By Bob Warrington

On 4 August 1944, a celebration was held at Shibe Park to pay tribute to Connie Mack’s 50 years as a Major League manager. The commemoration marked the date Mack was chosen for his first managerial assignment—with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League—on 4 August 1894. The occasion held on a sweltering August night in Philadelphia was memorable for many reasons, including the fact that it took place despite the restrictions created by World War II and the disruptions caused by a citywide transit strike.

The Idea Takes Shape

The proposal to commemorate Connie Mack’s 50 years as a Major League manager originated with Ed Pollock, the baseball columnist of “The Evening Bulletin.” Pollock was with the Athletics during their 1944 spring training stay in Frederick, Maryland—wartime travel restrictions prohibited the A’s from taking their customary trip to Florida for pre-season conditioning. While doing research for a column on Mack’s early days as a manager, Pollock discovered that the Tall Tactician’s 50th anniversary at the helm of a Major League team would occur in August of that year. Pollock believed that the milestone should be properly observed, and the idea took off from there. Prominent members of the community along with city and state politicians signed on as members of the “Golden Jubilee Committee,” which was responsible for staging the commemoration. Lieutenant Governor John C. Bell was chairman of the committee, and its distinguished membership included Philadelphia Mayor Bernard Samuel, Judge Harry S. McDevitt, and John B. Kelly, who would serve as the chairman of the program committee.

Two Shadows Are Cast Over the Affair

Ceremonies at the ballpark were scheduled to begin under the lights at 7:30 PM with a follow-on game between the Athletics and New York Yankees set to start at 9:30 PM. Blackout restrictions imposed during World War II created the omnipresent risk that federal authorities would have the tribute and game canceled because the lights at the ballpark could not be turned on. Approximately 12,000 tickets had already been sold, and A’s Vice President Roy Mack announced that an additional 23,000 seats—20,000 general admission and 3,000 bleacher—would go on sale at 6 PM. He warned, however, that the ceremony and game would not occur if federal authorities intervened. Fortunately, they did not, and the event took place.

The second problem was a citywide public transit strike that brought the city to a standstill. The strike began on 1 August and was prompted by an order from the Fair Employment Practices Commission that blacks be promoted to better jobs on the Philadelphia Transportation Company’s subways, buses, and trolleys. When the strikers refused to work despite a War Labor Board order, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dispatched an army unit to the city to run the system. The strike collapsed and service returned to normal on 6 August. But, it was still underway on 4 August, and many wondered if people would—or even could—journey to Shibe Park for Mack’s 50th anniversary celebration with Philadelphia’s transit system shut down.

The Festivities Begin

During the afternoon of Friday, 4 August 1944, Connie Mack and assembled guests gathered at the Warwick Hotel for a 5 PM dinner and to watch Mack cut a three-layer cake baked for the occasion. Among those at the dinner were some of the men who had toiled for the Philadelphia Athletics during years gone by. They included “Chief” Bender, Ira Thomas, “Bullet” Joe Bush, Joe Boley, and Howard Ehmke. Ford Frick, President of the National League, and William H. Harridge, President of the American League, also were among the dignitaries attending. In addition, Mack had been asked to name as part of the celebration his all-time, all-star team of living players. Virtually all of them also appeared at the dinner to honor Mack, and they will be introduced later in this story, just as they were at Shibe Park nearly sixty years ago.

A Packed Ballpark

Despite the public transit strike, people packed into Shibe Park to honor Connie Mack’s 50 years as a Major League manager. In a sense, the fact that so many people traveled to the ballpark paid a higher tribute to the A’s skipper than any of the planned activities could. As Art Morrow of “The Philadelphia Inquirer” wrote, “And it remained for fandom to pay the greatest tribute. No greater regard has fans than this, that he should sacrifice his dwindling gasoline, wear out his rationed shoes with no chance for street car or subway; that he should do this to pay tribute to a friend. And 29,166 fans came early and stayed late at Shibe Park last night, with no thoughts of the long trudge home. It was worth it.”

Shibe Park had been spruced up for the occasion. The ballpark was bedecked with American Flags, and along the right field wall hung banners with the dates 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930 on them—representing the Athletics’ five World Series championships. Pre-game entertainment began at 7:30 PM, with Johnny Warrington (no relation to author) and his 30-piece WCAU Radio orchestra making Shibe Park swing with hit tunes of the day. At 8:45 PM, Marie McGuigan sang “America,” and Ted Husing, the master of ceremonies, read a telegram to Mack from President Roosevelt that ended with the words, “Long may your scorecard wave.”

The highlight on the evening’s entertainment was the appearance of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello to perform their classic baseball skit, “Who’s on First?”. Earlier in the evening, the funnymen had taken batting practice with the teams. Both Abbott—dressed in an A’s uniform—and Costello—attired in a Yankees suit—sent singles skimming to the outfield, much to the delight of the Shibe Park audience.

A Film and Presentation of Gifts

At 9 PM, a film put together by the American League was shown highlighting Mack’s career in baseball. (Comment: Wouldn’t it be great if the A’s Society had a copy of that film!) Then, Lieutenant Governor Bell gave Mack a $5,000 check placed in a gold box on behalf of the “Golden Jubilee Committee.” American League President Harridge followed with a $2,500 check presented to Mack and his wife, who was in attendance and beamed throughout the ceremony. In addition, a scroll of tribute signed by all the players on all the Major League clubs was given to Mack as a final gesture of respect and admiration.

Mack Names His All-Time Team

As a culmination to the ceremony, Connie Mack named his all-time, all-star team of living players, each one exiting the dugout and lining up next to the microphone near home plate when introduced. As announced by Mack, they were: George Sisler, first base; Eddie Collins, second base; Frank “Home Run” Baker, third base; Honus Wagner, shortstop; Bill Dickey and Mickey Cochrane, catchers; “Lefty” Grove and Walter Johnson, pitchers; and finally, the outfielders, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, Al Simmons, and Babe Ruth. Two of the men selected by Mack were unable to appear at Shibe Park. Cochrane, as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy Reserve, was serving his country on active duty, and Cobb couldn’t attend for reasons unspecified.

The biggest cheers were saved for Ruth and Mack, according to newspaper accounts of the time. Fans screamed for Ruth to wallop a few long balls over Shibe Park’s right field wall, as he had done so often as a player. Ruth, who was limping badly, demurred and told the crowd, “You know, two months ago, I had an operation on my knee. I should have had it done 28 years ago; but being stubborn, I didn’t. There is still bad cartilage in my knee. I couldn’t hit one, I know. But the next time I’m in Philadelphia I’ll come out here and try. I’ll try to hit one like the old Babe.” He limped back into the dugout, clearing the stage for a younger, if less glamorous, generation of players to take the field for the night’s baseball game.

The A’s Lose a Close One

“Bobo” Newsom started for the Athletics and pitched a terrific game. For eight innings, the powerful right-hander mowed down the Yankees in superlative style. For the first four innings, he did not allow a hit and fanned eight. Unfortunately, Hank Borowy of the Yankees was pitching equally as well, holding the A’s scoreless for eight innings. In the ninth, two scratch infield singles with a sacrifice bunt sandwiched in between put Yankees on first and third with one out. Former A’s player Nick Etten smacked a sharp grounder to second baseman Irv Hall, which looked like a tailor-made double play. Hall, however, fumbled the ball and could just get the one out at first base, allowing “Snuffy” Stirnweiss on third to score the game’s only run and give the Yankees a victory.

Although the A’s faithful went home disappointed by the outcome, they had seen a great pitching dual and a wonderful ceremony that paid tribute to “The Grand Old Man of Baseball.”