July 2, 2018 Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. The weather has certainly been hotter lately, and it’s expected to remain toasty for the next week. With 4th of July celebrations also in the forecast, some will be content to stay indoors with the reprieve of air conditioning… and others will be outdoors from morning until the fireworks are done because… some like it hot! These days, I can deal with either. I rarely give a second thought to spending four or five hours playing 18-holes of golf in the sweltering sun – provided I have some bottled water with me. And I’d sooner spend a day at the beach than doing most grown up things – again, provided I have some bottled water with me! But there are some days when I would just prefer to stay inside and avoid the heat. (That’s when I drink too much coffee.) Of course, as a kid growing up in Toledo, avoiding the heat never crossed my mind. Many of my summer days were spent outside. When I wasn’t playing baseball with my brothers, I was playing with my classmates and friends. We rode bikes. We went fishing. We went swimming. We would find the best cherry trees and plum trees around the neighborhood and get belly-aches. And then we’d burn it all off with some other activity without ruining our suppers. Oh, and we usually carried a plastic milk carton full of water. But most of the time with my friends, we played pick-up baseball at places like Dexter Park, Wilson Park, behind the old Parkland School, at the field next to Louie’s Market, behind the Toledo Blade newspaper station, and… at Joe E. Brown Park. Eventually, many of us played organized Little League baseball in the 4th Ward Old Timers leagues right there at Joe E. Brown Park. The younger readers may not remember Joe E. Brown so, as is customary with Mistletoe Enterprises and the Victory & Valor Blog, where we tell the stories of history and heroes, a little history lesson is in order! Joseph Evans Brown was born July 28, 1891 in Holgate, Ohio, about fifty miles southwest of Toledo where he attended grammar school. He passed away on July 6, 1973. But for most of his life, this man dubbed “America’s Master of Mirth” was an entertainer. He started in the circus, he did Vaudeville acts, Broadway shows, and he made many movies. Among his well-known stage roles was playing Elwood P. Dowd in “Harvey.” On the silver screen he had many hits, but he’s often best remembered playing along-side Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe in, “Some Like It Hot!” But he was more beloved as an entertainer for the U.S. military troops stationed around the globe. Joe E. Brown traveled extensively and performed hundreds of shows for military personnel overseas during the WWII era. His oldest son, Don, was an Army Air Force pilot who was killed in a crash while ferrying bombers in 1942. Still, Joe E. Brown carried on, entertaining the troops. In 1945, by an act of Congress, Joe E. Brown became one of a few civilians ever to be awarded the Bronze Star for his patriotic service. Besides entertaining, Joe had another passion: baseball. He played several seasons of semi-pro and professional ball. His skills were good enough for him to sign with the New York Yankees, but he chose to return to entertainment. However, the love of the game never left him. He was a friend to many players, among them Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. (Brown was such a good friend of Ruth that Babe gave Brown the bat he used to hit three home-runs in the 1926 World Series. He also gave Brown the bat he used to hit his 60th home-run in 1927). Brown was also friends with Ty Cobb, and Tris Speaker. Along with Speaker, Brown was part owner of the Kansas City Club in the American Association from 1932-1935. In the 1953 season, he was a pregame and postgame announcer for the Yankees. His younger son, Joe L. Brown was for many years General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. And Joe E. Brown was the long-term President of Pony League baseball. “PONY” stood for “Protect Our Nation’s Youth.” And that is precisely why Joe E. Brown Park was dedicated in Toledo on Sunday, May 25th, 1958: to protect our nation’s youth. At least, the youth in that vicinity of north Toledo where I grew up. The park is much different now, and it became a focal point in recent months due to some controversial remarks. That controversy is unfortunate, and I won’t go into details here. You can research it online for yourself if you’re so inclined. Suffice to say it belies the fact that Joe E. Brown Park was dedicated to honor a man of principles and tireless patriotism, and to make a place where baseball could be played to develop “great men of tomorrow.” This is not to say that youth baseball is the solution to every woe in society. But it can help many youngsters learn about rules, fair play, honest competition, and sportsmanship. All these things were at the core of Joe E. Brown’s philosophy. Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor salute the memory of Joe E. Brown for his patriotism, his humor, and for his advocacy for youth baseball programs. As one who grew up and learned many lessons at Joe E. Brown Park, I will always treasure his history, and I will always regard him as a hero. And for those who don’t like baseball, in the immortal words of Osgood Fielding III, the character portrayed by Joe E. Brown in “Some Like It Hot!”: “Well, nobody’s perfect.” Have a great day! Stay cool! See you back here Wednesday! And don’t forget your bottled water… unless you like it hot! The following sources were researched to help compile and verify this installment: “Our” Joe E. Brown, An Essay by Judge Aaron B. Cohn, 1958; Library of Congress; Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); National Archives / National Park Service; NY Times; Chicago Tribune; NY Post; United Services Organization (USO); Toledo Blade; Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB)
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AuthorTom Davis is the owner of Mistletoe Enterprises LLC. He also publishes and distributes the Victory & Valor Flyer, it tells the stories of heroes from all walks of life. Archives
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