Interview with Frank C. Baumholtz, December 10, 1992

Partial Transcript: Mr. Baumholtz, um, how did you get started in sports as a kid?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz discusses his interest in sports as a child and young person. He talks about his playing basketball through high school.

Keywords: Childhood; High school; Midvale (Ohio); New Philadelphia

Subjects: Basketball; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cleveland (Ohio); Sports

Partial Transcript: What, what, what did your father do?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz describes his father's livelihood. He states that his father didn't make enough money to financially support him when he went to college.

Keywords: Fathers; Jobs; Parents; Pipe Inspectors; Robinson Clay Products

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.

Partial Transcript: While I was in grade school I, I made, uh, we had a blacksmith's shop down the hill there for the, for the plant and everything...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about the sports he played as a child. He tells how he made his own basketball hoop and baseball field. He also talks about developing his basketball skills and his playing the game in high school.

Keywords: Blacksmith's shops; Blacksmiths; High school; High school basketball; Hoops; Sports

Subjects: Baseball; Basketball; Baumholtz, Frank C.

Partial Transcript: And after every shot the, uh, basket that was made, you went back to the center and had...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about changes in basketball that occurred from when he played in high school to when he played in college. He continues to discuss sports that he played in high school, as well as his recruitment by Ohio University.

Keywords: Baseball; College sports; High school sports; Midvale (Ohio); Midvale high school; Ohio University; Track and field

Subjects: Basketball

Partial Transcript: Did you follow either professional baseball or college basketball when you were a kid? Did you have anybody that you followed?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about some of the athletes he idolized as a young man.

Keywords: Athletes; Heroes; Idols; Jack Greeney; Stanford; Ticker tape

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Basketball; Cleveland (Ohio); Gehrig, Lou, 1903-1941.; Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.

Partial Transcript: You, uh, uh, probably don't want to go into, into great detail on your, on your Ohio University career, but you had a tremendous career as a basketball player.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his college career in basketball and baseball at Ohio University, and his playing in the National Invitation Tournament.

Keywords: Basketball; Butch Grover; NIT; National Invitation Tournament; Sports

Subjects: Baseball; Basketball; Baumholtz, Frank C.; College Basketball; Ohio University; Sports

Partial Transcript: When you were at Ohio U, and you had a, a, number of jobs, I mean. This didn't come easily to you. I mean, you waited on tables...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about the classes he took and the jobs that he worked while he was attending college at Ohio University.

Keywords: Classes; Grocery stores; Kroger; Odd jobs; Physical education; Waiting tables; Working

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.; Ohio University.

Partial Transcript: Tell me how you met Betty Bell?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz tells how he met his wife in college, and how they started dating.

Keywords: Betty Bell Baumholtz; Classes; Dating; Physiology; Physiology class; Wives

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.

Partial Transcript: You were a good baseball player, a very good baseball player, but you weren't the kind of baseball player that you were a basketball player.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about how he was signed with Cincinnati Reds and his early career with the team.

Keywords: Baseball contracts; Contracts; Jesse Owens; Riverside; Signings

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Chicago Cubs (Baseball Team); Cincinnati (Ohio); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team)

Partial Transcript: I had talked to a number of people and they said, uh, you know, you would be smart, Frank if you, uh, joined the navy or the army...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his service in the navy during World War II. He also discusses his playing basketball and baseball in the navy before he went overseas.

Keywords: Enlistment; Military service; Navy; Pearl Harbor; World War II

Subjects: Baseball; Basketball; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941; United States. Navy.; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Probably late September, uh, uh, they called me and said, uh, I had to fly to or get a train to New York. I forget...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his deployment and his military service in World War II.

Keywords: Baumholtz, Frank C.; Deployment; World War II

Subjects: New York (N.Y.); World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: You, you were also involved in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Saipan and...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz discusses his military service in the Pacific during World War II, including his involvement in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Keywords: Invasions; Iwo Jima; Okinawa

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Asia

Partial Transcript: Where I really sewed a guy up was in the Atlantic when I was a gunnery officer.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about the basic medical skills that he used throughout the war. He learned these skills through the classes he took in school.

Keywords: Classes; Gunnery officers; Medicine; World War II

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.; Medicine, Military; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: When, when you came back from the Pacific Theatre, were you changed in a way? I mean, were you a different person in a way?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about some of his close calls during the war, and how he dealt with the stress related to them once he returned to the United States.

Keywords: Dreams; Fear; Post-traumatic stress; Sleep; Stress; Wives; World War II end

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Tell me, uh, uh, you came back and, and, and you got out and you said that, was it two or three days after you'd been home that you got a call?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks briefly about receiving a call after returning to the United States. He also talks about several baseball players he knew.
[there is a break in the recording partway through]

Keywords: Bob Rush

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.

Partial Transcript: The last, basically the last question I have, and then you talked a little about this...

Segment Synopsis: In this section, Baumholtz discusses how baseball players and the game in general have changed since he himself was a player.

Keywords: 1940s; 1950's; Changes

Subjects: American League (Major League Baseball); Baseball; Baseball players; Major League Baseball (Organization)

Partial Transcript: Let me, let me, one of other thing I... Um, did, did you have an opportunities for endorsements?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz states that not many players had endorsements while he played. He also talks about working for various companies.

Keywords: Endorsements; Oscar Meyer

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Chicago (Ill.); Cincinnati (Ohio)

Partial Transcript: When you, when you came back in 19-- December, because you were discharged in December of '45.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his discharge from the military after World War II ended, and his return to baseball.

Keywords: Military discharge; Post-war era

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Cleveland (Ohio)

Partial Transcript: You, you, you had... the only problems that you had this season, um, uh, is, is you started your battles with the outfield walls...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his nearly losing a finger from an injury he had sustained in a baseball game.

Keywords: Fingers; Injuries; Outfield walls; Outfielders

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Wounds and injuries.

Partial Transcript: For you, 1947 was, was sort of a, a, a, a watershed period of time for you, wasn't it?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his career decisions in 1947, when he had some difficult decisions to make regarding both his baseball career and his personal life.

Keywords: Baseball careers; Careers; Decisions; Family; Wives

Subjects: Baseball; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cincinnati (Ohio); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team)

Partial Transcript: Tell me, tell me a little bit, um, well tell me what it was like playing... uh, tell me about your first Major League at bat.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz tells the story of his first at bat in Major League baseball.

Keywords: At bat; Baseball games; Games; Howie Pillet; MLB

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Major League Baseball (Organization)

Partial Transcript: What, what, tell me a little bit about the, the Reds organization, uh, um. The president was, was Warren Giles...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz discusses what the Cincinnati Reds organization was like while he was playing for it.

Keywords: Baseball teams; Presidents

Subjects: Baseball; Cincinnati (Ohio); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Giles, Warren C. (Warren Crandall), 1896-1979; Major League Baseball (Organization)

Partial Transcript: What was, um, what was Warren Giles like to, to deal with?

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz tells how Warren Giles convinced him to give up his basketball career to focus on his baseball career instead. He did this in part by paying him more.

Keywords: General mangers; Sports; Team presidents

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball managers; Baseball--Management; Basketball; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Giles, Warren C. (Warren Crandall), 1896-1979

Partial Transcript: Never lost a day. So, when, when, what, what, you talked about, you know, the five year plans...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz tells how he and his wife handled their finances, stating that his wife took care of most of the bookkeeping.

Keywords: Finances; Money; Wives

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.

Partial Transcript: Of course I guess in, in '46 is when they came in with the pension plan, which was just the beginning.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about the positive aspects of the Major League player pension plan, especially in his own experience.

Keywords: Pension plans; Player pension plan

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Major League Baseball (Organization); Pensions--Law and legislation; Pensions.

Partial Transcript: Let me, let me, uh, uh, if it, if it's all right with you I would like to, to talk about a couple of the guys that you played with and...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about players he knew as a fellow member of the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs.

Keywords: Baseball; Jackie Robinson

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Chicago Cubs (Baseball Team); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972

Partial Transcript: Well, you were, uh, again, you know, on the bench when, when Robinson, uh, uh, well, I guess you were in the field when Robinson was...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about Jackie Robinson, what it was like to play against him, and the struggles that he (Robinson) faced in baseball as the first African American player in the Major Leagues.

Keywords: Harassment; Heckling

Subjects: Baumholtz, Frank C.; Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Philadelphia Phillies (Baseball Team); Race discrimination; Racism; Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972

Partial Transcript: You, uh, you got traded, as you mentioned earlier, with Hank Sauer to Chicago.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz talks about his being traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Chicago Cubs.

Keywords: Baseball trades; Hank Sauer; Player trades; Trades

Subjects: Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Chicago Cubs (Baseball Team); Cincinnati Reds (Baseball Team); Major League Baseball (Organization)

Partial Transcript: And, uh, and he left me, he left me in Los Angeles, and it probably turned out the greatest thing that he ever did.

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz discusses his struggles in 1949, which resulted from his being traded to Chicago.

Keywords: Baseball trades; Chicago (Ill.); Los Angeles (Calif.); Player trades

Subjects: 1949; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Chicago Cubs (Baseball Team)

Partial Transcript: Let me, uh, let me just ask you a little about the, the, uh, uh, Pacific Coast League...

Segment Synopsis: Baumholtz discusses his time playing in the Pacific Coast League. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Los Angeles (Calif.); Pacific Coast League

Subjects: Baseball; Baseball players; Baumholtz, Frank C.; Minor league baseball.