Sunday, May 15, 2022

2022-05-08 Non-Hall of Famers with SABR chapters named for them

MONDAY  —09-May

Q.  Whose spot in the lineup did Henry Aaron take when he broke in with the Braves?

Hint: #1  He (not Aaron) led the majors in triples the last year the original eight National League teams were at their original home cities.

Hint: #2  Ironically, he almost signed with the Dodgers.

A.  BOBBY THOMSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In 1954 Thomson broke his ankle in spring training.  Aaron broke in and played 122 G, all but 11 in LF.

-  #1  Thomson hit 14 triples in 1952, the only serious black ink of his 15-year MLB career.  The next year the Braves left Boston for Milwaukee.  BSN became MLN.

-  #2  While at Curtis High School on Staten Island, Thomson played for a local amateur team called the Dodger Rookies.  BRO & NYG both offered him a contract, but he grew up a Giants fan.  His very name still causes discomfort in Dodger fans.

FCR -  Timothy Brownlee, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Incorrect guesses:  Bill Bruton, Sid Gordon, Sam Jethroe, Tommy Holmes, Andy Pafko

 

TUESDAY  —10-May

Q.  Which manager has the most MLB playoff appearances without a World Series win?

Hint: #1  He’s credited with co-inventing the high five.

Hint: #2  He was working as a stockbroker when a former MVP convinced him to get back in the game.

A.  DUSTY BAKER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  MLB managers Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa & Joe Torre are the only ones with more postseason appearances than Baker’s 11.

-  #1     Baker hit his 30th home run of 1977 for LAD and as he completed his HR circuit, his on deck teammate Glenn Burke held his palm over his head and Baker spontaneously slapped his lofted hand.  Baker returned the favor almost immediately because Burke then homered himself!  The gesture caught on quickly and is now an exuberant action seen worldwide almost every day.

-  #2     He worked as a stockbroker for a year after his playing days, but Al Rosen (the unanimous 1953 AL MVP, then SFG’s GM) said he saw Dusty as a field manager. After some coaching assignments, the Giants became Baker’s first managing job.

FCR -  Matt Van Hoose, Springfield, Virginia

Incorrect guesses: 

 

TUESDAY Bis  —10-May

Q.  Other than Frank Robinson, who won his Rookie of the Year and MVP in different leagues?

Hint: #1  His number was retired 3 months before his death.

Hint: #2  No less a player than Mike Schmidt considered him a mentor.

A.  DICK ALLEN  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  ROY w/PHI in 1964; MVP w/CHW in 1972.

-  #1  #15, retired by PHI on 03-Sep-2020.

-  #2  They were teammates in 1975 & 76.  Schmidt said Allen was a gentleman, a leader & a great teammate.

FCR -  Quentin Wittrock, Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Incorrect guesses:  Mark McGwire

 

WEDNESDAY  —11-May

Q.  Which pitcher won the first World Series game where “Take Me Out To the Ballgame” was played before the game?

Hint: #1  A Hall of Fame teammate called him “mule ears.”

Hint: #2  He was losing pitcher in the first night game at Sportsman’s Park.

A.  ELDEN AUKER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  He was the winning pitcher in the 4th game of the 1934 WS, beating STL’s Bill Walker.  It was Auker’s only W in the Series, as he, and the Tigers, lost G 7.  The song has become a staple at baseball games at every level.

-  #1     In his autobiography “Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms”, he describes joining DET, where player/manager Mickey Cochrane used to tease him by saying now that he, Cochrane, won’t have the biggest ears on the team.

-  #2     1st G at Sportsmans’ Park = 14-May-1940, vs Bob Feller of the Indians.  The Browns lost 3-2.

FCR -  Phillip Ross, Denver

Incorrect guesses:  Mort Cooper 

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  —11-May

Q.  Which former major leaguer was shot and killed by robbers after he cashed fellow employees’ paychecks?

Hint: #1  He is the only player to hit a home run over the centerfield scoreboard in Buffalo's Offermann Stadium.

Hint: #2  As reported in Sports Illustrated, he was once fined at a game in Minneapolis for opening the gates to kids who couldn’t afford tickets.

A.  LUKE EASTER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Died 29-Mar-1979.  Read the story here.

-  #1   HR on 14-Jun-1957 playing for the Bisons of Buffalo.

-  #2   It was a minor league game.  The incident was recounted by Daniel Cattau in the 09-Apr-1979 issue of Sports Illustrated.

FCR -  Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Lyman Bostick, Joe Hauser

 

THURSDAY  —12-May

Q.  Who was the first catcher to homer twice in a major league inning?

Hint: #1  He was the home team’s catcher for the first major league game Vin Scully ever called.

Hint: #2  He’s partly responsible for the rule against basemen distracting the batter at the plate.

A.  ANDY SEMINICK  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In the 8th inning on 02-Jun-1949, Seminick went deep 2 X off CIN Ps Ken Raffensberger (off whom he had already homered in the 2nd) & Kent Peterson.  Seminick, John Boccabella & Bengie Molina are the only catchers ever to homer twice in an inning.

-  #1  Scully’s 1st = 18-Apr-1950, BRO vs. PHI at Shibe Park.  Phillies won.

-  #2  Giants player Eddie Stanky used to like to wave his arms to distract batters.  On 12‑Jul‑1950, Seminick got so sick of it that when Giants manager Leo Durocher wouldn’t stop it, Seminick slid into Stanky, causing a full brawl between the teams.  Commissioner Frick eventually ruled players aren’t allowed to distract the batter by waving their arms.  Read the full story here.

FCR -  Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee

Incorrect guesses:  Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Ernie Lombardi, Joe Pignatano, John Roseboro, Dixie Howell

 

FRIDAY  —13-May

Q.  Who is the most recent major leaguer to debut at age seventeen?

Hint: #1  In the first inning of his first game, he struck out a player who was named for the same person that his own high school was named for.

Hint: #2  He preceded and succeeded the same MLB manager.

A.  LARRY DIERKER  [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  Debuted for the Colt 45s on 22-Sep-1964.  (He turned 18 that day, but had been on the roster earlier at 17.)

-  #1  In the 1st, he struck out Willie Howard Mays (Jr). who was named for his father who in turn was named for President William Howard Taft.  Dierker was at the time a very recent alum of William Howard Taft HS in Woodland Hills, California.

-  #2  Managing HOU, Dierker collapsed with grand mal seizure during the G on 13-Jun-1999.  Bench coach Matt Galante guided the team until Dierker’s return 23-Jul.

FCR -  Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Lew Krausse, David Clyde, Rod Miller, Bud Black, Joe Nuxhall, Art Houtteman, Jay Dahl

 

SATURDAY  —14-May

Q.  Who was the first player to enlist for active duty in World War I?

Hint: #1   He caught the last seventeen innings of the only 26 inning game in regulation history.

Hint: #2  He had the most extra base hits in his team’s first World Series.

A.  HANK GOWDY  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  It’s what he’s probably best remembered for.  As a result, his name came up on 17 rounds of BBWAA ballots for the Hall, despite relatively unimpressive stats.

-  #1  01-May-1920, Brooklyn Robins vs Boston Braves, Gowdy caught the last 17 innings. Both pitchers pitched complete games (!!!). The score was 1-1, called on account of darkness. Both runs happened before Gowdy’s stretch behind the plate.

-  #2  In 1914 when the Miracle Braves beat the A’s.  Gowdy hit a series-best .545 and hit 2 doubles, a triple & HR.  Had the WS MVP existed then, he likely would have won it.

FCR -  Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Chief Meyers, Rowdy Elliott, Eddie Grant

 

WEEKEND BONUS  —14-May

Q.  Who batted in the most runs in the first American League tiebreaker playoff game?

Hint: #1  He cost a certain Hall of Famer a lot of ketchup.

Hint: #2  Though not a pitcher, he holds the record for the longest ball ever thrown.

A.  KEN KELTNER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In the tiebreaker G on 04-Oct-1948 for the AL pennant, he had 3 RBI for CLE in the 8-3 win.

-  #1   He made 2 great defensive plays that are credited with ending Joe DiMaggio’s famous 56-G hit streak.  Had the streak gone on for one more game, DiMaggio would have received a $10,000 endorsement from Heinz.

-  #2  In August 1938, he threw 12 balls off Cleveland’s Terminal Tower.  At 138 MPH, only 2 were caught.  The 52-story, 708-foot drop is a record.

FCR -  Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA

Incorrect guesses:  Tommy Henrich, Bobby Doerr, Lou Boudreau, Rocky Colavito

 

SUNDAY  —15-May

Q.  Who was the first player to face Babe Ruth in a major league game?

Hint: #1  He’s the first person inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame who was also honored by Cooperstown.

Hint: #2  He became the first former player to become a play-by-play announcer.

A.  JACK GRANEY  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Graney led off for CLE on 11-Jul-1914 when they faced BOS.  Ruth got the win, 4-3.

-  #1   He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, their 2nd year of operation and he was honored by The Hall with the Ford Frick Award in 2022.

-  #2   After retiring from baseball in 1922, he became the play-by-play announcer for Cleveland, the first former player to do so.

FCR -  Michael Green, Las Vegas

Incorrect guesses:  Waite Hoyt, Nap Lajoie

 

AND FINALLY  —15-May

Q.  Who wrote and published “Baseball Briefs”?

Hint: #1  He is the only one of this week’s answers who is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Hint: #2  He shares a salient feature with both of Horsehide Trivia’s founders.

A.  BOB DAVIDS  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Davids wrote numerous freelance articles on baseball for The Sporting News between 1951 and 1965.  When it reduced the baseball coverage, Davids began his own baseball publication, Baseball Briefs.

-  #1  Passed away 10-Feb-2002 and because of his three decades plus of government service at the highest levels, was buried with other of the nation’s heroes at Arlington.

-  #2  All 3 have been know by their middle names their entire lives:  Terry Scott Brandon, Douglas Bruce Brown and Leonard Robert (“Bob”) Davids.

FCR -  Wayne McCombs, Claremore, Oklahoma

Incorrect guesses:  Hank Gowdy

 

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – Non-Hall of Famers with SABR chapters named for them

 

Allen............... Philadelphia Chapter (Co-named w/Connie Mack)

Auker.............. Central Florida Chapter

Baker.............. Sacramento Chapter

Davids............ Washington DC Region

Dierker........... Houston Chapter

Easter............. Rochester NY Chapter

Gowdy............ Columbus Ohio Chapter

Graney........... Cleveland Ohio Chapter

Keltner............ Wisconsin Chapter

Seminick........ Central Florida Chapter

Thomson........ UK Chapter

 First Correct Respondent identifying themeSusan Keiser, Philadelphia (After Allen)

This week’s quiz was submitted by Toronto’s Sarah Grynpas. 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 Mon     -  MLB players born in Scotland

 

Tues    -  Hank Aaron’s outfield teammates with 200+ career HRs

            -  Players who batted behind Hank Aaron

 

Thu      -  Players with unique last names

            -  Players for whom SABR chapters are named

            -  SABR chapters named after players who were from the area (born there or lived there)

 

Fri        -  SABR chapters named after local area players who played interesting and prominent roles in baseball history

 

 

 

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