Episode: “The Braggart” (1973)
REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher
Hobie Shank just might have been the most over-the-top, annoying character – at least initially – to ever appear on “The Waltons.” Certainly, John-Boy would agree.
This episode is set in approximately 1934 and Hobie, an orphan who lived briefly with the Walton family four years earlier, shows up unexpectantly after leaving the county orphanage for boys. He’s a wannabe big league pitcher who had a brief minor league tryout and now wants to live with the Waltons while waiting for a baseball scout to arrive.
He’s a loud-mouth deluxe and basically full of it. To John-Boy’s dismay, Hobie keeps calling him “ol’ buddy” and even questions his ambition to become a writer: “You mean sit around all day and noodle with words? Maybe I’ll do that when I’m old and write down the story of my life.” … Yep, he’s a real pill, alright.
Home to the 11 members of the Walton Family
(played by Richard Thomas)
(played by Michael McGreevey)
Sure enough, though, a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals does show up to see Hobie throw. The scout brings along a big, tough-talking galoot who plays first-base for the “AAA Richmond Rebels” to hit against Hobie. As it turns out, Hobie can indeed throw smoke and the scout signs him to a Class D minor league contract.
Yet, as luck would have it, Hobie is goofing around and showing off to the girls in the Waltons’ treehouse when he slips and falls to the ground severely injuring his elbow. His short-lived hurling career is over and the contract is cancelled. Depressed, he wants to hit the road, but finally is coaxed into coaching the orphanage boys in a ballgame against the local Walton’s Mountain team. After the contest, he ends up being hired as athletic director for the boys home – and even makes amends with John-Boy.
TIDBITS AND TRIVIA:
• Michael McGreevey (Hobie) was a child actor whose credits include several Disney movies. Later – following in his father’s footsteps – he became a television writer, most notably for the “Fame” series in the 1980s and a 2015 documentary about “The Waltons” creator Earl Hamner. McGreevey’s father, John, was a prolific TV writer who penned 20 episodes of “The Waltons” (but not “The Braggart”).
• Long-time character actor Richard X. Slattery, who played the St. Louis scout, was best known to many people in the 1970s and early ’80s as “Murph,” the gas station owner in Union 76 commercials. (According to Wikipedia, those commercials were filmed at a 76 station adjacent to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.)
• The “AAA Richmond Rebels” minor league team mentioned in this early 1930s episode is a fiction. In fact, the AAA level of minor league baseball wasn’t established until 1946. Prior to that, AA was the top minor league designation, with the Cardinals having two AA farm teams in 1934: The Rochester (NY) Red Wings and the Columbus (OH) Red Birds.
• The St. Louis Cardinals were the best National League team during this era – winning three pennants and two World Series between 1930-34. Known as the “Gashouse Gang,” the ’34 squad included future Hall-of-Famers Frankie Fritsch, Dizzy Dean, Joe “Ducky” Medwick, Leo Durocher, Burleigh Grimes and Dazzy Vance.
Three cards from the 1933 Goudey set
• Early on in “The Waltons” series, John-Boy’s sister, Mary Ellen, is depicted as a baseball-playing tomboy. In a major subplot in an episode called “The Hunt,” she is in competition with another girl for the affection of G.W. Haines, a boy who loves baseball. Mary Ellen is torn between spending her hard-earned savings on a catcher’s mitt or a fancy dress to impress G.W. In the end, she chooses the mitt and is shown playing catch with her beau. (“The Hunt” was written by John McGreevey.)
• A humorous scene in “The Braggart” takes place during the ballgame between Walton’s Mountain and the boys from the orphanage. Esther (Grandma) Walton briefly tries to explain the finer points of the game to some other old ladies. … When one of the boys swings and misses, she advises “he should have hit that.” … Then she explains: “Now if the orphanage hits another run home and they hit some more strikes then it’s gonna be all tied up.” … Finally, she says “and when they do this (she gives the “safe” sign) that means something.”
And that, folks, is “Inside Baseball” according to Grandma Walton.
NOTE: To find out if this show is available in your area, use a search engine and type in: “Where to watch THE WALTONS” … In general, know that some television programs are currently only available on DVD, so check your local library … Others may not be available at all at this time.
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