World Series Brings Back Memories of a Past Era in Baseball - Casey Stengel

Edna M. Lawson and her husband Casey Stengel
(Photo courtesy of Lisa Burks from Find A Grave)

My grandfather, William McDonald's first cousin Edna M. Lawson married the great baseball legend Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel in 1924.

November 2, 2016 ~ The World Series has just come to a very nail biting conclusion as the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in the 10th inning with a final score 8-7.  This was after the Cubs were up 5-1 and then all of a sudden in the 9th inning found themselves tied 6-6.   Fans have been praying for a win since the Cubs won their last World Series in 1908. Tonight was a great game of baseball with a well deserved win for the Chicago Cubs and many happy fans celebrating world-wide. 

I was following the game on social media and saw that some east coast fans tweeted that they could not go to bed until the game concluded and other fans started to post on Facebook that their anxiety was driving them to bite their nails!  As the the 9th inning concluded with a tied score there was  a rain delay that had me praying to all my Chicago relatives to turn things around.  While waiting for the game to resume, I thought of my mother who years ago showed me a photo (below) of her Uncle Jimmy McDonald with Casey Stengel.  At the time while his name seemed familiar I knew very little about Casey or his connection to our family.  I soon learned that Charles Dillon aka "Casey" Stengel had married my grandfather's cousin Edna Lawson.  So in honor of all the great players and managers of baseball, I dedicate this blog post to my home team the Chicago Cubs! 

  

Casey Stengel with Jimmy McDonald in Sarasota, Florida
(Photo: Private collection courtesy of Daniel Gallagher)

The above photo was taken at Payne Field in Sarasota, Florida during the spring training season on March 11, 1957.  The man on the right with Casey Stengel is my grandfather's brother Jimmy McDonald from Menominee, Michigan. 

Stengel circa 1949 
(Photo as seen on Wikipedia) 

"The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds." 

Casey Stengel (1890-1975)