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This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.

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This is Alvin Dark. In a few moments you will hear about my greatest sports thrill.

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This is Harry Wismer. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of baseball's outstanding players.

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And in the event our special guest Alvin Dark considers his greatest sports thrill.

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And Al himself is here to tell us all about it.

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But first here is Bill Redick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force.

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There's a wonderful bond of good fellowship that unites all sports fans, regardless of what particular sport is their favorite.

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And you know this same feeling of friendship exists among airmen in the United States Air Force too.

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The Air Force team is made up of all kinds of men from all walks of life.

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Each man knows he is important to his country and to the men he's working with.

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Yes, if you're a young man just out of high school wondering about going into the service,

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I can assure you that you'll meet airmen in the Air Force who will share your interests.

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They'll be your buddies for life.

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So think of the advantages you'll enjoy in this all-volunteer service.

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Ask your nearest Air Force recruiter about the specialized jobs open to airmen in such important fields as jet propulsion,

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aircraft maintenance, electronics, transportation, and many others.

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See for yourself how you can go places faster as an airman in the United States Air Force.

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Now back to Harry Wismer.

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In May of 1946, the top officials and head scouts of the Boston Braves got together for an organizational meeting.

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There was much talk about the Braves purchasing Marty Marion, the St. Louis Cardinals' great shortstop.

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Ted McGrew, the veteran scout, listened patiently until it was his turn to offer comment.

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Gentlemen, he said, I've heard all this talk and I know Marion is the best shortstop in baseball.

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I have only one recommendation, and that is save your money.

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Wait a couple of years and I'll have someone better than Marty Marion.

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His name is Alvin Dark, and you've never heard of him.

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I don't even know where he is except someplace in the Pacific in the service.

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He isn't playing baseball in service, probably hasn't played in the last two years.

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But if you want my advice, save your money.

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Wait for Al Dark.

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That was ten years ago.

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Today, Ted McGrew stands vindicated on all counts with perhaps one exception.

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Al Dark never has approached the octopus-like Marion in the field

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and doesn't have the arm that the former Mr. Shortstop was blessed with.

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But when it comes to swinging the bat and running the bases,

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few, if any, of the modern shortstops are the equal of this quiet-spoken,

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gentle-mannered, but fiercely determined captain of the New York Giants.

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Ever since he came to the Giants in 1950, Alvin Dark has been the solid man of the club.

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He, more than any other player, has been responsible for their success.

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A world championship, two pennants, and a second and third place finish in six years.

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He has been called the heart and soul of the Giants, the inspiring force,

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the glue that has held the club together.

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From the first day he joined the club, Dark has been the steadiest hitter on the Giants.

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One of the most scientific batters in the game, Dark has been a consistent 300-hitter

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ever since he came up with the Braves in 1948.

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His 23 home runs in 1953 stood as the most ever hit by a National League shortstop in one season

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until Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs banged 44 in 1955.

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With the possible exception of Pee-wee Reese of the Brooklyn team,

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Al Dark has been the standout shortstop in the National League ever since he donned a big league uniform.

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Few shortstops can deliver day in and day out over a period of years as Alvin Dark has done

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and promises to do for several more seasons.

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Al has never been considered one of the game's more graceful players.

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He has had to do it the hard way.

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But he makes the plays as he proved so dramatically with his intensely competitive performances

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in the World Series of 1951 and 1954.

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A couple of days after the Giants had clinched the 1954 pennant,

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Leo de Rocher was talking about Al Dark.

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How that guy has played this year, he said.

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What a guy he is to have on your ball club.

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He's the glue that held the club together.

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Willie Mays has been wonderful, of course, and I'm not taking anything away from him

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or the pitchers who have been so great.

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But Dark has been the solid guy, the backbone of the club.

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The most surprising thing about Alvin Dark is that while at school and in the service,

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he was known more for his prowess as a football player rather than a baseball player.

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It was a keen disappointment for the professional football promoters

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when Alvin decided to risk his future in baseball.

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Alvin Dark is almost a myth around Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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He played only one year of varsity sports at LSU in 1941,

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then went on to become an All-American at a neighboring institution.

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Dark was in the service in 1943 and was assigned to Southwestern Louisiana Institute,

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where he became the talk of the football world in one season.

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He also did a little running on the track team.

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A top golfer who shoots consistently in the 70s,

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Al Dark may be the best all-around athlete in baseball.

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He has broken 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash.

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High jump 6 feet, 4 inches, and broad jump 23 feet.

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Alvin Dark was a standout in any sport he played,

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not only because he had the natural physical attributes and aptitudes,

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but because he approached them all with a fierce determination to excel.

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A devout, gentle-mannered southerner,

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he becomes a driving killer-type, take-charge guy in the ball field.

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He is the quiet sort who bottles his emotions deep within him.

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But nobody hates more to lose or gains more pleasure out of triumph.

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There may have been short stops with more all-around ability,

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but nobody had more competitive spirit.

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Alvin Dark was born on January 7, 1923,

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not in Louisiana, but in Comanche, Oklahoma.

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His father moved his family through Oklahoma and Texas

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before he finally settled down at Lake Charles, Louisiana.

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It was during his freshman year at LSU that baseball scouts started to take an interest.

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The most ardent of his pursuers was scout Ted McGrew of the Boston Braves,

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who exacted a promise from Alvin that when he got out of service,

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he would talk to him first.

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True to his word, in June 1946, Dark reported to the Braves for a look.

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He tried out on the road without over-impressing manager Billy Southworth.

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Al didn't look like much of a shortstop when first seen,

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but he was always the first player on the field and the last one to leave.

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That had its effect on Southworth.

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At least it indicated that the kid liked the game enough to work at it.

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Southworth said later, he had one characteristic that made his lack of playing polish seem unimportant,

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competitive spirit.

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He was an athlete who could play any type of sport.

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That was something very much in his favor.

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I knew he wouldn't choke under pressure.

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In the spring of 1947, the Braves agreed to give Al Dark a $40,000 bonus

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and found him out to Milwaukee.

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One year later, after leading the American Association in practically everything

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and voted the league's Rookie of the Year,

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Dark was back, securely installed as the first string shortstop

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for the strongest Braves team in 34 years.

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In his first full season, 1948, Dark played a great role in the Braves' drive

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to their first pennant since 1914.

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He batted a rousing 322 and was voted the National League's Rookie of the Year.

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In 1949, luck by dissension, the Braves finished third.

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The following winter, Dark was the leading man in a gigantic six-man trade between Boston and New York.

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On December 14, 1949, the Braves dealt Al Dark and Eddie Stanky to the Giants

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for Sid Gordon, Willard Marshall, Buddy Kerr and Sam Webb.

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One month later, Brinks was robbed of $2 million.

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There is some difference of opinion as to which constitutes the greatest robbery in Boston's history.

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Now before you meet our special guest, Alvin Dark in person,

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in an interview from the Polo Grounds and hear about his greatest sports thrill,

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here is a message of interest to all young men who want to go places faster.

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If you're a veteran, chances are you know about the U.S. Air Force re-enlistment policy

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and the opportunities it offers to all former servicemen,

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especially those with technical experience and backgrounds and critical skills.

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But here's important news you may not have heard.

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The Air Force has now liberalized its policy to bring you even further benefits.

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Here are some of the important advantages.

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A wider range of skills is now accepted.

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There's a choice of U.S. and overseas assignments.

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Also a paid 30-day delay in reporting if requested.

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And think about this.

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If you qualify on the basis of an aptitude test,

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the U.S. Air Force may be able to guarantee technical training.

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Yes, guarantee you this even before you enlist.

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So it makes good sense for a veteran of any service to inquire about this new liberalized Air Force policy.

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Contact your nearest United States Air Force recruiter now, without obligation of course.

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See why we say today and tomorrow, you're better off in the U.S. Air Force.

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Now back to Harry Wismer.

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Al Dark, what was your greatest sports thrill?

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Well Harry, in 1951 when Bobby Thompson hit the home run to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the playoff game,

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that was the greatest thrill I've ever received in my life.

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We had been behind something like 13 and a half games in August,

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and every night we'd go home after winning a ball game, we'd say,

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we still have a chance, we still have a chance.

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Then when it did happen, Bobby hit the home run, we were all so happy and so thankful that all the work we had done wasn't in vain.

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We were just so happy, I just don't know how to explain it.

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Al, why did you select shortstop over any other position?

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Well I don't know Harry, ever since I first started playing baseball,

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shortstop was the position I liked best, I guess because you were always in the middle of the action.

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And when you're a little kid, you want to get as many ground balls, pop flies, or anything else that you can get just to be playing.

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And so I just kept on playing in high school and college.

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So that's the only position I've ever really played where I know anything about it.

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What is the toughest play for a shortstop to make?

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I think the toughest play for any shortstop to make is going to his right on a slow hit ball,

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and he has to come up throwing the ball and put something on it.

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Especially when there's a fast runner, the ball just gets by the third base, and then you have to come up really throwing it.

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Al, tell us a little bit about what goes on out there in the middle of the diamond,

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when the pitcher has gotten in a jam and the shortstop or another player comes out to the mound to talk to him.

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Well sometimes shortstop will be just killing time.

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He'll go up to see if the manager is getting a pitcher warmed up,

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because a lot of times the pitcher in the bullpen hadn't had a chance to get warmed up,

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and you're more or less killing time sometimes to give the manager a little time.

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Other times you're probably trying to find out just how the pitcher's going to pitch to this next hitter.

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Or sometimes you might be suggesting to him, don't be quite so careful.

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Don't try to get the ball right on the corner of the plate.

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Throw it in there and let him hit it. We'll go get it.

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What helpful hints would you give to a young player to improve his hitting?

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Well, that has been talked about quite a bit.

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The only thing I can say here is this, that a fellow has to try.

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He has to be working on it all the time.

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You know, a lot of people work on their strong points. I think a person should work on their weak points in hitting.

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If he isn't a type of fellow that can move the ball around all over the place, the right field, left field, center field,

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I think he should work on it a little bit. Not necessarily weaken himself to hit the right field or center field,

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but he should work on it where he can occasionally.

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Then the fielders can't play you in any certain position, and you always come up with a base hit.

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But a person has to work quite a bit on his hitting.

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I think that a 250 hitter can work to become a 350 hitter, but I do think every individual can improve himself.

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Thank you very much, Alvin Dark, one of baseball's outstanding shortstop.

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One more thing about Alvin Dark. In the quiet way so characteristic of him, Al sent a check of $1,114,

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a sizable portion of his 1954 World Series check, to the Trinity Baptist Church at Lake Charles.

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From other sources, this reached the newspapers, and Alvin was asked about it.

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When I was a newsboy earning $2.50 a week, I gave 10% of my earnings to God, he explained, and I've just been doing it ever since.

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Alvin Dark possesses a quality of humility that goes far beyond the requirements of normal amenity.

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It's part of Alvin Dark's way of life.