Though Prohibition still ruled the land, savvy Clevelanders knew where to find a good bottle of scotch. Bootleggers sneaked boats across Lake Erie to Canada, where a vast supply of gin, whiskey, and vodka could be purchased. Government agents patrolled the shipping lanes, but many boats were able to reach the Cleveland lakefront and get the alcohol to any number of clandestine warehouses. In the winter, men would drive their cars and trucks over the frozen lake and bring back all the booze they could carry. This was one industry that Cleveland officials did not openly boast about.
By 1928 there were three major radio stations in town, WHK, WTAM, and WJAY. The stations offered a wide variety of programming including music, news, comedy shows, and a small amount of sports reporting. The sports programming at WTAM was handled by Tom “Red” Manning, the former public-address announcer at League Park. Manning used a four-foot megaphone at the ballpark to announce the lineups to the reporters in the press box. He had to tone down his voice a few decibels when behind the radio microphone.
Recreation and leisure time were important components of the 1920s lifestyle. The economy steamed ahead, with good jobs that were easy to locate. Both men and women had disposable incomes which allowed for the purchase of cars, radios, refrigerators, and a robust nightlife. Nightclubs were everywhere downtown, and dinner, dancing, and a bit of romance were there for the asking. Young people, many of them college educated, spent their money freely, which made Cleveland a genuine hot spot. Now it was time for baseball to return to the forefront.
General manager Billy Evans had a difficult job awaiting him. The 1927 Indians won a grand total of sixty-six games, which got them sixth place in the American League. Remaining from the 1920 World Champions were shortstop Joe Sewell, outfielder Charlie Jamieson, pitcher George Uhle, and first baseman George Burns. Luke Sewell, the younger brother of Joe, had been with the club since 1921. The veterans were still going strong, leading the club in most of the offensive statistics. The elder Sewell could be counted on to hit over .300 while striking out less than ten times per five hundred at bats. Joe always claimed he could see the ball hit the bat. Based on his strikeout ratio, he was probably telling the truth.
Charlie Jamieson was one of the most consistent players in the game. He usually hit around .300, scored plenty of runs, and played excellent defense. Charlie had a lot of range in left field, always among the league leaders in assists. He was a fan favorite at League Park, a fixture on the ball club.
George Burns fit the category of an aging veteran, but still had his moments on the field. Burns was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1926. His statistics that year were amazing, batting .358, with 216 hits, a league leading sixty-four doubles, and 115 RBIs. As the reigning MVP, Burns received a salary boost to $12,000 a year, but the following season his numbers dropped considerably. At age thirty-four, Burns could still hit, but he was on the inevitable decline. Billy Evans had a decision to ponder at first base.
George Uhle, born and raised in Cleveland, was the ace of the Indians pitching staff. He had won over twenty games three times, the most recent being twenty-seven wins in 1926. Uhle was one of the few pitchers in the American League that Babe Ruth did not terrorize. Though Ruth hit over .300 against George, his home runs were few and far between. That in itself was quite an accomplishment.
Luke Sewell was a fine complement to his older brother Joe. Though he generally hit around .250, he always got his bat on the ball. The Sewell brother just did not strike out. Luke was an exceptional defensive catcher, several times leading the American League in assists. His percentage in throwing out base runners was well above average. For some years he sat on the bench behind Steve O’Neill and Glenn Myatt, but he grabbed playing time when the Indians traded O’Neill to Boston. Luke was a durable catcher, playing over 120 games a year. This was one position manager Peckinpaugh did not have to concern himself with.
The remaining part of the Cleveland roster was somewhat unsettled. Billy Evans did not have the time needed to implement the immediate changes he felt necessary. Alva Bradley and his partners were willing to spend a small fortune to acquire some top-shelf talent. They believed that if enough money was waved around, great players were sure to follow. Bradley reasoned, if he offered the Yankees George Burns and $100,000, they might part with Lou Gehrig. The team president would learn quickly that players of Gehrig’s ability were not available even for a yacht filled with cash.
With spring training just around the corner, Billy Evans thoroughly studied his roster. The infield was decent enough with Burns at first base, the veteran Lew Fonseca at second, Joe Sewell at short, and a young Johnny Hodapp at third. Fonseca, primarily a singles hitter, could bat well over .300 but had difficulty staying healthy. The Indians acquired Hodapp in August 1925 from the minor-league Indianapolis Indians. He was a big kid, six feet tall and weighing 185 pounds. He came from a family of undertakers, an always steady profession, although slightly on the morbid side. The club shelled out between forty and fifty thousand dollars to bring Hodapp to Cleveland. There was a two-week delay, during which the twenty-one-year-old refused to report until he got part of the purchase price for himself. Manager Tris Speaker was probably not too angry with the holdout, as Spoke had done the same thing in 1916 when Cleveland purchased him from the Red Sox. Hodapp did eventually arrive and showed some potential in the last two months of the season.
The outfield was solid on the corners, with Jamieson in left field and the reliable Homer Summa in right. Still, since 1926 center field had posed a substantial problem for the team. Tris Speaker, after his eleven outstanding seasons, had abruptly departed the franchise. The Indians had nobody waiting to pick up the slack. Billy Evans and his scouts would search the United States but it would take another year before they could find a long-term replacement for the magnificent Speaker.
The most difficult problem for Billy Evans was the pitching staff. After his great 1926 season, George Uhle had been plagued with arm trouble. In 1927 he only appeared in twenty-five games, winning just eight. Along with Uhle’s troubles, Joe Shaute had a record of nine wins and sixteen losses. Garland “Gob” Buckeye, a lefty, had a great name but his record was abysmal, a total of ten wins and seventeen losses. Buckeye had the distinction of weighing over 260 pounds while standing six feet tall. No, it was not all muscle. There was Emil “Dutch” Levsen, a three-game winner that season with seven losses.
Cleveland’s leading pitcher in 1927 was Willis Hudlin. Born in 1906, Hudlin was a high school sensation from the small town of Wagoner, Oklahoma, in the northeast part of the state. The small community was created as a railroad town in the late nineteenth century. At the time Willis was born, the local population stood at approximately four thousand. During his high school years, Hudlin was an All-State football and basketball player, track star, and the best baseball pitcher for miles around. His spectacular play brought college football recruiters from Texas, but Hudlin only wanted to play baseball. In the spring of 1926 he signed a contract to play for the Class A Waco Cubs in the Texas League. Hudlin departed for Waco without finishing high school. The Cubs manager was Del Pratt, a former St. Louis Brown and American League RBI champ in 1916. Pratt knew a ballplayer when he saw one, and Hudlin turned out to be the real deal. Willis pitched against some seasoned competition but showed he was their match or better. He had a blistering fastball which he threw both overhand and sidearm. The pitch had a pronounced sink to it that baffled the minor-league hitters.
Scouts rapidly descended on Waco to get a close look at the star pitcher. Despite the Cubs lounging in the cellar, Hudlin managed to win sixteen games. The New York Yankees emissary believed Hudlin had a major-league arm that was nearly ready for the big time. Pratt sensed the opportunity to make a big score and announced that the price for Hudlin would be $25,000 plus three players. The Yankees put down an option to buy, good until June 7. They were reluctant to part with three players but did not want to pass on the hot prospect. The Cincinnati Reds badgered Pratt to accept a $5,000 payment up front with the balance due sixty