Some Middlebury History

 A while back, I saw someone post a question about a famous baseball player being on trial in the 1960s in my hometown of Middlebury Vermont. I had no recollection of this, but I was just a kid and all I remember is the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, a quest to land men on the moon, and men with last names starting with K being assassinated.  

So I did a few Google searches and found out it was Leo Durocher. At the time of the trial, he was a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a kid, I was not yet a big baseball fan which would occur later when I joined Little League and started playing. But I did know the name of Leo Durocher, but it was mainly because of my favorite TV shows at the time.

Of course, one of my favorites shows was the The Munsters. Herman Munster, played by Fred Gwynne, and his family of other "Munsters" was a comedy and I watched it religiously. There was an episode titled Herman the Rookie where Leo Durocher gets hit in the head by a flyball by Herman, from six blocks away. Coach Durocher has Herman try out for the Dodgers. Herman was a Frankenstein created Munster, here with  Leo Durocher.

Herman at the tryouts with the Dodgers. I think he didn't make the team because the other players were scared of Herman and would not play with him.

Another show I liked had a plot line with the main character trying out for the Dodgers with Leo Durocher guest starring. This show, another favorite of mine, was Mr. Ed, the talking horse. I found this video on YouTube. Click on the link to watch it.

Mr, Ed and Dodgers

I bet you have never seen a horse slide into home plate before. The pitcher was Sandy Koufax. And at the end, it is Leo that says "That is the smartest horse I have ever seen."

But my all-time favorite was an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies titled The Clampetts and the Dodgers. Jed and Jethro are set to go golfing with Leo Durocher. Jethro throws a ball so good he gets a tryout with the Dodgers. But the fun with the episode is that the Clampetts think golf is a type of animal you hunt. They lay eggs (golf balls) in holes. "Somebody shot nine holes of golf and got 57". They think the clubs are the weapons of choice, and they a golf is small and quick and there are golf traps too. Granny tries boiling the eggs with no luck. Jethro thinks they try to attack you and you dodge them, and that is why Mr. Durocher calls his team  the Dodgers. Jed, Jethro & Leo...

So yes, I knew who Leo Durocher was, but for all the wrong reasons. In July of 1964, there was a trial in Middlebury where Leo was the defendant. Here is a newspaper clipping I found.

Another article said:

The 58‐year‐old Los Angeles Dodgers coach told a crowded Addison County courtroom that he had given expensive gifts to Morin's daughter, Carolyn, including a Thunderbird car and a diamond bracelet worth $1,700.

There was a story in the Desert Sun:

Durocher was charged by Middlebury bricklayer Rene Morin of stealing the love of his wife Anna, a 51-year-old part-time waitress. Durocher, Mrs. Morin and her four daughters, one of whom, Carolyn, once served as Leo’s secretary, have denied the allegations. During the opening session, defense attorney Lt. Gov. Ralph A. Foote attacked “the outrageous procedure”

Interestingly, I have some other connections to this historical moment. The attorney Ralph Foote was a classmate and great friend of my father Harold. Ralph did the eulogy at the Memorial we held for dad in Middlebury at the American Legion Post 27. He gave me a typed copy. I became better friends with Ralph and his wife Nancy while participating in the annual Vermont golf tournaments organized by Rodney Bicknell in Florida. His son Richard was a classmate and good friend of mine.

The other connection is with Carolyn Morin. She became a big time model in New York City and wrote a book about her life. She had changed her name to Carolyn Kenmore (not sure if by marriage or not). Here is the cover:

And here is one more connection. Carolyn knew my dad. I have included what she wrote inside the cover of her autobiography. 

From my understanding, she use to babysit for my older siblings Patsy and maybe John. Dad had clipped this article and stuffed it in the book. 

I can tell you her first husband was not Leo Durocher. But her dad was able to bring Leo Durocher to town for some courtroom theatrics. And me being just a kid, was never the wiser about it. But I can guarantee there was a lot of gossiping being done in my hometown back then.