Last night I was reading and came across the name Les Moss, the old catcher (Browns, Orioles, White Sox). Seeing his name I recalled an article that I had read in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the early 60’s about him repairing gloves. I searched the web and sure enough found the story. Thought some of you might enjoy the humor.
$50 FOR LIMBURGER
By Hal Lebovitz
From The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer 1963
Members of the Wahoo Club, who know Early Wynn as an angry,
frightening pitcher when he's on the mound, saw a lighter side of
him at a luncheon honoring the pitcher yesterday.
Wynn kept the audience laughing with this true incident:
"It happened a couple of years ago in Comiskey Park when Les
Moss was our bullpen catcher. Les has a hobby, working with
leather, and he often fixed the players' gloves. He was sitting next
to me in the clubhouse working on a catcher's mitt that belonged to
Clint Courtney. Clint used to be on our team but he had been
traded to Baltimore or Washington, I don't remember which. Moss
and Courtney were old friends so Les was doing him a favor.
"In came Ray Beres, our pitching coach, with a big box of cheeses
he got from a friend in Wisconsin. I like cheese so I rummaged
through and when I saw a package of limburger I got a flash.
" 'Let's take a slice of this limburger and sew it in the pocket of
Courtney's glove I suggested to Moss.
" 'Oh, I couldn't do that,' says Les. 'Clint is my old pal, my old
roomie. Give it to me.
"He sewed the slab of limburger into the pocket and left just
enough air vents so the odor could come out. Then he really got
into the spirit of it and smeared some of the cheese into the fingers of
the mitt.
"Then we went down through the tunnel to our dugout. When
Courtney came through Les gave him the glove and I said, 'You're
lucky to have such a buddy. He did a fine job Clint pounded the
pocket and said, 'Yeah, sure is like new, thanks, Les And Les pats
Clint on the back, meanwhile wiping the excess limburger off his
hand and onto Clint's uniform and says, 'Glad to do it for you, pal.
"Suddenly Clint says, 'You know, you guys got the stinkiest dug-
out in the league. I'm going over to ours
"The temperature is about 100 degrees and Clint is sweating and
wiping his forehead with his hand and he comes back to our dugout
to go through the tunnel and he says, 'You know, the whole doggone
ball game smells.'
"I don't crack a smile and I say, 'Maybe it's the stockyards.' He
goes into his clubhouse and changes his undershirt, but he puts on
the same outershirt that Moss had smeared the cheese on. Then he
goes back on the field for the game,
"When we come to bat in the bottom of the first inning, Courtney
crouches down to give his sign and John Stevens, the umpire, bends
right over him to see the pitch and suddenly Stevens jumps up be-
fore a pitch is thrown and yells, 'Time.
"He's gasping for breath and his eyes are watering and he can't
see. He wipes 'em off and looks in our dugout and he sees me
doubled over the bat rack doubled up laughing.
"He yells, 'Wynn, get outa here. Stay in the clubhouse. If your
manager needs you later, he can get you.
" 'But, John I said, 'what have I done? The game has hardly
Started.
"Stevens is still coughing and choking and he says, I’m not sure
what you've done, but we've got nine innings to go and I don't want
you to do any more.
"I got fined $50, but the joke was worth it. Just think of Stevens
bending over Courtney for nine innings.