Rollie Hemsley (1931-1932) was the backup catcher on the Cubs, but he didn't get along with manager Rogers Hornsby. Although Hornsby was a degenerate gambler, he was also a tee-totaler that really cracked down on the team drinkers. Offenders included just about everyone on the team, particularly their best pitcher (Pat Malone), and their backup catcher, Rollie.

Hemsley didn't play often because he was Gabby Hartnett's backup and Hartnett played every day, so Rollie often hung out in the illegal speakeasies with his teammates without fear of playing with a hangover. In the 1932 season, the team finally couldn't take any more of Hornsby, and lobbied the young owner of the team (PK Wrigley) to fire him. They got their wish, and everybody's best pal, first baseman Charlie Grimm was named the player-manager. Wrigley took a chance on Grimm--but not before he got Grimm's word that he would make sure the players stayed out of trouble.

The first meeting after he was named manager, the new manager told his team to please play it straight for a little while, ending his speech with; "Fellas, we got a darn good chance to win this thing. Everybody take good care of yourselves."

That same night, Rollie Hemsley had to be bailed out of jail after he went out and got drunk. Mr. Wrigley and Charlie Grimm were not amused.

The Cubs traded Rollie to the Reds after the World Series that year (he batted three times in the 1932 series and struck out all three times). Hemsley went on to have a pretty darn good major league career with the Browns, the Phillies, the Indians and the Yankees, making the all-star team five times, but Charlie Grimm never forgot that first night he was the manager of the Cubs, when a backup catcher almost ended his managing career the same day it began.