Connie Mack was one of BB's great Managers. But, his rigid recruiting practices caused him to miss out on one of the most promising rookies, Joe Jackson.
Connie mostly recruited players directly from College teams. He considered College players to be smarter (and more willing to learn) than ballplayers from
the Farm system.
Anyhow, in 1908 Connie was impressed with a 20-year old rookie, Joe Jackson. Who batted .346 for Greenville (A's farm team). Joe joined the A's on July
30, 1908. Joe's performance was disappointing. He got 3 Hits for 23 AB's. Joe was very unhappy in Philly. He was the subject of some tough hazing by the
A's players. Hazing of rookies in the Major Leagues was typical back then. Especially, rookies that grew up in the "Deep South" (Al, Ga, Ms SC). Of course
Ty Cobb is a prime example of this. However, Cobb was a tough dude and knew how to deal with it. So, Joe took a train down to Greenville to be with his
newly wed wife. Connie sent a scout down to Greenville to bring him back to Philly. April 5, 1909, Connie sent Joe to the Savannah team. Joe batted .358
Connie Mack had a keen sense for talent; therefore, I do not understand why he didn't make a serious effort to convince Joe to stick it out with the A's.
Instead, he traded Joe to Cleveland for Bris Lord on July 30, 1910. Joe found a very friendly group of players in Cleveland. And, the rest is history.
I'm curious what your opinions are regarding this situation ?
And, lets see some Joe Jackson and Connie Mack cards.
Connie Mack believed that ballplayers in College received better training
**......than the ones in the Minor League Farm system.
Connie had a keen sense of talent, and he (and his brother) would scout out young recruits from College campuses.
Here is a list of the A's in the T206 set which were recruited directly from College teams......
Jack Barry (Holy Cross)
Chief Bender (Dickinson)
Eddie Collins (Columbia)
Harry Davis (Girard College)
Harry Krause (St Mary's College)
Simon Nicholls (Maryland)
Eddie Plank (Gettysburg College)
Doc Powers (Holy Cross)
and, missing from the T206 set
Andy Coakley (Holy Cross)
Jack Coombs (Colby College)......(1910 W-L = 31-9, ERA = 1.30)
** Note....Connie Mack (the Early Years of Baseball), by Norman Macht
While reading this book, you'll imagine the guys in your T206 set come alive. Almost every player from that era is covered in this book.
TED Z
T206 Reference
.