Caltech teams of the 1920s

Yesterday Terry Cannon, Executive Director of the Baseball Reliquary, posted a photo of an early Cal Tech baseball team on the facebook page of the Institute for Baseball Studies.

At the time of posting it wasn't clear to me when that photo was taken.  I went off sleuthing for a bit and found the answer on the Caltech Archives site.

Before I got there I did find some other photos of the team through the ages.  I thought it might be fun to look at them one decade at a time.

From the Caltech Campus Pubs site, I was able to download and search the yearbooks.

Not all years are represented, but here's what I could find of the varsity team for the Roaring Twenties.  Interesting to see the change in uniforms.

1921 Caltech Varsity Team

1922 Caltech Varsity Team

1923 Caltech Varsity Team

1924 Caltech Varsity Team

1925 Caltech Varsity Team

1927 Caltech Varsity Team

1928 Caltech Varsity Team

1929 Caltech Varsity Team

And now for some individual players.

1925

1927

1928

1929

Paul Lukas, of Uni-Watch.com has a great story (and wonderful photos) of the 1956 Portland Beavers uniforms.  I'm wondering if Caltech had the first beaver on a jersey.

Just so the Freshman teams don't feel neglected with straight hand-me-downs, here's a look at the Frosh Squads of the Twenties.  Looking at their faces, I don't think that it was Roaring.

1922 Freshman Team

1923 Freshman Team

1924 Freshman Team

1927 Freshman Team

1928 Freshman Team

In the coming weeks I'll move ahead in time.  Eventually, I'll look back at the teams of the teens.

4,000 Professional Hit Club

Recently Ichiro Suzuki surpassed Ty Cobb on the hit list.  Which hit list?  The one where you combine MLB regular season and Japanese League hits.  Good for him.

Two years ago fellow SABR member Scott Simkus assembled a list of hits accumulated in professional leagues.  He shows those players who have collected 4,000 hits or more.

Scott includes the following hits: MLB, MLB Postseason, MiLB, Japanese League, Negro League, Cuban League, Mexican League, Puerto Rican Winter League, Korean League, and other misc appearances.

I decided to update and expand the list. It is a Google Sheet.  No additional players have made it to 4,000.

I've added a few more players that didn't make Scott's list.  For whimsy I added a few more names and showed where the hits came from.

I've even added some hits that aren't part of the Baseball-Reference.com canon.  While looking at Honus Wagner's minor league stats, I noticed that they didn't include data from 1895.  He bounced around with a few teams in a few leagues that year.  I was able to find some stats from the Michgan State League.

Jackson Citizen Patriot (Jackson, Michigan) - October 3, 1895
image from GenealogyBank.com

What do you know?  Another 27 professional hits.  I've included them in my calculations.  I'm guessing that eventually someone will produce the hits from his time in the Interstate League and the Oil and Iron League.

Ty Cobb played in the 1904 Tennessee-Alabama League.  Should hits from those games be included?  I think so.  Another SABR member, Bill Plott, has spent some time compiling stats for that league. I have not include those hits, although I should.  Will those hits make him eclipse Pete Rose?   No, but I think it is important history.  Some would argue that the TN-AL league hits shouldn't be allowed as it is considered an outlaw league.  I'd say yes, it was a professional league.  My definition of professional is: Was it organized?  Did the players get paid a salary?  Pro!

The News (Chattanooga, Tennessee) - June 3, 1904
image from the Chattanooga Public Library

Should one include postseason hits from the minors?  And from the Japanese League?  What about Japanese Minor League hits?  What about Venezuelan Winter ball?  Yes, this opens up a can of worms.  Barnstorming?  Only games against other professional teams?  Where does it end?  Or where did it begin?

A Few Base Ball Suggestions - 1899

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - July 23, 1899

Yogi Steals Home in 1942

The following photo (which I lifted without permission) was posted on the facebook page of the Institute for Baseball Studies.

Yogi Berra of the St. Louis Stockhams (left) steals home on Los Angeles Sunrise catcher Gene Mauch (right) during the 1942 (exact date unknown) American Legion baseball sectional tournament in Hastings, Neb.

I wondered if I could find the date.  Looking through online newspaper archives showed me that the tourney took place at the end of August.

Omaha World Herald - August 26, 1942

The first game in the tourney was on Saturday, August 29.  St. Louis didn't fare well.

Omaha World Herald - August 30, 1942

The second game was scheduled for the next day, Sunday August 30, and then the tie-breaker, if necessary, was to be played later in the day.   As it turns out, it was necessary.

Omaha World Herald - August 31, 1942

  The bell ringer was swarthy Yogi Berra, whose pants-around-ankles figure was in sight almost every time the L.A. boys looked.  He went three for three, scored three runs, hit a double, the day's only extra baser, and swiped home in the seventh.

Well, there you go.  Yogi stole home in the third game.  That would be on August 30, 1942.  L.A. won.  Another baseball mystery solved.

Omaha World Herald - August 31, 1942

Yogi Berra was just a lad of 17 when he went to Hastings.  Very soon after the tournament ended the Cardinals signed him, apparently to save him from a life of boredom by book learning.

Omaha World Herald - September 13, 1942

Looking into these games raises another issue.  The caption on facebook says that Gene Mauch was catching.  According to the box scores he was playing third base.  The catcher was listed as Kinaman.  I assume that to be Dick Kinaman who knocked around the minors from 1943 to 1961.

images from GenealogyBank.com

Did Reggie steal on his own?

Yesterday at church the pastor used an illustration about Reggie Jackson stealing second base without Earl Weaver's permission. Reggie saw the opportunity and took it, but it didn't fit in with the manager's plans.  Lee May, the next batter, was walked.  The following batter wasn't strong so a pinch hitter was put in place, depleting Weaver's bench strength for the rest of the game.  You can read the illustration at SermonSearch.com, SermonCentral.com, and Bible.org.

The baseball side of my mind started to think.  This story could be verified.

Reggie Jackson stole 28 bases in 1976, the only year that he played for Earl Weaver.  I looked at RetroSheet.org and found those games.  Lee May only walked 41 times that season.  Found those games.  There were only eight games where they both happened.  Let's see if I can find the game.

For clarity I've highlighted in blue Reggie's steals and in yellow May's walks.

May 22, 1976

ORIOLES 3RD: Belanger tripled to right; R. Jackson was hit by a
pitch; L. May struck out; R. Jackson stole second; Muser singled
to center [Belanger scored, R. Jackson scored]; Singleton
singled to center [Muser to second]; CRAWFORD REPLACED COLEMAN
(PITCHING); Grich grounded into a double play (shortstop to
second to first) [Singleton out at second]; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Tigers 3, Orioles 4.

ORIOLES 9TH: SUTHERLAND REPLACED MEYER (PLAYING 2B); Mora
singled to left; BLAIR RAN FOR MORA; Belanger out on a sacrifice
bunt (pitcher to second) [Blair to second]; R. Jackson popped to
third in foul territory; L. May was walked intentionally; HARPER
BATTED FOR MUSER; Harper walked [Blair to third, L. May to
second]; Singleton homered [Blair scored, L. May scored, Harper
scored]; 4 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Tigers 4, Orioles 8.

August 1, 1976

ORIOLES 4TH: R. Jackson walked; R. Jackson stole second; L. May
popped to catcher in foul territory; Singleton grounded out
(second to first) [R. Jackson to third]; DeCinces popped to
first in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Tigers 0,
Orioles 1.

ORIOLES 8TH: MANUEL REPLACED OGLIVIE (PLAYING 2B); Grich walked;
Hiller threw a wild pitch [Grich to second]; R. Jackson struck
out; L. May was walked intentionally; Singleton flied out to
right; DeCinces made an out to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. 
Tigers 3, Orioles 3.

August 31, 1976

ORIOLES 3RD: Bumbry singled to center; Bumbry stole second;
Grich struck out; R. Jackson grounded out (shortstop to first)
[Bumbry to third]; L. May walked; Singleton singled to right
[Bumbry scored, L. May to third]; Crowley flied out to right; 1
R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Royals 1, Orioles 3.

ORIOLES 5TH: Bumbry flied out to center; Grich flied out to
center; R. Jackson walked; R. Jackson stole second [R. Jackson
to third (error by White)]; L. May flied out to center; 0 R, 0
H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Royals 1, Orioles 3.

September 4, 1976

ORIOLES 1ST: Belanger made an out to shortstop; Grich doubled to
right; R. Jackson grounded out (third to first); L. May walked;
Singleton walked [Grich to third, L. May to second]; Mora flied
out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Yankees 0, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 7TH: Belanger made an out to first; Grich lined to
right; R. Jackson singled to left; R. Jackson stole second; L.
May singled to left [R. Jackson scored]; Singleton flied out to
right; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Yankees 2, Orioles 2.

September 11, 1976

ORIOLES 1ST: Bumbry grounded out (second to first); Grich popped
to catcher; R. Jackson homered; L. May walked; Rodriguez threw a
wild pitch [L. May to second]; Singleton walked; Crowley popped
to third; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Orioles 1, Brewers 0.

ORIOLES 3RD: Bumbry grounded out (second to first); Grich struck
out; R. Jackson singled to left; R. Jackson stole second; L. May
singled to center [R. Jackson scored]; L. May was caught
stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. 
Orioles 2, Brewers 1.

September 12, 1976

ORIOLES 2ND: L. May walked; Singleton grounded into a double
play (third to second to first) [L. May out at second]; Mora
grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. 
Orioles 0, Brewers 0.

ORIOLES 9TH: R. Jackson singled to right; R. Jackson stole
second; L. May popped to catcher; Singleton singled to shortstop
[R. Jackson to third (error by Yount)]; BUMBRY RAN FOR
SINGLETON; Mora forced Bumbry (shortstop to second) [R. Jackson
scored]; DeCinces singled to right [Mora to second]; CASTRO
REPLACED AUGUSTINE (PITCHING); Dempsey forced DeCinces
(shortstop to second); 1 R, 3 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Orioles 3, Brewers
1.

September 14, 1976

ORIOLES 1ST: Bumbry struck out; Grich singled to third; R.
Jackson walked [Grich to second]; L. May flied out to right
[Grich to third]; R. Jackson stole second; Singleton lined to
third; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Tigers 0, Orioles 0.

ORIOLES 8TH: LAXTON REPLACED HILLER (PITCHING); Blair doubled to
left; Grich grounded out (shortstop to first); R. Jackson was
called out on strikes; L. May was walked intentionally;
Singleton walked [Blair to third, L. May to second]; DeCinces
flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Tigers 7, Orioles 9.

September 21, 1976

ORIOLES 4TH: R. Jackson singled to center; R. Jackson stole
second [R. Jackson to third (error by Munson)]; L. May grounded
out (shortstop to first) [R. Jackson scored]; Singleton grounded
out (shortstop to first); Muser popped to third; 1 R, 1 H, 1 E,
0 LOB.  Orioles 3, Yankees 7.

ORIOLES 6TH: Bumbry grounded out (second to first); Grich
doubled to right; R. Jackson struck out; L. May walked;
Singleton flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Orioles 3,
Yankees 7.

So, based on that data, the event never happened.  Nice illustration or anecdote, but I can't prove it.

The story was originally part of  Thomas Boswell's 1983 book How Life Imitates The World Series.

Clinton Prison All Stars

There's been quite a bit of media frenzy about the two inmates that escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. That prison is located in the county in which I was born and raised. Let's look at a few games that involved the Clinton Prison All Stars.

The sport sections of local papers in Plattsburgh, Clinton County's seat, were filled with all things baseball during the summer.  The North Country has a rich history of baseball, with Plattsburgh fielding a team for several seasons in the Northern New York League and even one in the Northern Independent League, all in the early 1900s.  Hotel teams, barnstorming teams, and local industry teams kept the interest of the area.

In the summer of 1921 there were a few contests with the All Stars of Clinton Prison.

Plattsburgh Daily Republican - July 30, 1921

The D & H would be the Delaware & Hudson Railroad.  Champlain is a town on the New York - Canadian border, with tracks running through it.

Plattsburgh Daily Republican - July 30, 1921

And the results of that first game?  A 5-0 shutout in favor of the Railroaders.

Plattsburgh Daily Press - August 1, 1921

A few days later, the Regular Plattsburgh Baseball Team went to Dannemora.

Plattsburgh Daily Republican- August 3, 1921

Again, the Prisoners are defeated, this time the score was 11-7.

Plattsburgh Daily Republican - August 4, 1921

Since the prison was built in 1844, there have been a few escapes.  I can speculate that there have been more ball games played there.

images from NYS Historic Newspapers

An Error and a Triple Play

In a few days we'll be remembering the 71st anniversary of the Allied invasion of France, commonly called "D-Day".  The History Channel and the American Heroes Channel have been showing specials about the preparation leading up to the invasion.  I've watched my fair share of them as I enjoy military history. 

But I came across a part of the story I hadn't heard before.  It seems that an errant AP report on June 3, 1944 caused quite a stir, including at the Polo Grounds.

     Baseball fans at the Polo Grounds in New York also stood and observed a minute's silence when the flash reached them by public address system.

Morning Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) - June 4, 1944

The newspaper report about the game doesn't mention the moment of silence, but does mention the triple play (Gustine to Zak to Dahlgren).

Dallas Morning News - June 4, 1944

Here's RetroSheet's box score of the game.