MONDAY — 16-Mar-2026
Q.
Who is the winningest manager in Pittsburgh Pirates history?
Hint:
#1 As a player, he’s also in the Pirates
franchise top ten career producers in WAR, runs, triples, bases on balls,
stolen bases
Hint: #2 He was the first player to go five-for-five
in his major league debut.
A. FRED CLARKE
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Clarke’s Pirates teams won 1,422
games.
-
#1 His PIT rankings show a WAR of
46.8, 1,015 runs, 156 triples, 630 walks & 261 SB. He is in the team’s top 50 in virtually every
offensive category.
-
#2 On 30-Jun-1894 , Clarke had 5
hits in a 9-inning game, 4 singles & a triple.
FCR -
David Doonan, Bradenton, Florida
Incorrect guesses: Bill Virdon, Danny Murtaugh, Honus Wagner, Clint
Hurdle, Pie Traynor
TUESDAY — 17-Mar-2025
Q.
Which Hall of Famer led the revolt that prompted the formation of the
Players League in 1889?
Hint: #1 Ten players who are now in the Hall of Fame
played for a Players League team.
Hint: #2 He became a successful lawyer after his days
in the majors, but his degree was earned during his playing career a decade
before he retired.
A. JOHN WARD A/K/A Monte Ward [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. The league played a full
schedule in 1890, but the NL had deep pockets and the PL was too thinly backed. The Players League was virtually entirely the
product of Ward’s energies & efforts. He recruited financial investors; found
playing venues; arranged the league’s schedule; dealt every day a spectrum of obstacles
confronting any start-up all while successfully fighting off NL legal efforts
to suppress player movement.
-
#1 Ward’s law degree was from Columbia.
One of the reasons funds ran low in the PL is how much was needed to entice such
star players away from the NL & AA & to secure venues, existing or
planned. Notwithstanding, these players
will always have PL on their baseball résumé*:
Player PL tm 1891 tm
Dan Brouthers................... BOS........... BOS AA
Roger Connor.................... NYT........... NYG NL
Ed Delahanty..................... CLE........... PHI NL
Buck Ewing........................ NYT........... NYG NL
Tim Keefe........................... NYT........... NYG NL
King Kelly........................... BOS........... CKK AA, BOS AA; BOS NL
Jim O'Rourke..................... NYT........... NYG NL
Old Hoss Radbourn........... BOS........... PRO AA; CIN NL
John
Montgomery Ward..... BWW......... PRO AA
Deacon White..................... BUF........... ~
-
#2 He was hired as legal
counsel by many
active & retired players.
FCR -
John Gottko, Corvallis, Oregon
*Without exception, the HoFers listed
here had healthy moustaches. Did Ward
require it? You be the judge.
Incorrect guesses: Hughie Jennings, Kid Nichols
WEDNESDAY — 18-Mar-2025
Q.
Who stole home more times than any player not named Ty Cobb?
Hint: #1 Willie Mays is the only National Leaguer with
more career outfield putouts*.
Hint: #2 He was the first player to collect two hits
in an inning twice in the same game.
-
Ans. Carey’s record of 33 steals
of home trails only Cobb’s 54. Other
sources show different totals.
-
#1 Carey is 4th on the
career list for outfield putouts with 6,363 (ironically just 2 more than Ty
Cobb). The only NLer ahead of him is
Mays who tops the list.
-
#2 On 22-Jun-1925, Carey led off the game and & got
2 singles in the 1st inning & scored twice. He got 2 again in the 8th & scored
once. He was also hit by pitch in the 3rd
& walked in the 7th. The “2
hits in 1 inning 2 X in 1 same game” has only been done 4 times. Here are the other three:
- Johnny Hodapp on 29-Jul-1928
- Sherm Lollar on 23-Apr-1955
- Rennie Stennett on 16-Sep-1975 in
his famous seven hit game
FCR -
Craig Wright, Helena, Montana
*Originally listed in error as “assists”.
Incorrect guesses: Tris Speaker, Pete Reiser, Rickey Henderson
Jackie Robinson Joe Torre
MIDWEEK BONUS 25-Mar-2025
Q.
Which Yankee manager was the first California native inducted into the Hall
of Fame?
Hint: #1 He once led the league in stolen bases in a
season where he was a first baseman player/manager.
Hint: #2 He was well-known for crowding the plate and was
hit-by-pitch an average of twelve times a season during the decade at the heart
of his playing career yet never led the league even once.
A. FRANK CHANCE
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Born in Fresno in 1876, he
was the NYY manager in 1913 & 1914.
Those 2 teams finished 7th & 6th in the AL (out
of 8 teams). He entered the HOF 21 years
after his death, in 1954.
-
#1 In 1906, he led the Cubs to a 116-36-3
record & an
NL pennant while stealing as major-league-leading 57 bases.
-
#2 From 1900-1910, Chance was HBP
an average of 11.6 X a season. During 5
of those years, the league leader was Boston’s Dan McGann.
FCR -
Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect guesses: Miller Huggins, Fred Clarke, Joe Torre,
Frankie Crosetti, Hal Chase, Casey Stengel, Art Fletcher
THURSDAY — 26-Mar-2025
Q.
Who is the career and per season leader in RBI per game?
Hint: #1 He was the first player in the National
League with at least 200 hits in a single season.
Hint: #2 He became the first player whose home town honored
him with a plaque honoring his baseball career.
A. SAM THOMPSON
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1895, Thompson had 147
RBI in just 102 games. That equals 1.44
RBI per game! For his career, 1895-1898,
1906, it was .923 RBI per game played, just beating out Lou Gehrig (.92) & Hank
Greenberg (.91).
-
#1 Thompson led the NL with 203
H, playing 127 games for the 1887 Detroit Wolverines. He didn’t lead the majors, however. Over in the AA, Tip O’Neil had banged out 225
H in 124 games for the St. Louis Browns.
-
#2 Danville, Indiana city plaque.
FCR -
Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Hack Wilson, Hank Aaron, Joe Medwick Hal Chase,
Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers, Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein
FRIDAY — 27-Mar-2025
Q.
Which former Trojan was the first catcher elected to the Hall of Fame?
Hint: #1 He is the only nineteenth-century catcher
elected to the Hall.
Hint: #2 His last job in baseball was as the coach at
Miami (OH) Military Institute.
A. BUCK EWING
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Played 1880-1897; HOF 1939. Debuted in 1880 as a member of the Troy
Trojans.
-
#1 Played 1880-1897; HOF
1939. Connie Mack also placed catcher in
the 19th century, but not nearly well enough for Hall
consideration. He went in as a 53-year
manager.
-
#2 The November 3, 1906, Sporting
Life reported: “The last base ball (sic) work that ‘Buck’ Ewing did was to
coach Miami Military Institute of Germantown, O.”
FCR -
Adam Kinsley, West Deptford, Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: Branch Rickey, Roger Bresnahan, King Kelly
SATURDAY — 28-Mar-2025
Q.
Who got the first ever Major League All-Star Game hit?
Hint: #1 His eyesight varied so much day-to-day that
he kept three different pairs of eyeglasses at all times.
Hint: #2 He was the first to record six extra-base
hits in a doubleheader.
A.
CHICK HAFEY
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Hafey was hitting clean-up
for the NL team in the 1st
ASG. He was the 1st batter in the top of
the 2nd inning & hit a soft liner over the infield off NYY’s
Lefty Gomez, but was erased on a double play. It was Hafey’s only ASG.
-
#1 Hafey’s MLB career didn’t start with glasses, but two years in, he
developed a condition that made them necessary.
-
#2 In the opener in Philadelphia,
on 28-Jul-1928(1), Hafey had a 2B in the 5th,
a 2B in the 8th & a HR in the 12th. All 3 hits were off the same pitcher,
PHI’s Bob McGraw.
In the 2nd game, 28-Jul-1928(2), Hafey
again had two 2Bs & a homer in addition to a walk and a single. All but the 1st double were off
PHI’s reliever, Claude Willoughby.
Several players have since tied this record.
FCR -
Richard Tourangeau, Boston
Incorrect guesses: Heinie Manush, Earl Averill
SUNDAY — 29-Mar-2025
Q.
Which Reds Hall of Fame player came to bat smoking a cigarette one day
in protest of the game being played in inclement weather?
Hint: #1 Following a lackluster stint as a scout for
the Yankees, he retired and received an appointment to the MD State Racing
Commission.
Hint: #2 He is possibly the least recognized Hall of
Famer, even among avid baseball fans.
A. JOE KELLEY
[SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Game, scheduled on 05-Oct-1902,
was not played and the season ended.
-
#1 In his first year as a scout
he didn’t recommend an single player to
the Yankees.
- #2 Kelley’s
career (1896-1908) was contemporary with & often overshadowed by baseball
legends such as:
Jake Beckley,
Dan Brouthers,
John Clarkson,
Sam Crawford,
Pud Galvin,
Ned Hanlon,
Miller Huggins
Hughie Jennings,
Willie Keeler,
Connie Mack,
Joe McGinnity,
Jon McGraw,
Bid McPhee,
Kid Nichols,
&
Wilbert Robinson …
& those are just his Hall of Fame teammates!
FCR -
Rick Tharp,
Plattsburgh, New York
Incorrect guesses: Dick Allen, Edd Roush, Eppa Rixey, Ernie Lombardi, Bid McPhee
THEME: HOF Victims of the hidden-ball trick caught by another Hall of Famer.
These are all found in the exceptional book by Bill Deane, “Finding
the Hidden Ball Trick: The Colorful History of Baseball's Oldest Ruse”. I bought it in 2024 and highly recommend it. Bill was very helpful in putting this week
together.
Perpetrator Victim Date
Miller Huggins............ Max CAREY.............. 30-Jun-1911
Miller Huggins............ Fred CLARKE........... 15-Apr-1909
Jake Beckley.............. Frank CHANCE........ 17-Apr-1902*
Dan Brouthers............ Buck EWING............. 27-Sep-1884
Leo Durocher............. Chick HAFEY............ 06-Sep-1931(2)
Jake Beckley.............. Joe
KELLEY............. 30-May-1893(1)
Roger Connor............ Sam THOMPSON..... 04-May-1889
Jake Beckley.............. John WARD.............. 28-Sep-1893
*Opening Day
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – (Tough one, I admit.)
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Tues - Player-managers in the HOF
Thur - Managers, whose names are also the name of a
store
-
Deadfall
Era Player-Managers
-
Managers
who managed the Cubs during a pennant-winning season
-
HOF manager
with over 100 wins and 400 SB's as a player
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