CV High School Plays Baseball at Stengel Field. But Who the Heck was Stengel?

I guess I don’t have a lock on local history! Justin Hager, the sports writer for this paper, wrote the following as a lead-in to our quick look at the history of Stengel Field: “Falcon baseball kicked off last week, continuing a rich history of CVHS athletics. It was 60 years ago the Crescenta Valley High School baseball team played its first varsity baseball schedule. The team had no seniors as the newly formed high school didn’t yet have a senior class but, despite the competitive disadvantage, it elected to play a varsity schedule anyway. Ten years later, CVHS would see its first alumnus appear on a big league field as pitcher Bill Slayback led the Detroit Tigers to a victory over the New York Yankees. But the history of the field the Falcons’ now play on, Stengel Field, goes back even further than the high school itself.”

Casey Stengel was legendary in baseball history with an astounding 54-year career. He gained his biggest fame as the colorful wise-cracking manager of the New York Yankees in their glory years of the late ’40s/early ’50s. He managed that team to an unheard-of five consecutive World Series titles, coaching baseball legends such as Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto and Mickey Mantle.

But when he wasn’t in New York, Casey Stengel was in Glendale where he lived with his wife Edna. Thanks to Glendale historian Katherine Yamada, we have a record of how Stengel Field came to be.

The Glendale Municipal Ball Park was built across from Glendale College in 1948. Casey Stengel, already a Glendale resident, was honored by Glendale with “Casey Stengel Day” at the new ball field in 1949 after his first World Series win managing the New York Yankees. Another World Series win for the Yankees happened in 1950, and another “Casey Stengel Day” was celebrated.

1951 saw another World Series win, and Casey Stengel made this year’s “Casey Stengel Day” a day to remember! Stengel brought the champion Yankees to the Glendale Municipal Ball Field for an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox.

Led by “Joltin’ Joe” DiMaggio and rookie Mickey Mantle before a standing-room only Glendale crowd of 6,000, the world champion Yankees choked, losing 5 to nothing.

In 1952, again the manager of the World Series champion Yankees was honored memorably at the Glendale field … memorable in that on that particular “Casey Stengel Day” the field was renamed “Stengel Field” in front of 2,000 cheering Glendale school children. Casey, not wanting another humiliation for his champion Yankees, instead celebrated by umpiring a Little League all-star game, the first game played at the newly christened Stengel Field.

Stengel won another World Series in 1953, and retired to Glendale full-time in 1965. He died in 1975 and is buried in (of course) Forest Lawn-Glendale. His home at 1663 Grandview is listed on the Glendale register of Historic Places.

Famed sports writer Jim Murray on Stengel’s death quipped, “Well, God is certainly getting an earful tonight.” That’s because the brash, colorful Stengel was as famous for his mouth as his managerial skills, knocking out what are referred to today as ‘Stengel-isms.” Here’s some of my favorites:

• “All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.”
• “Never make predictions, especially about the future.”
• “There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had plenty of them.”
• “Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits.”
• “Wake up muscles, we’re in New York now.”
• “They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don’t win many ball games.”
• “I was such a dangerous hitter I even got intentional walks during batting practice.”
• “If anyone wants me, tell them I’m being embalmed.”
• “Don’t cut my throat, I may want to do that later myself.”
• “Without losers where would the winners be?”
• “The trick is growing up without growing old.”

And finally, when Stengel Field was dedicated in 1952, Casey said, “I’ve been thrown out of a lot of ballparks, but this is the first time I’ve ever had one named after me.”