Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

(Mike: Thank you for the kind words and great images.)

Player #160B: Richard B. "Rick" Ferrell. Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1937-1941, 1944-1945, and 1947. 1,692 hits 28 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .378. 8-time All-Star. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1984, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1929-1933. His best season may have been 1932 for the Browns as he posted a .406 OBP with 67 runs scored and 65 RBIs in 514 plate appearances. He held the record for most MLB games caught for 40 years until unseated by Carlton Fiske in 1988. First catcher to receive from staff of four K-ball pitchers for the Senators in 1944. He joined the Detroit Tigers as a coach in 1950, became general manager and vice president in 1959, and continued with the Tigers until 1992. During his tenure as a Tigers executive, they won the 1968 and 1984 World Series and AL Eastern Division titles in 1972 and 1987.

We'll use Rick's SABR biography to highlight his career and time with Washington: Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell (1905-1995) caught in the American League for eighteen years (1929-45,’47) during two of America’s most challenging periods: the Great Depression and World War II. Playing for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Senators, his skill as a durable knuckleball catcher with a laser-accurate arm for picking off potential base-stealers was held in high regard. His .378 career on-base percentage is eighth, all-time, among 50 catchers with 3000 at-bats, according to www.sabr.org, and fourth among the thirteen major league Hall of Fame catchers, bested only by Mickey Cochrane (.419), Roger Bresnahan (.386), and Bill Dickey (.382). . . .

. . . During the 1930s, Rick became one of several major league catching stars that included Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, Al Lopez, Ernie Lombardi, and Gabby Hartnett. On May 10, 1933, young Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey purchased Ferrell from the fiscally strapped Browns with southpaw Lloyd Brown for catcher Merv Shea plus cash estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000. From 1929-early 1933 with the Browns, Rick had hit .289 in 430 games.

With the east coast Boston Red Sox, the catcher enjoyed his best years, catching and hitting well. Two months later on July 6, 1933, Connie Mack chose Rick to catch the entire inaugural All-Star Game. The American League team, consisting of such luminaries as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, All Simmons, Charlie Gehringer, and Lefty Grove, beat the National League, 4-2. Rick was selected to a grand total of eight All-Star teams (1933-38, 1944-45; no game in 1945 because of wartime travel restrictions).

When Cleveland and his brother Wes played against Boston two weeks later on July 19, 1933, Rick homered off Wes, after which Wes homered off Boston’s Hank Johnson, marking the first time brothers on opposing teams had homered in the same game. They taunted each other about their home runs during the game and went out for a steak dinner afterwards. Rick caught a career-high 137 games in 1933. . . . (We'll pick this up when Rick next appears.)

[GeoPoto]

Player #90I: Leon A. "Goose" Goslin. Left fielder for the Washington Senators in 1921-1930, 1933, and 1938. 2,735 hits and 248 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. 1936 All-Star. 1924 and 1935 World Series champion. 1928 AL batting champion. 1924 AL RBI leader. 1968 inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. He drove in the game-winning, walk-off run to win the 1935 World Series for the Detroit Tigers. With Gehringer and Greenberg, was one of the Detroit "G-Men". In 1936 he had an inside-the-park HR when both outfielders (Joe DiMaggio and Myril Hoag) collided and were knocked unconscious. He had one of his best seasons for the WS-winning Washington Senators in 1924 as he posted a .421 OBP with 100 runs scored and 129 RBIs in 674 plate appearances.

One nice touch to this year (1938) was that Clark Griffith was able to bring Leon Goslin back for one final go-round. Goslin hit only .158 in 38 games, putting the cap on an outstanding career. Quite likely the best hitter in the team's history, he finished his big-league journey with an even 500 doubles, 173 triples, 248 home runs, and a .316 batting average. Clark Griffith had a job for him the following year, and the Goose returned to his home state of New Jersey to play for the Nats' Trenton farm team, where he hit .324.

[GeoPoto]

Player #139G: Charles S. "Buddy" Myer. Second baseman with the Washington Senators in 1925-1927 and 1929-1941. 2,131 hits and 38 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .389. 2-time All-Star. 1935 AL Batting champion. 1928 AL Stolen Base leader. His best season was 1935 for Washington as he posted a .440 OBP with 115 runs scored and 100 RBIs in 719 plate appearances. He was involved in one of baseball's most violent brawls when he was spiked and possibly racially derided by the Yankees' Ben Chapman.

We will follow Myer's SABR biography as we track his career -- Part 7: Myer had little opportunity to enjoy his (1935) batting title. In the spring of 1936, he began suffering from persistent stomach trouble. Some thought he was worried sick by his wife’s pregnancy, but other accounts say he had an ulcer. He played only 51 games before he went home in August.

He bounced back the next year to make the All-Star team for the second time. He never appeared in an All-Star Game; Detroit’s Charlie Gehringer was the AL’s premier second baseman and played every inning of the first six classics from 1933-1938.

[GeoPoto]

Player #155D: John T. "Rocky" Stone. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1934-1938. 1,391 hits and 77 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. His career OBP was .376. he debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1928-1933. His most productive season may have been 1932 with Detroit as he posted a .361 OBP with 106 runs scored and 109 RBIs in 643 plate appearances. His best season in Washington was 1936 as he posted a .421 OBP with 95 runs scored and 90 RBIs in 500 plate appearances.

Back to Stone's SABR biography: . . . Early in 1938, despite his physical deterioration and lackluster play (his manager, Bucky Harris, unfairly diagnosed Stone's malady as "Tennessee hookworm", a euphemism for a lazy streak that Harris saw as common among Southern ballplayers), teammates still voted him Most Valuable Team Member for the month of May. The club was in Detroit when Johnny’s mysterious lingering ailment prompted Harris to order a hospital examination on June 19. Test results revealed a sinus infection and severe bronchial attack, initiating an order by Harris to send Stone back to Washington.

A series of tests at Georgetown Hospital revealed the Washington outfielder was suffering from tuberculosis, a highly infectious disease primarily spread through coughing and sneezing. The disease seriously affected a patient’s lungs and in an era prior to the introduction of antibiotics, tuberculosis was very difficult to treat and ultimately claimed the lives of many victims. Restoring Johnny’s body back to health would be a long and tedious process.

The Sporting News reported that, upon hearing of Stone’s diagnosis, “Clark Griffith whirred into action. Griff didn’t want his star outfielder, or members of his family, to worry about finances or how to pay for Johnny’s care. The next day, to Johnny’s hospital room was delivered his salary check for the remainder of the season. Arrangements for treatment at Saranac (New York) were also made by Mr. Griffith.”

Stone wrote to clubhouse manager Frankie Baxter, “Be sure to save my uniform. Maybe a lot of people don’t think I’ll never wear it again, but I’ll climb into it in Orlando and I think I’ll be ready.” Griffith and Harris were less optimistic. “We can’t figure much on Stone, but if he comes around he will be more than welcome.”

Reports from Saranac indicated Stone benefitted greatly from the healthy atmosphere. Doctors called him, “the best patient we ever had, with remarkable recuperative powers and he’ll beat this lung infection 100 per cent.” After hearing the story of Johnny’s inside-the-park home-run back in May, a physician shook his head and remarked: “Only a man with tremendous courage could have kept playing the way he has.”

Stone wrote to Griffith from Saranac describing how he “benefitted from the atmosphere and passed his lung tests and emerged triumphant from an operation,” adding he gained weight and looked forward to the start of spring training. . Despite speculation that Stone might return to the game in time for the 1939 season, it was further determined that although considered to be recovered, he’d risk further illness subjecting himself to the rigors of professional baseball. “Stoney” regrettably announced his retirement.

Stone and his family were residing at the tuberculosis sanatorium in Asheville, North Carolina, when plans for a day in his honor were announced. The event would be held at Griffith Stadium on September 17, 1939; fittingly, the Detroit Tigers would be in town as the visiting team. Initially, Johnny was told to bypass the rigors of the trip, but doctors later relented and allowed him to travel from North Carolina back to D.C.

A special section of the stadium was designated to accommodate Stone’s family, friends and admirers. Funds were raised to purchase a trophy and plans were made to fill a cash purse for the popular former outfielder. Proceeds from the fundraiser were expected to be sufficient enough to pay off the mortgage on the family farm back home in Tennessee.

[GeoPoto]

Player #158C: Cecil H. Travis Part 3. Infielder for the Washington Senators in 1933-1941 and 1945-1947. 1,544 hits and 27 home runs over 12 MLB seasons. 3-time All-Star. One of two to get 5 hits in first game. Led American League in hits in 1941 despite DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak and Ted Williams hitting .406. His best season was 1941 as he posted a .410 OBP with 101 RBIs in 663 plate appearances. In the Army during 1942-45, he wound up a frostbite victim in the Battle of the Bulge and a Bronze Star recipient. His return to MLB after the war surgery was not the same.

In 1939, Travis -- naturally thin at 6’1″ and 185 pounds -- suffered two bouts with the flu and lost considerable weight from his already lanky frame. He rebounded to hit .292, the first time in his professional career that he failed to break the .300 mark. That year, he participated in an all-star exhibition game in Cooperstown, New York, to celebrate the dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1940, playing mostly at third base, a healthy Travis rebounded to hit .322 and earn his second All-Star selection. This time, he not only played in the game but also was in the starting lineup and led off for the American League.

As Travis emerged as a star in the league, he drew interest from other teams, especially the perennially contending Detroit Tigers. One persistent rumor had Travis going to the Tigers in exchange for either all-star Rudy York or future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg. But Washington never traded Travis, and he remained with the Senators his entire career, never playing in the postseason.

[GeoPoto]

The 1939 Washington Senators won 65 games, lost 87, and finished in sixth place in the American League. They were managed by Bucky Harris and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

This was the year that possibly the best hitter of all time made his debut in the league, with the Boston Red Sox. Later in the season, on August 19, 1939, Theodore Samuel Williams smashed his first career grand slam against the Senators in an 8-6 Red Sox victory. Williams would go on in his rookie season to hit 31 homers, drive in a league-leading 145 runs, and bat .327. The league's great star, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, would lead the junior circuit in batting with .381, which would hold as the highest average of his career. DiMag did miss five weeks of the season, though, as a result of a muscle tear in his leg sustained on Griffith Stadium's muddy outfield grass while chasing a Bobby Estalella liner on April 29.

Players of the caliber of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams may come along once in a generation, but not likely twice, as they did. While the Senators didn't have a DiMaggio or a Williams, they did unveil some future standouts of their own in 1939. On July 8, a 21-year-old first baseman made his first appearance in a box score. Mickey Vernon would remain at the position for a period spanning four decades, most of which he would spend in Washington. Vernon's debut year was relatively inauspicious, as he hit just .257 with one home run the rest of the way. By season's end, the native of Marcus Hook, Pa., had played in 76 games, and before his career ended, he would hold the major-league record for most games played at first base. Quiet, consistent, and blessed with a good deal of charisma, Vernon would win the batting title twice, lead the league in doubles three times, and hit 490 career doubles. As a fielder, he was outstanding as well, the best at his position four times, twice pacing the entire majors.

[ValKehl]

Before being called up by the Washington Senators in July of 1939, James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (my second most favorite Senators player when I was a kid in the 1950's) played in 76 games and batted .343 for the Springfield (MA) Nationals of the Eastern league, a Class A minor leage affiliate of the Senators. The earliest Vernon collectible I have is this advertising photo issued by a Springfield clothier: