Theme idea and suggested questions this week are from long-time reader Al Arrighi from Edgewater, Maryland.
MONDAY — 08-Mar
Q. Who claimed that Babe
Ruth had replaced him when he returned to the team following an injury?
Hint: #1 Had
an interesting relationship with Charlie Dressen.
Hint: #2 He
hit a triple against a future Hall of Fame pitcher in spring training of his
rookie season, but he never hit one in the regular season in his major league
career.
- Ans. Ruth didn’t join the Yankees until the year
after Halas had his hip repaired,
so his claim is more than a stretch.
- #1 Dressen was a quarterback for George Halas' Decatur Staleys, the forerunners of
the Chicago Bears, in 1920.
- #2 Tripled off Rube Marquard, but hurt his hip
sliding into 3rd. Only played
12 G in MLB; had 2 H.
FCR - David Murphy, Marietta,
Georgia
Incorrect guesses: Home
Run Baker, Ping Bodie, George Foster
TUESDAY — 09-Mar
Q. Which right-handed starting pitcher was
protected by White Sox instead of Denny McLain, allowing McLain to be taken on
waivers by the Tigers?
Hint: #1 He had left his hometown of Detroit to play
for the White Sox partly because of a $75,000 signing bonus.
Hint: #2 In his first season as a pro, he dominated
the South Atlantic League with a 10-1 record, pitching complete games in 7 of
his 15 starts.
Hint: #3 In his rookie season in the majors, he had teammates
that included four future Hall of Fame players and a future Hall of Fame
manager.
A. DAVE DeBUSSCHERE [SABR Bio]
- Ans.
On 08-Apr-1963, McClain was selected off waivers by DET from the CHW as first-year waiver
pick.
- #1 75K
was quite high for that era.
- #2 Pitching
for 1962 Savannah/Lynchburg
White Sox,
he also impressed with an ERA of 2.49, striking out 93 in 94 innings.
- #3 On
the 1962-63 CHW were Luis
Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Early Wynn & Hoyt Wilhelm, managed by Al Lopez.
FCR - Michael Craig, Gilbert, Arizona
Incorrect guesses: Dick Donovan, Bruce Howard, Joe Horlen,
Dennis Ribant, Jack Harshman
WEDNESDAY — 10-Mar
Q. Which one-time Boston Braves outfielder
was chosen over Babe Ruth as the greatest athlete of the first half of the
twentieth century?
Hint: #1 His rookie contract was for more money than any previous rookie had received.
Hint: #2 He once drove in the only run in a game
where both pitchers had no-hitters through nine innings.
A. JIM THORPE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Designation
as bestowed by the Associated Press in 1953.
Swedish king Gustav V told Thorpe, “You, sir, are the greatest
athlete in the world,” at the 1912 Olympics. Thorpe’s reply? “Thanks, king.” Thorpe received 252 of 393 first-place votes,
with Babe Ruth second at 86, Jack Dempsey third at 19 and Ty Cobb fourth at 11.
- #1 Received
a contract from the New York Giants for $6,000 per year.
- #2 A famous pitching duel took place on 02-May-1917 at Weeghman Park in
Chicago between the Cubs’ Hippo Vaughn and Reds’ Fred Toney. The visitors prevailed when Thorpe singled
home teammate Larry Kopf in the top of the 10th inning.
FCR - Len Levin, Providence
Incorrect
guesses: Hank Aaron
MIDWEEK BONUS — 10-Mar
Q. Which one-time San Francisco Giant knocked
in exactly 28 runs in each of four consecutive seasons?
Hint: #1 He won an award named for Wednesday’s answer.
Hint: #2 Two years after he led the majors in
triples, he led the National League in time caught stealing.
Hint: #3 He once batted over .500 in a World Series
A. DEION SANDERS [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Had
28 RBI in 1992, 1993, 1994 & 1995, these last two being shortened seasons. Played for SFG 52 G in 1995.
- #1 Sanders
won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988 as the top defensive back in college football.
- #2 Led
the Bigs w/14 3b in 1992.
Led the NL in CS w/16 in 1994.
- #3 Hit .533 in the 1992 WS going 8 for 15,
playing in 4 of the 6 G.
FCR - John Lagana, Avondale, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: Darren Lewis, Jose Pagan, Frank
Duffy
THURSDAY — 11-Mar
Q. Which BRTR hurler is the only future Hall
of Famer to surrender more than one of Babe Ruth’s sixty home runs in
1927?
Hint: #1 He didn’t surrender more than one to any
other batter that season.
Hint: #2 He started in the majors without any minor
league experience.
Hint: #3 His great grand-nephew shortstop was drafted
by the Astros in the 1st Round of the 1990 MLB June Amateur Draft
and played for Team USA.
A. ERNIE NEVERS [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Ruth
homered off Nevers 11-May- (8th) &
27-Aug-1927 (41st),
both in Sportsman's Park III,
St. Louis. Hall of Famers Lefty Grove (BLTL) and Ted Lyons (BBTR) supplied 1 each of
the renowned 60.
- #1 Nevers’
HR total surrendered in 1927
was 9.
- #2 First
pitched professionally for the SLB in 1926.
- #3 Tom Nevers – Drafted 21st
overall;
won a Gold for Team USA in 1989.
FCR - Joe O’Neill, London, Ontario
Incorrect
guesses: Ted Lyons, Walter Johnson, Cal
Hubbard, Lefty Grove, Bill Sharman
FRIDAY — 12-Mar
Q. Who is the only person whose first
professional, regular season at-bat resulted in a major league home run?
Hint: #1 The home run was not in his major league
debut; nor was it in his first plate appearance; nor was it in a game where he
started.
Hint: #2 He skipped the minors, but after two major
league seasons had a lifetime average below what would later be known as the
“Mendoza Line”.
Hint: #3 He later played for the Dodgers and then the
Yankees. He never homered for either.
A. ACE PARKER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 1st
AB on 30-Apr-1937. Homered against Wes Ferrell when he was put in
as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th.
- #1 Had
become a major leaguer a week earlier, on 24-Apr-1937, as a pinch runner in the
top of the 9th. 3 batters
later he spoiled Bobo Newsom’s shutout.
- #2 Batted .179 in 94 games over 2 seasons for
PHA. The George-Brett-coined “Mendoza Line” is .200 and pokes fun at the career batting
average of Mario Mendoza who hit above .200 in 4 seasons out of 9 in the
majors.
- #3 Played
for the NFL’s Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees.
FCR - Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: Hoyt Wilhelm, Billy Hunter
T.G.I.F. EXTRA — 12-Mar
Q. Which rookie assisted his team to a
World Series championship, batting 110 points higher than his regular season
average that year?
Hint: #1 During his eight-year major league stint, he
was essentially a starter (playing more than 100 games each year), all for the
same team, for 5 of those seasons.
Hint: #2 He was the last batter ever to face future
Hall of Famer Mordecai Brown in the majors.
A. GREASY NEALE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. CIN
won the 1919 WS with Neale hitting .357 versus .247 in the regular season.
- #1 Played for CIN 8 years & for PHA for
part of 1.
- #2 The G in Chicago on 04-Sep-1916(2) was noted for being
the swan song for both starting pitchers, Brown for CHC & the great Christy
Mathewson for CIN, the latter prevailing
10-8. Both teams finished in the 2nd
division, looking up at Brooklyn winning its first
Modern Day NL flag.
FCR - Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: Paddy Driscoll
SATURDAY — 13-Mar
Q. Which one-time Los Angeles Angel played
in his first major league game while still not under contract with a major
league team?
Hint: #1 Had the conference of his college not had a
rule restricting it, he would have played three varsity sports at his academically
rigorous university, so he dropped basketball.
Hint: #2 In the U.S. Navy, he played on a team with future
Hall of Fame pitcher Red Faber as a teammate.
A. PADDY DRISCOLL [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Driscoll’s
12-Jun-1917 debut created a bit of
controversy. League President John Tener
informed Charles Weeghman, CHC president, that the use of Driscoll violated the
22-man roster rule. The Cubs’ defense
was that they believed the roster limitation applied only to players under
contract. Driscoll was being auditioned
without any formal agreement, not uncommon in those days.
- #1 Northwestern
University was part of the Big 9 Conference (Now the Big 17… or something like
that. I’ve lost count.) and they
stipulated that a student could participate in 2 varsity sports, but now 3.
- #2 George
Halas was also a teammate on that Navy squad.
FCR - Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect
guesses: Dan Ardell, Steve Bilko, Del
Rice, Chuck Connors, Orval Overall, George Halas
SUNDAY — 14-Mar
Q. Which Virginia-born Hall of Famer once played
for the Harlem Globetrotters?
Hint: #1 He played for the Giants in more than one
city.
Hint: #2 He has been a former major leaguer for less
than three months.
Hint: #3 Attended the same high school as Roy
Campanella.
Hint: #4 He was in the ring with Ali in the
soi-disant “Rumble in the Jungle”.
A. ZACK CLAYTON [Bio]
- Ans. Born
in Gloucester County, VA on 17-Apt-1913. Clayton played for the Globetrotters (and
the Harlem Rens) and is a member of
the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, Class of 2017.
- #1 Played
for the 1932 & 1934 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants. Also played for the 1935 (NNL) & 1937 (NAL) Chicago American Giants.
- #2 The
Negro League and therefore their players were elevated to major league status by
MLB on 16-Dec-2020.
- #3 Both
are alumni of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia
- #4 Perhaps
the highlight of his career was refereeing Muhammad Ali’s stunning eighth-round
knockout of George Foreman on 30-Oct-1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire.
FCR - Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee
Incorrect
guesses: Ferguson Jenkins, Monte Irvin, Cum
Posey, Nate Clifton
WEEKLY THEME – Major
leaguers who are in the Halls of Fame of other sports. (MLB
WAR)
Clayton................ Inducted into
the Basketball
HOF
as a player in 2017.
(~)
DeBusschere...... Inducted into
the Basketball
HOF
as a player in
1983.
(0.8)
Driscoll................ Inducted into the pro
football Hall of Fame as a player in 1965.
(-0.5)
Halas................... Inducted into
the NFL
HOF
as a coach in
1968.
(-0.4)
Neale................... Inducted into the pro
football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1969.
(5.9)
Nevers................. Inducted into the pro
football Hall of Fame as a player in 1963.
(1.4)
Parker.................. Inducted into the pro
football Hall of Fame as a player in 1972
(-1.9)
Sanders............... Inducted into the pro
football Hall
of Fame as a player in 2011.
(5.5)
Thorpe................. Inducted into the pro
football Hall of Fame as a player in 1963.
(-0.1)
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Pat Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona (Two
clicks away from being the Monday FCR when he guessed the week’s theme ! We had an eye-popping 48 correct
identifications of this week’s theme—most of them early in the week.)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Baseball
players who played pro football.
- Baseball
players who played other sports professionally
- Former
Major League Baseball players who have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of
Fame
Wed - Players
who were player-coaches in other professional sports
- Players
who went on to fame in other sports
- Major
league players who excelled in other sports
- Players
of 2 professional sports
- Baseball
players who excelled in other sports
- Multi-sport
stars or guys who are better known for non-baseball sport.
- Players
who also played professional basketball
- Players
who were better known in other sports
Thurs - Two
sport athletes
Friday - NFL
Hall of famers who played Major League Baseball
- MLB
players who are inductees in the pro football hall of fame
Sat - Baseball
players who played in other major professional sports
- Baseball
players who were commissioners in other sports.
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