Baseball History Thread

[Garwilly]

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/tycobb2.jpg

 

I can't help but feel the opportunity for a caption contest was missed.

[OleMissCub]

omg....look how small Hack Wilson is in this photograph of the "Babe Ruth 1929 All-Stars"

 

l to r: Al Simmons, Hack, Lefty Grove, Babe, Pie Traynor, Guy Bush, Mickey Cochrane, Rogers Hornsby, and Jimmie Foxx:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/hack1.jpg

[Clem Fandango]

omg....look how small Hack Wilson is in this photograph of the "Babe Ruth 1929 All-Stars"

 

How in the F did he generate enough power to hit 56HR? Short walls back in the day?

 

That picture should inspire short ballplayers everywhere.

 

Also, who won the MVP in 1930? How could he have not gotten any consideration? .356/.454/.723 56HR 191RBI (still a MLB record)

 

And no votes for MVP? WTF?

[OleMissCub]

How in the F did he generate enough power to hit 56HR? Short walls back in the day?

 

Walls were generally a few feet farther away than they are today. I have no idea where his power came from. I guess he just had tremendous strength.

 

Also, who won the MVP in 1930? How could he have not gotten any consideration? .356/.454/.723 56HR 191RBI (still a MLB record)

 

And no votes for MVP? WTF?

 

For different political reasons involving who got to choose baseball's MVP winner, there wasn't an MVP award in 1930 as they sorted out the situation. However, in an unofficial poll by the Baseball Writers Association that year, Wilson did get the award.

 

Fun fact: He didn't hit a grand slam in his 191 RBI season.

[Clem Fandango]

That's bonkers. It'd be awesome if there was pint size slugger in the MLB today

[OleMissCub]

That's bonkers. It'd be awesome if there was pint size slugger in the MLB today

 

Went back and looked at the HR leaders of each league each season and only one HR leader other than Hack was under 5'10, and that was Mel Ott at 5'9. Hack is listed at 5'6, but I don't think looking at that picture that anyone could think he was above 5'4 or 5'5.

[Clem Fandango]

So I'm home visiting the parents for Thanksgiving, and my father is now venturing into the world of bookselling, and he has this nifty barcode scanner and all that useless info...

 

Anyways, I'm messing with the scanner downstairs with a bunch of his old books and I find this gem in the shelf called "The Baseball Reader: Favorites from The Fireside Books of Baseball"

 

It's a quirky fact and info book all about baseball that was first published in 1980 I believe (this one was redone in 1989 I think.

 

Regardless of all that there's some awesome sections in here that are really really intriguing and interesting. It's a compilation of stuff written by all sorts of folks. There's a section in here called "How I Throw The Slider" written by Bob Feller. There's a part by Gabby Hartnett talking about the homer in the gloaming, Carl Hubbell talking about his experience in the 1934 all-star game, a report by Vin Scully about Koufax's no hitter vs. the Cubs, as well as a bunch of fictional stories by various writers. Lots of really great stuff. I'll try and scan a lot of the pages and stories tonight and I'll work on getting them up here.

[Clem Fandango]

Gabby Hartnett's account of the Homer in the Gloaming

 

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2352/gloaming12yq1.th.jpg

 

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/9477/gloaming22tt2.th.jpg

[Clem Fandango]

Here's the table of contents... I'll just put it up here and if anyone wants to see a specific section, throw up a request and I'll try and scan it when I get some time

 

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/1032/contents1ql0.th.jpg http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/920/contents2cy8.th.jpg http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/7892/contents3ro8.th.jpg

[ConstableRabbit]

Gabby Hartnett's account of the Homer in the Gloaming

 

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2352/gloaming12yq1.th.jpg

 

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/9477/gloaming22tt2.th.jpg

That's awesome

[Rob]

OMC, have you picked up Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends yet? It seems the sort of thing that's right up your alley.

[OleMissCub]

OMC, have you picked up Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends yet? It seems the sort of thing that's right up your alley.

 

I haven't , but I've heard it is good. Plus, it has Santo on the cover IIRC, and that's pretty badass.

[Rob]

OMC, have you picked up Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends yet? It seems the sort of thing that's right up your alley.

 

I haven't , but I've heard it is good. Plus, it has Santo on the cover IIRC, and that's pretty badass.

 

Yeah, I was walking through Borders tonight and saw him on the cover of the book. Decided to pick it up. I'll let you know how it is.

[DubCub]

That's bonkers. It'd be awesome if there was pint size slugger in the MLB today

Maybe Fontenot willl be someday. Nah!!!!!!

[OleMissCub]

Some random photos:

 

 

 

Tris Speaker being congratulated by his mother after winning the final game of the 1920 World Series:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1920WSOct20-TrisSpeakersMomcongratu.jpg

 

 

1929 World Series Pennants:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1929WorldSeriesPanoCubsAs.jpg

 

 

 

Captain Ty Cobb in France during WWI:

 

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

 

 

 

Some Cubbies in the bullpen in 1942:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1942ChicagoCubsBullpen.jpg

 

 

 

1914 New York Yankees. That's Frank Chance as manager on the middle of the front row. Those vintage sweaters ballplayers used to wear were terrific:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1914NYYankeesTeam.jpg

 

 

 

Jimmie Foxx in his 1942 Cubs uniform. That's the earliest uniform vest I've ever seen.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/JimmieFoxx1942-Cubs.jpg

 

[OleMissCub]

Saw this on another site and thought I'd post it here. It's a list of the origins of team nicknames, etc.

 

The Royals one is interesting to me. I had always figured that the name "Royals" was an homage to the Kansas City Monarchs.

 

New York Mets

– Named by franchise owners

– Meant to be a reflection of the NY Metropolitans from the American Association (1880-1887) also represented the owner’s corporate name of “New York Metropolitan Baseball Club”

– Other names considered were the Skyliners (runner up), Bees, Burros, Continentals and Jets

 

Philadelphia Phillies

– Founded as the Quakers in 1884 and changed names to the Philadelphias

– Name was officially shortened to Phillies in 1890

– Call the Blue Jays from 1943 to 1948 but official name remained Phillies

 

Chicago Cubs

– Named Chicago Cubs in 1902 when franchise was purchased by John Hart

– Names prior to 1902 included Chicago Colts and Chicago Orphans

– Other unofficial nicknames include North Siders (Wrigley located on the North side in Chicago and Cubbies

 

St. Louis Cardinals

– Named St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association (1882)

– After the American Association went bankrupt the Brown Stockings joined the National League and changed their names in 1890 to the St. Louis

Perfectos before finally changing the name to Cardinals in 1990

– Other unofficial nicknames include Redbirds and Cards

 

Montreal Expos

– Public Poll – Based on hype from the 1967 Worlds Fair (Expo ’67)

– Expos name the same in both French and English

– Other names considered ( Voyagers, Nationals and Royals –based on old Dodger franchise the Montréal Royals but already used by KC)

 

Atlanta Braves

– Retained name of Braves after the team moved from Milwaukee in 1966

– Former official nicknames based on club evolution include Boston Red Stockings (1871-1876), Boston Red Caps (1876-1882), Boston Beaneaters

(1882-1906), Boston Doves (1907-1910), Boston Rustlers (1911), Boston Braves (1912-1935), Boston Bees (1936-1940), Boston Braves (1941-1952)

moved to Milwaukee in 1953

 

Florida Marlins

– Owner named as Florida Marlins in 1991

– Other name considered Florida Flamingos

– Un-officially nicknamed The Fish

 

Washington Nationals

– Owner(s) named as Nationals in 2005

– Movement to name team the Senators meant with opposition from the politicians as the District of Columbia does not have voting representation in Congress and the fact that the Texas Rangers (formerly the Washington Senators held the rights to the nickname)

– Other un-official nicknames include the Nats

 

Houston Astros

– Fan poll named the franchise the Colt .45s

– Named changed to Astros in 1965 to match the movement to the Eight Wonder of the World – the Astrodome

 

Milwaukee Brewers

– Named after Milwaukee’s beer brewing heritage

– Name selected by Bud Selig’s Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club Inc (formerly Team Inc.) which was formed to return baseball to the Milwaukee area

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

– Owner named in 1981 based on allegations from American Association’s Philadelphia Athletics that the player signings by the Alleghenys were “piratical”

– Un-official nickname the ‘Bucs

 

Arizona Diamondbacks

– Fan selected name as Arizona Diamondbacks

– Un-official names include ‘Backs and Snakes

– Team was marketed as the Arizona Diamondbacks to appeal to all of the state rather than just the Phoenix area

 

Colorado Rockies

– Named for the Rocky Mountains in 1993

– Un-official nickname The Rocks (Rox)

 

Cincinnati Reds

– Joined the American Association in 1882 as the Cincinnati Red Stockings

– Known as Cincinnati Reds (1890-1953), Redlegs (1953-1958) then back to the Reds from 1958 to present

– Un-official nickname “The Big Red Machine”

 

LA / Brooklyn Dodgers

– Named the Dodgers in 1913 while still located in Brooklyn – shortened from Trolley Dodgers

– Began as the Brooklyn Atlantics (1883-1884) then became Brooklyn Grays (1885-1887), Bridegrooms (1888-1890 and 1896-1898), Grooms (1891-

1895),Superbas (1899-1910), Trolley Dodgers (1911-1912), Robins (1914-1931) Dodgers (1913-1957) the franchise then moved to Los Angeles

 

SF/NY Giants

– Originally known as the Gothams (1883-1885)

– Became known as the New York Giants (1885-1957) until the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958

 

San Diego Padres

– Named after the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League

– Un-Official nickname The Friars

 

NY Yankees

– Name changed to Highlanders after original club moved to New York in 1903

– Changed from Highlanders to Yankees in 1913

– Franchise originally placed in Baltimore and was known as the Orioles

– Media had been calling the Highlanders the “Yankees” as early as 1904 but the name was officially changed in 1913

– Dispute as to the origin of the nickname but generally thought to have derived from reference to “Northern” Americans as Yankees

– Name change coincided with the move from Hilltop Stadium to the Polo Grounds

 

Boston Red Sox

– Named by owner John I. Taylor as Boston Red Stockings after the 1907 season

– Name was shortened by the media to Sox as red Stocking proved to be too long for print

– Introduced to the American League in 1901 without a nickname the Boston team was called the Americans, Bostonians and the Bostons

– The uniform was blue and included blue stockings until 1907 when Taylor changed the color to Red and the name was changed to Red Stockings

– Un-official names included the Sox and BoSox

 

Toronto Blue Jays

– Named by fans as the Blue Jays in a Name the Team contest

– Part franchise owners, Labatt Brewery accepted the name as their best selling beer was Labatt Blue and an obvious connection could be made

– Un-official nickname is The Jays

 

Baltimore Orioles

– Name by ownership group as Baltimore Orioles in reference to multiple baseball clubs that had used the name since the early 1900’s

– Name change occurred when the group brought the franchise to Baltimore from St. Louis (Browns) and the group wanted to distance themselves from

the Browns legacy

 

Tampa Bay ‘Rays

– Named by fans in 1998 as Tampa Bay Devil Rays

– Name change by owner Sternberg to Tampa Bay Rays in 2007

 

Chicago White Sox

– Named the Chicago White Stockings in 1901 after the name was abandoned by the Cubs

– Shortened in 1903 to Chicago White Sox

– Also known as the South Siders due to their south side location and their home ballpark called South Side Park and the ‘Sox

 

Minnesota Twins

– Named for the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul

– Team formed in 1901 in Washington as the Senators then changed to the Nationals in 1905

 

Cleveland Indians

– Name changed by media selection to the “Indians” to emulate the Boston Braves

– Originally known as the Bluebirds and was shortened to the Blues

– Name changed to Naps after a fan poll in 1903 then to Indians in 1915 after another fan/media poll

 

Kansas City Royals

– Name originates from Kansas City Royal livestock show held since 1899

 

Detroit Tigers

– Has been the nickname of the franchise since the American League changed from the Western League and joined the major leagues

– First game under the official name Tigers was held on April 25, 1901 at Bennett Park

– Various explanations on how the Tiger nickname came to be

– It has been said that the Tiger name came from a newspaper man who indicated that the ball club played like Tigers (reference to the Princeton

Tigers), another says that they were named for the orange stripe on their black socks but it is believed that the name came from a reference to the

Detroit Light Guard who were known as the Tigers.

– The ball club official requested permission to use the name Tigers from the Light Guard upon entry in the major leagues

 

LA Angels

– Named the Angels by owner Gene Autry in 1961

– Nickname came from original Los Angeles franchise in the California League and to the PCL Angels who played in Los Angeles from 1903-1957

– Name also translates direct from the Spanish “Los Angeles” to English “The Angels”

 

Seattle Mariners

– Nickname origin unknown but it is believed to be based on the marine based west coast

– Franchise awarded when MLB offered an expansion franchise to Seattle if the Pilots law suit against MLB would be dropped

 

Oakland Athletics

– Oakland Athletics nickname came from a reference to local Athletic Clubs in the 1860/70s

– Name migrated with the franchise moves from the Philadelphia Athletics (1901-1954) to the Kansas City Athletics (1955-1967) to the Oakland Athletics

(1968-1969) then to Oakland A’s (1970-1981)

 

Texas Rangers

– Named by owner Bob Short as the Texas Rangers

– Nickname originates from the historical Texas Ranger law enforcement organization

[OleMissCub]

Dale Alexander

 

I've just recently discovered this guy. Really stinks he had a career ending injury so soon into his career (thanks to suffering third degree burns when his trainer caught his leg on fire and then nearly losing that leg to gangrene).

 

What the heck is up with his home run totals in the few seasons he played? We'd be calling this guy a juicer who got off his roids if he played today:

 

1929: 626 AB's, .343/.397/.580, 25 HR, 137 RBI, 148 OPS+

1930: 602 AB's, .326/.372/.507, 20 HR, 135 RBI, 118 OPS+

1931: 517 AB's, .325/.401/.445, 3 HR, 87 RBI, 119 OPS+

1932: 392 AB's, .367/.454/.513, 8 HR, 60 RBI, 151 OPS+

[OleMissCub]

Some random baseball advertisements. Be funny to see some of these today:

 

 

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1933HBBatPosterAd.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/1962RogerMarisGoldmineIcicleAd.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/26958.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/32393a.jpg

 

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

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/JoeDiMaggioHandBBatAd1940.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/JohnnyMizeGrangerAd-1930s.jpg

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/TuxedoTobaccoAdSign-WalterJohnsonc1.jpg

 

Yes...Lou Gehrig in a western:

 

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

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/29617.jpg

 

 

 

These are cool. From a clothing catalog:

 

 

Christy Mathewson

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/43328f.jpg

 

Ty Cobb

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/43328e.jpg

 

Walter Johnson

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/43328d.jpg

 

[OleMissCub]

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/80sstar.jpg

 

 

The list of "Stars of the 21st Century" i.e. stars in 2000 as predicted in a 1992 issue of baseball digest:

 

Ken Griffey Jr.

Ruben Sierra

Deion Sanders

Felix Jose

Marquis Grissom

Frank Thomas

Roberto Alomar

Delino DeShields

Gary Sheffield

Ivan Rodriguez

Benito Santiago

Ramon Martinez

Juan Guzman

Ben McDonald

Steve Avery

Tom Glavine

[Derwood]

pretty good success rate with those lists

[ConstableRabbit]

MLB Network had a special on the Negro Leagues last night. Apparently Satchel Paige wanted to challenge Josh Gibson so badly that in the bottom of the 9th with a runner on first and 1 out, Paige intentionally walked 2 batters just to reach Gibson. He struck him out looking on 3 pitches. Gibson never took the bat off his shoulder.

[OleMissCub]

MLB Network had a special on the Negro Leagues last night. Apparently Satchel Paige wanted to challenge Josh Gibson so badly that in the bottom of the 9th with a runner on first and 1 out, Paige intentionally walked 2 batters just to reach Gibson. He struck him out looking on 3 pitches. Gibson never took the bat off his shoulder.

 

Paige was such a tall-tale artist that it is hard to know what is true and what isn't during his career. Be pretty cool if it was true.

[ConstableRabbit]

MLB Network had a special on the Negro Leagues last night. Apparently Satchel Paige wanted to challenge Josh Gibson so badly that in the bottom of the 9th with a runner on first and 1 out, Paige intentionally walked 2 batters just to reach Gibson. He struck him out looking on 3 pitches. Gibson never took the bat off his shoulder.

 

Paige was such a tall-tale artist that it is hard to know what is true and what isn't during his career. Be pretty cool if it was true.

That is true, but it was someone else telling the story.

 

Can you imagine how pissed off we'd be if Zambrano challenged, say, Pujols like that? And how excited we would be if it worked?

[bukie]

MLB Network had a special on the Negro Leagues last night. Apparently Satchel Paige wanted to challenge Josh Gibson so badly that in the bottom of the 9th with a runner on first and 1 out, Paige intentionally walked 2 batters just to reach Gibson. He struck him out looking on 3 pitches. Gibson never took the bat off his shoulder.

 

Paige was such a tall-tale artist that it is hard to know what is true and what isn't during his career. Be pretty cool if it was true.

That is true, but it was someone else telling the story.

 

Can you imagine how pissed off we'd be if Zambrano challenged, say, Pujols like that? And how excited we would be if it worked?

I like to pretend Kerry Wood did just that last year with Pujols in a game last year. Except he popped out rather than struck out.

[UK1679666180]

BB'ing the bases full to get to the best HR hitter in baseball history would definitely tick some fans off as well.