Lager House Rules

Two weeks ago I had lunch with one of my unnamed sources deep within the Reds organization [codenamed; CAMPBELL] at a top secret Banks Project location:

I had the the BBQ Burger and fries, Agent CAMPBELL was under the weather and therefore had the "Angry Mac-N-Cheese" to help alleviate his sinuses. 

Upon stepping inside this establishment one is immediately greeted by the heart of the brewery:

And also by a large mural depicting the old Christian Moerlein Brewery, established in Cincinnati in 1853.

At the base of the mural is a Christian Moerlein timeline and to the right is a display of vintage Moerlein bottles, mugs and assorted ephemera.  The highlight is an old, original Moerlein bottle label.  On a wall opposite the stainless steel works is a collection of reproduced 19th century Moerlein advertisements:

The first seating option one sees is, of course, the bar:

Whether one heads for the bar or takes the stairwell (barely seen, at left) to the second-floor dining area - where Agent CAMPBELL and I were served lunch, the patrons' path takes them past a bronze plaque in the floor (forgive my shadow):

That's one of my all-time favorite Peter Edward Rose quotes;  "I'm just like everyone else. I have two arms, two legs, and four thousand hits."  It reveals both the bravado and humor of The Hit King.

Agent CAMPBELL and I were shown to a table where I snapped the following photos.  First, of our general seating area:

And then two photos of the view from my position; Paul Brown Stadium:

 
And, next, humanity's most cherished bridge in all of bridgedom, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.  This iconic landmark was completed in 1866, thirteen years after the founding of the Moerlein Brewery:

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is an area of outdoor seating - just beyond the glass - which provides Lager House patrons a sweeping view of the mighty Ohio River.

Behind me was an up-close view of Great American Ball Park but from my vantage point I wasn't able to get it photographed properly.

Long-range Reconnaissance

This week, in honor of the only two Cubs fans I deign to associate with - J.A. Killy and Dr. K, we begin a multi-part look back at the old ballparks of the Second City's second-most successful baseball club.

Fans of Our National Pastime will instantly recognize The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, where the Cubbies hibernate in a perpetual state of competitive slumber:

The photo above was taken at the start of Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader (quoting Archie and Edith Bunker; Those were the days!) on July 27, 1929 against the Phillies of Philadelphia.  The Cubs won both ends of the doubleheader, by scores of 6-1 and 10-7.  The flag in right field and the pennants atop the grandstand reveal the too-often truth of Wrigley Field; the wind was blowing out that afternoon.

Once you get over your shock of seeing so many white shirts in the stands you may next observe the absolute absence of ivy-covered brick outfield walls.  The ivy was planted by then-General Manager Bill Veeck (infamously as in Wreck) in 1937.  Perhaps Jude can inform us as to when the brick walls were planted.

With the Cubbies having just taken the field in the panoramic photo above, the intrepid photographer captured the Cubs' two sluggers of the period - second baseman Rogers Hornsby and center fielder Hack Wilson.

The short, squat, inhuman-appearing Hack Wilson, 5'6" and well over 200 .lbs, patrolled center field for the National League Cubs from 1926-1931.  In 1929, the season in which he was photographed here, Hack Wilson hit 39 home runs - his third season in a row with 30 or more homers - and drove in 159 RBI.  Hack Wilson's Hall of Fame career peaked the following season when, in 1930, he blasted 56 wind-aided, Friendly Confines home runs and drove in an all-time Major League record 191 runs.  By comparison, the departed (from Cincinnati) and unlamented Drew Stubbs hasn't driven in 191 runs for his career (spanning 4 seasons).  Hack Wilson concluded his playing days with fewer than 250 home runs, fewer than 1500 hits and barely a .300 hitter [.307] playing half his career in the Friendly Confines.  Evidently that's all it takes for a Cubbie to be granted HOF immortality (much like being given an MVP award while playing on a last-place team [see; Andre Dawson]).  Well, that and a 56 homer, 191 RBI season.

HOFer Rogers Hornsby was a loathsome figure who played all but 6 of his Major League seasons in the city of St Louis.  Hornsby is recognized by some as the greatest-ever right-handed hitter.  Hornsby's .358 lifetime batting average is second all-time to Ty Cobb, an equally loathsome figure who nevertheless could also hit a baseball exceptionally well.  During his playing days Rogers Hornsby won seven batting titles, including six in a row from 1920-1925.  Hornsby twice won Triple Crowns; in 1922 when he hit 42 home runs, drove in 152 RBI while batting .401 and again in 1925 when he slugged 39 homers, 143 RBI and batted .403.  That 1922 season was remarkable for two other reasons; that season Hornsby became the first Major Leaguer to hit 40 or more home runs in a single season and he became also that season the only Major Leaguer to hit .400 or more in a 40-homer season.  In 1924 "The Rajah" batted .424, a modern era [20th century and beyond] National League record.  His on-base percentage that season was .507.

As one part of an objectionable lineage of unrepentant Cubs racists spanning from Cap Anson to Sammy Sosa [?], Rogers Hornsby was disliked by his fellow teammates and, later, by players that he managed.  Hornsby managed the Cincinnati Reds to two sixth-place finishes (out of then eight N.L. clubs) in 1952 and 1953 before being fired.  Hated by his players for myriad reasons, chief among them for his consistent scorn of Reds first baseman and future Hall of Famer Ted "Big Klu" Kluszewski as "a big, dumb [insert common derogatory remark for those of Polish descent]."  Throughout his days as a player and as a coach for the Big Red Machine, "Big Klu" was universally and fondly regarded as a gentleman and as an excellent hitter.  A college graduate from a Big Ten school, "Big Klu" certainly was "big" but he was not "dumb."  Only his nature as a gentle giant kept the powerful Kluszewski from pummeling Rogers Hornsby.

Highlighted in Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, Rogers Hornsby famously said; "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring."

Getting back to 1929, the Cubs - what else? - lost the World Series that season to Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's, 4 games to 1, including the only two games of the Series played in Chicago.  That A's club was stockpiled with future Hall of Famers;  pitcher Lefty Grove, catcher Mickey Cochrane, outfielder Al "Bucketfoot" Simmons and first baseman Jimmie "Double X" and/or "The Beast" Foxx, one of the players who could give Rogers Hornsby a run for his money as the greatest-ever right-handed hitter.  "Double X" was a three-time A.L. MVP, won two batting titles (batting .356 in 1933, .349 in 1938), four times led the A.L. in home runs (hitting as many as 58 in 1932), had 4 seasons with more than 150 RBI (175 in 1938) and concluded his 20-year career batting .325/.428/.609.  When Jimmie Foxx retired following the 1945 season, his 534 career home runs was second only to Babe Ruth.

Wrigley Field opened in 1914 as Weeghman Field (lame) as the home ballpark for the rival Federal League (it only gets worse) Chicago Whales (how embarrassing is that?).  Once the Federal League folded, like vultures descending upon rotting carrion, the Cubs moved into Weeghman Park in 1916 and have called Weeghman Wrigley home ever since.

I say blow it up!