 |
|
||||||
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1
09-24-2022, 04:16 AM
|
||||
|
||||
Frank LaPorte
Player #64: Frank B. LaPorte. Infielder with the Washington Senators in 1912-1913. 1,185 hits and 16 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. He debuted with the New York Highlanders in 1905-1907 and 1908-1910. His best season was 1911 with the St. Louis Browns as he posted a .361 OBP with 82 RBIs in 565 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Federal League's Indianapolis Hoosiers/Newark Peppers in 1914-1915, including the Federal League pennant in 1914. He was the 1914 Federal League RBI champion. He was the first player to play for both the New York and Boston rival teams from the American League.
LaPorte's SABR biography: In the annals of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, there aren’t too many players who started with New York, then played for Boston, and then played for New York again. Frank LaPorte wasn’t the only one, but he was the first. . . . . . . The year 1911 was the first time in LaPorte’s career that he had the opportunity to play consistently at his preferred position, second base. He appeared in 136 games (with the St. Louis Browns), 133 of them at second, and he hit .314 (almost 50 points higher than anyone else on the team) and drove in 82 runs, 20 more than any other Brown. The team itself fared poorly (45-107, in last place in the American League and 56½ games out of first place. LaPorte was on the same pace in 1912, and things were proceeding well enough through his first 80 games. The Browns were an improved ballclub on offense, and LaPorte was hanging right in there, hitting .312 and having knocked in 38 – when he was suddenly sold to the Senators on August 6. George Stovall had taken over as manager 39 games into the St. Louis season, but why would the Browns dump a player who’d been doing so well? Sporting Life had an answer, if a bit of a brusque one: “It didn’t take George long to realize that LaPorte was a drone. And, as a natural result, he lost his job. LaPorte didn’t fit into Stovall’s scheme of play. Neither does any other man who isn’t a fighter and a hustler.” Clark Griffith was now the manager in Washington and sought LaPorte, whom he knew from when he was managing in New York. He acquired him as a utility player, however, not to use him as a regular. “It is not intended to play LaPorte regularly unless someone is hurt,” stated Washington Post columnist Joe S. Jackson the morning after the trade. As it turned out, work was found and LaPorte got into 40 more games, hitting .309. While with the Senators, he was one of several players who saved many men and women during a hotel fire in Detroit on September 15. It was a disappointing year for LaPorte in 1913; he appeared in just 79 games and batted only .252, but the Senators’ starting infielders each played fairly full seasons and Griffith wasn’t about to mess with matters, given that the team was in the pennant hunt all year long, finishing second – though LaPorte’s bat might have helped give them a boost in the middle months when things weren’t looking quite as good. About a week before the end of the season – on September 27 – Griffith sold LaPorte’s contract to the Kansas City Blues of the American Association. https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664010964 
|
|
#2
09-25-2022, 04:24 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Pinch McBride
Player #56C: George F. "Pinch" McBride. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1908-1920. 1,203 hits, 7 home runs, and 133 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901. Has the lowest batting average of any player with 5,000 MLB at-bats. Managed the Washington Senators in 1921 but was struck in the face by a line drive during batting practice and forced to retire.
McBride's SABR biography follows his time in Washington: McBride’s nomadic baseball wanderings ended following the 1907 season, when he was purchased by the Washington Senators of the American League. Beginning in 1908, McBride played 13 seasons with the Nats, holding down the regular shortstop position for the first nine of those years. He was considered an iron man for his time. From 1908 to 1914, he played at least 150 games a season, including every Senators game during the 1908, 1909, and 1911 seasons. He was the AL leader in fielding percentage in 1909 and in each of the four seasons between 1912 and 1915, and always among the league leaders in putouts, and assists. His defense was such that he received votes for the Chalmers Award in 1913 and 1914 despite batting .214 and .203 in those respective years. In addition to his superior glove work, McBride was also noted for the good head he had for the game, and was named field captain of the Nats in 1909, a title he held throughout the remainder of his playing days. . . .
|
|
#3
09-26-2022, 04:30 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Deerfoot Milan
Player #39D: J. Clyde "Deerfoot" Milan. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1907-1922. 2,100 hits and 495 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. 1912 and 1913 AL stolen base leader, including a then record 88 in 1912. His career OBP was .353. Managed the Washington Senators in 1922. His best season was probably 1911 for the Washington Senators as he posted a .395 OBP with 58 stolen bases and 109 runs scored in 705 plate appearances.
Milan's SABR biography picks up his career story: Milan’s peak was from 1911 to 1913 when he played in every game but one, batted over .300 each season, and averaged almost 74 stolen bases per season. In 1912 he finished fourth in the Chalmers Award voting, and his American League record-breaking total of 88 steals would have been 91 if Washington’s game against St. Louis on August 9th hadn’t been rained out in the third inning. Running into Milan on a train that summer, Billy Evans, who had umpired Milan’s first game back in 1907, remarked on his wonderful improvement in every department of the game, base running in particular. “When I broke in, I thought all a man with speed had to do was get on in some way and then throw in the speed clutch,” Milan told the umpire. “I watched with disgust while other players much slower than me stole with ease on the same catcher who had thrown me out. It finally got through my cranium that a fellow had to do a lot of things besides run wild to be a good base runner. I used to have a habit of going down on the second pitch, but the catchers soon got wise to it and never failed to waste that second ball, much to my disadvantage. Now I try to fool the catcher by going down any old time. Changing my style of slide has also helped me steal many a base that would have otherwise resulted in an out. I used to go into the bag too straight, making it an easy matter for the fielder to put the ball on me, but I soon realized the value of the hook slide.” https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184539 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184543 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184549 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184553 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184559 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664184562
|
|
#4
09-27-2022, 04:23 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Ray Morgan
Player #65A: Raymond C. "Ray" Morgan. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1911-1918. 630 hits and 88 stolen bases in 8 MLB seasons. His career OBP was .348. His best season was 1913 as he posted a .369 OBP with 19 stolen bases in 565 plate appearances. He has an odd link to Babe Ruth: in 1917, he led off a game by drawing a 4-pitch walk from Boston starter Ruth, who was then ejected from the game by the home plate umpire. Ruth was replaced by Ernie Shore and Morgan was thrown out attempting to steal on Shore's first pitch. Shore then retired the next 26 batters he faced. Shore's "perfect game" was eventually down-graded to a "combined no-hitter" by subsequent revisions in the MLB criteria.
Morgan's SABR biography: Morgan played second base for the Washington Senators in the final decade of the Deadball Era alongside slick-fielding shortstop George McBride. Morgan often was sidelined by injuries but played mostly on a regular basis from 1912–17. He was used less in 1918, his final season, having lost favor with Griffith, who was still the field manager at the time. On June 23, 1917, in Boston, Morgan played a pivotal role in one of baseball’s most famous games. He led off the game by drawing a walk from Ruth, the Red Sox starter. Ruth was so incensed by the calls, he punched the umpire and was ejected. Shore took over on the mound, and Morgan was immediately thrown out trying to steal. Shore famously retired the next 26 batters in a row, a feat that until 1991 was deemed a perfect game. https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664270453 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664270458
|
|
#5
09-28-2022, 04:12 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
The Old Sarge
Player #33E: Charles E. "Gabby" Street. "The Old Sarge". Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1908-1911. 312 hits and 2 home runs in 8 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 1904. Caught ball dropped from top of Washington Monument. Holds MLB record for longest gap between MLB games at 19 years -- 1912-1931. Managed the St. Louis Cardinals in 1929 and 1930-1933, including the 1931 World Series championship. Managed the St. Louis Browns in 1938.
Street's SABR biography introduces "the old Sarge": Gabby Street became known as Sergeant Street when he enlisted in the Army in March 1918. As Street put it, he was going off to fight in the “real” World Series. “I was sent to Fort Slocum, N.Y., and everybody interested in baseball thought it was great that I should be on hand to catch the army team. I finally convinced my lieutenant that I joined the army to fight, pointing out that I could have continued playing baseball for a salary. I was one of the first 50,000 to get over and took part in three major engagements: Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel and the Argonne. That St. Louis regiment, the 138th, was as fine as an outfit as I ever saw, and I was proud to be attached to it,” said Sergeant Street. The Sporting News, October 2, 1930. Street was assigned to the 1st Gas Regiment, Chemical Warfare Division. He and his men joined the 138th in the Battle of the Argonne. Street’s men held down a smoke screen for the 138th Infantry on September 26, 1918. A machine-gun bullet from a German airplane punctured his right leg on October 2, 1918. He was awarded the Purple Heart, and his fighting days were at an end. https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664356296 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664356306
|
|
#6
09-29-2022, 04:18 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Germany Schaefer
Player #45D: Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer. Infielder for the Washington Senators in 1909-1914. 972 hits, 9 home runs , and 201 stolen bases in 15 MLB seasons. His "steal" of first base prompted rule making it illegal. Popular as a baseball "trickster" and "on-field clown", often in tandem with Charley O'Leary and, later, with Nick Altrock. Altrock eventually perfected the art with Al Schacht.
Schaefer's SABR biography: . . . Schaefer continued to fine tune his crazed antics as a player/coach. Umpire Silk O’Loughlin chased him from a game in Chicago on June 8, 1912 for eating popcorn in the coach’s box, and Schaefer also began to perform tricks, like tight-rope walking the foul line and using two bats to “row across the grass.” His performances were later incorporated by baseball clowns Nick Altrock and Al Schacht. While he enjoyed drawing laughter, Schaefer defended his comedic coaching as important to team success. “Is humorous coaching of value to a team? I think so. It is valuable for two reasons. It keeps our fellow in good spirits, and it sometimes distracts the opposing players…I guess Clark Griffith thinks so also, for he encourages me in my tomfoolery,” Schaefer told The Sporting News in 1912. https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664442999 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664443007 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664443014 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664443026
|
|
#7
09-30-2022, 04:03 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Dixie Walker
Player #66: Edward G. "Dixie" Walker. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1909-1912. 25 wins and 481 innings pitched in 4 MLB seasons. In 1910, he went 11-11 with a 3.30 ERA in 199.1 innings pitched. His brother Ernie played 3 MLB seasons and his sons Dixie and Harry played a combined 29 MLB seasons.
Edward "Dixie" Walker pitched four seasons for the Washington Senators. He was a year older than teammate Walter Johnson and was his roommate. He was the brother of Ernie Walker and father of "Harry the Hat" Walker and Fred "Dixie" Walker. Until the Hairstons arrived, the Walkers were the only set of major-leaguers to have two generations in a row of brothers. He is the only father of two major-league batting champions. https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664528544 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664528551 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664528569 https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1664528585
|
 |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| WTB: Washington-related baseball memorabilia | Runscott | Baseball Memorabilia B/S/T | 4 | 05-23-2014 05:18 PM |
| WTB: Specific Claudell Washington, U.L. Washington, Garth Iorg and Johnny Grubb Cards | EGreenwood | 1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T | 0 | 12-07-2012 10:27 PM |
| 1920's washington senators baseball cap | bryson22 | Baseball Memorabilia B/S/T | 1 | 12-30-2010 09:21 PM |
| The Oregon-Washington Baseball League??? | slidekellyslide | Net54baseball Sports (Primarily) Vintage Memorabilia Forum incl. Game Used | 7 | 06-12-2009 07:55 PM |
| Baseball cabinet - Washington Senators? | Archive | Net54baseball Sports (Primarily) Vintage Memorabilia Forum incl. Game Used | 1 | 06-18-2008 02:33 PM |
Hybrid Mode
