Last year (where does the time go?) I posted a “Things we Keep” entry about a couple of White Sox yearbooks I bought at a used book store when I was a kid.
A few months ago, I received an email from Patrick Dessent of Illinois:
I have a question: my grandfather was a White Sox scout from 1950-1971. Would it be possible to tell if he is mentioned in any of those yearbooks? I’m just trying to collect any info I can find about his career to pass on to my sons, since they never knew him.
His name was E.S. ‘Doc’ Bennett.
I couldn’t lay my hands on the books until recently; that’s what I get for trying to clean up. But sure enough, there were a couple of pages in each with thumbnail photos of the scouting department, including Grandpa Doc.
Bennett had a brief career as a minor leaguer, although records are incomplete. And here’s an article from NeBaseballHistory.com.
According to a follow-up note from Dessent,
Growing up as a pitcher in southern Illinois, his batterymate was Ray Schalk. He also got Red Ruffing signed to the Red Sox, and Jim Bottomley to the Cardinals…more southern Illinois players. And he also scouted for the Red Sox from 1943-1950…
For the White Sox, he signed Don Buford, Tom McCraw, Johnny Callison, Earl Battey, and Terry Forster, among others…
Other than the nostalgia factor, the books didn’t have any special meaning for me as they would for Doc’s descendants, so I sent them along to Patrick, thankful that they have found a good home.
is available on Amazon.com,
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