The Deike brothers from Hye, Texas took sibling rivalry to another level. In August 1935 they left their regular jobs on the farm, at the store and the cotton gin to battle the Stanczak brothers from Waukegan, Illinois for the All Brothers Baseball Championship.
Baseball was big stuff in the Texas Hill Country, so it was natural that Fritz Deike’s 9 sons, ranging in age from 13 to 32, would form a family baseball team.
Hill Country baseball was a social event in those days - part athletic contest and part community picnic. Every town of any size, and some places that weren’t towns at all, had teams. Big crowds turned out to watch the games. There wasn’t much else to do on Sunday afternoons in the 1930s.
Baseball was more than entertainment. It was a respite from tough times. It helped a generation of isolated Hill Country folk endure the Great Depression. Baseball was the peoples’ game. It had a purity that doesn’t exist anymore.
In Fredericksburg, teams played at the baseball field in the middle of the horse track at the old fairgrounds (today the HEB parking lot) or at Seipp’s Park (today behind Ambleside School).
The baseball field in Hye was behind the store and post office. The field was nothing fancy. The bases were tow-sacks filled with sand. The backstop was made of chicken wire. There were no bleachers. Fritz Deike’s sheep kept the grass mowed and left a little fertilizer behind.
Many people in Hye believed that of all the Deike brothers, pitcher Marvin, had the most talent. The twins, Clarence and Ernest, played center field and second base. Fred played third, Herman played catcher, Emil played first, and Victor played left field. Edwin was a good right fielder even though he was blind in one eye. Levi was the shortstop and the manager.
Back in the 1920s a tall, serious kid from Johnson City sometimes played with the team. In an interview with writer Carlton Stowers, Fred Deike recalled that Lyndon Johnson, “was a darn good first baseman. Had a lot of reach. Not many ground balls got by him that I can remember. And he could hit pretty well.”
Lyndon had already taken a government job the day a salesman for the Nueces Coffee Company made a sales call at the store in Hye. After hearing about the town’s all-brothers baseball team, the salesman convinced his company to sponsor a game between the Deike brothers and the Stanczaks, another all brothers team from Waukegan, Illinois.
The date for the All Brothers Baseball Championship was August 18, 1935.The place was Wichita, Kansas. The coffee company bought spanking new uniforms for the Deike brothers and kicked in $600 for traveling expenses.
The Deikes made the trip from Hye to Wichita in 2 Model A Fords. The 600-mile trip took 6 days.
There was a semi-pro baseball World Series in Wichita that same weekend. The Deike brothers watched some of the games. Fred Deike was especially impressed with the pitcher for the Bismarck, North Dakota team. Leroy “Satchel” Paige had 60 strikeouts in 4 games.
Finally, the day arrived for the All Brothers Baseball Championship. The Deike brothers were confident, but the Stanczak brothers were the favorites. The Stanczaks had played together longer. Three of them had professional experience.
The Stanczaks could call on powerful reserves. The third baseman was a Catholic priest.
The Deike brothers started strong scoring 3 runs in the second inning. Then Marvin’s curve ball stopped curving. Brother Fred moved to the mound from third but had no better luck.
The Deikes had never played a night game and were bumfuzzled by the lights.
The Stanczaks scored 7 runs in their half of the second and won the game 11-5.
Soon the Deike brothers returned to the world they were born to in Blanco County. They married. Some of them moved away. But a picture of the brothers, standing straight and tall in their new uniforms, still hangs in the old store - a reminder of their brief moment in the national spotlight.
