Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

If there had been some interesting developments in the first inning of several of the games so far, they were nothing compared to the high jinks devised by Bucky Harris as the clincher got under way. Harris called upon Curly Ogden as his starting pitcher. This was the same Curly Ogden who had bombed with the A's earlier in the season and who had started 17 times for Washington in 1924. Curly Ogden of the perennially sore arm. Ogden struck out the pesky Fred Lindstrom and then walked Frank Frisch. His next move was to walk to the dugout, never to reappear.

Harris had hatched a plan which he'd revealed to Clark Griffith that morning. Going with the righthanded Ogden would incite John McGraw to start the rookie, Bill Terry, who, despite batting only 163 times during the season, was murdering Harris's pitchers. Terry had 6 hits in 12 at-bats, including a triple and a homer so far. McGraw generally only deployed the lefthanded-hitting Terry against righthanders.

Bucky Harris reasoned that in the first inning, he would lift Ogden and bring in lefty George Mogridge. Harris wasn't worried about Terry hitting Mogridge. If McGraw made more changes, like hopefully lifting Terry from the game, Harris would go to a righthander again -- probably Firpo Marberry. Griffith gave Harris his okay for the plan, and when the manager left, Griff telephoned Walter Johnson and told him to be ready -- he just might be coming in for late relief in the biggest game of his life.

Everything went according to plan, or just about, as the game got underway on the most beautiful day of the entire Series, the whole of which was played this year in particularly pleasant conditions. Ogden had been expected to pitch to the lead-off batter, Lindstrom, only, but when he got the rookie on three pitches, Harris motioned for Ogden to stay in. Maybe Curly's dead limb could bounce back for one more act of heroism, although it had given no indication of late. Ogden walked the next man, Frank Frisch, and the strategy was then implemented.

With the lefthanded Ross Youngs batting third and due up, Mogridge was summoned. He's been warming up out of view, under the stands. Mogridge struck Youngs out, and got Kelly to ground out harmlessly to Tommy Taylor at third, who was playing in what would turn out to be, simultaneously, his first World Series start and last major-league game. Two of the rookie's 75 official at-bats took place in the World Series.

Washington's 1924 "brain trust" -- the Old Fox and the Boy Wonder:

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681636450

[ValKehl]

George, I'm glad you are back and continuing your most interesting history of the Washington Senators.

These two approx. 4" x 5" photos by National Photo are part of a set of 30 photos (I have 29 of them - missing only the Ossie Bluege photo) that also appear in the Senators' 1924 World Series program. My guess is that sets were given to each player and member of team management. I think these photos would be seen more frequently if they were sold to the public.

AFAIK, no cards were issued of reserve infielder Tommy Taylor during his playing days. 1924, at age 31, was Taylor's only year in the Majors, and it was a partial year at that. But he did play for 16 years in the Minors, from age 27 to age 42, batting over .300 most years.

[GeoPoto]

Thanks, Val. Great stuff!

Bill Terry grounded out to start the second (inning) and would leave the game in the sixth inning. By then, the Senators had a 1-0 lead thanks to their peerless leader, Harris, who hit a home run off screwballer Virgil Barnes for the Nats first hit, in the fourth inning. This was Bucky's second homer of the Series; it doubled his total for the season. In a 12-year career, Bucky would hit just nine regular-season home dingers. Hack Wilson, who had fallen clumsily into the temporary bleachers in left in an attempt at snaring Harris's homer, made a sensational belly slide moments later as he grabbed a sinking liner off the bat of Sam Rice.

Mogridge had been sailing along, with Lindstrom's double over Tommy Taylor's head in the fifth the only serious blow, until he got into big trouble in the sixth. Youngs walked to open the inning, and Kelly singled him to third. It was at this point that Tery was taken out of the game in favor of the righthander, Irish Meusel. Harris countered with the big, scowling righty, Fred Marberry.

Called" Firpo" (a nickname he hated) because of his resemblance to Luis Firpo, a boxer who had once knocked Jack Dempsey out of the ring, Marberry was himself knocked back by the Giants. President Coolidge had led a standing ovation as Marberry made the trek from the bullpen to the mound. Seconds later, there were more cheers for a player who was smiling and waving back at the crowd -- it was Walter Johnson, and he had left the dugout and was making his way to the bullpen.

Marberry gave up a long fly to pinch hitter Meusel to bring in the tying run. Hack Wilson then singled to send Kelly all the way to third. Then, two straight muffs in the field -- one by the excellent fielder Judge at first, and the other by the displaced Bluege at short -- brought in a second run. Judge bobbled Travis Jackson's hard grounder as he tried to hurry a throw home in a hopeless attempt to get Kelly. He couldn't decide what to do with the ball, and Wison and Jackson were both safe. Then Bluege let Hank Gowdy's roller right through the wickets, an error he would later refer to as the worst of his entire life. This scored Wilson, and pitcher Barnes then lofted a long fly to score a third run.

After Barnes retired the Nats again in the bottom of the sixth, Bucky Harris had been the only one of 19 batters to face him to even reach base. Could it be that Harris's carefully conceived plan had somehow backfired? In the seventh, the Nats' fielding showed a resurgence. Catcher Ruel reached far into the crowd to pluck out a Frankie Frisch foul. Tommy Taylor then made a great play, cutting in front of Bluege on a slow bouncer to just edge George Kelly at first. Marberry fielded a roller by Irish Meusel and applied the tag himself. The crowd was coming back to life.

Harris scores crucial run in Game 7:

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681722545

[GeoPoto]

Finally, in the eighth, with the Nats still trailing 3-1, there was a rally. The veteran Nemo Leibold, a reliable .293 hitter during the regular campaign, came up with one out to pinch hit for Tommy Taylor and doubled down the left field foul line. This brought up catcher Muddy Ruel. He was the author of a steady .283 bat mark during the season, but had contributed zero offense during this entire Series with an awful 0-for-18 performance. Ruel made it 1-for-19, with a base hit that nicked Kelly's glove.

Leibold stopped at third and pinch hitter Bennie Tate, a rookie with 43 major-league at-bats under his belt, was called upon to bat for Marberry. As Tate ambled to the plate, Walter Johnson was seen emerging from the dugout again, this time seemingly in more of a hurry to get to the bullpen. Benny Tate walked for the third time in his third World Series plate appearance, filling the bases. The collective hopes of nearly 32,000 fans withered, however, when McNeely lifted a benign fly to left field.

Once again, the boy manager of the Senators would have to settle the issue. He settled it in his side's favor. Harris singled sharply over Lindstrom's head, tying the score when both Leibold and Ruel raced home. In the din that resulted, some spectators burst onto the field and were quickly rounded up by the police. The First Lady, Grace Coolidge, had by now worked herself into such a frenzy that she hardly ever sat down. The President, known as "Silent Cal," didn't make quite as much noise, but he did drop his cigar when the Nats tied the score.

Mule Shirley, who was in the game for Tate and who had an odd nickname for a pinch-runner, had stopped at second on Harris's hit. Manager McGraw summoned reliable Art Nehf, who'd thrown seven full innings the previous day, to pitch to Sam Rice. Rice grounded out to end the inning, but the Senators were back in it, the score knotted at three after eight.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681808554

[ValKehl]

22-year-old Henry Bennett "Benny/Bennie" Tate was one of two seldom-used, back-up catchers to Muddy Ruel for the 1924 Senators. My favorite memorabilia item in my 1924 Senators collection is this huge team photo that I acquired in a 2012 auction. The LOA from the consignor states the he acquired this framed photo directly from the family of Benny Tate.

AFAIK, there were no cards of Tate issued during the 1920's and only a few during the 1930's. BTW, the bio info on the back of Tate's World Wide Gun card shown below is incorrect - Tate never player for the Browns - he played 6 years for the Senators, 2 years for the White Sox, and 1 year each for the Red Sox and Cubs.

[GeoPoto]

Next came perhaps the most breathtaking moment in the history of the Washington Senators; it was perhaps the most breathtaking moment in all of baseball's illustrious story. In his deliberate, dignified gait, striding from the bench was Walter Johnson. Here was the opportunity for the 18-year veteran, participating in his very first World Series, to make amends for his two losses thus far. What a game to win!

The man many felt was the only pitcher who might have rivaled Johnson as the best of the early part of the century, Christy Mathewson, said at this precise moment in the press box that it was a shame to send Walter Johnson back into the fray -- "Poor old Walter," Mathewson called him. Mathewson would later state, incidentally, that this 1924 World Series was the best he had ever seen, and he had played in four himself.

Manager Harris got the distinct impression from Walter's five warmup pitches that the big guy had his stuff. Johnson got the Giants' lead-off man, Fred Lindstrom, who'd gone 4-for-5 against him two days earlier, to pop harmlessly to third baseman Ralph Miller to start the top of the ninth. Miller had just been inserted into the game, succeeding Taylor, who had (been) replaced (by) Leibold -- who had started the big comeback -- in the bottom of the eighth.

Frank Frisch woke everyone in spacious Griffith Stadium from their reverie with a monstrous triple over Earl McNeely's head in deepest center field, a blow of well over 400 feet. Ross Youngs was then walked intentionally, a textbook move in order to set up a double play. Walter Johnson then demonstrated to everyone that he still had that special something. Future Hall of Famer George Kelly went down on three straight swinging strikes. Heywood Broun would write in New York World the following day that whenever he wanted to reassure himself that the soul of man cannot die, he would remember how Walter Johnson had struck out George Kelly with one out and a man on third.

Irish Meusel, batting in Bill Terry's spot, then sent a ground ball toward 28-year-old Ralph Miller, who, unbeknownst to anyone, was, as indicated earlier, playing in his very last major-league game. Miller came up with the ball cleanly, but made a throw to first which forced Joe Judge to stretch his 5'8" frame to its limits. The Big Train was out of the inning.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681896231

[ValKehl]

After being purchased from Reading of the Int'l League on July 15, 1924, utility infielder Ralph Miller, who had played in 154 games for the Phillies during 1920-21 and batted .251, played sparingly for the Senators. For the remainder of the regular 1924 season, Miller appeared in only 9 games, with 2 hits and a walk in 16 plate appearances. Miller appeared in 4 games of the 1924 ES, with 2 hits, a walk, and 2 RBIs in 13 plate appearances. AFAIK, this 1925 Holland Creameries card is the only card issued of Miller during his playing career.