Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #83E: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris Part 2. 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.

. . . They were chauffeured along a lonely side road before coming to a cottage nearly completely secluded in a thickly wooded area. Schacht paid for the cab too; Bucky fumbled for money in his pockets, then humbly let the Clown Prince cover the tab. When they got to the door, to Schacht's very sudden dismay, a man answered their knock and Schacht saw and heard a gun. He also saw Bucky Harris go down, and then did what might have come naturally to anyone -- he ran. He ended up making his way on foot five miles along a desolate stretch of road, back to where he and Bucky had been driven from.

Along the way, cold and fear-stricken, Schacht wondered if Bucky had died. He considered going back, but thought again. The Clown Prince, recounting the incident in his book Clowning Through Baseball, wrote that he walked back with his hat pulled over his eyes and his collar turned up on an exceedingly dark night. Hardly any cars went by. It did occur to him, for perhaps a minute of that time, that the whole horrible thing could have been a hoax, a big setup, but no, that was just his irrational mind racing away, he thought.

When he finally arrived back where the team was staying, a number of players were waiting for him at the doorway to the residence. One of them remarked that he looked a little pale, which drew some laughs. Schacht instinctively decided to laugh too, and then there was an uproar. Then he understood that he'd been had. He found out that half the team, including the great Walter Johnson, had been hiding in the bushes observing the goings-on back at the cottage. For years, Schacht heard taunts like: "Hey Al, how's Tampa Margie?" Al Schacht may have been a clown, but no one ever accused him of being stupid. On that day, he said later, he found out that the stage had lost a great actor when young Bucky Harris had decided to take up baseball.

This is the type of relationship that Harris cultivated with his players, and his enthusiasm also would help in earning the respect of key guys like Walter Johnson, Roger Peckinpaugh, George Mogridge, and Joe Judge. The Nationals would be a group of highly committed and combative ballplayers in 1924. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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