Manchester and Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball officially began in 1876, and through September 2010 an estimated 17,289 players had made it to the big leagues. Of that number, 175 players from Connecticut—or about one percent of the total—have played in the majors. Four of those 175 Nutmeggers have strong ties to Manchester. In chronological order of birth, they were Herman Bronkie, Moe Morhardt, Tom Kelley, and Jay Johnstone.

Born August 6, 1884 in South Manchester, Herman Bronkie made it to the “bigs” at the age of 26, debuting with the Cleveland Naps on September 20, 1910. Nicknamed “Dutch,” Charles Herman Bronkie played periodically in the majors until 1922. Interestingly, Bronkie played for Cleveland from 1910-1912; then he was out of baseball for a year and returned in 1914 with the Chicago Cubs. Bronkie took another hiatus from 1915-1917 and then returned with the Cardinals in 1918. In 1919 he played with the St. Louis Browns then took another break until 1922 when he finished his final year in the majors with the Browns. Bronkie was an infielder who logged games at all of the infield positions but mostly played third base. His fielding percentage over 7 years was a solid .934%. In 1919, Bronkie played in 34 games—a career high. Overall, Herman Bronkie appeared in 122 major league games in his career, got 87 hits in 380 at bats, hit one homerun, and batted .242. Judging from his stats, Dutch Bronkie appeared to be a reserve utility player. Bronkie lived to be 84, dying on May 27, 1968, in Somers.

Meredith (“Moe”) Goodwin Morhardt was born on January 16, 1937. A lefty, Moe was 6'1" and played first base. He attended Manchester High School and then the University of Connecticut, where he distinguished himself both in baseball and in soccer, attaining All-American status in both sports. Drafted by the Cubs, Moe got off to a slow start in the minors but in his third year there he hit .339 with 18 round-trippers and 90 RBI. The Cubs called him up to the majors, where he made his debut on September 7, 1961, at the age of 24. Moe was 5 for 18 in 1961, batting a solid .278. He appeared mainly as a pinch-hitter in 1962 going 2 for 16. He then spent two years in the minors and ultimately left baseball after the 1964 season after hitting .226 for the Fort Worth Cats. He went on to a distinguished career both as a coach and as the athletic director for the Gilbert School in Litchfield County, winning several league and state championships. Moe also had a stint as baseball coach at the University of Hartford and at Western Connecticut State University. He is a well-deserving member of the Manchester Athletic Hall of Fame.

Tom Kelley was born on January 5, 1944, in Manchester. Drafted by the Cleveland Indians, Tom made his major league debut as a pitcher with them on May 5, 1964. Kelley remained with Cleveland through the 1967 season. After the ’67 season, Tom Kelley surfaced again in the major leagues with the Atlanta Braves in 1971, where he had an impressive season, winning 9 of 14 starts, pitching 5 complete games and recording an era of 2.96. He stayed with the Braves through the 1973 season, finishing 7 years in the major leagues. Tom had a 20-22 career won-lost record, appearing in 104 games, pitching 408 innings, and striking out 234. His career ERA was 3.75.

Like Tom Kelley, Jay Johnstone was 20 when he made his major league debut in 1966. Born in Manchester on November 20, 1945, John William Johnstone, Jr., was mainly an outfielder/first baseman who spent an impressive 20 years in the majors with 8 different teams! Originally drafted by the Angels, Jay spent his first 5 years with them before playing for the White Sox, Athletics, Phillies, Yankees, Padres, Dodgers, and Cubs. Johnstone played in 1,748 big league games, had 4,703 at bats, amassed 1,254 hits—including 102 homers—and had a career average of .267. Jay batted over .300 three times. His best year was in 1975 with the Philadelphia Phillies when he hit .329. He followed that up with a .318 avg. in 1976 and then a .307 avg for the Dodgers in 1980.His post-season performance in the 1976 NLCS against the Cinncinnati Reds was impressive. Johnstone went 7 for 9 in a losing effort against “The Big Red Machine.” Another post-season highlight was his two run pinch-hit homer in game 4 of the 1981 World Series against the Yankees. The Dodgers rallied to win not only that game but also the entire series, making Johnson the only MLB player with ties to Manchester to be part of a world championship team. In fact, it was his second  world championship, having won with the Yankees in 1978 as well.

Johnstone’s final game was on October 6, 1985. He later became an announcer for both the Phillies and the Yankees. In addition, Johnstone, known to his teammates as “Jaybird” or “Moon Man,” was famous as a prankster. In fact, he wrote two books with sports columnist Rick Talley: Temporary Insanity and Some of My Best Friends are Crazy. Both books explore some of Jaybird’s zany adventures in the majors. Among his more notable escapades included locking legendary Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda in his office; another included emerging from the Dodgers’ dugout during a game, hopping the railing, and purchasing a hotdog from a roving vendor. Perhaps his most famous incident also involved Lasorda. Johnstone emerged from the dugout during a game and, imitating the gait of the portly Dodger manager, walked out to the mound to talk to the pitcher while carrying a can of Slimfast—a company for whom Lasorda did ads—as well as a copy of Lasorda’s book! (See link below.)

Of the four major leaguers with ties to the “Silk City,” clearly, Johnstone’s big league career was the most impressive in terms of longevity and statistics. The only Nutmegger whose stats surpass Johnstone’s in the major leagues is Killingworth’s Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell – whom I had the pleasure of coaching for two years – had a  .297 career average, 449 homers, and 1,529 RBI in 15 seasons with the Houston Astros, marking him a likely member of the Hall of Fame some day.

Notes, Sources, and Links:

1. Baseballalmanac.com is the statistical source.
2. Johnstone’s books with Rick Talley are easily obtained on the used market both in paperback and hardcover—usually in the $3-$10 range. Go to Bookfinder.com and search Jay Johnstone in the author’s blank.
3. eBay carries baseball cards for Kelley and Johnstone almost every week!
4. There are numerous youtube videos involving Jay Johnstone’s pranks. Go to this link to view a very funny prank involving Johnstone, a nurse, and a urine sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-sDlyJpA6s