BONKERS FOR BOSTON
Albuquerque woman whose father pitched for the Red Sox is an avid fan
Mary Sarty never got to see her father pitch for the Boston Red Sox, but she’s done her best to make up for it.
A lifelong Red Sox fan, Sarty, 75, is proudly sporting team colors around Albuquerque this week as Boston battles the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Her gear includes a bright red jersey with her father’s name — “Pinky” Woods — and uniform number (10) emblazoned on the back.
It’s part of a treasure trove of baseball memorabilia that’s brought many a bright smile to Sarty’s face over the years.
“You had to be a Red Sox fan in our house,” said Sarty, who grew up in Rutland, Vt. “My dad was a fan long before he ever played for them and I’ve always been one. I get so excited when they have great teams like they do this year.”
Sarty has nurtured a deep connection to the Red Sox over the years. She recalls being escorted onto the field at Fenway Park by her mother as a youngster to stand on the mound where her father had pitched.
“Home plate seemed like it was miles away to me,” Sarty said. “Everything just felt so big.”
Later, Sarty attended numerous games with a group of Boston players’ wives. She said she was dating a Red Sox player at the time — one she now prefers not to identify. Sarty also attended a Boston Red Sox fantasy camp where she shook hands with Hall of Fame icon Ted Williams.
Sarty has photos and happy memories from those days but her strongest Red Sox connections come from her father, the subject of vintage photos, sketches and newspaper articles decorating the wall of Sarty’s Northeast Heights home.
What’s in a nickname?
George Rowland “Pinky” Woods was born in Connecticut and played professional baseball from 1941 to 1949, including a three-year stint with the Boston Red Sox during World War II. He was designated 4-F (unfit for military service) because of a previous leg injury but was fit for baseball competition and signed with the Red Sox in 1943.
He enjoyed moderate success as a pitcher, compiling a 13-21 record in 85 appearances with a solid 3.97 earned run average and was considered a good hitter and fielder among pitchers.
But Woods may have been best known for his unusual nickname, which remains the subject of inquiries, Sarty said.
Some have wondered if Pinky was the kind of nickname doled out to a small player. It was not. Woods stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 220 pounds during his Red Sox career.
Others have suggested that Woods’ nickname was related to a toe injury he suffered in Boston. That unfortunate incident occurred when he was spiked while running the bases during a 1945 game against the Chicago White Sox. Woods’ toe became infected and later had to be amputated along with a portion of his right foot, leading to the end of Woods’ major league career.
Still, it had nothing to do with Woods’ nickname. The affected digit was his right big toe, Sarty said.
“As I understand it, they called him Pinky because he turned all pink in the face when he played,” Sarty said. “Some people turn red; he turned pink. That nickname really stuck and I think my dad kind of liked it.”
He signed autographs “Pinky Woods” throughout his pro career.
Shades of Pinky
Sarty was still a baby during her father’s Red Sox tenure and she stayed home with her mother during Woods’ playing days. But Sarty does have offseason memories from father’s baseball career.
“In the fall my dad would take me to a special bar where the players got together,” Sarty said. “He’d sit me on the bar and I talked to all of his buddies — I’ve always been a talker. I also remember crying my eyes out when he packed for spring training every year. I loved him so much.”
After leaving the Red Sox in 1946, Woods played two seasons with the Indianapolis Indians before playing his final three years with the Hollywood Stars. He led the Pacific Coast League in losses with 20 in 1948 but then posted a league-best 23 wins in 1949, his final season.
Woods later lived in Los Angeles, where he died in 1982, but Sarty said her father remained a diehard Red Sox fan. The loyalty passed from father to daughter.
Sarty’s career in marketing brought her to New Mexico in 2000 and she’s now a retired grandmother of four whose family and favorite team reside two time zones away. Still, she flies Red Sox colors faithfully in her adopted hometown.
“We saw her wearing a Sox hat and started a conversation,” said Sarty’s neighbor, John Abele, a Boston transplant. “We get together to watch games, especially playoff games. My wife and I call her Pinky now.”
Like Sarty, Abele says rooting for the Red Sox is a time-honored family tradition.
“I have one brother who’s a Yankees fan,” he said, “but we don’t talk to him.”
With their beloved Sox chasing a World Series title, Abele joined Sarty to peruse the latter’s Red Sox memorabilia collection this week. She has some of her father’s time-worn gloves and bats along with uniform numbers and other items given to her by the Red Sox organization.
“It’s so sad that I never saw him play,” Sarty said, “but looking at my dad’s pictures and having the Red Sox in the World Series brings back a lot of great memories. You never know if you’ll get to see your team play in another one, so I’m rooting for Boston to take it all the way.”