Hall of Fame - Pro Replay History

Turning down the chance to be a bank clerk, his father’s profession, Frank Albanese came up as a slow and clumsy shortstop for New York. He spent 2 years in the minor leagues honing his skills in the field before getting a chance to play in the big leagues. The Giants had Rich Gloucester at shortstop, and in 1920 took over for the successful veteran, and he bloomed, winning Rookie of the Year. He would anchor the left side of the Giants’ infield for the next decade, breaking the mold for his position. Albanese proved a rare combination of skillful fielding and a powerful stroke – 9 times he topped 15 home runs in a season, something only 3 other men have done even once. His 246 homers placed him 8th all time when he retired, with no other middle infielder coming remotely close. Spitting his time between the Giants and Yankees, he won three rings and two gold glove awards rounding out an incredibly balanced career.

He's a seven-day-a-week ballplayer.

Darby Hoffman

Frank Barbuto
IF
1915-1933
VC

Barbuto broke into baseball with a splash – he was named a starter for the champion Washington Senators at the age of 17. Barbuto hit .322 that first year, and racked up over 400 hits before he even turned 20. After only 4 years with the Senators he was sent to Detroit where he continued to crank out hits – over 3,000 of them. Barbuto only got better as the years went on, putting up his best numbers in his 30s. At age 32 he hit .382, his best career mark, and pounded out 232 hits. For many years, Barbuto was seen as the natural claimant to Royal Chesterfield’s career hit mark, but the early start to his career and extensive playoff experience left him burnt out at an early age. Frank’s last full season was at the age of 34, and he retired well short of Chesterfield’s record target.

He worked out for us when he was just sixteen. I thought he was too young, but I asked Tom [Stahl] what he thought. Tom just said "I think he can hit."

Waldo Weaver

Herman "Ham" Iburg
P
1905-1921
VC

Iburg was a steady, humorous junkballer whose long life in the first division gained him entrance to the select 300-win club. With Chicago's lineup packed with hitters like Rooney and its staff stacked with Luck and Sanders, Iburg would make 6 trips to the World Series with the Cubs. After being traded to Washington, Ham again culled benefit from the sticks of Abercrombie and Chesterfield, along with the arm of Jurgen Verherrsch, pitching in 3 more Series. His totals in those 9 playoff bouts are masterful: 9 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA barely over 2.

Iburg’s great humor and lightness made him just as valuable as his indestructible arm. In both Chicago and Washington, as well as in his brief stint in Cincinnati, Iburg became a quick fan favorite and a joy to his teammates, constantly joking and creating a buzz of unadulterated joy. Ham loved to win and loved to pitch, but even more he just loved coming to the park every day, and he made sure everyone knew it. His 303 wins and 5 championship rings were just icing on the cake.

Ham is funniest goddamm guy I've ever known. Had a pretty good arm, too.

Jeff Loughran

Gabriel Poe
P
1910-1927
VC

Poe pitched with grace, economy, and style. Nothing he did was overpowering; everything he did was tantalizingly effective. A typical Poe game had quite a few strikeouts, but only a few walks. He was hittable. Over 18 years, he allowed a hit an inning, yet those hits somehow produced only 3.25 earned runs a game. He seemed to give up many lazy flies to the outfield. Even-tempered, Poe never got rattled under pressure. He threw with an effortless, unvarying motion, and it was said that a peek inside his head would reveal the weakness of every batter in the league. He pitched 28 shutouts. Originally an unpromising first baseman, Poe found his true talent on the mound, pitching a no-hitter in 1906 in a junior league, which his catcher, Will Stahl, brought to the attention of his father, Tom. Word got around to Boston, and only 18 when he joined the Braves, Poe steadily improved. He anchored the 1920 champion club, and 2 years later had his legendary 27-4 season.

He could throw strikes at midnight. I never saw another pitcher who could so fascinate the opposition the way Poe did.

Mike Woolf

Joseph Tempkin
P
1926-1938
VC

After making a name for himself as a sandlot pitcher, Tempkin signed for $200 a month with Indianapolis in 1920. They optioned him to Canton in the Central League, where he won 23 and lost 13. After he won his first Indianapolis start, 2 to 1, against Kansas City in 1908, a newspaper account said, "He is so tall and skinny (6'3" 180-lbs) he looks like a big number one when he stands on the mound, like he’s got an axe for an arm ready to chop down anyone who dares challenge him." They called him Chop ever after.

Tempkin relied more on control and a forkball changeup than his fastball. "Any hitter can hit a fast one," he said. "But not many can hit slow ones." No matter how many innings he racked up, Chop claimed he never had a sore arm. In 1927 he pitched a shutout against Detroit in one hour, 16 minutes. After a 6 years with Chicago, he missed his old coach, Brick Haggerty, and was getting tired of Howie Hamish's riding. With Hamish's permission, he arranged his own trade to Boston. He bounced around after Boston, splitting time between Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Washington, and New York and retired at the age of 35.

His fastball was so fast that by the time you'd made up your mind whether it would be a strike or not, it just wasn't there anymore.

Bernie Slovack

1945

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Isaac Flick
SS
1905-1920
VC

One of baseball's most colorful and best-loved characters, Flick rose from breaker boy in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields to the Hall of Fame. The redheaded, freckled firebrand wore a major league uniform for more than two decades as a player and coach. He also earned a law degree and built a successful off-season legal practice. Flick's best years came as captain of the powerful, brawling Philadelphia Phillies, National League champions twice in 4 years, 1909 and 1912, and winners of the 1912 World Series. Operating within and outside the rules, Flick and teammates Joel Praetorius, Alfred Reed, David Organ, and Stony Lynch were the scourge of opponents and umpires.

Though durable, Flick suffered an incredible string of mishaps on and off the field. He was often the victim of nagging injuries; 4 times he missed over 30 games in a season. Two skull fractures, one the result of an accidental dive into an empty swimming pool, slowed but did not stop him. A nervous breakdown after the 1920 season, however, brought his baseball days to an end.

Few were better or more deadly with two strikes than Flick. He just waited for the pitch he wanted and lashed into it.

Sportswriter Arthur Daly

Gerald "Jolly" Rodgers
P
1901-1918
VC

Rodgers was a man of contrasts. Playing his entire 18-year career in the National League with St. Louis, his career consisted of many brilliant seasons punctuated by an occasional goose egg. Rodgers had seasons of 28-13 an d 25-7, but also 6-15 and 7-21. He was beloved in his early days with the club, but unceremoniously dumped when they no longer had use for him.

Contemporary accounts describe him as a Virginia gentleman of easy charm and boyish humor. In teammates' memories, he was a fierce competitor, crafty on the mound, but hot-tempered after a loss and destructive to clubhouse furniture.

Great big, strong, good-looking fellow. He threw a spitball -- I think that ball disintegrated on the way to the plate and the catcher put it back together again. I swear, when it went past the plate it was just the spit went by.

Saul Koeppel

Chuck Sciarraba
SS
1913-1929
VC

Sciarraba was the classic shortstop. He had quick hands for a ground ball or a deft tag, quickness afoot for covering a middle infielder's territory, and quick-wittedness for lightning response to defensive opportunity. At bat, he was a dexterous lefty, ideal for the leadoff or second spot. In his time, he was considered by most to be better than Flick, which meant he was the best. A beauty from the start, he was a key player in the 1913 Senators’ pennant drive and five subsequent AL championships. Chuck was renowned for his consistency – 17 years with a single team, playing a single position, and by the time he retired, racking up more hits and runs than any shortstop in history. Known as a great cog in a system filled with superstars, Sciarraba’s election to the Hall of Fame cements his place as a great unto himself.

Oh, my yes, Chuck is the best there is in the clutch. With a man on third and one out, I'd rather have Sciarraba hitting for me than anybody I've ever seen.

Tom Stahl

1942

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Biff Best
P
1918-1937

Rumor has it that Biff Best could throw a baseball across the street and hit a doorknob squarely. With his impeccable control of his fastball and his dazzling ability to will his curveball to jump when necessary, Biff Best befuddled and confused major league hitters for 20 seasons. Pitching in New York, Best won 20+ games 9 times en route to 351 wins, the 5th most of All-Time. He won 60% of his decisions and led his teams to 3 World Series rings in his career. A consummate professional and one of the crown jewels of New York sports culture, Best officially goes down as one of the spectacular pitchers of his era.

Biff is a wonder. Always in there winning that important game for you.

Silas Chilton

Roy "Ripper" Harrison
LF
1920-1938

They used to say Roy Harrison's eyesight was so good, he could read the branding on a baseball as it curved toward the plate. Harrison himself denies this particular skill, but he can't deny he was one of the best hitters baseball saw for over two decades. His time was split in a wonderfully even manner. He spent the 1920s with the Boston Red Sox, where he garnered fame, fortune, and a reputation as the deadliest hitter in the league. In the 1930s he split time between the Reds, Yankees, and Giants, findings for himself the awards, titles, and veteran's perspective which rounded out an incredible career.

It was Harrison's time with Boston which launched him into the pantheon of baseball great, as he joined forces with his brothers Clyde and Rick to form an offensive trio which anchored the city for a decade. But the relationship between the three was tumultuous, and by the end they would be broken up. Roy was the best of the bunch, and everyone knew it, but he was also the hardest to get along with. Surly in his early days, it was in his later years with New York's Giants that Roy finally figured out how to be a teammate and friend. In an effort of reconciliation and nostalgia, Harrison was dealt back to the Red Sox to finish his career, and bring the story of his success to its triumphant resolution.

Son, when you throw a strike, Mr. Harrison will let you know it.

Umpire Bill Klem, to a rookie pitcher complaining about the strike zone

Mick Rooker
LF
1901-1917

For the first ten years the game was played, no one was as consistently and prodigiously great a hitter as Mick Rooker. As a 21-year old in 1901, Mick was already the best hitter on his club, and stayed that was for the next 15 years. His 1904 season still ranks as perhaps the great single season of hitting in the history of baseball. Rooker had no deficiencies in his approach to hitting, equally skilled in power, precision and a legendary patience.

Not content with being the best batter in the game, Rooker was anxious to improve his fielding and later recalled, "When I was a rookie, Buck Flaherty used to hit me flies to sharpen my abilities to judge in advance the direction and distance of an outfield-hit ball." Blessed with great speed and a powerful batting swing, he also worked to make himself a better batter and baserunner. Rooker played a shallow leftfield to catch potential hits.

None of them can hit them quite as hard as Rooker. He stands up at the plate like a brick house; there's no moving him away from it. And he hits all the pitchers, without playing favorites. When he's hitting, they all look alike.

Vincent Wexler

Bob Wallop
1B
1922-1939

A towering slugger with weak fielding skills, Wallop spent his career with the Athletics, Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, and Dodgers. He brought his lumbering bat with him in every city, launching titanic home runs and driving in men all over the field. Five times he was named the best hitter in the league, all with Philadelphia; only the great Larry Abercrombie was similarly honored.

Known for his great power, Wallop desired to be remembered as more than simply a home run hitter. Late in his career Wallop announced his goal of attaining 2,500 base hits. He played a year beyond when he should have retired but still came up 111 short. Looking back, he grieved about the times he had begged off playing to nurse a hangover or left a one-sided game early for a quick shower and a night's pleasures. Proud of his batting technique, Wallop, as a grizzled veteran with the Dodgers, imparted his realization to another player in whom he saw a budding talent. "Never relax on any time at bat; never miss a game you can play," he advised a younger Clark Manning.

When he'd grab hold of a bat and dig in, he'd squeeze the handle of that doggone thing and throw the barrel of that bat toward the pitcher in his warm-up swings. He looked so mad - in batting practice

Joseph Zoltan

1940

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John Rollins
3B, OF
1919-1939

Of all the players in baseball history, none possessed as much talent and humility as John Rollins. His accomplishments on the field made him an authentic American hero, and his tragic early death made him a legend.

After being diagnosed with a fatal disease near the end of 1939, whenever played again, and although, in his capacity as team captain, he continued to carry the lineup card out every day, eventually even that proved more than he could handle. He was diagnosed as having a rare,almost unknown, and incurable disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,forever after known as John Rollins's disease. It was not announced that he was doomed, although many suspected it and Rollins knew. On September 14, 1939, John Rollins Day was held at Bees Field. It may be the most famous ceremony in baseball history, with Rollins's assertion that "today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth"; an unforgettable statement. The waiting period for the new Hall of Fame was waived, and he was admitted immediately upon retirement. John Rollins died on January 2, 1941.

John was the kind of man that if you had a son, he's the kind of person you'd like your son to be.

Mike Woolf

1939

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Jack Birdsong
P
1920-1937

Consistency, durability, and heart are the three words former Chicago Cubs manager Gentleman Jack Shaver used to describe his ace. Birdsong did not do it with flashiness or the bravado of some of his contemporaries; rather, he used a hard sinking fastball and a devastating slider to silence hitters for the better part of the 1920’sand 30’s. Acquired from the St. Louis Browns before the 1922 season,Birdsong was instantly penned by the Chicago sportswriters as the next Avery Luck and Shep Sanders combined, destined to be the savior of a franchise that just had their first winning season since 1914. The city of Chicago immediately adopted Birdsong as their own, and from 1923 until his retirement, Jack pitched over 520 games without missing a single start, winning two Pitcher of the Year awards, his second at age 37, and four National League pennants.

Hitting a pitch from Jack Birdsong was like trying to hit a bowling ball with a broomstick.

Dean Wooster

Arch Murtaugh
P
1901-1909
VC

Murtaugh was 33 when the big leagues formed, and so lasted only 9 seasons, but earned his reputation as one of the great rough and ready men in the game. He often pitched both halves of doubleheaders, and asa rookie with the 1901 Chicago White Sox, he led the American League with 23 victories. Murtaugh was a rough, tough player who, when he ran a saloon, never had to hire a bouncer. He welcomed diminutive umpire Tom Connolly into the majors by spitting in the man's face. His durability in his short career was remarkable. He started and went the route more times than any AL pitcher in 1901, and tosses more goose eggs than any pitcher in 1901 and 1902. He never did see the World Series.

He was one mean son of a bitch.

Robert Crouch

Joel Praetorius
2B
1907-1924

Praetorius graduated from high school in 1906 after starring therein baseball, football, basketball, and track. He joined the Phillies playing less than a year in the minors. A natural athlete with great speed and dexterity, Praetorius was tutored long and hard by manager Cash Harvey on batting and sliding technique. The youthful Praetorius quickly became a favorite of Harvey, who named him team captain. Although his first four seasons produced good if unspectacular results,his fielding was superb and his speed admirable. In his 5th season his true greatness emerged, and he won Batter of the Year twice in a row,leading his Phillies to a World Series title. In 18 full seasons, only once did his batting average drop under .280, and he was among the first players to reach 3,000 hits.

His range was such that he played second base, some of center field, and a slice of right field, too.

Damon Runyan

Dieter Vogel
P
1901-1910
VC

Manager Roy Van Patten proclaimed Vogel "one of the greatest of pitchers," but complained about his ace's perpetual psychological demands, chiding that "he won't pitch if scolded." Vogel wasintelligent, sensitive, handsome, and generally subdued, but was not above certain acts of indiscretion on the field. In one game, he pitched a lemon instead of a ball to prove to the umpire that it wastoo dark to continue play. His contemporaries considered him a calculating, scientific pitcher who carefully analyzed every hitter'sweaknesses. Peering out from deep-set dark eyes, his long, lean fingers cradling the ball, he had a slow, assured pace to his delivery, and he may well have dominated some hitters by intimidation alone.

Deet was not the fastest, not the trickiest, and not the possessor of the most stuff; but he was just the greatest.

Jim Baxter

Dean Wooster
2B
1916-1937

"Woooooostah!" was the chant you were assured to hear wherever Deanwas playing that day, one of the few players that was loved by fansleague wide. Starting his career for the American League Philadelphia Athletics, it didn't take him long to become one of the league's mostpopular players - by age 23 he was a star. Just three years later, theAthletics traded him to the National League's Cincinnati Reds, where he won two World Series championships and spent 14 seasons feasting onpitch after pitch. As a mark to his popularity, the Baker Bowl, home ofthe Philadelphia Phillies, sold out in every one of his trips back toPhiladelphia as Athletics fans swarmed the stadium. Wooster was awardedhis third gold glove at the old age of 39, and by the time he retiredat age 40, he would be the career leader in runs batted in.

I doubt if any second baseman has had so great an influence onthe work of a club as a whole or has been so important a factor in itssuccess and resurrection as Wooster has been with Cincinnati.

Brick Haggerty

1937

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Caesar Geist LF, 1901-1912

All Hail! Men who met Caesar Geist had to admit he wasa handsomefellow, although there was an air about him that indicated he was aroughneck at heart and no man to temper with. He had that wide-eyed,half-smiling, ready-for-anything look that is characteristic of acertain type of German. He had a towering impatience, too, and a tastefor liquor and excitement. He created plenty of excitement foropponents and spectators when he laid his tremendous bat against apitch. He was the titan of the game in its infancy, steering the bargeof the Brooklyn team to prodigious heights, turning the opposing moundinto a Vesuvian storm. He had only two skills in life, as he liked tosay: drinking beer and playing ball.

I think Caesar was the best hitter I ever saw.

Bob Rooney

Handsome Jack Hartung
P, 1901-1916

Handsome Jack Hartung was one of baseball’s firstsuccessfulpower pitchers, firing his fastball on his way to 319 career wins, atotal surpassed by just six pitchers in the history of the game. Animmediate success after he was signed at the urging of Boston managerGib Mulroney in 1901, Hartung won 18 or more games in his first tenseasons in the major leagues. His given name John soon gave way to“Handsome Jack” – the juvenile tagged on him by hisBoston teammates because of his youth and slight build (he was just5’9” and 155 pounds in his rookie season). But his smallframe belied his powerful arm, as Hartung pitched more than 380 inningsfour times.

I saw a pitcher named Hartung strike out twenty-two members of agirls' team at Van Buren, Arkansas last year. Get him for me. If he canstrike out twenty-two girls, perhaps he can strike but two men. And Idon't have any pitchers who can.

Gib Mulroney

Jim Joy
P, 1901-1911

A professional through and through. While not a dourman, he wasperceived as such, maybe due to an unfair expectation of nomenclature.He was never angry or mad, he used to say – just focused. Thesecret of his pitching success was, according to comments he gave toThe Sporting News, "keeping batters guessing. I study the batsman inevery way: his position in the box, his general attitude, the way heholds the bat, and any other individual characteristics he may have."After 1904, a season in which Joy dominated baseball more than anypitcher in history had ever before done, there was talk that off-seasonof reducing to three the number of balls that would result in a walk.Joy did not think this would affect him: "It is a cold day when I getthree balls on a man, and that’s usually just to warm up myshoulder."

What pitcher of today could go in day after day and give theperformances that Joy did. No other pitcher ever pitched his team intoa championship single handed. He had the brain, the arm, the strength,the endurance, the pluck, the curves and the speek. He was equal to anyemergency, was coolness itself and a great general.

Caesar Geist

Bartholomew Martin
2B, 1913-1932

Leadership - The ability to affect behavior soas to accomplish a common goal.

Bartholomew "Bad Bart" Martin not only displayed leadership inthe clubhouse, but also in the field. A generously listed 5'10" andonly 170 pounds if he was soaking wet, Martin continually was at theheart of talented Giants teams, winning not only numerous individualaccolades, but helping the mighty Giants claim 4 World Series titles.He won a record 10 Gold Glove awards for his outstanding defense atsecond base, even sacrificing the chance to win more when he graciouslyoffered his services at third when it was needed. At the plate, heroped over 3000 hits (3030, 7th All-Time) and was named the NL Batterof the Year in 1923. 5 times he hit over .360 in a season and in theWorld Series he stepped up his game even further, hitting .358 in 30games and earning the 1926 World Series MVP award. Bart Martin, aconsummate professional and legendary leader.

What a ball player that man was! Every play he made was executedso gracefully that it looked like it was the easiest thing in theworld. He was a pleasure to play against, too, always laughing andjoking. Even when the son of a gun was blocking you off the base, hewas smiling and kidding with you. You just had to like the guy.

Rod Luedke

Fibber Paine 1B, 1901-1916

One of the most powerful and consistent left-handedhitters of thedead-ball era, Paine is often rated the greatest first baseman inbaseball history. Handsome, graceful, talented, and popular with bothfans and teammates, he was an important figure in the launching of theAL and the survival of the Philadelphia franchise.

Playing in thedead-ball era, Paine was not a home run hitter. He was, however, apowerful pull hitter and his smashes down the right-field foul linewere legendary. His 661 doubles rank third all-time and he hit ten ormore triples in four seasons. In the field, the 6'4" 220-lb Paine wasknown for his grace despite being considerably bigger than mostinfielders of his day.

He was the greatest batter that ever walked up to hit at abaseball thrown by a pitcher. I have seen them all from his day tothis. I played against him and I know. He was a fine, big, honorableman on and off the baseball field.

Al Bennett

Shep Sanders P, 1901-1919

Even at six foot six and 230 pounds, Shep Sanders wasstill stuckbehind the shadow of Avery Luck throughout his career. But he got hismoment in the 1907 Fall Classic. After a start on September 17th, Luckbegan to feel pain in his throwing elbow and Chicago Cubs manager HenryShaver shut him down for the rest of the season. The team erupted indiscord at the loss of one of their two leaders (the other being BobRooney) but the stoic Shep Sanders remained confident. Sanders pitchedGame 1 of the World Series versus the Cleveland Naps giving up only onerun in a complete game effort. Sanders followed up his Game 1performance with another brilliant effort in Game 4, only giving up onerun in his second complete game. Sanders was named World Series MostValuable Player for the second time that year and will always beremembered as one of the greatest clutch pitchers of all time. Hiscareer numbers stack up impressively against anyone who has everpitched, and no one has done it with less flash or more substance.

That fellow has a lot of stuff. He's got the best drop curvethat I've seen along the line for some time. And his spitter is apippin too.

Darby Hoffman

Monty Slocum
P, 1918-1931

Monty may not have been the best pure thrower duringthe 20's, hemay not have stuck out the most batters, or threw the most attentiongetting shutouts, but he sure was a winner, and he looked good doingit. Slocum only played forteen seasons in the majors, but he spentthose years dominating both the American and National Leagues, winningthree Pitcher of the Year Awards and three World Series Titles with theYankees, then earning one more of each with the Reds late in hiscareer. He never had a losing season, and notched 30 victories in 1929.All told, Slocum won 317 regular season games and owns the highestall-time winning percentage for pitchers.

You haven't space enough to tell of all the grand deeds of Montyon and off the field. Plenty of nerve, ability and willingness to workat all times under any conditions. The crowds never bothered him. Therewas never a finer character -- charitable and friendly to his foes andever willing to help a youngster breaking in.

Henry Wing

1936

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Larry Abercrombie LF, 1910-1925

“It’slike he was playing catch with his bat.”

On April 13, 1910, LarryAbercrombie slapped his first hit, a double sliced down the left fieldline. He would get three more hits that day, prompting Henry Beckley,the Yankee pitcher, to give the quote above. For 16 years, LarryAbercrombie swatted pitch after pitch, racking up hit after hit againsteveryone. And that means everyone. So thorough was his concentration,and so deadly was his swing, that he had a hit against every pitcher heever faced more than 5 times. There may never be a player again quitelike the man they called Lobo – a quiet leader on a great team,who was honored as his league’s best hitter five times, andwho’s swing was so sweet, it barely felt like he was hitting theball at all. But he did hit it, to left and right and up the middle,for two decades. The purest hitter baseball has ever seen.

Some 20 years ago, I stopped talking about Lobo for the simplereason that I realized that those who had never seen him didn't believeme.

Marcus Cato

Ryan Cawdor OF, 1913-1933

Ryan Cawdor's career dates back to 1913, when at theage of 19, hejoined the Braves after less than a year in the bush leagues. He stuckaround for a long time – 21 years as one of the best hitter ever,and years after as the team skipper. The numbers in those 21 yearsspeak for themselves: 3,306 base knocks, a lifetime batting average of.351, and a couple years over .400, in 1916 and 1924. His .427 averageof 1916 still ranks as the best in the history of the game, and his 242hits of 1924 leaves him tied with Larry Abercrombie at the top of thatcategory. He led his club to the World Series three times, and they wonit all in 1920 behind his .423 Series average. He was named the besthitter in his league 4 times, more than anyone else in National Leaguehistory. For the better part of 15 years, he sat atop his league, andthere he still remains.

The greatness of Ryan Cawdor was something that had to be seen, and to see him was to remember him forever.

Gordon Cullen

Royal Chesterfield 1B/3B, 1905-1927

William Kennedy was born in 1864. Joe Bob Grimshaw wasborn in 1907– 43 years later. Royal Chesterfield hit against them both, andfor the 23 years of his long career faced many, many more such hurlers.Between his first at bat at 18 years old and his last at 40, he rackedup more hits, games, and at bats than anyone has ever come close to.

But that’s only part of what made him special. Even as a youngkid on the 1909 Champion White Sox, the then-22 year old was the wise,stoic leader. His teammates, some ten years his senior, let him leadthe team onto the field. Known to the fans as a quiet man, he was morethan willing to talk to anyone, including younger teammates looking foradvice, or having just come to the big city for the first time, needingsomeone to show them around the nation’s capital. Chesterfieldwas a great player, to be sure, but like many other things inWashington D.C., he was and is an icon, a symbol of the grandeur,dignity, and endurance of the nation’s great game.

He wasn't just the greatest third baseman ever. He was the greatest everything ever.

Victor Pushkin

Caroll Edwards
P, 1902-1921

Carroll Edwards, the tall, slender kid from a littletown inMichigan named Big Rapids grew up to become one of the greatestpitchers in the history of the baseball. Perhaps the most strikingaccomplishment of his career is not the no-hitter he pitched againstDetroit in 1904 or the perfect game he tossed against the Yankees in1906, or the 2 championships to which he led the Browns. No, what ismost astonishing about the career of Edwards is his remarkable careerERA, an unbelievable 2.15 runs per nine innings over 20 seasons and 703games.

2.15. Perhaps one of the only records on book, offensive ordefensive, that will never be beaten. A 2.15 career era and astaggering 118 career shutouts. In what may be the single greatestsingle season pitching performance ever, Edwards in 1906, along withthe perfect game, posted a 29-8 record with a 1.07 ERA over 337.1innings and 39 starts. 14 of those starts were shutouts. Of the 39starts, 34 were complete games. He allowed a mere 0.71 total waks andhits per innings pitched in that season. No season record has ever comeclose, and no pitcher has come close to gaining 9 straight POTY awards.Carroll Edwards remains to this day one of, if not the greatest playerthe league has ever seen.

He is the one player in our league who could win the pennant for any of the seven teams that were not in first place.

Umpire Bill Klem

Avery Luck
P, 1901-1917

Legendary Chicago Cubs manager Henry Shaver once saidabout AveryLuck “he isn’t the smartest player on this team but heknows how to count to three and that’s enough.” Surely itwas as he rung up 3,277 batters in his illustrious career. Luck debutedat age 18, won 26 games at age 19, and by the time he finished up hehad been named the Senior Circuit’s top pitcher five times,leading the Chicago Cubs to three World Series championships.Luck’s legend is not contained wholly between the chalk, though.Showing the same heart and passion he displayed on the mound for 17seasons, Luck voluntarily ended his career early, enlisting in theUnited States Marine Corps in 1917 to fight for his country in TheGreat War. Many players soon followed in Luck’s footsteps, andhis courage has never been forgotten by Chicago or the country.

Luck pitched against Cincinnati yesterday. Another way ofputting it is that Cincinnati lost a game of baseball. The firststatement means the same as the second.

Writer Damon Runyun

Bob Rooney
C, 1901-1922

In 1901, at the age of 18, Rooney debuted as startingcatcher forthe Chicago Cubs. By 1902, he had already become a household namehitting a league best .379. By 1903, Rooney had almost single-handedlymade the Chicago Cubs a contender that went on to win seven NationalLeague pennants over the next nine seasons, including threechampionships. But Rooney’s play on the field was not his onlyasset. His legendary leadership and boisterous personality on and offthe field made him the young league’s first superstar. Hisexuberance for the game was well received by fans across the country;friends and foes alike would come out to the ballpark just to catch aglimpse of the man who was larger than the sport they paid to see.Rooney became an ambassador of the game, traveling to remote regions ofthe country in the offseason, introducing young kids to the game. Allthe while though, Rooney stayed true to himself and honored hiscommitment to his craft. He never slacked off or boozed up, and he wasrewarded with nine straight Gold Gloves at catcher and a record forwalks which may never be touched.

In his prime (he was) the greatest player of the game from thestandpoint of supreme excellence in all departments: batting, catching,fielding, base running, throwing and baseball brains. A player withouta weakness of any kind.

Reach Guide, 1919

Henry Shaver Manager, 1902-15, 1920

Legendary manager of the Chicago Cubs, he won 7pennants in 15years, taking home 3 titles. He is the patriarch of one of the mostaccomplished and famous baseball families.

There has been only one manager, and his name is Henry Shaver.

Tom Stahl

Tom Stahl Manager, 1912-1939

The winningest manager in baseball history. Stahl tookover theWashington club in 1912, taking the reigns of a team which had neverappeared in a World Series and was coming off a losing season. Stahlgot his first of ten American League titles in his seond season, andhis first of five World Series titles in his 4th. He has guided histeam through the ups and downs and helped maintain a consistency whichno team in baseball has seen over the last 25 years.

Tom entered the game when it was a game for roughnecks. He sawit become respectable, he lived to be a symbol of its integrity, and heenjoyed every minute of it.

Sportswriter Red Smith

Jurgen Verherrsch
P, 1903-1922

When you strike out Ryan Cawdor, you know you're a good pitcher. Whenyou strike him out every other time you see him, you know you're great.

But that comparison is backwards. Using another player to gauge theabilities of Jurgen Verherrsch puts the burden on the wrong player, asVerherrsch is possibly the greatest pitcher of all time. Almost nobodycan hold a candle to his accomplishments, particularly his astounding406 career victories. Playing his entire career shuttling betweenCincinnati and Washington, he holds the unique distinction of being thebest pitcher in the history of two ballclubs; he took both to multipleWorld Series titles, four in total and all in a row, decimating hittersin the late teens. Notching a World Series MVP along the way, he wasthe archetypical champion who never backed down, never let up, and seta standard for leadership and dominance that will echo down thegenerations.

He had a slingshot delivery with nice, easy movement, whichdidn't seem to be putting any strain at all on his arm. But he couldpropel that ball like a bullet.

Hiram Webber