June 2, 2005 at 3:38 p.m.
Yankee great shares stories with Wildcat baseball team
Yankee great shares stories with Wildcat baseball team
Blanchard came at the invitation of Olson’s maternal grandfather, David Brotzler. Blanchard and Brotzler met while they were in the service in Germany in 1954. “I didn’t know him before we met in the service,” said Brotzler. “But I knew of him. Blanchard was the Joe Mauer of his day.” Blanchard was a three-sport star for Minneapolis Central from 1947 through 1950, playing football, basketball and baseball. He was a first round draft pick for the Yankees in 1950 and one of major league baseball’s first “Bonus Babies.”
The first time Blanchard and Brotzler ran across each other was at a semifinal game for the European basketball championship. Blanchard was refereeing the game and Brotzler was playing. “Blanchard made a bad call,” said Brotzler, chuckling. “I was all over him on it. It caused the game to go into overtime. I still believe today that it was a bad call. But it was worth it, because I got a lifelong friend out of it.” Brotzler and Blanchard cemented their friendship when they came back on the same troop ship in 1954.
After his service time, Blanchard was called up by the Yankees for one game in 1955. He returned to the majors in 1959 and played for the Yankees through the early part of the 1965 season. Blanchard played in five World Series in a row (1960-1964) and has two World Series champion rings, from 1961 and 1962, to show for his time with the Yankees. He finished his career during the 1965 season with stints at Kansas City, where he played for colorful owner Charles O. Finley, and Milwaukee, where he was teammates with baseball’s all-time home run king, Hank Aaron.
Blanchard settled down after the service and raised his family, including three sons: John Jr., Paul and Timmy. Paul played baseball for the Minnesota Gophers in the early 80s.
Now let’s fast forward to the present.
David Olson had an exciting day when the Wildcats played the Vikings, even though he was disappointed that the Wildcats lost the game. Olson hit his first varsity home run during the game in front of his parents, grandparents and former New York Yankee catcher Johnny Blanchard.
David Olson’s father, Chuck, and Brotzler invited Blanchard into the dugout to talk with the Wildcat players after the game. “We weren’t sure what to expect,” said Chuck Olson. “Sometimes former players aren’t too excited about talking to a bunch of kids. But Blanchard was very congenial. He went over to the dugout and started talking to the team. He was in there over an hour, telling them stories of his days in the major leagues while slipping in a few tips about life.”
For example, Blanchard talked about his time with the Athletics and the aforementioned owner Charles O. Finley. Finley was famous for orange-colored baseballs, using a sprinter as a pinch runner and other attention-getting spectacles. One of Finley’s best-known “companions” was his mule, Charlie O. Well, not long after Blanchard had been traded to the Athletics, Finley decided to throw a birthday party for the Charlie O. Before a midseason game, he brought the mule out to the mound and “invited” all 25 Athletic players to come out to the mound to sing “Happy Birthday” to the mule while cake was passed around to all of the fans in attendance. But only 24 players actually went out to sing to Charlie O. Johnny Blanchard refused to go out to the mound. “I was a Yankee,” said Blanchard, “And Yankees don’t sing Happy Birthday to mules or donkeys!”
Later during that season, Blanchard was traded to the Milwaukee (now Atlanta) Braves. “I’m one of very few guys who can say they pinch hit for Hank Aaron,” said Blanchard. “Aaron was at bat, and on his second strike he fouled a ball off his foot and couldn’t continue. The manager told me to get out there and hit for Aaron. I’m proud to say that, despite going up to the plate with a two-strike count, I managed to draw a walk.”
Blanchard also talked about a recent experience he had with Yankee Hall-Of-Fame catcher Yogi Berra that shows that Yogi’s unique way of looking at the world is not just an act. He ran into Yogi at a function. “One of the things they talked about was Yogi’s AFLAC commercial, in which he co-starred with the AFLAC duck. “Hey, Johnny,” Yogi said. “You know something? That duck can’t really talk!”
Blanchard also counts among his friends former Yankee greats Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson and Mickey Mantle, who was one of his best friends.
Blanchard said something that was certainly thought provoking. He said that “everybody should be able to live their dream – whether it’s being a professional athlete or anything else -- if only for a month or two. If you get that opportunity, you’ll take with you memories for the rest of their life.” Blanchard also told the players to stay off drugs and try to live a clean life.
“When he was talking” said Brotzler, “you could see how well the kids responded. Johnny loves talking to players. He was able to relate to them by telling of his experiences. And he has such an excellent memory that 99 percent of what he told them was as it actually happened.”
When it was time to go, Blanchard autographed baseballs, with the inscription “Johnny Blanchard, 61-62 World Champs”, for each of the 10-12 coaches and players who stayed to hear him. He also autographed an 8 x 10 photograph from his playing days for Chuck Olson and for Pat Collins. “Even though it wasn’t Christmas or my birthday,” said Chuck Olson, “That was one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever received.”
Blanchard then talked with Brotzler about the Chisago Lakes baseball program. “Blanchard said he was impressed with what Pat Collins had done with the baseball program up here. He likes the organization, the atmosphere and the nice-looking varsity ballfield itself. He likes the way Pat coaches and the fact that he surrounds himself with good people.”
Blanchard and his wife Nancy, who live in Wayzata, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. His son Paul is currently the head baseball coach at Southwest State College in Marshall, Minnesota. Brotzler mentioned that Blanchard “still keeps connected with baseball and hopes to someday shoot his age on the golf course.”
“We were actually supposed to go to dinner with Johnny after the game,” said Chuck Olson. “But by the time Johnny got done talking with the players in the dugout, it had gotten too late. But I’ll trade that dinner for the time he spent with those kids. That was an experience that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.”
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