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  #1  
Old 08-19-2008, 10:23 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

In the spirit of the "Underrated Team" thread, I'd love to hear who your favorite obscure players are. Feel free to list as many as you wish, but try to single out your favorite first. And, of course, list why these guys hold personal meaning. Also, try to pick player(s) who, while not in the HOF, are also not names that get much airplay on this forum. I call this "The Reulbach Rule".

Here are some of mine. This list would go on forever, so will only ramble off a few:

1. Foster Castleman

The authors of "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubblegum Book" put it best: this guy's name just does NOT sound like that of a ballplayer! Foster Ephraim Castleman, Jr. sounds more like a pencil-pusher slaving away on last-minute tax returns at 3:00 a.m. at some suburban strip mall H&R Block, sipping all the while from a styrofoam cup of ice-cold coffee. Furthermore, Castleman's eccentric nature has endeared himself to me. A vehement non-signer since the sunset of his playing days, Foster decided to sign through the mail for a month last year if you sent him a few bucks. By all accounts, he then did an abrupt about-face, returning to his old ways!


Others:

Finners Quinlan

Weak-hitting outfielder for two MLB seasons who had an arm blown off in the Great War. I just love the name. The funniest thing about it is that his first name was actually Thomas. Finners was his middle name. I mean, who voluntarily goes by the name of "Finners" when they could just be known as "Tommy"?!


Pembroke Finlayson

Much like Mr. Castleman, it's really difficult to believe that this turn-of-the-century player chose baseball as a vocation. The name conjures up the image of an effeminate bank president who likes to quote stanzas from "The Wreck of the Hesperus" while contemplating your request for a fourth mortgage.


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Old 08-19-2008, 11:02 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Don't know that he's really "obscure", but mention must be made of Stanley "Frenchy" Bordagaray. The name, the mustache in an era when that was frowned upon and possibly my all time favorite baseball quote.

When asked his opinion of the fine he incurred, for spitting on an umpire, Frenchy replied, "Well, it was more than I expectorated".

Gotta love 'im.

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  #3  
Old 08-19-2008, 11:19 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: DD

Edited on second thought - it was a bit inappropriate. Just a funny sounding name was all.

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Old 08-19-2008, 11:57 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: samuel

gus zernial--he played for my favorite team, the athletics; was one of the best power hitters of the fifties; went all-out as a fielder and had 17 outfield assists twice in his career; and his 1952 topps card is probably my favorite of the post-war era.

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  #5  
Old 08-20-2008, 05:19 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Bob Manning

Robert Vavoseur “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson (1845-1894), alleged to have been nicknamed for his fielding prowess. (The original “Where Triples Go to Die?”) Except he was an infielder, and hardly a Steady Eddie. Playing third with the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1873 came close to making more errors ( 104) than putouts (109) thereby “achieving” a fielding average of .755. His career FA was a robust .849

Moses Yellowhorse – the first full-blooded Native American to play ML baseball, alas introduced to alcohol by Pirate teammate Rabbit Maranville. Relief pitcher who, long after he left the Pirates, was remembered by frustrated fans who, on appropriate occasions, would shant "Bring in Yellowhorse."

Joe Bauman – hit 72 homers while playing for the Roswell Rockets in 1954, at age 33. (Yes, that Roswell.) Never played ML ball.

Steve Bilko – “Stout Steve” (6’1”, 230 lbs), first to play for both the Dodgers and the Angels, last to hit a homer at Wrigley Field … Los Angeles. Outstanding minor league hitter; could never quite duplicate his act in he majors.

Germany Schaefer, added one to the rulebooks by successfully stealing first base. Had originally stolen second as the back half of a double steal. The lead runner was also successful. So at the next opportunity, Schaefer took off for first, hoping the confusion would allow the run to score. Legend suggests that it did. By the 20’s, players were barred from repeating the stunt.

Homer Peel, (see ’34 Goudey #88) Great name; sounds like the kid who sat behind you in social studies who picked his nose and ended up in hardware. With the Houston Buffaloes managed to single in a run while hitting into a triple play.

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  #6  
Old 08-20-2008, 06:06 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Kevin Cummings

Without a doubt, Gus Weyhing.

He's not exactly obscure either, but gets far less recognition than he should, although he did get mentioned recently on the Yankee broadcast when Mike Mussina passed him in the all-time wins category. Weyhing was one of 19th-century baseball's outstanding pitchers, winning 30 or more games in four seasons, more than 20 in three others as well as pitching a no-hitter. His career record is 264 wins and he holds the all-time record for hit batsmen with 277.

I have been friends with Gus' nephew, Ed, for quite a few years since I needed to enlist his aid in getting the Library of Congress to change the label of an Old Judge card in their collection. The LOC had Gus' name associated with the picture of his brother John's Old Judge card.

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  #7  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:00 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Jon Canfield

Myron "Moose" Grimshaw - Played 3 seasons with the Red Sox 1907-09 feauted in both the T206 and the colgan Chip sets. He was born, raised, lived and died in the same small town in upstate New York where I grew up.

Pickles Dillhoefer - Best name ever.

======================================
For the premier souce of information on baseball-related cigarette packs on the web, visit http://www.baseballandtobacco.com

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  #8  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:03 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Great selections so far, guys. Many of your choices are also favorites of mine.

Samuel,

I also love Zernial's '52 Topps card. He once wrote me a note after I sent him a letter asking him to explain what the heck was going on in that image!!! Gus is one of baseball's truly nice guys.

Bob M.,

Ferguson's nickname is one of the funniest. Another early player, John Chapman, shared the moniker (and one other player if I'm not mistaken).

How can you NOT love Germany Schaefer? He gave those turn-of-the-century Tiger fans more than their money's worth. A guy like Schaefer deserved to spend a few more years with the living.

Steve Bilko was from the same town as Pete Gray. Nanticocke, PA, is a strangely charming coal-mining town near Scranton. In upstate New York and Pennsylvania, old-timers still utter Bilko's name in reverent whispers. From what I've gathered, Bilko was another of the game's first class personalities. His prowess at the plate was apparently matched only by his kind, gentle nature (and ability to put away copious amounts of brew).

Kevin,

I've always loved Weyhing, an incredibly overlooked player who was apparently just as good for a quote as he was for a victory. His brother passed away far too young (I recall that he was in his early twenties), whereas Gus lived to be nearly 90. Oddly enough, this happened a great deal with baseball siblings. Some other instances of this are David (D. 1897) and Frank (D. 1961) Foutz, Gene (D. 1937) and Joe (D. 1977) Connell, and of course Ed (D. 1903) and Frank (D. 1966) Delahanty (with a bunch of brothers in between).

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  #9  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:04 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Steve Murray

but let's see some pics.


Gus Zernial

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  #10  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:11 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Anonymous

I bought my e90-1 plank from an ebay seller who touted it as coming from the "Gus Zernial Collection". So supposedly he collected vintage cards.

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  #11  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:29 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Bruce Dorskind



His photo is one of the most treasured items in our collection.
His story, see below, was featured in the Ken Burns special on Baseball.


Charles “Victory” Faust’s entry in the Baseball Encyclopedia looks like that of so many others, particularly in the early major leagues, who were on and off of a team in a matter of weeks. Two games, two innings pitched, an ERA Of 4.50. In reality, Faust’s bizarre adventure would make a spectacular movie.
Faust’s condition is a matter of debate. In his day it was called feeblemindedness, or simply stupidity. He was naive, silly, delusional… a gentle crazy. Born in Marion, Kansas in 1880, he worked on the family farm until 1911, when he travelled to Wichita, to “see the sights”, as he put it. There he saw a fortune teller, who told him he would become a great pitcher and lead the New York Giants to the pennant.
Faust believed the fortune teller, and set out for St. Louis, where the Giants were playing. On July 28, while staying at the Planter’s Hotel, he asked for and was granted a chance to see the Giant’s famous skipper, John McGraw. He explained what had happened to him, and McGraw, hoping maybe that he possessed raw talent, like many of the farm boys of the day, arranged for Faust a tryout.
That day, Faust, in a suit and bowler hat, pitched before the Giants’ game. He was obviously not a baseball player, his strange windmill windup and fastball that wasn’t quickly proved, but McGraw let Faust sit on the bench that day. The Giants lost, keeping them in third place.
Faust came back the next day, and this time was given a uniform. He took on the roll of team mascot, often warming up in the bullpen or “striking out” superstars like Honus Wagner before games, and the Giants began to win, charging up the standings and into the pennant race.
Some time into his stint a vaudeville promoter offered Faust $200 a day to talk about his time with the Giants. He accepted, and was a hit. He would introduce himself as Charles Victory Faust, although his middle name was really Victor.
After Faust left, however, the Giants’ luck began to run dry. When Faust saw them slumping he felt the team needed him, so he skipped out on his vaudeville contract and returned to the club, which went 37-2 while he was with the team and won the pennant. After they had clinched Faust was allowed into the two games, and maybe his “fastball” managed to keep the hitters off guard, because he allowed only one run in his two innings. He also came up to bat, where he was hit by a pitch and allowed to steal second and third and finally score. (According to some sources Faust shouted “Who’s loony now?” to his teammates as he crossed home plate.) The Giants lost in the World Series, however, and the next year McGraw allowed him to remain on the bench, but not in uniform.
Faust was heartbroken; he tried for the next two years following the Giants’ loss in the 1912 World Series, during which Faust was away from the team in California, to be reinstated, but to no avail. In 1914 he was found in Portland by police. Faust said he was walking from Seattle, where he lived with his brothers, to New York, to return and help the Giants. He was sent to an insane asylum, where he listed his occupation as “baseball player”, but only lasted a week before he was released.
In December of 1914 he was sent to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. He died on June 18, 1915. The Giants lost their game that day, and would finish last, four years after the man named Victory got them to the pennant.
The story does have a happy ending, though. Many years later, when John McGraw penned his autobiography, he had this to say: “Wherever Charley Faust is today, I want him to know that I give him full credit for winning the National League Pennant for the Giants in 1911. The Fortune Teller was right.

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Old 08-20-2008, 07:38 AM
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Posted By: Steve Murray

Nice story Bruce. Thanks for sharing.

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  #13  
Old 08-20-2008, 07:45 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Bruce,

I thought of placing Faust on my list, but just knew that somebody else loved his story as much as I do. I'm glad he's still remembered. Without the help from Larry Ritter, Faust would have likely be forgotten altogether, buried in his unmarked grave on the grounds of a Washington state sanitarium.

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  #14  
Old 08-20-2008, 08:42 AM
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Posted By: Chris Counts

The first 1957 Topps card I ever came across was Foster Castleman's. I was about 10 or 11 at the time (in the early 70s), and it was the oldest card I had ever seen. I figured he was probably one of baseball's all-time greats until I looked him up in the Baseball Encyclopedia ...

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  #15  
Old 08-20-2008, 08:47 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Definitely one of my favorite cards of all time. Does anyone else think old Foster could have won a Tom Cruise lookalike competition?

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  #16  
Old 08-20-2008, 08:53 AM
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Posted By: Lance

Bruce,
That's a great story. I only have one question...Did he receive $200 a day or $2.00 a day? If it was $200, that was an incredible salary in 1911. Either way, I enjoyed the response.
Lance

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Old 08-20-2008, 09:00 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: ali_lapoint

i always really liked Ross Youngs. John McGraw called him the greatest outfielder he ever saw. It was a shame he died so young and early on into his career. Just 10 seasons but enough to get him into the HOF. one of the most anonymous guys in there and a tough guy to find cards of.

can't forget about Ten Million either. easily the greatest name in history.

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Old 08-20-2008, 09:04 AM
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Posted By: Max Weder

There is a book from 2000 on Victory Faust:

Victory Faust: The Rube Who Saved McGraw's Giants (ISBN: 0967522102)
Schechter, Gabriel author.

As for obscure players, I always liked the name Leonidas Pyrrhus Funkhouser, who for some unknown reason changed his name to Leonidas Lee. His entire major league career was going 5 for 18 in 1877.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/leele01.shtml

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Old 08-20-2008, 09:28 AM
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Posted By: Steve Murray

Ross Young (sic) Youngs

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Old 08-20-2008, 09:44 AM
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Posted By: howard

He was the last major leaguer to play w/o a glove.

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  #21  
Old 08-20-2008, 09:46 AM
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Posted By: Anthony S.

Ross Youngs is, I believe, the only player in The Hall of Fame who never made it to the age of 31. Addie Joss passed away a couple days after his 31st birthday.

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Old 08-20-2008, 09:49 AM
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Posted By: ali_lapoint

i believe Youngs has played the fewest seasons of any player in the HOF too.

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  #23  
Old 08-20-2008, 09:51 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Try to keep your selections to non-Hall of Famers. A HOF player is the farthest thing from "obscure".

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  #24  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:09 AM
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Posted By: ali_lapoint

not really jodi. if i were to mention ross youngs or elmer flick or max carey to the average person they'd 1: have no idea who they were and 2: have no idea they're in the HOF.

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Old 08-20-2008, 10:12 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Yes, but this forum is not directed at those types of people, hence the rules I outlined in the beginning of this thread.

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  #26  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:17 AM
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Posted By: Steve Murray

My favorite, as many of you know, is Harl Vestin Maggert.

Harl played in 3 games in 1907 and 74 in 1912 with the A's. In between he had stints 1908 and 1909 with the Springfield MA Ponies and 1910, 1911 and 1913-1921 PCL. He was somewhat of a "Bad Boy" having been banned by the PCL in 1921 for alleged fixing of games. Here are a few of his Zeenut cards though he also appears in most PCL issues of the time, to-wit: e99, d310 and d311;

1911


1916


1917


1920

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  #27  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:23 AM
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Posted By: ali_lapoint

ok ok you started the thread so i'm playing by your rules now.

couple more guys come to mind:

bob shawkey. heck of a pitcher and i especially like him because he went to "Slippery Rock College" in Penn.

another guy i always liked was silver king. great name and he won 45 games in 1888 with an ERA under 2.00. heck of a year.

also like both Sugar Kanes who played a combined 6 games. Frank and Tom.

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  #28  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:36 AM
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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

I'd say Foster had more of a Montgomery Clift look going.

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  #29  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:41 AM
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Posted By: Andrew S.

I always liked Joe Hauser a lot and got him to sign a couple of items for me. Too bad he couldn't hit as many homers in the majors as he did in the minors.

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  #30  
Old 08-20-2008, 10:41 AM
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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Clarence G. Steen - he only played minor league ball, but I've been fascinated that I've been able to turn up so much about this turn of the century ball player - I've been surprised how much he shows up in my collection and for a time I never realized it.

Sometime in 2007 I ran across a cabinet photo of a University of Nebraska baseball player on ebay. The seller of the photo is an occasional poster here (Bert Wright). When I received the photo I asked Bert if he knew who was pictured in the photo and he told me it was Clarence Steen and he thought it was about 1904.

1904 Clarence Steen

At the same time I also won a 1900 Wahoo baseball team cabinet from Bert and he believed that Clarence was pictured on that photo as well...sure enough he was. He is seated in the middle row second from right.

Photobucket

I later discovered that Clarence also played minor league baseball and that I already had a postcard of the Lincoln team that he played on in 1906. He is seated in the front row second from left...this is corroborated by the 1907 Spalding Guide which lists the players by name under this exact photo.

Photobucket

Here is a picture of the 1904 U of Nebraska team with Steen that I found when I purchased the 1905 Husker annual.

1904

Last March I went to a postcard show and as I was looking through a stack of baseball postcards I ran across this one and Steen is the first thing that jumped out at me...I was astounded. I still have no idea what team this is as nothing matches in the SABR minor league database, but many of these players have minor league records.

Unknown Team

Then just about a week ago I got a surprise in the mail from Bert - it was a document with Clarence's signature.

Photobucket


Clarence had a short professional career - he played minor league ball in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1905, Lincoln in 1906 and 1907 and I have found articles from South Dakota newspapers that he played on a Semipro team and worked in a bank in Belle Fourche in 1906 before joining the Lincoln team. After Clarence gave baseball a shot he went on to become a dentist in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He died in the early 1960s and was buried in his hometown of Wahoo.

If you look closely here on this postcard you can see a sign that says "Dr Steen Dentist" next door to the Egyptian theater...(postcard is Bert's)

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Old 08-20-2008, 10:55 AM
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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

Actually, Jodi, this forum is directed at collectors of pre-war baseball cards, as opposed to (hypothetically speaking) autographs of obscure baseball players. You can probably cut someone a little slack if they don't strictly adhere to the guidelines you've laid down in a non-card related thread on a non-autograph forum.

It would be like me asking someone to refrain from sarcasm in a thread that I started.

Even on this forum that is filled with baseball history geeks (like me), I still think there are more than a few HOFers that would qualify as "obscure" and merit inclusion in this thread. Or perhaps you'd like to tell us all about Ben Taylor or Frank Grant.

Anyway, it's an interesting topic and I don't mean to bash you for collecting autographs instead of cards. You've been one of the more consistent posters on the board since you joined and clearly have a passion for the game and its history. I tend to gravitate to more obscure players in my own collecting, so I like to hear about others with collecting interests (see Dan's post above) that are off the beaten path.

There are plenty of Cobb or Matty collectors around, but how many Ross Youngs or Elmer Flick collectors are there? HOFers? Yes. Still obscure.

So I guess that's my long-winded way of saying that in keeping with the spirit of the thread as you intended it, my answer is Win Mercer.

-Ryan

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:00 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Andrew,

Unser Choe Hauser was a dear friend of mine. Thanks for thinking of him! Even in his late 90's he was an absolute hoot to be around. We shared many good laughs, smokes and German beers over several visits.

Dan,

Yes, it certainly is odd when one career minor leaguer's memorabilia keeps landing at your doorstep from various, unrelated sources. It's one thing to obtain a portion of such a player's estate, but this is an entirely different matter! Interesting stuff. This has happened to me with the autograph of a 1930's career minor leaguer named Ira Smith. He seems to have played everywhere, as is evidenced by all the various album pages I've had him on.

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  #33  
Old 08-20-2008, 11:11 AM
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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Ryan,

I think you're being a little sensitive. I was polite in my request, and it was not directed at you anyhow, so there's no need to overreact.

There are currently over 100 replies in the Michael Phelps thread, which strays much farther from the hobby than this one. That tells me that there are many folks who enjoy talking about other matters. We're not all one-dimensional beings on this forum.

This was never an autograph-oriented thread. I only mentioned autographs in my initial post as that is where my collecting interests lie. Someone else might like another obscure player because they like a particular card that depicts him.

I really don't care to bicker about such a trivial matter. If this is going to continue, I would rather see the locking of what I thought might be a fun and educational thread.

Have a nice day.

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  #34  
Old 08-20-2008, 11:19 AM
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Posted By: Steve Murray

Here's my Harl Vestin Maggert:

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:22 AM
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Posted By: Randy Trierweiler

Greatest full name of any baseball player:

Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:28 AM
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Posted By: J Levine

Jack Clements was the last full-time career catcher who was left-handed. There have been a handful of people who have caught lefty but none were full-time and none were career catchers.

A decent hitter and a pretty good fielder as well for my Phillies...

He has several nice catching poses in the Old Judge set as well.

Joshua

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:29 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: david Poses

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Ten Million yet.

Million was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, and attended the University of Washington. Apparently, his mother had quite the sense of humor and decided to name him "Ten." She was a persuasive figure in his life, as she convinced his wife to name their daughter "Decillian," by bribing her with 50 dollars.

Million got his start in professional ball playing for the Tacoma (1912-14), Seattle, Victoria, and Spokane teams of the Northwestern League. His career was brought to an end by a knee injury.

While at least one web source reports that Million did play in the majors for St. Louis, no statistical evidence supporting this theory has been discovered, and Million does not appear in any official Major League baseball records.

He is featured on a card in the T212 series.

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:32 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Bob

Cesar Tovar. In 1967 he played all 9 positions in one game and played so well all year that he received one vote for American league MVP, the only vote not received by Yaz in the Red Sox' miracle season. I believe Yaz won the triple crown that year, not positive.
I know he is not pre-1960 but wanted to mention him.

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Old 08-20-2008, 11:37 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Steve Murray

but I would be remiss in not naming John Francis (Shano/Shauno) Collins as one of my collecting favorites.

A teammate of Maggert with the Springfield MA Ponies in 08 and 09 he went on to modest stardom in the big leagues and was a member of the 1919 Black Sox team.

Here's his autograph:


And a few of his cards from my collection:




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Old 08-20-2008, 11:45 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Steve,

Where are you finding those signed PCs? They sell for enough without the autographs! Collins' signature is not the easiest to procure. Very nice.

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:14 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: whitehse

"I also love Zernial's '52 Topps card. He once wrote me a note after I sent him a letter asking him to explain what the heck was going on in that image!!! Gus is one of baseball's truly nice guys. "



Dont leave us hanging...what's the rest of this story??!!

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:21 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Steve Murray

Courtesy of VCP (The bestest of the best):

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:24 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

I don't have Zernial's response at hand right now, so forgive me if I mangle the details.

The six baseballs nailed to the bat represent six home runs hit by Gus in as many games, which was a record at the time (since bested by Dale Long, Mattingly and Griffey, if not several of the steroid users). That's also the reason for his giving the "A-OK" sign. The pink shirt was originally a white undershirt that was accidentally thrown in the wash with some red ones!

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:37 PM
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Posted By: Jim VB

As a kid, I loved watching Ryne Duren come in from the Yankee bullpen. He would go through his "Mr Magoo" routine, cleaning his glasses, squinting to find the catcher and home plate, tossing a few warmup pitches, and invariably, letting one go at 95 mph that sailed over the catchers head all the way to the screen.

Then the umpire would wave the batter into the box.

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:43 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: ali_lapoint

i already said Ten Million.

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Old 08-20-2008, 12:45 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Steve Murray

Alan is correct, he said Ten Million first.

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Old 08-20-2008, 01:07 PM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Alan

I would say these Jewish players (because of their interesting names):

Cy Block
Harry Chozen
Eddie Feinberg
Izzy Goldstein
Cy Malis
Goody Rosen
Mickey Rutner

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Old 08-20-2008, 01:14 PM
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Posted By: Bill Stone

James Thompson "Doc" Prothro.

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Old 08-20-2008, 04:42 PM
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Posted By: Cy

Two players of the 50s come to mind as obscure but really had some significant year(s).

In 1951 Ned Garver went 20-12 on a St. Louis Browns team that won a grand total of 52 games. The Browns went 52-102 that year. This is reminiscent of Steve Carlton going 27-10 with a Phillies team that had a 59-97 record. Ned Garver's record that year on an extremely terrible team was truly amazing. I am not sure if any other pitcher, other than Carlton, had a bigger percentage of his teams total wins.

The other player is Mel Parnell. Parnell was a very good pitcher for the Red Sox in the 1950s. During a stretch of six seasons, Parnell had a record of 109-56. These are amazing stats for a player who very few people know about at all.

Cy

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Old 08-22-2008, 01:29 AM
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Default Favorite Pre-1960 Obscure Player(s)

Posted By: Dan P.

My high school chemestry teacher's favorite player was Zeke Bonura (sorry, folks, I don't remember her explanation for this). By the way, my high school was Cheltenham H.S., Wyncote, PA, whose second most noteable graduate (behind me, of course) was Reggie Jackson (class of 1963 or 64 or thereabouts--I graduated in 1969).

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