Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #62C: John P. Henry. Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1910-1917. 397 hits and 55 stolen bases in 9 MLB seasons. He ended his career with the Boston Braves in 1918. His best season was 1916 with the Washington Senators as he posted a .364 OBP with 46 RBIs in 376 plate appearances.

Deveaux explains Henry's role in advocating player rights: An interesting aside to the 1917 season, especially in light of the inevitable emancipation of baseball players still more than a half-century away, were the efforts of Senators catcher John Henry. Henry had become involved in the Baseball Players' Fraternity and tried to convince his reticent teammates to join in a united front which would seek to obtain better wages and playing conditions. League president Ban Johnson promised to crush Henry and all others of his ilk.

Henry, in no way intimidated, proclaimed that Ban Johnson had no power to drive him out of the American League, and that the prexy was obviously trying to make him the "goat" in the midst of an embarrassing situation. If the league president insisted on picking on him because he was a friendly fellow, well-liked by teammates and owners alike, that was okay with Henry. Ban Johnson, Henry declared, was "crazy for power." The rebellion died down, however. After being forced to accept a $1,200 cut on his salary of $4,600, Henry, a .190 hitter in '17, was unceremoniously sold right out of the league to the Boston Braves, where his career ended after just 102 more at-bats. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #56E: George F. "Pinch" McBride. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1908-1920. 1,203 hits, 7 home runs, and 133 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901. Has the lowest batting average of any player with 5,000 MLB at-bats. Managed the Washington Senators in 1921 but was struck in the face by a line drive during batting practice and forced to retire.

. . . Although considered relatively even-tempered and easygoing, McBride was a fiery competitor, subject to sudden bursts of temper. The most prominent of these occurred on June 30, 1916. McBride was facing Carl Mays of the Boston Red Sox, a notorious head hunter. Following some verbal jostling between the two, McBride was struck in the arm while protecting himself from a pitch that was tracking perilously close to his head. McBride stepped to the side of the plate, waited a few seconds, then wheeled and fired his bat at the Bosox pitcher, missing him by only a couple of feet. A lively altercation between the two teams ensued, a highlight of which was the Red Sox catcher Sam Agnew‘s sucker punch that landed in the face of Senators skipper Clark Griffith. . . .

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[GeoPoto]

Player #39I: J. Clyde "Deerfoot" Milan. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1907-1922. 2,100 hits and 495 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. 1912 and 1913 AL stolen base leader, including a then record 88 in 1912. His career OBP was .353. Managed the Washington Senators in 1922. His best season was probably 1911 for the Washington Senators as he posted a .395 OBP with 58 stolen bases and 109 runs scored in 705 plate appearances.

Milan's SABR biography picks up Milan's life after his days as a player: That marked the end of his major-league playing career, but he continued to play in the minors in Minneapolis in 1923, while serving as player-manager at New Haven in 1924, and Memphis in 1925 and 1926. After retiring as an active player, Milan coached for Washington in 1928 and 1929 and managed Birmingham from 1930 to 1935 and Chattanooga from 1935 to 1937. He also scouted for Washington in 1937 and served as a coach for the Senators from 1938 through 1952.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #65C: Raymond C. "Ray" Morgan. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1911-1918. 630 hits and 88 stolen bases in 8 MLB seasons. His career OBP was .348. His best season was 1913 as he posted a .369 OBP with 19 stolen bases in 565 plate appearances. He has an odd link to Babe Ruth: in 1917, he led off a game by drawing a 4-pitch walk from Boston starter Ruth, who was then ejected from the game by the home plate umpire. Ruth was replaced by Ernie Shore and Morgan was thrown out attempting to steal on Shore's first pitch. Shore then retired the next 26 batters he faced. Shore's "perfect game" was eventually down-graded to a "combined no-hitter" by subsequent revisions in the MLB criteria.

Morgan's SABR biography: On July 30 (1914) in Detroit, Morgan was at the center of one of the worst riots involving players, spectators, and police at a 20th century major league game. The umpire, Jack Sheridan, was a respected veteran, but his failing eye-sight meant he no longer worked behind the plate. Called out on a close play at first base, Morgan threw dirt at Sheridan’s feet. The umpire immediately ejected Morgan before decking him with a punch. Morgan got up and began swinging at the umpire. Griffith, coaching third, and McBride rushed to try to pull the two apart. As McBride was trying to restrain Sheridan, Eddie Ainsmith, the Nats’ catcher who was coaching first, landed a glancing blow on the umpire. Ainsmith also was ejected.

By this time, members of both teams had come out of their dugouts. As Morgan and Ainsmith headed off the field, spectators began yelling abuse at Ainsmith as he approached the stands. A fan and the player began exchanging blows before the fan picked up a chair and heaved onto the field, hitting one of the Nats. The fans behind the Detroit dugout came out of the stands and began pummeling Morgan. Several players on both teams came to his rescue.

At this point, people from the bleachers were running across the field toward the brawl. The police from a station adjacent to the ballpark arrived in force. With the help of the players, they got the fans back into the grandstands. The Senators demanded that the fan who threw the chair be arrested, but the police declined. Detroit owner Frank Navin showed up and persuaded several belligerent spectators to leave. Despite an appeal from Griffith, no action was taken against Sheridan, who suffered sun stroke during an August game and died that fall. Morgan was suspended for a week and Ainsmith for two.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #74C: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. 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 touches on Rice's 1917 campaign Part 1: Historians pinpoint the period between 1915 and 1920 as the precise time when pitcher workloads had decreased to the point that everyday players, on average, finally became more valuable than top pitchers. Hence, given the choice of where to play multi-skilled players like Ruth, Rice, Sisler, and all the others, managers decided more and more often that they wanted their best players on the field every day.

As the start of the 1917 season neared, Clark Griffith had long since decided that Rice would be an everyday position player, especially after his strong performance at the plate during his second-half tryout in 1916. Where exactly Rice would play was still something he was figuring out, however. Joe Judge, who had received most of the playing time at first base the year before, struggled as a rookie, batting just .220. So Griffith contemplated trying Rice at first. Rice understood the mental aspects of the position. And Griffith was pleased with his arm strength and accuracy in case he needed to make throws to other bases on the diamond. There was one problem, though -- Rice couldn't field ground balls. It was an issue that would continue to plague Rice for years in the outfield, but it was much less of a problem for an outfielder than an infielder. Judge stayed at first -- a good decision, in hindsight. . . . (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #74C: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. 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, mother, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

Back to Carroll for Part 2: . . . On July 20, the day before the (1917) Senators bottomed out, the "great national lottery" was begun. Blind-folded Secretary of War, Newton Baker drew the first number, 258, from a glass jar. The draft was underway. And although enthusiasm regarding the war swept the United States as a whole, baseball, its product threatened, would eventually attempt -- unsuccessfully -- to battle for the exemption of its players.

For now, they carried on. The Senators rallied to finish with a 74-79 record, good for fifth place and well behind the runaway train that was the Chicago White Sox. Rice had immediately proven his value as an everyday player. He appeared in all of the Senators' games, every one of them in right field, and his .302 batting average made him the only Washington player to top the .300 mark. He also stole thirty-five bases.

"The case of Sam rice is one of the most interesting of the baseball season," a newspaper writer noted. "Rice is a natural hitter and as he is still a youngster there seems no reason, if his baseball career is not interrupted, why he should not in another year rank with the consistent .300 batters. His is but another case of a pitcher who has become a good fielder.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #75C: Howard S. "Howie" Shanks. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1912-1922. 1,440 hits and 185 stolen bases in 14 MLB seasons. His best season was 1921 with Washington as he posted an OBP of .370 with 81 runs scored and 69 RBIs in 647 plate appearances. He finished his career with the New York Yankees in 1925.

We go back to Shanks' SABR biography: Through 1916, Shanks played almost exclusively as an outfielder. But, in 1916, he played six different positions, though primarily left field (71 games) and third base (31 games). Already in September 1916, Griffith started talking about using Shanks regularly at shortstop. He did just that in 1917, and Shanks appeared in 90 games at short against just 26 in the outfield. He also played a couple of games at first base. By the end of his career, the only positions he had never played were pitcher and catcher.

His batting averages fluctuated around .240 for his first eight seasons with Washington, but in 1920 he hit for a .268 average (his best to that date) and hit four homers (matching the four he’d hit in 1914). He topped both figures, by a big margin, in 1921. It was his career year, perhaps also reflecting the livelier baseball. Shanks hit .302, knocked out seven home runs, and led the league with 18 triples. The most triples he’d hit before was also in 1914, with 10. He established career highs with 69 RBIs and 81 runs scored.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #80: Elmer J. Smith. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1916-1917. 881 hits and 70 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He was a 2-time World Series champion -- 1920 with Cleveland and 1923 with the New York Yankees. In 1920, he hit the first grand slam in World Series history. In 1916, he was the first to hit a fair ball over the wall at Griffith Stadium. He debuted with the Cleveland Naps/Indians in 1914-1916. His best season was 1920 with Cleveland as he posted a .391 OBP with 12 home runs in 527 plate appearances. His last season was with the Cincinnati Reds in 1925.

Smith's time in Washington was relatively uneventful, but his SABR biography talks to his participation in a World Series game that included some important "firsts": It is often said that no matter how many times a person may go to the ballpark, chances are good they might see something occur that they had not seen before. That experience is even more enhanced if the achievement or the play is of the record-setting variety. The 26,884 patrons who pushed through the turnstiles at League Park in Cleveland on October 10, 1920, witnessed a day of “firsts” in World Series history.

With the best-of-nine Series tied at two games apiece, Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson selected spitball pitcher Burleigh Grimes to face Cleveland’s Jim Bagby in a rematch of Game Two. In that contest, Grimes had little trouble dispatching the Indians in a 3-0 shutout to even the Series at a win apiece. Now he was being called on again to deliver the victory on enemy soil.

But the drama was short-lived as Cleveland loaded the bases in the first inning on consecutive singles by Charlie Jamieson, Bill Wambsganss, and Tris Speaker. Up stepped right fielder Elmer Smith, who had not fared well in Game Two against Grimes, going hitless in four at-bats. But the left-handed Smith led the Indians with 12 home runs in the regular season, including two grand slams. Grimes threw his money pitch, offering two spitballs that Smith swung at badly and missed. After throwing a pitch for a ball, Grimes fired a fastball down the middle. Smith connected solidly, sending the baseball high over the right-field fence, clearing the attached screen, and across Lexington Avenue. The crowd cheered with delight, as the Tribe took an early 4-0 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. It was the first grand slam in World Series history.

In the fourth inning Bagby connected on a homer, a three-run shot. The home run was the first by a pitcher in the World Series and ended Grimes’s day. In the fifth inning the Robins got consecutive singles from Pete Kilduff and Otto Miller. Clarence Mitchell stepped up to the plate and the relief pitcher hit a liner to second baseman Wambsganss. Wamby moved to his right, leaped, and snared the liner. The runners were moving, and Wamby stepped on second base, turned, and tagged a shocked Miller for the third out. The Robins catcher was not the only one caught off guard. The whole park fell silent, trying to figure out what had just unfolded on the field. Then an eruption of cheers echoed through the autumn air. Almost a century later it remained the only unassisted triple play in a World Series.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #81: Earl H. Yingling. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1918. 25 wins and a 3.22 ERA in 5 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Cleveland Naps in 1911. In 1913 with the Brooklyn Dodgers/Superbas, he posted an 8-8 record with a 2.58 ERA in 146.2 innings pitched.

Yingling's MLB experience was not extensive and his time in Washington was the least of it. He is remembered now, if at all, as an example of a player who's name would have inspired the use of nicknames that would not be considered politically-correct today.

The following is an Author's Note to Yingling's SABR biography. Author's Note by Chris Rainey: Baseball-reference.com mentions that Yingling had the nickname of “Chink”. In my research this nickname was never used in any game stories or articles about him that I read. The Encyclopedia of Minor Leagues uses the nickname in their 1993 edition for the 1915 season. I reached out to SABR member Stew Thornley, who is highly knowledgeable about Minneapolis baseball. He had never seen the name in use and checked the 1915 season without finding any usage. I did find one article poking fun that Yingling and Siglin (Paddy) sounded like a menu item in a Chinese restaurant.

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[GeoPoto]

The 1918 Washington Senators won 72 games, lost 56, and finished in third place in the American League. They were managed by Clark Griffith and played home games at National Park.

Deveaux takes us through the 1918 season: Crippling to baseball at this time was the reality of war and the government's refusal to yield to Ban Johnson's pleas for draft deferments for baseball players. On May 23, 1918, baseball was shocked to learn that Secretary of War Newton D. Baker's "Work to Fight" order meant that all able-bodied men of draft age either had to enlist or otherwise engage in work considered essential for the war effort. Washington catcher Eddie Ainsmith, granted a deferment earlier, was now ordered to sign up, and his became the test case on which the fate of the game depended. On July 19, War Secretary Baker announced that baseball was not adjudged to be an essential war activity.

League president Ban Johnson shocked everyone by announcing that the season would end, and suddenly, in just two days. By now, the owners had had enough, and Clark Griffith stepped into the breach. Griffith was friendly with the Secretary of War. Even though the war was dragging on, Griffith was able to convince Newton Baker to allow baseball players, who were in shape anyway, to do military drills prior to games, with baseball bats instead of weapons no less. In Washington, young Assistant Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt led some of these drills.

Griffith obtained assent from War Secretary Baker for baseball to continue until Labor Day, with an extra two weeks allotted for the World Series. No doubt riding a patriotic wave, Griff reciprocated by sponsoring a fundraising drive which netted $100,000 to buy baseball equipment for servicemen in Europe. The first supply of gear reportedly ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic, sunk by a German U-boat. . . .

. . . Walter Johnson was the one bright spot for the club early in the season, and the Nationals were struggling to stay out of seventh place as late as June. Following a two-week slump in July, the club was hot from then on and finished within four games of the Red Sox and first place, the best showing for the Washington franchise to this point. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #54H: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux reports on Johnson's 1918 season Part 1: Walter Johnson shaved over a run a game off his earned run average, and with a minuscule 1.27 reclaimed the ERA title he had not won since 1913. At 23-13, he was tops in wins in the big leagues for 1918 and led the majors in strikeouts with 162, his lowest number among the eight league-leading totals he'd had to date. Incredibly, he finished every single game he was in: 29 starts and ten relief appearances. Always a good hitter, he was getting even better, batting .267 in 150 official at-bats and playing four games in the outfield, which he'd also done three years earlier.

On May 7, 1918, Babe Ruth homered off Walter Johnson at League Park, the first of his ten career dingers off the great one, although Barney prevailed in this game, 7-2. The day before, Ruth had appeared in the lineup for the first time at a position other than pitcher or pinch hitter, in a game at New York. He had hit a home run in that game, and Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert had wanted to buy Ruth's contract from the Red Sox right then and there.

On May 9, Walter picked up a win by pitching the tenth inning, and Ruth, the starter that day who'd gone all the way for Boston, was the loser. It was the last official matchup between the two, as Ruth was soon going to be an everyday player exclusively. He hit his last homer of the year against the Senators on September 27, although the Nats swept a doubleheader from the Yankees that day. Almost exactly nine years hence, the Babe would make even bigger headlines versus the Washington Senators. . . . (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[Kawika]

This team RPPC is designated as circa 1915 on the flip. A tip of the Kawika cap to Mark Fimoff for pointing out the presence of Wildfire Schulte (front row, 4th from right) which narrows the year to 1918, his only season with the Senators. I will stand corrected if I am wrong but I believe the player in the front row at far right is Merito Acosta which fine tunes the photo's date to sometime prior to May 25th when he was traded to the Phila Athletics. The absence of Sam Rice can be explained by the fact that he spent part of the season in the US Army in that war year.

[GeoPoto]

David, great 1918 team photograph. Thanks for posting it to complete the introduction to 1918. 1918 did not see the issuance of any cards involving Senators (at least none that I have acquired); nor do I have any photos of the team (or of Walter) that are sourced to that year. But it was a good year for the team (and Walter), so I decided to include a couple of entries for that year in this thread. I am delighted that you were able to deliver an item that ties in to 1918. Today's post completes my input regarding 1918 (with another photograph from a different year, but "what are you gonna do", as Tony S. would say). 1919 will be richer, I believe.

Player #54H: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux reports on Johnson's 1918 season Part 2: . . . Walter Johnson's durability was being put to the ultimate test in 1918. Two days after defeating Ruth, he shut out Jim Bagley and the Indians (the league's best hitting team in 1918) by a 1-0 score. In his next start on May 15, he pitched the longest shutout in history. It took 18 innings before the Nats finally scored a run courtesy of a wild pitch by Claude "Lefty" Williams, another who would become implicated in the Black Sox scandal. Johnson gave up ten hits and a walk and fanned nine.

There were an extraordinary number of long games for Walter as the season wore on. While teams would play 17 percent fewer games in '18, the Big Train pitched exactly three fewer innings (325) than he did the previous year. On July 25 at St. Louis, he took another 1-0 decision, this one slightly shorter than the one in mid-May, in 15 innings.

Ten days later, on August 4, the Big Train pitched his second-longest game of the season, not to mention ever, going 17.1 innings only to lose 7-6 in a bizarre contest on a scorchingly hot day in Detroit. He faced a career-high 64 batters, giving up 16 hits and eight walks. Eleven innings intervened between the sixth and seventh Detroit runs, both driven in by Ty Cobb. Of Johnson's 88 career extra-inning decisions, an astonishing 15 took place in this season. Barney completed nine of them, including five which went 13 innings or longer. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

The 1919 Washington Senators won 56 games, lost 84, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Clark Griffith and played home games at National Park.

Deveaux looks at the 1919 season: Nineteen nineteen was not so successful. Despite some good elements -- solid bat production from the outfielders, and strong pitching performances from Johnson and Grunting Jim Shaw -- the Senators sank to seventh, their lowest standing in ten years. . . .

. . . Walter Johnson's best years had coincided with the decade now ending. He had led the league in strikeouts nine times during the period, and in shutouts and complete games six times. His 265 wins during the decade represented 35 percent of Washington's victories. Now 32, Johnson was supplanted as staff workhorse by Jim Shaw, who logged more innings and appearances than any pitcher in the league. For all of his superior work, though, Shaw finished with a 16-17 slate. While the Washington pitching staff was third-best in the league, the offense lacked punch and Clark Griffith was determined to get some. Clyde Milan and Eddie Foster had slowed down. In finishing seventh, the Senators together hit fewer home runs (24) than Boston's young Babe Ruth (29). (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #82A: Edward P. "Patsy" Gharrity. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1916-1923 and 1929-1930. 513 hits and 20 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He also played some first base and outfield. He had a career OBP of .331. His best season was 1921 as posted a .386 OBP with 55 RBIs in 455 plate appearances.

We will follow Gharrity's SABR biography as it traces his time in Washington: Ed Gharrity was a player, manager, umpire, scout, and coach during his professional career. Invited to spring training with the Washington Senators in 1916, he made an immediate positive impression. Catching for the rookies in an intrasquad game against the regulars in Charlottesville, Virginia, he threw out four would-be base stealers in the 1-1 tie. That started an eight-year stretch with the Senators. The highlight came on June 23, 1919, in Boston. In a battle between two second-division teams, Gharrity went 5-for-5 with a single, two doubles, and his first two major-league home runs. His total of 13 bases set an American League record that was broken by Ty Cobb in 1925. . . .

. . . Gharrity returned to the Senators in 1919 and found both Henry and Ainsmith gone. Val Picinich and Sam Agnew now headed the catching corps. Even so, Gharrity saw action in 60 games behind the plate. Judge was healthy, meaning Gharrity played very little first, finding himself in the outfield for 35 games. In 111 games, he batted .271 and launched his first home runs. It should be noted that Baseball-Reference calls him “Patsy.” That nickname did not become prevalent until 1921. He was “Eddie” for the first part of his career. . . .

Which doesn't explain how "Joe" got on his card!?

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[GeoPoto]

Player #28J: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Deveaux tells us that Griffith's control of the team was under pressure in 1919: In the boardroom, Clark Griffith found out that some of the directors had ideas that were quite different from his own in terms of what steps needed to be taken to improve the ballclub. With the dismal seventh-place showing, there were now calls for the Old Fox's hide. But this baseball team had become too important to Griffith. It occurred to him that if he could somehow gain control of the team, then, quite naturally, he couldn't be fired.

Connie Mack had once introduced Griff to William Richardson, a wealth grain exporter from Philadelphia. With backing Griffith was able to obtain from Richardson, he walked into the Metropolitan National Bank and got a loan for $87,000 that allowed him and Richardson to purchase about 85 percent of the team. They paid $15 a share, a terrific bargain as it would turn out. Taking over as majority owner and president, Griffith was granted the right to speak for Richardson's holdings as if they were his own. To signal his new status as owner, president, and manager of the Washington Senators, League Park, or National Park, was renamed Griffith Stadium and it was at this time that the stands stretching from the infield to the foul poles were made into double-deckers.

Clark Griffith was finally in a position to bring his little ballclub to unprecedented heights during the course of the free-wheeling decade that lay ahead. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #83A: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1919-1928. 1,297 hits and 167 stolen bases in 12 MLB seasons. 1924 and 1947 World Series champion. In 1975, inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Named player-manager of the Washington Senators in 1924 at age 27. "The Boy Wonder" led Washington to World Series victory as "rookie" manger. Managed Washington Senators in 1924-1928, 1935-1942, and 1950-1954. Managed the Detroit Tigers in 1929-1933 and 1955-1956. Managed the Boston Red Sox in 1934. Managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Managed the New York Yankees in 1947-1948, including winning the 1947 world Series. Served as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1959-1960.

Jack Smiles explains how Harris was recruited: (outfielder Frank "Wildfire") Schulte and (first baseman Joe) Judge were still under contract with the Senators (despite being teammates with Bucky on the Baltimore Dry Docks in the fall of 1918). They had manager/owner Clark Griffith's ear and urged him to buy Bucky from (the) Buffalo (Bisons of the International League) for $5,000 but Griffith wasn't interested. . . .

. . . The Bisons were in Binghamton for a series in early August of 1919. Joe Casey, a 31-year-old catcher who had caught eight games for the Senators at the end of the 1918 season, leaned into Bucky on the field before the game. Nodding toward a box alongside the Bison dugout, he said, "(Washington scout, who was actually there to look at pitcher Pat Martin) Joe Engel's here to look you over." . . .

. . . Watching the game that day in Binghamton, Engel saw Bucky get in a fight with a much bigger player after a play at second base. Engel was impressed by the tough little second baseman and in his report to Griffith recommended he consider buying Bucky. Griffith knew of Bucky from Joe Judge and the Dry Docks but didn't consider him a major league-caliber batter. Engel persisted and convinced Griffith to take a look at Bucky for himself.

By the time Griffith got away, the Bisons were back in Buffalo. He left the Senators in Chicago on August 22, probably in the care of Nick Altrock, and caught a train to Buffalo. In the interim Bucky had taken a line drive to his right hand and injured his middle finger, though it wasn't known at the time just how bad the injury was. Bucky just taped the swollen digit to the next one and kept playing. A busted finger was a badge of honor to a mine boy. The day Griffith got to Buffalo, catcher Casey talked to Bucky on the field as he had when Engel was in Binghamton, saying, "there's the Old Fox himself."

Bucky stole a glance at Griffith. Though he was told Griffith was looking him over, he had a hard time buying it. Whether through luck or determination, or both, Bucky had the best day of his minor league career. He went 6-for-6 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and handled 14 chances without an error in a double-header. After the game Griffith and Engel approached Bucky in the dugout just as he was unwrapping his fingers. Griffith complemented Bucky on his play that day and left.

That night (Buffalo manager George "Hooks") Wiltse called Bucky to his room and told him Griffith offered to buy Bucky for $4,500. Although (Bisons owner Joseph) Lannin (Side note: Lannin brought Babe Ruth to Boston as owner of the Red Sox before selling the team to Harry Frazee in 1917) had $5,000 on Bucky's head, Wiltse expected Lannin to make the deal. Later Engel said playing with that injured finger didn't hurt Bucky in Griffith's eyes. The Old Fox liked such gameness. The 6-for-6 day that raised his season average to .282, an all-time high for Bucky, couldn't have hurt. But there was a hitch. (New York Giants manager John) McGraw had an option on a Bison player due him. For a second time he (McGraw) passed on Bucky and chose pitcher Pat "Rosy" Ryan. The sale went through. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1670926410

[GeoPoto]

Player #54H: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux summarizes Johnson's 1919 season: Johnson, who began the season with a 1-0 13-inning white-washing of the A's, his record fifth opening-day shutout, won 20 for the tenth straight year. It was an even 20, against 14 defeats. His dwarflike 1.49 ERA led the majors for the second year in a row, and is particularly remarkable considering 1919 was a year of much-increased hitting, with the league ERA shooting up nearly half a run per game to 3.21. Five of Barney's seven shutouts were by 1-0 scores, and he led the league in strikeouts for the eighth year in a row. On July 24, at Washington against the A's, he had his best inning ever, striking out the side on nine pitches.

In another of the many memorable games of his career, Johnson hooked up with spitballer Jack Quinn on May 11, the first ever legal Sunday baseball game in New York. Walter labored for 12 scoreless innings, retiring 28 consecutive batters and allowing only two hits, pitching to just one batter over the minimum. The game was called off prematurely at 6 P.M., due to New York owner Jacob Ruppert's misinterpretation of the new Sunday law, with the score still 0-0.

Of note is that in this particular game, rookie George Halas was fanned twice by the Big Train. Halas, later to become owner and longtime coach of the Chicago Bears football team, went 0-for-5 in this game, and 2-for-22 for his entire big-league career. These 12-inning shutouts on the part of both Johnson and Jack Quinn were not, however, the biggest story in baseball on May 11, 1919. Over in the other league, Hod Eller of the Cincinnati Reds spun a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[ValKehl]

George, I can't resist showing another 1919 WaJo card in recognition of his leading the majors in ERA and the A.L. in strike outs for 1919.
Best,
Val

[GeoPoto]

Val, no reason to hesitate -- thanks for adding the beautiful Coupon. Speaking of Val's:

Player #84A: Valentine J. "Val" Picinich. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1918-1922. 743 hits and 26 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1916-1917. His most productive season was 1928 with the Cincinnati Reds as he posted a .343 OBP with 35 RBIs in 357 plate appearances. His last season was 1933 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Picinich's SABR biography tracks his time in Washington: For most of five seasons, Val Picinich was Walter Johnson’s personal catcher. He saw action during 18 major-league seasons, never playing in more than the 96 games he played for Cincinnati in 1928 – almost certainly his best year – and only playing as many as half his team’s games in six of the seasons. He caught three no-hitters in his big-league career. He was relatively compact – 5-feet-9 and 165 pounds, right-handed, and hit for a lifetime .258 batting average, quite good for catchers of his time, in 1,037 games in the majors. His career on-base percentage was .334. In April 1918, the Washington Evening Star dubbed him “a chunky chap of only average height, but is as strong as an ox and is a willing worker.” . . .

. . . Clark Griffith of the Washington Senators had been impressed with what he’d seen of Picinich’s work, and – knowing that catcher Ed Gharrity might have to join the service at any time – arranged with Atlanta (the Crackers of the Southern Association) at the end of April 1918 to deliver Picinich on demand. On May 26 he was traded to Washington for three players, intended to serve as backup to Eddie Ainsmith. He arrived just in time to get into the final inning of the second game on May 29. In the July 5 game, he picked one of the Yankees off third base and then singled in the winning run in the ninth inning for a 2-1 win.

Picinich played in 47 games for the 1918 Senators, batting .230 with 12 RBIs. The 1918 season ended early because of the World War; on August 1 Picinich reported to the Navy. He’d enlisted in mid-July. He was back on the Senators’ bench on August 24, on leave from the Navy, and joined the team for eight remaining games, while on furlough. He caught both games on August 25 – one of them Walter Johnson’s 22nd victory of the season – and figured in scoring three runs.

Yeoman third class Picinich was stationed in New York, and with the end of the war, he was told to expect an early discharge. Griffith believed in Picinich; the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that he regarded Picinich as “one of the coming star maskmen of the game” and might make him Walter Johnson’s battery partner. From the time he joined the Washington team for spring training in Augusta – still only 22 years old – Picinich was slated to become first-string catcher (though he faced some competition from Sam Agnew).

For the next four seasons, Picinich caught for the Senators. He enjoyed a very good season in 1919, batting .274, hitting his first three homers, and driving in 22 runs in 80 games. Much was expected of him for 1920, but Gharrity returned and Picinich played in only 48 games, not helping his cause by hitting .203. He did, however, catch the July 1, 1920, game when Walter Johnson no-hit the Boston Red Sox, 1-0. The third no-hitter he caught was for the Red Sox, in 1923.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #74D: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. 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.

Smiles provides an example of how attitudes were evolving in 1919: As the 1919 season opened, Rice showed little rust from his summer away from the game. Batting cleanup and back in his customary right field spot to start the season, Rice had his first three-hit game just five games into the season, in a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox. In late May, he made three spectacular catches in a row against the Yankees, in a game that saw him also smack three base hits. By mid-summer, Sam had really found his groove, putting together a seventeen-game hitting streak in July.

Rice was beginning to come into his own as a hitter and an outfielder, but was doing so in an odd transition year for major league baseball.

Maybe the culture was ripe in 1919 for a scandal like the one that was to soon devastate the game. In the aftermath of the World War, some Americans were still attempting to sort through their feelings about fierce competition. In the post-victory glow, brotherhood among Americans seemed to be preferred over cutthroat competitiveness, even on the field of play. That was illustrated by the reaction to Rice's actions at the plate in a mid-August game against the Red Sox.

In the seventh inning of a tight game, Rice came to the plate. Senators base runners stood on first and second, and the customs of the game in those last throes of the "dead-ball era" dictated that he sacrifice both teammates up a base. Boston third baseman Joe "Moon" Harris, a future teammate of Rice's, accordingly crept up onto the grass.

Like Rice, Harris was a veteran of the war in Europe. He had missed the entire 1918 campaign in service to the cause.

"Did Rice bunt?" reported the Washington Post. "He did not. Instead, he crossed Harris by whistling a line drive past him at a rate of ten miles a minute."

Because both men were veterans of the same war, it was felt that Rice had a gentleman's obligation to take care of Harris in the situation. Instead, he had embarrassed the Boston third baseman by slamming the ball past him.

Or so the newspaper felt.

"Sam Rice ought to be ashamed of himself," the Post said, "to take advantage of a fellow overseas veteran like Joe Harris as he did in the seventh."

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671185154

[ValKehl]

George, your W514 of Sam Rice is gorgeous - by far the nicest I've ever seen!

Here are 3 off-condition, but scarce, back variations of this card that I'm thrilled to have in the master set of Rice's cards that I'm working on:

[GeoPoto]

Wow, Val. Very impressive. Thanks for sharing your rare examples. Makes you wonder how many different backs there once was. I'm curious whether you have seen other W514 backs with printed messages (as opposed to stamped)?

Player #85: Frank M. "Wildfire" Schulte. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1918. 1,766 hits and 92 home runs in 15 MLB seasons. 1907 and 1908 World Series champion. 1911 NL MVP. 1910 and 1911 NL home run leader. 1911 NL RBI leader. He debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1904-1916. His best season was 1911 with Chicago as he posted a .384 OBP with 107 RBI's and 105 runs scored in 690 plate appearances. He played on four pennant winners in Chicago and hit .321 in the four World Series. His last season was with Washington in 1918.

Schulte's SABR biography hits some of the highlights of his career: Frank M. Schulte was the slugging right fielder for the great Chicago Cubs teams of 1906-10. After his first start on September 21, 1904, “Wildfire” remained with the Windy City club until 1916, and outlasted the likes of Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, and Joe Tinker, who by the end of Schulte’s days in Chicago, was managing the club. . . .

. . . While performing solidly during regular seasons, Wildfire hit full stride during his four World Series appearances. He owns a .309 lifetime average in the Fall Classic, hitting safely in all ten contests in the 1907 and 1908 championships and in all but one game in both the 1906 and 1910 season cappers. Wedged in his four Series appearances is Schulte’s thirteen game hitting streak, a record mark in his day that remains good enough to place him in a tie for fifth (with Harry Hooper) all-time in that category as of 2018.

No look at Schulte’s career is complete without mentioning his blockbuster 1911 campaign. Though the Cubs dropped to second in the final standings that season, Wildfire’s individual exploits earned him a new automobile, the prize for being voted the National League winner of the Chalmer’s Award, a short-lived honor that is roughly equivalent to today’s MVP award. On his way to establishing ownership of the “tin lizzy” (which ironically caught on fire near his plantation sometime later) Schulte mounted one of the era’s great assaults on National League pitching.

He had led the Cubs in homers in 1910 with ten, but, perhaps aided by a somewhat livelier “bulb” in 1911, the Cub right fielder clubbed twenty-one round trippers while driving home 121, both tops in the league. His league bests that year also included 308 total bases and a .534 slugging percentage. He was fourth in hits (173), fifth in runs (105), and became the first player ever to top the twenty mark in the categories of home runs, triples (21), doubles (30), and stolen bases (23). This feat was not duplicated until 1957 when Willie Mays similarly scorched the National League. For good measure, Schulte became the first player ever to clout four grand slams in one season, hit for the cycle on July 20, smashed a homer and a double in the same inning on August 15, and, perhaps surprisingly to modern fans weaned on sluggers who can’t and don’t bunt, was second in the league with thirty-one sacrifices. Finally, despite playing all 154 Cubs games that season, Wildfire even found time to get hitched; he married Mabel Kirby on June 26 in Chicago.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671271330

[ValKehl]

George, I am aware of there being a couple of known W514 cards with a printed ad on the back for Robinson Caruso Salted Peanuts that were issued by a Lynchburg, VA, company, but I've never seen one of these cards in person. Here's the link to info re these cards: http://boblemke.blogspot.com/2015/11...f-w514-ha.html

[Kawika]

Here are a few Wildfire Schulte cards for the heck of it. Nothing in Senators flannels however.

[GeoPoto]

Thanks again to Val and David for contributing.

The 1920 Washington Senators won 68 games, lost 84, and finished in sixth place in the American League. They were managed by Clark Griffith and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Deveaux tells us about Washington's struggles in 1920: The Washington Nats, in the middle of the pack offensively, featured the worst pitching staff in the league and finished sixth in 1920, 29 games behind the Indians. Clark Griffith's skills in recognizing talent were beginning to show results all the same. The previous year, Griff had nearly signed Pie Traynor, a future Hall of Famer then at third base for the Pirates. The management of the Portsmouth club of the Virginia League had apparently doubled the price on Traynor despite an earlier agreement.

In the fall of 1919, Griffith was more fortunate. Both he and Joe Engel went to Buffalo to scout an infielder who played for a shipyard team in Baltimore and who had been highly recommended to them by Joe Judge. In the doubleheader they witnessed, this player, Stanley "Bucky" Harris, had an outstanding day at the plate, and did so with two fingers taped together because one was broken -- Harris wasn't going to miss a chance to show what he could do. Needless to say, Bucky Harris was signed, and as a rookie in the big leagues in 1920 he hit an even .300 and fielded reliably.

There is no telling what 32-year-old Walter Johnson might have accomplished in 1920 had he been at the top of his game. The Senators provided plenty of runs, but the Big Train responded with the worst campaign of his career. Afflicted with a sore arm after more than two weeks of rail travel while training in the South, he missed a season-opening assignment for the first time since 1911. He would wind up a disappointing 8-10. On May 14, he did register the 300th win of his career, a 9-8 decision over the Tigers, but kept alternating good performances with bad throughout the season. Not one Washington starter had better than a .500 record -- Tom Zachary logged the most innings and charted the best mark on the staff, 15-16. A Quaker who farmed tobacco in his native North Carolina, Zachary's smooth delivery would bring 15 or more wins to the Nats in three of the next four years. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[ValKehl]

Not many cards of WaJo were issued in 1920, but there was this D327 Type 1:

[GeoPoto]

Thanks Val.

Player #86: Elmer W. Bowman. First baseman for the Washington Senators in 1920. He had two MLB pinch-hit plate appearances with one walk and one run scored. He never took the field.

Elmer Bowman is in the finals for who got the smallest drop of coffee. He got two pinch hitting opportunities and though he made an out and walked once for a career OBP of .500, he was replaced at first base following his walk by a pinch runner. He never played the field. And still . . . He faced the 1920 Indians, who would win that year's World Series, two weeks before Ray Chapman was killed by a pitched ball. He stepped in against Cleveland's ace Jim Bagby, on his way to a league-leading 31 wins that season, and flew out to Tris Speaker. He faced Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Chicago White Sox as rumors swirled regarding the previous year's World Series that would ultimately paint the team black. Time would reveal that he stepped in against one of the prominent Black Sox culprits, Lefty Williams and drew a walk.

He is also a member of the University of Vermont Hall of fame.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671444218

[GeoPoto]

Player #82B: Edward P. "Patsy" Gharrity. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1916-1923 and 1929-1930. 513 hits and 20 home runs in 10 MLB seasons. He also played some first base and outfield. He had a career OBP of .331. His best season was 1921 as posted a .386 OBP with 55 RBIs in 455 plate appearances.

Gharrity's SABR biography: . . . Gharrity and Griffith had discussed salary before Eddie returned to Beloit. Griffith, thinking they were in agreement, had sent Gharrity home with a contract to sign and a $250 bonus in his pocket. Gharrity decided not to sign and held out for an additional $500. He even announced that he would play independent ball in Beloit. Griffith responded by asking all the teams under the National Commission to boycott Beloit and not play there. Finally, on March 12, Gharrity accepted Griffith’s terms and headed to camp. . . .

The Senators opened the 1920 season with Picinich and Gharrity the main catchers. Cuban utilityman Ricardo Torres was the third catcher if needed. Gharrity won the Opening Day spot and played 121 games at catcher. He hit three home runs, all on the road. Eddie would have had a fourth on September 12 in Chicago except for a baserunning gaffe by Frank Ellerbe. Ellerbe was on base when Gharrity drove one to deep left. When a roar went up, Ellerbe assumed the ball had been caught and went to shortstop instead of rounding the bases. Gharrity batted .245 in 428 at-bats, his career high. . . .

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671530791

[GeoPoto]

Player #54I: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux covers Johnson's 1920 season: In apparent defiance of all logic, it was during this troubled season (Johnson's career worst) that Walter Johnson threw the only no-hitter of his entire career. It was July 1, at Fenway Park in Boston, on his son Walter, Jr.'s fifth birthday. Johnson Sr., had in fact been detained that day because the young lad was feeling ill. The 13-year vet struck out ten and only five balls were hit beyond the infield. There were no walks, but it was not a perfect game. In the seventh, Bucky Harris missed what was by all accounts a soft grounder off the bat of future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper, who led off the inning for the Red Sox. Had that not happened, Johnson would have pitched the third perfect game in modern baseball history (since 1901) up to that time. The others had been authored by Cy Young, in 1904, and Addie Joss, in 1908.

The Big Train's best game of the year until then had been his previous start, a three-hit, no walk masterpiece in a 7-0 pasting of their Athletics, who thereby lost their 18th straight game. Johnson required only 72 pitches, and it was all over in just one hour and 18 minutes -- the most efficient game of his career. The win was the seventh in a row for the Nats and moved them past the Red Sox and into fourth place. But following the no hitter in his next start, there were no more heroics in store for Walter, who was plagued by a sore arm for the rest of the year.

In a way, Bucky Harris was heroic in Johnson's no-hit game as well, as it was he who drove in the game's only run, and Joe Judge saved the day in the ninth when, after Johnson had struck out two pinch hitters, the dangerous Hooper pulled a liner that Judge leaped for and caught cleanly off the ground. In no position to get to get to first in time to outrace Hooper, Judge had to relay to Johnson. The Big Train came in all right, and caught Judge's relay to nip Hooper. For extra theatrics, Johnson caught the ball with his bare hand. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.) (Note: Deveaux's use of "Hooper pulled a liner that Judge leaped for and caught cleanly off the ground" seems odd to me. Presumably, he describes a ball that bounced at least once before it got to Judge.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671617289
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[GeoPoto]

As near as I can tell, the fourth card shown is mislabeled by PSA as a W516 2-2: It appears (to me at least) as though it is actually a W516 2-1. The fifth card shown appears to be labeled correctly as a W516 2-2. Alas, I do not have a W516 2-3 to complete the quintet.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

As near as I can tell, the fourth card shown is mislabeled by PSA as a W516 2-2: It appears (to me at least) as though it is actually a W516 2-1. The fifth card shown appears to be labeled correctly as a W516 2-2. Alas, I do not have a W516 2-3 to complete the quintet.

George, you are correct. The fourth card is a W516-2-1. Here is a W516-2-3 to complete the quintet:

[GeoPoto]

Thanks go to Val for completing the strange 5-card run of W516 Walter Johnson's from 1920-21.

Player #56F: George F. "Pinch" McBride. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1908-1920. 1,203 hits, 7 home runs, and 133 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901. Has the lowest batting average of any player with 5,000 MLB at-bats. Managed the Washington Senators in 1921 but was struck in the face by a line drive during batting practice and forced to retire.

. . . Fittingly, as the Deadball Era wound down, so did McBride’s playing career. He was replaced as the Senators’ regular shortstop in 1917 by Howard Shanks, reducing his playing time to 50 games that season. He remained on the roster through 1920, but saw his playing time further curtailed, never again playing in more than 18 games in a season. However, his primary role with the Senators during these final seasons was not as a player, but as a “manager in training” under the watchful eye of Clark Griffith. During this time he served as an instructor to the team’s younger infielders, as a base coach, and as a fill-in as manager when Griffith was away from the team scouting or tending to other front office duties. Prior to the 1921 season, Griffith stepped away from his on-field duties and appointed McBride the new team manager, the first in a long line of ex-Washington players to take the reins for Griffith. . . .

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671704278

[GeoPoto]

Today's entry is made possible by the generous contribution of Val Kehl who provides images of today's card, a D327-1 Holsum Bread Sam Rice from 1920:

Player #74E: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. 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 highlights Rice's 1920 season: Though Rice had shown promise in his previous two full seasons, the 1920 campaign was a breakthrough for him. Rice turned 30 years old two months before the season began, but played like a man entering the physical prime of his mid-twenties. He had 211 hits, the first of six times he'd reach the magic two hundred-hit mark during his career. Not that Rice was any kind of free swinger before, but he was getting the bat on the ball even more in 1920, striking out just twenty-six times in 624 at-bats. And he was durable, leading the team with 153 games played. In all of Rice's full seasons as an outfielder, in fact, he had led Washington in games played.

He also, once again, managed to finish among the top ten in the American League in hitting. Curiously, Rice's .338 final mark put him eighth in the league -- in 1917, he had finished eighth, as well, but batted just .302. It seemed that Rice wasn't the only American Leaguer in 1920 who was improving his hitting, however. (Lagging a little behind, the National League saw Brooklyn's Ed Konetchy finished eighth in that league with a much more modest .308 mark.) In a year and a league in which offense increased so dramatically, Rice managed to stay in the top five of the American League in batting for most of the summer. Well into August, the newspaper listings of the American League top five in hitting read the same almost every day -- Tris Speaker, followed by George Sisler, then Joe Jackson, Babe Ruth, and Rice. The first four spent a lot of the season flirting with the .400 mark. Rice couldn't seem to surpass his high-water mark of .370, a mark he actually reached as late as August 1 after a 4-for-5 game at Cleveland. . . .

. . . There were other memorable personal moments for Rice throughout the season. On June 26, Rice collected the 500th hit of his career. The fact was noted by the local press, curiously so since years later, fatefully, no one would seem to notice when he moved to the brink of 3,000 career hits. And his fielding prowess in the outfield was beginning to draw some attention, as well. A newspaper account of the team's July 25 game against the Philadelphia Athletics, a 4-3 Washington victory, noted "another one of his brilliant catches." In late August, he made a breath-taking one-handed catch in the deepest part of center field in Washington to rob Chicago's Eddie Collins of an extra-base hit. (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #87A: Herold D. "Muddy" Ruel. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1930. 1,242 hits and 61 stolen bases in 19 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1915. He was the Yankees catcher in 1920 when Ray Chapman was hit and killed by a Carl Mays fastball. He scored the tying run in regulation and then the winning run in the 12th inning of game seven in the 1924 WS. His best season was 1923 with Washington as he posted a .394 OBP with 54 RBI's and 63 runs scored in 528 plate appearances. His final season as a player was 1934 with the Chicago White Sox. He was manager of the St. Louis Browns in 1947. He was GM of the Detroit Tigers in 1954-1956.

Ruel's SABR biography: Ruel spent the remainder of the 1918 season and all of 1919 and 1920 with the New York Yankees. The Yankees were not yet the powerhouse they would later become. Babe Ruth was still with Boston and the Yankees had yet to appear in a World Series.

On August 16, 1920, Ruel was a witness to one of the most tragic events in baseball history. Ruel was behind the plate when Carl Mays’ fateful pitch struck and killed Ray Chapman.

Later in the season, Ruel described the tragic event in detail to his old friend John B. Sheridan, who used Ruel’s insights for his column in The Sporting News. He made it clear in his eye-witness account that Carl Mays was not guilty of trying to kill Chapman. Ruel’s assessment was that it was a tragic accident.

(Aside: My grandson's surname is Chapman, which has given impetus to a small portion of my collecting. As a result, I wound up with this photo, despite it violating my well defined, but somewhat flexible, collection boundaries. I am including it here out of respect for the 1920 tragedy and Ruel's eventual role in Washington baseball history. This photograph served as the source image for Ruel's 1922 E120 American Caramel card.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1671876473

[GeoPoto]

Player #88A: 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.

Deveaux tells about one of Schacht's debut moments: Walter's (Johnson) arm hurt so much after this game (the game in which he no-hit the Red Sox) that he was not able to make his next start, the second game of a doubleheader, which was to follow a morning game against the Yankees at Griffith Stadium. Clark Griffith had advertised that Walter would be pitching, and he was hard up for someone to put out there as an emergency replacement. Asking for conscripts, he chose among the volunteers a grass-green rookie named Al Schacht. A New Yorker, Schacht would later write that he had sent Clark Griffith several letters in the past, in the manner effectively employed by Ty Cobb about fifteen years earlier. Schacht, who had simply signed the letters, "A. Fan," had begged Griff to scout a young phenom named Al Schacht.

We wouldn't be telling this story, naturally, if Schacht hadn't beaten the league's best offensive team that day. Babe Ruth, who would lead the league with his unbelievable total of 54 home runs, was the first to get a hit off Schacht -- in the fourth inning. Schacht came away with a seven-hitter and a 9-3 win, and needless to say, his pitching skills and penmanship earned him a tidy contract from Griffith for 1921. In this way began a playing career cut short by a sore arm, but followed by his very long run as a baseball comedian.

Widely recognized as the "Clown Prince of Baseball," Schacht became a full-time baseball comic in 1921, teaming up with Nick Altrock, coach and resident clown. The two revived some of the routines Altrock had first performed with Germany Schaefer. Eventually, Schacht would strike out on his own, touring major- and minor-league ballparks across America. His act, part pantomime and part anecdotes, got him bookings at 25 World Series and 18 All-Star games. During World War II, he would tour Europe, Africa and the Pacific theater with the USO. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[sb1]

Read thru this entire thread. A very in depth collection of cards and player history.

I will add a few more images from the W600 Series.

[Kawika]

Great show, Scott.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by sb1

Read thru this entire thread. A very in depth collection of cards and player history.

I will add a few more images from the W600 Series.

Scott, I was aware that you had a very nice collection of W600s, but WOWZERS!!

While not nearly as gorgeous as any of Scott's W600s, but just as scarce, is this rough 1925 W504 Universal Toy & Novelty card of Al Schacht & Nick Altrock.

This National Photo of Schacht & Altrock appears in the Senators' 1924 WS Program.

[GeoPoto]

Scott, I am delighted to see your fantastic run of W600 cards featuring Nationals players. Is that just the Washington entries in a much larger collection of W600's, or do you have a focus on Washington cards in the set? Either way it is an amazing collection of high-quality cards. Thank you for showing them here.

You too, Val, I am continually amazed by the things you come up with. Thanks for helping. Meanwhile:

The 1921 Washington Senators won 80 games, lost 73, and finished in fourth place in the American League. They were managed by George McBride and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Deveaux addresses the 1921 season which favored the Yankees and their new slugger over the Nats: McBride had an improving squad on his hands, and was able to guide the Nats to an 11.5-game improvement in the standings. They finished fourth, only a half game behind the Browns, but a full 18 games back of the Yankees. Babe Ruth arguably had the best season of his entire career in 1921, and that's saying something. Ruth had the kind of season only he has ever had in baseball history: 59 home runs, 171 RBIs, a .378 batting average, and an awesome .846 slugging percentage in 540 at-bats. It would remain his career best (Babe also had 540 at-bats in 1927, when he produced 60 homers, 164 ribbies, a .356 average, and slugged at .772.)

By contrast, the Senators in 1921 hit only 42 homers as a team. In fact, the Babe on his own hit more homers than any entire team except the Browns and the last-place A's. On May 7 of this season, Ruth slammed a drive toward center field off Walter Johnson; it was believed to be the longest ever in Washington up to that point. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[sb1]

These were the Washington players that had not yet been shown in the thread, I did not post the others that had previously been shown by others nor a very low grade Milan.

I am not a Washington collector, these are just part of my W600's.

[sb1]

While I am posting here's another Washington HOFer, I don't think I saw a T204 Johnson in the posts.

[GeoPoto]

Scott: Thanks for the input, your W600 collection must be out of this world. And yes, I do not own a T204 of Walter (or a CJ), which are annoying holes in my collection that have been getting harder to fill of late, so thanks for adding yours to this thread. I'm editing this to add a Wow regarding Scott's T204. What a beautiful card!

Also, thank you for giving me an opening to show a Walter card I did add recently and (I don't think) has been shown yet -- from 1910 a well-loved E-91C (a side benefit of introducing Walter's E91-C is it gives Brian another opportunity to point out that Walter is a dead-ringer for one of the Pittsburgh players):

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[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Also, thank you for giving me an opening to show a Walter card I did add recently and (I don't think) has been shown yet -- from 1910 a well-loved E-91C (a side benefit of introducing Walter's E91-C is it gives Brian another opportunity to point out that Walter is a dead-ringer for one of the Pittsburgh players):

Hi George, the A's, not Pittsburgh, but Rube always wanted to play for Washington, I just know it!

Brian

[GeoPoto]

Player #89A: 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.

Deveaux explains how the Senators made another key addition in 1921: Later on in the 1921 season, with Blackie O'Rourke not hitting or fielding adequately, the eagle-eyed scout Engel went on a hunt for a shortstop. In Peoria, Illinois, he was impressed with the talents of a young 20-year-old named Ossie Bluege. But Bluege had been noticed before, and the Philadelphia Athletics had decided not to sign him after he had injured his knee while still in negotiations with them. Joe Engel's approach was a novel one -- he challenged Bluege to a race. When Bluege beat him handily, the deal was closed the very same night. Bluege, a serious type and an outstanding gloveman, would last 18 years in a Washington Senators uniform. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #90A: 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.

Deveaux continues with the strengthening of the Senators roster: On the lookout for the left-handed slugger the Senators sorely needed, Griffith learned that the Columbia club of the Sally (South Atlantic) League was willing to part with a hard-hitting 20-year-old outfielder who just happened to hit lefty. Griffith sent Joe Engel to scout the outfielder, but nothing came of it.

While playing golf in nearby Baltimore about a month later, Griffith learned from a Baltimore Oriole stockholder that Orioles owner Jack Dunn, who had been the man who signed Babe Ruth to his first professional contract, was about to pay $5,500 for a Sally League outfielder. Griffith knew Dunn would not part with such a huge sum easily so, as the Old Fox enjoyed retelling later on, he remarked to his Baltimore golf partner at the time that "whatsisname" sure seemed to be the answer for Jack Dunn's lineup. Griffith snapped his fingers, feigning frustration at being unable to recall the player's name. He got the name -- Leon Goslin, the same player Joe Engel had scouted earlier.

Engel was on the next train to South Carolina to better Jack Dunn's offer. Goslin was reportedly hit on the head by a fly ball in the one game Engel witnessed, but he also smacked three homers. For Goslin, this would pretty well set the trend for a primarily good-hit-no-field type of career. Nicknamed "Goose" (not so much because of his name as for his frantic arm waving whenever he chased a fly ball), Goslin signed Engel's contract and would become the franchise's greatest slugger.

Here was a line-drive hitter with enough power to frequently drive the ball for home runs, as well as for numerous doubles and triples. Goslin would carve himself a niche in the Baseball Hall of Fame with a .316 career batting average and .500 slugging percentage. He would drive in 100 or more runs 11 times. It would be understating the point to say that the reported $6,000 purchase price for Goose Goslin was money well spent by Clark Griffith. This was quite a notable deal, especially in light of the fact that with Griffith, when there was money involved in a transaction -- and there often was -- it was usually going into his pocket. The Old Fox described his situation best, and he said it frequently: he never knew what morning the sheriff was going to knock on his door and tell him he was taking over. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #83B: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1919-1928. 1,297 hits and 167 stolen bases in 12 MLB seasons. 1924 and 1947 World Series champion. In 1975, inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Named player-manager of the Washington Senators in 1924 at age 27. "The Boy Wonder" led Washington to World Series victory as "rookie" manger. Managed Washington Senators in 1924-1928, 1935-1942, and 1950-1954. Managed the Detroit Tigers in 1929-1933 and 1955-1956. Managed the Boston Red Sox in 1934. Managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Managed the New York Yankees in 1947-1948, including winning the 1947 world Series. Served as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1959-1960.

Smiles presents Harris' 1921 season: Bucky stayed hot in the early going (of the 1921 season) and the scribes noticed: "Bucky Harris is being groomed as the successor to Eddie Collins as the premier second sacker in the American League. The lightning-like stride of Harris in engineering double plays has given him a new first choice among sportswriters as the new Collins. Stan is a phenom and soon may be classed with Eddie Collins and Ross Barnes as the super second basemen of all time. Leading the league in stolen bases, batting around .500, and never failing to come through with a hit or near hits when men are on and contributing sensational plays in every game, his work is astonishing the most jaded." (The Sporting News, April 28, 1921.)

An example of Bucky's Collins-like playing made it into the New York Times: "Harris dropped a drenched blanket on the crowd's hopes in the eighth inning of the game at the Polo Grounds when he made a glistening stop of Baker's hot shot off his right hand. His throw to first was wide and high, for he had no time to get set for it; but Judge came to the rescue with a neat one-handed nab. Spectacular, but very unjust." . . .

. . . Bucky didn't miss a game in '21. He led the American League in double plays by second basemen and was second in putouts and assists to the A's J1mmy Dykes. He batted .289 with a .367 on-base average, led the league in being hit by pitches again, was second in stolen bases, and scored 82 runs. Bucky started the season batting fifth. By August he was batting second regularly. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #54J: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

Deveaux sums up Johnson's 1921 season: Erratic throughout this season, Johnson settled down and won five of his last six starts. One of those victories was a 1-0 whitewashing of the Browns in which he faced the minimum 27 batters for only the second time in his career. While the great pitcher's era of sheer dominance had come to an end, his career was by no means over. He still led the majors in strikeouts, and there were two 20-win seasons three years off in the future. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

We will now pause briefly: expected restart -- 1 January 2023.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #73B: 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 begins with his role in one of Walter Johnson's great moments: On July 1, 1920, Walter Johnson was attempting to complete a feat that had thus far eluded him in his thirteen-year career. The Washington Senator hurler was one out away from pitching his first no-hitter. Johnson was pitching a great game, striking out 10 Red Sox hitters and getting six others to foul out. He was clinging to a 1-0 lead in front of a small crowd of 3,000 at Fenway Park.

Standing in his way was Boston’s right fielder, Harry Hooper. Hooper was the only Red Sox to reach base, courtesy of a fielding error by second baseman Bucky Harris. He had also struck out in a previous confrontation between the future residents of Cooperstown. But Hooper was not caught up in the moment, and ripped Johnson’s second offering down the first base line that crossed the bag and was hooking into foul territory. First baseman Joe Judge quickly moved to his left, speared the ball, stopped and made a perfect toss to Johnson covering the base. The Big Train snagged the toss bare-handed. Judge was so excited, he went into a war-dance and congratulated Johnson, who could only say “Goodness, gracious, sakes alive, wasn’t I lucky?”

Joe Judge created that kind of “luck” for pitchers his whole career with his superb defense. He was a great fielder, leading American League first baseman six times and finishing second five other years. He was not the prototypical first sacker, standing 5’8 ½”, but he was one of the game’s best. He retired with a .993 fielding percentage, a mark that stood for 30 years, but his defense was only part of the tale. The left-handed swinging Judge brought a lethal stick to the Washington lineup, hitting over .290 for 11 straight seasons beginning in 1920. Yes, Joe Judge was the complete ballplayer, and one of the best first baseman of his era, or any other.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #91A: George E. "Duffy" Lewis. Left fielder with the Washington Senators in 1921. 1,518 hits and 38 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. Member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. He debuted with Boston in 1910-1917. He teamed with Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper to comprise Boston's "Million-Dollar Outfield". During his tenure, the Red Sox won three World Series championships. He was so admired for his defense playing in front of the Green Monster, that the incline leading up to the wall in left field became known as "Duffy's Cliff". The incline was reduced in 1934 and eliminated in 2005. His most productive season was 1912 as he posted a .346 OBP with 109 RBIs in 664 plate appearances.

Lewis' SABR biography summarizes his time in Boston: For decades after they last played together, the Boston Red Sox’ outfield of Duffy Lewis, Tris Speaker, and Harry Hooper, who toiled next to each other for six years in the Deadball Era, was often considered the greatest in baseball history. Although all three, especially Speaker, were fine hitters, their reputation was due largely to their exceptional defensive play. Lewis, the left fielder and the only one of the three not in baseball’s Hall of Fame, was long remembered for the way he played the incline at the base of Fenway Park’s left-field wall, a slope of grass that bore the name “Duffy’s Cliff.” Hooper thought Lewis was the best of the three “at making the backhand running catch at balls hit over his head.” A powerful left-handed batter, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Lewis typically batted behind Speaker in the cleanup position, and often ranked among American League leaders in home runs and runs batted in.

When Boston’s Fenway Park was built in 1912, the ten-foot embankment in deep left field was one of its most interesting trademarks. Lewis covered this ground for six years, and became its master. “I’d go out to the ballpark mornings,” he told a sportswriter, “and have somebody hit the ball again and again out to the wall. I experimented with every angle of approach up the cliff until I learned to play the slope correctly. Sometimes it would be tougher coming back down the slope than going up. With runners on base, you had to come off the cliff throwing.” The slope remained until 1933, when Fenway Park was thoroughly renovated.

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