Robert Manley recalled McCook baseball career

"But the score looked good in the newspapers, and the editor of the local newspaper made sure the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers got the box score. The next week I got a call from Russ Sautter, who was chairman of the McCook, Neb., semi-pro baseball board. Having read in the paper that I had beaten the Superior team (McCook played in the Nebraska Independent League too), he wanted to hire me to pitch a game for McCook. I put him off several times, but finally agreed to drive to Holdrege, Neb., and pitch for them on the Fourth of July, since the Blues didn't have a game scheduled on that date.

"By this time, I owned a car -- a brand new 1950 Chevy Bel-Air hardtop -- so I had 'wheels.' Phyllis, who was pregnant with Bobby, insisted on going with me. We put up in a second-rate motel in Holdrege where the damp, cool air came whistling in around the drafty windows. I think she stayed in the motel while I went to the hotel where the McCook team was dressing, and from there out to the ball field. I pitched the McCook Cats to victory in the process, driving the tying and winning runs with two hits. (Funny how a fellow remembers these 'good' details!)

Following the game, I went with the team to the basement of the local hotel where we showered and changed our clothes. The guys were really happy. I asked Russ why they were so super excited. 'Because,' he said, 'this is the first game we've won this year.'

"Mr. Sautter then got down to business. 'How much do we owe you?' he asked. I asked if $50 and expenses would be too much. He said 'O.K.' and proceeded to write me a check for $150, which I thought was pretty generous. Later, after we moved to McCook, he told me that he and his friends on the ball board had a good laugh over my $50 'demand.' They had been paying four and five hundred dollars per game to pitchers who didn't win a game.

He called next week to tell me that McCook was seriously interested in hiring me for their team. I told him that I was not a baseball 'bum,' just going from team to team. I was first and foremost a teacher, and would go only where I could get a job teaching. I didn't know it at the time, but Russ had taught and coached in the McCook system for years before he went into the insurance business, so he had some connections. He said he would see what he could do.

"A call came almost immediately from Mr. Sautter, saying that he was anxious for me to get to McCook so I could pitch in the Nebraska Independent League playoffs, which were only a couple of weeks away.

"Phyllis and I drove out to McCook and in general liked what we saw. The town appeared to be booming and it had an air of prosperity that was appealing. Housing was tight, however, and the few apartments we looked at were expensive and not very pleasant. Mr. Sautter, who was making the rounds of available rental properties with us, stopped a man on the street by the name of Madron, a railroader, and asked him if he had a house to rent. He said he did. So we looked it over -- really nice little house -- and signed a lease.

"That night, I was scheduled to pitch against the North Platte team that happened to be leading the league. As I warmed up on the mound, a funny thing happened. The North Platte manager saw my name on the lineup card and came storming out of the dugout. He was upset because the umpire was Ed Manley -- and he wanted to know if he and I were related. I told him that I was really offended that he would think I was related to an umpire. He laughed and that was that. I never figured out if he was serious or just having fun.

"I pitched eight good innings -- hit a home run. I can still see the ball sailing over the 378 foot sign in right center -- and we won. I was now 2 and 0 in the "fast" Nebraska Independent League. Next day's paper hardly mentioned me and my triumph. The big news was the R. G. Brooks had been in attendance for the first time since he had come to McCook several years before. He told the reporter that he had come to see if the English teacher he had just hired could also play ball.

"The glory faded fast. We played the first play-off game in North Platte. I couldn't believe their field! The right field fence was less than 200 feet from home plate. It was obvious why North Platte consistently led the league in home runs. We were ahead by one run in the last of the ninth. I walked a guy, then struck out two. I then got two strikes on what I hoped would be the last out. I fed him a waste pitch, a curve low and outside to the guy who was a right-handed hitter. He stuck out his bat and hit a little pop fly to right field -- and the ball sailed over the fence for a home run. As they say, 'that was the old ball game' and the end of the season for me.

"Shortly after the game ended, it started to rain. The fellow I was riding with was anxious to get started back to McCook. You see, the highway between North Platte and McCook was dirt-gravel. When it got wet, it was virtually impassable. Locals called it 'The Burma Road.' So we had to get home via the available paved roads, which meant that we drove to Kearney, and then from Kearney to McCook. We got home about 4 a.m.

"My second season with the McCook Cats was something of an anticlimax. The board hired Tom Sutak to manage. He had played several years in the minor leagues and was a knowledgeable baseball man. I eventually figured out that he did not intend to use me as a pitcher. Since I was now a 'local' player, the ball board cut my salary. Tom persuaded the board to hire two high-priced pitchers, one from the University of Missouri and the other from Colorado University. The latter was Tom Brookshiser, who turned out to be a bust as a baseball player but played in the NFL as a defensive back, then did broadcasts for CBS. And I knew him when!

"Most of the teams in the Nebraska Independent League hired University players hoping their reputations (mostly earned as football players) would bring in spectators. North Platte and Lexington drew players from the University of Nebraska's baseball team, but Holdrege got the prize, All-American running back Bobby Reynolds. I pitched against him the July 4 game at Holdrege, and I know I struck him out at least three times. He wasn't much of a baseball player.

"McCook hired a star athlete from the University of Missouri by the name of Bob Schnoover. He had lettered in baseball, football and basketball -- quite an athlete but nonetheless a humble, quiet, decent young man. Since he didn't smoke or drink, he and I hit it off right away. He came from a large family and enjoyed coming to our house to eat with us and play with Baby Bobby.

"After we moved to Osceola, Phyllis and I drove into Lincoln to see a basketball game between the University of Nebraska and the University of Missouri. Bob was a starting guard on the Missouri team. During the game, he spotted us in the crowd. After the game, he plowed his way through the crowded bleachers to greet us. He was disappointed that we hadn't brought Bobby to see him play. He was one of the finest young men I met while playing baseball.

"I had a preview of my future with the McCook Cats in the first game of the 1952 season. We were playing at Superior. Since neither of the University boys had appeared as yet, Tom hired an old buddy to pitch this first game (at $650 paid in advance). I watched this guy warm up, and it was obvious he had thrown his arm out. He could barely get his pitches to the catcher. Since I was the only other pitcher available, I asked Tom if he thought I should warm up, just in case. 'Nah,' he said. 'Fred will be OK once he gets loose.'

"So I trotted out to my assigned position in center field and watched as 'good old Fred' walked three batters in a row -- on 12 pitches, most of which bounced on the ground before they got to home plate. Tom called for me to come to the mound. I then got a chance for a brief warmup.

"I had the first batter I faced at 3 and 2 before I walked him, forcing in a run. The next two batters popped out. No more runs scored. I pitched a no-hit, no-run game for the next eight innings, but we ended up losing by 1 to 0. Next day the McCook newspaper carried the headline, 'Manley Walks in Winning Run!' I had a feeling this was not going to be a good year.

"Tom used me exclusively as a utility player. I filled in as needed in both the infield and the outfield. I performed well in the field, but for the first time, I hit under .300 I pitched (usually ineffectively) only when none of the regular pitchers were available."