MONDAY
Q. Who
was the last American Leaguer to hit .420 in a season?
Hint: He
was the last first baseman to steal 50 bases in a season.
Hint: His
career batting average beats Lou Gehrig’s by a hair, .34015 to .34008.
Twint: He
appeared on a U.S. postage stamp in 2000.
Twint: He
also appeared on a postage stamp for Ajman, one of the United Arab Emirates, in
1969.
A. George Sisler (.420 in 1920, 51 SB in 1922,
U.S.
Stamp; Ajman
stamp)
FCR - Walt
Cherniak, Woodbine, MD
MONDAY BONUS
Q. Whose
.378 batting average prevented Babe Ruth from winning the American League
Triple Crown in 1926?
Hint: He
was the first native of Alabama to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Hint: He
had one brother who played in the majors and three other brothers who played in
the minors.
Twint: He
was also the first native of Alabama to be selected to an All-Star team.
A. Heinie Manush (Ruth led
in HR w/47 & RBI w/150, but hit “only” .372; HOF 1964; AS 1934;
Brother Frank,
brothers George,
Earl & Harry)
FCR - Makoto
Ozawa, Scarsdale, NY
TUESDAY
Q. Who
is the only man to play in all nineteen World Series games of the Washington
Senators?
Hint: He
set the major league record when he hit into four double plays in one game.
Hint: He
also had three errors in that game.
Hint: He
was the first hitter to hit a home run off Bob Feller; the only one Feller gave
up in his rookie season.
Twint: He
is a native of Mike Trout’s home state.
A. Goose Goslin (WSH WS 1924, 25, 33; 4
GIDP, 3 E 28‑Apr‑1934;
Feller
HR 18‑Sep‑1936;
b. Salem, NJ 16‑Oct‑1900)
FCR - Paul
Hirsch, San Diego, CA
TUESDAY BONUS
Q. Who
was the first third baseman to hit thirty home runs in a season?
Hint: In
doing that he broke his own record for homers in a season by a third baseman.
Hint: That
record wasn’t broken until Al Rosen hit 37 in 1950.
Hint: He
was a player/manager for his hometown team in Yakima, Washington after
retirement.
Twint: He
made the All-Star team only once in his twelve-year major league career.
Twint: His
career in the Bigs was shortened by a serious case of the mumps.
A. Harlond Clift (29 HR in 1936; 34 in
1937; AS
in 1937; Mgr of Yakima
Stars in 1947)
FCR - Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
WEDNESDAY
Q. Which
Columbia native led the American League in fielding percent at shortstop in
1929 and 1938?
Hint: A
versatile player, in 1934 he played left and right fields and appeared at
first, second, third and short for the Washington Senators.
Hint: As
a Maple Leaf, he once played a nine inning game at nine different positions.
Twint: While
playing against the 1935 Montreal Royals, he pitched 8.1 innings of no-hit
ball, but lost 1-0 in the ninth on a hit, walk and error.
A. Red Kress (Fld% 1929 .946, 1938 .965;
Fielding stats BR.com; Minor league feats from Wikipedia)
FCR - Dave
Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
WEDNESDAY BONUS
Q. Who
lost the 1935 American League batting title to Buddy Myer by .0006 points?
Hint That
same year, he led his league in hits, doubles and triples.
Hint: He
was the leadoff hitter for the All Star Game the same year—the only year he was
selected.
Twint: A
Cleveland, OH native, he was signed by Cleveland General Manager Billy Evans
whose wife, as legend has it, suggested he take “the good looking blond boy”.
A. Joe Vosmik (Myer BA
.3490, Vosmik .3484; 1935 216 H, 47 2B, 20 3B; 1935 ASG
Played the entire game in RF and scored the final run of the game in the 5th
inning on a Jimmie Foxx
RBI; Legend of Evans wife’s comment: Cleveland Press, July 17, 1931)
FCR - Dave
Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. In
1941 at Griffith stadium, which player was hit squarely in the left temple
during fielding practice by an errant throw from teammate Joe Kuhel?
Hint: The
blow was such that it fractured his skull and over the next few years he went
totally blind.
Hint: He
was not eligible for the newly created major-league player’s pension plan, but
rather than being bitter, he simply stated “Rules are rules.”
Twint: He
spent much of his post-baseball life working with and inspiring others
afflicted with blindness.
Twint: In
order to defray costs of his attendance at games, both leagues presented him
with a lifetime pass to all Major League games.
A. Moose Solters (Kuhel)
FCR - Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
THURSDAY
Q. In
1941, whom did Manager Joe McCarthy promote to second base to play along with
the also-newly-promoted shortstop Phil Rizzuto?
Hint: He
and Rizzuto had been paired as a double play combination in the minors for the
three years prior.
Hint: Bill
James wrote an entire chapter about him in his book “The Politics of Glory”
concluding he was one of the greatest defensive players of all time with
“essentially the same skills as Mazeroski and Bolling”.
Twint: He
was the inspiration to a barefoot eleven-year-old Maury Wills, who once told
him, “Hey, kid. You’ve got a chance to be a good baseball player one
day. Where’s your shoes?”
A. Jerry Priddy (Rizzuto/Priddy
1938-40 minors both with Norfolk
Tars and Kansas
City Blues;
Politics
of Glory; Wills looked
down to see he wasn’t wearing any shoes and later commented
FCR - Jack
Carlson, Beaver Creek, OH
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Who
was the first person outside of North American to have controlling interesting
in a major league team?
Hint: His
1992 purchase of the Mariners helped keep them in Seattle.
Hint: He
got involved as a favor to the Seattle area, which was home to his
Redmond, WA‑based Nintendo of America.
Hint: He
passed day-to-day control of the ball club in 2004 to Nintendo of America, led
by Howard Lincoln, who is chairman & chief executive officer of the
Mariners.
Hint: He
had stayed on as an adviser at Nintendo since 2002.
Twint: He
ran Nintendo from 1949 to 2002, turning it from a playing-card company into an
international video-game giant.
Twint: Our
own Scott Brandon sat in on a meeting he conducted and reports that the level
of deference was like none he’d ever witnessed.
FCR - Andy
Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA
FRIDAY
Q. Who,
in 1935, was called “The $17,500 lemon” and sent down to the minors?
Hint: He
came back with a vengeance in 1936 hitting .344 and in 1937 he led the league
with 218 hits and 51 doubles.
Hint: He
was selected for the 1937 All Star Game, but did not play as all three starting
outfielders played the entire game.
Twint: As
coach, he led the 1951 Texas A&M
team to the Southwest Conference championship and College World Series.
A. Beau Bell (Sent down to Class A San
Antonio Missions after batting .250 with SLB; 1937 ASG
box DiMaggio,
Averill
and West
went all 9; Aggie
coach;
FCR - Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
FRIDAY FREEBIE
Q. Whose
nickname was earned when he hit a first‑pitch lead‑off home run just after the
ballpark band had just finished playing “Oh, You Beautiful Doll!”?
Hint: He
claims a lady sitting behind home plate jumped up after his swat and shouted
out, “You must be that beautiful doll!”
Hint: He
once set a major league record of 488 putouts in a season by an outfielder.
Twint: He
was the last player to hold the putout record before Taylor
Douthit established the current mark of 547 in 1928.
A. Baby Doll Jacobsen (Nickname acquired
with Mobile
in 1912, song; 488 PO
1924. Douthit’s record still stands
85 years later)
FCR - Dave
Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
END-OF-THE-WORKWEEK BONUS
Q. Who
leads all District of Columbia natives in career runs scored?
Hint: Ty
Cobb chose him to start at first base in Cobb’s first year managing the Detroit
Tigers.
Hint: He
led all infielders on that team in virtually every offensive category except
sacrifice hits.
Hint: After
announcing to Tiger management he would never play for the Tigers again, he was
traded–along with Heinie Manush—to the St. Louis Browns.
Twint: In
an exhibition fund-raising game, batting right-handed, he hit a grand slam in
the eighth inning to tie the game.
Twint: He
then hit another grand slam in the tenth, from the left side, to win the game.
A. Lu Blue (1,151 R; 1921 Tigers;
Trade 13-Dec-1927; 2 GS
1917)
FCR - Barry
Nelson, Guilderland, NY
SATURDAY
Q. Who
was the only St. Louis Brown to hit a World Series home run?
Hint: It
was the winning difference in one of only two World Series games the Browns
ever won.
Hint: He
had the highest batting average of that Series for players with more than four
at bats.
Hint: He
also had more runs-batted-in that postseason than any other player on either
team.
Twint: In
his only other Fall Classic, he was the starting Yankee first baseman in the
1947 World Series.
A. George McQuinn (HR Game 1 1944 WS,
2-1 victory over STL; BA .438 with
16AB led both teams; 7R also led both teams; 1B start 6 of
7 games)
FCR - Chuck
Hilty, Reston, VA
SATURDAY SUPPLEMENTAL
Q. Who
holds the Detroit Tigers season record for putouts at third base?
Hint: He
managed the Red Sox for two seasons, taking over an eighth place team and
lifting them all the way to seventh.
Hint: He’s
the only third baseman player/manager the Red Sox ever had.
Twint: With
a mere 23, he led the American League in stolen bases in 1930.
A. Marty McManus (206 PO in 1929
[Oops! Not so. Turns out Ossie Vitt
had two more than that for Detroit in 1916.]; Player/Mgr for BOS 1932-33)
FCR - Dave
Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. What
native of Cambridge, MA played first base in the majors and was affectionately
known as “Slug”?
Hint: He
was managed by a Reindeer, a Rajah and Black Mike.
Twint: He
only played on one team that bettered a .500 record.
Twint: He
managed for ten seasons in the minors in two countries after his major league playing
career.
Twint: On
four of those teams he was a player manager.
Twint: His
son Bob coached baseball in high school for over thirty years.
Twint: Every
year that school award a baseball honor named after him.
A. Jack Burns (Player page;
SLB managers 1930-33
“Reindeer”
Bill Killefer, 1934-37 Rogers “The Rajah” Hornsby and 1936 DET
manager Mickey “Black Mike” Cochrane; DET 1936 83-71
2nd in AL, 19.5 G behind NYY; Minor
league managing record)
FCR - Ray Luurs,
Blaine, MN
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was the Senators’ leading batter in their last World Series?
Hint: That
same year, he led all outfielders in the majors with 433 putouts.
Hint: In
his debut season, he hit his first career home run off Walter Johnson, his
second off Waite Hoyt.
Twint: He
was once involved in a trade that sent him to the Senators with Goose Goslin
and Lefty Stewart, a move that certainly helped get the Senators to the 1933
World Series.
A. Fred Schulte (1933WS 4-1 loss to the NYG; Yearly league PO by OF; HR off Johnson 04‑Jun‑1927,
off Hoyt
16‑Jun‑1927;
traded SLB
to WSH, 14-Dec-1932)
FCR - Dave
Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
WEEK’S GRAND FINALE
Q. Who
is the only outfielder to lead the league in fielding three times during the
1940s?
Hint: Although
he missed out on a World Series ring during his service in WWII, he earned one
as a backup after his return.
Hint: He
received MVP votes in two of his first three seasons in the majors.
Hint: Bowie
Kuhn lists him among his favorite players because, as a young scoreboard
operator for the Senators, he first received a game ball from this star
outfielder.
Hint: One
scout advised the Yankees to pass on Padres outfielder Ted Williams due to
"limitations," recommending this slugging outfielder in his place.
Twint: He
ranks in the top 100 in career fielding among centerfielders and all
outfielders.
Twint: He
was the first major leaguer from the high school that later produced Gus Triandos
and Dave
Hengel.
Twint: He
led his team in home runs in 1939, 40, 42, 46, 51, 52 and 54.
A. Wally Judnich (Fielding
% .989 in 1940, .991 in 1942 & .995 in 1946; Missed 1944 WS, earned
ring w- CLE in 1948; MVP votes in 1940
& 42;
OF ranking: 54th and 91st respectively; Mission San Jose HS,
Fremont, CA; HRs: 1939 Newark Bears [21], 1954 Portland Beavers [18]; also 1940
Browns & 1951-52 Seattle Rainiers (1940, 42 & 46) in-between)
FCR - Rod
Nelson, Detroit, MI
WEEKLY THEME – St. Louis Brown players
with 40 doubles in season
Player Year Doubles
Bell 1936 40
1937 51
Blue 1929 40
Burns 1933 43
Clift 1936 40
Goslin 1931 42
Jacobson 1924 41
Judnich 1941 40
Kress 1930 43
1931 46
Manush 1928 47
1929 45
McManus 1925 44
McQuinn 1938 42
Priddy 1948 40
Schulte 1928 44
Sisler 1920 49
1922 42
Solters 1936 45
Vosmik 1937 47
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Joe
Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA (after the Vosmik Q.)
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
