The Pecan Park Eagle

Luke Easter

Luke Easter was a 6’4″ powerful looking left-handed batter who threw right as a first baseman and right fielder for the Cleveland Indians for six years from 1949 to 1954. Because of his older age when Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947, Easter was 33 when he moved over from the Negro League circuit for a relatively short big league career.

Easter ended up with 93 career HR in the majors, but it was a slow start. Not until his second season and his 29th active playing game did he finally bang his first homer in the bigs. And it happened on a Tuesday in Yankee Stadium, May 6, 1950, in the first game of a doubleheader for the Indians against pitcher Allie Reynolds of the Yankees. Easter came up in the 3rd inning, with two runners on and two out, and broke a scoreless tie with his first blast, a HR into the right field bleachers and a 3-0 lead. It was a big blow in the case for Cleveland victory. The Tribe went on to win the game, 5-4.

After the long initial power outage, it didn’t take Luke Easter long to find he bead on his second power shot. His first inning home run off Yankee second-game starter Fred Sanford with one on gave the Indians a short-lived 2-0 lead that the would soon relinquish on their way to losing Game Two by 7-4,

Here’s how Easter’s  first home run was handled by one national report:

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HENRICH’S BAT GAINS YANKS SPLIT IN TWO TILTS WITH INDIANS

Luke Easter Homers Twice for Cleveland

New York, May 6.  (AP) – Big Luke Easter smashed two home runs – his first ones in major league competition – as the Cleveland Indians divided a doubleheader with the New York Yankees today. The Tribe took the opener, 5-4, but lost the nightcap, 7-4. Easter’s first blast, a terrific line drive off loser Allie Reynolds came in the third inning with two men on. with two men on . It gave Cleveland a 3 to 1 lead which it never lost. (Correction: The score was 3-0 on Easter’s HR. It only became 3-1 when the Yankees scored a single run in the bottom of the same third inning.) (Early) Wynn was credited with the victory.

Tommy Heinrich’s two doubles and two-run homer paced New York’s 11-hit attack off five Cleveland hurlers in the second game. Easter’s second homer had given the Indians a 2-0 edge in the first inning. But the Yanks came back with a pair in their half, one counting on Cliff Mapes’ homer. Fred Sanford, relieved by Joe Page in the seventh, chalked up his first victory. Sam Zoldak suffered his initial setback.

Joe DiMaggio went hitless in eight tries and now has only one safe blow to show for his last 14 efforts.

~ Associated Press, Portland (ME) Press Herald, May 7, 1950, Page 29.

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Baseball Almanac Box Scores: Cleveland Indians 5, New York Yankees 4
Game played on Saturday, May 6, 1950 at Yankee Stadium I
Cleveland Indians ab   r   h rbi Mitchell lf 5 0 0 0 Vernon 1b 4 1 0 0 Easter rf 3 2 2 3   Kennedy rf 0 0 0 0 Doby cf 3 0 1 1 Gordon 2b 4 0 0 0 Boudreau ss 4 0 0 0 Rosen 3b 3 1 1 0 Hegan c 4 1 3 0 Wynn p 2 0 1 0   Flores p 1 0 0 0   Lemon p 0 0 0 0 Totals 33 5 8 4	New York Yankees ab   r   h rbi Rizzuto ss 5 1 2 2 Brown 3b 5 0 2 1   Stirnweiss pr 0 0 0 0 Henrich 1b 3 0 1 1 DiMaggio cf 4 0 0 0 Berra c 4 0 0 0 Woodling lf 2 1 0 0 Mapes rf 3 1 1 0 Coleman 2b 2 1 2 0   Collins ph 1 0 0 0 Reynolds p 2 0 1 0   Mize ph 1 0 0 0   Pillette p 0 0 0 0   Delsing ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 33 4 9 4
Cleveland 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 – 5 8 1 New York 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 – 4 9 0   Cleveland Indians IP H R ER BB SO Wynn  W(1-1) 7.0 6 2 2 4 3   Flores 1.2 3 2 2 2 0   Lemon  SV(1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 9.0 9 4 4 6 3   New York Yankees IP H R ER BB SO Reynolds  L(1-1) 7.0 8 5 5 4 2   Pillette 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals 9.0 8 5 5 4 4 E–Gordon (3).  DP–Cleveland 3. Rosen-Gordon-Vernon, Hegan-Gordon, Gordon-Boudreau-Vernon.  2B–Cleveland Easter (2,off Reynolds); Rosen (1,off Reynolds), New York Reynolds (1,off Wynn); Coleman (5,off Wynn).  HR–Cleveland Easter (1,3rd inning off Reynolds 2 on 2 out).  SH–Wynn (1,off Reynolds).  Team LOB–6.  Team–8.  U–Johnny Stevens, Bill Summers, Bill Grieve.
Game played on Saturday, May 6, 1950 at Yankee Stadium I
Baseball Almanac Box Score |

Luke Easter is an easy guy to remember on a day like today. Including 21 days from the previous year, It took him 29 days to find his first egg, but he picked up the slack from there, finishing the 1950 season with  28 HR.

YOU CAN’T BAG THE REST – UNTIL YOU FIND THE FIRST ONE.