Читать книгу Bad Boys, Bad Times. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941 онлайн

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Baseball Magazine had similar plaudits for Vitt. The article read in part, “Oscar is well-equipped to handle any disorder or dissension that may crop out on his club. He was matured in the Detroit clubhouse during the seething days of Ty Cobb when the place was frequently a fiery furnace of discord.” The Cleveland players did not exactly conjure up visions of a fiery furnace, though in players like Johnny Allen and the freewheeling Rollie Hemsley loomed the potential for big trouble. Vitt had spent his entire managing career in the minor leagues. He had many years of dealing with willing young ballplayers struggling to make it the Majors. Now he had to prove his worth with a team of veterans in their late twenties or early thirties who had yet to win. Quite a challenging scenario to walk into.

Oscar Vitt was a native of San Francisco, California, where he was born on January 4, 1890. While just a youngster he developed great foot speed, enabling him to outrun the bigger boys intent on giving him a whipping. At times Oscar stood his ground, threw several punches, then raced away to safety. He played a lot of handball, not doing much on the baseball diamond until high school. He attended a technical school, where he studied architecture.