Negro League and Brooklyn Bushwicks Autograph Album

[jerseygary]

Page 4

Signature of Mickey McBride

Played for Muskogee and Union City in the Cincinnati Reds system in 1937 and 1938 before tiring of the life of a minor leaguer. He returned home to the NYC area to play semi-pro ball. Despite being scouted by multiple scouts, McBride refused to leave home to play ball.

Page 5

Signature of Gene Walsh, aka Gene Hermanski

A neat find in this book was the signature of “Gene Walsh”, the alias used by Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs outfielder Gene Hermanski. Hermanski was stationed on Long Island with the Coast Guard and would play left field for the Bushwicks on weekends, in one afternoon making his entire monthly Coast Guard salary. Apparently the owner of the autograph book wasn’t fooled since she wrote his real name under his pencil signature along with his number “2”.

[jerseygary]

Page 6

Signatures of Hugh East, Danny Reagan, Sammy Gentile, Michael “Gunner” George and Joe King of the Camp Endicott Navy Sea Bees team. Most Army and Navy bases had competitive baseball teams stocked with former pro ballplayers. The Endicott team that visited Dexter Park in the summer of 1944 was no exception...

Hugh East pitched for the New York Giants in 1941-1943.

Danny Reagan played in the Yankees farm system before the war.

Sammy Gentile was a St. John’s grad and former Boston Braves outfielder.

Michael George, according to the accompanying article, was a catcher for the ST. Louis Browns. Unfortunately I can’t find and mention of him in the records...

Joe King as far I can find never played pro ball.

[jerseygary]

Page 7

Signature of Tony DePhillips

NYC native and Fordham grad Tony DePhillips played for the 1943 Cincinnati Reds in between being the Bushwicks starting catcher from 1942 to 1949. The owner of the book marks his uniform number as “18”.


Page 8

Signature of Emil Moscowitz and Al Cuccinello

Emil Moscowitz had a long pro career in the Yankees farm system starting in 1929. By the time he joined the Bushwicks in 1942 he was a well-known semi-pro pitcher-for-hire. He wore number “16”.

Al Cuccinello was a former New York Giants player. Wanting to stay close to his Queens home, Al quit pro ball to work for the Sanitation Department and play ball for them and other semi-pro teams throughout the city. By 1944 he was the Bushwicks utility player and wore number “20”.

[jerseygary]

Page 9

Signature of Gene Philipps

Ambidexterous submarine pitcher who had a long career in the Metropolitan semi-pro circuit lasting from 1935 to 1955.


Page 10

Ink signature of “Bots” Nekola

Another autograph by the Bushwicks’ ace. Attached is a newspaper clipping showing Nekola in a Bushwicks cap with the same “B” the owner sketched on page 1.

[jerseygary]

Page 11

Signature of Timmy Adams

The Bushwicks center fielder was one of the NYC area’s most in-demand guns-for-hire. The left-handed lead-off hitter has a 41 game hitting streak in the early 1940’s but chose to stay in the NYC area instead of playing pro ball. The owner of the album marks that he wore number “3” as a Bushwick.

[jerseygary]

Page 12

Signature of Emil Gall

Emil Gall played in the Yankees farm system from 1934. By the late 30’s he was the Bushwicks catcher and work number “17”. After the war he rejoined pro ball and played in the St. Louis Browns farm system then became a minor league manager.

[jerseygary]

Page 13

Signature of Marie Greene

Marie Greene was a big band singer and Broadway actress. She was in the musical “Carousel” and appeared on the sound track of several 1940’s Hollywood films. Greene must have been a fan at a Bushwicks game when the owner of this album spotted her.