Clearbrook, Minnesota : The man who appeared on the cover of a famous magazine
- Makio Mukai
- Mar 7
- 3 min read
May 2016. I was driving around the US and I wanted to visit Clearbrook, Minnesota. It's the hometown of Wes Westrum.
Westrum was a major leaguer who played for the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) for 11 years from 1947. He was a catcher who was known for his defense, although his batting wasn't that great. After retiring, he served as a coach and manager for two teams, the Giants and the New York Mets. He died in 2002. He was 79 years old.
Clearbrook has the "Wes Westrum Museum." I was planning to visit this museum. But there was a small problem. That was the location of Clearbrook. It's far from the interstate highway, so you have to go on a regular road. I like that kind of drive, but it would be a shame to go there only to be told that the museum is closed due to circumstances. So I decided to send an inquiry email to the museum in advance. However, no matter how many times I emailed them, I got no response. So I tried calling, but no matter how many times I called, there was no response. What on earth was going on? Should I go? Should I hold off? When faced with such doubts, I end up going.
Well, Clearbrook is a small city with a population of about 500. I immediately looked for the museum, but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find it. Come on, give me a break. Is the issue not just whether it's open, but whether it even exists? In this situation, it's best to ask at City Hall.
There was a police car parked in front of City Hall. Had there been some kind of incident? Or is it normal for a police car to be parked in front of City Hall ? I went inside.
The City Hall is a single-story building, but it also doubles as a community center for the residents, and the space inside is quite large. There is also a police office. As I was walking down the wide corridor looking for a staff member, a young white male police officer came out of the police office and called out to me with a smile. "Is there something I can help you with?" When I told the policeman that I was a tourist from Japan and was looking for the Wes Westrum Museum, he was pleased and asked me, "You came all the way from Japan?" He then continued, "But the museum burned down a few years ago." What!? What the hell? I wondered what they were going to do with me, having come all this way, but it turned out that the wall of the city hall corridor was serving as the museum. Thank goodness. There seemed to be fewer exhibits than when the museum was there. Still, it's fair to say that it's fulfilling its role well
There are a wide variety of items on display, including newspaper articles about Westrum's exploits, photographs, and amusing caricatures. Among the exhibits, there was one that made me think, "I knew it had to be on display." It was an enlarged cover of the first issue of “Sports Illustrated”. The cover of the first issue of “Sports Illustrated” featured a photograph of a left-handed batter hitting the ball with a beautiful swing in front of a packed stadium. ...By the way, the cover also states that the issue was published on August 16, 1954 and cost 25 cents.
Now, the left-handed batter in question is Eddie Matthews, a legendary baseball player who hit 512 home runs in his career and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also the home run king the year before “Sports Illustrated” was launched. So it would be natural to assume that Matthews was on the cover of the first issue of “Sports Illustrated”. I think that was what “Sports Illustrated” intended as well. However, some people still remember Matthews and Westrum as the ones who appeared on the cover of the first issue of “Sports Illustrated”. That's because Westrum is the catcher behind Matthews. It seems a bit unfair that so few people remember umpire Augie Donatelli, who is behind Westrum.
Anyway, I think it's a heartwarming story that a baseball player whose body is buried in the small city where he was born and raised is still remembered by people.
( If I’ve made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I’ll try to make corrections or additions.)
