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The Glory of Their Times

Page 35

by Lawrence S. Ritter


  Of course, in a sense, I’ve never really left baseball, because I’ve been a batting coach most of the years since I quit playing. I coached two years with the Phillies, two with the Cardinals, six with Milwaukee, and some with the Red Sox. I took the whole organization, not just the Big League club. When the parent team was at home, I’d usually be there. Then, when they went on the road, I’d start flying to all their minor-league clubs.

  Even as a batting coach, you know, my small size has helped me. Because the youngsters figure that, me being small and all, I must know something about how to hit. It’s obvious I can’t strong-back the ball, and yet they know I got over 3,000 hits, over 600 doubles, and all that. So they say to themselves, “Gee, he must know the secret.” And they listen.

  So that’s the way it was. Those 24 years that I played baseball—from 1923 to 1946—somehow, it doesn’t seem like I played even a month. It went so fast. The first four or five years, I felt like I’d been in baseball a long time. Then, suddenly, I’d been in the Big Leagues for ten years. And then, all at once, it was twenty.

  You know…sitting here like this…it’s hard to believe it’s more than a quarter of a century since Lloyd and I played together. Somehow…I don’t know…it seems like it all happened only yesterday.

  John J. McGraw and Honus Wagner: “It seems like it all happened only yesterday.”

  Acknowledgments

  SO MANY people have gone out of their way to help me with this book that it would be impossible to express here my appreciation to each and every one of them. But I would be woefully remiss if I did not take this opportunity to record my gratitude to Herman Krooss and Bob Kavesh, for thinking that this was worth doing in the first place; to Bill Veeck, for his encouragement very early in the game; to Eliot Asinof and Bob McKenzie, for their enthusiasm in a later inning; to Roslyn Purcell, for her cheerful and efficient secretarial assistance; to Larry Grossberg, of Sonocraft, who was never quite sure what this was all about, but who was always more than willing to take time out to render first aid anyway; and to Fred Lieb, who has forgotten more about baseball in the early days than I will ever know, for his hospitality and his help.

  Finally, this whole endeavor, from beginning to end, has been the collective effort of two others besides myself. It could never have gotten off the ground without our first-base coach, Stephen Ritter, who either operated the tape recorder himself or, when there was no alternative, patiently showed me (a number of times) what levers to push to make a tape recorder record on tape. And it could never have been carried through to completion without our third-base coach, Barbara Neuwirth, who did a thousand and one things, including the proferring of much very good advice, most of which was taken and the rest of which should have been.

  For the new enlarged edition, special thanks are due to Harvey Ginsberg, Donald Honig, Rolf Preuss, and Joan Raines. Each made a unique contribution toward launching this edition; without them, it never would have gotten off the ground.

  Picture Credits

  MANY of the pictures in this book were obtained from the personal albums of the players themselves. The sources of the others are as follows:

  BETTMANN ARCHIVE image 1, image 2

  BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY image 1

  BROWN BROTHERS Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8, Image 9, Image 10, Image 11

  CULVER PICTURES Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8

  EUROPEAN PICTURE SERVICE Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4 Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8, Image 9, Image 10, Image 11, Image 12

  FREDERIC LEWIS, INC. Image 1

  FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHERS GUILD Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

  HAYWARD BINNEY Image 1, Image 2, Image 3

  ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD Image 1

  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Image 1, Image 2

  NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Image 1, Image 2

  PHOTOWORLD Image 1

  THE SPORTING NEWS Image 1, Image 2

  UNDERWOOD AND UNDERWOOD Image 1, Image 2

  UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4

  WIDE WORLD PHOTOS Image 1, Image 2, Image 3

  Searchable Terms*

  The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.

  Aaron, Hank, 317

  Adams, Charles (Babe), 14, 96

  Alexander, Grover Cleveland, 57, 144, 178, 192, 193, 194, 208, 209, 252, 253, 256, 266

  Ames, Leon, 95, 124

  Andrews, Jay (Doc), 158

  Archer, Jimmy, 131, 179, 257

  Armour, Bill, 64, 65

  Auker, Eldon, 316

  Austin, James Philip, 78–90, 81, 85, 90

  Bagby, Jim, 236, 237

  Baker, Del, 311, 322

  Baker, Frank (Home Run), 52, 111, 114, 150, 180, 199, 202

  Ball, Neal, 237

  Barnes, Jesse, 117

  Barnes, Virgil, 117

  Barnhart, Clyde, 338

  Barrow, Edward G., 145, 243, 244

  Barry, Jack, 144, 153, 181, 199, 202

  Barry, John C. (Shad), 192

  Baum, Spider, 335

  Beaumont, Clarence (Ginger), 153, 188

  Beck, Zinn, 281, 282

  Beckley, Jake, 33, 55, 69

  Bedient, Hugh, 144

  Bender, Charles Albert (Chief), 111, 114, 121, 153, 180, 181, 198, 200, 201, 202, 208, 224

  Bengough, Benny, 245

  Bescher, Bob, 153, 189, 191

  Blue, Lu, 312

  Bonura, Zeke, 319, 329

  Boyer, Clete, 338

  Boyer, Ken, 338

  Bradley, Bill, 2, 9, 10, 11, 79

  Branca, Ralph, 269

  Breadon, Sam, 253

  Bresnahan, Roger, 73, 95, 106, 174, 179, 257, 258

  Bressler, Raymond B. (Rube), 198–209, 200, 222, 301

  Bridges, Tommy, 316

  Briggs, Walter O., Sr., 320, 325

  Bridwell, Albert Henry, 15, 95, 97, 124–37, 127, 130, 224

  Brouthers, Dan, 33, 52

  Brown, Mace, 343, 344, 345

  Brown, Mordecai (Three-Fingered), 108, 125, 131, 132, 133, 136, 224

  Burns, George J., 95, 260, 261, 270

  Bush, Leslie (Bullet Joe), 144, 198, 199, 245

  Bush, Owen (Donie), 28, 43, 60, 305, 338

  Cadore, Leon, 117

  Cady, Forrest, iii, 144

  Cagney, Jimmy, 259

  Caldwell, Ray, 236

  Callahan, Danny, 37

  Callahan, Jimmy, 39, 40

  Camnitz, Howie, 15

  Camp, Walter, 171

  Cantillon, Joe, 56, 57

  Carey, Max, 139

  Carr, Charlie, 9, 12, 13

  Carrigan, Bill, iii, 144, 152

  Chance, Frank, 99, 107, 108, 136, 153, 185, 271, 272

  Chapman, Ray, 235, 236, 243

  Chase, Hal, 83, 84, 86, 153, 204, 261, 300, 301, 339

  Chesbro, Jack, 26, 40, 56, 69, 82

  Cicotte, Eddie, 218, 222, 224, 258

  Clarke, Fred, 23, 24, 33, 73, 74, 188, 279

  Clarke, Jay (Nig), 43

  Coakley, Andy, 153, 167, 189, 191

  Cobb, Ty, 21, 28, 40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 73, 89, 90, 105, 124, 125, 129, 139, 159, 204, 205, 235, 236, 242, 261, 268, 273, 275, 276, 314

  Cochrane, Gordon (Mickey), 288, 314, 315, 316, 322

  Cohan, George M., 198

  Collins, Eddie, 117, 153, 181, 199, 202, 205, 261, 267

  Collins, Ray, iii, 42, 199, 202

  Combs, Earle, 139, 245, 341

  Comerford, Dan, 214, 215

  Comiskey, Charles A., 39, 151, 152

  Compton, Bill, 157

  Coolidge, President and Mrs. Calvin, 305

  Coombs, Colby Jack, 87, 121, 153, 179, 199, 202

  Cooper, Guy, iii

  Corcoran, Tommy, 69

  Costello, Maurice, 16

&nbs
p; Coveleski, Frank, 117

  Coveleski, Harry, 109, 117, 118, 119

  Coveleski, Jacob, 117

  Coveleski, John, 117

  Coveleski, Stanley A., 117–23, 119, 122, 236

  Cowper, William, 231

  Cramer, Roger (Doc), 324

  Crandall, Otis, 95, 106, 164

  Crawford, Samuel Earl (Wahoo Sam), 28, 33, 37, 40, 41, 43, 47–69, 68, 89, 129, 159, 195, 261, 332

  Crosby, Bing, 325

  Crowder, Alvin (General), 316

  Curley, Mayor James M., 114, 116

  Cuyler, Hazen (Kiki), 285, 338

  Daubert, Jake, 179, 203, 204, 219, 222, 301

  Dauss, George, iii

  Davis, Harry A., 312, 313

  Davis, Harry H., 153, 181

  DeBerry, John (Hank), 206, 213, 216

  Delehanty, Ed, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 65, 69, 79, 332

  Delehanty, Frank, 29, 30

  Delehanty, Jimmy, 28, 29, 30, 43, 65, 129, 189, 192, 224

  Delehanty, Joe, 29, 30

  Delehanty, Tommy, 29, 30

  Delehanty, Willie, 29

  Derringer, Paul, 322

  Devine, Joe, 337

  Devlin, Art, 95, 153

  Devore, Josh, 95

  Dewey, Admiral George, 172

  Dickey, Bill, 279, 317

  DiMaggio, Dominick, 332

  DiMaggio, Joe, 139, 271, 279, 319, 329, 345

  DiMaggio, Vince, 332

  Dinneen, Bill, 238

  Donahue, Francis (Red), 35, 36

  Donlin, Mike, 94, 124

  Douglas, Shufflin’ Phil, 124

  Doyle, Larry, 15, 95, 106, 165, 301

  Dreyfuss, Barney, 21, 70, 73, 75, 76, 77, 187, 337

  Dubuc, Jean, 310

  Dugan, Joe, 151, 245

  Duncan, Louis (Pat), 301

  Durocher, Leo, 275

  Egan, Arthur (Ben), 121

  Elberfeld, Norman (Kid), 52, 82, 83

  Ellard, George, 20

  Eller, Horace (Hod), 219, 301

  Emslie, Bob, 107, 133

  Engle, Clyde, 110, 149

  Evers, Johnny, 70, 99, 107, 133, 136, 137, 185

  Ewing, William (Buck), 69, 124

  Farrell, Frank J., 83

  Farrell, James T., 154

  Faust, Charles Victory, 102, 103, 104, 105

  Feller, Bob, 154, 208, 317, 318, 319, 322

  Felsch, Oscar (Happy), 301

  Ferguson, Charlie, 84, 85

  Fewster, Wilson (Chick), 206, 207, 216

  Finneran, Bill, 195

  Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 218

  Fitzgerald, Mayor John F. (Honey Fitz), 164, 165, 166

  Flaherty, Pat, 100

  Flanagan, Charlie, iii

  Fletcher, Art, 95, 106, 164, 301

  Flick, Elmer, 2, 10, 69

  Fohl, Lee, 168, 169

  Fonseca, Lew, 291, 334, 335

  Foster, George, iii, 97, 144

  Fox, Pete, 311, 316

  Foxx, Jimmie, 279, 319, 327

  Francis, Robert, 185

  Franklin, Rabbi Leo, 330

  Frazee, Harry, 151

  Frederick, Johnny, 206

  French, Larry, 288

  Friel, Bill, 128

  Frisbee, Charlie, 6, 7

  Frisch, Frankie, 253, 256, 265, 266, 302, 308, 310

  Fullerton, Hugh, 70

  Galbreath, John, 325, 326

  Galloway, Chick, 249

  Gardner, William (Larry), 111, 144, 150, 152, 238

  Gehrig, Lou, 159, 245, 247, 279, 310, 317, 319, 327, 341, 342

  Gehringer, Charlie, 279, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 322

  Gibson, George (Moonie), 70–77, 71, 179

  Glaze, Ralph, 171

  Gleason, William (Kid), 52

  Gleichman, Gus, 210, 211

  Gooch, Johnny, 341

  Goslin, Leon Allen (Goose), 279–89, 281, 287, 314, 316, 322

  Gowdy, Hank, 285

  Graham, Charlie, 140, 141, 142, 292, 293

  Graney, Jack, 235

  Grant, Eddie, 153

  Greenberg, Henry Benjamin (Hank), 306–31, 307, 315, 323, 331

  Gregg, Vean, iii

  Griffith, Clark, 39, 40, 189, 281, 285, 288

  Grimes, Burleigh, 117

  Groh, Henry K. (Heinie), 14, 203, 222, 299–305, 304

  Grove, Robert (Lefty), 87, 154, 208, 289

  Guest, Edgar A., 330, 331

  Gustav, King of Sweden, 183

  Guthrie, Bill, 283

  Hagerman, Rip, iii

  Hahn, Archie, 38

  Hahn, Frank (Noodles), 69

  Haines, Jesse, 252

  Haley, Ray, iii

  Hall, Charlie, 144

  Hamilton, Billy, 172, 173

  Hanlon, Ned, 52, 53, 189, 192

  Hanson, Howard, 66

  Hargrave, Eugene (Bubbles), 257

  Harris, Stanley (Bucky), 282, 284, 289, 304, 305, 312, 313, 314

  Hart, James A., 39, 40

  Hartnett, Charles Leo (Gabby), 251, 343

  Hedges, Robert L., 86

  Heilmann, Harry, 275, 279, 283

  Hennessy, Spike, 291

  Herman, Babe (prize fighter), 214

  Herman, Floyd Caves (Babe), 198, 199, 210–17, 212, 217

  Herrmann, Garry, 128, 129

  Herzog, Charles (Buck), 95, 106, 153, 164, 225, 301

  Hill, Belden, 158

  Hoblitzel, Richard (Doc), 144

  Hofman, Artie (Solly), 107, 136

  Honig, Donald, 210

  Hooper, Harry B., 110, 138, 139–53, 150, 151, 159, 165, 166, 182, 243

  Hornsby, Rogers, 157, 252, 253, 255, 265, 266, 273, 279

  Howley, Dan, 78

  Hoy, William (Dummy), 23, 53, 54, 55

  Hoyt, Waite, 245, 248

  Hubbell, Carl, 256

  Huggins, Miller, 128, 153, 189, 245, 271, 303

  Humphries, Jack, 124

  Humphries, Rolfe, 124

  Hurst, Tim, 55, 56, 82

  Ingersoll, Robert G., 48

  Jackson, Helen Hunt, 170

  Jackson, Joe, 60, 222, 235, 243, 273, 275, 301

  Jennings, Hughie, 51, 52, 64, 153, 211

  Johnson, Ban, 47

  Johnson, Walter, 43, 44, 56, 57, 61, 62, 64, 87, 92, 147, 149, 154, 159, 166, 178, 202, 207, 208, 261, 268, 285

  Jones, David Jefferson (Davy), 28, 34–46, 41, 60, 153, 224

  Jones, Samuel Pond (Sad Sam), 144, 151, 241–49, 242

  Joss, Addie, 36

  Joyce, Alice, 16

  Judge, Joe, 282, 312

  Kamm, William Edward, 290–98, 292, 334, 335, 337

  Kauff, Benny, 224

  Keeler, Wee Willie, 24, 40, 52, 53, 54, 69, 82, 211

  Kelley, Joe, 128, 192, 213

  Kelly, George, 228

  Kennedy, President John F., 166

  Kilduff, Pete, 237, 238

  Kilfoyle, John F., 8, 9

  Killebrew, Harmon, 246

  Killefer, Wade, 225

  Kiner, Ralph, 326, 327

  Kinney, Walt, 243, 244

  Klem, Bill, 116, 175, 196, 197

  Kling, Johnny, 179

  Knight, Jack, 84

  Koenig, Mark, 245, 341

  Kopf, Larry, 203, 222, 300, 301

  Koufax, Sandy, 87, 125, 139

  Kreevich, Mike, 282

  Kremer, Ray, 343

  Krichell, Paul, 309, 310

  Kuhel, Joe, 312

  LaChance, George (Candy), 70

  Lajoie, Napoleon (Larry), 2, 10, 11, 33, 40, 59, 69, 235, 243, 279, 332

  Lake, Fred, 143

  Lannin, Joe, iii

  LaPorte, Frank, 83

  Lapp, Jack, 199

  Latham, Arlie, 94

  Lazzeri, Tony, 194, 245, 247, 252, 253, 266, 341

  Leach, Thomas W., 20–33, 31, 52, 53, 73, 74, 79, 188, 332

  Leever, Sam, 26, 73

  Leonard, Hubert (Dutch), iii, 144, 151

  Lewis, George (Duffy), 144, 146, 149, 151, 152, 337

  Lindstrom, Fred,
284, 285, 299, 300, 304, 305

  Lobert, John B. (Hans), 185–97, 197

  Lombardi, Ernie, 322

  London, Jack, 1

  Lowe, Bobby, 53

  Lowe, Pete, 223, 224

  Luque, Dolph, 301

  Mack, Connie, 25, 50, 87, 111, 119, 120, 121, 122, 180, 185, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202

  Mack, Earle, 198

  Magee, Sherry, 194, 195

  Mantle, Mickey, 246

  Manush, Heinie, 279, 282, 283, 284

  Marberry, Fred (Firpo), 316

  Maris, Roger, 317

  Marquard, Richard W. (Rube), 1–19, 11, 18, 95, 96, 117, 158, 178, 179, 180, 191

  Mathewson, Christy, 15, 16, 17, 57, 95, 96, 105, 106, 108, 110, 117, 124, 131, 132, 150, 152, 154, 166, 175, 176, 177, 180, 181, 182, 190, 194, 203, 222, 225, 226, 259, 270, 286

  Mathewson, Henry, 117

  Mays, Carl, iii, 144, 151, 245, 308

  Mays, Willie, 47, 59, 124, 125, 139, 246, 275, 276, 319

  McCarthy, Joe, 328

  McCormick, Harry (Moose), 106, 107, 108, 132, 136

  McElvaine, John, 67

  McGinnity, Joe, 94, 100, 107, 108, 111, 176, 189, 190

  McGowan, Bill, 280

  McGraw, John J., 14, 15, 16, 17, 52, 53, 75, 76, 77, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 103, 108, 109, 111, 118, 131, 139, 153, 172, 174, 175, 180, 181, 185, 189, 190, 191, 195, 196, 211, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 254, 255, 256, 261, 271, 301, 302, 304, 308, 346

  McGreevey, Mike (“Nuf Sed”), 27

  McHale, Marty, 152

  McInnis, John (Stuffy), 181, 199, 339, 341

  McKechnie, Bill, 222, 224, 225, 342

  McKinley, President William, 34

  McKinney, Frank, 325

  McLean, Larry, 192

  McNeeley, Earl, 285

  McPhee, John (Biddy), 69

  Meadows, Lee (Specs), 267

  Merkle, Fred, 95, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 117, 118, 124, 129, 132, 133, 136, 137, 179, 180, 182, 183, 191, 259, 301

  Meusel, Bob, 245, 253, 341

  Meyers, John Tortes (Chief), 15, 95, 111, 124, 150, 153, 164, 170–84, 173, 181

  Milan, Clyde, 60, 61, 64

  Miljus, Johnny, 341

  Miller, John (Dots), 336

  Miller, Otto, 237, 238

  Mitchell, Clarence, 237

  Mitchell, Willie, 243

  Moran, Pat, 203, 219

  Moriarty, George, 28, 43, 298, 329, 330

  Mulcahy, Hugh, 322

  Murphy, Eddie, 199

  Murray, Jack (Red), 14, 15, 95, 110

  Myers, Hi, 179

  Nabors, Jack, 202

  Navin, Frank J., 42, 43, 313, 314, 320

  Neale, Alfred E. (Greasy), 203, 222, 226, 301

  Needham, Tom, 95

  Nehf, Art, 249

  Newsom, Norman Louis (Bobo), 322

  Niekro, Joe, 117

 

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