In 1969, MLB Needed Better Security, So the Commissioner Visited J. Edgar Hoover
ALSO: FOURTEEN CRAZY PREDICTIONS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON
Pregame Pepper: Speaking of Pitchers
Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez is only the fourth starting pitcher since 1913 to go 9-0 and post a sub-1.50 ERA in his first 10 starts . . .
Max Fried, the Atlanta lefty who looked lost in his first two starts, pitched a complete-game three-hitter at Wrigley Field Wednesday in beating the Cubs, 9-2 . . .
When Yankees newcomer Luis Gil fanned 14 hitters in a game last weekend, he broke the team rookie record of 13 held by Orlando (El Duque) Hernandez since 1998 . . .
Red Sox righty Garrett Whitlock is likely to undergo his second Tommy John surgery, knocking him out of action until late in the 2025 campaign . . .
Flame-throwing Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes in his second major-league start: set a club record by fanning the first seven batters he faced, became the second pitcher with six or more scoreless innings in a game within a calendar year of being drafted No. 1 overall (David Clyde, 1973), and became the first pitcher of the Modern Era (since 1900) to go 6+ innings with at least 10 strikeouts and no hits allowed in his first or second career appearance.
Leading Off
Baseball’s First G-Man, Part One
By Paul Jackson
On April 21, 1970, Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Major League Baseball, sent a bulletin to all 24 clubs:
“I am seriously concerned by fan disturbances on the field this season, including fans coming on the field and also pelting the players, umpires and the field in general with thrown objects. It is absolutely imperative that these disturbances be controlled. Crowd control procedures should be reviewed by every club immediately.”
Having set an impossible task, the commissioner did what any good administrator would, he delegated his authority. Kuhn announced the following:
“If my Security Department can be helpful to you in dealing with local law enforcement authorities, please contact Henry Fitzgibbon at this office.”
Henry A. Fitzgibbon, the man baseball assigned to curb fan rowdyism and stem the rising influence of illegal gambling, was born in Missouri Valley, Iowa in 1915. He attended Creighton University and graduated in 1940 and joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent that same year. Fitzgibbon subsequently worked in FBI field offices across the United States. He eventually became the administrative head of the Bureau’s New York office before “retiring” (from the government, at least) in 1966.
51 years old, Fitzgibbon next took a senior administrative role with the St. Louis Police Department, where he still worked in 1969, when the phone rang.
Baseball was calling.
Earlier that year, then-interim commissioner Kuhn visited FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in Washington D.C.
“I was eager to get his thoughts on sports gambling and his recommendations for security personnel,” Kuhn wrote in his autobiography, Hardball. Baseball’s security initiatives were the oldest in the country, formed in 1920 in the wake of the Black Sox scandal. But by 1969 the old system was creaking audibly. Rumors swirled that law enforcement might have caught Detroit’s Denny McLain, one of the game’s top pitchers, cozied up to illegal gambling, baseball’s third rail.
Hoover and Kuhn spoke for three hours, and their visit left the novice commissioner a little star-struck: “We talked about baseball, past and present–just two fans talking about a game we both obviously loved.”
“We also talked about cooperation between the bureau and baseball going back to the days of Judge Landis, with an emphasis on the threat that gambling posed to the game.” Yes, just as two fans would talk.
For his part, Hoover made plain his desire to keep a fatherly arm wrapped around the National Game, telling Kuhn that “he viewed the relationship between the two institutions as special.” Kuhn, flattered and looking to build up a Security department within his Commissioner’s Office, asked Hoover if he knew anyone in the Bureau’s orbit who might be a fit for such a role.
“Several weeks later, I received a letter from him with three names. One was that of Henry Fitzgibbon.”
Fitzgibbon reported to work on February 1, 1970. Just weeks later, the news of a bookmaking scandal involving Denny McLain finally broke.
And while Fitzgibbon had little involvement in the McLain case, which was in the hands of the authorities, a grand jury, and the commissioner, the Sporting News pointed out how the timing would help him: “[Fitzgibbon] won’t have to convince baseball men that strong security measures are essential. McLain has already made that plain.”
Adding to the wave of new activity surrounding illegal gambling, after the start of the 1970 season, crowd control problems flared up all over the country, a rising tide of unrest that seemed to strike cities and contests almost at random.
Work was already piling up, but Kuhn had promised Fitzgibbon’s hire was just the start, and a year later, he made another. Francis J. Gallant was 51 years old and drawn from the same FBI office as Fitzgibbon, the two men sharing a similar background and an inoffensive, almost-forgettable demeanor. Along with legacy employee Buck Greene, a former Treasury investigator, baseball’s first Security department lineup was set.
In between managing crowd control and conducting gambling investigations, there was plenty else for the three men to tackle:
Perform background investigations on potential new owners and other key personnel
Educate players on avoiding exposure to a myriad of illegal activities, including gambling and illegal drug use
As a service to players, perform background checks on any potential business partners to avoid “unsavory entanglements”
And (this was the most contentious bit) investigate and evaluate any and all reports of personnel misconduct that threatened “the integrity of the sport”
Next week, we’ll hear from Fitzgibbon himself and take a look at the wave of former FBI agents who managed security for professional sports leagues in the 1970s.
Paul Jackson writes about sports, history, and culture on Substack at Project 3.18. He has previously written for ESPN.com. Paul can be reached via email at pjacks2@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Baseball Season Hits Memorial Day Marker
By Dan Schlossberg
It’s official: we’re at the Memorial Day weekend milestone in Major League Baseball.
We’ve had two months of surprises and disappointments, with many more to come.
Here are some predictions:
With the National League East settling into a two-team race between the Phillies and Braves, the other three teams will be active traders at the deadline (that means you, Pete Alonso)
The Mets will promote talented minor-league infielder Luisangel Acuña, who will proceed to have a better year than brother Ronald Acuña Jr., the National League’s defending MVP
Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts will bid to succeed the elder Acuña as NL MVP and join Frank Robinson as the only men to win the award in both leagues
Spurred by the potent bat of newcomer Juan Soto, the veteran Yankees will knock out the youthful Orioles in an AL East title chase that goes down to the last weekend
With Ohtani out of the league and Mike Trout out for most of the season, Soto will win a tight American League MVP race in the American League to take his first trophy
The Kansas City Royals will continue their miraculous rags-to-riches performance and reach the 2024 playoffs as a wild-card winner
The disappointing Chicago White Sox will fire manager Pedro Grifol and trade Eloy Jimenez but keep Luis Robert
The new White Sox manager will not be new at all but former Cubs pilot Joe Maddon, who’s pushing 70
Last year’s NL Manager of the Year, Skip Schumaker of the Marlins, will be the first pilot fired in the Senior Circuit
The Fish will replace him by bringing back Cuban-born Fredi Gonzalez, current bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta DH Marcell Ozuna, completing the cycle from disaster to delight, will not only make the NL All-Star team but will finish in the Top 5 in the MVP voting
Max Fried, a Santa Monica native, will sign with the Dodgers after the season but be replaced in the Atlanta rotation by Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, a fellow free agent
MLB will come to its senses and end its awful experiment with “the Manfred Man,” the automatic runner that starts every extra inning on second base
The National League will win the All-Star Game and the World Series
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is on a booksigning tour for his newest book, Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. To book him, email ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: on Retired Numbers
The New York Mets, a team traditionally hesitant to retire uniform numbers, have already added Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 to its Wall of Fame at CitiField this season and plans to add Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 in a few weeks . . .
The late, great Montreal Expos retired numbers worn by Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Rusty Staub but abandoned them after they became the Washington Nationals in 2005 . . .
The retired No. 12 worn by Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar in Toronto was reactivated after the former All-Star second baseman allegedly violated MLB policy on sexual misconduct in 2014 and used again by Jordan Hicks on July 31, 2023 — 12 years to the day after it was first retired . . .
Frank Robinson, the only man to win MVP awards in both leagues, was also the only position player to have his uniform (No. 20) retired by three different teams: the Reds, Orioles, and Guardians (nee Indians) . . .
Pitcher Nolan Ryan also had his number retired by three different teams but not the same number, with No. 30 retired by the Angels and No. 34 retired by the Astros and Rangers . . .
Two pairs of Hall of Famers had their numbers retired simultaneously, with the Yankees taking No. 8 out of circulation to honor Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra in 1972 and the Chicago Cubs honoring Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux when they retired No. 31 in 2009 . . .
Casey Stengel (Yankees and Mets) and Sparky Anderson (Reds and Tigers) were the only managers whose numbers were retired more than once.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.