Neal Cobb was a star outfielder/first
baseman in the AFL. Cobb has the distinction of winning
the minor league batting title in 1954 while he played with Crestview.
I interviewed Neal in April of 2000 and in October of 2000.
SP: You started your
playing career in Geneva and played there two years.
NC: That’s right.
SP: You then moved
on to Dothan in 1950. What did you do next?
NC: I came home and
ran for chief of police here (in Crestview). Then Crestview got
a team in the league and they asked me to play here. I played
here for two seasons then I played at Fort Walton.
SP: You managed there
too.
NC: Yes, in 1957.
SP: The official records
say you played in Eufaula in 1952. Is that incorrect?
NC: Yes, that’s incorrect.
SP: In Crestview
in 1954, you lost the (county) sheriff’s race and decided to
play again. That year you won the batting title for the
entire minor leagues. What kind of recognition did you
receive for that?
NC: Well, they gave me a silver bat,
a silver Louisville Slugger. That’s something I treasure
real highly. Bobby Avila lead the American League, Willie
Mays lead the National League, and I lead all the minors.
You know, I’d work from 10 to 6, then go play ball at night,
then get up at 6:00 am the next days for work (as chief of police).
I had this fellow named A.C. Sanders, he was good to me. If I
had to make that long trip up to Donalsonville or Dothan or somewhere,
he’d let me sleep in a little. My eyes would sometimes get so
heavy, I’d take Beechnut chewing tobacco and put it up in my
eyes to get them cleared up a little bit. Once in Fort Walton,
they had this pitcher named Hank Hemmerly, he lead the lead in
strikeouts and I went to put some maroon eye water in my eyes
to kind of freshen them up, and somebody put Iodine in one of
the bottles! It felt like someone put a fire in there (my eye).
I still went up there and got 4 for 4 off Hemmerly anyway. You
know, Fred « Pap » Williams was the manager that year
and we had this young boy (Ron Lacey), a catcher, he just started
goin’ good. We were on our way to Dothan one night and Fred said,
« Neal, I’m gonna let Lacey hit cleanup tonight and you hit
third ». I told him, « That was alright, but I’ll tell
you what, Ol’ Lacey’s sitting up there in the front of the bus
now, but after Onion (Spencer Davis, Dothan’s star pitcher) gets
through with him, he’ll be riding in the back ». Onion got
up there that night and struck Lacey out four straight times.
Onion was later superitendent at Americus, Georgia so called
him up, without saying who it was and told him I wanted a job.
He said, « Who is this? » and I said, « This is the
best left-handed hitter you ever pitched to », and he said,
« Neal Cobb, where are you at? »!
SP: He was quite a
pitcher wasn’t he?
NC: Oh yeah, he was
23 and 4 that year! He was a left-handed pitcher and I was a
left-handed hitter. I still managed to hit 13 out of 17 times
off him. That’s the reason he called me a good hitter!
SP: Were you hot all
year?
NC: Yeah. I
had a 26 game hitting streak. I’d get one hit a game, sometimes
double up. I was a line drive hitter.
SP: You had 124 RBIs
that year.
NC: Yes I did.
SP: Did they have
a ceremony for you when you won the title?
NC: Oh yeah, they
had a day for me in Crestview. Before that, only two others had
ever had a day to honor them. One of them was a Civil War veteran.
SP: Did you have any
national press coverage?
NC: I had people from
all over calling me. A guy named Bowden from the Associated
Press in Pensacola, from the Pensacola Leader Journal,
I gave him the first story. He’s still down there.
SP: Any major league
scouts come to visit?
NC: Well I was a little
up in age then (28). When I came out of the service, I
was already 21 years old. They were looking for guys who were
18 or 19 years old. I guess I was lucky I even got a chance to
play when I did. You know, you get breaks sometimes. I remember
nobody would sign Don Sutton out of high school. Then, a fellow
named Billy Hamilton was bird-dogging for the Dodgers and he
went over there and signed him up.
SP: What were the
playing conditions like in most of these stadiums and towns?
NC: Well, it wasn’t
all that bad.
SP: Did teams travel
by bus?
NC: Yes, by bus.
Sometimes we’d travel by car.
SP: Just groups of
players going together?
NC: Yes.
SP: What positions
did you play?
NC: I played the outfield
and first base.
SP: And in ’57 you
were player-manager. What was managing like for you?
NC: Well, you had
to be kind of a disciplinarian and kind of a father figure. I
had this one kid, he got a $100,00 bonus to sign. I don’t know
how he got it but he must have known somebody. I had to tell
him I didn’t need him no more and that was kind of hard. We had
a limited roster, usually 16 guys. You could have 1 or 2 experienced
guys and then a bunch of young players. I had this guy, Virgil
Petty, who I used to play with, he wanted to come play with us.
Well, we were over near Jacksonville, Florida for spring training
and Virgil was taking some of these young kids into Jacksonville
at night and doing things they shouldn’t. I told him to stop
it and the next night he did it again. I met him at the ballpark
the next day and told him to get to the hotel and get his things
and get out of there. He cussed at me and when he did, I popped
him one and I broke my hand. That slowed me down that season.
Virgil was a pretty good kid but he developed some bad habits.
SP: Did you play any
leagues outside of the AFL/ASL?
NC: No, but I was
in the Cleveland organization and I went to spring training with
Spartanburg (Tri State League) in 1948. Kerby Farrell was
the manager. He was managing Cleveland the same time Herb
Score took that line drive off his eye (1954). That’s the organization
I was in, the Cleveland organization.
SP: Did you play with
any of the future major leaguers during your years in the AFL/ASL?
NC: Give me some names.
SP: Well, from your
era, how about Bob Purkey?
NC: Bob Purkey I remember
very well. Big tall right hander. I had a great thrill
against him. He played with Greenville, Alabama. I remember once
he had us beat 1-0 in the ninth and we had a guy on base and
I hit a home run off him and we won 2-1. He only had one
more start that season and he no-hit Dothan in that game. He
won 19 ballgames that year (1948). I remember another name: I
had a boy there that pitched for me that made it too. His
name was Lee Stange.
SP: I remember him
pitching with the Indians.
NC: And he was the
pitching coach for the Red Sox. Lee was a big help
coming back from spring training. I liked Lee because he
coached third base for me. He was a smart, intelligent
fellow. He was supposed to be the quarterback at Duke University
but he hurt his knee. Lee kept the ball down real low.
He got hurt during the season (1957) and the business manager
wanted me to release him. Well, I wouldn’t sign the release.
They brought him back to Fort Walton the next year and won 13
games for them. He wasn’t a very large fellow, but he kept the
ball downstairs and they pretty hard.
SP: You told me that
you and Pete Hamner have been life-long best friends.
NC: Oh yes, Pete and
I played against each other and with each other (at Cordele,
Georgia, during spring training) and we’d talk at the ball practices.
Pete lived here in Crestview and he pitched here for the semi-pro
club under Mr. Richbourg (ex-major-leaguer Lance Richbourg).
Both of us played on that club. I never will forget, Mr. Richbourg
was about 50 years old when we beat Andalusia 2-0. He was a great
athlete for a little man. Pete was pitching and Mr. Richbourg
hit two home runs. Mr. Richbourg gave me a great compliment:
He managed Tommy Henrich in the South Association (New Orleans)
and he told me I was the best looking prospect he’d ever seen
since Tommy. Mr. Richbourg ran for school superintendent in 1948
and got elected, and stayed until 1964. I got a job through him
in transportation and retired out of there.
SP: Were there any
players that you coached that you thought would make it that
didn’t?
NC: There was a kid
named Bill Felker that I though would probably make it. He made
it up to Nashville. I also had a kid named Berto Cueto.
SP: Berto Cuerto?
I think he actually made it to the Senators (actually, he
made it to the Twins)
NC: Berto did make
it. He pitched for me (in 1957). He was a big tall
right-hander. Kept the ball behind and pitched side-armed.
He was good because he’d work on those right-handed hitters.
He and Tano (Roberto Tano) were both Cubans. See,
Tano was an educated fellow, and Berto was a country boy.
He and Tano are arguing one time (in Spanish) and I asked Tano,
« What the hell are you talking about? » and Tano says:
« Berto, he crazy, crazy. Him Castro and me Batista ».
SP: How about
another pitcher you had, Billy Beane?
NC: Bill Beane was
a good pitcher. I don’t know why he couldn’t make it.
He had everything it took to be a great pitcher.
SP: It must have been
tough for some of the young kids to adjust to life in the league.
What were living arrangments like in a town like Crestview?
NC: You know they’d
give you a buck, buck and a half a day for food. The players
would just come to town and get them a room. Just
anywhere they could. Sometimes with local families, most
the time just themselves.
SP: What about the
stadiums? Were they as bad as one might be lead to believe?
NC: Well the stadium
there (in Crestview) was pretty good. In Fort
Walton, the water was there. Seemed like the wind was always
going out to right field, which was pretty good for a left-handed
hitter like myself.
SP: What was the pay
like?
NC: Oh, I’d say the
average was about $200 – $250 a month.
SP: That wasn’t all
that bad.
NC: No, especially
for those boys who came in from Cuba. That was big money.
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