By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
From the textile baseball fields of Woodruff to the lush, green field and cheering throngs of thousands of fans in Milwaukee County Stadium, Bob Hazle carried his love of baseball with him wherever he went.
Nicknamed ‘Hurricane’ by his teammates because he played with the same veracity as the storm of the same name, which had devasted the South Carolina coastline in 1954, Hazle brought down his own destruction on Milwaukee Braves’ opponents during the final month of the 1957 Major League Baseball season.
Hazle’s torrid finish that season culminated with the Braves’ seven-game triumph over the vaunted and heavily favored Yankees in the World Series. Now, 66 years later, Bob’s on-field impact and indelible spirit are enshrined forever in Milwaukee baseball history.
During their home game on Monday, May 8, the Milwaukee Brewers inducted Bob Hazle into the Milwaukee Braves’ Wall of Honor with a plaque placed on the side of American Family Field.
Bob’s grandson, Sid, accepted the honor on behalf of his grandfather and the Hazle family. Prior to the game, Sid threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He expressed his appreciation for the honor given by the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.
“I’m very thankful for the Milwaukee Brewers honoring him and for the people, the historians, that have kept his memory alive and pushed the issue to put them on the wall,” said Sid.
A native of Laurens, SC, and 1948 graduate of Woodruff High School, Hazle was an unlikely hero amongst the likes of future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews. He was a late-season call-up in 1957 to reinforce a Milwaukee roster riddled with injuries. Instead, Hazle not only contributed, he helped carry the Braves down the stretch.
Bob played in 41 games for the Braves, batting .403 while clubbing seven home runs and driving in 27. He also drew 18 walks and compiled a .477 on-base percentage. Milwaukee would go on to win the national league pennant, and after trailing the Yankees three games to one, Hazle and the Braves rallied to win the series in seven games and etch their place in baseball history.
The ’Hurricane’ was a big reason why.
“Thanks to a huge boost from Hazle, the Milwaukee Braves proved they were the best club in the National League and ultimately, as we all well know, the World Series,” said current Brewers’ play-by-play announcer Josh Maurer.
Hazle’s niece, Jill Singleton, was unable to be in attendance for the game and induction ceremony in May but said she is appreciative that her uncle’s legacy is being remembered even decades later.
“I’m just so very happy and elated that (the Brewers) decided to do this for Uncle Bobby,” she said. “It just verifies that he made contributions to the game of baseball when he was playing. I was just taken aback that they wanted to put a plaque there for him. It shows how much they appreciate what he did in helping win the World Series.”
‘Hurricane’ Hazle would go on to play parts of three seasons in the major leagues, totaling 110 games. He finished his professional career with a .310 batting average with nine home runs and 37 runs batted in. But Hazle will always be remembered, especially in Milwaukee, for two remarkable months that led the Braves to a championship.
Brewers officials made it a point to say that remembering the 1957 Braves team is imperative to keeping the history of baseball in Milwaukee alive for future generations.
“(The Braves were a) great collection of talent and easily forgotten if not for the great work of the Braves Historical Society and everybody who supported this,” added Brewers Business Operations President Rick Schlesinger.
Hazle’s name and bust are the 20th among the 1957 Braves to be placed on the stadium wall. It will be the last. Almost seven decades in the making, ‘Hurricane’ now has his small place among baseball immortality.
“For the Hazle family, this is just icing on the cake,” Singleton said. “I’m thankful we are alive to experience it.”
To many in the city of Milwaukee in 1957, Bob ‘Hurricane’ Hazle was a hero. To Sid Hazle, he was so much more than that.
“It was a real tearjerker just coming here,” said Sid. “He was also my granddad, and that’s what I remember him by.”
Author: Tracy Sanders
