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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

At age 20, Ed Stevens appears for the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing in 55 games at the end of the season. The first baseman hits .274, with 4 home runs, 3 triples, 14 doubles, in 201 at bats. In 1946 Ed is in 103 games for the Dodgers, cooling off to a .242 average with 10 home runs. I heard Ed speak once, and talked with him about baseball. He seemed to dearly love the game, and have great respect for it. But he held a bitterness... Branch Rickey talked with Ed at the end of the season in 1946, about Jackie Robinson. All of the Dodgers knew Jackie was at Montreal, and that he'd come up in 1947. Ed, a first baseman, wasn't concerned, because Jackie was a middle infielder. But Mr. Rickey, as we recall, wanted Jackie at first base that initial year, to avoid the collisions at second base, to be closer to the dugout. To Ed's surprise Mr. Rickey wanted Ed to go to Montreal for 1947, and promised to bring him back up and reinstall him at first in 1948 if he had a good year at Montreal. Ed didn't really like it, but went along with it, for Mr. Rickey. Ed wanted back in the majors, and hd that good year, hitting .290 in 133 games, 27 home runs, slugging .533, the big Texan pounded the ball. And Mr. Rickey brought him back at the end of '47, 5 games and 14 plate appearances. Then Ed was shipped off to Pittsburgh for 1948. Mr. Rickey had someone else in mind for first base, Gil Hodges.

From listening to Mr. Stevens that day it seemed that Ed felt that because of Mr. Rickey and Jackie Robinson, he'd lost a year of his major league career in 1947, then lost his spot on the Dodgers roster, a team he loved. I'd like to think that had he stayed at first base in 1947 with the Dodgers he might have stayed in the majors with the Dodgers for some of those 1950s World Series teams... instead of hanging on with the Pirates 1948-1950, then bouncing around in the minors until his last season in 1961 playing 17 games for the Mobile Bears in the Southern Association.

Ed had reverent respect for the game. And did not begrudge Jackie a chance. He just didn't like Mr. Rickey promising one thing then shipping him off to Pittsburgh.

Ed is a new inductee into that International Hall of Fame.