Seventy years ago: When shortstop met shortstop

ALGOMA – In the years prior to the explosion of salaries paid to professional sports stars, unless you were Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, or Stan Musial, players would have to get off-season jobs in order to make ends meet.

A reminder of that era occurred on Nov. 7, 1956, when Milwaukee Braves’ shortstop Johnny Logan visited Algoma while on a goodwill tour of Wisconsin as a member of Miller Brewing’s public relations department. The Endicott, New York native was in his fourth year as a representative of the brewery, whose slogan at the time was the “Champagne of Bottle Beer.”

Lois Pflughoeft, a long-time feature writer for the Algoma Record-Herald, thought of a great photo opportunity. Lois took Logan to the Algoma Plywood and Veneer Company, as it was known at the time, to meet Eddie Qualman, shortstop for the local Algoma Penguins’ city baseball team.

The accompanying photo appeared on the front page of the Nov. 8, 1956 edition of the newspaper under the heading, “Shortstop Meets Shortstop.”

Logan was impressed by Algoma and its abundance of water and fishing opportunities. Johnny said that he hoped to visit the city again in the not too distant future.

While Logan’s 1956 Braves lost the pennant on the season’s final weekend, Qualman was a key member of one of the finest Algoma baseball teams in local history. Eddie’s 1956 Penguins won the Cherry League championship with an overall record of 17-1. The team’s only loss was a 3-1 decision to Marinette. Algoma would get revenge by routing the same Marinette team, 11-1, a week later. For the season, the Penguins outscored their opponents by a margin of 173-48.

During the upcoming 1957 season, Qualman would win the league’s batting title with a .461 mark (35 hits in 76 at bats). Eddie compiled a .622 on-base percentage and a .706 slugging mark for a 1.328 OPS (on-base + slugging). His 1957 Penguins compiled a 17-6 record and advanced to the league’s championship game where it dropped a 6-3 decision to Duck Creek. Meanwhile, Logan’s 1957 squad would go on to win both the National League pennant and defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series.

Qualman played for the city team for 14 years (1946-59). His son Terry was a member of the Penguins for an amazing 32 years (1966-97). Both father and son managed the team following their playing days.

Logan, who was a member of the minor league Milwaukee Brewers before advancing to the major leagues, had a 14-year playing career, 11 with the Boston and Milwaukee Braves and three with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a lifetime batting average of .268.

(The father of the writer of this story took him to his first baseball game on Memorial Day 1957 to see Algoma shutout Casco, 3-0. Qualman became the seven-year old author’s first boyhood hero.)