today. Being a long time Cardinal fan, I had great respect for Whitey and his accomplishments. Before he was famous, I had the opportunity to meet Whitey and talk to him for a time (back in 1952) in the Quincy stadium clubhouse as we dressed for pre-game batting practice. Whitey was an outfielder for the Quincy Gems Yankees farm team at the time. I was near the end of my Sr year in HS and was there to to pitch batting practice for the Gems while being evaluated by Yankee scout, Lou Maguolo.
Whitey was a great, down to earth and very humble guy and he sat and talked with me for around 20 minutes telling me of all the ups and downs of pro baseball. Great guy and he was only around 20-21 at the time and I was almost 18. Whitey was one of the great ones and will be missed. RIP Whitey.