Wed, Nov 19 2008
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Published September 08, 2008 12:13 am - Don Gutteridge very, very good for baseball By Wendell Redden
sports@jjoplinglobe.com “Baseball has been very, very good to me,” Don Gutteridge wrote in one of his books on his career as a player, coach, manager and scout. But what the modest Pittsburg, Kan., native didn't say was that he was very, very good for the game. No one in baseball I've ever met had greater love for the game. Don enjoyed imparting his knowledge of the sport to anyone who asked, especially the youth in his hometown, or anywhere kids were playing our national pastime. Don, who passed away Sunday, celebrated his 96th birthday on June 19 and several friends helped him enjoy the moment at Otto's Cafe. Don had his usual breakfast of biscuits and gravy, topped off with a slice of chocolate birthday cake. As friends stopped by his table to offer congratulations, Don smiled and flipped out his Kansas driver's license. “I'm legal for another few years,” he quipped. Although advanced in years, Don Gutteridge was young at heart, and what a memory. He had almost instant recall of every key play during his career with the Cardinals, Browns, Red Sox and Pirates, and he enjoyed talking about his days as a coach and manager of the Chicago White Sox. Unless you've read Don's books, “Don Gutteridge in Words and Pictures,” and “From the Gas House Gang to the Go-Go Sox: My 50 years in Baseball,” you probably don't know that the former Pittsburg High School all-state basketball star was the fastest player in the National League during his days with the Redbirds. During Don's career, teams would stage contests such as running the bases, hitting for power, throwing from the outfield, etc., and Don won an 80-yard sprint over Ernie Koy of the Dodgers, Phil Cavaretta of the Cubs and Herschel Martin of the Phillies to earn the title of the league's fastest man. He also pocketed a check for $200, which in 1938 was more than he made in a month with the Cardinals. Playing in the World Series with the St. Louis Browns in 1944 and the Boston Red Sox in 1946 were treasured memories for Don, but one of his favorites was his second game as a regular with the Cardinals in 1936. Don had made his debut the day before in Pittsburgh and the baseball gods frowned on him big-time. He made two errors on one play and wondered if manager Frankie Frisch would start him the next day against the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Don started both games of the doubleheader, collected six hits (including his first home run) and stole home in each game. After his playing days were over, Don managed the Indianapolis Indians, Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Memphis Chicks before joining former Cardinal teammate Marty Marion as a coach with the Chicago White Sox in 1954. Don was named manager of the White Sox in 1969 and later scouted some 20 years with the Yankees and Dodgers. 
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