Roy Campanella’s Introduction to Buzzie
Anyway, Finch (an assistant to Branch Rickey with the Dodgers) was on the phone again to Rickey. Roy sat back hopefully, and when Finch smiled for the first time as he spoke again on the phone, the relieved ballplayer felt the gloom lift from his heart. “It’s all set,” Finch grinned. “I told you that Bavasi was a swell fellow. Real progressive guy. When I explained to him that you were one of the Negro players Mr. Rickey wanted, he almost got sore at me. ‘I don’t care if he’s green with orange spots or got two heads,’ he hollered at me. ‘If he can catch and hit, send him up.’”- Milton J. Shapiro, The Roy Campanella Story, 1958
Being away for the weekend, I didn't have a chance to write about the passing of yet another of the Brooklyn Dodger greats, this time one of their finest executives. If there are trades to be made in heaven, Buzzie is already working the phones to get DiMaggio and Spahn for next to nothing. From MLB.com's article:
"Bavasi spent 44 years in organized baseball including 34 in the Major Leagues. He got his start in 1939 as the traveling secretary and publicity director for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He served various roles in the Dodgers front office, before being promoted to the position of general manager before the 1951 season.
As the long-time general manager for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1951-68, his clubs won eight NL pennants and four World Championships in his 17 years at the helm. He built the Dodgers' only World Championship team in Brooklyn (1955), building clubs that included Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Newcombe, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella. He then led the Dodgers to three World Championships following their move to Los Angeles (1959, '63, '65).
Bavasi also played a key role in Jackie Robinson's integration into Major League Baseball, the first African-American player to appear in the Major Leagues. Bavasi spent four years in the military during World War II, serving in the infantry as a machine gunner from 1943-46."
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