Walt Warmoth's Story - Part 1
To work at the Ko-Op for Larry Mizener made one a part of Walt Warmoth's business too. Walt's, The Ko-op, Ike's Little Campus and later the Short Stop were all connected. I first met Walt at a joint Walt's and Ko-Op Christmas party held at Walt's in Dec. 1964.
It was a great holiday bash with Walt's manager Mike Frazier leading and members of his crew delivering a huge feast with unlimited beverages. Walt was the center of attention. Learned that if you knew how to conduct oneself, you were welcome to visit Walt after closing hours. He held 'court' standing behind the counter with a lit cigarette, a drink in hand, and commanded everyone's attention. At that time, Walt's crew included Jim Mizener (Larry's younger brother), Alan York, Dick Wutche, Bob Bonarigo (Those are the one's that I remember).
Everyone kicked in to help; we had roast turkey, baked ham, and all the trimmings (Way more food than we could eat), and one of Walt's crew moved an organ into the back room to lead us in singing carols (The musical instrument may have been from Donna and Walt's family residence upstairs).
The following year was the Ko-Op's turn to host, but none ever equalled this first one. Party lasted into the wee morning hours - and was the best ever!
It was a great holiday bash with Walt's manager Mike Frazier leading and members of his crew delivering a huge feast with unlimited beverages. Walt was the center of attention. Learned that if you knew how to conduct oneself, you were welcome to visit Walt after closing hours. He held 'court' standing behind the counter with a lit cigarette, a drink in hand, and commanded everyone's attention. At that time, Walt's crew included Jim Mizener (Larry's younger brother), Alan York, Dick Wutche, Bob Bonarigo (Those are the one's that I remember).
Everyone kicked in to help; we had roast turkey, baked ham, and all the trimmings (Way more food than we could eat), and one of Walt's crew moved an organ into the back room to lead us in singing carols (The musical instrument may have been from Donna and Walt's family residence upstairs).
The following year was the Ko-Op's turn to host, but none ever equalled this first one. Party lasted into the wee morning hours - and was the best ever!
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Left side: Alan York at the grill, unknown beside him, Jim Mizener in glasses,
and possibly Mike Frazier on the far end.
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This article in the campus newspaper focused on Walt and his history in Charleston:
Howard, Juanita (Mar. 9, 1955). Walt’s Business Success Tags Title of ‘Mayor of South Charleston’. Eastern State News, p. 3.
Would you like to own a business? What is your chance in it? Well, listen to Walter Warmoth’s story.
A history of the Ko-Op, Little Campus, and the Open consists also of the history of Walter Warmoth, originally a Wabash County resident (Correction: Browns, IL in Edwards County) and former Eastern student.
‘Walt’ as the majority of Eastern students know him, started school here in the fall of 1935. The selection of Eastern to be his alma mater came after viewing the campus while visiting Charleston with the Walgreen’s Drugstore Exchange of Chicago, by whom he was then employed.
“The improvements which have been made in the college since that time are incomparable,” said ‘Walt’, as he thoughtfully lit another cigarette.
He bought the Little Campus in 1937, after having worked there during his school days. With his ready smile, plenty of hard work and ambition, ‘Walt’ soon had to add an additional room to accommodate its student patrons.
The converting of a grocery store to establish the Ko-Op soon followed, serving sandwiches, fountain goods and hot meals.
When Lincoln and Douglas halls were erected, ‘Walt’ saw the need for one more “hangout” for the Eastern students, so, in 1953, he built the Open which has since became another favorite spot for the coke crowd to assemble.
‘Walt’ has been in the restaurant business here for 18 years, with the exception of (Unreadable number) years spent in the armed services and studying medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
When asked about his intentions in this field, ‘Walt’ replied “Although my chief interest was in business, I liked to study.”
‘Walt’ is an active member of the Masons, Elks, American legion and numerous other organizations. He is also an honorary member of the Sigma Tau Gamma social fraternity.
He was married in 1944 to Donna Smith, also a former Eastern grad and has a boy (William) six years old and a girl (Linda) four years old.
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Photo of Wallace Walter 'Cy' Warmoth, Walt Warmoth's Uncle.
Professional baseball player 1916-1923. Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators. |
Click on Comments (Below right side) to read more . . .
Labels: 'Mayor of South Charleston', business, Christmas party, Donna Smith Warmoth, Eastern Illinois University, Ko-op, Larry Mizener, Little Campus, student hangout, the Open, Walt Warmoth
posted by Larry Johnson @ 3:17 PM
12 Comments
12 Comments:
One correction to Walt’s story, he was actually from Browns, IL in Edwards County, adjacent to Wabash County—I am originally from Allendale in Wabash County (and played baseball at Wabash Valley College for a year after transferring out and back in EIU while trying to rehab an arm injury). My dad played ball against Walt and also Ike Kennard, who was from Keensburg in Wabash County (Allendale and Keensberg are both now consolidated into Mt. Carmel High). Walt was in school with my Aunt at EIU for a year or two. Walt’s Cousin Wallace “Cy” Warmoth, from Bone Gap in Edwards County, was a professional baseball player for the Cardinals and Washington Senators. Cy’s Son Jim played minor league ball before getting hurt and retiring. He then went to work for Snap-On Tools in Mt. Carmel and my brother Joe worked with him there. As an aside, Snap-On Tools co-founder Newton Tarble and gpfamily funded the EIU Tarbell Arts Center.
I think I sent the story of how I first met Walt. I was in Walt's was in 1969 with Donnie and David Diver, twin brothers from St. Francisville, our bitterest rival in the Little Ten Conference. We had hated each other in high school and became closest friends at EIU. We were playing the pinball machines when Walt lumbered over and gruffly said, "What's your names?" We told him and he said, "Divers, you're from St. Francisville and Gher, you're from Allendale." We were floored and asked him how he knew, he said, "I read the sports pages!” He proceeded to tell us we weren’t playing the pinball machine right, opened it up, turned off the “Tilt,” and started to shake these k out of it almost lifting it off the floor. He left the Tilt off and several free games for us to play. Terrific guy!
I will message you a photo of a write up on Jim Warmoth’s career that I took when I was back in Illinois visiting the Mt. Carmel Museum.
Don,
I believe that Wallace “Cy” Warmoth was an uncle of Walt Warmoth. Make sure that I am correct.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48497833
Follow Find-a-Grave links to brother (Sibling) William J. Warmoth (1883 - 1981), who was Walt’s father?
Don, your Mt. Carmel is rich in sports history and baseball. Here I am adding some of the information that you shared with me via FB:
Larry,
I responded to your Ko-Op blog about Walt Warmoth and said I would send you a pic from when I stopped in the Mr. Carmel Museum and saw an exhibit on Walt’s cousin, Jim Warmoth. The Warmoth’s were from nearby Browns, Illinois. After pitching professionally, Jim worked at Snap On Tools with my brother Joe and also with my American Legion baseball coach Donnie Liddle. Donnie pitched for the Cards and NY Giants, including throwing the pitch in the 1954 World Series that was hit by Vic hertz and caught by Wille Mays that was considered the best catch in WS history.
Donnie once told us Leo Durocher put him in as a reliever to face Wertz. After May’s catch, Leo took him out, he walked back to the dugout, threw his glove on the back sat up on the top of the dugout bench and said, “I got my man!”
Donnie’s kids (I played baseball with one of them) got Mays’ glove and they used it for sandlot games for anyone who forgot their mitt. I was told when someone finally realized what it was, they sent it on to Cooperstown and it is in the Hall of Fame.
(Oct. 11, 2012) Bone Gap Should Honor Wallace ‘Cy” Warmoth. The Navigator.
Excerpt from a letter to the Editor (From Dave Rigg of Bone Gap):
http://www.navigatorjournal.com/opinion/article_75a7c9c4-13a8-11e2-a222-001a4bcf887a.html
While I’m on the subject of baseball, a sign ought to be put up at an entrance to Bone Gap (designating) it as the birthplace of Wallace ‘Cy’ Warmoth. Born and raised in Bone Gap, he was a gifted left-handed pitcher. In 1916, Warmoth pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals. His career was interrupted by service in World War I. After the war, he played with the Washington Senators in 1922 and 1923. In one game, he struck out the great Babe Ruth.
Cy Warmoth and Jeff Keener are the only Edwards County (IL) residents to play in the Major Leagues. Doc Collins and Lee Murray played Minor League baseball, but never in the Majors. Bob Kinsall of Grayville played in the Milwaukee Braves minor leagues. The only other area resident to play in the Majors was Don Liddle of Mt. Carmel who pitched for the Milwaukee Braves, New York Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals. Liddle pitched two games for the Giants in the 1954 World Series.
It’s quite an accomplishment to make it to the Major Leagues. It would seem to me that Bone Gap should do something to honor “Cy” Warmoth. Former Edwards County resident Ron Gawthorp has written an excellent book about Warmoth entitled “Glimpses of Glory.” It can be purchased through amozon.com and I recommend it.
Dave Rigg, Bone Gap, IL
Editor’s note: From Baseball-Reference.com: Wallace Walther “Cy” Warmoth pitched three years in the majors appearing mostly with the 1923 Washington Senators for whom he went 7-5.
With the 1923 Senators, he was five years younger than teammate Walther Johnson, who went 17-12.
The following year, with Memphis in 1924, Warmoth went 20-11. Several years later, with Kansas City in 1929, the 36-year-old Warmoth went 14-4. The 1929 Blues were one of the minors’ great teams, going 111-6.
Warmoth was born in Bone Gap on Feb. 2, 1893, and died at the age of 64 in Mt. Carmel on June 20, 1957. He is buried in Highland Memorial Cemetery in Mt. Carmel.
Larry, Walt’s son Bill Warmoth sent this to me in when I told him there would be a book signing for Glimpses Of Glory At the Mt. Carmel Museum a few years back, he drove down from Charleston to attend.
“My initial research indicates that Cy Warmoth and my grandfather were brothers, both being sons of William John Warmoth and Mary Ann (Hill) Warmoth. My grandfather, William James Warmoth, was ten years older than Cy Warmoth.”
I believe the letter you included above is from the same Dave Rigg that I played baseball and basketball against growing up, as well as together for summer league baseball All-Stars. He also mentions Jeff Keener who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jeff played for Albion’s summer Pony League Team (his dad was his coach) and I was coaching Allendale’s team against him in our summer league when I was still going to EIU.
Read part of Ron Gawthorp’s book, Glimpses of Glory: A Forgotten Pitcher's Journey, about Cy Warmoth and baseball online:
https://books.google.com/books?id=8xCQDLphiVwC&pg=PP11&lpg=PP11&dq=cy+warmoth&source=bl&ots=QguDTRf40Y&sig=G391wm-2Xu_lf4K180k2MZrAoX8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIz4a33cLZAhXBMGMKHe5vDOc4ChDoAQgyMAE#v=onepage&q=cy%20warmoth&f=false
Some interesting stuff in the book, Larry. I will try to pick it up next time we fly back to Mt. Carmel. Also interesting Quoting Melvin Briggs from Bone Gap in the forward. I played against his relative Jim Briggs for many years and with him in All Stars several times. I remember one All Star Pony Leaguegame we played in Marion against DuQuoin with Donnie Stanhouse pitching. Donnie later pitched several years for the Baltimore Orioles. Jimmy smoked a one hopper over the dead Centerfield fence, which was well over 400 feet. Up to that time, the only other Pony Leaguer to put one over the fence (his was a homer) was Marion’s Ray Fosse. Of course Ray’s is most famous from when he was Catching for The Oakland A’s and Pete Rose wiped him out with a violent slide on the last play of the 1970 All Star game.
Bone Gap, Browns (Walt’s hometown), West Salem and Albion comprise Edwards County High School. Jimmy Briggs and several other of my friends that I played against and with were on a team that finished Third in the State (one class only in those days) in 1968. Unfortunately, they beat us (my Allendale team before we were consolidated into Mt. Carmel) 1-0 in the first game of the Regional Tourney when our shortstop made two errors in an inning that led to the line run. For small towns (Allendale was 500 people), we played a great brand of ball!
I am the daughter of Jim Warmoth and granddaughter of Cy Warmoth. According to an old family tree, it shows Cy as Walt's Uncle. Walt's father, William, was named after his father & perhaps that is the confusion for some. Walt's grandparents would have been William and Mary Hill. If this family tree is correct, Walt had brothers and sisters: Neva, John and Iva. Hope this helps!
I have done a little more digging. My information is correct- Walt was Cy's nephew. Walt's parents were William James and Ollie. Walt's grandparents are William J. and Mary Ann. The confusion is with father and son having the same first name and same middle initial. This is verified with Walt's obituary and by the Albion Journal-Register's article on William James Warmoth January 7, 1981.
William J was my great-grandfather and, yes, Walt was his son. Walt had a sister, Nevada, who was my grandmother. My earliest memories of visiting my grandfather (and his wife, whom we called Grandma Oma; my actual great-grandmother died young in a car-train collision) was at their house in Bone Gap. Believe it or not, Will married one more time at age 94, I think, to a lovely woman from Bone Gap named Ethel. He lived out his final years in Albion with her.
We had visits with Walt and Donna frequently in my childhood. They were kind and generous people. To this day I have a signed photo of Marty Pattin, courtesy of Uncle Walt.
Steve Miller
Oak Park, IL
Grandma was Neva, not Nevada. Should have previewed!
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