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This is Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox. In a few moments I'll tell you about my greatest
sports thrill.
This is Harry Wismar. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of baseball's
outstanding players. And in the event, our special guest, Jackie Jensen, considers his
greatest sports thrill. And Jackie himself is here to tell us all about it. But first,
here is Bill Radick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force.
In the years to come, Air Force participation in space projects will grow, and so will the
number of career fields. So be wise, join the Air Force for valuable training and bright
career opportunities. In addition, you will have a chance for foreign travel, receive
30-day annual paid vacations, and other extras. Get the full story on the Air Force career
tailored to your abilities. See your local Air Force recruiter soon. Now, back to Harry
Wismar.
It's a long way from the Golden Gate to the Bay State, but in that vast expanse of land,
a multitude of sports fans are familiar with the spectacular climb of Jackie Jensen, the
Golden Gate's gift to the baseball world, which he'd assumed a stunt that no other athlete
in America had ever accomplished before. When the Baseball Writers Association of America
officially voted Jackie Jensen, the outstanding player of the American League in 1958, Jensen
became the first athlete ever to be named to a football All-American team and the Major
League's most valuable player. But even before Jackie won the coveted Duel Honor, he already
had become the only athlete ever to play in a Rose Bowl game and the World Series. This
quiet, unassuming star from the University of California has been on the threshold of
greatness for five years, but it wasn't until the 1958 season when he batted in the most
runs in the American League, came close to winning the home-run crown, and defeated such
standouts as Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Roy Siebers, Yogi Bara, Bob Turley, and Rocky
Calavito for the most valuable player award did Jackie Jensen's exploits captivate the
country.
Rival managers in the Junior Circuit, Al Lopez and Paul Richards are calling Jensen the best
right fielder in the American League. A fearsome right-handed power-hitter, Jackie has developed
into one of the best clutch hitters in baseball. The 35 home runs that Jackie Jensen walloped
in 1958 were the most he had hit since breaking into Major League baseball in 1950. So were
his 122 runs batted in. So was his 535 slugging average. In contrast to previous years when
Jensen was the target of a barrage of booing for hitting into a record number of double
plays, he is now receiving thunderous applause at Fenway Park in Boston. The booing was unfair,
especially when you delve into the vital statistics known as the RBIs and learn that Jackie Jensen
knocked in more runs in the start of the 1953 season through the end of the 1958 campaign
than any other player in the American League. And that takes in a large order when players
like Ted Williams, Mickey Matel, Roy Siever, Jogi Berra and Rocky Calabito had to be considered,
for they have been the chief power hitters for the past six years. Jackie Jensen's first
Major League team was the New York Yankees and it cost them a lot of money to land him,
but he came to the Boston Red Sox for a great deal less. His travel ticket was via Washington,
which had acquired him from the Yankees back in 1952. In December 1953, he was shipped to
the Boston Club in a three for one deal, one of the best that Boston General Manager Joe
Cronin ever made. During his years with the Red Sox, Jackie Jensen has driven in 555 runs
and has hit 11211 RBIs and 25 home runs a season. When Jensen reported to the Yankees
St. Petersburg Spring Training Camp in 1950, he was immediately the big thrill of reporting
to the Yankees was Jackie Jensen's chance to be a teammate of his hometown hero Joe DiMaggio,
and he showed it in his hitting. Jackie tied Joe in exhibition game homers, but when the
regular season started at the stadium, Jensen was strictly utility. In fact, at times, Manager
Casey Stengel wondered what kind of deal the Yankees had made in obtaining this great
Pacific Coast football hero. In 1950, Jackie Jensen managed to get into 45 games and hit
a miserable 171. However, he did make the World Series, but only by asking. In the eighth inning
of the third game against the Phillies, Bobby Brown reached first on an error when he batted
for Hank Bauer. The score was tied at the time to all. Brown wasn't much of a runner,
and when Stengel was looking over the bench, Jackie jumped up, yelled, I'll run, and was
out there on first base before anybody could stop him. Jensen was that anxious to get into
the game. In 1951, Stengel sent Jensen to Kansas City. He begged Stengel to move him
to San Francisco under the tutelage of lefty O'Dull, but the Yankee manager refused. When
he was recalled in midseason, Jensen did all right. He banged out eight homers and finished
with a 298 average in 56 games. When Jackie Jensen reported his spring training in 1952,
he felt that he had no chance to make the club. Where could he fit in the lineup with
Mickey Mantle, Hank Bauer, and Gene Woodling in the outfield? He was ready to give up baseball
and try out for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League. Yet, when the
Yankees broke camp, Jackie Jensen, not Mickey Mantle, opened the season in center field
for New York. Jensen had a great spring, pounding the ball to all parts of the outfield, and
with Mantle not fully recovered from his leg injury sustained in the World Series the previous
October, Stengel was happily settling for the golden boy of California. But one month
later, Jackie Jensen was traded to Washington. When he arrived in Washington, manager Bucky
Harris immediately placed Jackie in right field and bodied him in the third spot. Harris's
psychology was quickly rewarded. Jensen put together a 21-game hitting streak that Zoom
deserved his average to 305 by early July and was named to the American League All-Star
team. In 1953, Washington, in need of a pitcher, sent Jackie Jensen to the Boston Red Sox.
It was the nicest thing that ever happened to Jensen and the Red Sox. Playing alongside
Ted Williams has inspired Jackie Jensen, and today he is considered one of the most dangerous
hitters in the American League. And if what he showed in 1958 is any indication, the golden
boy from the Golden Gate will be around for many years to come. Truly, an all-American
boy, no matter what field he plays on. Now, before you meet our special guest, Jackie
Jensen in person and hear about his greatest sports thrill, here is a message of interest
to all young men with an eye on the future.
High school graduates, have you ever met your local Air Force recruiter? If not, you'll
be favorably impressed when you do. First of all, your local recruiter has all the facts
and figures about the new age of space and the many interesting job openings in the Air
Force. Your recruiter will point out the fine technical training available in over 40 career
fields, and he'll give you the full story on the many space age advances being developed
by the Air Force. For example, the radical new jet bombers and fighters, the X-15 space
plane, the Titan Intercontinental Missile. The Air Force Space Age picture is an exciting
one, and it can also be especially rewarding for you. If after seeing your local recruiter,
you decide to join, you will serve with a fine group of men. So, see your local recruiter
today and find out about your place in the expanding space age of tomorrow in the U.S.
Air Force. And now, back to Harry Wismar.
Jackie Jensen, what was your greatest sports thrill?
Well, I have to tell you, I played on the same baseball team with Joe DiMaggio and the
same baseball team with Ted Williams. Those were childhood idols of mine, and to think
some day in my career that I was able to play with them in the same outfield has been one
of the biggest thrills in my life. Of course, I have one other thrill that occurred in 1958,
and that was receiving the Most Valuable Player Award, and it happened to be my chance, and
I was fortunate enough to get it.
Jackie, having come into the majors as a New York Yankee, do you think that being traded
away may have helped you develop sooner as a ball player?
Yes and no. I did get the opportunity to play regularly down in Washington. I enjoyed that,
and I'm sure with the experience that I received down there, it helped immensely with the past
seasons I've had with the Boston Red Sox. Possibly, no, only because I'd like to have
stayed with the Yankees because they are Mr. Baseball of Baseball, and the opportunities
to be in a World Series are pretty regular. I think that's another dream that any Major
League ball player has and has to play in a World Series.
Jackie, does that short left field wall in Fenway Park favor the right-handed hitters
as much as they say it does?
Well, I have to give you another yes and no on that, Harry. It proves quite a problem
to a right-handed hitter if the pitcher that is on the mound at the time is capable and
has good control and can more or less tease you with balls that are outside, and you still
try to hit that wall, try to pull the ball, and consequently a lot of times you just pop
up or ground the ball into the dirt. I'll have to say that it certainly has helped me.
Balls that I hit in left center and in dead center field are up against the wall and sometimes
over it. Generally speaking, if you have enough experience at playing Fenway Park, you certainly
can take advantage of it.
Jackie, having been a teammate of Ted Williams for so many years, give us a little insight
on this man.
I have a very prejudiced opinion, Harry, since I've seen very few of the real great hitters
that have been ball players in the past, like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth and Garrick and the
rest of them. I've only had the opportunity to see fellows like Johnny Meis and Joe DiMaggio
and Ted, and there's no doubt in my mind that Ted's the greatest hitter that I've ever
seen, and of course he has the records approved that he's probably one of the greatest hitters
that ever lived.
Do you recall the first pitcher you ever faced as a Major Leaguer?
When I went to pinch hit with a New York Yankees in 1950, I was as nervous as a cat in a room
full of dogs, and I'm sure that I couldn't remember anything at that time except other
than I'm trying to swing the bat and hit the ball. I don't remember the name of the pitcher,
no.
Having played for two other clubs, the Yankees and Washington, do you find yourself giving
out with just a little extra against former teammates?
No, I may give out a little bit more against the Yankees only because you have to do that
in order to beat them. They're a good ball club and they play sound baseball and you
try not to make any mistakes because the mistakes that you make are the ones that they take
advantage of. I just try to bear down at all times. One club is the same as the other,
this is a job to us and we try to do the best we can.
What manager, Jackie, coach or player, has been most helpful in your development as a
ball player?
Well, at the time that my development actually took root, so to speak, it was with my first
year with the Yankees and I was very fortunate in having one of the finest baseball managers
in baseball with the club then and still is Casey Stangle. He's a real good manager on
fundamentals and to me that is the biggest thing in baseball. Whenever a slump occurs
or you don't seem to be going right, you just try to revert back to the fundamentals that
have been taught to you and that's something that Casey tries and strives to teach his
young ball players his fundamentals and fundamentals and to me Casey taught me quite a bit and
naturally when I was traded to Washington I was able to use a little bit of these fundamentals
and consequently it has benefited me through the years. I think he's a real fine manager
with a real fine organization.
As a ball player, the fellow that helped me was an outfielder with the New York Yankees
at the time and fellow that I have a great amount of respect and because I was a rookie
and he was a veteran but took time enough to help me as much as he could and help me
in more ways than one and that was Gene Woodling, a real fine gentleman and a fine Major League
baseball player.
Thank you very much Jackie Johnson and the Boston Red Sox, one of baseball's outstanding
players.