A Trade of the “Babes”: Babe Dahlgren for Babe Phelps! Sub title: “The Yankees Won the Game That Day, But Nobody Cheered…”

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A Trade of the “Babes”: Babe Dahlgren for Babe Phelps!

Sub title: The Yankees Won the Game That Day, But Nobody Cheered…

On this day in 1943, there was a very unusual trade in major league baseball. In what most certainly was a baseball first, there was a trade of “Babes”: The Phillies sent first baseman Babe Dahlgren to the Pirates for catcher Babe Phelps and cash.

Babe Dahlgren will forever be remembered as the player who replaced Lou Gehrig in the lineup on May 2, 1939 ending Lou’s 14-year Iron Man streak of 2130 games.

The other Babe in the trade, Babe Phelps, was a three-time All-Star who played 11 seasons in the majors (1931-1942) for the Senators, Cubs, Dodgers, and Pirates. Over his career, he hit .310, with 54 home runs, and 345 RBIs.

The well-traveled Babe Dahlgren played 12 seasons in the majors (1935-1946) for the Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, Cubs, Browns, Dodgers, Phillies, and Pirates. Over his career, the 1943 All-Star hit .261, with 89 home runs and 569 RBIs. He was a member of two World Series championship teams (1938 and ’39 Yankees). Dahlgren was known as a slick-fielding first baseman, considered by many to the best defensive first baseman of his era.

Here’s an excerpt from a piece I wrote a couple years ago about Babe Dahlgren and the game in which he replaced Lou Gehrig:

The Yankees won the game that day, but nobody cheered…

May 2, 1939 will always remain one of the saddest days in baseball history. That was the day in which Lou Gehrig took himself out of the Yankee lineup before a game at Detroit between the Tigers and the Yankees. In doing so, his 14-year, 2,130 consecutive games streak finally came to an end.

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Babe Dahlgren, the man who replaced the “iron Horse”, was stunned by the news, and needed some encouragement from Lou before he could take the field. On that day Dahlgren had a homer and double in the Yankees’ 22-2 rout of the Tigers, but no one really remembers the score of that game…

Why was the slick-fielding Dahlgren traded eight times?

Many wonder why the slick-fielding first baseman was traded so many times in his career. A section from his Wikipedia page offers a clue:

“Late in the 1940 season, Dahlgren mishandled a throw from Frank Crosetti in a critical game against the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees lost that game, and with it any realistic chance at a fifth straight pennant. Manager Joe McCarthy believed that Dahlgren’s error was what ultimately cost the Yankees the pennant.”

The story took an unusual turn in 1941. A rumor was circulated throughout baseball that Dahlgren smoked marijuana. Who or what was the source of such a vicious rumor? According to his grandson, Matt Dahlgren, in his book about his grandfather, “Rumor in Town” it was started by Yankee manager Joe McCarthy. The rumor tarnished Dahlgren’s reputation, severely damaging his career. He was traded to eight different teams between 1940 and 1946 even though his defensive skills were extraordinary.

After discovering the existence of the rumor in 1943, Babe Dahlgren became the first major league baseball player to take a drug test for a performance-enhancing drug. He did so voluntarily to discredit the rumors. The tests were all negative, refuting the charges of drug use. Dahlgren spent decades trying to uncover the source of the rumor and to clear his name, a crusade that was later picked up by his grandson, Matt Dahlgren, who pinned it squarely upon Joe McCarthy.

Grandson Matt Dahlgren’s version of the story

Here’s what Matt Dahlgren told me a few years ago about the “vicious rumor” circulating about his grandfather.

It’s a bit confusing, but it had to do with the feud between McCarthy and Lefty O’Doul in the 1930’s. Apparently McCarthy was jealous of O’Doul’s growing popularity with Yankee fans. Many people thought O’Doul should be the Yankee manager instead of McCarthy. Lefty O’Doul was even real tight with Joe DiMaggio. He was also thought to be the best hitting instructor in the country.

When Babe Dahlgren innocently sought out O’Doul for help with his swing at Joe DiMaggio’s 1939 wedding in San Francisco, the press picked up on it. Many New York sports writers favored the popular O’Doul over McCarthy. Headlines like this soon appeared in New York sports pages: “O’Doul helps Dahlgren.” When McCarthy heard about it, he was fuming. In baseball parlance, he blamed Dahlgren for “showing him up.”

“Why is he going to O’Doul for help instead of his manager?” Joe McCarthy was heard to ask. From that point on McCarthy held a grudge against Dahlgren. He was looking for a way to get rid of him even though he was the only bonafide first baseman on the Yankees’ roster. He was also coming off a solid regular season and an outstanding World Series. Dahlgren knew his days were numbered in New York from that point. The thought was that McCarthy started the marijuana rumor as a way to get rid of him.

Matt Dahlgren is a regular reader of our Old-Time Baseball Photos Facebook page. Perhaps he’ll check in and will be available to answer questions about his grandfather’s career. In the meantime, for those interested in the story, I highly recommend Matt’s book, “Rumor in Town.”

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

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