A Baseball Family Legacy Passes From Generation to Generation!

1946 Photo Gallery
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A Baseball Family Legacy Passes From Generation to Generation!

[Ed. Note: I’ve recently been advised by members of the Culberson family, including grandson Stephen Culberson and relative Philip Brown, that Charlie Culberson is not the grandson of Leon Culberson.  However, both have indicated that there is a family relationship, although they’ve just not sure exactly what it is. So please keep this updated information in mind as you read this article. -Gary]

Hey Baseball History fans – Here’s a surprise that’s right up our alley from the 2016 Playoffs!

While I was watching the Dodgers-Nationals game yesterday, a utility player named Charlie Culberson entered the game for the Dodgers. The baseball name “Culberson” immediately caught my attention, but I couldn’t quite place it. Then, to my surprise, the announcer said that “Charlie was the grandson of former ball player, Leon Culberson.” Now the light bulbs in my mind started to go off!

Does the story of Enos Slaughter’s “Mad Dash” around the bases ring any bells with you? It happened in the classic 1946 World Series between the Cardinals and Red Sox. It’s one of the most exciting plays in World Series history; and Charlie’s granddad, Leon Culberson, was directly involved, although not necessarily in a good way…

In the neat featured photo above, we see Leon Culberson making a staged leaping catch in from of the scoreboard at Fenway Park.

The scene was Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis, October 15, 1946. It was the top of the eighth inning of the decisive seventh game of the 1946 World Series with the Cardinals leading 3-1. With two on and two out, Dom DiMaggio hit a double driving in both runners, tying the score 3-3. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, DiMaggio pulled a hamstring legging the double into a triple and had to come out of the game. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin put Leon Culberson in to run for him, and left him in to play center.

Enos “Country” Slaughter led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. He was still on first after two outs. Harry Walker was next, and, on a 2-1 count, the Cardinals put on the hit-and-run. Slaughter was off with the pitch as Walker came through with a sharp single to left-center. Leon Culberson, subbing for the slick-fielding DiMaggio in center, played the ball rather routinely and let it fall in front of him. Fielding the ball, he never imagined that Slaughter would try to go any further than first to third, as he tossed lackadaisically to rely-man Johnny Pesky.  

The entire ball park was shocked to see Slaughter tearing around the bases on his “Mad Dash.” The Cardinal fans cheered wildly as he motored like a man possessed with his sights set like a laser beam on his target: home plate. He ran through the stop sign flashed by third base coach Mike Gonzalez, and slid home safely without a play, scoring the run that won the World Series for the Cardinals.

What exactly happened when Pesky spun around with Culberson’s throw is still unsettled. Some say that Pesky was so shocked to see Slaughter rounding the bases that he had a mental lapse and hesitated for just a split second. That momentary delay resulted in a rushed, off-target throw home.  Slaughter had scored the lead run all the way from first base on a single!

According the SABR biography of Leon Culberson: “It was said that ‘Pesky held the ball;’ but film of the play shows that Culberson fielded it with no sense of urgency. By the time Pesky got the ball, there was really no play to be had. St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg believed DiMaggio would have caught the ball in the first place.”

Leon Culberson played six years in the majors for the Red Sox (1943-’47) and Senators (1948). He hit .266 with 131 RBIs and 14 home runs. On July 3, 1943 Culberson hit a “natural cycle” which included an inside-the-park-homerun. It’s one of only 14 natural cycles in baseball history. His son, Charles, was the 16^th pick of the Giants in the 1984 draft and played five years in the Giants’ minor league system.

Leon’s grandson, Charlie Culberson, played in 146 games for the Giants and Rockies from 2012 through 2015. Last night, he made an appearance in the playoff game between the Dodgers and Nationals. Maybe before the 2016 playoffs are over, Charlie will have an opportunity to redeem his grandad Leon!

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Edited from the Leon Culberson SABR biography by Bill Nowlin, http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/3e424b4e, and my article on the 1946 World Series

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