Spring Training with Shirley

Spring Training in Orlando, Florida with the Senators was something very special for our family. My Dad, Shirley Povich, was the sportswriter and sports editor of the Washington Post who covered the Senators in every detail.

Every spring, my family went to Orlando: my Mother, Ethyl Povich, my brother Maury and  sister Lynn. Orlando was a very special place because of the Senators, the Angelbilt Hotel where the players stayed, and the Bergers Tavern, where Dad hung out. Sometimes he would take Maury and me with him. There was no Disneyland!

Orlando was a wonderful city and close to Winter Park, a beautiful town surrounded by small lakes, golf courses and the Dubsdread Country Club where Dad would take Maury and me to play golf. There is a wonderful picture of Maury, Lynn and I on the course – Maury and I are playing golf and Lynn is watching.

Traveling to spring training was interesting, with Shirley driving, mom in the front seat and sitting next to her, on the typewriter,  was Lynn. I was in the back seat with Maury and sitting between us to keep us from fighting was our housekeeper Essie.

Traveling to Orlando was an issue only when it came time to spend the night on the road because Orlando was a 2-day trip. Dad would pull into a motel, and because Essie was black, she wasn’t permitted to stay. Dad would usually get a room for her without disclosure.

This was a terrible experience for us, but Maury, Lynn and I learned a lot from it. When we arrived in Orlando, Dad would rent a home either in Orlando or Winter Park. Again, Essie was an issue, but Dad always managed to have Essie stay with us. He did not tolerate discrimination.

Once we were in Orlando, it was heaven! All baseball. It is the best place for kids to learn about baseball. They can get close to the players, who talk to everyone, sign autographs and have their pictures taken.  The Senators tried to encourage a wonderful relationship between the players and their fans. For Maury and me, it was special. There was Tinker Field where the Senators played. We became batboys, only because of my father’s close relationship with Clark Griffith, the owner of the team. Mr. Griffith was against our being batboys. He told Dad we would learn too many bad habits from the players, such as smoking, chewing tobacco, drinking, cursing and using foul language. I remember the smoking and chewing and some cursing, but I don’t remember any drinking.

As batboys we learned that the players only drank Dr. Pepper—the soft drink of the south.  I did drink a lot of Dr. Pepper, as well as smoking Lucky Strikes under the grandstand.

Life in the clubhouse was wonderful.   All the players were very courteous, and I don’t think it was just because my father was Shirley Povich. They were genuinely nice, and Maury and I tried to do whatever they asked.  We didn’t have to worry about their equipment. Freddy Baxter, the equipment manager, provided each player with whatever they needed.

We had to make sure the bats are in order in the dugout for the players, and pick up the bats from the plate only after the play was completed. There was a very particular regiment that we had to follow so not to interfere with a play or create a distraction. We provided the umpire with his baseballs and learned when he needed them, how many, and we would bring them to him between plays. Our uniforms had to be neat, and we spoke only when spoken to.

Some of the players were friendlier than others, including Mickey Vernon, Sid Hudson and George Case. I had a special favorite, Eddie Yost, whom I met when he was a rookie.  Yost worked very hard to become a fine infielder. After everyone else left the field, he would stay to practice his hitting and running, and take fly balls.  If I had time, after all of my other duties, I would go out and watch him and try to learn how to field and throw the ball, hit and even slide into second base, which was a big deal. In those days, it was always a hook slide, nothing head first. One day when I was watching him practice his slide into second, he motioned for me to come join him, which I readily did, and he showed me how to slide. Not only did I learn to slide, but he showed me how to field and throw.

The lessons served me well in my four years at Landon starting freshman year. Since I was the youngest and smallest on the field as a freshman, Ed Barton, Landon’s baseball coach, put me in right field where I would do the least damage. But I ended up playing shortstop and third. To this day I remember having a good arm and being very headstrong.

Twenty-five years after my spring training experience I saw Yost as a third base coach  for the Mets. I was in the stands and stood up and yelled “Eddie.” He turned around and saw me, waved and said “Hi David.” That was special.

Maury and I have gone on to have successful careers. But the most successful spring training batboy for the Senators in Orlando was the person who succeeded us– Davey Johnson, now the manager of the Nationals.

Spring training was wonderful for the whole family, with our mother spending time with us at the motel where other sportswriters and their wives were during the day at the pool. The writers and their wives included Burt and Janice Hawkins, Bob Addie and his wife, the former tennis champion Paul Betz Addie and Mo Siegel  and Myra MacPherson. On occasion, Maury and I played golf with our father; since I was older than Maury, I had a better swing and of course, I would beat him.

Lynn occasionally would go to the ballpark for the games but usually she stayed with mother around the pool at the Motel with friends. She liked to be with Maury,   who always wanted to do everything I did.   We referred to Maury as “Me Too” Povich.

My memories of spring training with my family were heaven. It made me a baseball fan for life.

David Povich, 77, is an attorney for the Washington law firm, Williams & Connolly.