The Tigers vs. the Saints
Twelve--year old Johnny Sullivan was the Detroit Tiger's number one baseball fan.
You see, Johnny's next-door neighbor was a famous Detroit Tiger player --- Charlie Gehringer. Charlie was so good and predictable that the sports writers called him "The Mechanical Man.” Whenever another Tiger visited Charlie, Johnny was introduced to them. You could say Johnny worshiped every one of the Tigers.
But at Catholic school Johnny didn't want anything to do with the saints, God, or any of that spiritual stuff.
It was 1940 when Charlie Gehringer gave Johnny's Dad tickets to the World Series. Johnny was so excited. They were playing the Cincinnati Reds.
On Sunday, October 6, 1940, 55,000 fans jammed Briggs stadium. The teams were tied 2 games each and everybody said that if the Tigers won the fifth game, they'd probably win the series.
Johnny went all-out rooting for his team. He cheered every Tiger who came to bat. He cheered every Tiger who got on base, or fielded a ball. He screamed every time Bobo Newson, the Tiger pitcher, threw the ball. And he shouted loudest of all for his special hero, Charlie Gehringer. Every time he came to bat, Johnny would stand up and yell, "Knock the cover off the ball, Charlie!"
And, guess what? The Tigers won, eight to nothing. It was a huge win.
After the game, Johnny's voice was hoarse. He sounded like a bullfrog. Everyone thought his voice would return to normal in a day or two.
But Johnny's voice got worse. His parents took him to the doctor, but there was no improvement. Then they took him to a throat specialist. But there was nothing he could do. The doctor said to his mom, "Johnny’s voice may be damaged for life."
Five months later --- still no improvement. So, Mrs. Sullivan brought Johnny to see Fr. Solanus. But Johnny didn't want to go see a priest. What could a priest do for him? Remember, Johnny was more interested in “short-stops” than stopping at a church.
But Fr. Solanus was different than Johnny expected. Father was a baseball fan too, and he wanted to hear all about the game but, poor, poor Johnny. It hurt him to talk.
So, Fr. Solanus blessed Johnny's throat and told his mom, "Don’t worry. There’ll be a change in Johnny’s voice before you get home." Johnny and his Mom looked at each other, "How is that possible?"
But it was. By the time they got home Johnny was talking normally.
This changed Johnny. Now he knew that Fr. Solanus was special. And he began to take more interest in the Saints than in baseball heroes.
Four years later, Johnny's older brother, Bill, was in the Army fighting the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge in World War Two. Johnny's family was very worried about Bill.
Johnny said, "Hey, Mom! I got an idea. Let’s go back to Fr. Solanus and ask him to pray for Bill." So the family went to Fr. Solanus and enrolled Bill in the Seraphic Mass Association.
On the way out Fr. Solanus said, "Just don’t worry about Bill. In a couple of days you will receive word that he has been injured. But don’t worry, he’ll be all right."
Two days later Mrs. Sullivan received a phone call from France and then a telegram. Bill had been injured in the war, and was going to a hospital in England where he would be safe.
Oh, and by the way. In addition to Johnny losing his voice -- the Detroit Tigers lost the series to the Reds.
But Johnny was okay with that. He learned not to put his trust in baseball teams. He was rooting for the saints.
Blessed be God, in all His designs!
Discussion Questions for Children
1. Why do you think Johnny Sullivan was a fan of the Detroit Tigers baseball team?
2. Why did Johnny know so many of the Detroit Tiger baseball players?
3. How did Johnny lose his voice so he sounded like a bullfrog?
4. Why was Johnny not interested in meeting Fr. Solanus?
5. When Johnny first met Fr. Solanus what did they talk about?
6. What did Fr. Solanus do that helped Johnny get his voice back? Was it quick or did it take a long time?
7. What made Johnny take more interest in the saints?
8. When Johnny's brother, Bill, was in the war and in danger of being killed, what did Johnny tell his mom they should do?
9. What happened to Bill?
Advanced Questions
10. How do you think Johnny felt when he started talking normal and it didn’t hurt?
11. How do you suppose Fr. Solanus knew what was going to happen to Bill in the Battle of the Bulge?
12. Who won the 1940 World Series? What were the scores of each game?
13. Charlie Gehringer was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949. How many different teams did Charlie Gehringer play for in his career? What was Charlie Gehringer's lifetime batting average, career number of hits, and career number of errors committed? How do these numbers compare to the averages of all players?
14. If baseball was analogous to the Christian life and hits were good works, and errors were sins, what might Charlie's career suggest about how to play the Christian life?
15. Are there ways Johnny could have gotten to know the saints just like he got to know the Tigers? What are they?