Ernie Koy, 97, 1930s Dodgers Speedster

Ernie Koy, who died Monday at 97, was a fleet-footed centerfielder who played for two seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1938-39.A former college football standout for the University of Texas Longhorns and a baseball All-American, Koy became one of the select few to have hit a home run in his first major-league at bat.In a game on April 19, 1938, he lined a hot smash against lefthander Wayne LeMaster of the Phillies that ended up in a swimming pool behind Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.“The folks in the pool may have thought it was a bomb when the ball landed in the water,” Koy told the Dallas Morning News in 1986, when he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. “When I rounded second base, I saw them jumping out.”Later in his rookie season, Koy had another chance to make history when he played in the first night game in the history of Ebbets Field, which just happened to be the same night that Johnny Vander Meer threw his second straight nohitter, still a major league record.It was a gala night at Ebbets, with Babe Ruth on hand to witness what was said to be the largest array of baseball lights in the league. Track star Jesse Owens ran a demonstration race, and Koy, said to be the fastest man in the major leagues, was chosen to run against him. Given an eight-yard head start, Koy actually beat Owens in a 100-yard dash.Vander Meer, pitching in his rookie season, cruised through the first eight innings of the game, but after getting one out in the ninth, proceeded to walk the bases loaded. Then it was Koy’s turn to bat. He grounded sharply to Cincinnati third baseman Lew Riggs, who was so careful tossing a strike to catcher Ernie Lombardi that he missed any chance for a game-ending double play. Then Leo Durocher ended things by popping to center field. The taciturn Vander Meer announced he was going fishing.Koy hit .299 with 76 runs batted in and was second in the league in stolen bases that first year with Brooklyn, his most productive year overall. He was Brooklyn’s starting centerfielder in 1939 and in 1940, until the Dodgers traded him midseason to St. Louis in a multiplayer deal that brought the slugger Ducky Medwick to Brooklyn. Koy was a journeyman from there, playing in Cincinnati and Philadelphia and then spending a few more seasons in the minors before finally hanging up his cleats in 1946.“Of all my travels as a ballplayer, I enjoyed Brooklyn most of all,” Koy said in the Dallas Morning News interview. “Those fans were a different breed of cats.”He moved back to his hometown of Bellville, Tex., where he opened a five and dime and later ran a small herd of cattle. Two of his sons became NFL players. Ernie Jr. was a part of the New York Giants “Baby Bulls” backfield of the late 1960s. His daughter, Margaret Kistler, was one of the first women sportswriters in Texas.Koy continued to work around his ranch until he broke his hip while feeding the cows about a month ago. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, three children, and seven grandchildren.

Ernie Koy, 97, 1930s Dodgers Speedster

Ernie Koy, 97, 1930s Dodgers Speedster

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