E92 Crofts Cards

[Chris-Counts]

Here's the only one I have, Dave Shean. Just before I posted this image, I came across this article about him, which ran just a couple months ago in the Boston Globe ...

CARLISLE — On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 1918, Red Sox second baseman Dave Shean was a World Series hero.

The 35-year-old Shean, who grew up playing the game on Lawrence Field in Arlington, scored what proved to be the decisive run when he scampered home from first base, aided by an error in the outfield, in the third inning of Game 6 at Fenway Park.

A veteran of 13 professional seasons, Shean also threw out Les Mann on the final play of the 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs that clinched the title for Boston, four games to two.

It was his first full season with the Red Sox, but his finest as a major leaguer. He registered a career-high .264 average and 58 runs scored, and led the American League with 36 sacrifice hits.

“He had a deep love for the game, he was a respected teammate, and he was looked upon as a steadying influence wherever he played or managed,’’ said Shean’s grandson, Henry Shean, a Carlisle resident whose cherished memorabilia includes vintage autographed balls, newspapers, baseball cards and photographs chronicling his grandfather’s career.

‘My grandfather was proud of what he accomplished, but he spoke little of that season because of how it ended.’

A 1909 photograph reveals a striking image: The dark-haired Shean, eyes twinkling and with a slight grin, posing proudly in his crisply ironed Boston Doves uniform shirt, buttoned to the neck.

He spent two years (1909-10) with the Doves, a National League team that played in the South End and was renamed the Boston Braves in 1912.

Shean and rookie Babe Ruth were teammates on the Providence Grays in 1914, when they were the International League champions. The following season, Ruth was up with the Red Sox and Shean was managing the Grays.

The two were reunited in 1918, 95 years removed from the next time the Red Sox closed out a World Series at Fenway — Oct. 30 — also in six games, but against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ruth was Boston’s star pitcher and slugger; Shean was the David Ross of his day, a popular, gritty, fundamentally sound player.

“It was a great defensive team and we had power enough,’’ Shean said in a 1959 interview with the Boston Evening American. “I recall three games in succession when [Harry] Hooper and I opened games with singles and Ruth homered.’’

He resided in Arlington his entire life and drew big crowds playing for a local team in retirement from pro ball after the Sox released him in 1919.

“I had a bat, ball, or glove in my hand every day when I was a kid. In the summer we’d play all morning, go for a swim early in the afternoon, then return to play in the cool of the evening,’’ he told the newspaper.

Shean, who played baseball at Arlington High School, Boston College High School and Fordham University, was so well liked that Providence officials hosted a dinner in his honor prior to the 1915 season.

The Grays just missed winning another pennant, but Shean was given a silver tea service at season’s end.

The inscription on the teapot reads: “Presented to David Shean, manager of the Providence Baseball Club, season of 1915, by his many friends in Rhode Island as a token of their esteem and regard.’’

He returned to the field in 1917 with the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to Boston.

Shean, who began his professional career in Rutland, Vt., in 1906, had one son, David Jr., a star athlete at Andover Academy and a pitcher for the Harvard University baseball team in the 1930s coached by Fred Mitchell, who had managed the 1918 Cubs.

“My grandfather stayed close to Hall of Fame infielder Eddie Collins. They were teammates with the Philadelphia Athletics,’’ said Henry Shean, one of five siblings who grew up in Winchester.

“They sat in the stands together when my dad played for Harvard and Eddie Collins Jr. played for Yale.’’

Two of Shean’s brothers, David 3d and William, reside in Winchester and another brother, Peter, is in Millis. Their sister, Leslie Flanagan, lives in Duxbury. All attended Winchester High and several played varsity sports; Henry also was captain of the Tufts University golf team.

Dave Shean’s great-grandchildren made their own names on the playing field, including Peter, who played cornerback at Boston College, and his sisters, Ryan and Whitney, who played college field hockey at James Madison and Northeastern, respectively.

President of the family-run Nathan Robbins Co., a Boston distributor of meats and poultry, the elder Shean remained close to the Red Sox and had a season ticket until the late 1950s, and was an honored guest at Boston Baseball Writers dinners. He died in 1963 at age 79 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.

He remained friends with Ruth, to whom he always gave a gift of fresh poultry when the slugger returned to Boston with the New York Yankees.

There were no parades or even a team dinner following the 1918 World Series win.

Both teams had threatened a strike prior to the fifth game to protest sharply reduced individual shares. Shean and Hooper were spokesmen for the Red Sox, who played before fewer than 16,000 fans in the finale.

Baseball’s National Commission retaliated by refusing to give the Red Sox players their championship medallions, which were made of gold and adorned with a diamond.

However, Shean was remembered at Fenway Park on Sept. 4, 1993, when descendants of the team’s players were presented with 75th anniversary medallions.

Shean’s picture was displayed on the center field scoreboard, his son and daughter-in-law received the medallion, and his grandchildren watched from a private box.

“My grandfather was proud of what he accomplished, but he spoke little of that season because of how it ended,’’ Henry Shean said.

Dave Shean, beloved in his hometown for his acts of charity, is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, adjacent to Lawrence Field, but his presence was felt during Game 6 against St. Louis.

“My brother Bill was at Fenway Park and he texted me with the reassurance that the Red Sox would win,’’ Henry said.

The message: “No worries. There’s a Shean in the house.’’

[MyGuyTy]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

Here's the only one I have, Dave Shean. Just before I posted this image, I came across this article about him, which ran just a couple months ago in the Boston Globe ...

CARLISLE — On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 1918, Red Sox second baseman Dave Shean was a World Series hero.

The 35-year-old Shean, who grew up playing the game on Lawrence Field in Arlington, scored what proved to be the decisive run when he scampered home from first base, aided by an error in the outfield, in the third inning of Game 6 at Fenway Park.

A veteran of 13 professional seasons, Shean also threw out Les Mann on the final play of the 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs that clinched the title for Boston, four games to two.

It was his first full season with the Red Sox, but his finest as a major leaguer. He registered a career-high .264 average and 58 runs scored, and led the American League with 36 sacrifice hits.

“He had a deep love for the game, he was a respected teammate, and he was looked upon as a steadying influence wherever he played or managed,’’ said Shean’s grandson, Henry Shean, a Carlisle resident whose cherished memorabilia includes vintage autographed balls, newspapers, baseball cards and photographs chronicling his grandfather’s career.

‘My grandfather was proud of what he accomplished, but he spoke little of that season because of how it ended.’

A 1909 photograph reveals a striking image: The dark-haired Shean, eyes twinkling and with a slight grin, posing proudly in his crisply ironed Boston Doves uniform shirt, buttoned to the neck.

He spent two years (1909-10) with the Doves, a National League team that played in the South End and was renamed the Boston Braves in 1912.

Shean and rookie Babe Ruth were teammates on the Providence Grays in 1914, when they were the International League champions. The following season, Ruth was up with the Red Sox and Shean was managing the Grays.

The two were reunited in 1918, 95 years removed from the next time the Red Sox closed out a World Series at Fenway — Oct. 30 — also in six games, but against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ruth was Boston’s star pitcher and slugger; Shean was the David Ross of his day, a popular, gritty, fundamentally sound player.

“It was a great defensive team and we had power enough,’’ Shean said in a 1959 interview with the Boston Evening American. “I recall three games in succession when [Harry] Hooper and I opened games with singles and Ruth homered.’’

He resided in Arlington his entire life and drew big crowds playing for a local team in retirement from pro ball after the Sox released him in 1919.

“I had a bat, ball, or glove in my hand every day when I was a kid. In the summer we’d play all morning, go for a swim early in the afternoon, then return to play in the cool of the evening,’’ he told the newspaper.

Shean, who played baseball at Arlington High School, Boston College High School and Fordham University, was so well liked that Providence officials hosted a dinner in his honor prior to the 1915 season.

The Grays just missed winning another pennant, but Shean was given a silver tea service at season’s end.

The inscription on the teapot reads: “Presented to David Shean, manager of the Providence Baseball Club, season of 1915, by his many friends in Rhode Island as a token of their esteem and regard.’’

He returned to the field in 1917 with the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to Boston.

Shean, who began his professional career in Rutland, Vt., in 1906, had one son, David Jr., a star athlete at Andover Academy and a pitcher for the Harvard University baseball team in the 1930s coached by Fred Mitchell, who had managed the 1918 Cubs.

“My grandfather stayed close to Hall of Fame infielder Eddie Collins. They were teammates with the Philadelphia Athletics,’’ said Henry Shean, one of five siblings who grew up in Winchester.

“They sat in the stands together when my dad played for Harvard and Eddie Collins Jr. played for Yale.’’

Two of Shean’s brothers, David 3d and William, reside in Winchester and another brother, Peter, is in Millis. Their sister, Leslie Flanagan, lives in Duxbury. All attended Winchester High and several played varsity sports; Henry also was captain of the Tufts University golf team.

Dave Shean’s great-grandchildren made their own names on the playing field, including Peter, who played cornerback at Boston College, and his sisters, Ryan and Whitney, who played college field hockey at James Madison and Northeastern, respectively.

President of the family-run Nathan Robbins Co., a Boston distributor of meats and poultry, the elder Shean remained close to the Red Sox and had a season ticket until the late 1950s, and was an honored guest at Boston Baseball Writers dinners. He died in 1963 at age 79 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident.

He remained friends with Ruth, to whom he always gave a gift of fresh poultry when the slugger returned to Boston with the New York Yankees.

There were no parades or even a team dinner following the 1918 World Series win.

Both teams had threatened a strike prior to the fifth game to protest sharply reduced individual shares. Shean and Hooper were spokesmen for the Red Sox, who played before fewer than 16,000 fans in the finale.

Baseball’s National Commission retaliated by refusing to give the Red Sox players their championship medallions, which were made of gold and adorned with a diamond.

However, Shean was remembered at Fenway Park on Sept. 4, 1993, when descendants of the team’s players were presented with 75th anniversary medallions.

Shean’s picture was displayed on the center field scoreboard, his son and daughter-in-law received the medallion, and his grandchildren watched from a private box.

“My grandfather was proud of what he accomplished, but he spoke little of that season because of how it ended,’’ Henry Shean said.

Dave Shean, beloved in his hometown for his acts of charity, is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, adjacent to Lawrence Field, but his presence was felt during Game 6 against St. Louis.

“My brother Bill was at Fenway Park and he texted me with the reassurance that the Red Sox would win,’’ Henry said.

The message: “No worries. There’s a Shean in the house.’’

Great card Chris.....if that Shean was a Cocoa, your PM box would be full right now, lol.

[smtjoy]

Cool thread, lots of very cool stuff. Here is another -

[phlflyer1]

Richard and Jim, thanks for the kind words.

I'm doing fine. I've been away from the hobby for a while but I am hoping to be more active this year.

I apologize in advance for (re)posting some images in this thread that I've already shared on other threads but they belong here in the Crofts thread as well.

[phlflyer1]

[phlflyer1]

[phlflyer1]