Mickey McDermott was the third son of Maurice McDermott, Sr., a police officer and former minor league baseball player. Maurice, replaced at first base on the Hartford Senators in the Eastern League by Lou Gehrig, had determined one of his three sons would grow up to be a baseball player and fulfill his dream, though his first-born son, Jimmy, died at the age of seven and his second son, Billy, was born with deformed legs.\n', '

McDermott started playing first base, his father\'s position, until his coach at St. Mary\'s Grammar School noticed that his ball had a natural curve when thrown. By the time he was playing in the parochial school league for St. Patrick\'s High, he was averaging twenty strikeouts per game. McDermott played for the semi-pro Ferrara Trucking Company at the age of 13 against adults and some major league baseball players moonlighting to pick up some extra money. He went to his first tryout, also at the age of 13, with the Brooklyn Dodgers.\n', '

Mule Haas, a scout for the Dodgers, said that he wanted to sign McDermott, but because of his age it was illegal. At the age of 15, his father changed his birth certificate to make it appear as though Mickey was 18 years old. Joe Cronin, general manager of the Red Sox, did some research and found out McDermott was only 15. Cronin and McDermott\'s father worked it out so that McDermott\'s father got a $5,000 signing bonus and two truck loads of Ballantine Beer for McDermott.\n', '

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