Player #89B: 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.
From Bluege's SABR biography, we get Ossie's take on the end of the 1924 season, including his lack of confidence in Muddy Ruel's wheels. Also, that 1924 ball players had no interest in elite indulgences such as champagne.
In Bluege’s mind, the Nats were lucky to win. With one out in the twelfth inning of Game Seven, Ruel lifted a pop foul behind home plate. Giants catcher Hank Gowdy got tangled up with his mask and dropped the baseball. Given renewed life, Ruel laced a double to left field. Johnson stepped up and reached on an error by shortstop Travis Jackson. Ruel held at second, but scored when Earl McNeely sent a bouncer to third base. The tale that has been handed down through the years is that the ball struck a pebble and caromed into left field. “(Irish) Meusel fielded the ball and Muddy’s running like hell,” remembered Bluege. “And that’s when Meusel put the ball in his pocket. He could have thrown Muddy out. We were on top of the bench, pulling like hell. I remember Nemo Leibold standing up alongside of me, pumping, ’C’mon, Muddy. C’mon, Muddy,’ trying to pull him across home plate. When he did, we jumped like hell and we greeted everybody and kissed everybody. But there was no champagne at that point in time. We didn’t believe in champagne.”
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