Baseball History Thread

[OleMissCub]

Thought this was pretty:

 

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/293/babeswingrh5.gif

[OleMissCub]

Some advertisements of various players:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/feller-1.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/06b876.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/06b875.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1910sTyCobbTobaccoTin.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1930sBabeRuthDrinklessEasel-backAdv.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1940sTyCobbSee-HowMovieViewerwithBo.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/3d_1_b.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/3df5_1_sbol.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/426f_1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/43068.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/6ruth.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/BabeRuth-KingOfSwat-YankiboyUni30s.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/BabeRuthUnderwear.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/BabeposterforfilmHeadinghome.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/a3b0_1_sbl.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/BatteringBabeLookAtHimNow.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/TyCobbSchoolNotebook-1910s.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/c7d7_1.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/da76_1_sbol.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/de55.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/e7d5_1.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/c20d_1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/fe80_1.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/fnphillies.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/l_790bf014b07da83512ee3838a6ca2894.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/cobbglove.jpg

 

and the most ironic of them all considering what Ruth died from.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1945IronicBaeRuthCigaretteAd.jpg

[Clem Fandango]

Speaking of history, has anyone noticed that this season may produce two 40-40 hitters in Hanley Ramirez and Grady Sizemore? A 40-40 guy is rare enough, but two in one year? Astounding.

 

Hell, if they play out of theior minds the second half we may have two 50-50 guys, though that's a stretch, but anything is possible

[erik316wttn]

I vote that this thread be stickied, on the fact that (a) it's awesome, and (b) there are a lot of baseball history buffs on NSBB.

[OleMissCub]

I vote that this thread be stickied, on the fact that (a) it's awesome, and (b) there are a lot of baseball history buffs on NSBB.

 

That would be great if it was! I just wish people posted more in it!!

[Guest]

I have nothing to contribute in this thread so I don't post but I am an avid reader.

[OleMissCub]

Hate to bust up the width of this page, but I can't let these beauties go without being posted:

 

Wrigley Field, July 27, 1929, Phillies v. Cubs

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38681&d=1207019120

 

Polo Grounds, May 20, 1905, Pirates v. Giants (that outfield depth...wow)

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38698&d=1207022274

 

Chicago West Side Park, July 2, 1908, Pirates v. Cubs

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38729&d=1207057307

 

Yankee Stadium, 1929. HOFers Ruth in RF, Gehrig at 1st, Lazzeri at 2B, Leo Durocher at SS, Bill Dickey at C, Earle Combs in CF, and Herb Pennock pitching:

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39797&d=1208021166

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/Image2.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/Image45.jpg

 

Your 1915 A.L. All Stars:

 

All in the HOF except for Daubert and Burns.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1915MajorLeagueAll-StarsPhoto.jpg

[erik316wttn]

I don't have any rare old pictures to share, or any pictures of any sort. But, I was thinking the other day about some achievements in the modern era that we'll never see matched or even tested.

 

Some that came to mind...

 

--DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. The thing that amazes me the most about that (other than getting a hit in every game for two solid months!) is that he started another 16-game streak the day after the 56-game streak was broken. And, on the day it was broken, it took two highlight-reel plays by the Cleveland 3rd baseman to hold him hitless that day. If it wasn't for that, the 56-game streak would have turned into an astounding 73games!!!

 

--DiMaggio was also elected to the All-star game in every season of his career.

 

--This isn't a record, but more of a "what could have been" story. In 1934, DiMaggio injured his knee so badly that most everyone thought his career was over. The Cubs turned down a no-risk tryout. The Yankees gave him a tryout and bought his contract for $25,000. And, as the kids like to say, the rest is history.

 

--Johnny VanderMeer's 2 consecutive no-hitters. He must have been hailed as the second coming of Jesus after that second one. Could you imagine the hype around a young pitcher today who threw 2 consecutive no-hitters with what the media is today? ESPN would devote 90% of SportsCenter to him. A fun little side-note: Babe Ruth was a coach for the Dodgers and was in the dugout for the second of those games. It was also the very first night game at Ebbet's Field.

 

--4256 hits. I'll never live to see it broken. Say what you want about Rose, but he was one hell of a hitter.

 

--Rickey Henderson's 1406 stolen bases. Guys don't run as much anymore, and even if they did, there's nobody who would even break four figures in a career anymore. Just unreal.

 

--130 steals in a season, also by Henderson

 

--Cobb's .367 career batting average

Edited July 10, 2008 by erik316wttn

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I too love this thread but have nothing of substance to contribute. of course, that could be said about most of my appearances...

[OleMissCub]

It's amazing how similar the outfield panorama of West Side Park (old Cubs park) is to Wrigley:

 

August 30, 1908, Cubs v. Giants

 

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/6020/aug30hs7.jpg

 

 

West Side Park was where the University of Illinois Medical Center is now.

[OleMissCub]

From My Life In Baseball, Ty Cobb recounts meeting Honus Wagner for the first time during the 1909 World Series.

When two perennial league batting champions collide in a World Series, you can expect trouble. Especially, if the two form an instant friendship and strike no sparks. You can't fill sport-page space with simple good fellowship. In 1909, Wagner's .399 average and my .377 led our respective leagues. Looking for color, the photographers posed us in Pittsburgh before the opening Series game. We were meeting for the first time and we both blinked in surprise because we both gripped our bat in pretty much the same way - lower hand a few inches from the knob and with hands a palm-width or so apart. Only a few players used the style then, and very few have used it since.

 

We couldn't have been much less alike physically. Wagner - maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond - was a bow-legged bull of a man at around 205 pounds and well under six feet. I was on the slim, straight-bodied side, 6-1 and about 175 pounds. Yet we'd both adopted the same style with the hickory stick.

 

"Did you pick that yourself?" I asked Honus.

"Yep. How about you?"

"I worked it out, too," I said. "Good luck in the Series. I've admired you for a very long time."

 

It was a rough six games we played, the Pirates winning the world championship. Tom Jones, our first baseman, was carried off teh field after crashing into the Pirates' Chief Wilson, and so was Bobby Byrne, of the Bucs, when he tangled with George Moriarty at third base. A few times it looked like fists would fly. But Wagner and I never had a cross word - and I certainly didn't stand on first base, hollering, "Look out, Krauthead, I'm coming down!", and then get my lip split when Wagner slammed me with the ball. That's 100 percent concoction.

 

Spike Honus Wagner? It would have taken quite a foolhardly man. He wore thick felt pads under his socks to absorb any slider's cleats. And he could block off a base-runner with his huge, bearlike body in a manner that made the boys very careful when they slid in his vicinity.

 

So much for another exploded bag of journalistic hot air.

 

 

 

 

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6123/cobbwagnermz9.gif

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8783/cobbwagyg2.jpg

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=28617&d=1189038903

[OleMissCub]

A small essay from Bill James about who was better, Mantle or DiMaggio?

 

Joe DiMaggio played thirteen seasons in the major leagues. What if you compared Mickey Mantle's first thirteen full seasons, 1952-1964, to Joe DiMaggio's career totals. Who would come out ahead?

 

As a hitter, Mickey Mantle is a long way ahead. First of all, Mantle, despite the publicity given to his bad knee and his aching legs, played more games - 1,787 for Mantle, 1,736 for DiMaggio. This is not caused by the expanded schedule, which came in only over the last four years of Mantle's period. DiMaggio had quite a few injuries, and he just missed more time with injuries than Mantle did. From there on, we should compare what they did in seasonal notation (per 162 games).

 

DIMaggio's batting average is a few points higher, but Mantle holds the edge in the more important categories of on base percentage and slugging percentage. Mantle drew almost 40 more walks per season (112-74), and therefore made 40 fewer outs per season (444 to 440). Mantle stole more than four times as many bases and had a better stolen base percentage, although DiMaggio's stolen base percentage is good. Mantle grounded into less than half as many double plays, 72 to about 175. DiMaggio has his advantages, including RBI, but I don't know of any line of statistical analysis which would not show that Mantle was the more productive hitter, even not adjusting for offensive context.

 

If you adjust for the league run context, it isn't even close. The American League in DiMaggio's years averaged 4.83 runs per team per game. DiMaggio created 1,554 runs, meaning that he created all the runs a team would normally score in 322 games. The American League 1952-1964 (Mantle's time) averaged 4.33 runs per team per game. Mantled created 1,595 runs in those years, so he created all the runs a team would normally score in 368 games. In terms of game impact, Mantle is 46 games better, 14% better.

 

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/8381/mickyleftgifze0.gifhttp://img293.imageshack.us/img293/5165/mickyrightgifmx1.gifhttp://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8247/joedgifcz3.gif

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2637/01micksg5.jpg

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33549&d=1199084348http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33550&d=1199084359

[Ding Dong Johnson]

keep these old pics coming, OMC. I'm often amazed at how different "history" will be going forward with the modern advances in photography and video in all aspects of life.

[OleMissCub]

keep these old pics coming, OMC. I'm often amazed at how different "history" will be going forward with the modern advances in photography and video in all aspects of life.

 

Yep, I often think about how cool it would be to see a game from the old days broadcast using modern capacities. I think if I had to pick one game from the old times that I'd like to see, it'd probably be a game between the Athletics and Yankees from 1927.

 

In that game, the HOF'ers you'd be able to see:

 

On the A's: Mickey Cochrane, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Zach Wheat, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove

 

On the Yanks: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Leo Durocher, Bill Dickey, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, Stan Coveleski

[Rob]

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8783/cobbwagyg2.jpg

 

It would appear that Ty Cobb has one of those girly, limp-wristed handshakes.

[OleMissCub]

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8783/cobbwagyg2.jpg

 

It would appear that Ty Cobb has one of those girly, limp-wristed handshakes.

 

HA, it does look like that. Maybe he was scared of Honus. I probably would be.

[OleMissCub]

Some weird poses of pitchers that Baseball Magazine did in 1913:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/pitcher6.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/pitcher5.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/pitcher4.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/pitch1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/Pitcher20.jpg

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29254&stc=1&d=1189964085

 

Also wanted to add this picture of Mathewson and the craziest man to play the game: Rube Waddell

 

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23572&d=1178394665

 

Good shot of Alexander:

 

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=36781&d=1204338206

[OleMissCub]

Top 7 hitting careers according to the WARP3:

 

Bonds - 236.4

Ruth - 227.8

Mays - 220.1

Aaron - 217.6

Wagner - 203.0

Cobb - 194.3

Musial - 191.5

 

Interesting to note that after age 35, Bonds' WARP3 numbers:

 

Bonds - 80.7 (34% of total WARP3)

 

Not too many players I'd imagine can say that a third of their career value came after the age of 35.

[OleMissCub]

Bill James' Top 10 Players according to total Win Shares:

 

1. Babe Ruth - 758

2. Ty Cobb - 726

3. Honus Wagner - 655

4. Henry Aaron - 641

5. Willie Mays - 641

6. Cy Young - 635

7. Tris Speaker - 633

8. Stan Musial - 604

9. Eddie Collins - 572

10. Mickey Mantle - 565

 

His Top 100 Greatest Players of all time (including Negro Leaguers) from his Baseball Abstract in 2000. The book has numerous explanations for why some players are ranked higher than others and how he is able to rate Negro Leaguers, etc.

 

1. Babe Ruth

2. Honus Wagner

3. Willie Mays

4. Oscar Charleston

5. Ty Cobb

6. Mickey Mantle

7. Ted Williams

8. Walter Johnson

9. Josh Gibson

10. Stan Musial

11. Tris Speaker

12. Henry Aaron

13. Joe DiMaggio

14. Lou Gehrig

15. Joe Morgan

16. Barry Bonds

17. Satchel Paige

18. Eddie Collins

19. Lefty Grove

20. Pete Alexander aka Grover Cleveland

21. Mike Schmidt

22. Rogers Hornsby

23. Cy Young

24. Frank Robinson

25. Turkey Stearnes

26. Rickey Henderson

27. Pop Lloyd

28. Mel Ott

29. Jimmie Foxx

30. George Brett

31. Mark McGwire

32. Jackie Robinson

33. Pete Rose*

34. Eddie Matthews

35. Craig Biggio

36. Warren Spahn

37. Carl Yastrzemski

38. Tom Seaver

39. Arky Vaughan

40. Napoleon Lajoie

41. Yogi Berra

42. Christy Mathewson

43. Mule Suttles

44. Johnny Bench

45. Jeff Bagwell

46. Bob Gibson

47. Kid Nichols

48. Cal Ripken

49. Roger Clemens

50. Duke Snider

51. Sandy Koufax

52. Smokey Joe Williams

53. Roy Campanella

54. Tony Gwynn

55. Robin Yount

56. Bob Feller

57. Reggie Jackson

58. Ryne Sandberg

59. Charlie Gehringer

60. Wade Boggs

61. Eddie Murray

62. Johnny Mize

63. Harmon Killebrew

64. Rod Carew

65. Buck Leonard

66. Joe Jackson

67. Cristobal Torriente

68. Hank Greenberg

69. Willie McCovey

70. Home Run Baker

71. Al Simmons

72. Mickey Cochrane

73. Ken Griffey Jr.

74. Roberto Clemente

75. Frank Thomas

76. Cool Papa Bell

77. Ernie Banks

78. Steve Carlton

79. Mike Piazza

80. Roberto Alomar

81. Tim Raines

82. Willie Stargell

83. Three Finger Brown

84. Paul Waner

85. Minnie Minoso

86. Willie Wells

87. RON SANTO

88. Frankie Frisch

89. Sam Crawford

90. Al Kaline

91. Brooks Robinson

92. Greg Maddux

93. Barry Larkin

94. Carl Hubbell

95. Martin Dihigo

96. Robin Roberts

97. Carlton Fisk

98. Kirby Puckett

99. Ed Delahanty

100. Billy Williams

 

I thought his blurb about Pete Rose is particularly interesting:

 

Let me write just a few paragraphs here for young readers, who don't remember Pete Rose's career. Pete Rose played the game differently than anyone else. When he drew a walk, he dashed to first base as if he were being chased by a leopard, as fast as he would run on a ground ball to short. He ran to his defensive position at the start of the inning; he ran ful tilt back after the inning was over. He actually ran from the on-deck circle to the batter's box: if he struck out he raced back to the dugout. If he had to back up another fielder, he backed him up full speed, as if he fully expected that he would have to make a play. He was not blessed with great speed or strength or quickness or agility, but he was perhaps the most competitive player who ever lived. He hustled, from April first to the end of the season, like nobody else we ever saw; he was called Charlie Hustle. He loved the game of baseball, he loved playing baseball for a living, and he made sure that it showed every day.

 

Now, I never particularly liked the Pete Rose show, and for a long time about the only thing I ever wrote about him was that he wasn't as good as everybody said he was. But Pete Rose was never my hero, so his personal failings were never a source of pain to me. He is what he is. The man did get 4,256 hits in his career, more than a thousand of them for extra bases. He scored 2,165 runs, a staggering number, led the National League in hits seven times, in doubles five times, in runs scored four times. He drew more than 85 walks six times, won Gold Gloves as an outfielder, made the All-Star team at four positions, led the league in fielding percentage at three positions, led the league in outfield assists twice, won three batting titles, led the league twice in on-base percentage, had a 44-game hitting streak, had two streaks of 500 or more consecutive games played, and took six teams to the World Series.

 

Pete Rose had more extra base hits in his career than Mike Schmidt, Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Al Simmons, Eddie Matthews, Willie McCovey, Harmon Killebrew, or Joe DiMaggio.

[OleMissCub]

1963 NL MVP voting:

 

1st place: Sandy Koufax, 25-5, 20 CG, 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 306 K's

 

2nd place: Dick Groat, .319/.377/.450, 129 OPS+, 6 HR, 43 doubles, 11 triples, 73 RBI, 85 runs, 3 stolen bases, 56 BB's, 284 TB

 

3rd place: Hank Aaron, .319/.391/.586, 179 OPS+, 44 HR, 29 doubles, 4 triples, 130 RBI, 121 runs, 31 stolen bases, 78 BB's, 370 TB

 

I get why Sandy got it; One of the best seasons ever by a pitcher, his team won the World Series, yada yada.

 

But Groat over Aaron? Aaron scored 36 more runs than Groat and drove in 57 more. His OPS+ was 50 points higher! Aaron had nearly 100 more total bases!

[bukie]

1963 NL MVP voting:

 

1st place: Sandy Koufax, 25-5, 20 CG, 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 306 K's

 

2nd place: Dick Groat, .319/.377/.450, 129 OPS+, 6 HR, 43 doubles, 11 triples, 73 RBI, 85 runs, 3 stolen bases, 56 BB's, 284 TB

 

3rd place: Hank Aaron, .319/.391/.586, 179 OPS+, 44 HR, 29 doubles, 4 triples, 130 RBI, 121 runs, 31 stolen bases, 78 BB's, 370 TB

 

I get why Sandy got it; One of the best seasons ever by a pitcher, his team won the World Series, yada yada.

 

But Groat over Aaron? Aaron scored 36 more runs than Groat and drove in 57 more. His OPS+ was 50 points higher! Aaron had nearly 100 more total bases!

 

Hate to go there, but perhaps because he was white? Who was the first black MVP?

[OleMissCub]

 

Hate to go there, but perhaps because he was white? Who was the first black MVP?

 

I highly doubt that was it.

 

Black MVP's before 1963:

Jackie Robinson - 1949

Roy Campanella - 1951, 1953, 1955

Willie Mays - 1954

Don Newcombe - 1956

Ernie Banks - 1958, 1959

Frank Robinson - 1961

Maury Wills - 1962

 

Also, Elston Howard won it in the AL in 1963.

[javy knows my name]

Can someone explain why pitchers in the 30s-60s could pitch on two days' rest and both ends of a doubleheader without breaking down? I'm looking at Cy Young's wins record on Unbreakable Records on ESPN and it seems like he and others back then were a different species or something

[OleMissCub]

Some photos from the Negro Leagues:

 

Rube Foster, the founder of the Negro Leagues:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2438835535_114a24e8f2.jpghttp://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/rube-foster-hof.jpg

 

Satchel Paige.

""Paige was the best pitcher I ever saw." - Bob Feller

"If me and Satch were together in St. Louis, we would clinch the pennant by July and go fishing from then until World Series time." - Dizzy Dean

 

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7602/satchze1.jpg

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46375&d=1215475280

 

Josh Gibson:

"Greatest hitter I ever saw." - Bill Veeck

""He can do everything. He hits the ball a mile. And he catches so easy." - Walter Johnson

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46254&d=1215377044http://mopupduty.com/baseballprints//catalog/images/joshgibson1.jpg

http://www.psacard.com/smrweb/backissues/smr0804/Josh-Gibson-basher.jpg

http://www.baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33319&stc=1&d=1198519430

 

Oscar Charleston, probably the best Negro League player of all time:

"He was the greatest player I ever saw." - John McGraw

"Charleston could hit that ball a mile. He didn't have a weakness. When he came up, we just threw and hoped like hell he wouldn't get a hold of one and send it out of the park." - Dizzy Dean

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/oscar-charleston-hof-jpg.jpg

 

Smokey Joe Williams, probably the best Negro League pitcher of all time. Smokey Joe's Stats.

"He'd be a sure 30 game winner" - Ty Cobb

"He threw harder than anyone I ever saw" - Satchel Paige

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16807&d=1167450293http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/4425/youngjoewilliamsvo7.jpg

 

Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell:

http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/2000/baseball/josh%20and%20cool.JPG

 

Ernie Banks in the Negro Leagues:

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2048/banksgg3.jpg

 

Pop Lloyd. When Honus Wagner was told that Lloyd was being called "the black Honus Wagner, he said that he considered the comparison with Lloyd an honor.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/pop-lloyd-hof.jpg

 

Biz Mackey in Japan in 1927:

http://www.nlbpa.com/BizMackey_Japan.jpg

 

James "Cool Papa" Bell.

"Once he hit a line drive right past my ear. I turned around and saw the ball hit his ass sliding into second!" - Satchel Paige

"If the door were open, you'd be the first one I'd hire." - Connie Mack

 

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/photos/Bell_Cool_Papa1942.jpg

http://z.lee28.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/cool_papa_bell2.jpg

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=15543&d=1162450156

 

Ernie and Paige:

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/photos/Banks_and_Paige.jpg

 

Homestead Grays, 1913:

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/5449/earlygraysel6.jpg

 

1944 Homestead Grays, probably one of the best Negro League teams ever:

L to R: Jelly Jackson, Ray Battle, Edward Robinson, Sam Bankhead, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Dave Hoskins, Jerry Benjamin, and Cool Papa Bell.

http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/2000/baseball/Grays%20dugout.JPG

 

Buck Leonard:

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction29/photographs/36566.jpg

 

Larry Brown, maybe the best Negro League defensive catcher. During an exhibition game, he threw out Ty Cobb three times in succession when he attempted to steal. Cobb was so impressed with Brown that after the game he approached Brown and offered to introduce him into the majors by passing him off as a Cuban. Brown declined because he figured he'd be recognized and be caught lying.

http://baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13757&d=1157345512

 

1905 Chicago Union Giants:

http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/ichicdn/s0029/s002974.jpg

 

1932 Pittsburgh Crawdads and their "Big Five". L to R, Oscar Charleston, Ted Page, Josh Gibson, Judy Johnson, and Jud Wilson.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/judy-johnson-hof.jpg

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Can someone explain why pitchers in the 30s-60s could pitch on two days' rest and both ends of a doubleheader without breaking down? I'm looking at Cy Young's wins record on Unbreakable Records on ESPN and it seems like he and others back then were a different species or something

 

Awful hitters who didn't require any effort to get out. Lots of them.

 

Take the 1946 Cardinals. They had Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, and Whitey Kurowski, but their other 5 hitters OPS'ed under .700. And they led the league in runs.