The Red Sox and the big games have been in almost everyone’s thoughts lately, and when I think of the Sox, being a little older, I recall my various meetings with Ted Williams, that great Red Sox hitter.
Ted certainly had a Maine connection, with his many visits to the state on a number of occasions, with his interest in fishing, and later his friendship with Bud Leavitt, sports editor of the Bangor Daily News.
I first encountered Ted when he, for some reason, was in Presque Isle in the late 1940s. Wow! That long ago? I must have been just a little kid. Anyway, Ted, as he was leaving Presque Isle as a passenger on the B&A had a bunch of his fans with him to see him off and I managed to get a couple of photographs.
On June 21-22, 1993, when Bud and Ted were doing a series of TV commercials for JJ Nissen Bakery Co., the director, Dan Osgood, called and requested that I photograph the TV production. Of course, after thinking about it for about a split second, I agreed. As it turned out, the cameraman was a former Presque Isle chap, Phil Cormier, son of Bob and Alice Cormier of Cedar Street. Bob later visited the set himself to observe the filming.
When I arrived at Scotty’s Flying Service on Shin Pond where the filming was taking place, Ted stepped right up with his hand thrust out and said, “Hello, I’m Ted Williams.” Of course he was. My hand disappeared in his huge paw and even I had to look up at him. I knew Bud as I had worked at the Aroostook Bureau of the Bangor Daily News here in Presque Isle. We covered some of the sports activities in “The County” for Bud.
Needless to say, I had a great time visiting with Phil and watching him work. I had to remind myself that I was being paid to be there. What a job! For the bread commercial, we used Scotty’s plane for a sequence and his back deck for various close-ups. Scotty enjoyed bringing his friends by to meet the “Splendid Splinter.” (I don’t know who tagged Ted with that nickname).
I worked with the film crew for two days. The crew would film a sequence and then restage the same sequence to allow me to make still photos. A few things sometimes didn’t actually go the way Dan wished, so he would take Ted and Bud off to one side and they would sit down together and Dan quietly explain what he was after. He had a great way of handling them. Both Bud and Ted were a little anxious to get the film finished as they both wanted to go fishing.
On the second day of the production, I took along our 10-year-old grandson, Brandon McCrossin. Brandon, liking any sport that had a ball involved, took along a baseball. The minute Ted saw the ball, he said, “I’ll sign that for you.”
Off camera, Ted and Bud did the usual bantering, just as they did on camera. Ted enjoyed picking on Bud and made a remark to Bud, saying, “You never give me anything.” What he really wanted was some of Bud’s fishing flies. So, between takes they spent time going through Bud’s tackle box.
Bud became acquainted with Ted when Bud was covering the Red Sox in 1939, the year Ted was named Rookie of the Year. Ted went on to have quite a baseball career, including 521 home runs, and being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. I guess baseball fans are aware of these honors, but did you also know that Ted was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the nation’s highest civilian honor (the equivalent of the military Medal of Honor). He received the Top Gunnery Honor medal, the Wingman Honor medal, and was named to the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.
Not bad for a guy that loved baseball.
(Editor’s note: Williams’ former team, the Boston Red Sox, swept to their second World Series title in four years Sunday, beating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in Game 4).
