"Common" Players with Interesting Stories?

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Posted By: Jared

The T206, CJ, and Goudey (1933) cards interest me. I wanted to collect just a handful of cards from each set, and my first thought was HOFers, but I've decided that was way too ambitious/expensive.

So I ask this: Are there any T206/CJ cards of "common" players with interesting stories? Obvious examples are the Blacksox Scandal players and Moe Berg.

Anyone have any others to offer up? Again, I'm only concerned with players who are in those three sets.

Thanks!

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Posted By: Larry

I've heard that Donie Bush is directly related to the famous Bush family. He does look a lot like the president. Not sure how closely he is related to them? Maybe someone else here knows for sure?

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Posted By: Steve f

The Hal Chase is a good read.

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Posted By: Mark L

It's a good approach. Get yourself a copy of a book such as The Glory of Their Times, read the stories, and you will develop a good understanding of the players whose cards you are collecting.
As far as I'm concerned, that is what brings real enjoyment to collecting the old cards.

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Posted By: sean

also, pick up SABR's deadball era stars books. They are FASCINATING
My fave non hofers:
Johnny Kling
Dick Bartell
Carl mays
and they ALL have bios!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: davidcycleback

You could go with common players who won league titles, like batting titles or stolen base titles. There will be a few of those.

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Posted By: Rhett Yeakley

Arky Vaughan (very underappreciated HOFer) died from drowning on a fishing trip, he was only 40 years old.

Also, while not in the Goudey/CJ set Ed Morris was apparently stabbed to death at age 32 (In 1932), at a banquet in his honor. Gotta be one of the strangest baseball deaths ever (and there are a lot of strange ones- Marty Bergen, etc.)
-Rhett

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Posted By: Larry

That Ed Morris story is bizarre. Stabbed at his own honarary banquet? "for he's a jolly good fellow"....hurry, get him boys!

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Posted By: Steve M.

Players of some notoriety are a good way to collect. Here’s one that I collect:

Joe Gedeon was a fringe character in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Not part of the principal activities, he was a light-hitting second baseman for the uninvolved Browns. He had, according to Commissioner Landis, "guilty knowledge" of the White Sox' intentions of throwing the Series. Banned from organized ball, Gedeon played independent West Coast baseball, causing a problem for other players who were forbidden to play in games when he appeared. (BaseballLibrary.com)

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Posted By: paulstratton

"Common" players who have won 30+ games in a single season.

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Posted By: Kevin Cummings

I think Lena Blackburne would be a great T206 candidate.

http://baseballrubbingmud.com/main.htm

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Posted By: Rich Klein

Not to over beat my favorite dead horse -- but if you join SABR -- there is a wonderful group called the Bioproject Committee which contains excellent bios of over 500 players with many more to come. Everyone has a story; some on the field; some off the field.

Regards
Rich

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Posted By: Darren

Deacon Phillipe
Wildfire Schulte
Mike Donlin
Mickey Doolan
Bill Donovan
Fred Merkle

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Posted By: Steve M.

Interesting site, interesting stories, might give you some good ideas.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Category:Blacklisted_Players

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Posted By: John S

Jack Quinn, who can be found on both early t-cards and 1933 Goudey.

Clyde Milan is a personal favorite, much written about him.

A few others with interesting stories:

George Gibson
Tommy Leach
Germany Schaefer
Nick Altrock
Eddie Ainsmith (an early weight training proponent)
Gabby Street
Gavy Cravath

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Another interesting site, if you're not already aware of it.

http://thedeadballera.com/

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Posted By: Justin

Harry Bay, an SL'er in the T206 was considered faster than Cobb or anyone else in baseball. Apparently early footage exists of him running the bases.

Hans Lobert beat a racehorse(take that Chad Johnson).

I like the story of Dave Orr, who had a stroke during his peak, and holds a ton of final year records.

Terry Larkin's story is pretty gruesome if you wanna look it up.

Also like Jim Devlin's story, Ken Burn's Baseball tells it really well.

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Posted By: Jeff Prizner

Hank Gowdy

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Posted By: Max Weder

You don't need to be a member of SABR to access the Bioproject. It's at http://bioproj.sabr.org/

However, I echo Rich's comments on the value of joining and participating in SABR ( http://www.sabr.org)

On the player front, one of my favorite aspects is collecting players who have a connection to where I live (Vancouver) or where I'm from (Saskatchewan). A number of well known ballplayers played in those cities or have some other connection. There is of course the greatest name in baseball history gracing any card, being Ten Million.

Max

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Posted By: David

Don't forget about poor Fred Snodgrass, who dropped a routine fly ball in the 1912 World Series to give the championship to the Boston Red Sox. McGraw felt so bad, that he gave Snodgrass a $30,000 bonus.

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Posted By: peter chao

I'm not sure if there are any prewar cards of this guy, but he started his career with the Cubs in 1941. Eddie Waitkus, what is he known for?

Peter C.

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Posted By: Justin

Waitkus was shot by a female 'admirer'. His story became the basis for "The Natural".

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Posted By: peter chao

Now, are there any prewar cards of this guy?

I have no idea, that's why I'm asking you guys.

Peter C.

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Posted By: Justin

As far as I can tell his first cards are 1947 Tip Top Bread, and he has an Exhibit postcard.

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Posted By: matt

One of the most successful minor league managers in history, Jake Atz's early life is unknown. Atz claimed to have been born as John Jacob Zimmerman and that he changed his name when players on his club were paid alphabetically - and the money ran out before it reached the Zs.

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Posted By: Tom Hufford

That's a story that supposedly Jake Atz told, but I've never found anything to back up his claim that he was born Zimmerman.

Atz's grandparents, John and Catherine Atz, came to the US from Wurttemburg (Germany) in 1857 and settled in Philadelphia, where John was a tailor. Their son, Jacob, came with them, and is listed in the 1870 Philadelphia census as a baker. Sometime between 1870 and 1880, Jacob married Annie, born in Virginia of Irish parents, and moved to Washington DC. A daughter, Margaret "Maggie" was born in July 1875 in Pennsylvania, and their son Jacob (who would end up as a T206'er) was born July 1, 1879 in Washington, DC.

Young Jacob is listed in the 1900 census as "ball player" and his widowed father was still a baker. If Jake the ball player's family was originally named Zimmerman, they must have changed it to Atz prior to 1860, not as a result of Jake being last in line when the ballplayers were paid!

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Posted By: Ed McCollum

how, or where, are you getting census information? Maybe that is just public record, but I've never heard of anyone just able to find that kind of stuff out. Might help me in my quest to find out more about an early collector. Thanks.

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Posted By: brian

try http://www.ancestry.com

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Posted By: Marc

The best story is about how Ed Delehanty died at Niagara Falls in 1903. Or was he murdered?

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/deaths/ed_delahanty_obituary.shtml

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Posted By: Dave S

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Posted By: peter chao

Nice Exhibit card, thanks Dave.

Peter C.

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Posted By: Justin

How about One-Arm Daily?

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Posted By: Anonymous

He remains the only man with a four-homer game to his credit to also have a game in which he hit four doubles. The same year Delahanty collected hits in 10 consecutive at bats, and in the 1890 and '94 seasons, he tallied six-hit games...(Wikipedia)

Big Ed is not a "common". His brother Jim is. And in the T206 set.

Matt

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Posted By: Marc

I know Ed Delahanty isn't a 'common', but I just wanted to say I find his story the most fascinating. I've read baseball books that indicate he may have been murdered on the track and thrown overboard. The fact there was also a 35 year old woman found also leads many to believe they were both murdered. I'm not sure if there ever was a documented connection between the two. Just too coincidental.

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Posted By: joe brennan

The best story is about how Ed Delehanty died at Niagara Falls in 1903. Or was he murdered?


We used to jump off the International Bridge and go tubing down the Niagara River in my teenage years. One person couldn't jump off because he had to hold the tube that carried all the beer.

In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Justin

Delahanty wasn't murdered, there really isn't any evidence to suggest that. He was drunk, got booted off a train and fell from a bridge in the middle of the night.

The only reason the murder thing comes up is that it makes the story seem all mysterious, when really it's just a case of someone who is drunk doing something stupid.

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Posted By: joe brennan

Justin,
Sounds about right. I wouldn't want to walk that bridge at night. I know I wouldn't want to walk it at night and drunk. We jumped off it from a lower point, ( nearer to shore) and waited to drink till we were in the tube. It's a scary view the first time you make that jump. Current is pretty quick.

In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Marc

Justin, you might want to read other books on that story about Ed Delahanty if you get a chance. It wasn't quite as simple as you seem to think his death was. There is good reason to believe he MAY have been murdered.

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Posted By: joe brennan

Marc, Really? Very interesting. Can you give me the crib note version?

In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Misunderestimated (Brian H.)

I've read 2 books about Delahanty and his peculiar death -- Sowell's book "1904...." about his death, and the more recent bio "Delahanty and Emerald Age of Baseball" -- and I don't think it could have been murder (ie homicide). At most you could argue that someone was negligent but there is no suggestion that anyone really intended to kill the man. I recall that they investigated his death pretty thoroughly at the time and no "new evidence" has emerged since.

Other "common" players (not that Del was common!) with good stories are:

Arlie Latham the "Freshest Man on Earth" a member of two 19th Century juggernauts: the AA's St. Louis Browns and then the NL's "Old Orioles." Later he was the "1st Coach" with former teammate John McGraw's Giants in the early 20th century. He's (uniquely?) in the Old Judges, Mayos, T205, T206 and T207 sets.

"Turkey Mike" Donlin - a star player who took time out for show biz and lived the high life with his show biz wife. Donlin might even have been a Hall of Famer today if he had stuck to Baseball the whole time. He's in the T-sets.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I read a Delahanty biography too, and on the night he died he was acting pretty rowdy. In fact, the last months of his life his behavior was very erratic and he was in some kind of depression, which caused him to drink.

When he was kicked off the train he decided on his own to try and cross a dangerous bridge in the dark. He either fell off it, or got into some kind of altercation with a night watchman. Because it all happened in pitch darkness, nobody ever found out the true story. The family filed a lawsuit but to this day nobody can say with certainty what caused his death.