COVER STORY
In memory of ...
BY SUSAN HARRIS
They came to St. Helen Catholic
Church in Vero Beach to honor
Dodger great Clem Labine: former
Dodger president Peter O’Malley and
current Dodger executives; Dodger
icons like Sandy Kofax and Carl
Erskine; Labine’s neighbors at Grove
Isle in Vero; and T-shirt wearing
Dodger fans.
For many, the funeral for Labine, a
relief pitcher who spanned both the
Brooklyn and Los Angeles eras, was a
metaphor for Vero Beach’s mourning
over the loss of the Dodgers, who are
leaving town after more than half a century
1
of spring trainings. Coincidentally,
Labine’s death March 2 at age 80
came the same day as the Dodger
spring training home opener marking
the team’s 59th year in Vero Beach.
“Nobody likes to lose a friend,’’
Sandy Kofax tells me after the funeral.
“Clem was a gentleman, a product
of a kinder and gentler time.’’
Labine, who played with the
Dodgers from 1944 through 1960, was
a product of the Dodger player development
created by Branch Rickey. In
1955, Labine helped the Dodgers to
their first-ever World Series title with
a win and save in four games. Roger
Kahn profiled him in his classic, “The
Boys of Summer,’’ as did teammate
Carl Erskine in “Carl Erskine’s Tales
from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra
Innings.’’ Labine also played for the
Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and
New York Mets, but at heart he
always remained a Dodger.
“Clem was great,’’ Steve Yaeger
tells me. “I was a Los Angeles Dodger
catcher 15 years and a Dodger
Fantasy Camp instructor with him. It
was an inspiration to have guys from
the Brooklyn Dodgers around us
when we were starting out. We
meshed together and they taught us
the Dodger way of tradition, pride
and respect, which made you not
only a better player but a better person.’’
As Monsignor Irvine Nugent celebrated
Labine’s life at the memorial
Mass, many at the service knew that
they were mourning the loss of a boy
of summer as well as a tradition.
They might have realized that Vero
Beach and Holman Stadium are about
to become the Brooklyn and Ebbets
Field of the 21st century.
“They can move from Brooklyn to
L.A., but they can’t take the hallowed
land where Roy Campanella, Sandy
Kofax, Clem Labine, Jackie Robinson
and all the other boys of summer
played,’’ David Gordon of New
Jersey, an ardent Dodger fan and
Fantasy camper, said after the service.
“They can bring the records, but they
can’t bring the history.’’
Susan Harris oversees
client relations for
Jetson TV and
Appliance Center. A
resident of Vero Beach
since 1994, she formerly
handled public
relations for the
Palm Court Resort
Hotel and Doubletree Guest Suites,
which hosted many Dodgers and Dodger
fantasy campers. She has written for several
magazines in the region.
Clem
Labine
Dodger’s death stirs up
feelings of loss for the team