"Dead-ball" era Characters wanted....tell us of your favorites ?

[tedzan]

My favorite is "Turkey Mike" Donlin. Donlin grew up in Erie (Pennsylvania is one of the leading areas in providing many BB players and stars throughout the years).
A lifetime .333 hitter, one wonders what his numbers would have been, if he devoted more time to playing the game, instead of dabbling in Vaudeville. He played
from 1899 - 1912, and his BA was over .300 in 11 of the 12 years. It fell to .287 in 1902 in which he was in only 34 games. Since he spent several months in jail.
The highlights of his career were in 1903 (BA = .351) and in 1905 (BA = .356....with 216 Hits).
Mike was a very colorful character and quite the show man on and off the field. He was considered "the idol of New York City", especially after he married Mabel
Hite (a popular Broadway actress) and started appearing with his wife in shows. After his wife died in 1912 his Major League career came to an end by 1914.

During WWI, Mike was in France teaching baseball to the US soldiers. When he returned, he moved to Hollywood and became friends with John Barrymore. Barry-
more was instrumental in getting Mike into the movies. You can catch Mike Donlin on late nite TCM movies....circa 1918 - 1930's.

In my book....if you can hit a baseball safely 1-out-of-3 times at bat over a 12 year Major League career....you belong in the Hall of Fame.












TED Z

[MooseWithFleas]

Donlin would go under the "What Could Have Been" category for me along with Joe Wood, Dick Allen, Darryl Strawberry, Bo Jackson, and Doc Gooden. It would be a great debate, but one could suggest the HoF begin to induct those who's career were cut short. Longevity takes too much stake in HoF candidacy. For instance, Joe Wood had amassed 117 wins by age 25 with an ERA+ near 150. He only started in one more game after that point though because of a freak thumb injury when bunting. There is no doubt that he was one of the most talented pitchers of his time. Isn't that what the HoF is for? Recognizing the best talents of specific generations?

Anyway, I don't want to stray too far off-topic.

"Ee-Yah" Hughie Jenkins has to be mentioned! Known for his "Ee-Yah!" shouts when something went well on the field. Dancing on the field and taunting the opponents (to the point of suspension) are some of his more famous shticks.

It's actually a miracle the guy lived til age 58 considering he jumped head first into an empty pool in the middle of the night, broken both of his legs, overturning his car and breaking his arm and fracturing his skull a second time. He also got hit by a pitch to the head and finished out the game. Shortly after he collapsed and remained unconscious for 3 days.

[mcgwirecom]

George Edward "Rube" Waddell. One of the great characters of that era. Another one of those "what if" players. Just happened to be an awesome southpaw but probably didn't really even care that much about the game. First guy to strike out over 300 batters in a season (349 the record until 1973!) But was a huge pain to his managers. Needed to be watched 24-7 and even during the off season! Was an alcoholic, an actor (bad), engaged in very risky behavior most of the time. Loved to fight fires and had to be restrained from leaving games when the fire brigade went by. I read a good book about him by a guy named Levy. A lot of great stories about him were embellished, but still a lot of true ones! Was gone from baseball at 33. He ended up getting tuberculosis after helping out in a flood. Died at the age of 37. 193 Wins, 143 Losses, 2316 Ks, 2.16 ERA. My grandfather told me he saw him play and that he was the best pitcher he ever saw...

[ethicsprof]

It's well past midnight, but i'm remembering an old story about Ray Chapman,I believe, when he was facing the train speed fastball of Walter Johnson.
He too quickly leaves the batter's box, hustling back to his teammates, when
the umpire yells "you've got another strike left." Ray, not missing a step,
yells back astutely(word choice for you,ted)--"you can have it; i don't want it."
In 1920, Ray dies when hit by Carl Mays fastball.

Not deadball but a great anecdote that i remember from listening to dizzy dean with Pee Wee call the baseball games between falstaffs, when i was a kid.
Asked how great Bill Terry was, Diz simply tells us that Terry hit a ball so hard once that it went through the pitcher's legs and then soared and sailed over the fence for a homerun. Great falstaff methinks.

all the best, ole buddy
barry

[Brian Van Horn]

Nominated for racing a horse around the bases:

[bh3443]

What a great assembly of Donlin's cards and awesome story, Ted!
Barry, nice one on Champan!
Lobert racing a horse? Great one!

A fun thread, Ted. Thanks, my friends for these gems! Keep them coming!

You are all the best friends ever and I love you guys like brothers~~~~
Bill Hedin
Proud member of Net54!

[birdman42]

Germany Schaefer, noted for stealing three bases on consecutive pitches. Of course, one of them was first base.

(And, apparently, for wearing elf shoes.)

Bill

[terjung]

Originally Posted by mcgwirecom

My grandfather told me he saw him play and that he was the best pitcher he ever saw...

Now THAT is what it is all about! Getting a firsthand account about the play of this deadball-era, weird bird had to be incredible. Consider me jealous of that conversation.

Anybody else talk to someone who told firsthand stories of early 20th century players?

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by terjung

Anybody else talk to someone who told firsthand stories of early 20th century players?

Johnny Neun, who played for the Tigers during the 1925-28 seasons, was a special instructor for the Brewers when I played in their organization in the mid-1980s. Although he didn't reach the majors until after the deadball era, he shared incredible stories. I can remember sitting on the bleachers and chatting with him one-on-one at the end of workouts and thinking, "I'm talking to someone who was a teammate of Ty Cobb."

It was surreal.

[Touch'EmAll]

At St. Mary's, Brother Mathias wanted the kids to learn a marketable skill to later help them through life.

Babe had a tailoring and heming job for which he was paid. Babe used the money to buy candy for all the kids. Even as a kid, Babe was a loveable teddy bear type and very popular. Dude taking his own hard earned money to buy candy for the less priviledged.

I have a 4 year old, and his fondness of candy takes me back to my own youth when my sister and I would walk down to the 7-11, use our allowance to buy candy (and packs of baseball cards).

Story goes even when Babe was all grown up, big and famous, he still tailored his own clothes.

[Jay Wolt]

Here's another character who had a sad life and died young.

(taken from Wikipedia)

Raymond was born in Chicago, Illinois. He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904.[1] After a short stint with the Tigers, Raymond returned to the minors. He developed his spitball sometime in 1906. With the new pitch, he had a big season in 1907, going 35-11 for the South Atlantic League's Charleston Sea Gulls. Raymond pitched a no-hitter that year, as well, and led Charleston to the pennant.[2] The Cardinals purchased him in September, and in 1908, he was the best pitcher on the team. His 2.03 earned run average ranked tenth in the National League, and his 145 strikeouts were fourth-best. During the 1908 season, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson and threw five shutouts, but he was also on the mound eleven times when the Cardinals failed to score.[3]

Raymond was known for his spitball and got his nickname because of his zany antics on the mound. What might have been a promising career was short-circuited by a perpetual addiction to alcohol. The only manager who could keep Raymond in line for any length of time was hard-nosed Giants manager John McGraw. McGraw picked him up in the Roger Bresnahan trade before the 1909 season, and Bugs won 18 games for him that year.[2]

However, Raymond could never stay sober for long. McGraw tried everything - including fining him so there wouldn't be any money left for drinks and hiring a detective to trail Bugs - but nothing worked. In addition, Raymond had a subpar performance on the mound in 1910, going 4-11. He was released him midway through the Giants' 1911 pennant-winning season.[2]

In 1912, after a short stint in an independent league, Raymond got into a number of fights in Chicago and ended up badly beaten. He died of a fractured skull a few weeks later at age 30.[4]

[iggyman]

A little bit more info. on Arthur L. "Bugs" Raymond's death:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...+raymond&hl=en

Lovely Day...

[Jay Wolt]

Iggy Thanks for the article scan

[iggyman]

A little bit past the T206 era but a little bit before the Goudey era, what about Flint Rhem??? A recent eBay auction brought him to mind. In the thick of a pennant race and on the day he was scheduled to pitch, he actually claimed that he was kidnapped by two Brooklyn Dodger fans and forced to drink booze for 24 hours ??? The great part about this tale, is that he got away with it. Here is the story as per Google archives>>>

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...int+rhem&hl=en


In 1960 he told the truth (or at least blamed it on Gabby Street who was conveniently dead at the time>>>

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...int+rhem&hl=en

Lovely Day...

[deadballera]

Luther "Dummy" Taylor was profoundly deaf and performed on-field communications with his teammates in sign language. He is credited with helping to expand and make universal the use of sign language throughout the modern baseball infield, including but not limited to the use of pitching signs. He played baseball at the same time as another deaf player, William Ellsworth Hoy, more commonly known as Dummy Hoy

[pgellis]

To expand just a little on Dummy Taylor. He was 1 of 3 deaf children born to hearing parents. He played for McGraw's Giants and his teammates learned sign language so that they could communicate with him. He then moved on to Cleveland and found it frustrating and difficult there because the Cleveland players did not bother to learn sign language.

He went back to the Giants and would often "sign" during the game regarding his thoughts of the job that the umpires were doing. He once got bagged by an umpire that also could read sign language and was fined for doing so.

Here's a very good article on Taylor:

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?...=14004&bid=987

[birdman42]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

Raymond was born in Chicago, Illinois. He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904.[1]

The Waterloo Microbes? And I thought the Albuquerque Isotopes had a great name. I'd love to hear the story behind the Waterloo team name.

Bill

[albrshbr]

So I'm reading the bio on Dummy Taylor, and guess who his roommate is on the Giants...Mike Donlin.

[deadballera]

gotta love the moustache...

John Franklin Titus (February 21, 1876 - January 8, 1943) born in St. Clair, Pennsylvania was an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1903-12) and Boston Braves (1912-13).

His most notable accomplishment was that he led the National League in being hit by pitches (16) in 1909 and ranks 74th on the Major League Baseball career Hit By Pitch list (94).

In 11 seasons he played in 1,402 games and had 4,960 at bats, 738 runs, 1,401 hits, 253 doubles, 72 triples, 38 home runs, 561 RBI, 140 stolen bases, 620 walks, a .282 batting average, a .373 on-base percentage, a .385 slugging percentage, 1,912 total bases and 144 sacrifice hits.

[tedzan]

Check out this dude......






My long-time friend, hobbyist, and professional artist, J. Weaver, presented this classic to me at my 70th Birthday party.



TED Z

[Tim Kindler]

Sadly, maybe Miguel Cabrera should read that story about Bugs Raymond in his rehab. I'm not trying to make a smart*** post, alcoholism is a serious matter that hurts ALL the friends and family of a person like Cabrera. I hope he fixes himself, not just for him but for everyone who cares about him.

[Tim Kindler]

On a Lighter Note, I was reading "That Old Ball Game" by David Philips and there was a picture of Rube Oldring of the Philadelphia Athletics. In the caption below his picture it talked about how when his team lost the 1914 World Series to the underdog Braves, that Oldring had a horrible World Series. Oldring stated that his poor play was because he was harassed throughout the series by a woman in the crowd who claimed falsely to be his wife. I wonder if the Braves paid her to be a STALKER? His stats from the series: .067 Batting Average, 1 hit in 15 at bats, with 5 strikeouts! Tough series!

[Brian Van Horn]

Another one to mention is Germany Schaefer. An obscure rule is in place which basically states that once you advance to the next base you can not return to the previous base. One day he Schaefer stole second base. On the next pitch he returned to first. On the next pitch he again stole second base. Thus the need for the rule.

[packs]

I think I remember reading somewhere that Bugs Raymond used to pay for his drinks with signed baseballs. Anyone ever seen one?

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by packs

I think I remember reading somewhere that Bugs Raymond used to pay for his drinks with signed baseballs. Anyone ever seen one?

That was from "The Glory of Their Times". I can't recall who said this, but I'm thinking it was either Snodgrass or Doyle. Regardless, none of these mythic baseballs have ever turned up. The pastime of collecting baseball autographs was in its infancy when Raymond was pitching. Precious few team-signed balls exist from that era, and single-signed baseballs weren't en vogue until midway through the Ruthian era. I've always suspected that the player who recalled the Raymond story was getting his facts mixed up. I could envision Raymond trading balls for beers, but doubt any were signed.