My grandpa Heath’s younger brother Mickey, or my great-uncle, had a life long love affair with baseball that included about a decade as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Minor Wilson Heath (Mickey) was born in Toledo, Ohio on October 30, 1903. When he was 12, he was so badly burned in a campfire accident that he was not expected to walk again.

Though he carried the scars of his accident for the rest of his life, he did walk again, and through hard work and determination developed into a fine sandlot player.

After several years playing semipro ball, Heath signed with Ottumwa of the Class D Mississippi Valley League.

Mickey batted .297 for Ottumwa in 1923 and .353 in 1924. Near the end of the 1924 season, he was sold to the Detroit Tigers for $3,000 and played for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association (Class A) for the rest of the season.

In 1925 he was promoted to Toronto of the International League and hit .225 as the Leafs finished in second place behind Jack Dunn’s powerhouse Baltimore Orioles. Heath’s road-trip roommate that season was future Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer.

After 40 games with Toronto, Heath was “loaned” to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, where he hit .282. He played three more seasons for the Stars and hit well, but was not called up to Detroit and was not eligible for the draft because the Tigers held his contract.

Mickey made the most of being “stuck” in Hollywood with another strong season in 1930 (.324, 37 home runs, 136 RBIs). He set a PCL record with 12 consecutive hits (tied by Ted Beard in 1953). The Stars finished with a 118-91 record, the best in the league, and defeated the Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 1 for a second straight PCL championship.

With no major-league contract in sight, Heath took matters into his own hands.

He maintained that if he still belonged to Detroit, he could be optioned out for only three years, so he was now eligible to become a free agent.

He complained to Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis, and struck pay dirt. He was immediately sold to Cincinnati and signed to a $6,000 contract.

Heath would get his chance in the major leagues and would be joining former Toronto manager Dan Howley.

Heath made his major-league debut in the Reds’ fourth game of the season, on April 18. He was 1-for-4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Larry French with two strikeouts.

He had hit .269 in his seven games in 1931, and in ’32, after 39 games, he was hitting .201. It was clear that he was not making the grade. He was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals and sent to Rochester of the International League, never to see the big leagues again.

The last stop in Heath’s baseball odyssey, Milwaukee, was his home for many years. He made an immediate impact with the Brewers in 1937, hitting .296 with 25 home runs and 113 RBIs.

Sensing that he was nearing the end of his playing career, he began producing and hosting Sports School of the Air for Coca-Cola on radio station WISN. (He was paid $10 per program.)

In 1938 he hit .294 and led the Brewers with 32 home runs. In 1939 he became the Brewers’ player-manager and led them to a 70-83 season, hitting .259 with 16 home runs. In 1940 he played in just four games and was replaced as manager by Ray Schalk as the Brewers struggled to a last-place finish.

His playing career was over. He had played in 2,283 minor-league games with a career batting average of .299.

In 1941 Heath was hired to broadcast the Brewers’ games on WISN.

Early in the season, he tried to put a deal together to buy the club but failed.

Bill Veeck and Charlie Grimm succeeded and they hired Heath to add coaching and promotional work to his broadcasting duties.

Mickey often spoke of his time with Veeck and Grimm as being the most fun he had in baseball. While the Brewers’ owner, Veeck tried out many of the stunts he would later use as a big-league owner.

In 1942 Mickey continued to do the play-by-play as the game broadcasts moved to WEMP.

Charlie Grimm managed the team to a first-place finish, though the Brewers lost in the playoffs. After the season Veeck joined the US Marines was sent to the South Pacific. He asked Heath to take charge of all player deals, while continuing to broadcast the games.

When Veeck sold the Brewers after the 1945 season, Heath’s employment with the club ended, although he continued as the broadcaster.

Heath hoped to work again with Veeck, especially after Veeck purchased the Cleveland Indians in 1946. It was not to be. Heath continued to broadcast the Brewers’ games until 1950, when he left baseball behind.

Mickey and his wife, Mona, raised their family in Milwaukee, and later moved to California.

They had two children, Stanley Heath, who was an All-American quarterback at Nevada and played briefly for the Green Bay Packers, and Dona Bigelow, an artist.

Note: Robert W. Bigelow one of Mickey Heath’s grandchildren, has written extensively about his grandfather’s baseball career.