Who is your favorite obscure baseball player?

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Posted By: Tom Russo

I like George "Hooks" Wiltse. Pitched for the Giants behind Matty, McGinnity and Dummy Taylor. Won 13 in a row to start his career in 1904.

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Posted By: howard

John Paciorack, the greatest one game wonder ever. In his only game in 1962 or 1963 he went three for three with two walks, four runs and three RBIs for Houston. And he was only eighteen at the time!

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Posted By: Kevin Saucier

Not pre-war but....

Kevin Saucier - for obvious reasons

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Posted By: DMcD

When I first read this thread I thought: Ho! Jay's back!? Peter's back!? Then I checked the dates. Anyway it's a good topic and was resurrected by the heretofore obscure and mysterious Mr. Walker's granddaughter so what the hey! By popular demand here is a Peter C. topic for you: which would you rather be, a Mayflower descendant or the distant relly of an old ballplayer? Me, I'd go with the ballplayer.

Borrowing Kevin's idea, favorite All-Time Obscure Ballplayer:

Favorite obscure pre-war player, Waipahu's favorite son, Prince Oana:

In accord with Joe B., favorite (obscure) post-war player, Moose Skowron. Not all that obscure however. Seven-time All-Star played on some dominant Yankee teams and never got traded to Kansas City. That's his infallibly-alleged 1957 game-used cap on the shelf.


Interesting interview:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_8_62/ai_104362925

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Posted By: Dan Kravitz

But of course... Dan Kravitz

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Posted By: howard

Kevin, Dave and Dan....are you guys the former players or just similarly named?

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Posted By: judson hamlin

I'll go for Mike Tiernan. Trenton, NJ native and New York Giant outfielder in the 1880's with O'Rourke, Connor, Ward, Keefe, et al. Hit a fair number of home runs for the day and later ran a saloon in NYC. I believe he died during the 1919 flu pandemic.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

Wilbur Wood: He had some great seasons but go zero respect because he was a fat knuckleballer. My first glove was a Wilbur Wood model. I painstakingly broke in that glove all winter, used it for a few years, and my mom threw it out. Man I wish I still had that one. I still have the bat I got at the same time (though it's cracked over the years).

In basketball, Chuck Nevitt. He was the last man on the bench for the 1985 "Showtime" Lakers. When the Lakers had a great lead late in the game, the crowd in the Forum would start chanting for Riley to put in the 7'5" Chuckmeister because having his awkward behind in there meant that the game was over. I saw him on the UCLA campus one spring (I guess the Lakers were working out there). Amazing that a human being can be that tall. His hip was at my throat level.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: Ed Ivey

Moonlight Graham

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Posted By: Marty

Charles Victory Faust

GO YARD

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Posted By: Scot Reader

For some reason I have always cheered the loudest for the late 30s-or-older guys who are nearing either 3,000 hits or 300 wins, e.g. Harold Baines, Buddy Bell, Craig Biggio, Bert Blyleven, Bill Buckner, Carlton Fisk, Julio Franco, Jim Kaat, Phil Niekro, Al Oliver, Nolan Ryan, Rusty Staub, Robin Yount, etc., etc. One might classify them as "veterans on the bubble".

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

I've got to go with Shotgun Shuba. The nickname is for the bat, not the arm...

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

In the Fall of 1949, as an 11 year old kid, my hero for life was Johnny Lindell. In the final weekend of the season it was "do or die" for
the Yankees playing the Red Sox. The Red Sox came into Yankee Stadium on Oct 1st, one game ahead in the standings. In the 8th in-
ning it was tied 4-4 when Lindell came to bat. One powerful swing by Johnny sent the ball sailing into the left-field stands to win it for
New York. That dramatic HR is clear in my mind....as if Lindell hit it yesterday. The Yankees went on to win 5 consecutive World Cham-
pionships (1949-53).

Lindell finished his career as a knuckleball pitcher in 1954....he started as a pitcher with the Yankees in 1941. Mgr. McCarthy converted
him into an outfielder to take advantage of his hitting power.




1949........JOHNNY LINDELL..........................................J OE PAGE...................................JOE DiMAGGIO

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Posted By: fred

pete gillespie

played in 1880's with NY & Troy
he's the only pro baseball player from my home town. i have 4 diff old judges 2 buchner coins, i'm always looking for his cards i don't have.

cool thread

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Fred,there are 5 major leaguers who were born in Carbondale,PA Gillespie is the only one im sure of having a card though. Jack Fee,Ed Kennedy,Tex Hoyle and Pat Kilhullen were all born in the same town and all but one of the six were basically lifelong residents

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Pickles Dillhoefer
Rivington Bisland
Astyanax Douglass
Dick Pole
Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson
Fats Fothergill
Symphony Ciaffone
Tho Only Nolan (little did they know there was another one to come!)
Live Oak Taylor
Jennings Poindexter
Lou "The Nervous Greek" Skizas
Moses "The Rabbi of Swat" Solomon
Nick "Tomato Face" Cullop
Foster Castleman
Garland Lawing
Guido Grilli
Dick Cox
Austin McHenry
Turkey Gross
Steve Shemo
Eli Grba (who I somehow met online and exchanged a few emails with)
"Stan the Man Unusual"
Kewpie Pennington
Pembroke Finlayson
Whammy Douglas
Dorsey Riddlemoser

And, last but not least,

Hilbilly Bildilli.

I'll think of more; the list goes on and on.

Jodi

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Posted By: howard

Jodi, by the looks of your list I think you may want to add Chicken Hawks and Sibby Sisti.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Sure, why not! Also, one I forgot that has always made me laugh for no particular reason, Waddy MacPhee.

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Posted By: Bill

I apologize for not listing a pre-war player but this player immediately popped into my mind when I read the thread title. He played for the Orioles, maybe other teams at least in the late 80's early 90's. Something about the name Larry Sheets just sounds like it's not real.

Change your socks, drink water, and drive on.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Along your lines, Bill, I always felt the same way about Rance Mullinicks and Rusty Kuntz. I mean, come on!

And, although it's FB as opposed to BB, what about Dante "Gluefingers" Lavelli? Do you think anyone ever called up the Lavelli residence and asked, "ARE Gluefingers available?"?!

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Posted By: Richard L.

Don't know if this one has been mentioned, check it out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RUSTY-KUNTZ-1985-Topps-73-PSA-10_W0QQitemZ140174883205QQihZ004QQcategoryZ55928QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

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Posted By: Jim Dale

Joe Rudi that is...A's outfielder later with the Angels, from my home town and was the first major league player I met.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

You guys have done very well!!!!

Only on HOFer...


I love seeing Austin McHenry up there, what a story. I have one of his cards. I have autographs of Ed Abatticio, Spec Toporcer and Larry Yount. I wrote Mr. Yount, he was warming up on the mound, in the game, hurt his arm, was confident he'd get back up next year so he owned up to the arm pain, then he never got back to the show.

Seeing Milan and Donlin up there is good, and Moonlight.

Reulbach should be in the HOF, he shouldn't be obscure. Smead Jolly shouldn't be obscure, all true fans should know about him.


Let me add one name to the bunch... Tillie Shafer. He's in the Sporting Life set, but not much else. He was pretty effective for Mr. McGraw in 1912, coming off the bench, filling in, one of the better on base percentages that season, a player either unknown, or forgotten about.

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Posted By: Darrell

Joe Charboneau --- GO Super Joe--Tribe ROY 1980

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Posted By: Jeremy

Hub Perdue... T206 Southern Leaguer, who also appears in the Cracker Jack series. He grew up in the community in which I live and played ball a few miles away... (Nashville)

~ Jeremy ~

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Posted By: Ken W.

Good trivia answers:
Ned Williamson, the single-season HR King before Ruth. He held the record of 27 HR's for 35 years - one year longer than Ruth's 60 stood. Another is Chief Owen Wilson, who still holds the single-season triples record at 36. Wish the present day game lent itself to someone challenging that one.

As for a great modern day named player: How about Stubby Clap? Played for the Cards in the late 1990's.

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Posted By: Mark

Dummy Hoy
Hippo Vaughn
Bubbles Hargrave

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Ken,an even interesting bit of trivia is that when Ruth broke Williamsons record most people didnt know it. Buck Freeman who hit 25 homers in 1899 was interviewed right before Ruth broke the record and became "known" again because they thought he was the single season record holder. So when Ruth hit is 26th homer that year on september 8th he was crowned by many as the new single season home run king when he actually wasnt the single season leader until september 24th when he hit his 28th. Somewhere in a book i have is an excerpt of the Freeman article and it was interesting to read his thoughts about it

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Posted By: Ken W.

John
Cool story. If I'm not mistaken, September 8th is the same date that McGwire broke Maris' record with #62. Merely a coincidence?

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Posted By: DD

Sidd Finch. So obscure, no one has seen or heard of him in years.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Jeremy, you Nashville Vol fan... please email me at your convenience. Thanks.

FW II

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Hub Perdue had a great nickname, too, if I recall! "The Gallatin Squash"!

Ahh, Stubby Clapp, the little guy with the big heart. He's adored in the minor league towns in which he played. A fellow Canadian, Stubby is from Windsor, Ontario, just across the river from Detroit.

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Posted By: David Goff

The "Hudman" Rex Hudler is a family friend and one of my favorite players. That's me on the left (the dork) in 1988. It's pretty cool that Rex is on the game MLB The Show 2007 as a announcer.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Piano Legs Gore.