Amos Rusie signed with the
Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1889 as an 18 year old from Mooresville, Indiana.
Rusie could throw hard, but often didn’t know where the ball was going. At the
end of 1889 the Hoosiers disbanded, and Rusie signed with the New York Giants.
In New York,
he quickly became a fan favorite. His ability to throw hard earned him the
nickname “The Hoosier Thunderbolt.”
He tossed a no hitter on July 31,1891.1894
would be his best season, when he would win the pitching triple crown (wins,
ERA, and strikeouts). Five times he led the National League in strike outs, and
five times in strike outs. In his career he would strike out 1950 hitters, but
he also walked 1707. The 1891-1894 seasons he would win over thirty games in each
season.
He would close his career with a
won-loss record of 246-174, and an ERA of 3.07. He would be elected by the
Veteran’s committee in 1977 to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mel Ott debuted with the New York
Giants at 17, it was the beginning a 22 season Hall of Fame of career. Ott hit
511 home runs with 1,860 RBI, and batting line of .304/.414/.533.
Ott was a twelve-time National League
all-star. He led the National League in home runs six-times. Ott managed the
Giants form 1942-1948. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951 on
the third ballot.
The Giants played in three World
Series during Ott’s career in 1933, 1936 and 1937. The Giants won the World
Series in 1933. His #4 has been retired by the Giants.
Between
1902 and 1912 the trio of Joe Tinker shortstop, Johnny Evers second base, and
Frank Chance. The trio were elected by the veterans committee in 1946 to the
Baseball Hall of Fame. During their time with the Cubs, they won
1907-1908 World Series, and four National League pennants. The only two World
Series championship in Chicago Cubs history mastering the Detroit Tigers in
both series.
Franklin
Pierce Adams of the New York Evening Post made the trio famous by penning the
poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon." It was originally titled "That
Double Play Again" when it was published on July 12, 1910. The poem
launched the trio into baseball immortality
.
It
is well documented that Evers and Tinker didn't speak to each other after
September 14, 1905. Evers took a cab to the ballpark leaving Tinker in the
hotel lobby, and they ended up having a fist fight on the field.
Frank
Chance managed the Cubs from 1905-1912, and afterwards managed both the New
York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He was a lifetime .296 hitter and twice led
the National League in stolen bases. Tinker would be a player-manager for
the Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. He only hit .262 in his career.
Johnny Evers would hit .270 over the course of his long career. In era of
high batting averages, the trio were helped by the famous poem.
Joe Glasgow is
a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com, and is the author of the book Play
Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
The restrictions on travel during World War II denied the Cincinnati Reds the opportunity to train in sunny Florida. They were relegated to training at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The groundskeeper at the time for the Reds, a man named Marty Schwab watched as a big strong hammered baseballs up and over an embankment that players on the big league club weren't doing in training camp that spring.
The Reds had discovered Ted Kluszewski, standout tight end on the Indiana University football team. The Reds anxious to sign the lefthand hitting first baseman were initially rebuffed. Big Klu didn't want to give up his college eligibility. He waited to sign with the Reds in 1946, and after two dominating seasons in the minor leagues he got the call to the show.
He went to play 15 seasons in the major leagues, his best four stint was 1953-1956, where was named a National League in each season. In 1954, he hit 49 home runs with 141 RBI, he put together a slash line that season of .326/.407/.642. Finishing second in the MVP voting to a guy from the New York Giants named Willie Mays.
He would play 15 years in the major leagues and finish with a career slash line of .298/.353/.498 with 279 home runs and 1028 RBI. He walked 492 times with only 365 strikeouts in 6469 plate appearances. On heard of numbers by today's standards. Injuries took their toll on Big Klu after the 1956 season, and his numbers diminished as a result. He was the hitting coach for the Big Red Machine teams of the 1970's under Sparky Anderson.
Known for cutting off the sleeves of his shirts to fit his huge biceps, the slugging first baseman was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1962. His #18 was retired by the Reds.
Joe Glasgow is
a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com, and is the author of the book Play
Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
Bobby Thomson will be remembered forever by baseball for this pennant winning three-run home run of Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers to give the New York Giants the National League pennant. The Giants would go on to lose the World Series to the New York Yankees four games to two. The Giants had trailed the Dodgers by 13 1/2 games in mid-August before they made a miracle run to the pennant. The home run would vault the outfielder into a stardom, but would cast a shadow over the rest of his accomplishments in an outstanding Major League career.
Thomson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and was raised in Staten Island, NY after his family immigrated to the United States. He was signed by the Giants out of high school for only $100. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II but spent no time overseas. At the age of 22, he made a brief appearance with the Giants in 1946. In his official rookie season he would hit 23 home runs with 85 RBI. He would be a starter in the Giants outfield for the next seven seasons. In six of those seven seasons he would hit 20 or more home runs, and in four of the seasons he would drive in more than 100 runs.
After the end of the 1953 season the Giants traded their 3-times all-star outfielder to the Milwaukee Braves. In his first season with the Braves, he broke his ankle in spring training. It paved the way for another historically famous outfielder to break into the Braves line up. A kid named "Hank Aaron." Thomson's season never really got going , and he slumped to .232 batting average. His time in Milwaukee was marginal by his career standards. He hitting a modest .257 in 1955, and .235 in 1956. He was shipped by the Braves back to the Giants for the finish of the 57' season.
After the 1957 season, Thomason was traded by the Giants to the Chicago Cubs. Thomson looked more like his old self with the Cubs in 1958. He his 21 home runs with 82 RBI, and a slash line of .283/.351.466. His numbers would fall dramatically the next season. Thomson would go on to play for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles in the American League to close out his career.
He hit 264 career home runs in his career, and knocked in 1, 026 runs, but he will always be remembered for the three-run homer off Ralph Branca that gave the New York Giants the 1951 National League title.
Joe Glasgow is a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com,
and is the author of the book Play Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
May 25, 1951. Willie Mays of the New York Giants makes his debut against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Mays goes 0 for 5 in the 8-5 Giants win, but makes two outstanding catches. And as they say the rest is history.
Joe Glasgow is a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com,
and is the author of the book Play Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
May 25, 2013. San Francisco Giants outfielder Angel Pagan hits a two run inside-the-park walk-off home run in the 10th inning giving the Giants a 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Bill Terry was the last to accomplish the feat for the Giants in 1931 at the Polo Grounds.
Joe Glasgow is a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com,
and is the author of the book Play Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
May 8, 1929. New York Giants southpaw Carl Hubbell hurls a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in an 11-0 romp. Hubbell will go on to post an 18-6 record in second season with the Giants. It had been thirteen years since the last no-hitter by a lefty.
Joe Glasgow is a former senior staff writer at Fanstop.com,
and is the author of the book Play Ball! Growing Up With Baseball https://amzn.to/2o4M62h
April 23, 1952, on this date in baseball history Hoyt Wilhelm makes his major league debut with the New York Giants. The twenty-year old hurler homers in his first at bat, two days later he will triple in his second major league plate appearance. Wilhelm will have 432 official more at-bats in 21-year career without ever hitting a home run or triple again. He served in World War II, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, where he received a shrapnel wound in the back something he would play with his entire career. The knuckleball pitcher would have a won-loss record of 143-122 with 228 saves in his career. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985,
On this date in 1947 slugging first baseman Johnny Mize became the first major league baseball player to hit three home runs in a game five times. Mize hits his three off Johnny Sain of the Milwaukee Braves in a 6-2 Giants win at the Polo Grounds. Mize hit 359 home runs in his career with 1,337 RBI, The "Big Cat" as he was known finished with a.312 batting average. He played his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and finished 1953 with the New York Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
April 18, 1899. Hall of Fame Manager John McGraw manages his first game with the old Baltimore Orioles, and beats the New York Giants. He would later manage the Giants for 30 years, and spent 33 years as Major League manager. He had a career record of 2763-1948 (.586 winning percentage). He won 10 Pennants, and three World Series Championships. He was known as Mugsy, and stood only 5-3, but was one most fearless managers in baseball history. The film is the New York Giants training in 1917.
Willie Mays famous catch in game one of the 1954 World Series off the bat of Vic Wertz of the Cleveland Indians. A series in which the Giants went on to sweep the Indians. When I started following baseball, Mays was past his prime. The part of the love of baseball became the stories my dad told me of baseball in the 1950's. When watching Mays late in his career dad would often say "You should've seen him in his prime."
