Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #88B: Alexander "Al" Schacht. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1919-1921. 14 wins and 3 saves in 3 MLB seasons. Was highly-regarded as a third base coach in Washington (1924-1934) and Boston (1935-1936). Performed player mimicry and comedy routines with fellow Washington coach Nick Altrock earning the nickname of "The Clown Prince of Baseball". After leaving coaching he continued comedy but settled in as a restauranteur.

Schacht's SABR biography fills us in on some of his mid-career highlights: In 1928, Schacht became desperately ill. His weight dropped to 126, sharp pains gnawed at his stomach, and he had a bad case of dysentery. Schacht went to several doctors, who were puzzled by his illness. Finally he went to a Dr. Norman, who found the problem-bleeding ulcers. The doctor, seeing that Schacht was about to have an internal hemorrhage, irrigated them immediately. After the irrigation Schacht went to a sanitarium in Washington, where he followed the doctor’s orders, a special diet that resulted in the curing of his ulcers.

Schacht managed the Senators for a month in 1934. Player-manager Joe Cronin had broken his wrist and just gotten married, to Griffith’s adopted daughter Mildred Robertson. Griffith gave Cronin the rest of the year off and told Joe to go on a long honeymoon. The Senator team was in poor shape with mounting injuries and finished seventh. Schacht’s short managing career ended. Schacht never desired to be a manager and was glad it was over. After the 1934 season Schacht and Joe Cronin were traded to the Red Sox. That was the end of the partnership between Schacht and Altrock.

Now that Schacht and Altrock had split for good, Al was on his own as a clown and became the Clown Prince of Baseball. He entertained at World Series games, at All-Star games, and at every park in the majors.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #141: Roy H. Spencer. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1929-1932. 448 hits and 3 home runs in 12 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925-1927. His most productive season was 1931 with Washington as he posted a .327 OBP with 60 RBIs in 528 plate appearances. He last played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937-1938.

Roy Spencer played parts of 12 MLB seasons for five different teams. In all, he had almost 2,000 plate appearances and appeared in 636 games. He was part of the Pittsburgh team that won the 1925 World Series, although he did not appear in the World Series.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #122B: Samuel F. "Sam" West. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1932 and 1938-1941. 1,838 hits and 75 home runs in 16 MLB seasons. 4-time All-Star. His career OBP was .371. In 1931 for Washington, he posted an OBP of .369 with 91 RBIs in 559 plate appearances. In 1934 for the St. Louis Browns, he posted an OBP of .403 with 91 runs scored in 554 plate appearances. His last season was 1942 with the Chicago White Sox.

Now the Senators’ everyday center fielder, West batted just .267 in 1929, mostly due to an inability to step in against left-handers. Since that rainy July day in 1926 (when West was hit in the head by a pitch), West had consistently taken a weak swing against left-handers while striding out of the box. After the season, a disappointed Walter Johnson said of West, “There is no question that ‘Sam of Birmingham’ is one of the best fielders in the majors today. But for a team that is looking for his big batting punch to be furnished, West has been unable to show us this.” . . .

. . . The 1930 Senators, according to the sportswriters, were expected to finish seventh, but they shocked the baseball world by winning 94 games and contending for the American League pennant. They finished in second place, eight games behind the Philadelphia Athletics. West contributed with clutch hitting and a .327 batting average while playing against just right-handed pitching, but the Senators ran out of patience with his weakness against left-handers. At the Del Prado Hotel in Chicago on the morning of July 27, West was summoned to Clark Griffith’s room. The longtime president of the Senators informed the 25-year-old outfielder that George Loepp (who had been platooning with West) had been sold, meaning that West would now play center field every day, regardless who was hurling for the opposition. Griffith bluntly told West that if he couldn’t learn to hit left-handers, he would be replaced.

The message was heard. Later that day West banged out a pair of hits against Chicago left-hander Dutch Henry. The next week he smashed two hits off Herb Pennock, one of the best lefties in the league. A few weeks later he tagged Pennock for three hits in a game.

West continued his batting rampage. Now able to hit lefties was well as right-handers, he was batting .362 on June 21, and was moved to the number three spot in the Washington batting order. He finished the season with a .333 batting average, good for eighth in the American League, and drove in 91 runs. In the field he made over 400 putouts, and his 15 assists proved his arm was fine. But a full season of wear did damage that required surgery before the 1932 season. . . .

. . . In 1932 West hit .287 and drove in 83 runs. In the field he made 450 putouts and had 15 assists. The Senators finished in third place for the second straight season, and Walter Johnson lost his job. “He was just a little too nice” was West’s explanation to why the Senators fell short of winning the pennant under Johnson’s direction.

In December 1932 new manager Joe Cronin and Griffith attended the baseball winter meetings in New York City with the intention of strengthening their team by acquiring veteran talent. They made a trade with the St. Louis Browns that brought Goose Goslin back to the Senators. However, with Goslin in the Washington lineup, there was an unbalanced batting order of five left-handers and three right-handers. With that in mind, Cronin and Griffith made a trade they did not want to make but felt was necessary: a swap of center fielders with the Browns. Sam West was traded for Fred Schulte, a right-handed hitter. (It all was considered one trade: West, pitcher Lloyd Brown and outfielder Carl Reynolds to the Browns for Goslin, Schulte and pitcher Lefty Stewart.)

“You are always unhappy when you leave all your friends,” West said of the trade. “We were all one big happy family over in Washington.” (We will see West again with Washington.)

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[GeoPoto]

The 1932 Washington Senators won 93 games, lost 61, and finished in third place in the American League. They were managed by Walter Johnson and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

The 1932 Season Part 1. We let Deveaux provide highlights from 1932: The Senators were in the running for second until the last weekend (of the 1931 season), when they were edged out by the Yankees and settled in third, a full 16 games behind the Athletics. Despite having dropped a rung in the standings, Clark Griffith still felt that the eight men he could put on the field could match the more powerful lineups in the league, namely New York and Philadelphia. Griff decide not to do much tinkering with his ballclub for 1932, a year which would prove to be another exciting one for his team. The Nats had, above all, a terrific infield. Joe Cronin drove in 116 runs, batted .318, and led the league's shortstops in put-outs, assists, double plays, and fielding average. The Senators as a team were once again at the top of the league in fielding in 1932, in a virtual tie for the top spot with the A's.

Offensively, Joe Kuhel improved to .291 in his second full year, although he shared- first base with Joe Judge, who hit .258 in his 18th and final season in Washington. Third baseman Ossie Bluege hit .258, and his production returned to normal, with 64 ribbies, compared to his anomalous 98 RBIs the previous year. Buddy Myer dropped to .279, the second-lowest mark of his career, but, ironically, scored a career-high 120 runs.

Preparing the outfield for the '32 campaign presented a bit more of a challenge to Griffith, who decided to trade for outfielder Carl Reynolds of the Chicago White Sox. Reynolds, solidly built but viewed as temperamental by Chicago manager Donie Bush, had slipped to .290 in 1931 after finishing third in the batting race in 1930 with .359. That season, during which he bashed three homers in consecutive at-bats in a game at Yankee Stadium, Reynolds accumulated 22 homers and 100 RBIs, but those figures dipped to 6-77 in '31.

Griffith figured the righthanded Reynolds would counterbalance the lefty-hitting Sammy West and Heinie Manush. Manush hit a resounding .342, fourth-best in the league, and exactly matched Cronin's RBI output of 116. West slipped to .287 from .333, but had 15 outfield assists, just one short of the tally of the league leader in that department, Goose Goslin of the Browns.

Photograph by Brown Brothers capturing President Herbert Hoover as he prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season on opening day, April 11, 1932, at Washington's Griffith Stadium:

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[GeoPoto]

The 1932 Season Part 2. Griffith 's plan (for the outfield in 1932) worked well, as Reynolds, who would end up hitting .302 for his career, was having a great season until Independence Day, 1932, when he crashed into Yankee catcher Bill Dickey in a close play at the plate. This triggered one of the rowdiest incidents in Griffith Stadium history. Dickey, a tough 25-year-old already on his way to the Hall of Fame, was incensed by the way Reynolds barged into him, which had caused him to drop the ball. Unbeknownst to anyone but the Yankee players, the same thing had happened to Dickey a few days before in Boston. Furthermore, Reynolds, a 200-pounder, was known for being one of those players who slid particularly hard, which may endear a player to his manager, but not to enemy fielders.

As Reynolds trotted toward the dugout following the collision, Dickey came running from behind, got in front of him, and socked him in the mouth, breaking his jaw in two places. Dickey was suspended for 30 days and fined $1,000 for his one-punch decision. Carl Reynolds, who had been hitting for the Nats like he had for Chicago during his great season in '30, did not regain his batting eye when he returned following a six-week layoff. Underweight after having his jaw wired during the convalescence, his average slumped over 50 points to .305 for the season.

It must be said that Sam Rice, at 42 years of age, performed admirably while Reynolds was absent, managing .323 in 106 games. Rice, who would have to wait until age 73 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, was performing at a high level at an age when most Hall of Famers were either on the coaching lines or enjoying a more leisurely lifestyle back in their hometowns.

Another snap by Brown Brothers:

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[GeoPoto]

The 1932 Washington Senators won 93 games, lost 61, and finished in third place in the American League. They were managed by Walter Johnson and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

The 1932 Season Part 3. The Nats were themselves able to subdue other A.L. teams more often than not in 1932, and this was largely thanks to a pitching staff that allowed fewer runs than any other in the league. General Alvin Crowder had a career year, 26-13, 3.33. He led the league in wins and was also the number-one workhorse in the loop, with a whopping 327 innings (Dizzy Dean was first in the National League with just 286). Crowder's 26th win was his 15th in a row, a 2-1 decision over the A's at Griffith Stadium. Philadelphia's only run resulted from Jimmie Foxx's 58th home run, which turned out to be his last of the year in the first serious challenge mounted on Babe Ruth's 1927 standard. In this season, Foxx had had two home runs canceled because of rainouts in the early innings of games.

Rookie righthander Monte Weaver, purchased from Baltimore the previous season, spun a very gratifying 22-10 record for Clark Griffith in 1932. In later years, Weaver recalled how he'd been greeted upon his arrival in '31, when he won his first big-league decision. While he was shagging flies in the outfield, Walter Johnson went up to him and said that if Weaver pitched like he had in Baltimore, everything would be fine. The fact was, however, that Weaver had been pitching, to quote him, "lousy" in Baltimore at the time of his purchase. Being a brainy guy who later earned a master's degree in mathematics, he knew that Walter was just being nice. In addition to Weaver's phenomenal rookie year, Lloyd Brown contributed a 15-12 slate, and Firpo Marberry, used primarily as a reliever for the first time in four years, went 8-4 with a league-leading 13 saves.

All added up, the Senators had another great year -- 93 wins, third-highest in club history, against 61 losses. It was a better record than that of the National League champions, the Chicago Cubs. However, Washington only gained two games in the standings, winding up a disappointing 14 lengths behind New York, winners of 107 games, who finished 13 ahead of the defending champions, the Athletics. While Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig drove in 288 runs between them, it was with pitching -- courtesy of Gomez, Ruffing, Pipgras, and Pennock -- that the Yankees were able to outclass the A's.

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[GeoPoto]

The caption from the reverse of the 1932 photograph (taken around an "old-timers" game) reads: Washington's Greatest Infield Play Together Once More. Wash. D.C. . . . . The members of the team that represented Washington in 1924, the year the Griffmen won the World Series, pictured here when they played together again yesterday, August 15th, against the 1932 aggregation of Senators. Left to right are, Ossie Bluege, who played third base; Roger Peckinpaugh, who played shortstop and who is now manager of the Cleveland Indians; Bucky Harris, who played second base, and who is now manager of the Detroit Tigers, and Joe Judge, still first baseman for the Senators.

The second photograph, which shows the same four infielders during their championship season, is from 1924.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #142A: Morris "Moe" Berg. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1932-1934. 441 hits and 6 home runs in 15 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. His most productive season was 1929 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a .323 OBP with 47 RBIs in 384 plate appearances. He finished up with the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1939. His MLB career was statistically mediocre, but he is remembered as a colorful personality. He was a graduate of Princeton University and the Columbia Law School. He spoke several languages and read 10 newspapers a day. He worked as a spy during and after WW2.

Deveaux on Berg: Moe Berg was much more than a competent defensive catcher. The man was an alumnus of three universities -- a lawyer, mathematician, and linguist. He reputedly spoke as many as 17 languages and by the time he joined the Senators, his thesis on Sanskrit was listed in the Library of Congress. Nonetheless, coach Al Schacht, Berg's best friend on the team, referred to him regularly as "just an educated imbecile." With respect to Berg's poor hitting, it was often said that he could speak in many languages, but could hit in none.

Casey Stengel, the "old perfesser," once said that Moe Berg was just about the strangest bird he'd come across in baseball. Still active as a player with the Giants when Berg broke into the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1923, Stengel had not been the only one to hear stories about him. Berg would carry piles of books and newspapers to his dressing-room stall. Not only did this mystify his generally poorly educated teammates, they were amazed that they were not permitted to touch any of Berg's stuff. Berg believed the printed page to have "life," and should his papers be read by anyone else, they would "die." He was known to go out to get copies of newspapers to replace those that someone had "killed."

His eccentricities aside, Berg would eventually become one of America's most important spies. When teams of major leaguers visited Japan in the early thirties, baseball fans might have been amazed that a third-string catcher like Berg had been sent along. He was actually there to take photos for the government. During World War II, he was assigned to the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. During the war, he was parachuted behind enemy lines to kidnap atomic scientists and bring them back to America.

For his heroism, Berg was to have been awarded the Medal of Merit, but he turned it down. Dark and highly refined in manner, attractive in the eyes of many highly placed ladies, Berg was also honorable and forthright whenever it was suggested that he was wasting his intellect on baseball. He always answered what the most bright-eyed of American youth would have -- that he would rather be a ballplayer than a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. (Deveaux will have more to say about Berg, when we get to Dave Harris.)

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[EddieP]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Player #142A: Morris "Moe" Berg. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1932-1934. 441 hits and 6 home runs in 15 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. His most productive season was 1929 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a .323 OBP with 47 RBIs in 384 plate appearances. He finished up with the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1939. His MLB career was statistically mediocre, but he is remembered as a colorful personality. He was a graduate of Princeton University and the Columbia Law School. He spoke several languages and read 10 newspapers a day. He worked as a spy during and after WW2.

Deveaux on Berg: Moe Berg was much more than a competent defensive catcher. The man was an alumnus of three universities -- a lawyer, mathematician, and linguist. He reputedly spoke as many as 17 languages and by the time he joined the Senators, his thesis on Sanskrit was listed in the Library of Congress. Nonetheless, coach Al Schacht, Berg's best friend on the team, referred to him regularly as "just an educated imbecile." With respect to Berg's poor hitting, it was often said that he could speak in many languages, but could hit in none.

Casey Stengel, the "old perfesser," once said that Moe Berg was just about the strangest bird he'd come across in baseball. Still active as a player with the Giants when Berg broke into the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1923, Stengel had not been the only one to hear stories about him. Berg would carry piles of books and newspapers to his dressing-room stall. Not only did this mystify his generally poorly educated teammates, they were amazed that they were not permitted to touch any of Berg's stuff. Berg believed the printed page to have "life," and should his papers be read by anyone else, they would "die." He was known to go out to get copies of newspapers to replace those that someone had "killed."

His eccentricities aside, Berg would eventually become one of America's most important spies. When teams of major leaguers visited Japan in the early thirties, baseball fans might have been amazed that a third-string catcher like Berg had been sent along. He was actually there to take photos for the government. During World War II, he was assigned to the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. During the war, he was parachuted behind enemy lines to kidnap atomic scientists and bring them back to America.

For his heroism, Berg was to have been awarded the Medal of Merit, but he turned it down. Dark and highly refined in manner, attractive in the eyes of many highly placed ladies, Berg was also honorable and forthright whenever it was suggested that he was wasting his intellect on baseball. He always answered what the most bright-eyed of American youth would have -- that he would rather be a ballplayer than a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. (Deveaux will have more to say about Berg, when we get to Dave Harris.)

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His Goudey Card is in the Museum of the CIA.

[GeoPoto]

Thanks Eddie. Is that inside the Langley complex?

Player #89F: 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 Washington's World Series appearances in 1924 and 1925), 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 overslide, then reach for a corner with his hand.” The basepaths belonged to the baserunners. Get in their way, and you could get hurt.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #128B: Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1928-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1945. 2,285 hits and 170 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .390. He was a 7-time All Star. Boston Red Sox #4 retired. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1956, he was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. His best season was probably 1930 for Washington as he posted a .422 OBP with 127 runs scored and 127 RBIs on 686 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1933-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1947. He was General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1948-1958. He was president of the American League in 1959-1973. When he left the Red Sox in 1959, they were the only MLB team without a black player. He and team owner Tom Yawkey are generally viewed as responsible for this injustice which ended six months after Cronin's departure.

Cronin's SABR biography: Other than baseball, the principal excitement in Joe’s life was his relationship with Mildred Robertson. Per Joe Engel’s prophesy, Joe and Mildred had taken to each other right away, but it was anything but a whirlwind romance. Joe began by dropping in to the office more often than he needed to, but their courtship became more traditional in the spring of 1930 during spring training. As her uncle’s secretary, Mildred accompanied the team to their spring camp in Biloxi, Mississippi, every year. By the time the Senators returned from spring training to Washington in 1930, Joe and Mildred were dating twice a week when the team was home. Joe was adamant that the relationship remain a secret lest people write that Joe was trying to get in good with the boss.

On the field, Joe maintained his new plateau of excellence. In 1931 he hit .306 with 12 home runs and 126 runs batted in, as his club won 92 games, again well back of the Athletics. The next year he overcame a chipped bone in his thumb, suffered when he was struck by a pitch in June, to hit .318 with 116 runs batted in and a league-leading 18 triples. His club won 93 games, its third straight 90-win season and the third best record in team history. Nonetheless, after the season, Clark Griffith fired Walter Johnson, the team’s greatest hero. Griffith surprised everyone by selecting Cronin, just turning 26, to replace him. Not only did Cronin have to gain the respect of the veterans, he still had to worry about hitting and playing shortstop. Of course, there was the extra financial reward.

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[EddieP]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Thanks Eddie. Is that inside the Langley complex?

Player #89F: 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 Washington's World Series appearances in 1924 and 1925), 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 overslide, then reach for a corner with his hand.” The basepaths belonged to the baserunners. Get in their way, and you could get hurt.

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Yes, it is.

[GeoPoto]

Player #130B: Charles W. "Carl" Fischer. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1930-1932 and 1937. 46 wins and 10 saves in 7 MLB seasons. His best season was 1933 with the Detroit Tigers as he posted an 11-15 record with 3.55 ERA in 182.2 innings pitched. He last pitched in MLB in 1937, but pitched another 10 seasons in the minor leagues.

Back to Fischer's SABR biography: Fischer couldn’t maintain his performance over the rest of the (1931) campaign, but still finished with 13 wins against 9 losses while logging over 190 innings. After the season, The Sporting News named him as one of three pitchers on its 1931 All-Star Major Recruit Team, a predecessor to today’s All-Rookie Team.

Expectations were high for Fischer entering the 1932 season. However, he did not get off to a good start and there were whispers that he had lost his fastball. The Senators, widely expected to battle for the pennant, were thin on patience and in early June traded him to the St. Louis Browns . . .

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[GeoPoto]

Player #133B: David S. "Dave" Harris. "Sheriff". Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1930-1934. 406 hits and 32 home runs in 7 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Boston Braves in 1925. His best season was 1931 for Washington as he posted a .434 OBP with 50 RBIs in 284 plate appearances.

David Stanley "Sheriff" Harris was a fifth important contributor to Walter Johnson's outfield in 1932, and he was at the center of a couple of truly unusual occurrences involving the Senators in this year. Not related to and not to be confused with Stanley "Bucky" Harris or Joe "Moon" Harris, heroes of earlier days, the Sheriff was one of those original baseball types common back in the thirties, but extinct today. He was essentially an uneducated hillbilly from North Carolina who had explained in his best drawl upon joining the club that he really was no sheriff at all. Harris had the demeanor of a sheriff, but insisted that the real story was that he'd been deputized once only, so that he could help chase mule thieves down in the Carolinas.

All Dave Harris had done since coming to Washington in 1930 as a journeyman 30-year-old, with less than two years of mediocrity in the big leagues behind him, was hit well over .300. In 1932, he came off the bench to pinch hit a league-high 43 times and bat(ted) .326 in that role. His status on the club, however, was limited by his erratic fielding. But, as Sheriff Harris liked to say, he could drive in more runs than smarter guys could think across. While this opinion was not shared by all, and in fairness to him this Senators outfield was stacked with talent, Harris hit .327 for the season and drove in 29 runs in only 156 official chances (a rate good for 90-100 RBIs over a full season).

At spring training 1932, held in Biloxi, Miss., Sheriff Harris, an easygoing country bumpkin if ever there was one, had drawn as a roommate the man who was likely the brightest ever to play professional baseball. Catcher Moe Berg, a New Yorker, had been kicking around the majors since 1923 with little success. Known as an able handler of pitchers with an exceptional throwing arm, he had hit only .240 over that span. In 1929, Berg had played more and hit .288 for the White Sox. The Senators would not get much offence from the catching position in '32 -- Berg would hit .236, and Roy Spencer, who played twice as much, only .246. . . .

. . . What a pair Moe Berg and Sheriff Harris made! Berg respected the coarse Harris for what he could do -- come up to the plate in any situation and perform with confidence. Berg reasoned that Harris owed this skill to what actually boiled down to a lack of mental acuity. Harris' brain was totally devoid of outside encumbrances, and with nothing else on his mind, he was better able to focus on the pitcher and the task at hand. The Sheriff, who thought Berg was the smartest man ever to grace the planet, would respond that, with runners on base, what the Senators needed was "a genius like me."

It was in such a situation that Dave Harris made the most memorable hit of the season for the Senators, albeit in a woefully pitiful cause. On August 5, with the score 13-0 in favor of Detroit, Tommy Bridges was just one out away from a perfect game. Due up was pitcher Bobby Burke, but Walter Johnson, tough competitor that he was, was going to do everything in his power to prevent Bridges from attaining immortality at the expense of his boys. Johnson summoned Harris, who for years had been saying that Tommy Bridges was one of the main reasons why he had managed to survive as a big-league hitter. Sure enough, Harris, a remarkably good curveball hitter, rapped a clean single to center, sparing the Senators the embarrassment of being victimized by a perfect game. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

The 1933 Washington Senators won 99 games, lost 53, and finished in first place in the American League. It was the third and final pennant of the franchise while based in Washington. The team was managed by Joe Cronin and played home games at Griffith Stadium. They lost the best-of-seven World Series in 5 games to the New York Giants.

It would be the last time a Major League Baseball postseason series would be held in Washington until the 2012 season. The Senators franchise, which moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul after the 1960 season, has since won three American League pennants (1965; 1987; 1991) and two World Series (1987 and 1991) as the Minnesota Twins. The Series also marked the last time the nation's capital hosted a World Series game until the Washington Nationals -- spiritual successors to the Senators -- played in and ultimately won the 2019 World Series over the Houston Astros in seven games.

(We will rely on Deveaux's account of the 1933 Washington season.) Despite an outstanding ballclub and another profitable year (1932) for the team's coffers, a pennant seemed no closer in sight. A hot September, in which the Nats had won 24 of 28 games, had left them one game out of second place. This was not good enough for the assembled talent, and Clark Griffith was not going to stand for it.

The Yankees won the (1932) World Series in four straight. That Series would long be remembered for something which may or may not of happened in the third game. Babe Ruth made a gesture which some interpreted as a sign that he was going to belt one over the fence, which he promptly did. The pitcher, Charley Root, maintained until his death in 1970 that he would have decked Ruth if the Babe had really been calling his shot, and that Ruth had merely been indicating that he had but one strike left.

It is very likely that Clark Griffith had other things on his mind at this particular time. As soon as the 1932 season ended, he asked Walter Johnson -- the great Walter Johnson -- whether he was set financially and whether he could have his permission to dismiss him as an employee. In other words, he was firing the Big Train. This came as no surprise to Barney, who'd been working on a one-year contract after his initial three-year deal to manage had expired. The writing had been on the wall, and 1932 was a crutial year for him if he was to continue on as field boss of the Senators. A relationship begun 26 years earlier was severed, but the two parted on amiable terms. After all, for most of the period between 1912 and 1928, Griff had made Johnson the highest-paid pitcher in the American League.

By the following summer, a third of the way into the 1933 campaign, Johnson would be hired to manage the Cleveland Indians, replacing his old teammate, Roger Peckinpaugh, who'd been field boss of the Tribe since 1928. (Peck would later serve as the Indians' president and general manager.) Wes Ferrell, a North Carolina farmer and banjo picker who was to pitch his way into the Hall of Fame, was then with the Indians. Ferrell said he'd never been able to get along with Peckinpaugh, who he said was surly and uncommunicative.

Ferrel preferred Johnson, although he thought the Big Train's idea of managing was to give inane rah-rah speeches punctuated by plenty of "dadgummits" and "doggonnits." Barney brought the Indians in fourth '33 and third in '34, when he had Sam Rice and Moe Berg on the squad, but was relieved of his duties after a 46-48 start in 1935. There exist varied opinions as to his proficiency as a manager. There is support for the school of thought which holds that Johnson should have had more success, especially in light of what was to transpire in 1933. To the charge that he was not a good handler of pitchers, the Big Train answered that, having been a pitcher himself, he felt that no one could know how any pitcher was going to do on any given day. All a manager could do in terms of deploying pitchers was to hope for the best.

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It was indeed, as Cronin had expected, the Yankees, and not the A's, who represented the Senators' main adversary in 1933, and the rivalry was exacerbated by the unforgotten incident involving the departed Carl Reynolds and Bill Dickey the previous year. The Yankees leapt out of the starting gate and won their first seven in a row before coming to Washington. Things got hot when Joe Cronin challenged Babe Ruth to a fight after Ruth came into him hard while Cronin was covering third. But all hell broke loose at Griffith Stadium a few days later, on April 25, when outfielder Ben Chapman of the Yankees, who ran the bases like a wild goose, came in with spikes high on Buddy Myer at second in order to break up a double play. Myer, who the Yankees were accusing of having spiked Lou Gehrig on a play at the first base bag, bounced right back to his feet and began kicking Chapman -- some onlookers estimated Chapman might have absorbed as many as a dozen kicks. The benches emptied and some fans came out of the stands to attack the Yankees as well.

Yankees ace Lefty Gomez brandished a bat and waved it around, reportedly striking a policeman. Dixie Walker, a rookie outfielder with New York who would later star in the National League, as would his younger brother Harry, managed to reach Myer, jumped him, and began punching him repeatedly as Myer lay on the ground. Someone decked Yankees manager Joe McCarthy. Police had to be called in to bring some order to the proceedings, and arrested five fans who had gotten involved.

Myer, Walker, and Chapman were thrown out of the game, but Chapman's woes weren't over. On the way to the dressing room, he had to pass by the Senators' dugout, where the belligerent Earl Whitehill began berating him. Chapman, who would in the future, on two occasions, join the Senators, took a swing that connected with Whitehill's left eye, knocking Washington's ace pitcher back. More Senators players and the police stepped in. Perhaps what infuriated the Nats most in this game was the final score: 16-0 Yankees.

Lost in the shuffle was the performance of New York's Russ Van Atta, who gave up just five hits in posting a shutout in his big-league debut. A few days later, Clark Griffith was angered again when suspensions were announced by league president Will Harridge. Both Myer and Whitehill drew five-day suspensions and $100 fines, while only Chapman of the Yankees incurred the same fate. Dixie Walker got nothing.

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Joe Cronin had been right in terms of how the pennant race would go. The A's were out of it early and never really posed a threat. There was an obvious reason. Owner Connie Mack, engineering a fire sale reminiscent of what he'd done 20 years earlier to keep his operation afloat, had gotten rid of Al Simmons, Mule Haas, and Jimmy Dykes at the end of the previous season. The whole lot of them were sold to the White Sox for a cool $100,000.

In terms of competing with the Yankees, Earl Whitehill and Lefty Stewart were indeed the answer for Washington. On Independence Day, exactly a year after the Dickey-Reynolds dustup, Whitehill and Stewart pitched a doubleheader at Griffith Stadium with the Nationals going into the day with a scant half-game lead. The Senators took the first game in ten innings, 6-5, when Cronin singled to drive in Manush. Walter "Lefty" Stewart went all the way in the second game and the Senators prevailed 3-2 to sweep the twin bill.

Lefty Stewart shared the bulk of the mound chores on the '33 Senators with General Crowder, who finished with 15 losses to go along with his 24 wins, and with Earl Whitehill, 22-8 with a superior (for the inflationary times) 3.33 ERA. Stewart contributed a 15-6 slate. Jack Russell, the third pitcher added before the season, led the league in saves with 13 and posted a 12-6 record with a stingy 2.69 REA.

The pitching arsenal was stacked. Monte Weaver, coming off a 22-win campaign, pitched much less but showed much-improved mastery of the strike zone, culminating in a fine 10-5 year for him. Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas, a veteran righthander who had once won 19 games for the White Sox and led the A.L. in innings pitched, was only 7-7. Thomas had simply pitched his arm out for the White Sox and his career had been on a downslide since 1930. In '33, his first full season in Washington, his ERA was a characteristically high 4.80.

Backed by the best-fielding club in the league, the pitching staff as a unit allowed fewer runs than any other A.L. club in 1933. Nats hitters combined for the best batting average in the league, .287. All of these factors have a good chance of spelling success of course, and 1933 would in fact stand forever as the best season in Washington Senators history. Lead-off man Buddy Myer raised his average 23 points to .302 and scored 95 runs. Young Joe Kuhel topped anything he'd done previously and hit .322 with 117 RBIs. Manager and shortstop Joe Cronin showed leadership in the most tangible of ways with another stellar year, batting .309 with 118 ribbies.

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Ossie Bluege, a fixture for 11 years at third and 32 in his last season as a full-fledged regular, enjoyed a typical year for him, with .261 and 71 runs driven in. On May16 of this season, the Nats introduced for the first time a lefthanded-hitting third baseman who would take over the hot corner and eventually prove himself to be one of the great Washington Senators. His name, Cecil Travis, became known to all serious readers of the sports pages on the morning of May 17, 1933.

In his debut, Travis a lefthanded slap hitter who at this point in his development drove nearly everything to the opposite field, had on the previous day connected for five hits in his first five big-league opportunities. Travis was put out in his final two at-bats in a 12-inning game at Griffith Stadium won by the home side 11-10 over the Indians. Incredibly, Joe Kuhel also rapped out five hits in the same 12-inning game. Travis got into only 17 more games during the course of the regular season, batting .302. In the minors with Chatanooga Lookouts, the Senators' affiliate in the Southern Association, Travis, himself a Southerner from Riverdale, Georgia, posted an ominous .352 bat mark.

The 1933 Washington outfield, predictably potent, did not really disappoint, with Goslin, Schulte, and Manush averaging .297, .295, and .336 respectively. Goslin's power numbers, however, did diminish significantly, and he hit just 10 homers and produced 64 runs. On the way to placing second in the league in batting to Jimmie Foxx, who won the triple crown with gigantic figures of 48-163-.356, Manush hit in 33 consecutive games. This established the still-standing team benchmark, which eclipsed the record of 31 games set by Sam Rice in 1924.

By the second week of September, this best-ever version of the Washington Senators had opened up a nine-game lead, and the pennant was wrapped up by the end of the third week, against the St Louis Browns. The Senators recorded 99 wins in a year in which they played only 152 games. (It was more common back then to leave some games unplayed at the end of the schedule if those games were to have no bearing on the final standings.)

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The Yankees were in fact involved in two games fewer than the Senators, but when play stopped the Nats finished seven full games ahead of New York, spelling the end of the heyday of Murderers' Row. While Babe Ruth still hit .301 with 34 homers, his production was down and his career was petering out fast. It would be nearly three years before the Yanks would be able to regroup around a rookie named Joe DiMaggio and once again dominate the American League.

The Senators influenced firsthand New York's demise, and Lady Luck was on their side at crucial times during the season. Back in April, Washington was ahead by three runs when Tony Lazzeri, with Lou Gehrig on second and Dixie Walker on first, launched a bullet which ricocheted off Yankee Stadium's rightfield fence. Gehrig thought Goose Goslin might catch the ball, so he tagged up. The much-faster Walker did not, and so here they both came, one behind the other, barreling toward third.

Coach Art Fletcher, confused, couldn't stop one baserunner and not the other. Joe Cronin's relay was on time for Luke Sewell to tag Gehrig out, and then to spin around and tag Walker also. Later in the season, in a game in which the Senators trailed 1-0 in the ninth, with a man on first and two out, Buddy Myer fouled one to the screen which Bill Dickey went back on and caught. Umpire Bill McGowan ruled the ball had grazed the screen, just barely, and Myer had a reprieve. He hit the next pitch out of the park to win the game, one of his four homers of the 1933 campaign.

In the final game of the season, coach Nick Altrock was given a chance to become the oldest player to participate in a major-league game up to that time by being allowed to pinch hit. Unsuccessful in the attempt, against Rube Walberg of the A's, Altrock had played at the age of 57 years, 16 days, a record now held by Satchel Paige, who pitched for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 at the age of 59 years, 2 months, 18 days. Minnie Minoso fell just a few months short of Paige's record when he appeared for the Chicago White Sox in 1980 so that he could become the second player in history to appear in five decades as a player. The first had been Nick Altrock.

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Player #142B: Morris "Moe" Berg. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1932-1934. 441 hits and 6 home runs in 15 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. His most productive season was 1929 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a .323 OBP with 47 RBIs in 384 plate appearances. He finished up with the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1939. His MLB career was statistically mediocre, but he is remembered as a colorful personality. He was a graduate of Princeton University and the Columbia Law School. He spoke several languages and read 10 newspapers a day. He worked as a spy during and after WW2.

Berg's SABR biography explains how he became a catcher (as does the back of his 1933 Goudey): It was in 1927 with the White Sox that he inadvertently became a catcher. Ray Schalk, manager of the Sox and a reserve catcher, was out with a broken thumb. Buck Crouse was also injured. Then in a game in Boston Harry McCurdy had his hand slashed accidentally by a Boston batter.

Schalk was in a panic. Looking up and down the bench, he said, “Can any of you fellows catch?” Moe said he used to think he could. Schalk asked who said Moe couldn’t. Moe’s answer: “My high school coach.” Schalk assured Berg that he’d be obliged if Moe could prove his high school coach wrong.

Moe strapped on the so-called tools of ignorance and proved that indeed he could catch. Schalk was so delighted with Berg after the game he hugged and kissed him. There was no turning back. The brightest man in baseball was now wedded to the tools of ignorance. Berg was an excellent defensive catcher. Possessing a strong arm, he could gun down the swiftest baserunners. His hitting left something to be desired. Berg batted only .243 with six home runs lifetime. But his baseball acumen in calling games and his knowledge of the hitters put him in great demand around the league. Moe went on to play for Cleveland, Washington and Boston in the American League until his retirement after the 1939 season. In all he spent fifteen seasons in the majors mainly because of his defensive skills and his knowledge of baseball.

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Player #89F: 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: The 1933 season was Bluege’s last as a regular. The emergence of Cecil Travis gave Cronin good reason to make the switch. The young Georgian might not be able to field like Bluege, but he could hit like no one’s business. From 1934 through 1941, Travis batted over .300 all but one year, and in that season he hit .292.

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Robert A. "Bob" Boken. Infielder with the Washington Senators in 1933-1934. 113 hits and 6 home runs in 2 MLB seasons. He last played for the the Chicago White Sox in 1934. He was on the Senators roster but did not appear in any of the 1933 World Series games.

In addition to his time in the major leagues, Boken had an extensive minor league career, playing from 1929 to 1947. His lifetime production was notable, amassing 1,787 hits, 149 HRs and 232 RBIs across 1,710 games and 5,969 at bats. He achieved a .299 lifetime average and .452 slugging percentage.

Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, one of the game's premier power hitters, referenced Boken in his HOF induction speech in 1975: "Going back to my early days, I have to mention a fellow by the name of Bob Boken who is the man who got me started playing baseball. And his son was about four years older than I, and he used to pitch to his son across the street and I’d go out in the outfield and shag the balls. This went on for about a year and I finally got a chance to bat, and I realized what a great game this was."

This thread will now enjoy a pause: Next expected post -- 1 November.

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Player #125B: William Clifton "Cliff" Bolton. Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1931, 1933-1936, and 1941. 280 hits and 6 home runs over 7 MLB Seasons. His best season was 1935 as he posted a .399 OBP with 55 RBIs in 435 plate appearances. He also had a .500 OBP in 46 plate appearances coming off the bench in 1933 as Washington won the A.L. pennant.

Cliff Bolton was a catcher who played several years in the big leagues, most notably hitting .410 in 33 games for the 1933 Washington Senators who won 99 games and went to the 1933 World Series. The only three catchers used that year by the Senators were Luke Sewell, Moe Berg, and Bolton. Bolton also hit .304 with 11 triples in 1935, a year in which he appeared in 110 games. His 11 triples were 8th in the league. One source says that after his 1933 season, he held out for more money, and Moe Berg was given the catcher's job. Berg was released in midseason, and Bolton ended up playing 42 games. Eddie Phillips had 53 games at catcher, and Luke Sewell played 50 games.

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Player #127B: Robert J. "Bobby" Burke. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1927-1935. 38 wins and 5 saves in 10 MLB seasons. In 1931, he pitched a no-hitter against Boston at Griffith Stadium. He was the last Washington pitcher to pitch a no-hitter until Jordan Zimmerman in 2014. His best season was 1934 as he posted a 8-8 record with a 3.21 ERA on 168 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937.

Burke's SABR biography covers his less-than-stellar contributions to Washington's 1933 pennant: A holdout in 1932, Burke reported late to spring training. Sportswriter Harold C. Burr reported that team owner Clark Griffith as well as skipper Johnson had grown tired of Burke’s inconsistencies. Nonetheless the 25-year-old started off well, tossing a complete-game five-hitter with no walks to defeat the Red Sox, 4-3, in his season debut, on April 20. With two outs in the ninth inning, Burke (a career .194 hitter with 54 hits) slashed the game-winning single to drive in Ossie Bluege. In his next start, Burke issued a career-high 12 free passes to the New York Yankees, yet somehow managed to surrender just one earned run in a 6⅔-inning no-decision. He was erratic and often roughed up in his occasional starts. Burke’s big-league career seemed to be at a crossroad after a disastrous relief appearance on August 5 (seven runs in 4⅔ innings). “[Burke] is about washed up after six years in Washington regalia,” wrote Denman Thompson. Burke was optioned to Chattanooga in the Southern Association; however, he complained of a sore arm, did not pitch for the Lookouts, and was ultimately placed on the voluntarily retired list.

Burke was reinstated in the offseason, but his future with the club remained murky under first-year player-manager Joe Cronin. Coming off a dismal (1932) season (5.14 ERA in 91 innings), Burke was playing for his career. Thompson reported excitedly that Burke was “one of the most pleasant surprises” at Washington’s spring training in Biloxi, Mississippi. Once described as a “lobby sitter, his interests in the game negligible,” Burke seemed, according to Harold C. Burr, “refreshed,” while Thompson noted a different “attitude.” Unfortunately, Burke’s arm and shoulder pain returned by the end of camp. He was sent to Selma, Alabama, for medical treatment, and also trained with Chattanooga before returning to Washington for the start of the season. In limited action, Burke went 4-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 64 innings for the surprising pennant-winning Senators, who won a franchise-record 99 games. Burke did not pitch in Washington’s World Series loss to the New York Giants in five games.

Shamelessly pumping Washington baseball images in fine forums everywhere. Burke is second from left in the final image.

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Player #144: Edwin V. "Ed" Chapman. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1933. Appeared in 6 games with one start and a total of 9 innings pitched.

Chapman didn't play much, but he made it into this picture set and the photograph of relief pitchers shown in the previous post (furthest left):

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Player #145: B. Earl Clark. Outfielder with the Boston Braves 1927-1933. 240 hits and 4 home runs in 8 MLB seasons. In 1929 he posted a .346 OBP with 43 runs scored in 303 plate appearances. He finished his career with the St. Louis Browns in 1934. He was once a ball boy with the Washington Senators.

My pre-war collection is supposed to be limited to players in Washington uniforms. But this fringe big leaguer elbowed his way in. Besides a beautiful card, Clark has many connections to Washington (and the Senators). He served as a ball boy for the Washington Senators before playing eight seasons in MLB, mostly with the St. Louis Browns. He was born in Washington and 30 years later (having just retired from MLB to take a job with the FBI) was struck and killed by a streetcar in Washington. He played for the Browns for seven seasons, including the start of the 1933 season. Nevertheless, he is shown here playing for the Albany -- wait for it -- Senators.

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Player #128C Part 1: Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1928-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1945. 2,285 hits and 170 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .390. He was a 7-time All Star. Boston Red Sox #4 retired. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1956, he was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. His best season was probably 1930 for Washington as he posted a .422 OBP with 127 runs scored and 127 RBIs on 686 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1933-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1947. He was General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1948-1958. He was president of the American League in 1959-1973. When he left the Red Sox in 1959, they were the only MLB team without a black player. He and team owner Tom Yawkey are generally viewed as responsible for this injustice which ended six months after Cronin's departure.

There is no doubt that chopping Walter Johnson's $25,000 salary was a key consideration for Clark Griffith when he politely showed Barney the door. Attendance at the stadium had plummeted from 614,000 two years before to 371,000 during the throes of the depression in 1932. The intelligent guess was that Griff would again dip into the ranks of his own club to find a replacement for Johnson. Since he'd given up managing in 1920, he'd followed this pattern on five successive occasions, hiring George McBride, Clyde Milan, Donie Bush, Bucky Harris, and Walter Johnson. There was also widespread speculation that Griffith wanted to purchase Al Simmons' contract from Connie Mack and make him the manager. The old man added fat to the fire by reminding members of the media that he'd once himself managed an American League pennant winner, and that he wasn't too old to do so again.

On October 8, 1932, just four days before his 26th birthday, Joe Cronin was named manager of the Washington Senators, making him at the time the youngest to be appointed manager of a big-league team before the start of the season. (Roger Peckinpaugh still holds the big-league record as the youngest manager to ever end a season, having guided the Yankees for the final 17 games as a 23-year-old in 1914.) Cronin was more than a year younger than Bucky Harris had been when he was hired to skip the Nats back in '24.

Cronin had first been spotted by the Pirates as a 17-year-old playing semi-pro ball around his hometown of San Francisco. After impressing many in his first season by hitting .313 at Johnstown of the Middle Atlantic League in 1925, the Pirates brought him up to the big team to sit on the bench during the hard-fought World Series against the Senators. He got to pose for the team picture with the world champs. But Cronin hit only .257 in brief tryouts with the Pirates over the next two seasons and was batting only .245 for Kansas City of the American Association in midsummer 1928 when Joe Engel came calling.

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Player #128C Part 2: Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1928-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1945. 2,285 hits and 170 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .390. He was a 7-time All Star. Boston Red Sox #4 retired. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1956, he was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. His best season was probably 1930 for Washington as he posted a .422 OBP with 127 runs scored and 127 RBIs on 686 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1933-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1947. He was General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1948-1958. He was president of the American League in 1959-1973. When he left the Red Sox in 1959, they were the only MLB team without a black player. He and team owner Tom Yawkey are generally viewed as responsible for this injustice which ended six months after Cronin's departure.

Washington's ace scout (Joe Engel) had been "beating the bushes," looking for a good shortstop the likes of whom the Nats had not had since the departure of Peckinpaugh. As the story goes, the owner of the Kansas City ballclub was entertaining a number of scouts in his brewery one night and proclaimed with discust that a week before, he could have gotten $15,000 for Cronin's contract, but that he'd stupidly turned the offer down. Now, he said, he'd accept $10,000.

Joe Engel, not quite sure he had the authority, nonetheless immediately chimed in with an offer of $7,500. The deal done, he reached Griffith by phone and the old man exploded, wondering very loudly whether Engel had lost it completely by agreeing to pay such a large sum for a minor-league shortstop batting .245. So furious was the old man that Engel thought it best to keep Cronin with him for a week or so while he continued his scouting trip. This seemed far preferable to sending the youngster to Washington right away, and thereby possibly exposing him to Griffith's wrath firsthand.

If Griffith was not smitten with Cronin at first, finding him awkward in the field and with an open stance that showed little likelihood of any power in his batting stroke, he of course came to realize that Joe Engel's purchase had been as good a deal as he'd ever made. Now he'd be making even more money with that investment. Cronin was getting a raise of $2,500 for managing as well as playing in 1933. Griff could thereby pocket the rest of Walter Johnson's $25,000 salary. But what the Old Fox had come to like beyond all else about his perennial all-star shortstop was the man's combativeness. The handsome, square-jowled Irishman had a temper that came to the surface quickly on the field. That was why Clark Griffith made his great shortstop his manager.

A couple of months after being hired, in early December 1932, Joe Cronin arrived in Washington from San Francisco to meet with Griffith and plot strategy for the coming campaign. The owners of the major-league clubs would be meeting the following week in New York for the annual trading sessions. Cronin would come to that meeting with his owner, and he would come prepared. Based on his own experiences as a batter, and on a hunch that the men involved could be acquired by Washington, Cronin announced to Griffith that he had a short list of pitchers that he just had to have. He boldly challenged Griff to get those men for him, emphasizing that from all accounts he'd heard, if there was any baseball man who could make a deal for these men, Clark Griffith was that man. The acclamation may well have helped Cronin's case.

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Player #128C Part 3: Joseph E. "Joe" Cronin. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1928-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1945. 2,285 hits and 170 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .390. He was a 7-time All Star. Boston Red Sox #4 retired. Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 1956, he was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. His best season was probably 1930 for Washington as he posted a .422 OBP with 127 runs scored and 127 RBIs on 686 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1933-1934 and the Boston Red Sox in 1935-1947. He was General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1948-1958. He was president of the American League in 1959-1973. When he left the Red Sox in 1959, they were the only MLB team without a black player. He and team owner Tom Yawkey are generally viewed as responsible for this injustice which ended six months after Cronin's departure.

The three pitcher's Cronin named were lefthanders Earl Whitehill of the Tigers and Walter Stewart of the Browns, and righty Jack Russell of the Indians. (This is the same Jack Russell for whom the Phillies' spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida was named -- in his later years, Russell was City Commissioner of Clearwater and instrumental in getting the facility built.) It was Cronin's opinion that the Yankees were the team to beat, and that what separated the Yankees from the Senators was pitching, particularly of the lefthanded variety. Whitehill and Stewart were two who matched up well against the Bronx Bombers. As for Russell, Cronin wanted him for quite another reason -- he had owned the Senators the previous season, and that had to mean something.

Griffith decided to accede to Cronin's demands, possibly spurred on by vanity after Cronin expressed confidence in his skill as a shrewd negotiator. When they got to New York, Cronin was dispatched to the hotel lobby to accost some of the officials of the three teams the Senators wanted to deal with. Their first move was to reverse a trade they had made on June 9 by reobtaining southpaw Carl Fischer (who had had one good year with the Senators in '31 when he went 13-9) in exchange for Dick Coffman. Fischer had gone 3-7 for the Browns after the June deal, but the Detroit Tigers had some interest in him. Coffman, a lefthanded, had registered a 1-6 on a strong Washington club. . . .

. . . Joe Cronin now had all he had asked for, and more. In addition to the three pitchers, the Senators were better set behind the plate with the reliable Sewell. Goose Goslin's lefthanded power and Fred Schulte's righthanded bat were expected to round out an even better outfield with Heinie Manush, the high-percentage lefthanded-hitting left fielder for whom Goslin had been traded 2 1/2 years earlier, being the third flycatcher.

At the Biloxi training camp, the young manager sought to enlist the support of the veterans the way Bucky Harris had during the Senators' salad days in the midtwenties, and he got it. One day, however, General Crowder, yanked out of a game by Cronin, hurled his glove all the way from the mound to the dugout. When fined $25 on the spot, Crowder yelled at Cronin that $25 amounted to a bush-league fine. To which Cronin retorted that Crowder's outburst had been exactly that -- bush. There was nothing bush about General Crowder's results in 1933, however, as he went on to win 24 games, best on the staff. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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Player #129B: Alvin F. "General" Crowder. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1926-1927 and 1930-1934. 167 wins and 22 saves in 11 MLB seasons. 1933 All-Star. 1935 World Series champion. 1932 and 1933 AL wins leader. His nickname came from General Enoch Crowder, who designed the World War I draft lottery in the United States. His best season was 1932 for Washington as he posted a 26-13 record and a 3.33 ERA in 327 innings pitched. He was known as "Yankee Killer", for his success against the Yankees and Babe Ruth in particular. He finished his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1934-1936, including a complete-game, 2-1 victory in Game 4 as the Tigers won the World Series in 1935. He pitched in three consecutive World Series in 1933-1935.

We go back to Crowder's SABR biography to pick up the story of his second stint in Washington: Named Opening Day starter in 1932, Crowder pitched a ten-inning, 1-0 shutout of the Red Sox. It set the tone for his career year, arguably the best season for a Senators pitcher not named Walter Johnson. On May 13 he tossed his seventh and final career two-hitter, shutting out the Tigers, 7-0. The General also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple, scored once, and knocked in a run. A capable hitter, Crowder batted .221 in 1932 and finished with a career .194 average (164-for-847). He followed his best start in the big leagues with one of his worst slumps, dropping 11 of his next 16 decisions. But after surrendering nine hits and six runs in an ugly five-inning loss to the lowly Browns on July 28, Crowder did not lose again all season. Typically starting on three days’ rest, he reeled off 15 consecutive victories, completed 10 of 15 starts, and proved to be the most durable pitcher in the major leagues, leading both leagues in wins (26), innings (327), and starts (39). Only teammate Firpo Marberry appeared in more games (54), though he relieved in 39 of them. . . .

. . . Since the Senators’ two-year reign as the American League champions (1924-25), the Yankees and Athletics had captured every AL crown, and it appeared to be the same by June 1933. But the Senators overcame a six-game deficit to tie the Yankees behind Crowder’s tenth win in a slugfest against the White Sox on June 22. Washington went 62-30 after that to cruise to the pennant. Crowder and Whitehill formed the best pitching duo in the league. The General pitched consistently all season, won a league-high 24 games, and logged 299⅓ innings, second most in the league; Whitehill won a career-high 22 games. Respected by his fellow players and managers, Crowder was one of five pitchers (Crowder, Wes Ferrell, Lefty Gomez, Lefty Grove, and Oral Hildebrand) chosen by Connie Mack to represent the American League in the inaugural All-Star Game, held at Comiskey Park. The General pitched three innings, surrendering three hits and two runs in the junior circuit’s 4-2 victory.

The winningest pitcher in baseball from the previous two seasons struggled in the World Series against the New York Giants, “appear[ing] to be pitched out.” Crowder breezed through the first five innings of Game Two, but then yielded seven hits leading to six runs in the sixth inning and was tagged with the loss. Facing elimination in Game Five, Crowder failed to make it out of the sixth inning once again and was rocked for seven hits and three runs in 5⅓ innings. The Giants won the game and the World Series on Mel Ott’s tenth-inning home run.

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Player #90H Part 1: Leon A. "Goose" Goslin. Left fielder for the Washington Senators in 1921-1930, 1933, and 1938. 2,735 hits and 248 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. 1936 All-Star. 1924 and 1935 World Series champion. 1928 AL batting champion. 1924 AL RBI leader. 1968 inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. He drove in the game-winning, walk-off run to win the 1935 World Series for the Detroit Tigers. With Gehringer and Greenberg, was one of the Detroit "G-Men". In 1936 he had an inside-the-park HR when both outfielders (Joe DiMaggio and Myril Hoag) collided and were knocked unconscious. He had one of his best seasons for the WS-winning Washington Senators in 1924 as he posted a .421 OBP with 100 runs scored and 129 RBIs in 674 plate appearances.

The minute Goslin heard that Walter Johnson had been fired as the Nats manager, he knew he’d end up back in Washington. On December 14, 1932, he was traded back to the Senators with left-hander Walter Stewart and outfielder Fred Schulte. The Browns received outfielders Sam West and Carl Reynolds and pitcher Lloyd Brown. When he traveled to Washington to sign his 1933 contract, sportswriters immediately noticed how he had changed during his tenure in St. Louis. The years away from Washington matured him; he was no longer as loud or boisterous as previously remembered.

Goslin fancied himself a managerial candidate and reportedly thought he’d be in line for the Senators’ top job; however, Joe Cronin was appointed the new skipper. Washington won the 1933 pennant but was defeated in the World Series by the New York Giants.

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Player #90H Part 2: Leon A. "Goose" Goslin. Left fielder for the Washington Senators in 1921-1930, 1933, and 1938. 2,735 hits and 248 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. 1936 All-Star. 1924 and 1935 World Series champion. 1928 AL batting champion. 1924 AL RBI leader. 1968 inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. He drove in the game-winning, walk-off run to win the 1935 World Series for the Detroit Tigers. With Gehringer and Greenberg, was one of the Detroit "G-Men". In 1936 he had an inside-the-park HR when both outfielders (Joe DiMaggio and Myril Hoag) collided and were knocked unconscious. He had one of his best seasons for the WS-winning Washington Senators in 1924 as he posted a .421 OBP with 100 runs scored and 129 RBIs in 674 plate appearances.

Goslin never agreed with Cronin’s management style and the differences resulted in a trade to Detroit after the season. Coming off a subpar 1933 season (.297, 64 RBIs) and thought to be washed up, he was swapped for outfielder John “Rocky” Stone. On the surface the edge in the trade appeared to go to the Senators; however, the Tigers specifically sought a more powerful left-handed bat to complement the right-handed power of young Hank Greenberg.

Mickey Cochrane became player-manager of the Tigers in 1934, and Goslin further helped the pennant-bound Tigers by recommending that Cochrane deal for General Crowder to strengthen the pitching staff. The addition of both Goslin and Crowder helped the Tigers secure the 1934 flag, their first pennant since 1909.

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Player #133B:Player #133B: David S. "Dave" Harris. "Sheriff". Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1930-1934. 406 hits and 32 home runs in 7 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Boston Braves in 1925. His best season was 1931 for Washington as he posted a .434 OBP with 50 RBIs in 284 plate appearances.

Harris said that he had never been a sheriff but had once been deputized. He was described as "essentially an uneducated hillbilly" and said he had been deputized to chase mule thieves in the Carolinas.

He roomed with Moe Berg in 1932, and oddly enough they got along well.

Harris had four plate appearances in the 1933 World Series, going 0-for-2 but getting two walks.

Harris played roughly equal amounts of right and left field, and also played occasionally in center field, at third base and at first base. However, his defensive appearances number only 395, while his offensive appearances number 542, so he was clearly being used as a pinch-hitter rather frequently too.

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Player #73I: Joseph I. "Joe" Judge. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1915-1932. 2,352 hits and 71 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. In 1924, as Washington won the AL pennant and the World Series, he had one of his better years as he posted a .393 OBP with 71 runs scored and 79 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1933-1934. He may have been the basis for the character of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, whose author dated Judge's daughter in the 1940's.

Judge's SABR biography: Judge retired (in 1934) with a .298 batting average and a slugging percentage of .422. He knocked in 1,034 runs in his career. He still ranks among the all-time leaders in games (2,084), assists (1,301), putouts (19,264) and double plays (1,500) by a first baseman.

Judge was never far from the game of baseball, or from Washington D.C. for that matter. He was the head coach of the Georgetown University baseball team from 1937 until his retirement in 1958 except for a two-year leave beginning in 1945 as a Senators coach when Ossie Bluege managed the team.

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Player #146: John F. Kerr. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1932-1934. 388 hits and 6 home runs in 8 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923. In 1931, for the Chicago White Sox he posted a .324 OBP with 50 RBIs in 490 plate appearances.

After the 1931 season, Kerr was traded to the Senators with outfielder Carl Reynolds in exchange for pitchers Bump Hadley and Sad Sam Jones, as well as infielder Jackie Hayes, who would replace him as the starting second baseman. He spent the next three seasons on the Senators' bench behind second baseman Buddy Myer and future Hall of Fame shortstop Joe Cronin. During his tenure in Washington, he never played more than 51 games. He was on the Senators roster in 1933 when they lost in the World Series to the New York Giants. Kerr's sole appearance came in the finale (Game 5) when he pinch ran for centerfielder Fred Schulte with 2 out in the bottom of the 10th inning. In 1935, he served as a coach for the Senators, but in 1936 he became a player-manager in the Boston Red Sox organization.

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Player #135B: Joseph A. "Joe" Kuhel. First baseman for the Washington Senators in 1930-1937 and 1944-1946. 2,212 hits and 131 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. He had 107 RBIs in Washington's pennant-winning 1933 season, but his best season was probably 1936 as he posted an OBP of .392 with 118 RBIs and 107 runs scored in 660 plate appearances. He managed the Washington Senators in 1948-49.

Kuhel's SABR biography covers his 1933 season: Walter Johnson had replaced Bucky Harris as the Washington skipper in 1929, and the Senators had topped 90 victories in each season 1930-1932. Despite a winning record, club owner Clark Griffith was forced by dwindling attendance to replace Johnson (and his $25,000 salary) with his shortstop, Joe Cronin.

By now Kuhel was firmly entrenched at first base, giving the Senators a solid infield with Ossie Bluege at third base, Cronin at short, and Buddy Myer at second base. The Senators solidified their club with the additions of veterans Luke Sewell, Fred Schulte, and Goose Goslin for the 1933 season. Led by General Crowder (24-15), Earl Whitehill (22-8), and Lefty Stewart (15-6), the Senators pitching staff was sound.

In late July and early August of 1933, Washington played the Yankees, the closest competition for the flag, eight times. They split both series at four games apiece. However, the two victories over New York in August were a springboard to a 13-game win streak, culminating with a doubleheader sweep of the Browns on August 20. The Senators opened up an 8 ½-game lead and never looked back.

Kuhel led the team in home runs with 11, was second on the team in batting with a .322 average and RBIs with 107. He also collected a career-high 194 hits and smacked 34 doubles. One of the biggest offensive days of his career occurred on May 16, 1933, at Griffith Stadium, as Kuhel went 5-for-8 in a twelve-inning, 11-10 victory over Cleveland. Kuhel hit a home run and drove in a career-high five runs, the last one the game-winner in the bottom of the twelfth inning.

However, the New York Giants made quick work of the Senators, as it took only five games to win the World Series. Kuhel cooled off considerably, batting .150 with three hits and one RBI.

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Player #136B Part 1: Henry E. "Heinie" Manush. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1930-1935. 2,524 hits and 110 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. Had a .330 career batting average. 1934 All-Star. 1926 AL batting champion. Had more than 200 hits four times. In 1964, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923. Leading batter on the 1933 Washington Senator team that won the AL pennant. First and last player to be ejected from a World Series game. Had 241 hits in 1928. Coach for the Washington Senators in 1953-1954.

Manush's SABR biography goes on . . . the Tigers paid for their quick dismissal of the former batting champ, who returned to the top of the batting race in 1928. He was in a battle with Washington slugger Goose Goslin for the batting title. Again, Manush finished the season at .378, almost completely reversing his 80-point slide from the prior season. Fittingly, the Tigers and Senators faced off on the final day of the season. After July, Goslin was still hitting above .400, and had a comfortable lead in the batting race. He cooled off in August, but by the end of the month was still leading the league and appeared on his way to his first batting title. In September, Manush got hot and closed in on Goslin, setting the stage for an unusual conclusion to the season.

As luck would have it the Senators were scheduled to play the last four games of the season in St. Louis, with Goslin’s average at .376, Manush’s at .372. In the first two games Manush went 5-for-8, but Goslin retained his lead by going 2-for-3 in the third game and had a two-point lead with one game left to be played. Players on both teams wanted to help their respective teammate win the title, and the umpiring crew was fully aware of the close battle, including the man who would get the assignment to work behind the plate for the final game of the season, Bill Guthrie.

Goslin struck out and grounded out the first two times he came to the plate, then got hold of one and sent it over the center field fence. But in his next at-bat he grounded out to fall three-tenths of a point behind. Manush, however, made an out in his last at-bat to give Goslin a one-point lead.

With the game headed into the top of the ninth, Goslin was due to bat. A note came to the dugout from the press box updating Goslin on the batting race, with the author including his advice to sit out the at-bat, reminding him if he batted and made an out he would lose the title. Joe Judge warned him Manush might think he was yellow if a pinch-hitter batted for him. The other players got involved in the conference, with everyone giving his opinion, and as the debate went on Goslin made a decision. He would bat. (We'll finish this tomorrow.)

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Player #136B Part 2: Henry E. "Heinie" Manush. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1930-1935. 2,524 hits and 110 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. Had a .330 career batting average. 1934 All-Star. 1926 AL batting champion. Had more than 200 hits four times. In 1964, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923. Leading batter on the 1933 Washington Senator team that won the AL pennant. First and last player to be ejected from a World Series game. Had 241 hits in 1928. Coach for the Washington Senators in 1953-1954.

. . . In no time Goslin was in trouble with two strikes, no balls, and his (1928) batting title in jeopardy (of being lost to Manush). He thought of an idea to save his title: if he could make the umpire angry enough to throw him out of the game, he therefore wouldn’t be charged with an out and would preserve the batting title. And what better umpire was there than Bull Guthrie, who had a short fuse, and was known to be quick to eject a player.

“Why those weren’t even close,” Goslin told Guthrie.

“Listen, wise guy, there’s no such thing as close or not close. It’s either dis or dat,” responded Guthrie.

Goslin responded by acting mad; he yelled, stepped on Guthrie’s big feet, and called him names. Guthrie waited for Goslin to finish before speaking.

“OK, are you ready to bat now? You are not going to get thrown out of this ball game no matter what you do, so you might as well get up to the plate. If I wanted to throw you out, I’d throw you to Oshkosh. But you are going to bat, and you better be up there swinging. No bases on balls, do you hear me?”

Goslin heard him, all right. The next pitch Goslin swung and hit a fly ball to right-center field. Browns right fielder Beauty McGowan, knowing if he made the catch Manush would win the batting title, ran hard, reached out with his glove hand, but couldn’t get the ball in time, and when the ball landed on the outfield grass Goslin won the batting title.

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Player #147: Alexander B. "Alex" McColl. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1933-1934. 4 wins and 2 saves in 2 MLB seasons. He made his MLB debut at age 39, one of 8 players in MLB history to debut at 39 or older. He pitched two perfect innings in Game 2 of the 1933 World Series.

Alex McColl was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 46 games in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators in 1933 and 1934. McColl made his MLB debut at the age of 39, one of eight pitchers in MLB history to debut at 39 or older.

McColl had played for 18 seasons in the minor leagues before making his major league debut with pennant-bound Washington on August 29, 1933, by throwing 3 1⁄3 innings of shutout relief against the Cleveland Indians. In his fifth career game, McColl recorded two perfect innings in Game 2 of the 1933 World Series against the New York Giants, retiring Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Travis Jackson in the process.

His 46 American League games pitched included three starts. He posted a 4–4 won–lost record and a 3.70 earned run average, with two complete games and three saves. In 119 innings pitched, he allowed 142 hits and 43 bases on balls, and registered 34 strikeouts.

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Player #139B: Charles S. "Buddy" Myer. Second baseman with the Washington Senators in 1925-1927 and 1929-1941. 2,131 hits and 38 home runs in 17 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .389. 2-time All-Star. 1935 AL Batting champion. 1928 AL Stolen Base leader. His best season was 1935 for Washington as he posted a .440 OBP with 115 runs scored and 100 RBI's in 719 plate appearances. He was involved in one of baseball's most violent brawls when he was spiked and possibly racially derided by the Yankees' Ben Chapman.

We will follow Myer's SABR biography as we track his career -- Part 2: . . . Myer’s next stop (in 1925, after rejections by Cleveland and Cincinnati) was the New Orleans Pelicans’ training camp. When the Pelicans offered him a contract, his older brother, Jesse, stepped in to represent him and asked for the same (as the one rejected by Cleveland) $1,000 bonus. New Orleans manager Larry Gilbert said he had never heard of a young player demanding a bonus (probably not true) and had never seen a young player bring along an agent (probably true). The team gave him what he wanted.

The Pelicans had an instant star, a left-handed hitting shortstop with quick feet and a quick bat. A first year professional in the fast Class A Southern Association got the attention of major league scouts. Washington scout Joe Engel claimed to have stolen Myer from under the nose of a rival from the Chicago Cubs. Washington paid $17,500 for him in June, according to contemporary accounts, and agreed to let him stay with New Orleans for the rest of the season. Soon other big league clubs were offering more money. The Pelicans tried to buy him back from the Senators, but owner Clark Griffith wasn’t selling.

In August Myer was batting .336 when a spike wound on his leg became infected. He contracted blood poisoning, had surgery, and went home to recover. Griffith, hearing that his expensive prospect was seriously ill, sent his own man to fetch Myer to Washington. The young player was carried off the train on a stretcher.

His sudden departure raised a stink in New Orleans. Some fans suspected that Myer and Griffith had concocted a fake illness so the shortstop could join the Senators right away. Griffith denied the charge in a letter to a Times-Picayune columnist, adding that Myer “was deeply grieved to think anyone in New Orleans would accuse him of disloyalty, as he gave everything he had when he was playing for them.” After several weeks of treatment, he got into four games at the end of the season.

The Senators won their second straight American League pennant in 1925. In Game 2 of the World Series against Pittsburgh, Washington third baseman Ossie Bluege was beaned. Myer, seven months removed from a college campus, went in as a pinch runner and was thrown out stealing. He delivered a single in his only at-bat. He started the next two games at third before Bluege was able to return.

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Player #74P: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice Part 1. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

Carroll takes us to the end of the 1933 season and, sadly, the end of Rice's time with the Nationals: After the Giants were finally set down (after gaining a one-run lead in the top of the eleventh inning of Game 4 in the 1933 World Series, a Series they led two-games-to-one), the bottom of the eleventh began. It was an inning that would haunt (Washington player-manager, Joe) Cronin all offseason and perhaps for the rest of what would turn out to be a brief managerial stay in Washington.

Cornered into a desperate situation, (Fred) Schulte got Washington hopes going, singling to left field to begin the inning. (Joe) Kuhel, who had started the fourth-inning rally with a bunt that Hubbell mishandled, laid one down again. And he was safe again, a bunt single that put two men on base with nobody out.

(Ossie) Bluege, up next, made the first out of the inning on a sacrifice bunt. It was Cronin's first strategic call of the frame. It wouldn't be his last.

The Senators now had runners on second and third with just one out. A base hit would likely win the game and knot the series at two games apiece. But now it was time for Terry to counter Cronin's move, and he intentionally walked (Luke) Sewell to load the bases. He made one more key move -- though he was in trouble in the eleventh, Terry, after consulting with his ace, decided to stick with Hubbell.

Now it was decision time for Cronin. The pitcher's spot was up, and the young manager scanned his dugout for a man who could come up clutch with the season potentially on the line. Dave Harris had already entered the game earlier, taking over for Manush in left field. His choices came down to Rice and catcher Cliff Bolton. . . . (To be finished tomorrow.)

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Player #74P: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice Part 2. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

. . . Cronin settled on Bolton. Almost immediately, Giants coach Charley Dressen hopped out of the dugout, consulting with shortstop Blondy Ryan. Dressen had remembered Bolton from the days when they both were in the Southern League, and instructed his shortstop to shade toward second base -- Bolton was a dead-pull hitter.

The positioning was perfect. Bolton hit a sharp grounder directly to where Ryan was standing, and the shortstop scooped up the ball and started a game-ending double play. The Giants lead was three games to one, and they would go for the clinch the next day.

If Cronin's selection of the seldom-used Bolton over Rice in Game Four wasn't enough to symbolize the end of Rice's long tenure with the Washington organization, the next day would see to it. Though fighting for their postseason life, the Senators battled to a 3-3 tie through nine innings, and the game again went into extra innings.

In the tenth, Mel Ott lifted a fly ball to deep center field, and (Fred) Schulte got his glove on the ball. But as he crashed into the fence, the ball squirted out of his glove and the ball landed in the first row of seats for what would turn out to be a game-winning and World Series-clinching home run.

In the 1925 World Series, Rice had tumbled into the bleachers to rob Pittsburgh's Earl Smith of a sure home run. Eight years later, one of the men who had squeezed him out of the Senators outfield had not only been unable to duplicate the feat, he had actually knocked the ball into the stands.

With Rice watching from what had become his customary spot on the Washington bench, his teammates went down quietly in the bottom of the inning. (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)

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Player #148: Jack E. Russell. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1933-1936. 85 wins and 39 saves in 15 MLB seasons. 1934 All-Star. He debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1926. His best season was 1933 for Washington as posted a 12-6 record with 13 saves and a 2.69 ERA in 124 innings pitched. He ended his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1940.

Deveaux details the acquisition of Russell: President Alva Bradley of the Cleveland Indians was the next to be brought in by Cronin to talk turkey with Griffith at the late 1932 New York meetings. The Senators were playing on Cleveland's desperate need for a first baseman. Secure in his belief that Joe Kuhel would be around for a long time (which would prove to be correct), Washington would part with promising Harley Boss from its Chattanooga farm club and an undisclosed amount of cash for Jack Russell, the third pitcher Cronin had requested for his team. Russell at this time had an atrocious 46-98 record in the big leagues, but the 27-year-old had spent most of his career in the National League with the sad-sack Boston Braves. Griffith even managed to wrangle an outfielder, Bruce Connatser, from Bradley as part of this exchange. This would prove of no consequence as, Connatser, a part-timer with the Indians the two previous years, never again appeared in a single major-league game. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #149A: Fred W. "Fritz" Schulte. Center fielder for the Washington Senators in 1933-1935. 1,241 hits and 47 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .362. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1927. His best year was 1932 for St. Louis as he posted a .373 OBP with 106 runs scored in 639 plate appearances. He also posted a .366 OBP with 98 runs scored in 622 plate appearances in 1933 as Washington won the AL pennant. He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1936-1937.

Deveaux explains how Schulte came to Washington: To make it a three-for-three transaction (as Washington traded Sam West, Carl Reynolds and Lloyd Brown to St. Louis for Lefty Stewart and Goose Goslin), the Senators settled on righthanded outfielder Fred Schulte, who'd enjoyed what was for him a typical .294 season in '32.

The loss of centerfielder Sam West had to be seen as leaving the biggest void on the Washington side, and he would indeed hit an even .300 and nearly double his home run output for St. Louis in 1933. But the Browns would finish last. The mild-mannered Schulte, truly a fine fielder, kept right on hitting and would drive in nearly twice as many runs for the Senators as West would for the Browns while batting .295. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #150: James L. "Luke" Sewell. Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1933-1934. 1,393 hits and 20 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1937 All-Star. He debuted with the Cleveland Indians in 1921. His best season at the plate came in 1933 for Washington as he posted a .335 OBP with 65 runs scored and 61 RBI's in 537 plate appearances. He finished his playing career while managing the St. Louis Browns in 1942. He managed St. Louis in 1941-1946. He also managed the Cincinnati Reds 1949-1952.

We let Deveaux explain Sewell's introduction to Washington: The (December 1932) trade with the Indians may have been incomplete, for at the end of the first week of January, another deal was struck. The Senators sent their most reliable catcher, Roy Spencer, to Cleveland, for Luke Sewell, an experienced veteran receiver. Sewell, a year younger than Spencer and at least his equal as a hitter, had turned 32 two days before the trade was made. He had hit .253 in 300 at-bats for the Browns in '32, and was a good defensive catcher, as demonstrated by the fact that he'd led American League backstops in assists three years straight years, 1926-28. He had already spent 12 years in the American League, all with the Indians, and was the younger brother of future Hall of Famer Joe Sewell. (The same Joe Sewell who had begun his career under a microscope as the replacement for star shortstop Ray Chapman of the Indians, the victim of the majors' only on-field player fatality, in 1920.) (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #151: Walter C. "Lefty" Stewart. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1933-1935. 101 wins and 8 saves in 10 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1921. His best season was 1930 with the St. Louis Browns as he posted a 20-12 record with a 3.45 ERA in 271 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1935.

Deveaux gives us the trade that brought Stewart (among others) to Washington: The trade for Whitehill (which sent Firpo Marberry to the Tigers) appeared relatively insignificant, however, compared to the other deal swung by the Senators on the same day, December 14, 1932. Since the firing of Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin, who didn't get along with Johnson, had put the word out to Clark Griffith that he would love to come back to the capital. As Griffith negotiated with the Browns for Walter "Lefty" Stewart in exchange for Sammy West, he kept Goslin's plea in mind. He offered Carl Reynolds if the Browns would include Goose, who'd hit .299 with 17 homers and 104 ribbies in the last campaign. The Browns didn't think that was quite equitable, and asked Griffith about Lloyd Brown, the lefty who'd won 15 in '32. (Brown would never again win more than nine games in a season and would be gone from St. Louis after just eight games at the start of the '33 campaign.)

Deveaux goes on about Lefty: Stewart born in 1900 in central Tennessee, nearly died in 1927 when his appendix burst while he was out hunting. Told he'd never play baseball again, lefty persisted and eventually proved the experts wrong. Nevertheless, he was only 24-26 over three years with the Browns, who had been enjoying relatively good years over that same period. Then, in 1930, Stewart came into his own, sounding the death knell for the Washington Senators in the process. Lefty beat the second-place Nats five times that year on his way to a breakthrough 20-12 season during which the Browns made a swift return to mediocrity. While he remained the Brownie's ace in '31 and '32, he recorded a composite 28-36 over those two seasons. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[brianp-beme]

The below entry evidently got attached to the wrong thread. I am tipping the Net54 world back into semi-equilibrium with the attached post from earlier today.

Brian

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Player 119B: Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1932-1935. 117 wins and 13 saves in 12 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 1926-1932. His best season was 1927 with Chicago as he posted a 19-16 record with a 2.98 ERA in 307.2 innings pitched. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1937.

Thomas' SABR biography talks to his injury-prone career in Washington: Thomas was still having arm problems during the summer of 1932 but still managed to win games on three consecutive days for the Senators in the middle of July. The first two victories were in relief, and on July 16th he threw a five-hit shutout against the St. Louis Browns. At the end of the season, he had surgery to remove a growth in his pitching arm and to relieve what was reported in the newspapers to be a locked elbow. The numerous innings that Tommy pitched during his early days on the mound contributed heavily to the myriad of injuries and maladies he struggled with later in life.

Tommy was a decent pitcher for Washington over the next few years, but the harsh reality was that his arm was never the same after the 1932 operation. The Senators captured the American League pennant in 1933 but lost out to the New York Giants in the Fall Classic. Thomas, playing in his first and only World Series, made two brief relief appearances, allowing one hit in a little over an inning of work.

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[GeoPoto]

(Thanks Brian: I'm not sure where this post ended up, and I appreciate Brian's rescue. It looks "wrong" on my desktop, however, so I am inserting it again, just for the record.)

Player 119B: Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1932-1935. 117 wins and 13 saves in 12 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 1926-1932. His best season was 1927 with Chicago as he posted a 19-16 record with a 2.98 ERA in 307.2 innings pitched. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1937.

Thomas' SABR biography talks to his injury-prone career in Washington: Thomas was still having arm problems during the summer of 1932 but still managed to win games on three consecutive days for the Senators in the middle of July. The first two victories were in relief, and on July 16th he threw a five-hit shutout against the St. Louis Browns. At the end of the season, he had surgery to remove a growth in his pitching arm and to relieve what was reported in the newspapers to be a locked elbow. The numerous innings that Tommy pitched during his early days on the mound contributed heavily to the myriad of injuries and maladies he struggled with later in life.

Tommy was a decent pitcher for Washington over the next few years, but the harsh reality was that his arm was never the same after the 1932 operation. The Senators captured the American League pennant in 1933 but lost out to the New York Giants in the Fall Classic. Thomas, playing in his first and only World Series, made two brief relief appearances, allowing one hit in a little over an inning of work.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #152A: Montie M. Weaver. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1931-1938. 71 wins and 4 saves in 9 MLB seasons. In 1933 as Washington won the AL pennant, he posted a 10-5 record with a 3.25 ERA in 152.1 innings pitched. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1939.

Weaver's SABR biography sums him up and then takes us though his 1933 season in Washington: Sportswriters treated pitcher Monte Weaver as a curiosity during his nine seasons with the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox. He was a college professor, a mathematician, a hypochondriac and – most radically – a vegetarian, according to the sports pages. . . .

. . . In that game (April 19, 1933, against the New York Yankees) Weaver was the beneficiary of what Povich called “the play of the century.” Lou Gehrig reached base on a topped ball that traveled only four feet. Gehrig advanced to second and Dixie Walker was on first when Tony Lazzeri hit a drive to right-center. Gehrig held up until he was sure Goslin couldn’t catch the ball. Then he took off, with the speedy Walker close behind. The relay – Goslin to Cronin to catcher Luke Sewell – cut down Gehrig at the plate, and Sewell spun around to tag Walker for a double play at home. Clark Griffith said, “Forty-eight years in baseball and I’ve never seen the likes of it before.”

The revamped Nats won the 1933 pennant, the last for a Washington team. Weaver pitched even better than in his rookie season – when he was able. He missed more than a month with a sore right shoulder. Without him, the Nats charged into a pennant race with the Yankees. When he recovered, he contributed six wins to the club’s successful stretch drive, two of them over the Yankees.

That summer Povich commented that Weaver was “given to worrying over every ailment, be it hang-nail or toe-nail.” It was the first mention of what would become a familiar criticism. He also acquired a new sports-page nickname: “Brain Truster” Monte Weaver, after the college professors who advised the new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Weaver finished with a 10-5 record in 21 starts; his 3.26 ERA was ninth best in the league. Cronin chose him to start the fourth game of the World Series, with Washington trailing the New York Giants two games to one. His opponent was Carl Hubbell, that season’s National League MVP, who had beaten the Nats in game one.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #153A: Earl O. Whitehill. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1933-1936. 218 wins and 11 saves in 17 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923-1932. His best season came as Washington won the AL pennant in 1933 as he posted a 22-8 record with an ERA of 3.33 in 270 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1939. His only World Series start was a complete game shutout in Game 3 of the 1933 World Series, which Washington lost in 5 games.

Deveaux addresses Whitehill's entry to Washington: On the following day (December14, 1932), (Carl) Fischer became part of a trade that also brought Earl Olliver Whitehill to Washington, but the cost was much higher than just Fischer. The Tigers insisted on Firpo Marberry, the starter-reliever who'd recorded a stunning 39-13 record over the past three years. However, Marberry had passed his 34th birthday two weeks earlier. Earl Whitehill was only two months younger, but he'd been logging a lot of innings for the Tigers for ten years and was considered a reliable starter and a fierce competitor. Whitehill took a back seat to no one on the field -- he was a win-at-all-costs type of player, as evidenced by his arguments with his manager at Detroit, Ty Cobb, whenever the abrasive Cobb came to the mound to tell him how to pitch.

Dubbed the "Earl" for his dazzling wardrobe, good looks (he was married to the model who gained perpetual life by posing as the original Sunshine Raisin girl), and temperamental air, Whitehill wasn't afraid to tell off teammates or umpires, depending on the particular game situation. While Marberry would have a good year for Detroit, posting a 16-11 record, Earl Whitehill, who'd never won more than 17 for the Tigers, would win 22 games and be the Senators' best pitcher in 1933. Whitehill would eventually retire from baseball with 217 wins, but with the highest ERA (4.36) of any 200-game winner in history. He regularly walked more batters than he struck out in a season, and as late as the 1980s he was still on the top-ten all-time list for bases on balls given up over a career. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

(We are now going to pause briefly before beginning treatment of the 1933 World Series. Expected re-start: Sunday.)

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