Goose Goslin
 

Player #90F: 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.

Goslin’s average shrank to .288 in 1929, with 18 homers. The incredible power generated by his muscular shoulders was illustrated by a home run that cleared the high right-field fence at Griffith Stadium. It traveled an additional 75 feet into the backyard of a home where it struck the unsuspecting homeowner, who was hanging laundry. The ball struck with such force that it dislocated the woman’s shoulder.

Shirley Povich of the Washington Post commented: “Even when Goslin wasn’t meeting the ball, he was an exciting hitter. He emulated the Ruthian custom of swinging himself off his feet and depositing himself in the dust when he whiffed. He was the least plate-shy guy who ever lived. Umpires used to threaten to banish him unless he stopped crowding the plate.” He also had remarkable hand-eye coordination: so good that he once beat the New Jersey skeet shooting champ by hitting 50 out of 50 clay pigeons during a match.

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Earlier Bluege
 

A Holland Creameries Bluege ... oops, didn't see we'd moved on from Ossie

Walter Johnson
 

Thanks for posting rc. No worries regarding timing -- always a good time to show a great card.

Player #54R: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux addresses Walter's advent as Washington manager: It was perhaps inevitable that the man Clark Griffith would settle on (to replace the departed Bucky Harris as manager) was Walter Johnson. The Big Train signed a three-year contract at $25,000 a year to manage the Senators, on October 15, 1928, a year to the day following his retirement as a player. Griffith had succeeded in convincing Newark owner Paul Block to give Walter his release. Block acknowledged that Griff had been instrumental in delivering Johnson to Newark in the first place, and reluctantly agreed to grant the Old Fox the favor.

Walter Johnson, Griffith realized, may have been too nice to manage a big-league ballclub, particularly in these more promiscuous times. But Walter, who did not drink nor smoke, definitely had the respect of his peers. And he had shown how tough he could be by suspending some of his Newark players in his one season as a manager. The Big Train had known no equal as a player and by anyone's scorecard in the game of life, very few as a person, and the hopes of baseball fans around the nation were with him. In hiring Walter Johnson, Clark Griffith scored a public relations coup and absolved himself of a great deal of criticism for having dropped Bucky Harris. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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Sad Sam Jones
 

Player #121B: Samuel P. "Sad Sam" Jones. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1928-1931. 229 wins and 31 saves in 22 MLB seasons. 2-time World Series champion: 1918 with the Boston Red Sox and 1923 with the New York Yankees. He went to Boston in 1916 as part of the trade that sent Tris Speaker to Cleveland. He pitched a no-hitter in 1923 without striking out a batter. He debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1914-1915. One of his better seasons was 1921 with Boston as he posted a 23-16 record with a 3.22 ERA in 298.2 innings pitched. Another was 1928 with Washington, 17-7/2.84 in 224.2 innings pitched. His final seasons were with the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1935. His 22 consecutive years pitching in the same league is an MLB record, shared with 4 other players.

We go back to Jones' SABR biography for his time in Washington: In early February 1927, Sam was swapped to the St. Louis Browns for Cedric Durst and Joe Giard. In his one season with St. Louis, Jones was 8-14 with a 4.32 ERA. Right after baseball wrapped up postseason play, St. Louis sent Sam and Milt Gaston to Washington for Dick Coffman and Earl McNeely.

Sad Sam pitched four years for Washington, rebounding nicely with a 17-7 (2.84) in 1928, despite the Senators finishing 26 games out of first place. His hopes for another strong season in 1929 were dashed when he sprained his back on May 22. He returned to Woodsfield for a month and next started in early July. He finished the season with a 9-9 mark and a 3.92 ERA. . . .

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Joe Judge
 

Player #73G: Joseph I. "Joe" Judge. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1915-1932. 2,352 hits and 71 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. In 1924, as Washington won the AL pennant and the World Series, he had one of his better years as he posted a .393 OBP with 71 runs scored and 79 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1933-1934. He may have been the basis for the character of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, whose author dated Judge's daughter in the 1940's.

Judge's SABR biography: Judge continued his high production for the remainder of the decade. He hit over .300 in each season, and led the league in fielding in both 1927 and 1929. But the Senators were getting old. One example was Harris, who at 32 years of age hit .204 in 1928. Despite Judge’s excellent production, his job was put in jeopardy when Harris purchased George Sisler from the St, Louis Browns prior to the 1928 season to play first base. Sisler was a year older then Joe, and received every opportunity in spring training to claim the job. Judge persevered, and Sisler ended up being used mostly in pinch-hitting situations, and spelled Judge at first base until he was sold to the Boston Braves on May 27.

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Sam Rice
 

Player #74N: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice Part 1. 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 sets the stage for Rice's 1929 season: Rice and (his wife) Edith were spending the winter in San Diego. As usual, Rice was taking advantage of the warm Southern California climate to work on his golf game (an article of the time identified Rice, Brooklyn's Arnold Statz and Chicago Cub "Speed" Martin as baseball's best golfers). . . .

. . . What frightened Griffith and made him believe that Rice might carry through with his retirement comments wasn't just his advancing age, but how well Rice had managed his meager salary through the years. The Senators' boss was well aware that Rice had taken care of his money and invested it wisely. Any return to the baseball field wouldn't be undertaken out of financial necessity, that was for sure. . . .

. . . The drama began to build in late January, and finally came to an end a few days later, when Rice ended the speculation by signing his Senators contract for the 1929 season. . . .

. . . But just because Rice was returning to the roster didn't mean that he was promised his traditional starting spot in the Senators' outfield. (We will continue this tomorrow.)

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Sam Rice
 

Player #74N: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice Part 2. 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.

Unbelievably, despite the fact that he would be playing for his longtime teammate (new manager, Walter Johnson), Rice's .328 average and 202 hits in 1928 weren't enough for him to secure a starting outfield spot for the following season. For the last few years, the Senators had constantly been aquiring a parade of young outfield prospects who were supposed to push Rice out of his accustomed patch in right field. As the 1929 season approached, the brain trust of the organization thought they had finally found one up to the challenge -- Red Barnes. . . .

. . . Initially Barnes was looked at as competition with (Sam) West for one of the Senators' outfield slots, but when both had productive seasons in 1928, the organization began to look at them as dual cornerstones of a possible outfield of the future -- and present -- for the Senators. . . .

. . . It was one thing to talk about an outfield youth movement, another thing entirely to take the drastic leap of replacing a franchise mainstay like Rice while he was still, despite advancing age, at the top of his hitting prowess. But in late March, with the season still weeks away, that's what Johnson did. . . .

. . . After a two hundred-hit season, Rice had been demoted to utility man. But Johnson's decision came with a caveat -- if either West or Barnes failed to perform at the kind of pace they had set during their torrid springs, he would replace either of them with Rice.

It took all of five games for Rice to earn his old job back. After making only a pair of pinch-hitting appearances in the first four games, including three Senators losses, Rice was back in the lineup on April 23 at Philadelphia. He played right field and batted third. Barnes' slow start was attributed to a knee injury he suffered in a late exhibition game in Charlotte. But whatever the reason, as it turned out, Rice was back in right field to stay. He wouldn't miss a game until August 17. (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)

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Sam Rice
 

a tiny portrait of a "big" player....

Muddy Ruel
 

Thanks again to rc for posting a rare Rice card. Some competition for Val, who recently showed off his Leader Theatre rarity in another thread.

Player #87F: Herold D. "Muddy" Ruel. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1930. 1,242 hits and 61 stolen bases in 19 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1915. He was the Yankees catcher in 1920 when Ray Chapman was hit and killed by a Carl Mays fastball. He scored the tying run in regulation and then the winning run in the 12th inning of game seven in the 1924 WS. His best season was 1923 with Washington as he posted a .394 OBP with 54 RBI's and 63 runs scored in 528 plate appearances. His final season as a player was 1934 with the Chicago White Sox. He was manager of the St. Louis Browns in 1947. He was GM of the Detroit Tigers in 1954-1956.

We'll go to Ruel's SABR biography to reprise his glory days in Washington: In Ruel’s own words after clinching the Series, with his boyish excitement coming through:

“Don’t tell me the breaks of the game don’t either make you or break you. If Gowdy had caught my foul—an easy one—in the twelfth, I’d never have gotten a change to double and later bring in the winning run. But he did, and I did, and that’s why we’re champs. Hot doggie.”

Through the years, Ruel marked this day as his greatest day in baseball. Scoring the winning run in extra innings in Game Seven of the World Series does make for a fond memory.

Almost as soon as the Series was over, Ruel left for a tour of Europe with a team of American League barnstormers traveling with and competing against a team of National Leaguers headed by John McGraw, the manager of the recently-vanquished Giants.

In 1925 the Senators were back in the Fall Classic but this time the glory went to their opponents, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Series again went a full seven games and Muddy Ruel again caught in all seven contests.
On September 30, 1927, Ruel was again present for one of baseball’s famous historic moments. Ruel was the catcher for the Senators in the eighth inning when Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season.

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Sam West
 

Player #122A: Samuel F. "Sam" West. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1932 and 1938-1941. 1,838 hits and 75 home runs in 16 MLB seasons. 4-time All-Star. His career OBP was .371. In 1931 for Washington he posted an OBP of .369 with 91 RBIs in 559 plate appearances. In 1934 for the St. Louis Browns he posted an OBP of .403 with 91 runs scored in 554 plate appearances. His last season was 1942 with the Chicago White Sox.

West's SABR biography gets us started: Playing the last month of the 1925 campaign for the (Birmingham) Barons (of the Southern Association), West hit .265 in 24 games. In 1926 he burned up the league, and played so well that the caught the eye of the Washington Senators’ super-scout, Joe Engel. Convinced that West would prove to be the center fielder of the future for Washington, Engel began to arrange for his purchase. His scouting report noted West to be a good hitter but, surprisingly, a poor fielder. Engel would have been surprised to know that this prospect would become one of the best defensive center fielders in major-league history. . . .

The Senators were not discouraged (as West recovered from a fractured scull caused by a HBP). On August 13 (1926) they arranged for the purchase of his contract for $10,000. The team instructed him to remain in Texas until he had fully recovered.

West was well enough to report to the Senators’ spring-training camp at Tampa, Florida, in 1927. The rookie was assigned to back up all-time great Tris Speaker, but he did not mind. “Tris Speaker, he helped me more than anybody I guess,” West recalled. “I worked with him every day.” (Speaker, who had been player-manager of the Cleveland Indians, had joined the Senators after being cleared, along with Ty Cobb, by Judge Kenesaw M. Landis in a gambling scandal. Landis had reinstated Speaker with Cleveland, but the Indians allowed him to make a deal for himself.) . . .

In 1929 pitching great Walter Johnson became the new Washington manager, and that was fine with West. “Oh, he was a fine, fine, fellow,” West later said of Johnson. “One of the finest fellows I ever met.”

In spring training Johnson made it no secret that he liked his center fielder. “I am particularly sweet on West because he was so many good points,” Johnson said. “He is as fast as lightning. He has one of the best throwing arms in baseball, and I know he will be a good hitter once he gets his stride. And above all, he has a good attitude. He is always out there hustling and giving it his all.” We'll return here the next time we see West.

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1930 Washington Senators
 

The 1930 Washington Senators won 94 games, lost 60, and finished in second place in the American League. They were managed by Walter Johnson and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Deveaux runs over Washington's 1930 season, which included a "murderous rivalry": Since the Washington Senators of 1930 distinguished themselves by having five pitchers with 15 or more wins (a record not to be tied for 68 years), it is readily understandable that they were able to make a remarkable turnaround. The Nats won 94, against just 60 losses. The 22-game improvement nevertheless landed the Senators a full eight games out of first place at the end of the year, second to the defending world champions, the Philadelphia A's. With the bats of young players Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, and Al Simmons supplementing the veteran arms of Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, and Rube Walberg, the Athletics were on their way to a second straight world championship.

The Senators roared through a terrific 17-2 preseason, and won ten of their first 12 to start the 1930 campaign, including six of seven against Philadelphia. But this Washington team could not win with any kind of regularity on the road, and by mid-June the club was already well off the pace set by the A's. At this time, a murderous rivalry between the two clubs, more specifically between big Firpo Marberry and Al Simmons of the A's, came to a head.

Marberry was not afraid to pitch batters tight. It came out in print that Simmons was accusing him of trying to bean him, a charge that Marberry would not deny. Every game played against the A's thereafter featured a dustup, with Simmons having to pick himself off the ground. On several occasions, the eventual Hall of Famer took off after Marberry, his bat brandished high. Firpo wasn't backing off, and on each occasion, players from both clubs had had to restrain the two from coming to blows.

Al Simmons did show the Senators what a Hall of Famer is made of in the Fourth of July doubleheader in Philadelphia, and many Washington baseball observers felt that the season turned on that day. Hobbled by a lame ankle, Simmons sat out the first game, which in those days was played in the morning. In the ninth inning, however, he was called upon to pinch hit with the bases loaded and homered off Bump Hadley to win the game. In the afternoon, he again came off the bench to hit a home run off Ad Liska to beat the Senators. . . .

. . . (manager) Walter (Johnson) lost his beloved wife Hazel on August 1, but was back with the club within four days of her funeral. The Nats won 21 of 30 in the month and left the Yankees far in their wake. They got to within 5 1/2 games of the Athletics during the first week of September before fading into a .500 pattern over the rest of the month. They finished eight games behind the A's, and eight ahead of the Yankees. Their 94-60 record was two games better than that of the Washington team which had won the World Seies six years before.

Early reports to spring training in Biloxi in 1930 -- Mike Martin, Fred Marberry, C. Moore, Lloyd Brown, and Clark Griffith:

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Jackie Hayes
 

Player #123A: Minter C. "Jackie" Hayes. Infielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1931. 1,069 hits and 20 home runs in 14 MLB seasons. One of his better seasons was 1936 with Chicago as he posted a .366 OBP with 84 RBIs in 461 plate appearances. He also played for the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1940. He was the first player to wear a batting helmet in an MLB game.

Hayes' SABR biography covers his time in Washington: After the 1928 season, the Senators fired Bucky Harris, their manager and second baseman. Owner Clark Griffith and his new manager, pitching great Walter Johnson, awarded the second-base job to the 22-year-old Hayes. Washington had four infielders competing for three positions. By the time Johnson sorted them out in June, he settled on 22-year-old Joe Cronin at shortstop, veteran Ossie Bluege at third, Buddy Myer at second, and Hayes on the bench. “Hayes already has shown me that he is a good ball player and will be taken care of,” Griffith said. “It is simply a case of trying to find a place for Myer and his better batting in my lineup.”

That arrangement didn’t last long. In July a knee injury ended Bluege’s season and resurrected Hayes’s. He wound up playing 123 games in 1929, batting .276/.316/.351. That didn’t impress anybody in a year when the entire American League hit .284.

Hayes never cracked Washington’s everyday lineup again. Although he was a superior glove man, he couldn’t match Myer’s bat or speed. “I want ballplayers with speed on the bases and Hayes didn’t have it,” Griffith explained later. “Hayes could pull his hits to any field, and, for a kid, he used a lot of brains at the plate, but he didn’t have enough natural hitting ability to go along with his headwork.”

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z Boyle
 

Player #124: Ralph F. "Buzz" Boyle. Outfielder with the Boston Braves in 1929-1930 and Brooklyn Dodgers in 1933-1935. 389 hits and 12 home runs in 5 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .347. In 1934 with Brooklyn, he had an OBP of .376 with 88 runs scored in 529 plate appearances. Boyle never appeared in an MLB game with the Washington Senators.

Buzz Boyle was an outfielder who was a regular for the Brooklyn Dodgers for a couple years in the 1930s. In 1934, when he hit .305 with 10 triples, he was 16th in the MVP vote. He also enjoyed a 25-game hitting streak that year and led the league in assists as a right fielder. Buzz came up in 1929 and 1930 for cups of coffee with the Boston Braves before joining Brooklyn in 1933. His last year in the majors was in 1935 with dem Bums at age 27, when he hit .272 as an outfielder, but the team as a whole hit .277 (as did the league).

His brother, Jim, was in one game with the 1926 New York Giants. The brothers are two of only five major league players to come out of Xavier University.

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Sad Sam Jones
 

Player #121C: Samuel P. "Sad Sam" Jones. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1928-1931. 229 wins and 31 saves in 22 MLB seasons. 2-time World Series champion: 1918 with the Boston Red Sox and 1923 with the New York Yankees. He went to Boston in 1916 as part of the trade that sent Tris Speaker to Cleveland. He pitched a no-hitter in 1923 without striking out a batter. He debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1914-1915. One of his better seasons was 1921 with Boston as he posted a 23-16 record with a 3.22 ERA in 298.2 innings pitched. Another was 1928 with Washington, 17-7/2.84 in 224.2 innings pitched. His final seasons were with the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1935. His 22 consecutive years pitching in the same league is an MLB record, shared with 4 other players.

Jones' SABR biography picks up his Washington years: Owner Clark Griffith signed him again (after a 9-9 performance in 1929, a season in which he missed time due to a sprained back) for 1930, but to a “bonus contract” based on incentives. Right as the season began, Jones ran afoul of manager Walter Johnson. Accused of “speaking out of turn” (New York Times) and displaying what Johnson termed “not the proper attitude” (Washington Post), Johnson sent Jones back to Washington while the Senators traveled from Boston to Philadelphia. The rift didn’t last long, though, and Jones was back in a few days. Jones was what we could call a “difficult sign” during his years in D.C., but in this case it was perhaps Johnson who “possibly may have been a little harsh” in the words of Post correspondent Frank H Young. Perhaps the bonus clause worked; he won 15 and lost seven (with a 4.07 ERA).

In 1931, Jones was 9-10, and in December the Senators traded him and Irving “Bump” Hadley to the White Sox for Carl Reynolds, Jackie Hayes and Johnny Kerr. The Washington Post said that Jones “undoubtedly is nearing the end of his career.” He would turn 40 during the summer of 1932.

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Heinie Manush
 

Henry E. "Heinie" Manush. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1930-1935. 2,524 hits and 110 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. Had a .330 career batting average. 1934 All-Star. 1926 AL batting champion. Had more than 200 hits four times. In 1964, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923. Leading batter on the 1933 Washington Senator team that won the AL pennant. First and last player to be ejected from a World Series game. Had 241 hits in 1928. Coach for the Washington Senators in 1953-1954.

Deveaux covers Manush's introduction to Washington: The ax fell in Washington at the mid-June (1930) trading deadline. Clark Griffith dropped a bombshell on June 13, announcing that Goose Goslin, the greatest power hitter in team history, had been traded to the St. Louis Browns. In return, Washington got Heinie Manush, whom Goslin had edged out in the celebrated batting race of '28, and pitcher Alvin "General" Crowder. The involvement of Goslin and Manush in this transaction signifies the only time in major-league history that former batting champions were traded for one another. The deal would tilt heavily in Washington's favor, and was proposed to the Nats by Browns owner Phil Ball, who had had personal differences with both of the players he disposed of. . . .

. . . In Heinie Manush, the Senators got an outstanding hitter. Hot at the time of the trade, his stats at the end of the year were 7-65-.362 (these are his stats for Washington -- 7 home runs, 65 RBIs, and a .362 average). Goslin hit .330, but with 30 homers and an even 100 ribbies.

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Firpo Marberry
 

Player #104C: Frederick "Firpo" Marberry. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1932. 148 wins and 99 saves in 14 MLB seasons. First prominent reliever; used as a closer. Important piece of the Washington team that won back-to-back AL pennants in 1924-1925. 1924 World Series champion. His most productive season was 1929 with Washington as he posted a 19-12 record with a 3.06 ERA in 250.1 innings pitched. He ended his career with Washington in 1936.

The Senators won their first American League pennant in 1924, and the Browns’ George Sisler, among others, thought Marberry was Washington’s MVP. In the second game of the World Series, he came into a tie game with two outs in the ninth inning to strike out Travis Jackson, and then watched as the Senators won the game in the bottom of the ninth. By modern reckoning he would be awarded the victory, but the official scorer awarded the win to starting pitcher Tom Zachary. Marberry started and lost Game Three, but pitched well in Games Four and Seven as the Senators captured their first and only World Series title. . . .

. . . Washington won the pennant again in 1925, with Marberry playing another large role. This time he was used exclusively as a relief pitcher, setting records with 55 relief appearances and 39 games finished. Marberry pitched only twice in the World Series, and Harris received some criticism for this. In the seventh and deciding game, while a rested Marberry watched, Walter Johnson was allowed to give up 15 hits and 9 runs in a complete-game 9-7 loss.

In 1926 Marberry appeared in 64 contests, extending his relief appearances record to 59. Although not calculated until decades later, he also earned 22 saves, a record that would not be surpassed until Joe Page did so in 1949. Though still effective, Marberry regressed a bit in 1927 (10-7, 4.64) and 1928 (13-13, 3.85), pitching mainly in relief but getting 21 starts over the two seasons. (We will return here when Firpo next surfaces.)

Firpo is second from the left:

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Firpo ... in Washington pinstripes

The 1931 Washington Senators
 

The 1931 Washington Senators won 92 games, lost 62, and finished in third place in the American League. They were managed by Walter Johnson and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Deveaux describes Washington's situation in 1931: For 1931, (Washington manager) the Big Train had basically the same material as in '30, and the Nats finished at 92-62, the exact same record as in their 1924 championship year. But being in the same league as the Philadelphia A's would again be their downfall. The Nats won 12 in a row on the road and stood at 37-17 after two months, but were still three games behind the Athletics. . . .

. . . Ultimately, pitching did win the 1931 pennant, but it was the Athletics who were the best. While the Yankees had re-established themselves as the offensive force in the A.L., outscoring their chief rivals, Philadelphia and Wahington, by more than 200 runs, the A's had a compliment of pitchers that was marginally better than the Senators', and far superior to the Yankees.

Lefty Grove of Philadelphia had the first 30-win season in the big leagues since Jim Bagby's 31 wins for Cleveland in 1920. (No one won 30 in the major leagues in the years between 1934 and 1968.) Grove won 31 games against just four losses, with a scintillating 2.06 ERA, which led the league. In fact, no one else in the majors had more than 21 victories except Wes Farrell of Cleveland. Grove's teammate, George Earnshaw, won 21. A third Philadelphia hurler to log more than 280 innings was Rube Walberg, who led the league in that department and finished at 20-12. Jimmie Foxx hit 30 homers, Al Simmons 22, and Mickey Cochrane 17, and the A's won an astounding 107 games to finish the season 13 1/2 games up on their nearest rivals. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

Philadelphia's success in 1931 included President Hoover throwing out the first pitch to begin Game 3 of the World Series at Shibe Park:

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1931 Washington Senators Picture Pack
 

A picture pack of 30 pictures was issued in 1931 (by the team, I think) during 1931. Here are the pics of manager WaJo and 3 of his key players:

Nick Altrock
 

Player #117B: Nicholas "Nick" Altrock Part 1. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909, 1912-1915, 1918-1919, 1924, 1931 and 1933. 83 wins and 7 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. At 42 years 1912-1953), he is the longest-tenured coach for one franchise (Washington Senators). He debuted for the Louisville Colonels in 1998. His best season was 1905 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a 23-12 record with an ERA of 1.88 in 315.2 innings pitched. A 1906 arm injury stunted his career as a pitcher. He pitched very little after 1908 but continued making sporadic pinch-hit appearances, including one in 1933 at the age of 57. He became a coach with Washington in 1912 and was known for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" for a dozen years performing comedy routines on baseball fields and on the vaudeville stage.

Altrock's SABR biography remembers his career as a comedian: Altrock and (fellow washed-up pitcher, Al) Schacht became the Martin and Lewis of baseball comedy. They created a series of pantomimes that they performed at games, including bowling, juggling, golf tricks, rowing boats during rain delays, mocking umpires, and other tricks. The two of them regularly headlined vaudeville bills, and became part of the eagerly anticipated entertainment for the World Series and All-Star games. Altrock made more money at his peak in the 1920s than almost any other ballplayer. His salary from all his various appearances was reported in the $180,000 range.

Ironically, in the midst of this success Altrock and Schacht stopped speaking to each other in 1927. Although Altrock never spoke about the specific reasons for it, their rift was often attributed to a fake prizefight routine that got a little too real. The story is that Schacht thought it would be funnier if he actually hit Nick and so punched the older comic unexpectedly and knocked him to the ground. Altrock got revenge a few days later during a routine where he would normally fire a hard baseball at Schacht for him to dodge and follow it with a soft baseball that Schacht took on the head. Altrock switched the baseballs, and Schacht took a hard blow to the skull and hit the turf.

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Ossie Bluege
 

Player #89E: Oswald L. "Ossie" Bluege. Third baseman for the Washington Senators in 1922-1939. 1,751 hits and 43 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. 1935 All-Star. 1924 World Series champion. He played his entire career in Washington. He was best known for his defense, but his best season at the plate was 1928 as he posted a .364 OBP with 78 runs scored and 75 RBIs in 588 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1943-1947.

HIs SABR biography remembers the affect Bluege's smooth defense had on observers: In 1931 the Chicago White Sox were visiting Griffith Stadium. White Sox rookie third baseman Billy Sullivan, right from the campus of the University of Notre Dame, sat in the visitors dugout transfixed with the action on the diamond. The lad was tardy for a meeting. Manager Donie Bush sent a coach to look for him. When the coach asked what he was doing, Sullivan answered, “Been watching that cat out there on third base for the Senators. I guess I was in a trance.” The rookie may have been in a daze as he watched Bluege work his magic, fielding grounder after grounder with little effort. It was a vision that many players and fans were well acquainted with across the American League.

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Cliff Bolton
 

Player #125A: William Clifton "Cliff" Bolton. Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1931, 1933-1936, and 1941. 280 hits and 6 home runs over 7 MLB Seasons. His best season was 1935 as he posted a .399 OBP with 55 RBI's in 435 plate appearances. He also had a .500 OBP in 46 plate appearances coming off the bench in 1933 as Washington won the A.L. pennant.

In 1931 Cliff Bolton made his major league debut with the Washington Senators. Bolton spent the next few years with Washington. Despite a career OBP of .366, he would only get 1,078 plate appearances across 7 MLB seasons.

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Lloyd Brown
 

Player #126: Lloyd A. Brown. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1928-1932. 91 wins and 23 saves in 12 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Brooklyn Robins in 1925. His best season was 1931 with Washington as he posted a 15-14 record with a 3.20 ERA in 258.2 innings pitched. He last played with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1940. He is best remembered as the pitcher who gave up the most home runs (15) to Lou Gehrig, including two grand slams.

Brown's SABR biography covers the highlights of his time in Washington: Walter Johnson became the new Washington manager in 1929, and he said he’d heard very good reports about Brown and that he intended to work with him to help him develop. “They tell me he has the stuff but needs plenty of work. If the first part of this is true I’ll guarantee he’ll be given plenty of work.” Brown did get plenty of work; he appeared in 40 games in 1929, including 15 starts, throwing 168 innings. He was 8-7 with a 4.18 ERA, slightly better than the fifth-place Senators’ 4.38 team ERA. . . .

. . . Brown led the Senators in victories in 1930, with a 16-12 (4.25 ERA) record, but just by a hair. Four other Senators each had 15 wins: General Crowder, Bump Hadley. Sad Sam Jones, and Firpo Marberry. The team finished in second place, eight games behind the Athletics. He had another very good year in 1931 – 15-14 (3.20 ERA) –; though the Senators finished third. And he added 15 more wins in 1932, against 12 losses, with a 4.44 earned run average as the Senators again finished third.

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Bobby Burke
 

Player #127A: Robert J. "Bobby" Burke. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1927-1935. 38 wins and 5 saves in 10 MLB seasons. In 1931, he pitched a no-hitter against Boston at Griffith Stadium. He was the last Washington pitcher to pitch a no-hitter until Jordan Zimmerman in 2014. His best season was 1934 as he posted a 8-8 record with a 3.21 ERA on 168 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937.

Deveaux addresses Burke's surprising accomplishment in 1931: However, it was neither (Washington pitchers, Lloyd) Brown nor (Firpo) Marberry who grabbed the biggest headlines among the Griffithmen in 1931. A 24-year-old beanpole named Bobby Burke, who already had four years and a composite 14-18 record with the Senators under his belt going into 1930 (sic), threw one of the American League's two no-hitters on August 8 at Griffith Stadium. Burke, 7-2 going into that game, struck out eight Red Sox and walked five, but his fielders never had a real tough play to make all day, and there were no miscues, in a 5-0 shutout. Buddy Myer and Joe Cronin both tripled, with Cronin's blow driving in two runs.

Bobby Burke claimed to have thrown just six curve balls in accomplishing the no-hitter. Amazingly, his feat still stands as the only no-hitter in the entire history of the Senators apart from Walter Johnson's in 1920. Just as amazing is that Burke didn't win another game over the final two months of the 1931 season. He managed to hang on with the Nats for another four seasons, largely on the strength, many believed, of that one game in August '31. He left the big leagues following a failed attempt at making the Philadelphia Phillies in 1937. The Senators' old field boss, Bucky Harris, dubbed Burke "the kid who got an eleven-year tryout." (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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Joe Cronin
 

Player #128A: Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1928-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1945. 2,285 hits and 170 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .390. He was a 7-time All Star. Boston Red Sox #4 retired. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1956, he was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. His best season was probably 1930 for Washington as he posted a .422 OBP with 127 runs scored and 127 RBIs on 686 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1933-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1947. He was General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1948-1958. He was president of the American League in 1959-1973. When he left the Red Sox in 1959, they were the only MLB team without a black player. He and team owner Tom Yawkey are generally viewed as responsible for this injustice which ended six months after Cronin's departure.

Cronin's SABR biography explains his rise to stardom: With Kansas City (of the American Association), Joe played mostly third base and struggled to regain his batting stroke after a year of playing so infrequently. In July he was hitting just .245 and feared he might be sent to a lower classification club. Instead, Joe’s ship suddenly came in. Joe Engel, a scout for the Washington Senators, was making a scouting trip in the Midwest when he discovered that Cronin, whom he remembered from the Pirates, was available. The Senators, it turned out, needed an infielder, and Engel made the purchase.

Joe reported to Washington in mid-July. When Engel brought him to meet Clark Griffith, the Senators’ owner, they first had to meet Mildred Robertson, Griffith’s niece and secretary. In fact, Engel had sent a telegram to Mildred before his arrival, warning her that he had signed her future husband. As it turned out, Joe and Mildred soon began a long courtship before being married after the 1934 season.

The Senators needed a shortstop, oddly, because of an arm injury suffered by left fielder Goose Goslin which kept him from throwing the ball more than a few feet. The club needed Goslin’s great bat so the shortstop, Bobby Reeves, had to run out to left field to retrieve his relay throws. Though hitting well over .300 in June, Reeves began to lose weight rapidly in the summer heat, and the team at least needed a capable reserve. Cronin began as Reeves’ backup, but eventually manager Bucky Harris began playing the newcomer most of the time. Cronin hit just .242 in 63 games but played an excellent shortstop and became a favorite of his manager.

After the season Harris was fired and replaced by Walter Johnson. Johnson was a longtime Senators hero, but was not familiar with Cronin at all and said only that he would keep an open mind. The next spring Johnson moved Ossie Bluege from third base to shortstop and installed Jackie Hayes at third, but an early-season injury to Bluege gave Cronin an opening, and his strong play forced the recovered Bluege back to third base. In 145 games, including 143 at shortstop, Joe hit a solid .282 with eight home runs and 29 doubles. His 62 errors, due mainly to overaggressive throwing, did not cause alarm. Turning 22 that fall, Cronin was one of the brightest young players in the game.

In 1930 Cronin took his game up another notch, becoming the best shortstop and one of the best players in baseball. Joe hit .346 for the season, with 203 hits and 126 runs batted in. In fact, the baseball writers voted Joe the league’s MVP, ahead of Al Simmons and Lou Gehrig. It was not until 1931 that the writers’ award became the “official” MVP award, but Cronin was recognized in the press as the recipient in 1930. The Sporting News also gave Cronin its Player of the Year award. The Senators’ 94 wins were eight shy of the great Philadelphia Athletics’ 102-52 record.

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General Crowder
 

Player #129A: Alvin F. "General" Crowder. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1926-1927 and 1930-1934. 167 wins and 22 saves in 11 MLB seasons. 1933 All-Star. 1935 World Series champion. 1932 and 1933 AL wins leader. His nickname came from General Enoch Crowder, who designed the World War I draft lottery in the United States. His best season was 1932 for Washington as he posted a 26-13 record and a 3.33 ERA in 327 innings pitched. He was known as "Yankee Killer", for his success against the Yankees and Babe Ruth in particular. He finished his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1934-1936, including a complete-game, 2-1 victory in Game 4 as the Tigers won the World Series in 1935. He pitched in three consecutive World Series in 1933-1935.

(We go to Crowder's SABR biography and begin with his second stint in Washington: . . . Then, on June 13 (1930), in a startling move, Browns owner Phil Ball sent Crowder, along with outfielder and future Hall of Famer Heinie Manush, to the Washington Senators for another future Hall of Famer, outfielder Goose Goslin. The trade was universally considered a coup for Clark Griffith, who provided manager Walter Johnson with yet another arm for the most consistent and best staff in the AL. Given a new lease on life with a contender, Crowder responded by becoming the workhorse of the Senators staff. After the trade, he hurled nine consecutive complete games, winning six of them, while the Senators battled the Athletics for the lead. Philadelphia pulled away in late July and early August to win its second consecutive pennant, but Crowder proved to be a rubber-armed starter. Concluding the season with nine consecutive complete games for the second-place Nationals, Crowder was one of five Washington pitchers with at least 15 victories. The 31-year-old finished with an 18-16 record (15-9 with the Senators), completed a career-high 25 of 35 starts, and logged 279⅔ innings.

A notorious late starter, Crowder annually struggled to find his form in April and May. As if on cue, the General got off to a particularly brutal start with the Senators in 1931, posting a 0-4 record and 9.64 ERA five weeks into the season, prompting The Sporting News to call him “the biggest disappointment” in baseball. . . . “[Crowder] cannot win until the weather gets warm,” noted The Sporting News, while other sportswriters sarcastically suggested that Crowder should start the season in June or get paid only in the summer. Despite his troubles, Crowder notched a team-high 18 wins and logged 234⅓ innings.

Contemporary sportswriters like Dan Daniel noted that Crowder had a pitching arsenal that included a fastball, a “corking change of pace,” a “baffling” curve, and a screwball, all of which made it difficult for hitters to predict what he would throw. From his lazy, slow, three-quarters-to-overhand delivery, his fastball had surprising movement (often called a “sneak”). He also possessed a deceptive throw to first base which discouraged base runners from taking large leads.

We will now enjoy a brief pause -- planned date for next post: 31 August.

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Carl Fischer
 

Player #130A: Charles W. "Carl" Fischer. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1930-1932 and 1937. 46 wins and 10 saves in 7 MLB seasons. His best season was 1933 with the Detroit Tigers as he posted an 11-15 record with 3.55 ERA in 182.2 innings pitched. He last pitched in MLB in 1937 but pitched another 10 seasons in the minor leagues.

We go to Fischer's SABR biography for his introduction to Washington: Fischer quickly established himself (in 1926) as one of the best left-handers in the (Class B) NYP (New York-Pennsylvania) League, fashioning a 7-1 record with a sparkling 2.15 ERA. After another solid season in the lower minors, the 22-year-old moved up to within one rung from the big leagues, hurling for Walter Johnson’s Newark Bears of the International League. In stark contrast to the mild-mannered Johnson, who was one of the game’s great control pitchers, Fischer’s fiery disposition and frequent wildness on the mound often led to trouble. Trying to harness them was one of Johnson’s more challenging jobs as manager. He met with moderate success, as Fischer finished the season with an 11-8 record, while walking nearly five batters a game.

The following season, Johnson returned to Washington to manage the Senators, leaving Fischer in Newark to work under another future Hall of Famer, manager Tris Speaker. Speaker used Fischer exclusively as a starter and gave him a longer leash than Johnson had. The hard-throwing southpaw responded by twirling 248 innings, winning 18 games and fanning a league-leading 198 batters. Fischer continued his big year by marrying Grace Reynolds of Middleport, New York, in the fall of 1929.

Despite the breakout campaign, Fischer again found himself back with the Bears for the 1930 season. Although he was not as effective as in the previous year, he showed enough that in mid-July the Senators outbid a number of other teams for his services. Team owner Clark Griffith gave Newark $20,000 and two players for the rights to the “Medina Mauler.” The deal reunited Fischer with Walter Johnson, who had recommended him to Griffith and was in his second season at the Nats’ helm. As he had in Newark, Johnson used Fischer in a swingman role, working him out of the bullpen and as a spot starter. Since the Senators were on the fringes of the pennant race, the newcomer saw limited action, taking the mound only eight times in his ten weeks with the Senators, who finished the American League campaign in second place.

Entering 1931, Washington was widely considered to have the strongest stable of pitchers in the league. Despite the stiff competition, Fischer headed north from spring training in Biloxi, Mississippi, on the Senators’ roster. Early in the season he was one of the team’s most effective pitchers and by mid-June sported a 7-1 record and the best winning percentage in the American League. Included in this span of games was an outing that Fischer considered the highlight of his career. In the first game of a May 30 doubleheader against the New York Yankees at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, Senators starter Sad Sam Jones began the ninth inning by giving up a home run to Tony Lazzeri and a single to Earl Combs. With nobody out and Washington clinging to a 3-2 lead, Johnson summoned Fischer from the bullpen to face the heart of the Bronx Bombers’ lineup. Fischer proceeded to strike out Sammy Byrd and Babe Ruth, and then coaxed Lou Gehrig to pop out to end the contest. Fischer claimed he got a $1,000 bonus for his game-saving act.

1931 Washington Senators Picture Pack Fischer

Patsy Gharrity
 

Player #82E: Edward P. "Patsy" Gharrity. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1916-1923 and 1929-1930. 513 hits and 20 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He also played some first base and outfield. He had a career OBP of .331. His best season was 1921 as posted a .386 OBP with 55 RBIs in 455 plate appearances.

Gharrity's SABR biography: . . . Gharrity and Walter Johnson were good friends. Gharrity considered him “one of the grandest fellows” he had ever met. When Griffith appointed Johnson manager for the 1929 season, Gharrity was the Big Train’s choice to join his coaching staff. Gharrity applied for reinstatement and got word from Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis on November 11 (Armistice Day) that he was in good standing again.

Spring training was an interesting sight in 1929. Johnson worked with the pitchers and assigned the other positions to his coaching staff of Zeb Milan, Gharrity, Nick Altrock, and Al Schacht. One writer noted that “Gharrity and Milan make them cry and Schacht and Altrock leave them laughing.”

Gharrity coached with Johnson in Washington through the 1932 season. When Johnson was hired in Cleveland, Gharrity joined him there from 1933 to ’35. In Washington he was signed to a player contract and made a total of five appearances when needed. He also played in exhibition games.

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Goose Goslin
 

Player #90G: 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.

After a salary dispute, Goose was shuttled to the St. Louis Browns on June 13, 1930, for Heinie Manush and General Crowder. Both teams were in St. Louis when the news broke and traveled like wildfire. Goose was greeted with “go to your own clubhouse” when he sauntered in from his pregame constitutional. A bellman handed him a telegram advising him of the trade; he read the correspondence and said: “They weren’t kidding, were they?”

The trade was considered one-sided by St. Louis fans: a strong-hitting outfielder and a starting pitcher were shuttled for the services of just a hard-hitting outfielder. The reported circumstances precipitating the trade offered a clue to the imbalance. Before making the deal Browns owner Phil Ball visited the team hotel, intending to speak with Manush. He called Heinie’s room on a house phone and the operator told him, “Mr. Manush was tired and didn’t want to be disturbed during breakfast.” Incensed, the short-tempered owner stormed out.

Still seething from the Manush incident, Ball attended the afternoon game with friends. Crowder was pitching and after a bad call by the plate umpire, dispelled his anger by hurling the ball into the stands behind first base. The ball hit a railing, just missing Ball and his entourage. Phil got up, left the stands, went directly his office, and called his old pal Clark Griffith. Ball asked if he’d make an offer for Manush and Crowder. The stunned Griffith fumbled to think of a suitable player and quickly offered Goslin. While Griffith paused to think of another player to sweeten the trade, Ball quickly replied – “deal.” And so it was completed – straight up, with no cash involved. Clark Griffith and Goose Goslin had enjoyed what was referred to as a “father/son relationship,” but now it was over.

The move invigorated Goose, who was having a subpar year. His average climbed to .308 and his home-run total increased to 37 with the two teams; it was the highest seasonal total of his career. The next season he hit .328 with 24 homers.

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Clark Griffith
 

Player #28K: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Griffith's SABR biography allows us to reprise the Old Fox's legacy: Few individuals in the history of baseball can boast of a career to rival that of Clark Griffith’s. In terms of duration, as a player, manager, and executive, it was one of the longest ever, spanning nearly 70 years. Griffith is the only man in major league history to serve as player, manager, and owner for at least 20 years each. From his earliest days as a pitcher for money in Hoopeston, Illinois, to his last breath, the Old Fox, as he became fondly known, dedicated his life to baseball. A fiery competitor, he was outspoken, innovative, crafty and resourceful. He played with and against some of the pioneers of the game, was a star during its rowdiest era, managed for two decades, and was the face of baseball in the nation’s capital for over 40 years. Along the way he won 237 games as a major league pitcher, helped to establish the American League, brought Washington its only World Series title (until 2019), and could name eight U.S. presidents among his many friends. . . .

. . . During his years as owner of the Senators, and as he grew older, Clark was perceived by turns as a shrewd judge of talent, a frugal and resourceful owner, a sentimentalist, a curmudgeon, a horse trader, a silent and generous benefactor, and a stubborn, outspoken voice against change unless it was on his own terms. He is often remembered for trading his niece’s husband, Joe Cronin, to the Red Sox in 1934 for Lyn Lary plus a record price, and for selling his nephew, Sherry Robertson, to the A’s for $10,000 in 1952. Both deals, however, had underlying reasons other than the bottom line and were made, ultimately, because Clark knew they would benefit the players involved. Griffith also a became a pioneer in signing Cuban players, whom he valued both for their skills and the fact that they could be acquired cheaply by his confidante in Havana, scout Joe Cambria. In Griffith’s 44 years at Washington’s helm, 63 Cubans reached the major leagues – 35 of them with the Senators.

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Bump Hadley
 

Player #131: Irving D. "Bump" Hadley. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1926-1931 and 1935. 161 wins and 25 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees in 1936, 1937, and 1939. His most productive season was 1933 with the St. Louis Browns as he posted a 15-20 record with a 3.92 ERA in 316.2 innings pitched. His last season was 1941 with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Hadley's SABR biography runs over his time in Washington, including how he got his nickname: Promoted back to Washington (from Class A Birmingham after a brief and unimpressive 1926 debut) in 1927, Hadley became starter number three, finishing at 14-6 with an efficient 2.85 ERA. A serious case of mumps hospitalized the rookie late in the season. Teammates accompanied coach Nick Altrock, on a hospital visit. Altrock remarked, “You look funnier than me, you’re full of bumps, just as if you had been stepping into Johnson’s fast ball.” For the balance of the season, teammates referred to Hadley as Bumps.

Years later, Hadley reminisced about facing Babe Ruth during the Babe’s 60-home-run season of 1927. Bump was invited to visit Ruth’s posh New York apartment. Touring through Babe’s study, Hadley noticed a wall displaying photos of each pitcher who surrendered a 1927 dinger. Hadley was proud not to have given up a homer to the Bambino, but silently regretted being excluded from such an exclusive gallery. . . .

. . . Despite a case of appendicitis in 1928, Hadley chalked up a 12-13 record with a 3.54 earned-run average. On September 3, 1928, he earned a footnote in the record books, surrendering a ninth-inning double to Philadelphia Athletics pinch-hitter Ty Cobb; it was the last hit in the storied career of the Georgia Peach. Washington won the contest, 6-1.

Walter Johnson became Washington skipper in 1929. Johnson painstakingly worked with the young hurler, instructing Hadley to mix pitches, keep hitters off balance and speed up his delivery. Hadley perspired heavily during the oppressive Washington summer heat, sometimes losing up to five pounds during a nine-inning contest. He slipped to a disappointing 6-16, with his ERA ballooning to 5.62.

That less than impressive season spurred Hadley to get an early start on spring training in 1930. That and improved conditioning helped him improve to a 15-11 record for the second-place Nats. . . .

. . . Hadley remained a Nat in 1931, going 11-10, while sharpening his ERA to 3.06. He led American League pitchers with 55 mound appearances, starting 11 games and closing out 28, while tallying seven saves. A postseason trade indeed occurred on December 4, 1931, when Washington sent Hadley, Jackie Hayes, and Sad Sam Jones to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher John Kerr and outfielder Carl Reynolds.

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Pinky Hargrave
 

Player #132: William M. "Billy" Hargrave. "Pinky". Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1925 and 1930-1931. 445 hits and 39 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. His best season was 1928 with the Detroit Tigers as he posted a .343 OBP with 63 RBIs in 360 plate appearances. His last MLB season was 1932-1933 with the Boston Braves.

Pinky Hargrave had a ten-year career in the major leagues as a catcher. He hit .330 in 1929. He batted right-handed at first, then as a switch-hitter, and then in 1933 as a left-handed hitter.

His brother Bubbles Hargrave also played in the major leagues. They are not only one of few sets of brothers to both play major league catcher, but they likely have the most amusing set of nicknames for major league brothers: Bubbles and Pinky.

(The second (1923) and third (1925 before being traded mid-season to St. Louis) photographs show Pinky during his first tour with Washington, which included a World Series championship, although Pinky did not appear in the 1924 World Series.)

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Sheriff Harris
 

Player #133A: David S. "Dave" Harris. "Sheriff". Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1930-1934. 406 hits and 32 home runs in 7 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Boston Braves in 1925. His best season was 1931 for Washington as he posted a .434 OBP with 50 RBIs in 284 plate appearances.

Sheriff Dave Harris was not a real sheriff, but he was a real ballplayer. He never got more than 340 at-bats in a major league season, but in several seasons he was much above average.

In 1931 he posted a line of .312/.434/.506. His slugging percentage was by far the highest on the team while his batting average was close to the best (Sam West hit .333).

In 1932 he posted a similar line of .327/.400/.538. His slugging percentage was again by far the best on the team, while his batting average was almost the best (Heinie Manush hit .342). Although a backup with only 156 at-bats, he placed 19th in the MVP voting.

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Bucky Harris (and his Ghost)
 

Player #83J: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1919-1928. 1,297 hits and 167 stolen bases in 12 MLB seasons. 1924 and 1947 World Series champion. In 1975, inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Named player-manager of the Washington Senators in 1924 at age 27. "The Boy Wonder" led Washington to World Series victory as "rookie" manger. Managed Washington Senators in 1924-1928, 1935-1942, and 1950-1954. Managed the Detroit Tigers in 1929-1933 and 1955-1956. Managed the Boston Red Sox in 1934. Managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Managed the New York Yankees in 1947-1948, including winning the 1947 world Series. Served as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1959-1960.

Smiles explains Bucky's 1931, which includes the end of his playing career: Bucky (now in his third year at the helm in Detroit) just couldn't make a winner out of the Tigers. In 1931 they slumped to 61-93 and seventh place, 47 games behind the A's, who won their third consecutive A.L. pennant. That August Bucky, having faith in rookie Merv Owen to hold down third base, traded Marty McManus to Boston for a backup catcher and his old Senators' glory days buddy, Muddy Ruel. On June 12 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Bucky started at second base. He batted three times and was 0-for-2 with a walk. It was his 1,263rd game as a major league player and his last. He was a career .274 hitter. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

In Detroit, but still wearing his Washington uniform!

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Jackie Hayes
 

Player #123B: Minter C. "Jackie" Hayes. Infielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1931. 1,069 hits and 20 home runs in 14 MLB seasons. One of his better seasons was 1936 with Chicago as he posted a .366 OBP with 84 RBIs in 461 plate appearances. He also played for the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1940. He was the first player to wear a batting helmet in an MLB game.

Hayes' SABR biography: Jack Hayes was a doctor’s son and former pre-med student — an apt coincidence, since he needed medical attention often during his major league career. “He should be recognized as the holder of some sort of record for being injured every season,” the Chicago Tribune’s Irving Vaughan wrote. . . .

After two more years (with Washington following the 1929 season) as a utility infielder, Hayes was traded to the White Sox in December 1931. “That Hayes is one of the greatest kids around second base I ever saw,” Griffith said. “He’ll do the White Sox a lot of good, but he couldn’t help us much.”

When Hayes was healthy, his White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes called the second baseman “absolutely the best double play man of his time.” But it was not injury that drove him into early retirement. An eye ailment (glaucoma) left him blind.

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Walter Johnson
 

Player #54S: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Walter Johnson fielded another excellent ballclub for 1931. Johnson was gaining a reputation as a winning manager as a result of the about-face the team had done in 1930, and the '31 season enhanced the perception that most observers came to have of him as a manager. Once his career came to an end, though, it would be generally felt that someone else might have accomplished more with what he had had to work with. Johnson was not perceived as a great communicator.

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Great photo.

Sad Sam Jones
 

Player #121D: Samuel P. "Sad Sam" Jones. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1928-1931. 229 wins and 31 saves in 22 MLB seasons. 2-time World Series champion: 1918 with the Boston Red Sox and 1923 with the New York Yankees. He went to Boston in 1916 as part of the trade that sent Tris Speaker to Cleveland. He pitched a no-hitter in 1923 without striking out a batter. He debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1914-1915. One of his better seasons was 1921 with Boston as he posted a 23-16 record with a 3.22 ERA in 298.2 innings pitched. Another was 1928 with Washington, 17-7/2.84 in 224.2 innings pitched. His final seasons were with the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1935. His 22 consecutive years pitching in the same league is an MLB record, shared with 4 other players.

Jones' SABR biography again picks up his Washington years: In 1931, Jones was 9-10, and in December the Senators traded him and Irving “Bump” Hadley to the White Sox for Carl Reynolds, Jackie Hayes and Johnny Kerr. The Washington Post said that Jones “undoubtedly is nearing the end of his career.” He would turn 40 during the summer of 1932.

Sam Jones won 10 games for the White Sox in 1932 and again in 1933, but was under .500 each year. Chicago was competing with the Red Sox for last place in those years and in his four seasons with the White Sox Jones’s won-loss percentage was higher than his team’s. In 1934, he celebrated his 42nd birthday with a six-hit, 9-0 shutout of Washington. In November 1935, after he had posted a winning 8-7 record, the White Sox gave Sam Jones his unconditional release at age 43. His 22-year career was finally over.

This thread will now enjoy a 2-day pause.

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Buck Jordan
 

Player #134: Baxter B. "Buck" Jordan. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1931. 890 hits and 17 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .340. His best season was 1936 with the Boston Braves as he posted a .375 OBP with 81 runs scored in 610 plate appearances. He debuted with the New York Giants in 1927 and 1929. His last season was 1938 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Buck Jordan played 10 seasons in the big leagues. A particular skill was that he hardly ever struck out.

Jordan was a regular on Boston Braves/Bees teams from 1933-1936 under skipper Bill McKechnie. On July 17-18, 1934 he set a record by collecting 14 hits in a four-game series (there were doubleheaders against the St. Louis Cardinals both days). His record was later tied by Bill White in 1961 and was finally broken by Charlie Blackmon in 2019, but he retains the record for the most hits over two days.

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Joe Judge
 

Player #73H: Joseph I. "Joe" Judge. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1915-1932. 2,352 hits and 71 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. In 1924, as Washington won the AL pennant and the World Series, he had one of his better years as he posted a .393 OBP with 71 runs scored and 79 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1933-1934. He may have been the basis for the character of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, whose author dated Judge's daughter in the 1940's.

Judge's SABR biography: Notwithstanding the failed experiment with Sisler, the Senators continued their effort to unseat Judge as the starter at first base as he got older. They purchased Joe Kuhel from the Kansas City Blues of the American Association in 1930 for a reported $60,000. In May, 1931, Kuhel stepped in when Judge had an appendicitis attack at Fenway Park and did not relinquish the position. Judge returned to action in July but was relegated to back-up duty for the rest of that season and all of 1932.

Judge’s playing days in the nation’s capital were over after the 1932 season. Johnson was also relieved of his duties. Judge had aspirations of managing the club, but Griffith chose Cronin to lead the team in 1933. Griffith looked like a genius with his selection when Joe Cronin led the team to the pennant that year.

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Joe Kuhel
 

Player #135A: Joseph A. "Joe" Kuhel. First baseman for the Washington Senators in 1930-1937 and 1944-1946. 2,212 hits and 131 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. He had 107 RBIs in Washington's pennant-winning 1933 season, but his best season was probably 1936 as he posted an OBP of .392 with 118 RBIs and 107 runs scored in 660 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1948-49.

The only major roster change in 1931 involved the demise of Joe Judge. (Washington manager Walter) Johnson had grown disenchanted with Judge, who had saved his no-hit game with his glove work back in 1920. He felt Judge was a little too prone to injury and otherwise missed too many games. Johnson did like the new guy, Joe Kuhel, who, like Walter himself, had a self-effacing personality. What Kuhel lacked in flamboyance, he made up for with great style around the first-base bag. With Joe Judge at that position for 15 years, this had come to be expected in Washington.

To Johnson's dismay but to Clark Griffith's glee, Joe Judge had a better training camp than the 24-year-old Kuhel, so the latter was farmed out to Baltimore in late April. Four days later, Judge had an appendicitis attack at Fenway Park and was hospitalized. Kuhel was summoned and took over as the first sacker, fielding brilliantly. While he hit a merely creditable .269 with eight homers, Kuhel drove in 85 runs.

During the same week in late April that Kuhel was dispatched to the minors, Lou Gehrig, at this early juncture in the season, actually lost the home run title right at Griffith Stadium. With Lyn Lary on first with two out, Larrupin' Lou hit a monstrous shot a dozen or so rows beyond the centerfield fence. The ball bounced off a bleacher seat, and Lary somehow concluded the ball had been caught. Manager Joe McCarthy was making wild gestures from the third base coach's box, and Lary figured that meant that the third out had been made.

These misjudgments were compounded by the fact that Gehrig remained oblivious to what was going on. Confident that he'd indeed hit a home run, Gehrig passed Lary on the bases, thereby becoming the third out. The Iron Horse's home run was scored a triple. At season's end, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth tied for the home-run title with 46. Ruth and Gehrig had finished 1-2 in the home-run derby for four years running, and Gehrig would have to wait three more years, when the Babe would be on his downside, before he could at once overtake the Babe in homers and also lead the league in that category.

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Heinie Manush
 

Player #136A: Henry E. "Heinie" Manush. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1930-1935. 2,524 hits and 110 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. Had a .330 career batting average. 1934 All-Star. 1926 AL batting champion. Had more than 200 hits four times. In 1964, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923. Leading batter on the 1933 Washington Senator team that won the AL pennant. First and last player to be ejected from a World Series game. Had 241 hits in 1928. Coach for the Washington Senators in 1953-1954.

We will see Manush a few times during his Washington career, but we will follow his SABR biography across his entire career: Mastering the art of the line drive but unable to master his own temper, Heinie Manush burst onto the major league scene with the Detroit Tigers and quickly became one of the fiercest and most feared hitters in the game. . . .

. . . It was 1923 when Manush made his first appearance in the major leagues. He quickly blossomed under the tutelage of teammate Ty Cobb, who holds the career record for batting average (.366), and was a fellow Southerner with a strong temper who was then player-manager of the Tigers. The two, along with four-time batting champion Harry Heilmann, formed perhaps the best outfield in the history of baseball from 1923-27. But it didn’t begin that easily for Manush. When he joined the Tigers, Cobb and Heilmann were joined by three-time RBI champion Bobby Veach in the outfield. Also on the roster were veterans Bob Fothergill and Babe Herman. Detroit began platooning Manush with Veach, who was starting to show his age. Heinie did well under that system and batted .334.

His second season wasn’t as glamorous. Manush wasn’t hitting as well as he had as a rookie, and as a result, had to battle for playing time with Fothergill and Al Wingo, but still managed to hit a respectable .289 in 120 games and .302 in 99 games in 1925. Cobb immediately began working with Manush, urging him to choke up some on the bat, shorten his swing, and hit the ball where it was pitched instead of trying to pull everything. It was hard to argue with Cobb’s instructions in light of Heilmann’s emergence as one of baseball’s premier batsmen … they had become a collection of smart, skilled men at the plate. “In all modesty,” Cobb said in his autobiography, “I could teach hitting.”

In 1926, Manush was out to prove that he deserved a starting job. He finally won it and responded with one of the best seasons of his career. His average jumped from .302 to a robust .378, which led the American League. Even more impressive, was the way he won the batting title. On the last day of the season, Manush trailed not only Babe Ruth, but teammates Fothergill and Heilmann, in the race. But he pounded out six hits in nine at-bats during a doubleheader to overtake all three and win his only batting title.

Things would be different for Manush in 1927. Cobb left the Tigers to play the final two seasons of his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb was replaced in the dugout by George Moriarty, who played for the Tigers from 1909 to 1915. Manush wasn’t the same without Cobb; his batting average down to .298 — an 80-point tumble. Even worse, he wasn’t getting along with the new manager. After the season, Moriarty prompted the Tigers to trade Manush (to St. Louis). . . .

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Firpo Marberry
 

Player #104D: Frederick "Firpo" Marberry. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1932. 148 wins and 99 saves in 14 MLB seasons. First prominent reliever; used as a closer. Important piece of the Washington team that won back-to-back AL pennants in 1924-1925. 1924 World Series champion. His most productive season was 1929 with Washington as he posted a 19-12 record with a 3.06 ERA in 250.1 innings pitched. He ended his career with Washington in 1936.

After the 1928 season, Walter Johnson, who had retired as a pitcher a year earlier, replaced Bucky Harris as manager. Johnson used Marberry both to start and to relieve, and Marberry responded with a 19-12 record (16-8 as a starter) and 11 saves (the most in the league), starting 26 of his 49 games. He logged 250 innings, and his 3.06 ERA was second in the league to Lefty Grove.

Marberry had become enamored of a starting role: “Relief pitching is a job for a young pitcher. His arm can stand the wear and tear of uncertain work. … In my own case, I feel that I have earned the right to a change.” He was used in this dual role for the next two years, resulting in records of 15-5 (15-2 as a starter) and 16-4 (13-3 when starting), yet still hurling 34 games in relief over the two seasons.

Although he still had a good fastball, Marberry began using a curveball and changeup in midcareer, which made him all the more effective. In 1932 Johnson used him mainly out of the bullpen again (15 starts and 39 relief outings), and Marberry responded with another excellent season: 8-4 and a league-leading 13 saves.

After the 1932 season, Johnson was fired, and the 34-year-old Marberry was traded with Carl Fischer to the Tigers for pitcher Earl Whitehill. The Tigers skipper, old friend Bucky Harris, used Marberry almost completely as a starter (32 starts and 5 relief appearances), and he finished 16-11 with a 3.29 ERA (fifth best in the league). In 1934 Mickey Cochrane replaced Harris and moved Marberry back to his dual role. He again finished with a solid record: 15-5 in 38 games . Detroit won the American League pennant, but Marberry was hit hard in his only appearance (1⅔ innings, five hits, four runs) in the Series, which the Tigers lost.

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After Marberry's MLB career ended with the Senators at age 37 in 1936, he pitched until age 42 in the minors, mostly in the Texax League, in the state in which he was born.

Mike Martin
 

Player #137: Michael F. "Mike" Martin was called "a born trainer" and worked from a young age learning athletic training. He was born in Sheepshead Bay, New York, on October 9, 1884. Orphaned at a young age, he began to work with bicycle racers, giving rubdowns. Martin ran away from home, at age 12, to live with Mike Murphy and learn athletic training from him. He would later work under Jim Robinson and take classes to improve his skills.

He worked for Columbia and, in 1904, yelled from the stands of a New York Highlander (Yankee) game that he could take care of any injuries the players sustained. Thus began a 43-year career in the major leagues, all under manager (and later owner) Clark Griffith. Martin would stay with Griffith with the Yankees through 1908 and follow him to Cincinnati in 1909 then on to the Washington Senators in 1912.

Martin will innovate many practices used by athletic trainers in baseball, including the use of ice to treat acute injuries. He will stay with the Senators as their athletic trainer until 1947, when he became a scout, a job he had done for the team on many previous occasions.

Martin was one of the first four people to receive a pension from Major League Baseball in March 1952 (Cubs athletic trainer Andy Lotshaw was another). Martin will die in a car accident on June 3, 1952.

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Mike Martin is seen in the top row on the far left of this large photo of the 1924 WS Champion Senators:

Walt Masters
 

Val: Thank you for contributing.

Player #138: Walter T. "Walt" Masters. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1931. He pitched 21 innings and appeared in 8 MLB games during 3 MLB seasons. His career W-L record was 0-0. He was active as an American and Canadian football player and coach from 1933 to 1947.

Masters had a "cup of coffee" in MLB three different times: with Washington (1931), the Phillies (1937), and the A's (1939). He pitched a total of 21 innings in MLB. Otherwise, he played minor-league baseball and professional football, including brief appearances in the NFL as a quarterback and punter. Overall, he did not excel in the NFL, averaging a loss of .6 yards per carry, completing under a third of his passes and throwing five times as many interceptions as touchdowns.

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Buddy Myer
 

Player #139A: 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 1: Buddy Myer was the “cocky little second baseman” of the Washington Senators when they won their last American League pennant in 1933. In 17 seasons in the majors, he won a batting title and was a two-time All-Star. Myer was often cited as one of the few Jewish baseball stars and was chosen for the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, but he was a member of the Baptist church.

“Off the field he was the nicest, most placid guy in the world,” teammate George Case said, “but the moment he put on his baseball uniform his personality changed; he became aggressive and pugnacious. It was the most amazing thing. You wouldn’t think it was the same person.” . . .

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Harry Rice
 

Player #140: Harry F. Rice. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1931. 1,118 hits and 48 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He had a .368 career OBP. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1923-1927. His most productive season was 1926, as he posted a .384 OBP with 86 runs scored in 655 plate appearances. In 1925 he posted an OBP of .450 with 87 runs scored in 420 plate appearances. He finished up in 1933 with the Cincinnati Reds. Though primarily an outfielder, he holds the distinction of playing every position except pitcher. In 1931 with Washington, he was the outfielder who played the carom of a putative Lou Gehrig 2-out home run that reached Rice so quickly the baserunner, Lyn Lary, thought Rice had caught it and returned to the dugout without touching home plate. Gehrig was awarded a triple.

At his peak, he (Rice) was a highly regarded Major League Baseball player. He broke into the big leagues with the St. Louis Browns . . . (and) made his big-league debut on April 18, 1923. He joined the St. Louis Browns at a time of high expectations. After a stellar performance by the 1922 Browns and with star player and future Hall of Famer George Sisler, their owner predicted a World Series would soon come to Sportsman’s Park. Seating capacity was increased by almost one-third. Rice’s arrival was important as Sisler was forced to miss the entire 1923 season due to double vision resulting from sinusitis.

Rice’s batting average of .359 for the Browns in 1925 was the sixth best in the American League that season, and Rice placed fifth in the voting for the league's Most Valuable Player. He enjoyed another good season and received MVP consideration in 1926, ending with a .313 average and a career-best 181 hits. Sportsman’s did host a World Series in 1926, but it was the Browns’ tenants, the upstart St. Louis Cardinals who beat the Yankees and captured their first World Series title. Rice had another solid season for the Browns in 1927 before being traded to Detroit in December 1927. In 1928, he hit .302 and had a career best 20 stolen bases for the Tigers. His .304 average and 69 RBI in 1929 again earned some MVP consideration.

He was traded again on May 30, 1930 with two other players for a pair of well-known Yankees stars, infielder Mark Koenig and pitcher Waite Hoyt. He formed part of a formidable outfield that also included future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Earle Combs. The 1930 season turned out to be Rice's only year as a Yankee. He appeared in 100 games, batting .298 with 74 RBI in a lineup that also included Lou Gehrig. Rice appeared in 47 games for the Washington Senators in 1931 and did not appear in the majors in 1932. His last Major League season was in 1933 with the Cincinnati Reds.

Legendary St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg recalled Rice as a premier defender with a very strong throwing arm. He was predominantly an outfielder, appearing in over 7,800 innings in the outfield, usually in center or right field. However, Rice has the rare distinction of playing every position, except pitcher, during his career. Yankees historians recall Rice’s defense as an opposing player from a play in 1931 that turned a Gehrig home run into a triple in the record books. With a runner on base, Gehrig homered to center field. The ball caromed back so quickly to Rice, playing outfield for the Washington Senators, that the baserunner, Lyn Lary, mistakenly thought Rice had caught it. Lary ran to the dugout instead of crossing home plate. Gehrig was awarded a triple instead of a home run.

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Sam Rice
 

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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