Lee Plays for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Lee pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.
In the book "Ebbets Field: Essays and memories of Brooklyn's Historic Ballpark, 1913-1960," Lee describes pitching in Ebbets Field:
"In 1945, I pitched 15 games, starting 10 and relieving in five. My record was 3-2. First when you came to the park, it was a magnificent looking ballpark from the outside, where it was rather ornate. But when you got inside, it was different. It was much smaller. And the tunnels, as well as the areas where the concessions and washrooms were located, were very small.
The dimensions were small, and it stayed that way until they moved to Los Angeles. The right field fence was over 300 feet down the line when it was built. But when I played there, it was 295. So I have a little bit of a different memory of the park. It was small and as a youth, I had been to Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park which were more expansive.
The left field wall was longer than the right field. Left field where Hilda Chester spent some of her time – her commotion getting the crowd going. She was all over, but I think that was her spot to sit and cheer. There was an Abe Stark sign at the base of the wall in right field. And if you hit that sign, you got a free suit. There were a lot of different signs. Wrigley Field didn’t have any of those advertisements, and neither did Comiskey Park. I stayed at a hotel in Brooklyn with Clyde King, until my wife joined me.
My first start was on a Monday. I came to the ballpark for extra-men batting practice. I was in the outfield and Charlie Dressen, the pitching coach, said he wanted to talk to me. He asked if I had thrown at all. I said no – just the ball back into the infield. And he said Leo (Durocher) would like to talk to you. He asked me the same question. I said no. He said I was the starting pitcher. I had relieved in two games before that. The start was against Pittsburgh’s Preacher Roe. In the seventh, we scored three to take a 4-1 lead. In the eight, I walked two men on eight pitches. So I see Leo staring out from the dugout and motioning the bullpen to get up.
I did not want to come out, as I was used to pitching nine innings. So I kicked some dirt around the mount, and Mickey Owen came out and settled me down and said, “we’ll get the next guy,” who was a pinch hitter. Then Leo came out and asked if Mickey told me how to pitch to this guy. I said, “Yes.” He said, “I don’t know what I came out here for then” and went back to the dugout. We got the guy out and then got the side out in the ninth for the win.
My contract said I couldn’t pitch on Sunday because of my faith, and Leo wanted to get me some work, so he pitched me on Saturday before we went West. I gave up four runs in the first inning, and we got four runs in the second half. So he sent me back out, and I loaded the bases. I still hold the record for one of the longest home runs given up at Ebbets Field. Andy Pafko hit it off me. I got out of the second, but they still pinch hit for me.
There was another time—I was going to pitch on a Monday. We had a doubleheader on Saturday and used a lot of pitchers. I was 101 in the eighth, and Don Lund pitch hit for me. Then Clyde King pitched five shutout innings, and a Howard Schultz single in the 13th won it. Leo gave each of them $100 bill in the clubhouse. Ebbets Field was an unusual place to play, and I got to pitch in all the old ballparks. My career was short-lived as I suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Red Cross benefit game in Washington DC on July 17, 1945.”
The Society for American Baseball Research, based on interviews with Lee Pfund, described his Dodgers years:
"Pfund made the pitching-poor Dodgers’ squad in 1945. Branch Rickey intended for him to be a starter.9 In his first game as a Dodger, on April 21 against the New York Giants, Pfund relieved starter Ben Chapman in the seventh inning. He hit the first batter he faced, Steve Filipowicz, who then was erased in a double play. Pfund finished the game, giving up no hits and no runs in two innings pitched.10 On April 27 he pitched in relief against the Giants again, giving up a run and two hits in two innings.
On May 14 manager Leo Durocher gave Pfund his first start, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ebbets Field.11 The Pirates scored a run in the third to take the lead, but the Dodgers tied it in the fourth and took the lead for good with two runs in the seventh. With two out in the eighth inning, Pfund walked two Pirates on eight pitches. Manager Durocher visited the mound but then left Pfund in the game and he retired the next batter. Pfund completed the game and the Dodgers won 4-1, his first majorleague win.
In his next start, four days later against the Chicago Cubs, Pfund was knocked out in the second inning. He was saved from picking up the loss by Brooklyn coming back to win, 15-12. On May 26 Pfund pitched a complete-game victory over the Cardinals.
Shortly after, Pfund mentioned to Branch Rickey that he was having trouble making ends meet. A few days later his regular paycheck was accompanied by a $700 bonus check, enough to get him through to the end of the season.12
As the season went on, Pfund pitched either really well or really poorly. After giving up five runs to the Cubs in four innings on June 28 and four runs to the Pirates on the 30th, he was sent to the bullpen.
Because of travel restrictions the major leagues did not hold an All-Star Game in 1945. Instead, there were benefit games against, typically, a geographical matchup. The Cubs played the White Sox, the two Boston teams played each other, as did the two Philadelphia teams. The Dodgers played the Senators in Washington.13 Pfund was going to start that game, but before the game a downpour soaked the field. The game began anyway. In the second inning, Washington’s Jose Zardon topped a sinker and the swinging bunt died on the wet turf as it rolled towards third. Pfund ran over to the ball and bent to pick it up. He twisted his knee and it swelled up like a football. He might have been able to return later in the season, but Rickey ordered him sidelined for the rest of the season; he didn’t want Pfund to come back too soon and risk reinjuring the knee.14 Pfund finished his only major-league season with a 3-2 record and a 5.20 ERA.
Pfund began the 1946 season in Mobile. He pitched better than he had with the Dodgers in ’45, but poor hitting support cost him some victories. Late in the season a Dodger scout came to see Pfund pitch and told him that wanted to bring him up, but bring him up on a win. Pfund tried extra hard that night, ended up hurting his shoulder, and missed the next three weeks. He finished the year with 7 victories and 16 defeats, and after the season the Dodgers sold his contract to their Montreal farm team."