By Barry Sparks, who has now become, it seems, a regular
contributor.
IN MEMORIAM
Q. What
Paire was portrayed as a Peach?
Hint: She
was, however, a Millerette, a Daisy, and Belle and a Chick.
Hint: She
played on championship teams nine of the twelve years of the league’s
existence.
Hint: She
is included in a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Hint: Usually
her team’s best athlete, she played shortstop and third base, but mostly
catcher.
Hint: The
son of one of her teammates played for nine years in the majors.
Twint: Geena
Davis played her in the movie.
Twint: There
really IS crying in baseball, especially at times like this. (If there’s no crying, then you’re not doing
it right.)
A. Lavonne
'Pepper' Paire-Davis (A League of Their Own;
AAGPBL 1943-54)
FCR - Bob
Wilber, Spokane, WA
MONDAY
Q. Who
was the first player to play on four winning World Series teams?
Hint: Connie
Mack called him "the greatest shortstop there ever was".
Hint: He
missed the entire 1918 season because he joined the military to serve in WW I.
Twint: He
compiled a record of 616-150-6 for an .802 won/loss percentage during a 40-year
college coaching career.
A. Jack Barry (1910, 1911, 1913 and 1915; Holy Cross,
1921-1960).
FCR - Ron
Liebman, Flushing, NY
TUESDAY
Q. Whose
home run-turned-double turned Harvey Haddix' near-perfect game into a loss?
Hint: He
was the first player to hit a home run over the center field wall at the Polo
Grounds?
Hint: He
once slugged the third in a series of back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs.
Hint: When
he retired in 1966, he had the fifth most career home runs for a first baseman.
Twint: Despite
his 336 career homers, he was only named as an All-Star one year.
A. Joe Adcock (Haddix G
26‑May‑1959;
Polo Grounds HR 29‑Apr‑1953;
4 HR 7th inning @ Cincinnati 08‑Jun‑1961:
Aaron,
Mathews,
Adcock & Frank Thomas;
Foxx [534];
Gehrig
[493]; Hodges
[370]; Mize
[359]; Adcock [336]; AS 1960)
FCR - Chuck
Durante, Dover, DE
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to toe the mound the day Yankee Stadium opened?
Hint: He
returned to throw out the first ball in remodeled Yankee Stadium in 1976.
Hint: His
15 strikeouts in a game was a team record for 59 years.
Twint: His
nicknames included "Sailor Bob" and "Bob the Gob."
A. Bob Shawkey (18‑Apr‑1923;
15‑Apr‑1976;
Struck out 15 Athletics
27‑Sep‑1919,
record was broken by Ron Guidry
with 18 Ks vs. California,
17‑Jun‑1978).
FCR - Tim Phares, Laurel, MD
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who
was the first player to sign with the expansion Los Angeles Angels?
Hint: He
was their Opening Day catcher.
Hint: He
caught Don Cardwell's no-hitter while with the Cubs.
Twint: He
was Bob
Buhl's personal catcher with the Braves.
A. Del Rice (11‑Apr‑1961;
Cardwell’s
No-no: 15‑May‑1960)
FCR - Chuck Durante, Dover, DE
THURSDAY
Q. Who
has the lowest career batting average of any major leaguer with more than 5,000
at-bats?
Hint: He
received votes for the Chalmers Award in 1911, 12, 13 and 14 despite never batting
more than .235 in any those seasons.
Hint: He
was nicknamed "Pinch" for his ability to hit in the clutch.
Twint: He
was the Washington Senators regular shortstop from 1908-16.
A. George McBride (.218 in 5,526 AB; Chalmers Awards
1911,
1912,
1913
& 1914)
FCR - Tom Zocco, Rocky Hill, CT
FRIDAY
Q. Whom
did Ty Cobb describe as "the best catcher to ever wear shoe leather"?
Hint: He
received a U.S. patent in 1908 for an inflatable, contoured chest protector.
Hint: He
caught three balls thrown from the Washington Monument by pitcher Ed Walsh as a
publicity stunt in 1910.
Twint: He
and his son became the first father-son combination to appear in the World
Series. Not the same Series. That would be a record.
A. Billy Sullivan, Sr. (1906 World
Series with Chicago White Sox and Billy
Sullivan, Jr., 1940 with the
Detroit Tigers).
FCR - Rick Fink, Edison, NJ
SATURDAY
Q. Who
lost his starting shortstop position to Robin Yount in 1974?
Hint: He
never hit a home run in 1,408 plate appearances during his seven-year major
league career.
Twint: He
is a native of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Twint: He
was named the American Association Manager of the Year in 2012.
Twint: His
past came to light slowly.
A. Tim Johnson (AA MOY;
Came forth about the source of his player-inspiring
stories.)
FCR - Saul Wisnia, Newton Center, MA
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was, following three separate seasons, named The Sporting News' Minor League Manager of the Year?
Hint: He
won the Junior World Series as manager of the American Association's
Indianapolis Indians.
Hint: Although
he was known by his middle name, his first name was "Major".
Twint: He
was Roger
Maris' first major league manager.
A. Kerby Farrell (1954, 1956 and 1961;
1956; Cleveland
Indians 1957)
FCR - Al Blumkin, Brooklyn, NY
WEEKLY THEME
– Managers who won 75 games in the majors, but only managed one year.
Barry 1917 Boston Red
Sox 90-62 Bio
Johnson 1998 Toronto Blue
Jays 88-74 Bio
Shawkey 1930 New York
Yankees 86-68 Bio
Farrell 1957 Cleveland
Indians 76-77 Bio
Adcock 1967 Cleveland
Indians 75-87 Bio
Rice 1972 California
Angels 75-80 Bio
N.B.
Cookie Rojas managed the 1988 California Angels to a 75-79 record, but he also
managed one game for the 1996 Florida Marlins
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Steve
Schwartz, Chico, CA (after the Adcock question)
Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions
and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/
Horsehide Trivia home page: https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia
