Moose Skowron may well have the most name recognition of any of the Southern Minny alumni. Interestingly, Moose actually only played part of the 1950 season with the Austin Packers playing his first game for Emil Scheid in June and ultimately appearing in 23 (of 35) regular season games. Moose’s future Yankee’s teammate Johnny (Doc) Blanchard played in far fewer games for the Faribault Lakers in the Southern Minny in 1951 before signing with the Yankees.
There are likely two reasons why Blanchard signed with the Faribault in 1951. The team was managed by Shanty Dolan and Blanchard shared the left side of the Carroll Merchants’ infield with Shanty’s son Bobby Dolan in the Iowa State League the previous summer. Second, Faribault was much closer to his home in Minneapolis than Carroll, Iowa.
Shanty was also likely looking for extra power in his Faribault lineup after outfielder John Ewaniak was hit by an errant fast ball from Austin’s Carl DeRose and lost for the season in the season’s first game. Interestingly, DeRose and Ewaniak also both played in the Iowa State League in 1950. Ewaniak was the leading batter in the Iowa State League in 1950 winning the ISL batting title with a lusty .413 average and tying for the League lead in home runs with 14. DeRose spent the summer with the Spencer Cardinals and won the final game of the championship series for Spencer after spending the early part of the season building up arm strength.
In actuality, Blanchard actually only played in a few games in the Southern Minny for the Lakers in 1951 hitting .333 in just 12 at bats with a single home run. The pro scouts were already on to him based on his performances for Minneapolis Central High School and with the Carroll Merchants in 1950. Ultimately the Yankees won him over.
Blanchard made his debut for the Carroll Merchants on June 29, 1950. Joe McDermott, New York Yankees scout, was in attendance at the game.[1] Blanchard played third base and had one infield hit.[2] The 17 year old from Minneapolis Central High School was just warming up.
Blanchard was 2 for 4 with a triple against Audubon in the next game. “Doc” Blanchard was hitting eighth in the Merchants line up. Bobby Dolan was 2 for 5 while hitting third in the Merchants lineup.[3]
Blanchard continued to move up the line-up card going 3 for 5 against Storm Lake with 2 runs batted in. Doc was now hitting seventh in the Merchants’ lineup.[4]
Blanchard had one of Carroll’s five total hits against former St. Louis professional Bob Eisiminger. He was four for six in an exhibition game against Coon Rapids.[5]
The Daily Times recognized his batting prowess on July 6 referring to him as the “Youthful John Blanchard, the Twin Cities third sacker with the dynamite in his bat.”[6] Blanchard, now hitting third, went two for four with four runs batted in on two home runs. [7]
Facing Carl DeRose and the Spencer Cardinals, Blanchard batted in three runs. Blanchard was hitting .462 at the time.[8] He followed up with a 3 for 5 night with two runs batted in against Bancroft.[9]
Of his start in the Iowa State League, the Carroll Daily Times noted on July 11 that “John Blanchard leads the Carroll batters, compiling a .444 average for eight contests … and that’s not bad for a 17-year old high school youth who will be a senior at Minneapolis Central high school next year.”[10] Even though the Merchants were in the midst of a losing streak, the Daily Times of July 13 noted Blanchard to be one of the bright spots as he had “not been checked in nine games for the Merchants.”[11]
Unfortunately the Daily Times article had the same effect as talking about a no-hitter as Blanchard had his first 0-fer that evening. He was robbed of a hit on a vicious drive to center and a hard hit ball to right tailed foul before he took first base on a walk.[12] His batting average would continue to level off at .329 throughout the month of July. Even so, he would trail only player-manager Tom Sheehan for the team lead.[13]
There were still bright spots with him going 3 for 5 against Schaller with a single, triple and a home run.[14] He collected four hits against Schaller with three of them being doubles. He also knocked in three of Carroll’s ten runs.[15]
In August, he moved further down in the line-up to hit behind Sheehan and also out to left field on occasion. He responded well in his first game in left hitting a home run (his fourth) and a double.[16] Back at third base but still hitting behind Sheehan he blasted a three run homer to right-center and a double to single-handedly outscore the Lakes team.[17] He was four for five including two doubles against Estherville on August 14. He knocked in four of the Merchants runs.[18]
He cleared the bases with a triple against Mason City and started a big inning against those Legionnaires with a double in the eighth.[19] He hit his sixth home run of the season against Storm Lake on August 23.[20] With the top spot in the League standings on the line, Blanchard “had a field night collecting four hits in four trips to the plate.”[21]
Winning the regular season title was certainly a team effort but the 17 year old Blanchard certainly had an impact. He hit .345 in 171 trips to the plate. His production included seven home runs and 46 runs batted in which tied him for second best on the team. He led the team in doubles with 14 and had more extra base hits than anyone else on the squad.[22]
The big three of Bill Evans, Dick Giedlin and Tom Sheehan were held in check in the first round of the League playoffs by Mason City. Blanchard, however, was one of Carroll’s top hitters in the series posting a .417 average on five hits in twelve trips. The Merchants finished off the Legionnaires for the right to face the Spencer Cardinals in the finals.[23]
Before even facing a pitch from the Cardinals, Lou Schweers was lost for playoffs after crushing two fingers on his pitching hand. The popular Dick Giedlin also left the team for a tryout with the Tigers before returning to Notre Dame for school. With all the changes to the roster, Blanchard was expected to play somewhere in the outfield.[24]
Spencer’s roster was also in triage mode with injuries to several key players. Spencer was fortified by Faribault’s Augie Schlaffer among others for the final month of the season and playoffs.
The walking wounded of Carroll did manage to take Game 4 of the series. Tom Sheehan sat out his second game of the series and shortstop Bobby Dolan left Game 2 in the fourth with a sore arm.[25] Spencer’s Carl DeRose finished off the depleted Carroll team with a 10-1 win with rumors of DeRose’s signing by Emil Scheid in full view in the Iowa newspapers.
For his efforts throughout the 1950 ISL season the young Johnny Blanchard was named a second team all-star in the League by Jim VanHeel of Mason City.[26] His batting average was good enough for seventh in the League. He was also on the leader board for triples with four, runs (41) and runs batted in (46). Given that level of success as a 17 year old, it is no wonder that he was pursued so heavily by major league scouts throughout his senior year at Minneapolis Central.
Even though Johnny (Doc) Blanchard ultimately left the Faribault Lakers after only 12 official at bats, he serves as a prime example of players spending a year or two in the Iowa State League and moving up to the Southern Minny. Joining Bobby Dolan at Faribault would be Ewaniak and Audubon hurler Bob Eisiminger. Carl DeRose would have a season for the record books with Austin in 1951 but I’ll leave that story for another day.
[1] Carroll (IA) Daily Times, June 30, 1950, 3.
[2] “Audubon Here Tonight as Rivalries Start to Materialize in Loop Play,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, June 30, 1950, 3.
[3] “Carroll Host to Storm Lake in Crucial Contest Sunday,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 1, 1950, 3.
[4] “Merchants Increase League Lead to Three Full Games,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 3, 1950, 3.
[5] “Merchants Meet Lakes Here After 5 to 0 Loss at Audubon,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 5, 1950, 3.
[6] “Blanchard’s Bat Proves Difference, Carroll Wins; Spencer Plays Here Tonight,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 6, 1950, 3.
[7] Ibid.
[8] “Merchants Bang Spencer, 11 to 1, Leave on Trip,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 7, 1950, 11.
[9] “Bancroft Comeback Sends Carroll to 9 to 8 Defeat,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 8, 1950, 3.
[10] “The Leaders,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 11, 1950, 3.
[11] “White Caps Hope to Snap Losing String Here Tonight,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 13, 1950, 3.
[12] “Carroll Collapse Complete as Storm Lake Rolls, 15-4,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 14, 1950, 3.
[13][13] Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 1, 1950, 3.
[14] “Early-Inning Splurge Lets Carroll Whip Schaller, 10-5,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 21, 1950, 3.
[15] “Carroll Beats Spencer Again, Meets Audubon Here Sunday,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, July 22, 1950, 3.
[16] “Evans Has Big Night as Carroll Beats Fonda, 8 to 3,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 3, 1950, 10.
[17] “Southpaw Has Given Only 11 Singles in Three Games,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 9, 1950, 3.
[18] “Merchants in 9-1 Win; to Hit Road,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 15, 1950, 3.
[19] “Carroll Trips Legionnaires,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 23, 1950, 3.
[20] “Cardinals to Send Ace, Don Opperman, to Mound,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 24, 1950, 3.
[21] “Carroll Meets Audubon Tonight; Needs Win,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 28, 1950, 3.
[22] “Legionnaires Here Tonight in Playoff Series Opener,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 30, 1950, 8; “Statistics,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, August 30, 1950, 8.
[23] Howard Brantz, “A Sporting Glance,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, September 2, 1950, 3.
[24] “Merchants Add Petrazelka, Dunagan to Baseball Roster,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, September 6, 1950, 3.
[25] “Merchants Get Off Floor After Near Knockout, 4-3,” Carroll (IA) Daily Times, September 7, 1950, 6.
[26] Carroll (IA) Daily Times, September 12, 1950, 3.
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