8-1-21 This week we have another teammate of Ty Cobb. This guy is also a Hall of Fame player. He had both a speed and power. He still holds the record for lifetime triples with 309. In 1904 he hit 12 inside the park home runs. His lifetime batting average is .309. Just to show how different things were "back in day" he umpired in the Pacific Coast league after retiring from the Majors. He is "Wahoo" Sam Crawford. The "Wahoo" comes from his hometown of Wahoo Nebraska. I hope you enjoy listening to "Wahoo" Samuel Earl Crawford : Major League Baseball Hall Of Fame Class Of 1957.
8-8-21 Continuing the old time ballplayer theme. This week we have a legendary lunatic. of course he is a lefty pitcher. Doesn't it seem like a lot of lefties are described as strange or eccentric. Bill Lee is just one example. We go way back with this one, Rube Waddell. Waddell was a dominate strikeout pitcher. He lead the league in K's six times. He won the pitching triple crown in 1905 and had 2316 strikeouts in his career. We was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946. Lets learn about the exploits of "Rube Waddell: The Legendary Lefty Lunatic".
8-15-21 Here's another old-time player, John Tortes "Chief" Meyers. Meyers was the primary catcher for Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson. Meyers maintained a high batting average during his career but never hit for much power (few did back in his day). His nickname comes from the fact that he was a Native American from the Cahluilla tribe. I guess the nickname wouldn't be politically correct nowadays. To show how different things were back in 1905 a Dartmouth alumni saw Meyers play amateur baseball and gave him money, a train ticket and a phony high school diploma and got him enrolled at Dartmouth.so he could play baseball. He had never graduated high school. When Dartmouth eventually found out about it they convinced Meyers to turn pro to keep the matter quiet. I hope you enjoy listening about "Chief Meyers (July 29, 1880 - July 25, 1971)".
8-22-21 This week we feature Fred Snodgrass who played from 1908 to 1916. He started out as a catcher but ended up in centerfield. He was a speedy player stealing 215 bases over the course of his career. He had a career batting average of .275. Snodgrass is the most famous for his error in the 1912 World Series. With his Giants winning 2-1 in the 10th inning Snodgrass raced over to right center field but ended up dropping the flyball for a 2 run error. The Red Sox ended up winning the game and the error was forever known as "Snodgrass's Muff". Sit back and listen to "Fred Snodgrass" reminisce about baseball..
8-29-21 Here's a video about Jimmy "Pepper" Austin. Austin started his career at the age of 29 with the New York Highlanders. He later moved onto the St. Louis Browns. Austin was a third baseman. Although he was a very good player he was never the star player. He was a table-setter who walked and stole bases. He went into coaching after his career and coached for 20 years. He is best known as the third baseman in the photo with Ty Cobb stealing 3rd base in a cloud of dust with his spikes high. Let's enjoy the stories of "Jimmy Austin".
9-5-21 Before they were the New York Yankees they were the New York Highlanders. Back in those days it was very common for a player to be a playing manager. Hal Chase was the Highlanders manager during 1910 and 1911. Already regarded as one of the best defensive players ever Chase managed the team until Frank Chance took over in 1912. Chance did not like Chase and accused him of throwing games. Chester Hoff played for and with Hal Chase during that time. He gave an interview at the age of 102 telling what he knew of the situation. Listen to his story of "Hal Chase - The Real Story from a Man Who Played with him, NY Highlanders".