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- ⚾ Woody English gets a free suit
⚾ Woody English gets a free suit
Abe Stark Sign at Ebbets Field made him famous
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June 6, 1937, Woody English of the Brooklyn Dodgers takes advantage one of baseball’s most difficult promotional opportunities. English wins a free suit of clothes when he hits the famous “Abe Stark” clothing advertisement sign, with a line drive off Johnny Vander Meer, the sign was located just below the scoreboard at Ebbets Field. The company had promised to give any player a free suit if his home run hit the sign on the fly.
Hit Sign, Win Suit: The Legend of Abe Stark’s Ebbets Field Ad
In the golden age of baseball, long before LED scoreboards and digital banners, one of the most famous advertisements in sports history hung beneath the scoreboard at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. It read:
“Hit Sign, Win Suit – Abe Stark, 1514 Pitkin Ave. Brooklyn’s Leading Clothier.”
Debuting in 1931, the sign was part of a clever promotion by local clothing store owner Abe Stark. The offer was simple: if a player hit the sign on the fly, he’d win a free suit from Stark’s shop. The sign became iconic—appearing in newsreels and on early TV broadcasts—and turned Stark into a household name far beyond Brooklyn.
But despite the tantalizing offer, few players ever collected on the deal. Thanks to the superb defense of Dodgers right fielders like Dixie Walker and Carl Furillo—nicknamed “The Reading Rifle”—hard-hit balls rarely reached the sign. In fact, it’s said that the legendary Mel Ott of the New York Giants was the only opposing player to hit the sign on the fly—and he did it twice.
There are tales that Stark rewarded Furillo for saving him so many suits, though Dodgers teammate Duke Snider joked Furillo only got a pair of slacks, not a full suit.
In truth, an earlier, much larger version of the sign covered a huge portion of the right field wall and reportedly got plenty of hits. A former store employee even recalled that on some nights, they altered more suits for ballplayers than for paying customers.
The sign’s fame propelled Stark into politics, eventually serving as New York City Council President and Brooklyn Borough President.
But for baseball fans, he’ll always be remembered for the most stylish piece of outfield advertising the game has ever seen.
Did you know?
June 6, 1921, New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth becomes the 20th-century home run leader. Ruth, who connects on his 120th career home run against Cleveland Indians pitcher Jim Bagby, will finish his career with 714 home runs - a major league record until it is surpassed by Hank Aaron.
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TRIVIA:
Who tied Monte Irvin and Reggie Jackson for the most runs scored in a single World Series?
Hint: #1 His baseball accomplishments have been honored by his being elected the Sporting News Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year.
Hint: #2 Forty-four percent of his 3,319 career hits were hit while playing designated hitter.
June 6 1921 -- Bill Gatewood of the Detroit Stars pitches the first no-hitter in the history of the Negro National League, defeating the Cuban Stars, 4 - 0.
June 6 1939 -- Bert and George Bebble and Carl Stotz form the Little League organization in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Stotz, a lumberyard clerk, solicited sponsorship for an amateur youth baseball league from local businesses, and in the first game (June 6, 1939) Lundy Lumber beat Lycoming Dairy 23–8. He modified the playing diamond by spacing the bases 60 feet apart, by placing the pitcher’s mound 40 feet from home plate, and by introducing lighter bats and balls. Along with George and Bert Bebble, he managed the first three Little League teams. The league originally included boys age 8 to 12.
June 6 1948, The first Negro League baseball games that were broadcast simultaneously on radio and TV was on June 6, 1948 in Cleveland, OH. Negro League history was made during a doubleheader between the Cleveland Buckeyes and the Memphis Red Sox.
June 6 , 1968 - - Houston selects catcher Martin Cott of Buffalo, NY in the first round of the June draft, passing on a catcher from Canton, OH named Thurman Munson whom the Yankees grab with the next pick. Cott never reaches the big leagues. It's not a good day on the field either as Cardinal ace Bob Gibson blanks Houston, 4-0.
June 6 1971 -- Willie Mays hits a 12th-inning home run off Joe Hoerner of the Philadelphia Phillies, his 22nd - and last - career extra-inning homer, a major-league mark. "If you live to be 199 years old you won't see anyone do so many things so well on a baseball field," declared Manager Charlie Fox in praise of Mays. "Willie came to me between games and said he wanted to play because we needed to win," added Fox. "Getting the split was such an all-out effort from everyone imaginable."
June 6, 1975, Nolan Ryan came up short in a bid to throw his second straight no-hitter. Ryan held the Brewers hitless for 5 2/3 innings before Hank Aaron singled. Ryan had threw his fourth career no-hitter five days earlier. Ryan gives up one other hit in overpowering the Milwaukee Brewers, 6 – 0. "If you going to give one up you might as well give it up to one of the greatest hitters of all time" in the Ryan rationalized to a mob of newsmen who jammed in front of his cubicle Then The Express turned humorist "Henry can look back on his career and say was the guy who broke up Nolan's fifth no hitter"
June 6, 1977 "The Bird" Mark Fidrych, of the Detroit Tigers, and Big Bird, of Sesame Street, were both featured on the cover. In 1976, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. Fidrych tore the cartilage in his knee during spring training in 1977. He picked up where he left off after his return from the injury, but about 6 weeks after his return, during a July 4th game against Baltimore, he felt his arm just, in his words, "go dead." It was a torn rotator cuff, but it would not be diagnosed until 1985. Fidrych managed to finish the season 6–4 with a 2.89 ERA and was again invited to the All-Star Game, but he declined the invitation due to injury.
June 6, 1992 - Eddie Murray sets a new RBI record for switch hitters, driving in the 1,510th run of his career with a first-inning sac fly in the Mets' 15-1 rout of Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium. The New York first baseman surpasses Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle's 18-year total to establish the new mark.
June 6, 1996, two rare baseball events take place in a game between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. Boston’s John Valentin hits for the cycle and the White Sox execute a triple play, marking the first time that both take place in the same game. The Red Sox win the contest, 7-4, at Fenway Park. The last time this occurred was In 1931, outfielder Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies hit for the cycle in a game in which Philadelphia turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs
Quote of the day:
“The field was even greener than my boy’s mind had pictured it. In later years, friends of ours visited Ireland and said the grass there was plenty green all right, but that not even the Emerald Isle itself was as green as the grass that grew in Ebbets Field.”– Dodger Duke Snider
Milestones
Birthdays:Highlights: Bill Dickey | Debuts:Notable: Maury Wills |
Final Games:Highlights: Del Unser | Passings:Notable: Eddie Stanky |
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