Thu Feb 09 2012
by Mike Lesko
Stow Sentry
Associate Editor
Six-year-old Mike Hegan was in the men's restroom at Cleveland Stadium when his father, Jim, an All-Star catcher for the Indians, slugged a three-run homer during the fifth game of the 1948 World Series.
Moments earlier, young Mike, who has been an Indians broadcaster for the last 22 years, told his mother, Clare, that he had to go to the bathroom, so she took him.
"We heard the roar of the crowd," Mike said, laughing. "We missed my father's home run."
More than 86,000 fans were on hand. The Indians lost that game to the Boston Braves, then won their last World Series title the next day in Boston.
Jim Hegan, a five-time American League All-Star, played 14 seasons with the Indians and was a part of the great Cleveland teams from 1948 to 1954. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time and was picked by a group that included members of the local media as one of the top 100 players in Indians history.
Following in his father's footsteps, Mike Hegan, a first baseman/outfielder, played parts of 12 seasons in the Major Leagues with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Oakland A's and Milwaukee Brewers. In 1972, he was a member of the World Series champion A's.
Growing up as the son of the famed Indians catcher, young Mike got to hang around the ballpark and shag fly balls before games.
On his first trip to Yankee Stadium in 1954, 12-year-old Mike found himself as a fill-in batboy when the regular was unavailable.
"We have a picture of my father kneeling in the on-deck circle," Mike said, "and I'm right behind him as he's getting ready to go to the plate."
What did Mike learn from his father?
"I could see why he was a great catcher and leader," Mike said. "He was very consistent in what he did, and he was very disciplined in his approach. He was a steady, quiet guy. He was a steadying influence on me.
"If he said something, it stood," he said. "If he said you were grounded for a week, then you were grounded for a week."
Growing up, though, with his father away from home during large chunks of the baseball season, Mike said his mother was the disciplinarian in his family, which included brother Pat, who was 6 years younger than Mike, and sister Cathy, who was 12 years younger.
"Dad missed some birthdays and Little League," Mike said. "When he was home, though, he tried to make sure he watched me play."
Mike said his parents didn't encourage him to play pro baseball.
"They wanted me to do what I wanted to do," he said.
"I saw the drawbacks of baseball, too," he said. "All you see are the guys who are playing in the Major Leagues, but the odds of a player making it are remote."
So his parents stressed that having a good education was important to fall back on.
After graduating from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Mike attended the College of Holy Cross and John Carroll University, even after his pro baseball career began when he signed with the Yankees.
Mike said if there was any pressure on him to live up to his father's image, it was self imposed.
"My father was a guy who told it like it was," Mike said. "He said, 'This game has a lot of pitfalls. You have to pick your friends. Otherwise, it can be a tough life.'
"He just wanted me to be prepared, but that was good advice," Mike said.
After his father retired as a player, he was a coach for 20 years with the Yankees and Detroit Tigers.
Once, Jim was coaching with the Yankees, and Mike was playing for Seattle, and the two teams were scheduled to meet.
"Back then, you weren't supposed to talk to the opposition. There was a 'no fraternizing' rule before ballgames," Mike said. "During batting practice, I went over and shook my father's hand.
"An umpire yelled to my father, 'Hey, you have to pay a $50 fine,'" Mike said, laughing. "But I don't know if he ever paid the fine."
During another Yankees-Pilots game, New York's Bobby Murcer was hit by a pitch.
"Bobby was really upset and almost charged the pitcher's mound," Mike said.
On his next trip to the plate, Murcer lined a double down the right field line. Hegan fielded the ball and threw it to second base, where Murcer barreled into the second baseman. A brawl between the two teams erupted.
"I was ready to jump into the pile," Mike said. "Then somebody grabbed me by the neck. It was my father. He pulled me away and said, 'We'll stay out of it,' so we stood back and watched everyone else."
Mike Hegan retired as an active player with the Brewers in 1977 and became an announcer for the team. He joined the Indians broadcast crew in 1989 and has been there ever since.
Starting in 2007, he has worked exclusively on Indians radio broadcasts with Tom Hamilton.
Mike and Nancy Hegan's oldest son, Shawn, played junior college baseball, while their youngest son, J.J., was a college all-American swimmer.
Jim Hegan died in 1984 at age 63.
"The Indians had some great teams from 1948 to 1954," Mike Hegan said, "and my father was an integral part of that era."
E-mail: mlesko@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3917
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