anybody else would. It was teenagers but there you have that with everybody I

mean them you know as now as I'm sure the ballplayers still have their following. More so probably in the back in the 50s. I mean he did talk to them and signed autographs but he wasn't very comfortable about it having all the ladies around him. Did you attend any of the fan picnics in the parks that were held around Cincinnati during the 1950s. We used to go up to the swords of hill unlike the All-Star break well coursed had played in some All-Star games but knew we would have family picnics and would cook and have a big blast out there. What did you want to do during the off season. Really not very much it didn't seem like you had a lot of time I mean I know from October and then turned around and in February we were heading for spring training so Ted liked to do arts and crafts building things building ships. He was big with guns. He had quite a gun collection and he would go out and practice shooting in the woods on the range. He always had a project going was to be know how to fix everything person

so I just kept busy doing things like that. The rec room downstairs they finished that off all by himself down in our basement. I understand bowling was something you guys like to do crossword puzzles was something else that you. Well I was a bowler and then we had a husband and wife team he wasn't that much of a bowler. I mean he bowl but it wasn't one that he liked that much. And puzzled I finally got him started on crossword puzzles and finally got him started on bridge too. And then I know how silly that's going to be. The pulp players and their wives are going to what we used to play charades when we had get together it's the guys against the girls and the wives always beat the guys because we were the ones that went to the movies pretty much. We would always pick movies and we'd always beat them had charades so we had fun. And I heard a story that one of his clubs in Cooperstown of that's because here's something that you did. I snuck it out of his trunk and had it bronzed and they

and he let Weiler knew a lot of the personnel up at the Hall of Fame and he was going up there for some reason I forgot what it was. And so he took it up. I have no idea when they display it. But you know I donated up there I thought at least that part of me will be in the Hall of Fame even if the rest of his records aren't but at least the globe will be so turned out really nice. So Ted's not in the Hall of Fame but the glove is. Yeah well the one thing that bothers me is I know he was a good hitter but nobody remembers or recognizes that he set a major league record for fielding first baseman and then I'd like to meet that gentleman down in Memphis that said he couldn't catch a bear in a telephone booth and tell him that he's had a major league record not a nationally but a major league record for fielding first baseman. They never talk about that one record he's very proud of. He worked hard to become a good first baseman because he was naturally an outfielder. And then they converted him to playing first base.

The back injury he suffered in 1956 that had a really great impact on his career. Did he get a lot of support from doctors and from his teammates about his injury. I know the club was behind him they sent him up to the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts to get a final opinion on what should be done and the doctors up there told him that the surgery would help but they couldn't guarantee that he would ever have the mobility you need your mobility when you're no hitter or a baseball player. So he chose not to. So he just played with the bad bad good days and bad days. Some days I had to tie his shoelaces he couldn't bend over to tie his shoelaces. How did you get that back injury. We don't know. Just I think he might have been born with a bad back and it just showed up. But he played a lot of sports he was big in sports in high school played basketball football. So it could have been an injury from then that when you're young you just pass it over and you don't think too much of it.

Are there any other injuries that Ted suffered during his career. No. And that was the killer though that restricts your swings you can partly play when you have a bad back. I don't know that he could have played too much longer than he did because he was a big man. The smaller stature player could probably play longer pitchers play longer because they don't play every day. But I think his size probably worked against him. There are pictures on the Internet of Ted with various Hollywood movie stars and what was that side of his life like oh that was fun and if we were out in Hollywood we got to go on the set with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. That was fun. And then he was on a television show and there are two television shows one was masquerade and the other one was What's My Line he was on that and he rubbed elbows with. Presidents. Who would have thought back in 1946 when we were married would ever rub elbows with presidents or a president so yes Ted Williams who got to know. Not Ted Williams But Musial and Dodgers. We had them as guests in our house.

He was part owner of a restaurant. Jack included was the name of it right. Tell us about that restaurant they used his name in course he went down in the evening and just wander around and talk to people signed autographs. Basically is what he did. And then on Saturdays he got a big kick out of going down and helping cut steaks something he really enjoyed so. But otherwise it was just more of a being a greeter. And since his name was attached to the restaurant he had to be there and circulate around. So he enjoyed it. You gave him something to do in the wintertime basically. Jack was the name of the other person Jack's day and he was the original owner started the steakhouse and then I asked Ted if he wanted to join him. So Ted said yeah sure why not and and how long was it in existence. I think we finally got out. Actually when we moved into the condo in seventy six probably and we musta started in the 60s probably late

60s. But he wasn't around that much because once he got back into baseball you know he was pretty much tied up with baseball so he did make some appearances but I think our final year we got out from under when we moved into our condo. Tell us about the day his jersey number was retired I believe that was 1998. Mrs. shout was so good about that. She gave us seats in her private box and then I think we had a total of well over 20 person 30 people that came in. So it was it was fun it was a fun weekend was very nice and the stanch it was that so took me by surprised when I saw that in the paper I thought I had read it incorrectly. But you had those two stand up and have you been to the Reds Hall of Fame. Oh sure many times. What are some of your favorite items there about your husband. Well I saved a uniform that I donated to I get when Mrs. Chater when they were starting to work on the museum I told her I said I had when it's finished I kept a uniform so it's there someplace I haven't been up recently but I like that big wall and other of course they have that big

Syma TOG or fee or whatever wall with the players all of that are all in the Hall of Fame I think that's a neat idea. And then of course they have the replica of the plaques. That they get when they are in the hall of fame so I think we have a marvelous museum I think they've done an excellent job with us. And I like that the production of the games when you go in and see that little movie clip I think that's a neat idea too. And of course Pete Rose with all his Rosa's girl's garden I guess they call it. Yeah it's neat. They did a really good job and said What's your favorite memory of Ted. Very likable. Took a lot to get in Mangere had his very calm personality. So he was easy to live with. I think I remember that more than anything else. And then he really made something of himself. And I know that sounds like a knock on his brothers with his brothers didn't when he had the opportunity he took it and ran with it and made something of himself so I'm very proud of that and very rarely

got upset about anything even as he got older. What do you think his legacy is that he was a gentle giant. Frankly. I think that's the best legacy you can give somebody. I don't want to use the word nonviolent but just an easy going person to get along with. I don't think he had any trouble with his teammates. A personality onto yourself and you have made a name for yourself. It's hard to not have that come through when you're sitting on the bench. But he got along with everybody as far as my knowledge was concerned. So I think that's a good legacy to have. Except maybe Hornsby the manager. I can remember he slid into home plate one time and he had blood coming out of his nose and Hornsby came up to him and he said do you think you can still play. And he's laying there with blood coming out of his nose and hands and you know I guess so he was quite a character Hornsby was the manager. You never said hello to me the whole time he was a manager just walked right by us wives and I guess we weren't supposed to

be there. I don't know. And sounds like your husband was an exceptional man. Well I'm prejudiced but yes I think he was. And I don't know of too many people that anything bad to say about him and I think that's a nice tribute to him. Did you like to travel a lot together. I like to travel but when Ted got out of baseball he had had enough of traveling I couldn't get him out of the house. I didn't make all the trips you know when he was playing but I made some of the trips we had to pay for me when I was on the road I don't know what they do now but I had to pay for my part of the room and parking and stuff like that plane fare to get me there. I took money out of Ted's World Series check when we flew to California they took it out of the plane fare out of there. Now when the Reds played in 75 and 76 the World Series they were really nice they paid for everything that was really first class but not the White Sox they took the plane fare out of the World Series chair. But traveling by train that was meant to favorite

he and fit in the bunks for one thing. I do remember Upton Oakley took him to the train station and he and want to say it was Derringer and a couple of other ball players and I saw him get on the train and I started to pull away and the train pulled down and there was 10 the ballplayers still standing they had gotten on the wrong train. They were supposed to head the east and they would go out on a train that was going west and the conductor found out in time so they were still standing there and I went over and I said what's wrong and he said we got on the wrong train. So there's a lot of good stories a lot of good memories. Sounds like it was an interesting life you had with him very still is I still benefit from being his wife. I really do. Opens a lot of doors for me and I appreciate that. Almost every day I benefit from being Mrs close to skiing. Very proud of it. When you've had it in the other way do you get any fan mail still. No not any more than occasional letter that's just asking for money addressed to Ted

which I think is with this magic computer age. Don't they know that he's been dead twenty four years for heaven's sakes. It fell off pretty much and I think it was probably it took a year for it to get into the system because they print all those baseball books out and they designate who's alive and who's dead so I don't think the kids nowadays even know other than when they see a statue down maybe at the ballpark. They seem to talk about the Big Red Machine and the wire to wire which was an exciting I was. Well that was my first trip overseas in 1990. I was going nuts trying to go from KY asked to key ask trying to find out whether they were still wire to wire or whether the still in first place. That was an exciting year. That's what they talk about now man says it should be but I think they could still talk about the 50s. We didn't win any penance I think pitching was our bugaboo. We had hitters we had here is that without steroids were hitting 40 home runs 35 home runs

tied a record rather for a team hitting two hundred and twenty one home runs. So we had a lot of players that were hitting. Gaspero Well the post all hitting 40 home runs and better. You know talk about that. That's my complaint. I keep trying to push him to say something but we had good games we had good teams. When you having that many fellas that are hitting home runs 40 home runs we should have been up there and we weren't a lot of players have these little rituals they do. Was ahead like that. Yes if he was not a hitting streak I was not allowed to wash his clothes. I couldn't even sneak in he made sure that whatever he was wearing when it started and that's what he wore until he did when he had a list it was of an ongoing battle and it was working for him so who am I to say differently. Everybody had their little quirks back them and I think you see some of the players still do that in particular

on the team who were some of his best friends that he played with Roy McMillan Gus bell and I think he used to at one time room with the Johnny Temple and we didn't seem to hit it off as we did with say for some reason with McMillan and Gus bell and then as I say I'm still very close with them. But no not beyond that. We just all got along but I think when he was on the road probably he would be with McMillan or just Bell and the trainer in for some reason he needed. And Bernie Stowe Bernie Stowe was just a bad boy. When Ted started and look at he still going strong or his children are his boys are and that's really nice and whether or not it's tradition for them and Bernie is it was a friend so he came over to the house a lot of times too he was helping Ted. Jenny favorite restaurant that you ate out with had he used in a restaurant the one that's on the way to Lebanon you were there

on reading road or 42. We get there pretty much and then we went across the river because you know then serve liquor here on Sunday when Ted was playing ball. So we went over to the old sinner's family restaurant almost every Sunday and then they would sneak us drinks in the coffee mugs. Because they weren't supposed to serve liquor either but they would serve a string so that now we're all going to get a rest and I'll probably end up going to jail now because I said that those people were and pretty much almost every Sunday and then Mecklenburg almost after every night game would go up and have the big hamburgers and meth Lindbergh's. Those three places pretty much we stayed with us. And then special occasions we treated ourselves to the Mason and we did our 25th wedding anniversary up there in the Mason had rented the room up stairs and had lots of friends. Well Beverly Hilton forgot about Beverly Hills. Actually the whip before that big fire we were in that room where the fire started there was a wedding reception

from one of the ball players. Pretty Norman. And then the next week I'm wondering if that fire was simpering in there when we were in their room. He ate out so much on the road so that he CAN I JUST WANT TO BE HOME. And so we kind of had a running battle all the time. I was always home when he got home I wanted to go out and he didn't. How many years were you married. Forty two. When he died it was good right. Still with us as I say I still have people remember Ted which kind of surprises me because he's been dead twenty four years and played in the 50s. But that's nice when people still remember pick up on his name. Makes my day for me. Thank you Eleanor. Oh you're more than welcome I enjoyed. And that was Eleanor cluess day the wife of Reds player took listeners in the

next hour you'll hear more stories about Ted closes people as a visit to the Reds Hall of Fame and prize Hill's Historical Society and a preview of Brad's past in December. This is in around Cincinnati baseball special on ninety one point seven WVXU Cincinnati and eighty eight point five W. in you beat Oxford. My name is Barr McCully. I grew up and still presently live on a street called Con Royale. When I was a kid Crosley Field was so close so you would walk to cross a field. We go down cross make maken down across Central Parkway go down which is the old Coleraine Avenue and then turn left on the spring road walk up a little bit and there it was right there. It was really cool to be young and living around the stadium at that time. Even though at the time

we never had a whole lot of money but my dad always got seats behind third base and at that time crossing field if you sat behind third base it was like you could almost reach out and touch these guys. You were just so close to everything everything was there and then off to the right is where the reds came out their dugout. No one day we went and there was my brother Donny my father myself and we had our programs. So we're by the third base and the guys are going to come out. So my brother Nani says let's go over and get our program signed. We go over there and stand. Well I had naturally curly hair I look like Shirley Temple but I was kind of quiet. So we're standing there my brother Don he reaches out here comes close escape and he gets his program signed. So then I'm staying there and he says what about you and I just shook my head. I was like scared to death my brother said. She's a little shy she wants hers signed too. So he took it from me signed

any rub the top of my head and goes there you go curly top and it was like Wow Ted Cruzes signed this and he touched me. It was really cool and I just remember he had these huge arms. He was this big guy into a little kid. He actually looked bigger than life. He had his sleeves out and he was just the gantt a person. But I thought it was really cool how he'd sign your autograph and at that time going to the stadium was so different than today. I mean you were right there with the players and you'd see Veda Pinson. Cause Gus bell and Roy McMillan and all these guys it was just a different time. It just seemed like you were actually going there to see the game not to see how many beers you could drink or whatever. It was just a great time. And I remember another thing that was kids we have baseball cards. I was a little bit of a tomboy so you always wanted to get the big guys well. The one day I got Ted close to ski

and we used to flip baseball cards and you never really wanted to throw out your good card because you could lose it. But every now and then we'd be flipping baseball cards and out came my TED closed and he leaned up against the wall. I won all the cards. And it wasn't I did it. It was my Ted Kaczynski card. It was very interesting a lot of fun. And I was just a lot of good times going down to the old Crosley Field. I kind of miss that. It's totally different than today it just the whole atmosphere is different. It's good times today but it's not that closeness and they were always willing to sign something your hat your hand whatever you put out there. So it's a very good time. Chris echoes chief curator at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum recently took Mark Cheney on a tour and pointed out some of the Douglas Zuki memorabilia on display. This uniform was the uniform that Ted Kaczynski wore it was a home

uniform during the famous 1956 season in the pantheon of popular Reds teams the fifty six guys who are right up there. They didn't want to panic. They were right in the hall until the final weekend of the season. But this was the group of power hitters the Western Avenue bombers. This was clue and Wally posed in Frank Robinson as a rookie and Ed Bailey and these great home run hitters in their home run hitting exploits really capture the fascination of the country. They wound up tying the all time record for home runs hit by a team of two hundred twenty one in 1956 and Ted of course was the first baseman. The example you see here is the best style uniform that Ted had a big part in convincing the Reds to adopt. You've ever seen a photograph of Ted Ted was a very big guy. And the uniform styles at the time didn't lend themselves to a lot of flexibility. But the real heavy flannel style uniforms that you're playing baseball in Cincinnati in July it is hot in these things we just hold sweat in the more they help sweat the more constricting they became.

Will was not a guy who did well with being constricted in his swing so when he started doing was take it upon himself to cut his sleeves shorter and shorter so he would have more room he swung the bat and threw the ball and so forth and eventually the higher his cuts the more began to resemble a vest and the Reds wound up adopting a vest style uniform that became something of a trademark of theirs throughout that decade and symbolize no better than in the form of clue the photograph that you see behind the jersey. The great one from spring training Ted's got a wheelbarrow full of bats and he's been pushing along in front of the dugout. You can see how his sleeves have been unnaturally abbreviated by him. So that's a pretty vest style Jersey that Ted's wearing there. And then over on this side we have a small display in place paying homage to Crosley Field which is celebrating its This is the 1 100th anniversary of crosses opening back in 1912. And you have that number 18 jersey there that actually was mourned by clue when he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. The guys used to put on uniforms their

own uniforms styles during the induction ceremonies. And this is one that's been in the Reds collection ever since that Hall of Fame induction night. So that's a vest style uniform that Ted wore very briefly but he wore it during those induction ceremonies. The Reds used to do a publication called Red Lake news. It was something produced internally by the club. And it was basically just like a little newsletter flyer we have one on display here from one thousand fifty three. This highlights clue and his all star selection 1053 and it's also highlighting Gus bell. It was another member of that great fifty six reds team very gifted defensive outfielder and a very gifted hitter as well who had papa's seemingly everybody did on that 1956 club. But yeah that was a real knee publication it went under different titles at different times news of the Reds among others. That was something that you could pick up to keep abreast of the current club as well as they had a lot of Minor League coverage in these publications as well. But there's an overlap between Pete Rose and Terry Gross who's claiming they were teammates together and eventually you would have

been the hitting coach. No clue actually departed before Pete came along. He didn't come along in Cincinnati until 1963 and by that time Ted had retired as a player. He was a hitting coach for PBS so it kind of came full circle I mean obviously he was the hitting coach throughout the decade of the 70s when Pete was a big part of the big red machine of course up until 1978 and then when Pete came back as a manager and 1084 Ted was on his coaching staff during that period as well up until the time of his death. Ted would also want to play for the Chicago White Sox in 1059 the White Sox made the World Series they were called the Go Go Sox they were known for their speed. They lost to the Dodgers in that World Series but in something of a last hurrah for Ted is a great power here he had three home runs in that World Series. So White Sox fans remember Ted well also for his exploits in that series albeit for a losing effort it was the only World Series that Ted appeared in during his career. And many Reds fans will remember well wait whoa wait a favored broadcaster for many many years. Oit was also an amateur painter. And he tended not to focus

too much on painting people. He did a self-portrait where he's depicting himself on the mound as a Yankee. Of course he's in the Hall of Fame for his pitching achievements for the Yankees primarily but he also did a portrait of Ted Kaczynski. And again Waite was an amateur painter but this particular painting which is signed by Hoyt and was presented to the Kwasniewski family he really emphasizes clews chest in his arms and it's like he's sort of bursting from the canvas. So we got to capture the essence of Ted. Ted was a very big guy but the great part about it was he was the epitome of the gentle giant. Ted was his big hulking guy but. He was always the peacemaker. He was the one that wasn't going to start trouble even though if he started it he could also finish it very well but he wasn't that way. He was a very competitive guy and obviously that competitiveness translated into great success on the field but everything I've ever read every person I ever talked to was that he was one of the sweetest men you'd ever want to meet. And you were talking about his role as the hitting coach in the Big Red Machine George Foster credits Ted with a

great deal of his success. And it was Ted's record and the George broke in 1977 Ted it held the record for most home runs by red in a single season of 49. So. Very impressive number in one thousand seventy seven. FOSTER It's 52 and that was his MVP season and he remains the only red to hit 50 or more home runs in a season. But no coincidence that his hitting coach at the time was Ted was it was a case of Ted helped George a lot in becoming the great power hitter that he was I'm going to ask you who said he's passed. He was going to have your back. Yeah he was and we've got an example of the bad back here the other thing that's so remarkable about Ted Kooser is for someone who was known as a home run hitter justifiably so. He had tremendous tremendous control of the strike zone. If you look at Ted's stats year in and year out more often than not at the height of his career for sure he's hitting more home runs than he's striking out which is just incredible to think of these days a guy hits 45 home runs and strikes out 100 times we almost take it for granted

because of the kind of hitters the approaches that they have at the plate lend themselves never strike outs in Ted's time strike outs were looked on very unfavorably. And Ted did not strike out a lot so to be able to hit almost 50 home runs. And you're striking out less than 40 times in the same year that you hit 49 home runs. It's just incredible. So while Ted did have that kind of power he also had great control of the plate he could hit for average which he did and he got on base. He was not afraid to take what the pitcher gave him he wasn't always up to the plate swinging for the fences. So it's another facet of his game that made him such a remarkable hitter. And what we're looking at here is a little tribute to the 1956 Reds club we mentioned Gus bell and Wally posed in Frank Robinson and of course birdie tablets the manager of that club. But the focal point is again Ted because he was the most popular player on what became the most popular team in Reds history in many ways and the team that really came to symbolize the 1950s. They gave each guy on that club a special ring.

They call him the 221 rings. And those are the rings that represented the record setting home run. Total loved it that year. The bad that we have on display is one of Ted's models it's actually from later in his career after he left the Reds. But it's a new one style so it doesn't have the really tightly defined. It's more of a smooth finish on the knob and it was slightly heavier than what other players might use but it wasn't his exaggerated to say Ed rash is bad which is known as the heaviest bat ever wielded by anybody in baseball history. But that's one of my favorite things when talking about it was used is for a power hitter. You look at some of his other statistics and you're really taken aback by how much he didn't do some things you associate with power hitters. If there was any deficiency to his game at all it might be that he wasn't terribly fleet of foot but that's understandable. There he is right there. Ted Kaczynski was inducted in 1062 August 1st. To be specific the Reds hall of fame of course began in 58 so he was part of one of the first induction classes

and deservedly Hall of Fame can be interpreted as being the place for players who put great statistics together but also you can take it literally. Players who are famous Ted Kaczynski one of the most famous Reds in the history of the organization and sort of a given that he would be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. Good going the community as well. Oh yeah but Ted was one of those guys that never said no to an autograph. He had a steakhouse here in Cincinnati and it was not unusual to see him there greeting patrons as they walked into Ted Kaczynski steak house. One of those guys really they just had a personality that was as big as he was and that's a big part of the reason why fans love him so much because so many of them had that personal interaction with him just like Joe. You've run into Joe anywhere and he would say hi. He talked to Ted was the same way. So yeah definitely an asset in that regard to the community and the organization as a whole. I'm Howard Wilkinson the politics writer for WVXU and for many many years I've been going to spring training Cincinnati Reds and

Tampa plan so the service Sodam even good year. But the very first time I went was in 1982. And Ted Kaczynski was not on the coaching staff at that time but he was a special instructor in hidding and one of the things I always do it spring training is go early in the morning to the training fields. And in this case it was at Tampa at al Lopez field where they had a little ball park and some training fields for the major leaguers in the minor leaguers. And the first morning I was out there Ted was standing by a batting cage working with some minor league players on hitting and they were using one of those old fashion pitching machines that had the two boards shot out of the tube instead of the sling that you see more often these days. And there was something wrong with the two the two kept shooting balls to right handed hitters way outside where they couldn't get at them it was shooting pitches

way inside on a left handed hitters where it was basically knocking him down. And Ted was getting frustrated with the machine or some wrong. So he looks over and he sees me standing there and he says hey but it can help me out. So I walk over and I say yes or what can I do for. He says hold his machine down for me. And so I get down on my hands and knees I'm holding this thing in place and I'm looking up at him. And he grabs a hold of that too and I can see these big huge arms twisting that too and actually twisting the metal back into position and he's grunting and groaning but the thing is actually moving and he gets it back into position and he says There you go. Got it. And he started firing pitches and pitches were going straight as an arrow. And it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And Ted just looks at me and said Hey thanks buddy. Thanks for your help I said yes or any time. And that was my encounter with Ted

Kaczynski. When you first walk into the Reds Hall of Fame you'll see their big red machine exhibit which is on display through the end of the year Chris Eka spoke with Mark Kinney about some of the highlights. We sort of look at this. Giving an end to the Big Red Machine with PJ view in 1963 and then Johnny Bench his retirement in 1983. There were a couple of guys obviously Dave Concepcion carried on a little beyond that point but when you think of the Big Red Machine benching rose many times of the two names you come up with the first. And obviously one of the great shots in Pete's career that big grin on his face is bursting out of the dugout Opening Day 1963. It's a wonderful shot. And then down at the end of the timeline is Johnny on Johnny Bench tonight where he's being honored for his wonderful career as a ref. And then along the way a lot of the very familiar names and moments are highlighted and of course Bob Howes and the architect of the Big Red Machine is a big part of this exhibit is well above you. We've got the banners the actual banners of the above Riverfront Stadium each banner represents one of the Reds

titles won in that decade. So you've got the two world championship banners on either side of the room. They won the pennant in 1972 in 1970. It fell in the World Series and then two years where they won the division title but came up short in the playoffs 1973 and again in 1979. A lot of folks look at 1976 as the end date for the Big Red Machine. But truthfully the majority of that club stayed intact certainly through 78 now 78 more seats last year as a red. Sparky Anderson was let go as manager after that season. But if you look at that 1979 club that won the division we still had foster Griffey bench MORGAN So the big red machine was still very much a part of that division winning season in 79. So we really like to think of them is the team of the decade. They won more games than any other team in baseball throughout the decade of the 70s and a sort of truncated with who has his departure seems a little unfair to the guys who are still part of those clubs and continued on after he left

in the 70s. Moving along I just want to again make reference to the banners. This is the first time that all six of the title banners from the decade of the 70s have been on display in one place at the same time a tradition would be that you win the pennant in 1970 that flag flew over riverfront throughout the 1971 season. And then of course it came down at the end of the year. So these guys weren't really that much we've had a couple of them on display over the years and different exhibits that we've done but to have them all together in one place is pretty special. But as we move along down here talking. About Bob Howes I'm really the brain trust behind the Big Red Machine people think of the big red machine they think of the greedy the players but again none of that happens without an extremely capable general manager who made a wonderful call in selecting the then unknown Sparky Anderson to be his manager. And then of course Sparky did a wonderful job of picking your coaching staff and one of his great selections was Ted Kaczynski of course and the jacket that you see here in the display case was big clues warmup jacket during his days as a coach in the

early 70s. Ted had been kind of a spring training coach advisor done things like that for the club but as an official member of the coaching staff that began under sparking. And of course he lasted beyond Sparky as well but this little display highlights that group and also pays homage to Ray shore who really kind of pioneered this idea of advanced scouting which is very familiar to baseball operations today. But Ray would go out in scout the teams of the Reds were about to play particularly when it came to his scouting Akam in the postseason. Sparky was always giving him credit for the Reds success in the postseason that they knew of their opponent so well. And Ray's reports had a lot to do with that. So again when a team does well it's an entire organization that's working really at its best. Continuing to look around the exhibit the north wall does pay homage to what many consider the greatest lineup in baseball history the famous Great eight and we have game used jerseys caps and bats from each member of the Brady line up in the order in which that line appeared

prior to game 7 of the 1975 World Series which is the big graphic that you see above you. So again very special group some amazing stats when you look at this group a lot of people think that the Big Red Machine these guys and great ape played together all the time. Sparky just wrote the same names in the lineup card every game and just let him go. It's really not true at all. The greats lifespan was pretty short it didn't come about until May of 1975 when Pete Rose was shifted to third base at Sparky's request that opened up a starting spot for George Foster in left field. And that group came together for the first time then and it played its last game together again for the 976 World Series he really only had those two brief windows of time when they played together in the postseason. That was a lineup that you saw in fact in the one thousand seventy six World Series. There was no other position player that had even a single appearance in a single game. It was those eight guys every inning every pitch every game. Granted it was a sweep but it's probably a big part of the reason why you have this or you can of course stay

injury some was part of that is a designated hitter. The first TH and nationally history but become over here there's a really interesting panel that highlights some of the amazing stats associated with this great lineup. Many of which take folks by surprise. But we always like to highlight this that 87 games was the sum total that this group played together. The great starting lineup only appeared in 87 games and that is including the postseason. But their record in those 87 games was 69 in 18 meaning they won almost 80 percent of their games that's an unheard of number. If you extrapolate that over 162 game season obviously taken some liberties but if they kept winning at that 793 clip they would have put together a record of one hundred twenty eight and thirty four over a 162 game season so a very well respected baseball historian we use is quote here a guy by the name of Rob Neiers written some wonderful books on baseball history. He had a great line where he was asking somewhat rhetorically was that the greatest starting

lineup in history. And according to him The line forms right with the Big Red Machine so very very special group and one that we are unlikely to see the likes of again rattle off the names of the great the great a while of course will just run down the line of a third base he had Pete Rose and second base Joe Morgan your catcher was Johnny Bench the first baseman was Tony Pereira Right there you've got three. National Baseball Hall of Famers and one who certainly would be if not for some of the off the field issues and then rounding it out. You've got George Foster in left field Dave Concepcion was your shortstop Ken Griffey in right field Caesar Duran a mo your center fielder and when you start looking at that group you've got a National League MVP and George Foster. You've got multiple Gold Glove Awards with Concepcion in drama mode you have Ken Griffey who was a multiple time all star came within a hair's breath of winning the batting title in 1976. It's almost ridiculous when you start looking at all the accomplishments of these guys and what was so special about them is that they played so well together. These would have been stars anywhere they played

basically you know even Joe Morgan Joe Morgan was a very accomplished player before he came to Cincinnati when he was with Houston. But when he got here and was surrounded by this group his play was elevated. He went from being an all star second baseman to being arguably the greatest second baseman to ever play the game. So these guys worked really well together. Sparky was the guiding hand and it was just an incredibly special team. Continuing to look around the exhibit a bit we wanted to make sure that we highlighted the Reds pitching staff very often that group gets overlooked in the shadow of the great ape. Many folks think that if only they'd had better pitching they would have won more than the fact of the matter is the reds had a very very good pitching throughout the decade of the 70s. The biggest thing that held back their pitching staff was injuries in two of the jerseys you see on display here. One belonging to Don gullet and one belonging to Gary Nolan those two players in many ways highlight some of the what ifs of that team These were guys both of whom broke in as teenagers and both suffered arm injuries as relatively young players which really shortened their careers. Gary Nolan missed almost two full seasons with an arm injury at a time during his career where

he would have been at his peak. He did a wonderful job of kind of reinventing himself. He had been a hard throwing pitcher he came back he couldn't throw at the same velocity so he had to rely on finesse. He won 15 games in back to back seasons for the Reds in 75 and 76 and sadly his career ended shortly after that. But of Gallatin Nolan just used two examples have been healthy throughout that decade we would probably be talking about them as being National Baseball Hall of Famers as well they were that good. Also in the exhibit you'll see we've got Gold Gloves we've got an example of one of Johnny benches Gold Gloves here we've got one from Joe Morgan across the way a reminder of how complete the team was when you went up the middle with benches the catcher in more than a second in Concepcion and Jordan Geronimo in center. You had gold lovers everywhere. And that's pretty astonishing to have Gold Glove caliber defense all the way up the middle of your defense. And these were one time winners these guys won a multiple times bench won 10 straight. Again some of the numbers kind of boggle the mind. The team is really a team without weakness. Bernie Stowe the longtime clubhouse manager of

the Reds is still with the organization still down in the clubhouse every day. Birdies grew with the Reds Jays goes back to the 1940s. His association with the club. Pretty remarkable to have one person be tied to the club for this long but yet Bernie was a guy who took care of everything the players needed day in. Day out. So if somebody had a last minute need for a piece of equipment or maybe even on a piece of equipment might have nothing to do with what was going on in the field. But Bernie was a guy they would talk to and certainly these guys get together and Bernie's in the room and he is very much venerated by this group. Every read has ever basically come through Cincinnati will speak nothing but kind words about Bernie's dough and how important a role he played. In their level of comfort his players in and really their success as players and Bernie is a real treasure and we're very lucky that he's still with the club and of course a great story tradition has continued his son Rick is now the clubhouse manager and his other son Mark is the visiting clubhouse manager so we definitely have a STOL legacy here with the Reds.

And I am the baker's only manager in the California League. I first met Bob probably nineteen seventy two was on the major league roster a 40 man roster and he was eating coach with us that they were at it. I knew they always got a big guy with the kind of clique and how far you hit the ball as a player and how big he was as a person. But he was still a gentleman. Would generally leave the heating off. He would get a lot of him and that kept me going all year in the making. Good contact and I never really got into what people call it but I never believed in this problem at the ball. I got a chance to get a base hit somewhere but PLU always kept us positive about how we approached the game while we were thinking about at home plate. You gotta be ready for situations all situations. So he just kept it going on campus consistent and they make sure that I always make good contact with the ball.

Well Junior met clue when he was younger. I mean he had to be three four five years old at that time. Probably about five or six people. He seemed cool a lot because of the biggest thing for the key of the death that was spotted and they got a chance to go I don't know seals the clue was out there watching the games and the kids were out there playing. To have had a great influence on the Big Red Machine I'm talking about the little guy like Donnie been stewards to so many areas you know home runs all the time so he made sure that those guys like if they were consistent they never want to recall slumps. They were always out battling blue always made sure that we were ready mentally about situations going on on the field how to approach a. Different pitcher. What they're going to throw you. He always kept us abreast of all that stuff the whole group was just probably the main thing. He really kept us kept the big red machine going because he knew exactly what but put it in terms of all the hitters that we've worked with Johnny Bench a different way and he worked with George Foster or me or

Pete Rose or somebody or even Joe Morgan I mean that was just clueless approach with that he did not think one player everybody in that one the situation. He approached them as rich. I think it was the biggest thing about I remember when one time he and George Foster on the wall would one think this was do a bad practice that George wanted to do something else and any Muppet Yes. Buddy George could not. And we know what is a Cincinnati native who is now touring and recording with the Kenny Wayne Shepherd. He recorded the song under the lights for the CD Cincinnati club hits the proceeds which supported the Reds Community Fund just mad at him he. Saw only 1973 Rose who sat up late. Here comes the spinach. I kill my way standing on my

seat. Spreads like a baby. I was only oh you see better stories to be TOLD ME. This moment as we. Build them. Only. 70. Percent game now about what it comes down to my best friend. In. The. Times and still some of the best times we have the bug. Maybe longer. Days with Martin Show. Baseball doesn't force me to. Build them.

From shit to show. Always that game now about 1:00 a.m. Monday night my best friend. Beat. The. Band. Read springtime comes sama go head it on to. Who would use use this show till next season. We always come in here. Rule in bars. How many legends main. Just mad bad and meet. Some day. Gene savin new 3. Baseball was a farce when legend. Build the. Power. To do so.

Mark can you stop by the prized Hill Historical Society on Warsaw Avenue a couple of months ago for a tour of a baseball exhibition curated by Richard J. What inspired you to make a baseball section in the museum. I've been here for seven years and they had a lot of stuff stored away that people had given him that was baseball related. And I said boy it would be nice if I could have an area for baseball. And they said well we don't have the area we can't afford to do that as well. Over the years we've accumulated little bit of money and we were able to organization the second floor area and they said you can use this

room. This is the works all yours you've got to get the carpeting you got to paint you've got to put the lighting in and it's all your project will run the air conditioning in the room. But all the rest of it it's yours. My wife was thrilled to death that some of the stuff was leaving our basement half of my stuff might be here maybe I've got a library of baseball books and none of them are here yet. I've got a complete book of Elder baseball a complete book of Western Hills baseball they're not even up here they're still downstairs. I've wanted to put those in displays of the book and flip through and say oh there's my son in 1957 he was on that team. This is still a work in progress. I open this up on opening day this year for members to come in and look around. I was here for 12 hours a day for the month before that and I've been working on it off and on ever since then. There's a Price Hill oldtimers Baseball Association. That every year like somebody into their whole thing in the past they've always been people who played baseball in Price Hill. Now they've expanded it to the west side that include Delphi Township which is

the Oak Hills district and Westwood and a number of these things I've got are copies of pictures of things that they have but since I was in the newspaper and people found out that I was doing this I mean there isn't the day the world in that I don't get a phone call from somebody saying I have something from my dad my grandfather. And they show me some picture and we sit and talk about baseball and I just get tingly talking with other people my age and the friendly older about baseball and the way they remember it. I mean we get set for hours talking about their not whole games on Sunday morning. Sometimes they go straight from church and they have their baseball in from underneath the regular clothes and they'd go straight from church to the baseball diamond. They have their baseball glove under the pew all heard something charged. Tell us about this baseball glove. We have a member Elise we did 22 years ago when we started business here. I did found disk live and they said that it was a. My understanding we don't have a this written down the oil and we are written down from that little piece of paper.

They would this down Harry Heilman our field of love. 1930 model and they said that Harry Heilman when he played for the Reds in 1930 and 32 lived in their house and then when they were cleaning things out they found this clown Well it's a 1930s era. We know that from I mean taking it to any baseball collector they can tell you that's a 1930 areas glove. What other items you have in the museum uniforms wool flannel uniforms kids and adults who are these things when it was 99 degrees outside and they play doubleheaders on Sundays sometimes they sweat and they don't have air conditioning to jump into after the game was over. House Cafe is in lower price at all. I know what the significance of that is this is a. The Mason lodge and prize cell had their own team was lodged 524 one of our members gave us one of the surge from their team. We think that's a Detroit Tigers D style but we don't think this is going to do and the Detroit Tigers because it was made by Spenny Spenny isn't Spenny field. They were a manufacturer of sports

uniforms bats baseballs they were downtown and they made this uniform I guess this was either for Dayton Kentucky Delphi some team to have in the DNA just like the style of the Detroit's D and they used that style of the Acme glass the Acme glass was a sponsor of teams in the summertime boys that play not whole ball or high school ball during the school year during the summer. They would be on a team that was sponsored by some business. There were a half dozen of on the side of town that sponsor teams Acme glass was one of them they played a lot of baseball. To three games a week. They play for what they call national championships even though they don't go to middle America or California to play em. But they call it the national championship because it was as far afield as they could go. I just happen to use uniform because before Western Hills High School came into existence and 28 the boys in price still went to use high school I was the closest public high school and that's where they went and my dad was a lower price Hill resident. That's where he went was the use of school when all your pants only came down to your knees which for the

most part any more ball pleasure trip on over pants. I mean they're stepping on their pants or so but that's the way it is today this is the way it was that you had niggers. You are stirrups with them you would be doing if it was. That's probably a nineteen. Sixties era one of this is the kids loved it. Probably not even a leather jacket was made by Hutch in charge of that. Hutchinson was down on a street underneath the viaduct on a strike when it extended above the viaduct but Hutchinson made gloves for 100 years probably it was Pat Moran and RAM was the manager of the red back in our 1919 World Series. Once again as we say we lived on Grand Avenue we've got criss cross directory prove that he lived there I think he originally gave the New York area but when he manged to the World Series rads which And that was their very first World Series that they were ever even in. Patton ran lived in price cell. I mean he's our most successful early manager. Who was Andy Gallagher always our local legend when they started the

baseball old timers and then they call themselves Regina Dempsey ballpark old timers because most of them played at Dempsey Park which is about half a mile down the road here. That was the first city park on this side of town in which they put a ball field. They drove the Enfield they put in bass lines they had stuck a mound in a home plate were people could really play like they were big leaguers. There was a lot of lots where kids play ball they would measure out the distances and they by Put somebody is happy at second base on that second base. But this was a real live park that had dimensions if you hit the ball to the street on the other side it was going to be a home run. It was in a valley and it seemed a natural place to have a ball park. Mostly adults play games there because the adults took the park over of all my understanding of people that played in the 20s and 30s and they got off work and evening Saturdays and Sundays. The adults took the field and the kids pretty much had to play a lot somewhere which was called sandlot baseball for that reason. Well knowing Santa would usually play Dempsey was a good ballpark to play and

they had a hillside where you could see the people in the grandstands where you could sit there wouldn't the time when I was a kid they were mental. Andy Gallagher was the legend there from the time he was I'm sure a kid in grade school. He played ball there because he lived within a couple blocks of there. I will be ever aspired to be a major league baseball player but he never ever played at any higher level than what we call Sunday ball they had something that was kind of semi-pro when they played on Sunday afternoons where the words indeed would they would bring in some paid players. Typically a pitcher who might get paid up portion of the gate if you will and if they sold refreshments they may get a portion of that. He would have played in the 20s and 30s. I mean before the 20s professional baseball was really the only thing that was played on anything that resembled a real live baseball diamond. It was in the 20s the city of Cincinnati started building fields. They started buying land from homeowners that wanted to see their kids have a place to play. And that's pretty

much happened in the 20s I mean the whole baseball started in this area. Nowhere else in the country not all balls started in the Wellington talky and in the Western Hills area in 1932. Before then there was no organized ball for kids. It was also something they called Little League baseball or both of these are still playing in this area. They compete for kids in the summer time Little League teams. Now they can play a World Series and they play in Williamsport Pennsylvania every year. They indeed have playoffs which is that when something like in the after the season is over. If you think you're good enough and then your district thinks you're going off they can send you to the next level and you might play another 20 games after your regular season to get to the finals and why them support. I don't know if applies to all teams ever made the national championship but that's literally ball and they play that around the world. I mean Japan has literally not always kind of a local thing. I mean there are other organizations that call themselves not whole clubs because of the expression not whole I mean here's your

model on the wall that's another Saturday Evening Post. Cover That's why there is a not a whole baseball because supposedly kids watch games through the knothole and of and the outfield fans but in Cincinnati was actually at the knothole. Baseball was an organized operation that adults put together so that their kids could have nice places apply nice uniforms they could get businessmen involved in sponsoring them because it was a real organization that had a letter had everything out so it was easier to get money. That's not how he played ball as a kid before that was not whole volume but the fact that he continued playing every Sunday he played ball. What we were told by his kids were still alive and Pricilla area. He played until he was in the 70s he was always the catcher but he was obviously in pretty good shape. Is baseball still live in Price Hill. Oh yes. Cincinnati Public School system built a really nice field out of Western Hills High School. It's where all the since my public schools play their home games.

It's called Pappy Northfield because Paul Nora was the baseball coach there for a number of years and had a lot of success. The Cincinnati steam is a local team. It's sponsored by the dentist here on the west side and they play ball with wooden bats and it's just not the same game with something when a baseball hits something other than wood. It pings instead of cracks. I mean the crack in the back is not the pain of a bat but they've been playing now for seven years I believe when they played in price L and there's always a Western Hills player on the team always there from the Western Isles High School kills high school or high school there's always seems to be a void in the western hills. The team is made up of college freshmen sophomores and juniors who either live in this Cincinnati area or play ball in the Cincinnati area with a college team. They have to be matriculated out of college in order to play on the team. Major league scouts come to the games. You can sit up in the upper part of the seating and you always find a Major

League scout there because they want to see at these kids who are hitting 400 in college with the non wood bat. If they can still hit with a wooden bat and if they can field the feeling is even different off because of whatever reason. I don't know the physics of it but the ball has come off of a non wood bat a lot harder and faster. What are the hours of the Historical Museum and what are your future plans forward. We are opening our museum from one o'clock until 4 o'clock on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have a website. We have an email address. We have a phone that people call we send out 750 newsletters every single month. But this is a ongoing project for me as long as I am around. I'm going to continue doing this. I'm just thrilled to death to talk to anybody that has any history in baseball I mean about their experiences as kids or as adults. And I'm also writing a book. Which I think might be call says now is baseball on the west side. It's going to be mostly about model teams high

school teams. It's not going to be about just the guys that made the majors I mean the Pete Rose and Don Zimmer's it's going to be about kids playing ball and enjoying playing ball. I've been working on this book for about seven years now and the information I get from people that's going to feed the book and I'm not going to put a lot of people's names in the book because it's going to be about the experience of playing baseball not about making a living doing it. It's going to be about having fun playing the game. And if you can make a living at it and have fun to that's just fabulous. But we just want to see people continue playing the game and playing it the way it should be played. And that's with a wooden baseball bat we feel like we're through Thank you very much for talking to us we really appreciate it. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with somebody who understands my joy of dissipating in the game. Promoting it to other people I hope people can enjoy this game forever. I've been speaking with Richard Jones curator of the baseball exhibition at the Price Hill Historical Society

for around Cincinnati. I Marchini read best this coming up December 7th and 8th in downtown Cincinnati. Zach Vaughn Koski Reds director a promotional way events drop by the studio to preview the event with Mark Gainey. How long have you been involved with threats fast. This is my eighth year of running reds fest as a resident bully. When the Reds fest start and why did it get started. It actually started in 1907 as an initiative of then new ownership Carl Lindner and they brought it together in 1907 to celebrate the coming of the new season a way to get everything going leading into spring training as far as a way for fans to actually meet players. And it's grown since then especially under the castling ownership which is their first year running reds fest was 2006 and has really grown since 2006 into what it is today which is what we believe to be the best individual team fan festival and all Major League Baseball. Well how has it grown. Take that very early one of the 1990s compared to today.

If you measure as far as attendance our largest attendance prior to 2006 was around 11000 fans over the two days. Last year our attendance was over 23000 for two days so it's doubled as far as attendance goes. The biggest single change I would say over the course of the two has been the amount of interactive that we have for fans and especially for kids. Whereas the old Reds fest may have just been about collecting some autographs and getting some memorabilia. Today's rez fest is much more about the experience the chance to go and play on a miniature indoor field. The ability to meet players not only an autograph or photograph lines but to have them read to your kids in the Reds fest reading room or to interact with them. Q An ace both on the main stage and with smaller Bruce off the stage and this is a very kid friendly take it. Yes actually I would say the Reds fest strives to end it here to the what has always been which is a chance to meet players a chance to collect when your favorite autographs from some of your favorite players both past present and of course future. And then

additionally we want children to have a great time to look forward to Red's fest each year as something they do and they come to know and it's actually the kickoff of our sales of our redhead's program which is our club for kids. This is the start of the next season for kids and the next season for our fans in general is read each year. For the uninitiated somebody who's never been to a Reds fest. Walk us through it describe what it's like when you first enter that door till the end of the day. It starts with the introduction of players on Friday so that you know who is there both past present and future players. And it continues throughout the weekend with music on the main stage with question and answers with our players. We have an absolute ton of interactive especially for kids that in cages speed pitches to indoor fields. We have a red fest reading room we have a large display from our reds Hall of Fame in museum. And again we have those opportunities to meet current and former Reds players each year we have around 60 current former and future Reds players to attend the event.

We have up to 12 interactive autograph and photograph sessions going on each hour. So over two hundred fifty opportunities for folks to meet players past present future do I threw out reds fest. And of course it's capped off by what we do each year with our rez community fun celebrity poker tournament which is just a really neat experience and really really the only team in baseball that does something like that with our fans. What's the draw on Brad's fest you get people from around the country or is it mainly just people from what would be considered Reds country who come to it or. I think for the most part it's throughout Reds Country again because it takes place over a two day weekend. In December we found a lot of folks coming in from West Virginia or Indiana or southern Kentucky Tennessee northern Ohio who spend the weekend in Cincinnati and make a weekend trip of it he'll come down and see the festivities that are taking place on found square in around the area at local attractions and will book in that around their trip to Red's fest. And of course we draw from the Cincinnati area

very well in addition to that. Again we can just look at the attendance numbers are read and it continues to grow each year and it continues to have us strive to make it a better event for fans each and every year. This year in particular we're going to really make sure that the entire facility the Duke Energy convention center is used to its fullest. So the fans are interactive engaged throughout the entire facility and not just on the main floor. The proceeds from Red's fast water they use for the proceeds from Red fest benefit the red community fund the rez Community Fund is engaging our local community with a few general missions one of which is to rebuild baseball fields throughout Reds country not just in the Cincinnati market in Louisville and Lexington. And in addition to that they run a youth initiative baseball programs throughout the area for all kinds of kids. They have a general focus on those who may not be able to play baseball otherwise. But they also do some very progressive programs with our match program which matches up suburban team with an inner city team that might not otherwise get to know one another get to play each

other. And of course the resume fun one of their larger initiatives that they're undertaking right now is the development in the building of a Redds urban youth academy which will be a year round facility that it's open in Roseland. It will allow kids to play baseball not only in the summer months when the weather cooperates but throughout the year so they were really growing the game of baseball in the Cincinnati community. How much of a financial impact does rights vest have on the Reds community fund numbers wise. We probably generate about $100000 for the Reds Community Fund in profit each year from Red fest which is a small fraction of what they need from an operating budget to again grow each year and get more kids playing baseball and rebuild more fields. And again develop this urban youth academy so it's a small portion of what they do. But if nothing else it gets the word out about the rent's Community Fund which is something that we still try to do to this day is to let people know that this nonprofit exists in the Cincinnati area and it's doing great things in our area it's been

around since 2000 and to now it's entering its tenth year and beyond. It continues to grow and produce more fields for playing baseball and really be ingrained in our community as one of those charitable organizations is really unique to the Cincinnati area. Talk about this year's Reds fast or the dates wars are going to be who are some of the people who are going to be there. Reza Fest 2012 will be held Friday December 7th and Saturday December 8th at the Duke Energy convention center downtown Cincinnati. The lineup you can expect to see your current Cincinnati Reds players as well as 10 to 12 minor league players who will be reds of our future. I tell people get to know these guys as they're coming to the minor leagues. Players that are currently on our team that attend the Reds fest as minor leaguers include Zach whose art Drew Stubbs. Jay Bruce these big names that are now part of our team are the guys it originally came to when they were Double-A or Triple-A players and of course we bring in the Reds greats we invite all of our reds Hall of Famers come in each year and those are some of the great moments seeing those

reds Hall of Famers the Tom Browning is there Eric Davis's see them interact with our current and future Reds is really one of the NEI moments of Red's face each year. Tie ins with the Reds Fest weekend and the Hall of Fame. How does the Hall of Fame fit in with that and what kind of activities do they have for reds Fest weekend. The Reds organization is very proud of our reds Hall of Fame Museum which we believe to be the top Hall of Fame Museum held by an individual team in all of Major League Baseball and only the second best in all of America when you compare it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. So it's very important for us to bring elements of the Hall of Fame to reds fest each year and give them a larger area at Reds fest for fans who may have not been read the whole thing yet to see what it's all about to embrace the history of the Rez organization. So in the Reds Hall of Fame area at Reds fest you can expect to see some very unique displays from the Reds Hall of Fame which each year they change out their main display so the 2013 main display some parts of it will be on display Reds

fest. We always bring over a World Series trophy so the fans can take a photo with the World Series trophy which is always a very popular thing. And we also bring our reds Hall of Famers and alumni into the Hall of Fame area for fans to participate in Q&A sessions with them to get autographs to get photographs. And it is really neat experience to see that history that rich tradition of reds history brought alive at Reds fest in the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum area. The rosy Reds participation or reds fest absolutely the rosy Reds. Well first of all they're one of the top organizations in all of Major League Baseball in terms of supporting and rooting on a franchise The old this philanthropic organization throughout Major League Baseball in terms of supporting a singular franchise. The Reds fest we were honored to have the rosy reds with a booth at red face each year where fans can learn more about the organization and of course sign up to be a member. The rosy Reds organization membership has grown I think under the castling ownership group and it's something we embrace and we love to help them out as much as possible and and have them grow with us. And of

course we do have the rosy red mascot and we're happy that rosy red appears at the rosy Reds booth each year so the fans can get to know her and again get to know this great organization which does so much for our community supporting our local athletes with scholarship presentations each year in his great philanthropic in of course red supported organization that we embrace and we have a booth for rents Vesey each year. This has been around Cincinnati baseball special you'll find links to the Cincinnati Reds and other organizations speech IRD at WVXU dot org. You'll also find two web exclusives there. The 1956 Cincinnati Reds baseball team on the CBS television show What's My Line. And a short 1977 interview with Rose talking about hitting advice you give me with technical assistance on this special from Kevin Rowe Wentzky and Bruce Alberts producer and host Lee hay with production assistance from Mark Caney. Next week we'll celebrate Halloween. You'll hear about the dead celebrity cookbook in an

experimental hollowing film showing at the downtown public library next Sunday from 7:00 to 8:00 on ninety one point seven WVXU Cincinnati and eighty eight point five WMUB ox. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.