One MLB at-bat, and two remarkable careers

Area broadcaster Kerns reflects on his father's time in pro baseball, and his own 40 years doing radio Jon Kerns still is surprised by the contract his father signed.In 1940, Kerns' father, Russell (known to most as "Russ"), signed a deal to play baseball for the semipro Tiffin Mud Hens. The Mud Hens were a class D affiliate of the Detroit Tigers at the time. They were a team from 1936-41, and Russ played for them from 1939-40.Recently, Jon Kerns, a longtime area radio broadcaster who is now the operations manager at WTTF, began organizing his father's effects. That's when he came across the contract his dad signed with the Tiffin team in 1940."$65 a month," Jon said. "It has all this verbiage in it, all this legal (language), and I'm going 'Oh, my god, you'd think it'd be simpler, playing for a semipro, class D team in 1940.'"Russ Kerns' story may not be simple, but it is something else. He played 14 years of semipro and professional baseball, always as a catcher.The highlight of Russ' career came in 1945, when he acted as the bullpen catcher for the Detroit Tigers. He got one at-bat that season, a year in which the Tigers won the World Series.But before all of that, Russ grew up on a farm outside of Fremont, and then on another farm in Helena. He graduated from Gibsonburg High. And though he always worked hard and got what he needed done, he made sure he had time for baseball."His mom and dad kind of expected him to be a farmer," Jon said. "And it's not that he didn't like farming, but he always, he always loved sports, was very competitive."So when Russ started to pursue baseball as a career, his parents weren't completely on board."My grandparents were farmers, and they thought — I know this for a fact — they thought he was foolish for wasting his time playing ball," Jon said. "'You should be at home, working on the farm. What are you doing, messing around playing baseball?' They just thought it was silly."But Russ' abilities were anything but silly. He hit .280 in 1940 with Tiffin. The next year, he was playing for the Moline Plow Boys of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.Russ didn't stay with the Plow Boys long. Before 1941 was out, he moved to the Class D Lima Pandas — who, like the Tiffin Mud Hens, were members of the Ohio State League. Russ hit .310 with four homers, and by 1942 was with the Superior Blues, a C team in the Chicago White Sox organization. By 1944, Russ was with the Nashville Volunteers, a Chicago Cubs affiliate.Then came his break.In 1945, Russ played for the Syracuse Chiefs, a double A affiliate of the Reds. After playing 59 games in Syracuse, Russ got the call to the big-league Tigers."He'd been brought into the Tigers, knowing that he wasn't gonna play a whole lot," Jon said.Russ didn't get much playing time. But he did get some memories. And he got to know a future Hall of Famer."He was a rookie, and they had lots of big stars, Hank Greenberg being the biggest name," Jon said. "He was the biggest star. But he always said that he watched out for them, because sometimes they gave the rookies a hard time, and he said that Hank was a really nice guy. "They would kind of help each other out," Jon said. "Because Hank was very popular, and they would go on trips... my dad would kind of look out to make sure, sneak him around so he didn't get flooded by fans. They'd be sneaking some food in their room, or things like that."Russ got his chance to play Aug. 19, 1945, in Detroit against the Washington Senators.According to Baseball Reference, the Tigers trailed 11-4 in the bottom of the ninth. The Senators had Roger Wolff, a right-hander, on the mound.Wolff played seven years in the majors, and won 52 games. He was in the middle of his best season, a year in which he would go on to win 20, and post a 2.12 ERA.He was three outs away from his 14th victory of the year. The Tigers' Paul Richards opened the ninth with a double to left-center.That brought Russ up, pinch hitting for Tigers reliever Walter Wilson.Jon said his father remembered the at-bat years later."He told me later, 'I almost batted .1000 in my career,'" Jon recalled. "He hit a ground ball, I don't know if he said it was right at second base, I'm thinking the guy (Senators 2B George Myatt) made a pretty good play and threw him out."Russ did advance the runner to third and he eventually scored. But the Tigers lost, 11-5."He goes, 'at least I didn't strike out. I hit a pretty good ball, and I thought I was gonna get a hit.'," his son said. The loss didn't hurt the Tigers. They finished 88-65 to win the American League pennant by a game and a half over Washington (back then, there were no playoffs). Then Detroit went on to beat the Chicago Cubs in seven games in the World Series."I think they had to reduce their roster for the World Series," Jon said. "I think (Russ) went to the home games, and he got to go into, like, the clubhouse, but I don't think he dressed." And yet, even though his World Series experience was limited, Russ was remembered by his teammates."When the Series was over, he... they voted, and he got a half a share of the bonus money, and he was voted a ring by the players," Jon said.Jon isn't sure how much a half-a-share was back in 1945. But he did know what his father did with the money. He said "a big chunk" of the house his father built in Fremont — the one Jon lives in now — came from that payout."I know the house was started because of his bonus money," Jon said.Russ went to spring training with the Tigers the next season, but ended up spending the rest of his playing career in the minors. That included stops in Omaha, Columbus and Toledo. By the end of his career, Russ also was coaching. In 1948 with the Hornell Maple Leafs — at the age of 27 — Russ was managing.He wrapped up his career in 1953 for Toledo. By then, the team — inexplicably -- was known as the Glass Sox.Jon said his father was essentially retired after the '52 season. But in '53, he got a call."In the middle of the season, I don't know if the catcher got hurt or whatever, but he was down in Fremont, and they called and said, 'Hey, can you come back? We need a catcher.'"Jon said Russ was hesitant, but decided to return for one last run. He played 23 games, helping the Glass Sox to the AAA American Association pennant."And then, after they won the pennant, he retired for good," Jon said.Russ got married in 1946 to Helen, and had four children, Jon being the youngest. Russ went on to operate H&R Farm Service for many years, before moving to California and retiring there. Russ made the move west in 1982. Two years earlier, his youngest son was starting his own sports career.Jon said his interest in radio started early. His family had an AM radio, but he said the Fremont Ross games were on an FM station. So Jon went across the street to a place that had FM radio — his grandparents' house."So, I would go over there, and they knew I'd come," Jon said. "I'd just walk in, and in the kitchen, I would sit there and keep score of all the football and basketball games for Fremont Ross. And so, that's how I really got interested in sports broadcasting."In 1980, Jon graduated from Ohio State, and got a job at a radio station in Gallipolis, Ohio, in the southeast area of the state.Two years later, when his parents moved to California, Jon returned to Fremont, and got a job with WFRO. Jon called games, eventually becoming the sports director in the early 2000s.And while Russ had a front-row seat to watch Hank Greenberg, about 50 years later, his son got to be up close to watch another future Hall of Famer.This one created magic on the gridiron. His name was Charles Woodson, and he went from Ross High School to winning the Heisman Trophy at Michigan to starring for a number of NFL teams."I did a lot of his play-by-play. Not every game, but most of his games," Jon said. "That was kind of a thrill, because he was a man among boys, there's no doubt about it. It was kind of neat to cover his games."Jon said Russ got some chances to be around his son in the booth."When he did come back for holidays, things like that, he would almost always go to the game with me and sit in the press box, or hang around," Jon said. "He just thought it was neat."Russ died in 2000. His son still does Heidelberg games for WTTF, and has reached 40 years as a broadcaster. It's now been 85 years since Russ' lone Major League at-bat."My big regret is that...before he died, I wish I could have sat down with a tape recorder and taped all of his stories," Jon said. "I remember some of them, but I wish I could have done that, and I kick myself for not doing that."But the memories of his father remain. And Jon is still calling sports, an interest he shared with his dad."I think he was happy and proud that I was doing that," Jon said. "He loved sports. I always got that feeling that he did. He wasn't one of those guys who'd give you a lot of compliments, but you can just tell."