charles lawrence 'larry' woodall

Larry Woodall was my father's stepfather, and he was a bullpen manager and scout for the team. It's been a long time since I've seen the movie, and I hve no idea what his reaction to it was. Larry was Cobb's second string catcher and was one of the professional players who appeared in Joe E. Brown's baseball comedies.

In 1949 the Sox sent Larry down to Birmingham to scout Willie Mays. It depends on who's telling the story, and I've four different versions of it, but Larry went back to Boston and told the front office Mays was no Red Sox material. Of course, the owner was a racist who did not want blacks on his team according to a book a few years ago. I don't know if Larry who was from NC ever regretted that mistake.

I used to have a souvenir bat from the team autographed by Ted Williams and other members of the team. I also have a picture of me sitting in my great grandmother's front yard in Mt. Rainier MD. I'm wearing a cowboy suit and sitting on a tricycle Larry had bought for me with his share of the World Series memories.

When he died in 62, President Kennedy wrote my grandmother a letter which I have never seen