BAD BEHVAVIOR ON THE ROAD: DISHONORABLE MENTION

1. Rube Marquard gets busted, October 9th, 1920, Cleveland

       Rube Marquard had a shot at being Brooklyn’s hero. But he became the goat without even stepping foot on the field. In the 1920 World Series Brooklyn won two of three at home from the Indians then traveled to Cleveland, Marquard’s hometown.

Marquard was Brooklyn’s likely Game 4 starter but he decided to make a few extra bucks by selling the tickets he’d been given. It turned out, however, that the rube Marquard tried scalping his tickets to was actually an undercover agent. Marquard was arrested on October 8th and on the morning of the 9th he found himself not at Dunn Field but in court for a hearing.

When he finally arrived Leon Cadore had been substituted as starter. Cadore gave up two runs in the first and Al Mamaux surrendered two more in the second so by the time Marquard pitched three shutout innings of relief it was too late. The Series was tied, the momentum had shifted and, given the lingering stain of the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, Brooklyn owner Charlie Ebbets decreed that Marquard would never pitch for Brooklyn again.

2.. The wild Mets land in jail, July 19th, 1986, Houston

       The best-behaved Met inadvertently caused the worst ruckus in the wild 1986 season. Tim Teufel wanted to celebrate the birth of his son and he wanted to fit in with his new teammates so after a 3-0 loss in Houston on July 19, Teufel, Bobby Ojeda, Rick Aguilera, Ron Darling and Darryl Strawberry headed to a bar called Cooter’s. (Doug Sisk, who had been harassed by police there once tried unsuccessfully to warn them off.)

       Strawberry left early but the others drank and flirted with women and drank more and pissed off the locals with their loud New York attitude then drank some more. When the joint closed at 2 a.m. the four refused to leave, with someone declaring, “We’re the fuckin’ New York Mets and we’ll leave when we want to.”

At 2:35, local cops moonlighting as security moved them along but when the cops started hassling them, Teufel, who rarely drank and was both in over his head and out of said noggin, took an ill-advised swing. The cops and doormen started roughing Teufel up so Darling jumped in and got jumped himself. Ojeda and Aguilera were arrested too, although they seemingly didn’t do anything. Teufel and Darling eventually paid $200 dollar fines while the others had their charges dismissed but the experience was an embarrassment. On the other hand, it made beating the Astros in the playoffs that year much more pleasurable.

3.  Len Koenecke is released then gets himself killed, September 17, 1935

       Len Koenecke’s drinking problem did more than ruin his baseball career it got him killed. When his average plunged and his power vanished in 1935 Brooklyn manager Casey Stengel released him. Koenecke was drinking heavily on a chartered flight home when he became despondent and aggressive, allegedly either making sexual advances on the pilot or attempting to skyjack the plane. Either way a scuffle ensued and the pilot hit Koenecke on the head with a fire extinguisher. By the time the plane made its emergency landing, the ex-Dodger was dead.

4. Van Lingle Mungo has to flee Cuba, March, 1941, Havana

       Van Lingle Mungo liked to drink. He also liked to carouse. He also liked to fight. In Cuba in spring training for 1941 this trifecta landed the Brooklyn Dodger fireballer in serious trouble. Caught in flagrante delecto with a Havana nightclub performer by said woman’s husband, Mungo punched the man out. When the cuckold attacked with a machete, Mungo fled. He was reportedly smuggled out of Cuba by a Dodger executive who arranged for a seaplane then wheeled Mungo to the wharf hidden in a laundry cart.

5. Charlie Ward shoots his mouth off, March, 2001, Milwaukee

       You’d think people dedicated to studying the teachings of Jesus would know better. But Knick guard Charlie Ward revealed either an anti-Semitic streak or poor reading comprehension skills (not to mention a lack of politesse) during a team bible study meeting in a Milwaukee hotel room. “Jews are stubborn,” Ward declared in the presence of New York Times Magazine writer Eric Konigsberg. “Why did they persecute Jesus unless he knew something they didn't want to accept…They had his blood on his hands.”

        Ward subsequently dished out a traditional defense—the comments were taken out of context—as well as a variation on a golden oldie that only served to underscore his insensitivity: “I have friends that are Jewish. Actually, my best friend is a Jewish guy and his name is Jesus Christ.”

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