When the Brownsville baseball Charros of 1938 began their grueling 140 game schedule— nobody had an idea on who would be the scorekeeper.
Absent the technology of today—the manually operated scoreboard was the norm and who ever was chosen to keep score was required to have a good knowledge of the game, eyes like an eagle and hearing to matched that of an umpire.
As most baseball fans would agree, some umpires are blind, but their hearing is impeccable, as they seldom miss the murmuring coming from the stands.
Charros Park located then close to the present grounds of Saint Joseph Academy had one of those, what we consider today, relic scoreboards.
Perhaps one of the only remaining old scoreboards that exist in baseball today— sits at the base of the Green Monster at Boston’s Fenway Park.
Even though there has been an electronic scoreboard there for many years, fans at Fenway still depend on the manually operated scoreboard to keep track of the action.
Brownsville youth chosen to operate board…
With the spring of 1938 approaching—the Charros prepared itself to tackle the baseball diamond as an entry in the professional Texas Valley League.
As a newcomer in the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the circuit fielded six clubs—Harlingen Hubs, McAllen Palms, Corpus Christi Spudders, Taft Cardinals, Refugio Oilers and the hometown Charros.
“Opening Day” pitted the Hubs against the Charros, it was quite an occasion. Preceding the ceremonies a parade was held through the streets of Brownsville, with a local band leading the way to the ball park where a record crowd awaited the call “play ball.”
The crowd was witnessing a close ball game that is until a strong southeast blew in.
When the dust settled, the Hubs had put eight crooked numbers on the board and well on their way to blowing the Charros away.
This game set the tone for the rest of the season, not only for the team, but for the young Charros scorekeeper, Martin Rutledge. Visiting teams were scoring at will as the local club had over 100 inglorious defeats.
Rutledge viewed the ball games from a vantage point atop the scoreboard—some 350 feet away from home plate. While Boston needs three individuals to manage their board, the Brownsville youngster was the lone scorekeeper.
Today, you may consider the manually operated scoreboard obsolete, but during that era of chicken wire backstops, wooden bleachers and chewing tobacco, it was a vital part of the landscape of the game.
Martin’s romance with baseball began very early in his life. Speaking then, Martin said, “I was an ardent baseball fan ever since I was in the first grade.” It was then that he developed a deep association with the sport.
Perhaps baseball was in his genes, as his mother Mrs. Jack M. Rutledge was also very passionate about baseball.
Martin had all attributes that helped him keep a very accurate score—with no aid from spy glasses, headphones or any other assistance.
Rutledge admitted that trying to read an umpire’s signals from a distance was no easy task—especially when the ump was not animated enough.
“All I used to keep track of balls and strikes was the ordinary signals of the umpire, who from a distance looked more like a toy than man,” said Rutledge. He went on to say that he could tell when a player was out mostly by instinct than anything else.
The obstacles of the game back then, like dust storms, heat and an umpire who would sometimes use his left hand instead of his right to call strikes would in some instances cause some confusion.
But despite the hazards of the game, young Martin handled the scoreboard like an experienced train engineer—always on time and rarely off track.
The scorekeeper and his mom went on to become icons and not due to baseball, but because they made the best hamburgers in town, the “Original Rutledge Burgers.” Their business was located then and still today on Washington Street between 11th and 12th streets.
A narrow hall of greatness—if you’ve been there, you know what I mean.
Martin was a political aficionado as well. He was a staunch Roosevelt New Deal Democrat and remained one until his death. Many a political candidate would religiously visit Martin to try to secure the votes of precinct 11 which he chaired for the Democratic Party. Those of us who visited him would often find him embroiled in a heated discussion with local conservative Democrats. Hector Uribe
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