When you think of Braves of the past, several names come

to mind, Hank Aaron, Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro. Now, for all of

you trivia buffs out there, who is the oldest living Brave? No one

knows the answer for sure but it might be Joe Mack. Mack, 86,

currently residing in Peachtree City, began his major league career with

the Cincinnati Reds and finished his career with a team called

the Braves.

Joe Mack was 23 years old when he started playing semipro

baseball for Peoria. He was a first baseman, known for only

using one hand when everyone else used two. He would scoop the ball

up with his glove and, disregarding one of the sacred fundamentals

of baseball, would not follow the ball into his glove with his free

hand. Much like the basket catches of fly balls by Willie Mays, as

long as the out was made no manager would complain.

At one point, while playing for the Yankee farm team, it

seemed that the Yanks were in need of a first baseman, but Mack was

injured and could not go up to the Yankees. Instead of Mack

playing first base in the house that Ruth built, the Yankees went with

a fellow by the name of Lou Gehrig. The rest is baseball history.

Mack drifted along from Peoria to Waterloo, Newark, Rochester

(under Pepper Martin) and Toronto before being signed, for $350

a month, by the Cincinnati Red Birds in 1943. Today there are

players who make $350 an inning.

Mack had a .333 batting average in 1943, the year his

daughter was born. He led the league that year, as he did in 1937 when

his son was born. His wife refused to have another child though, just

so he could lead the league again. His family traveled with him each

summer after the children finished the school year. Baseball was like

a community then, where the teams, their families, the media and

the fans all knew each other. Gamblers would approach his son

and ask him if his Dad was going to hit one that day. He would reply

"Yes" and they would stuff his pockets with cash.

One day, some people from Wheaties approached his son

and began to interview him. They asked if his father ate his

Wheaties before every game. Mack received huge boxes of the cereal from

the company as did many players back then. "Oh yes, every day" his

son replied. "And what about you, young fella, do you eat

your Wheaties ?" "Ugh no, I don't like them at all." The Wheaties

people were flustered, as this was going out over the air. "Well, if

you don't eat them, what does your father do with all the Wheaties

?' "Oh, he sends them to my Uncle, who sells them in his store."

The game of baseball has not changed but the environment

that surrounds it changes to this day. Back in Mack's day, the

fans would dress for a game like fans of the theater dress today. Men

would sport suits and ties, women would wear dresses and hats. The

ball was made differently back then. The gloves were tighter and

more compact. Mack's glove looks like a modern catcher's mitt, not

the loose behemoths of today's players. A ball that bounced over

the wall was considered a homerun, not the ground rule double that it

is ruled today. It makes you wonder where to put those asterisks in

the record books, doesn't it ?

Joe Mack signed with the Boston Braves in 1945. His

yearly salary was $4300. Like most players of that era, he would

have played the game for nothing. Can you honestly imagine Jackie Robinson or Pee Wee Reese threatening to leave their team and their fans because they did not "feel the financial love" ? Mack was 33 when he was a

Brave and being in Boston brought him closer to his favorite player, Ted Williams. In that golden era of baseball, each player had his hero and unlike today it wasn't himself.

Mack also got close to the king of baseball, the sultan of swat himself, Babe Ruth. How close ? In an exhibition game, with Mack playing first, Ruth hit a single. The Babe ran a

little slower than usual as he took first. He then uttered four words to the awestruck Mack, "My dogs are hurting." A pinch runner was brought in for the ailing Ruth.

The Braves then relocated to Milwaukee, as Boston wasn't big enough for both the Red Sox and the Braves. Mack played out the rest of the season and then returned to one of the

Yankees minor league teams.

Mack was not done playing ball though. In 1950, Mack was selected to be on the Capehart team. The Capehart team was a semi professional team made up of soon to be and former

baseball stars. They had started a mini-world series with Japan to heal the wounds that World War II had wrought on both nations. The US army still had troops stationed in Japan, so the

mini-series was a huge attraction. Japan bent over backwards to accommodate the American team. They met a young Emperor Akihito and were presented with gifts of jewelry and other tokens

for the players and their families. The Capehart team beat Japan and another amazing accomplishment was added to Mack's list.

After his baseball career, Mack opened a tavern between 42nd and 43rd street in Chicago. It was located near both Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park, so after games the tavern was

filled with players and their memorabilia. The tavern did not work out for Joe and he then worked for the Boilermakers until the age of 1972. He moved to Florida and was known to hang

around the spring training camps of many professional teams that reside there in the Winter. In the early '80s Mack was with an old timer team assembled that featured the likes of Pee Wee

Reese, Red Chambliss and, Mack's hero, Ted Williams.

Joe Mack will be 87 in January and the years have certainly had an effect on the first baseman. He now lives with his son in law and daughter, Bruce and Gerry Post, in Peachtree

City and is surrounded lovingly by tons of memorabilia that they have kept up wonderfully. The Baseball Hall of Fame recently made them both lifetime members after receiving some

pictures of old players and old World Series moments.

The Braves are currently in the National League Championship Series again. Their dominance in the '90s sweeps some of their history under the rug. Sure, Aaron surpassing

Ruth's homerun record will never be forgotten but there are certainly years, heck, even decades, that Braves fans would like to forget. Do not forget, though current win streaks seem to urge

you that way. America's history, and possibly our future, is linked to the innocence and glory that is Baseball's past.

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