Player #74O: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.
Carroll highlights Rice's 1931 season: As he had every other time he had contemplated retirement, however, Rice did return. And as the 1931 season dawned, he remained the Senators' regular right-fielder, at least temporarily.
But just a few games into the season, that status already seemed precarious, particularly in light of the concerns (manager Walter) Johnson had expressed the previous fall about Rice's age (Johnson had acknowledged that Rice -- and teammate Joe Judge -- had reached the age that required the roster to include players who could step in should they start to slip). In late April, Rice and Judge were both mired in slumps, though Johnson tried to dress it up as best he could, explaining that both were hitting the ball hard, but just right at people.
. . . In June of 1931, Judge missed several games after undergoing an appendectomy. And by the end of the month, both he and Rice were in serious danger of losing their everyday status.
"Scribes have been singing the swan song of both for some time," the Washington Post wrote, "and had been proven wrong so many times that they finally had forgotten both words and music, but they are now seeking the copyright owners with a view toward popularizing the song again." . . .
. . . Rice played in 120 games in 1931, by far the lowest total since the season he had lost thirteen years before while serving in World War I. He batted a respectable .310. He spent most of his time in right field, but even played some of the first few games of his career in left field as Johnson tried to use him as much as he could without sacrificing (Dave) Harris's time. The Senators won ninety-two games, including twelve in a row at one point, but it wasn't enough in a tough American League, as they still finished in third place and well, well behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics.
In no time after the season's conclusion, Rice had returned to his beloved golf links, playing competitive tournaments while the World Series was still going on. Later in the month, he unsuccessfully tried to defend his District of Columbia left-handed title at Indian Spring.
(I had to include that last item because I was a member of Indian Spring CC from 1980 until it closed in 2006. The club relocated in the 1960's, so I never played the course Sam did. But still.)
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