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Holmes' legacy one of excellence, joy
Underappreciated outfielder was Boston Braves' marquee star
Fred Claire
I never saw Tommy Holmes play in person, but I must have seen him swing the bat on film a thousand times.
That's because he is part of one of my early memories of the game of baseball. Holmes was a starting outfielder for the Boston Braves in 1948, the year they met the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.
I can tell you all about the 1948 World Series and the players who participated. When you are 12 years old and form a partnership with your 14-year-old brother to buy an 8 mm World Series film and then watch it almost daily until the film practically falls apart due to use, the images sink into your memory bank.
I suppose that's why Holmes and others who played in that World Series will always be somewhat young and vibrant in my mind.
And that's the reason I was somewhat taken aback this week when the news arrived that Holmes had died at the age of 91 at an assisted-living facility in Florida.
A quote from Jeff Wilpon, the chief operating officer of the New York Mets, caught my attention. "Tommy Holmes was one of our sport's truest gentlemen," said Wilpon. "His passion for the game and up-and-coming players, along with his 30-year association with our franchise, was unsurpassed."
I was pleased to see Wilpon's quote but, very frankly, I didn't realize Holmes had been involved with the Mets for so many years.
I started to do some research on Holmes to see what else I had missed about the career and life of a man who had played so many decades ago.
The key points of his career were carried in the obituaries of the major newspapers. Holmes had hit in 37 consecutive games in 1945 to set a modern National League record that stood until it was broken by Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds in 1978.
A native of Brooklyn, Holmes was originally signed by the New York Yankees in 1937, but was traded to the Braves in December of 1941. He was a key member of the Braves from 1942 through 1950, batting .300 or more in five of those nine seasons.
Entering the 1951 season, the 33-year-old Holmes was named the player-manager of the Braves' Hartford farm team. He was to be groomed as the future manager of the Braves.
On June 19th of that season, the Braves were struggling under manager Billy Southworth and Holmes was called back to the big leagues to serve as a player-manager. "It just happened sooner than I thought it would," Holmes told Time Magazine.
It also ended sooner than Holmes could have anticipated as he was fired on May 31 of the 1952 season and replaced by Charlie Grimm. Holmes was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in mid-June to serve as a pinch-hitter and ended up playing in the World Series.
It was to be his final season in the Major Leagues and he ended his 11-year career with a lifetime batting average of .302. He managed in the Minor Leagues for the Braves and Dodgers from 1953-57, but basically disappeared from baseball's spotlight.
He returned to the game in 1973 as director of amateur baseball relations for the New York Mets, a post he held until he retired at the age of 86.
In an ironic twist, Holmes was in attendance at Shea Stadium on July 25th, 1978, when Rose collected the hit to give him a 38-game hitting streak, erasing Holmes' record. Holmes took the time to thank Rose for "making people remember me."
Holmes had gone from one of the most popular players in the history of the Boston Braves to the manager of the team to what must have seemed to him to be a forgotten man.
The fact is, those who knew Holmes remember him today for being not only a great hitter, but a wonderful human being.
"Tommy always offered encouragement and was well-liked by everyone," said former Dodger teammate George Shuba. "He was blessed with a long life and always will be remembered by everyone who had contact with him."
George Altison is 78 years old, but he remembers seeing Holmes when he was 11 and a member of the Braves' "Knothole Section." He has never forgotten his admiration for Holmes and the other Braves and in 1993 helped to form the Boston Braves Historical Association.
"Tommy was the first player we inducted into our Hall of Fame," said Altison. "He is as beloved to Braves fans as Johnny Pesky is to Red Sox fans."
Del Crandall recalled that when he started his Major League career with Boston in 1949, the veteran Holmes "made rookies like myself and Johnny Antonelli feel like one of the guys."
The veteran baseball executive Roland Hemond was hired by the Braves as a front office employee for the Hartford team in 1951 and later that year made his first of many trips to the Winter Meetings in the company of the new Braves manager Holmes.
"It was exciting just to be in the company of Tommy Holmes, but he treated me like a veteran executive," said Hemond, who has never forgotten the kindness he was shown and has been one of baseball's leading figures in helping others through the years.
Tommy Holmes Jr. recalls that his father kept and treasured his Braves uniform, socks and cap, stating, "He loved every minute of his time in Boston."
Holmes' daughter, Patricia Stone, told the Associated Press that, "When he played, there would be days he'd leave early and he'd pass children playing baseball and stop to play with them."
It has been 60 years since Tommy Holmes played in the World Series for his beloved Braves. Everything in the game has changed drastically.
If only we could find the joy that Holmes experienced in the game and in his life. It's certainly worth a try.
Fred Claire was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969-98, serving the team as executive vice president and general manager. His book "Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue" was published by SportsPublishingLLC. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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