Washington DC Baseball

[ValKehl]

A couple of cards of the "World's greatest baseball pitcher" from one of the very few card sets issued in 1926. I'm looking for cards of Goose Goslin & Bucky Harris from this set.

[GeoPoto]

Great cards, Val. Thank you.

Player #117A: Nicholas "Nick" Altrock. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909, 1912-1915, 1918-1919, 1924, 1931 and 1933. 83 wins and 7 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. At 42 years 1912-1953), he is the longest-tenured coach for one franchise (Washington Senators). He debuted for the Louisville Colonels in 1998. His best season was 1905 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a 23-12 record with an ERA of 1.88 in 315.2 innings pitched. A 1906 arm injury stunted his career as a pitcher. He pitched very little after 1908 but continued making sporadic pinch-hit appearances, including one in 1933 at the age of 57. He became a coach with Washington in 1912 and was known for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" for a dozen years performing comedy routines on baseball fields and on the vaudeville stage.

Altrock's SABR biography: For three years at the turn of the last century Nick Altrock was arguably the best left-handed pitcher in the game. His talent, pitching smarts, and extraordinary fielding ability helped him win 62 games for the Chicago White Sox from 1904 through 1906 and beat Mordecai Brown in Game One of the 1906 World Series. However, Altrock’s baseball prowess was overshadowed by his second career as one of the most-popular and longest-working baseball clowns of all time. At his clowning peak, Altrock enjoyed a salary that rivaled Babe Ruth‘s. . . .

. . . Nick rewarded (Chicago White Sox manager Fielder) Jones’ faith by tossing a four-hitter to beat Cubs’ ace Mordecai Brown in the first game (of the 1906 World Series), 2-1. Brown took the honors in their Game Four re-match 1-0, but Nick posted a 1.00 ERA for the series. In the second game Altrock set a Series record for chances handled by a pitcher in one game with 11 – 8 assists and 3 putouts. Nick also set a record for most chances in a six-game Series with 17. Hippo Vaughn later tied that mark in the 1918 series, except Vaughn pitched three games to Nick’s two.

It was a fitting accomplishment, given Altrock’s reputation as one of the finest fielding pitchers of his or any other generation, thanks in large part to an extraordinarily deceptive pickoff move. In 1901, while Altrock was pitching for Los Angeles in the California League, Nick reportedly walked seven men intentionally and picked off six of them. Altrock still holds the record for most chances accepted by a pitcher in a nine-inning game (13).

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686042992

[GeoPoto]

Player #89C: 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.

Bluege's SABR biography: Over the next several years (following the 1925 season), the Senators finished in the upper half of the American League, as the Yankees and then the Athletics flexed their muscles as kings of the junior circuit. Bluege was at the top of his game, leading the league in fielding in 1931 (.960) and in multiple years in games started, assists, and innings played. Although he hit anywhere from .271 to .295 in his prime years, he was overshadowed by stronger offensive players like Judge, Rice, Goslin, and later Heinie Manush, Joe Kuhel, and Joe Cronin.

One of the most difficult adversaries for any American League club was Ty Cobb. Contrary to popular belief that Cobb was a dirty player, sharpened spikes and all, Bluege had a different recollection of him. “He would fake a slide, as if going directly for the baseman, and at the last minute throw his body in the opposite direction, away from the infielder and the base. He would over slide, then reach for a corner with his hand.” The basepaths belonged to the baserunners. Get in their way, and you could get hurt.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686128003

[GeoPoto]

Player #83G: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. 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.

Smiles describes Bucky's run up to the season and his 1926 pitching staff: (Clark) Griffith knew that Bucky Harris was good for his team's bottom line and Bucky knew it, too. He may have been born on top of a coal mine, but baseball -- to his way of thinking -- was more like a gold mine. Bucky was always one of the first to sign and had never quibbled. But in November 1925, he became a holdout. That's when he declined to sign a one-year deal Griffith proposed. He passed his time courting (future wife Betty), working on a few player deals, and watching a horse named Bucky Harris run at Pimlico. . . .

. . . Based on experience, Griffith didn't like multi-year deals. He believed players performed better under the pressure of year-to-year contracts. Bucky was a different case. Griffith couldn't deny the attendance figures and he loved Bucky like a son. He relented, and on January 27 signed a three-year deal in Tampa. Terms weren't released, but it was speculated to be worth $100,000. In 1928 when the deal expired, Post columnist Shirley Povich said it had been worth $100,000. . . .

. . . Bucky talked up the deal for Bullet Joe Bush as a winner. On February 1 the Senators sent Zachary and Win Balou to the Browns for Bush and Jack Tobin. Bucky was ecstatic about the deal, saying it "assured his team of a third American League pennant." . . . Bucky's hopes for Bush ended with one line drive. On April 18, in just his second start, Joe was working on a one-hitter against the Yankees in New York with one out in the ninth when he was hit on the knee by a sizzling line drive by Earl Combs. . . .

. . . Without Bush, Bucky relied on his same old big four from 1925: Walter Johnson, Stan Coveleski, Dutch Ruether, and Firpo Marberry. His only concessions to youth were a pair of 26-year-olds from North Carolina, General Crowder and George Murray. Each started 12 games. Crowder went 7-4 and Murray, 6-3. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686215611
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686215615
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686215619

[ValKehl]

George, I like the 1926-29 PC Exhibits for all the different colors they come in. I've long thought it would be fun to do a color run of these for a Senators player, but I never got around to doing it.

[pro9]

Sorry I'm so late to this thread. Fantastic thread, tons of info and great pictures. Thanks to all that have contributed so far. George, I wish I had your collecting focus!

I've got a few to contribute

1st is a Horner photo of Dave Altizer (from 1906-07)

2nd- Tim O'Rourke, he played for Washington briefly in 1894, but the photo is from 1895 as there are others from that photographer

[pro9]

Dan Mahoney

A JK&A of Walter Johnson

Is there a reason that you have not shown any Goudeys (or did I just miss them?)