Field of Dreams

[Tobywan]

Bob Martyn

Robert Gordon Martyn was born on August 15, 1930 in Weiser, Idaho, one of three children to Florence (nee Turner) and Bernard Martyn. The family moved to Twin Falls when Bob was about 4, to be closer to extended family. He grew up playing sports, hunting and fishing in a very tight nit family heavily involved in the First Baptist Church and community. He became a shortstop on the Twin Falls High School Bruins baseball team and graduated in 1948.

Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon became the logical choice for Bob to attend, it was not only affiliated with his church but it was also the alma mater of his father and his maternal aunt and uncle, Lillian and Bill. His father, Bernard, was a legend there, earning 14 letters in four sports. Upon joining the Wildcats, Bob's coach Harry Lever made him an outfielder. Martyn batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was chosen to the Northwest Conference all-star outfield in 1950, '51 and '52. He helped the Wildcats win conference championships in 1950 and '51 he also sang in the Chapel Choir and was senior class president. If that wasn't enough he graduated with a double major in mathematics and sociology Cum Lauda in 1952. He also left college with a wife, Dolores (nee Sorenson), they were married in November, 1950.

He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1952. In his first professional game on July 4 for the Boise (Idaho) Yankees he went 5-for-6. He batted .341 in 64 games. His career was interrupted for two years while he served in the United States Army, he returned to the Yankees in 1954 working his way through the minors with stops in Norfolk, Birmingham, Denver and Richmond. In 1956 he hit two home runs in the American Association (AAA) all-star game and was named Most Valuable Player of the game. On June 15, 1957 he was traded with Woodie Held, Billy Martin and Ralph Terry to the Kansas City Athletics for Ryne Duren, Jim Pisoni and Harry Simpson. Three days later on June 18 he made his ML debut as the starting RF batting second behind Bill Martin. Facing Ted Abernathy and the Washington Senators he flew out to right in his first at bat, but singled to center in the 6th for his first hit. He was intentionally walked in the 9th, though he wasn't part of the scoring the A'a won 2-0. He remained with the club through the rest of the season, he batted .267 with four triples in 58 games. He hit one home run that season, his first in the ML on September 15 in the first game of a double header against Bob Turley and the Yankees that also scored Hector Lopez.He played in both games, but the A's couldn't come away with a win.

In 1958, Martyn appeared in 95 games, hitting .261 in 226 at-bats. That year, he was sixth in the American League with 7 triples and ninth in the league with 5 intentional walks. On opening day against the Cleveland Indians (who now had Billy Martin) on April 10, 1959 he came in as pinch hitter in the 8th and grounded out. The starting right fielder that day was Roger Maris, which is likely the reason that on April 12, Martyn was traded with Mike Baxes back to the New York Yankees for infielders Tom Carroll and Russ Snyder. He didn't even report to the Yankees but was sent to the Richmond Virginians, he batted .295 in 110 games.

He earned his masters in education in 1959, studying between baseball seasons.


He began the 1960 season in Richmond, after 36 games he was sent to the Seattle Rainiers with the Cincinnati Reds, he played in 85 games batting .254 and retired after the season. His last ML appearance was April 10, 1959 for the Kansas City Athletics. In parts of three season he batted .263 with three home runs, 35 RBI and 154 games played. He was a three time All-Star in the minors.

After baseball, he worked for 23 years for Tektronix (Beaverton, Oregon) in positions including employment manager, compensation manager and personnel manager. He served two terms on the Linfield Alumni Board and was president in 1973.

It appears he and Dolores divorced in 1974, they had three daughters. He got remarried to Donna Harwood in 1978, she had three daughters of her own.
In 1983 he helped found a human resources consultant service, from which he retired after 13 years. Bob father Bernard was inducted to the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, Bob got his own in 2000. They are one of two father-son combinations in the Linfield College Athletics Hall of Fame. Bob was the first Linfield player to make it to the Major Leagues.

Bob and Donna moved to Pacific City after their retirements, were active in the community and Bob continued his love of fishing throughout his life. He passed away on December 2, 2015 at his home in Pacific City, Oregon at the age of 85. He was preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Linda. He is survived by his wife, Donna, sister, Sally, brother Jerry and daughters, Kathryn and Tamara, 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. A celebration of his life was held on February 13, 2016 at the Melrose Hall of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

[Tobywan]

Gus Gil


Tomás Gustavo Gil Guillén was born on April 19, 1939 in Caracas, Venezuela. Not much is known about his life or family growing up in VZ. In 1959 he participated in the Central American and Caribbean Games, the right handed infielder batted .350 and slugged .500 for the Venezuelan national team that won a Silver Medal. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cincinnati Redlegs in 1959, but spent seven seasons in their minor league system. He traveled from coast to coast and places in between, he batted .305 twice.

In October 1966 his contract was purchased by the Cleveland Indians. He made the opening day roster as the starting second baseman batting 6th in the line-up for his ML debut on April 11 against the Kansas City Athletics. He became the 10th Venezuelan player to make the majors. In his first at bat against Jim Nash he reached on an error by third baseman Ed Charles. He collected his first major league hit, a single in the fourth, he walked in the 6th that led to a run scored on a double by Duke Sims to tie the game 3-3. The A's scored a run in the 7th, Gil struck out his last at bat and the Indians lost 4-3. After batting .109 in 43 games he was sent to the Portland Beavers, he was brought back up in early July finishing out the season with Cleveland batting .115 for the year.

He was back in Portland to start the 1968 season, in mid-May he was purchased by the Seattle Pilots who would play their inaugural season in 1969. He finished out the year playing the Seattle Angels of the PCL in a working agreement with the California Angels. He made the Pilots roster as a utility infielder appearing in 92 games and the team finished last in the AL West with a record of 64-98, 33 games out of first (Minnesota), and 45 games behind league-leading Baltimore.His highlight of the season was a game-tying, two-run pinch hit double in the top of the ninth inning against the New York Yankees. He then scored to put the Pilots ahead to stay, winning 5–4 on June 14, 1969.

By the end of the year the new team was already in trouble. They were playing in Sicks' Stadium, a minor league venue. Seating expansion wasn't completed by opening day and continued to be slow, attendance was abysmal and the team was in debt by season's end and the two main owners were at odds. Chairman of the board William R. Daley wanted to sell to Bud Selig and his group from Milwaukee, the team President Dewey Soriano and the minor owners were bending to pressure to keep the team in Seattle. After being embroiled in the courts through most of the off season, a judge declared the team bankrupt. They were sold to Selig's group and the Milwaukee Brewers were born. Gil went with them, splitting the 1970 season between the Brewers and Portland, he batted .200 in 64 games in the majors. He had two stand out games, a walk-off, two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the Brewers as they came from behind and defeated the Minnesota Twins, 4–3 on June 23, 1970. On July 5, 1970 he drove in both Milwaukee runs with a pair of sacrifice flies in a 2–1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

In the 1970 Caribbean Series, he hit .382, scored four runs, and had a series-leading seven RBI, to help the Magallanes win the series, marking the first time a Venezuelan team had won the Caribbean title. Gus earned the MVP honors.

In 1971 he was with Evansville for 31 games, hitting .352, and came up to play 11 more games for the Brewers. In the 1973 Caribbean Series, Gil earned a spot on the series' All-Star team. He would languish in the minors until 1975 bouncing around with the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers and spent 1976 with the Poza Rica Petroleros in the Mexican League. He never made it back to the majors making his last appearance on June 30, 1971, for the Milwaukee Brewers. In parts of four seasons he finished with a .186 BA, 87 hits and 37 RBI in 221 games, his one home run came on August 5, 1970, a solo shot off Jim Magnuson of the White Sox in a 9-3 loss. His performance as a fielder was much better, with 186 putouts, 192 assists and 36 double plays, but only 5 errors out of 383 total chances for a .982 fielding percentage. He finished with a career fielding percentage that was 8 points higher than the league average over the span of his playing career. Due to his defensive play he earned the nickname “El Maestro”. Along with a long minor league career he played 19 season in the Venezuelan winter league between 1959 and 1977 playing 12 finals, a record in the LVBP until Alex Delgado surpassed him.

He also served as a manager for four seasons beginning with the Petroleros de Zulia of the Inter-American League in 1979. Then came the Danville Suns (1982), and the Bluefield Orioles (1990-1991). In his retirement, he was coach and manager of Sharks in Creole ball. He also served as manager for the Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League in 1979. When he wasn't playing ball he spent his off-seasons working as a draftsman. In 2008, Gil was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.

His eyesight was failing he was unable to drive in later life, his last public appearances was at a Brewers spring training game in AZ in 2014 and at the Arizona Major League Alumni fundraiser in February 2015. He passed away of respiratory arrest on December 8, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona, he was 76. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Phyllis, son Tomas Jr, and daughter in law Carrie.

[Tobywan]

Jim McAnany


James McAnany was born on September 4, 1936 in Los Angeles, California one of four children of Stella (nee Pociask) and Clifford McAnany. His father was a sales manager for Picksweet/Swanson Frozen Foods. Jim and his brother Tim grew up playing baseball in Rancho Park near their home and was a fan of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. As a member of the Loyola High School Cubs he helped them win the California Interscholastic Federation championship in 1954 He also was a halfback on the football team. He graduated in 1954 and then the attended the University of Southern California playing outfield for the Trojans.

He left USC in 1955 in favor of signing as an amateur free agent with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to Waterloo, Iowa, in the Class B Three-I League for 1955 and batted .260 in 55 games in his professional debut. Back at Waterloo at the start of the 1956 season he experienced his first serious baseball injury by getting hit in the head. At one point his vision problems were so bad he thought about quitting. He also spent time in Colorado Springs that season. He played all of 1957 with the Davenport DavSox (Iowa) of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. He batted .303 and belted 17 homers. Unfortunately, Jim lost his father that same year. He batted over .300 for the first time in his career. He returned to Colorado Springs in 1958 where the team won the Class A Western League title. He batted .400 highest in the minors that year and he received the Hillerich & Bradsby Co.’s Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award. This earned him a call up and he made his ML debut for the White Sox on September 19, 1958 against the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium. He came in during the 5th as a pinch hitter for pitcher Early Wynn and struck out, it was his only at bat of the game. Others in the line-up were legendary Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox on a team managed by Al Lopez, but they lost the game 7-6. He started three games in right field, finishing with a BA of .000.


McAnany began 1959 in Indianapolis, he was called up again making the start in left field on June 28 against the Yankees. He got the first White Sox hit of the game and the first of his career off Whitey Ford in the third.It was his only hit and the White Sox won 9-2. He hit safely in his first four starts, all of them games in which the opposing team started left-handers. On July 4 against Kansas City he had a four hit day collecting his first RBI. He hit two triples on July 12, one in each game of a doubleheader against Kansas City. Both triples came with the bases loaded. Six of his 27 career RBI came on that one day. On the 17th he broke up Ralph Terry’s no-hit bid in the ninth inning with a line single into center field. The White Sox went on to defeat the Yankees, 2-0, before their largest road crowd of the season, 42,168. It was an important win, putting Chicago ahead of Cleveland by a game and 6½ up on the Yankees. He got his first career stolen base on July 26. McAnany wound up starting a team-high 58 games in right field for the White Sox in 1959. He also started two games in left field, and played three innings in center field. He accumulated 210 at-bats with a .276 batting average, driving in 27 runs and helping Chicago reach the World Series. He got just one walk in 5 at bats as the Sox fell to the LA Dodgers 4-2.

After the season, he entered the the Army Reserve and completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In February 1960, while stationed there, he was able to get leave long enough to come home for a weekend and marry his sweetheart, Rosemary. Back at Fort Leonard Wood, working in the snow and 10-degree temperatures, he injured his shoulder. As spring approached, Jim tried to work out to prepare for spring training. He played in just three games in April for the Chicago and spent most of the season at Triple-A San Diego. In the December 1960 expansion draft, he was selected as the 49th pick by the Los Angeles Angels but never played a game for the Angels: on April 1, 1961, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Lou Johnson. He got in 80 games with Triple-A Houston, but missed part of the season when he was recalled to active duty because of the Berlin Crisis and spent time at Fort Lewis, Washington. He returned to the Cubs late in the season as a pinch-hitter. The Cubs had a terrible record finishing 64-90, but he played with five future Hall of Famers: Richie Ashburn, Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Ron Santo and Billy Williams. His time was limited though due to nagging injuries, which held over through 1962. He didn't return to action until August, he got six at bats in seven games as a reserve and retired at the end of the month. He attempted a comeback signing with Boston, he played in five games with the Seattle Rainiers and gave it up. His last MLB appearance was on August 25, 1962, for the Chicago Cubs. He played parts of five seasons with a .253 BA, no home runs and 27 RBI in 93 games.

He became an insurance agent, he owned and operated Norman Eck Insurance for many years then joined his son Jimmy McAnany at Neilson/McAnany Insurance in Simi Valley which is owned by his son.he and Rosemary resided in Culver City for more than 30 years and was active in local civic and church organizations. He also became an avid golfer. After his kids started families, he moved to Simi Valley to be closer to his Grandchildren. McAnany became active with youth sports with the Babe Ruth Little League and hosting families for the tournaments. He supported LMU and Loyola High School booster clubs along with supporting sports programs at Cal State Northridge. His son Jim, played in the College World Series for Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles and was drafted by the Angels and played 271 minor-league games.Daughter Michele, a teacher, played baseball for Phil Niekro's Colorado Silver Bullets. He returned to Chicago to participate in a "Turn Back the Clock" weekend sponsored by the White Sox in June 2005 when the Los Angeles Dodgers played at Comiskey Park for the first time since the '59 World Series. Four months later, the White Sox would return to the World Series for the first time in 46 years. McAnany was mentioned in Jane Leavy's 2010 book The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle. In it is a story in which McAnany was hit by a Mickey Mantle line drive during the 1959 season.

He pass away on December 16, 2015 in Simi Valley, California after suffering complications from a minor surgery, he was 79. His family says he was wearing a White Sox jersey when he died. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Rosemary, his children James and Michelle, grandchildren, Timothy, Tyler, Elisabeth, Shaun and Megan, brother Tim, sisters Patricia and Joan and extended family. A Memorial Mass was held on January 9, 2016.






The McAnany family. Front Row: Michele, Jim McAnany, Rosemary, Standing: Elisabeth, Shaun, Megan, Tyler, Timothy and James.

[Tobywan]

Hal Brown

Hector Harold Brown was born on December 11, 1924 in Greensboro, North Carolina, one of eight children to Pearlie (nee Chasen) and William Hamilton. He was given the nickname "Skinny" by his parents because he was a chubby child. He grew to be be 6 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds so the name fit better. He graduated from Greensboro Senior High School, he was scouted by the Boston Red Sox who paid for him to attended the University of North Carolina. In 1943 he joined the Army Air Corps to fight in WWII. A gunner on a medium bomber, he flew combat missions with the 8th Air Force, including air support over Omaha Beach on D-Day. His plane was shot down once after a raid on submarine pens around La Havre, France. They were rescued from the English Channel after a few hours. In 1946 he signed with the Sox, given a bonus of $1,750. A lot of money for the time he gave some of it to his parents to install a bathroom and running water in their home. He was assigned to the Durham Bulls, he was able to continue school. A right-handed knuckballer, he went 15-5 with a 2.48 ERA before he pitched the last five games of the season for Roanoke. He played for them again in 1947, then spent time in Scranton and Louisville.

In 1950 he was sold to the Seattle Rainiers of the PCL, he was selected in the 1950 Rule 5 draft by the Chicago White Sox in November. He made his ML debut on April 19, 1951 against the St. Louis Browns. He relieved Marv Rotblatt in the 7th after he allowed a lead off walk. He got the first batter he faced Tom Upton to foul out, but gave a two run homer to pinch hitter Ray Coleman, it didn't hurt the Sox as they were up 9-1 before the inning began.He got out of the inning without further damage. In the top of the 8th the Sox broke out even more, Brown became the 9th batter of the inning after the team score 3 more runs making it 12-3. The bases were loaded with Phil Masi, Jim Busby and Nellie Fox, Hal walked to score Masi, his first RBI. Though he gave up a couple runs in the 9th, they won the game. He pitched two more games before he was returned to Seattle in May. In two seasons with Seattle, he went 29-19, in October he was traded with Marv Grissom back to the White Sox for Richard Duffy (minors), Jerry Dahlke, Bill Fischer and Marv Rotblatt. He spent all of 1952 in Chicago going 2-3 with 8 starts, a 4.23 ERA in 72.1 IP.

In February 1953 he was traded with Marv Grissom and Bill Kennedy to the Boston Red Sox for Vern Stephens. Used mostly as a starter he went 11-6 (25 starts) with a 4.65 ERA and 166.1 innings, but was back to relieving in '54. He pitched just two games with Boston in 1955 when in May his contract was purchased by the Oakland Oaks for the PCL. He was 9-2 in 11 starts when in mid-July he was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, he spent eight seasons with the O's going 62-48. His most productive season came in 1960, when he had a 12–5 mark with a career-low 3.06 ERA. He twice led American League in Walks/9IP (1.76 in 1959; 1.25 in 1960) and twice led the American League with the fewest walks per 9 innings, 1.8 in 1959 and 1.2 in ‘60. He also led the AL in WHIP with 1.113 in 1960. In 1961 he ended 10–6 and 3.19, pitching 36 shutout innings to set a team record.

On September 7, 1962 he was bought by the New York Yankees but was then sold to the Houston Colt .45's after just two games in April 1963. It was the third time that Houston general manager Paul Richards, who managed Brown in Seattle in 1950, had acquired the right-handed pitcher. Richards was the White Sox manager in 1951 and both general manager and field manager with the Orioles in 1955. Hal spent his last two seasons going 8-26 in 41 starts, he last appearance was September 16, 1964 before he was released on the 29th. With Houston in 1963, Brown was a victim of poor run support, as he walked just eight batters in 141 innings and posted a 3.31 ERA, but tallied just a 5–11 record. In 1964, his last major league season, he finished 3–15 despite a decent 3.95 ERA. In a 14-season major league career, Brown posted an 85–92 record with a 3.81 ERA in 358 appearances, including 211 starts, 47 complete games, 13 shutouts, 11 saves, 1,680 innings pitched, and a 1.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio (710-to-389). He collected only 14 hit by pitches and 37 wild pitches. Along with Nellie Fox he was teammates with other legends like Ted Williams, Brooks Robinson, Hoyt Wilhelm and Mickey Mantle.

After his playing days, he was a partner in McBane-Brown Heating and Air Conditioning in Greensboro.He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Guilford County Sports Hall of fame in 2006. He was an active member of Presbyterian Church of Covenant for many years and a 32nd degree Mason. An avid golfer, he was a member of Starmount Country Club.

He passed away at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 17, 2015, a week after his 91st birthday. He was preceeded in death by his parents, four brothers and three sisters. He was survived by his wife, Maxine; two daughters, Suzanne and Lisa, four grandchildren, Ryan, Blair, Emily and Carrie and two great grandchildren.

[dsokol]

Gus Gil, Photo taken 6/25/06, Secaucus, NJ, autograph show featuring Seattle Pilots.

[realmofotalk]

RIP Darren Daulton. No more suffering. The Field of Dreams is free of cancer-causing AstroTurf because that's how God intended playing surfaces to be.

[realmofotalk]

Kevin Towers, former long-time GM of the Padres and later served as GM of the Dbacks. Was one of the last seat-of-the-pants, old school GMs before the nerds completely took over every front office in the league.

[realmofotalk]

Bill Buckner. No more suffering in the Big Ballpark in the Sky. Because all Red Sox fans are going to hell.