Claiming a Famous Baseball Relative

[z28jd]

How far back can you go to claim a famous baseball player as a relative before it loses meaning? There's no right answer to that question I assume, but I wanted to share this from my family tree. I have cousins closely related to Dots Miller, which is much better than my claim. I know we have a grandson of the best pitcher of all-time here, which I can't compete with either, but I'll share anyway

I have been doing genealogy research recently and found a family line that has a lot of work already done going very far back. I'll keep this baseball related here, even though I've found some other cool relatives. I have been checking the trees of famous people for weeks and a large majority are misses obviously (unless you go back to the royal bloodlines from very long ago). I just found my first baseball player since I started checking them and came up with a pretty good name for this forum.

These people in the scan below are my ninth and tenth great-grandparents. The Hallock/Howell one is actually ninth two times, please don't ask how

This screenshot is from the family tree of Grover Cleveland Alexander. They are his eighth great-grandparents, making us distant cousins. It's interesting that the kids of these two got married on his tree, but my line where they cross meets up two generations closer, which is how these great-grandparents are different generations for me.

Between my cousin and I, we averaged 186.5 wins in the majors. I have none of his playing days cards (I have modern cards of him), which means I need one or many more now. So please share some cards of Grover Cleveland Alexander.

[Casey2296]

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Celebrate your GCA lineage!

[Balticfox]

Jimmie Foxx and Nellie Fox for me!

[oldjudge]

I once shared a taxi cab from the airport with Paul Blair. That has to be close to counting, isn’t it?

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I once shared a taxi cab from the airport with Paul Blair. That has to be close to counting, isn’t it?

You told me you were related to Doggie Miller! Why did I pay extra for you to sign his card?

[jingram058]

My grandfather on my dad's side had a brother who unfortunately died of kidney issues at the age of 34. He was married to a nice lady named Ola, who I knew and liked as a child. Ola had a sister who married Bill Terry. By the time I came along, Bill Terry had long since retired from baseball, became a car dealership owner, and had moved to Florida. I never met him, but I heard the story often when I was a kid.

[jingram058]

The other story concerns Lou Chiozza. His family lived next door to my grandparents on my dad's side. They lived on Meda Street in Memphis. He was a few years older than my dad, but my dad knew Lou Chiozza well. After his baseball days were totally over, he owned a small grocery and liquor store on Poplar in Memphis. I went to that store on several occasions with my dad, and I met Lou Chiozza. I was fascinated by his collection of baseball photos and memorabilia he had, and he put up with me and all my questions. He loved talking about baseball, and my dad and I loved listening!

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I once shared a taxi cab from the airport with Paul Blair. That has to be close to counting, isn’t it?

Nice. I sat across from James Earl Jones in an airport. He was in a famous baseball movie. Does that count?

[frankbmd]

My mother insisted (due to her research) that we were decedants of Mary Queen of Scots. There is more solid evidence that on my father's side a great,great, etc grandfather named Cudworth was related. The same Cudworth that was friends with Myles Standish in the Plymouth Rock area. Dad told me that if I ever go to Scituate, MS, I will be given the keys to the city and presumably free drinks. They are still waiting for me to show up.

[vintagesportscollector]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Nice. I sat across from James Earl Jones in an airport. He was in a famous baseball movie. Does that count?

I recently watched FOD again, gives me goose bumps every time....my Aunt and Cora Rizutto were good friends. They went to the same beauty parlor and chatted it up. She got some good scoop on the Yanks. She would give my dad baseball cards of Phil.

[todeen]

My maternal-grandfather (Moore) was a cousin-removed of Tris Speaker. Speaker has a grandma Moore somewhere in his lineage that married out, and then he -Speaker - came along. My mom's uncle is Tris Speaker Moore, and he died in the Korean War. The two families didn't really talk as far as I know.

My wife is related to Enos "Country" Slaughter. Her grandma has a female relative Slaughter that married out of the line, and my wife's grandma became a Ramey. But by using the Slaughter lineage, my wife could become a daughter of the American Revolution.

Anyway, that's pretty decent lineage!

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[z28jd]

Originally Posted by todeen

My maternal-grandfather (Moore) was a cousin-removed of Tris Speaker. Speaker has a grandma Moore somewhere in his lineage that married out, and then he -Speaker - came along. My mom's uncle is Tris Speaker Moore, and he died in the Korean War. The two families didn't really talk as far as I know.

My wife is related to Enos "Country" Slaughter. Her grandma has a female relative Slaughter that married out of the line, and my wife's grandma became a Ramey. But by using the Slaughter lineage, my wife could become a daughter of the American Revolution.

Anyway, that's pretty decent lineage!

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Tris Speaker's family tree is on Family Search. His grandmother's maiden name was Moore. You should check it out. Some lines can be traced into the 1500s for his German side.

[Kevin]

My uncle won the Taylor Spink award and was president of the Baeball Writers Association in the 70s. About 15 years ago, dad and I flew to Pittsburgh and spend a weekend with him and Roy Face.

Face was fine and regaled us with stories. Has told us the worst possible stories off the field proclivities about Clemente that you could imagine. My uncle did not confirm or deny. I don’t know the veracity of the claims; I do see Clemente interviews calling my uncle an “asshole” as an “official scorer” of games in the 60s.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Tris Speaker's family tree is on Family Search. His grandmother's maiden name was Moore. You should check it out. Some lines can be traced into the 1500s for his German side.

Yeah, I'm on family search. I looked it up one time. Need to go back one more generation to hit our direct relative, Andrew Moore b. 1778. Eliza Moore was the oldest child, whereas my direct relative was #6, Archibald Moore.

Everyone was born in Texas for generations, including my grandpa, then my line moved to New Mexico. My uncle heard it was due to hanging a preacher. Everyone packed up and left for Clovis, NM. I was told not to date anyone from Clovis because they're all my cousin.

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[mortimer brewster]

30 years ago my daughter sold Girl Scout cookies to a kind quiet unassuming gentleman on the other side of our block.When he passed away we learned he was former Yankee Buddy Rosar. Does that count?

[KJA]

I think I have a cousin that pitched like 10 games for the Yankees in 2000. No idea if he got a ring, don't think he was on the playoff roster. Otherwise he never appeared in the majors again and spent like 10 years in the minors. Not sure how his mom is related to our family.

Other than that my dad worked with Barry Larkin's sister, got some cards autographed by him.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by mortimer brewster

30 years ago my daughter sold Girl Scout cookies to a kind quiet unassuming gentleman on the other side of our block.When he passed away we learned he was former Yankee Buddy Rosar. Does that count?

If I learned one thing about genealogy over the years it’s that you’re definitely related to neighbors you barely know

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by KJA

I think I have a cousin that pitched like 10 games for the Yankees in 2000. No idea if he got a ring, don't think he was on the playoff roster. Otherwise he never appeared in the majors again and spent like 10 years in the minors. Not sure how his mom is related to our family.

Other than that my dad worked with Barry Larkin's sister, got some cards autographed by him.

My high school friends grew up with Steve Faltisek. He pitcher 3 or 4 games in the majors with the Expos and Brewers. I believe he gave up a grand slam to Robin Ventura at Shea.

He was your typical jock when I met him before he made the majors. Jerk to me. I did see him throw a snow ball about 100 feet like a laser beam and hit the trunk of a tree. He was a jerk. A few years back, my buddy had his 50th birthday party and Steve Faltisek was there. Spent the evening bs’ing with him about his pilots license. The years mellowed him it appears…

[esd10]

Double post

[esd10]

No baseball players but relation of sir William Marshall (robin hood), Sarah Good Salem witch trials and I have a direct family member who landed at Plymouth rock

[Hankphenom]

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

[Balticfox]

I shared an elevator at the Sheraton(?) in Montréal in 1984 or so with a couple of St. Louis Cardinals (Ozzie Smith? vince Coleman? Willie McGee?) who were dressed to the nines for a night out in party town. And boy were they dressed! Thick gold chains over the fanciest suits. No way I could have duplicated their style.

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

I remember that guy. He even said he was honored by the Twins a year or two ago for the 100th anniversary of the Senators championship. Seriously......who would go to that extent to prove he descended from baseball royalty? Geez.

[whitehse]

My cousin married the son of umpire Augie Donatelli.

That's close enough isn't it?

[tireolddawg]

Since there are stories not related to family ties I’ll share a funny one. My dad went to an old timers game at Busch Memorial back in the day then went to Stan Musial’s restaurant after. When him and my grandpa were leaving the restaurant Joe DiMaggio was on the curb waiting for a cab to take him to the airport. They stuck around and offered him a ride which he said he’d accept if the cab didn’t show up in 5 minutes. The cab eventually showed up and after Joe got in and rode off my grandpa turned to my dad and said “son, that man was married to Marilyn Monroe.”

[todeen]

Originally Posted by tireolddawg

“son, that man was married to Marilyn Monroe.”

I think we all wish we'd been married to her. There are lots of pics with less clothes, but fully dressed, what a beautiful woman. Thanks for improving this thread 100%.

Every thread needs a card...





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[clydepepper]

My cousin once had a dust up with Joltin' Joe:

1941 WS Photo - Whitlow v. JoeD a.jpg

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by todeen

I think we all wish we'd been married to her. There are lots of pics with less clothes, but fully dressed, what a beautiful woman. Thanks for improving this thread 100%.



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From what I've read, I'm not so sure, at least towards the end. Her bathing routine, or lack thereof, would have turned a lot of people away, apparently. She favored covering herself in perfume instead of stepping into a shower.

Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by whitehse

My cousin married the son of umpire Augie Donatelli.

That's close enough isn't it?

Yes. At the Zanzibar Tavern in the 1990's I fondled Chesty Morgan who was once married to umpire Dick Stello.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

Brigitte Bardot for me!

[sbfinley]

The title of this thread reminded me of an article on genealogy I read awhile back. Essentially there is a period of time, continentally about 1,000 years, where if you trace back to any random person living at that time there is a 80% chance you are descended from that person in some manner. The basis is that with every generation your number of ancestors doubles but the number of actual ancestors remains static and eventually they reach an equilibrium. So if you are of European decent you can take any living person from roughly 1,000 years ago (Charlemagne, Eric the Red, William I, or any random person slain in the Norman conquest) and by math there is an 80% chance you can trace - should such records exist - your genealogy back to find that person in your family tree.

Should that be true it’s interesting to me that my descendants a millennium from now could read about Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Bryce Harper, and Hawk Tuah Girl and probably be distantly related to most of them.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by z28jd

How far back can you go to claim a famous baseball player as a relative before it loses meaning? There's no right answer to that question I assume, but I wanted to share this from my family tree. I have cousins closely related to Dots Miller, which is much better than my claim. I know we have a grandson of the best pitcher of all-time here, which I can't compete with either, but I'll share anyway

John, I thought you were going to tell us that Larry Corcoran was a second cousin 6 times removed or something like that...

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I once shared a taxi cab from the airport with Paul Blair. That has to be close to counting, isn’t it?

I've sat by a few celebrities on planes during my life. One time I was two seats away from Jimmy Carter. It was Jimmy in the window seat, a secret service agent on the aisle, another secret service agent on the cross aisle with me by the window. I was able to speak with the former president for a few minutes.

Also sat next to Aaron Neville on a flight.

Another time, I was in first class coming from Europe and Johnny Bench was in business class.

Oh, if this is for athletes, I did sit next to Pat Day on a flight as well as Cheryl Miller.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Some years ago, a guy on the forum was claiming that Walter Johnson was his grandfather. Yeah, right!

What, he wasn't a cousin of yours?

Hank, I will always appreciate you getting your mother to sign that copy of the check she endorsed back in the 1940s written to her by your grandfather. It's one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia because of that personal touch.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

The title of this thread reminded me of an article on genealogy I read awhile back. Essentially there is a period of time, continentally about 1,000 years, where if you trace back to any random person living at that time there is a 80% chance you are descended from that person in some manner. The basis is that with every generation your number of ancestors doubles but the number of actual ancestors remains static and eventually they reach an equilibrium. So if you are of European decent you can take any living person from roughly 1,000 years ago (Charlemagne, Eric the Red, William I, or any random person slain in the Norman conquest) and by math there is an 80% chance you can trace - should such records exist - your genealogy back to find that person in your family tree.

Should that be true it’s interesting to me that my descendants a millennium from now could read about Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Bryce Harper, and Hawk Tuah Girl and probably be distantly related to most of them.

I was able to trace many lines back to William the Conqueror, so I looked it up and it was estimated that 50% of people in England are related to him, but actually being able to trace roots that far puts you in a group much smaller. I think the number was 4%. However, if you go back 11 generations earlier, they say approximately 98% of people with European heritage would be related to Charlemange. That's based on the amount of kids he had and the small population back then.

I didn't do any of this tracing work other than finding my great-grandmother on the genealogy site. She was the only one I found of my eight great-grandparents who had anything more than three generations earlier on their tree.

What's funny is that my other great-grandparent on that side is actually a Rockefeller (cousin of the rich family, though I do have a great-uncle named John D Rockefeller), so I figured he would have a tree for sure on the site I'm using. He barely does. Then I just happened to click her side and it's huge. So I have huge lines of royalty mixing with Rockefeller blood and my grandmother (their child) married a poor first-generation US Irishman, had nine kids and lived dirt poor.

Finding numerous kings was cool, but they are all so far back. I tried to find relatives who were within the tenth great-grandparents range. All of them are cousins, not direct ancestors, but besides Grover Cleveland Alexander, I found Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Harrison (not his Presidential grandfather), Franklin Pierce, John Pemberton (Coca-Cola inventor) and James Fenimore Cooper, which came in on his grandmother's side, so I didn't get the founder of Cooperstown (he was married at the time to my relative, so maybe I can count it, even though she's never given any credit).

Those results are with me checking 500+ famous people who had family trees available, including many many baseball players. As you can see, I'm doing much better with non-baseball finds.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Fred

John, I thought you were going to tell us that Larry Corcoran was a second cousin 6 times removed or something like that...

He was one of the first people I looked up. Not much there to see. You can read my last answer, but I've looked up hundreds of baseball players with no better than 0.5% success.

James Fenimore Cooper was actually the first person I looked for a match because I have a long line of "Fenimore" men not too far back. I hit on the first one I checked, then I'm at 1% success rate since. Luckily (or not), I have nothing better to do, so I keep checking.

[akleinb611]

Former MLB pitcher Bob Tufts (Giants, Royals 1981-83) married my second cousin Suzanne. He never got a proper chance to establish himself in the bigs, and retired soon after KC traded him into the Reds minor league system. He told me some not flattering stories about manager Frank Robinson, and he adored manager Dick Howser. He was managed in the minors by Rocky Bridges, and he told me that Bridges was a sweet guy, but was seriously nuts.

Bob passed away too young a few years ago; he may have married into my family, but he was probably the nicest guy I've ever known in my family.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Yes. At the Zanzibar Tavern in the 1990's I fondled Chesty Morgan who was once married to umpire Dick Stello.

In the mid-1980s, a buddy talked me and my girlfriend into going to see the legend Chesty at a strip club in D.C. I was sitting on the aisle, and when she came down from the stage, my buddy was pointing at me. She came over, stuck her massive, sweaty breasts into my face and wiggled them around for a few seconds. Everybody laughed, including me, but it was pretty gross.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Fred

What, he wasn't a cousin of yours? Hank, I will always appreciate you getting your mother to sign that copy of the check she endorsed back in the 1940s written to her by your grandfather. It's one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia because of that personal touch.

Thanks, Fred, it's been one of the great joys of my life to be able to make people happy with small gestures such as that!

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by akleinb611

Former MLB pitcher Bob Tufts (Giants, Royals 1981-83) married my second cousin Suzanne. He never got a proper chance to establish himself in the bigs, and retired soon after KC traded him into the Reds minor league system. He told me some not flattering stories about manager Frank Robinson, and he adored manager Dick Howser. He was managed in the minors by Rocky Bridges, and he told me that Bridges was a sweet guy, but was seriously nuts.

Bob passed away too young a few years ago; he may have married into my family, but he was probably the nicest guy I've ever known in my family.

I was a regular poster in the now-defunct Baseball Think Factory forum. Bob posted there from time to time as well. Came across as a really nice guy, and of course it was great to have the perspective of a former Major Leaguer. We were all saddened by his health struggles and untimely passing.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

From what I've read, I'm not so sure, at least towards the end. Her bathing routine, or lack thereof, would have turned a lot of people away, apparently. She favored covering herself in perfume instead of stepping into a shower. Never understood the world's fascination with her insofar as her acting and apparent beauty are concerned. How she figured into the history of her era? OK, that can't be denied. Before she undertook the blonde Marilyn facade that made her famous, she really was just a nice-looking girl next door type. Wish she would have stuck to that, but then we'd never have her particular chunk of history.

I'll try to explain her to you: Marilyn was a terrific actress across all genres. She ended up making her mark mostly in light comedy, but for dark drama in some great Film Noir check out "Don't Bother to Knock" with Richard Widmark or "Niagara" with Joseph Cotton where she more than holds her own with those Hollywood heavyweights. Her combination of beauty and overt sexuality ("Seven Year Itch," "Bus Stop," etc.) broke through a VERY conservative time to make that acceptable for generations to follow, thank God, in the way Elvis did with music. If you want to spend a couple of harrowing hours watching one of the great performances ever captured on film, check out her last one, "The Misfits," co-starring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and directed by John Huston ("Treasure of Sierra Madre," etc.) I lived through her time, and I can tell you with absolute assurance that she earned her legend status 100% in her all-too-short time (36 when she died.) Oh, and she also happened to marry Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller ("Death of a Salesman.") As with the aforementioned Elvis, for a combination of ground-breaking talent and seismic cultural change that comes about rarely, there will NEVER be another Marilyn Monroe.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by whitehse

I remember that guy. He even said he was honored by the Twins a year or two ago for the 100th anniversary of the Senators championship. Seriously......who would go to that extent to prove he descended from baseball royalty? Geez.

Some people will try to get away with just about anything these days! On a more serious note, my grandfather 10 generations back, Oliver Wolcott, signed the Declaration of Independence. Wolcott is my middle name..

[bnorth]

The best I can get is my brother married Kerry Ligtenbergs cousin.

As a joke I sometimes claim a famous Marine and a kid that was a Menace on TV as uncles.

[kmac32]

Not famous but still meaningful, My Great great Uncle Elmer Miller was the first Yankee to ever get a hit in a World Seriesand the first Yankee o ever score a run in a World Series. The year was 1921 and Yes I do have the original copy of his 1919 Contract.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by esd10

No baseball players but relation of sir William Marshall (robin hood), Sarah Good Salem witch trials and I have a direct family member who landed at Plymouth rock

William Marshall from Henry III fame?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

The title of this thread reminded me of an article on genealogy I read awhile back. Essentially there is a period of time, continentally about 1,000 years, where if you trace back to any random person living at that time there is a 80% chance you are descended from that person in some manner. The basis is that with every generation your number of ancestors doubles but the number of actual ancestors remains static and eventually they reach an equilibrium. So if you are of European decent you can take any living person from roughly 1,000 years ago (Charlemagne, Eric the Red, William I, or any random person slain in the Norman conquest) and by math there is an 80% chance you can trace - should such records exist - your genealogy back to find that person in your family tree.

Should that be true it’s interesting to me that my descendants a millennium from now could read about Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Bryce Harper, and Hawk Tuah Girl and probably be distantly related to most of them.

I believe it was a RadioLab episode where the host stated if you go back to 700 AD, we are all related.

[Casey2296]

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I once got into a drinking contest with Don Larsen when I was a kid.

He Won...

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

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I once got into a drinking contest with Don Larsen when I was a kid.

He Won...

Not really a surprise, though. Even the most avid 9 year old chugging kid would have a tough time matching up against an experienced adult drinker.

[biggies]

In 1894 Grand Pop Jimmy was 2nd in the majors with 13 HRs. In 1895 he batted .347 only to be cut the next season ending a 4 year run at .320. Today he'd be getting 30mm a year and kids would be gasping at the prospect of ripping a pack open with his card inside.
Instead, only 1 card ever. I was able to buy mine a few years ago, thank you Leon. And a Whitehead & Hoag pin, WHICH I NEED if anyone has one.
By comparison, my son was drafted by the KC Chiefs in 2011, stayed with the organization for barely 2 seasons, never played a regular season down and has 154 unique cards. Crazy.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

-I once got into a drinking contest with Don Larsen when I was a kid. He Won...

Keating and I had dinner with Larsen in Chicago when he was an old guy, and he drank us under the table. We walked him, so to speak, back to his room afterwards, and we were bouncing off the walls. He lived to 90, bottled in bond, I guess!

[akleinb611]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Keating and I had dinner with Larsen in Chicago when he was an old guy, and he drank us under the table. We walked him, so to speak, back to his room afterwards, and we were bouncing off the walls. He lived to 90, bottled in bond, I guess!

Wasn't Larsen the Yankee who crashed his car into a light pole during spring training one year at 5 am? When reporters asked Casey Stengel to comment, he said, "Well, he was either out real late, or up real early."