1.
1913 Philadelphia Athletics season
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The 1913 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the As finishing first in the American League with a record of 96 wins and 57 losses. The team then defeated the New York Giants in the 1913 World Series,4 games to 1, in 2001, baseball historian Bill James ranked the 1913 incarnation of the Athletics famous $100,000 infield as the best of all time in major league history. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. NL New York Giants 1913 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1913 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www. baseball-almanac. com
2.
Connie Mack
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Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he records for wins, losses. Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the clubs first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, before retiring at age 87 following the 1950 season, however, constant financial struggles forced repeated rebuilding of the roster, and Macks teams also finished in last place 17 times. Mack was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Mack was born Cornelius McGillicuddy in East Brookfield, Massachusetts on December 22,1862. As with many Irish immigrants whose names began with Mc, the McGullicuddys were often referred to as Mack and his parents, Michael McGillicuddy and Mary McKillop, were both immigrants from Ireland. Michael McGillicuddys father was named Cornelius McGillicuddy, and by tradition, Connie is a common nickname for Cornelius, so Cornelius McGillicuddy was called Connie Mack from an early age. Connie Mack never legally changed his name, on the occasion of his marriage at age 48. His nickname on the field was Slats, for his height of 6 feet 2 inches. During the American Civil War, he served with the 51st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Michael McGillicuddy suffered from several ailments as the result of his military service, he was able to work only infrequently, and drew a disability pension. Mack was educated in East Brookfield, and began working summers in local cotton mills at age 9 to help support his family. He quit school after completing the eighth grade at age 14, intending to work full-time to contribute to the familys support and he clerked at a store, worked on local farms, and worked on the production lines of the shoe factories in nearby towns. Mack was also an athlete, and frequently played baseball. In 1879 his skills landed him a place on East Brookfields town team, though younger than his teammates by several years, Mack was the teams catcher and de facto captain. Beginning in 1886, Mack played 10 seasons in the National League and one in the Players League, for a total of 11 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely as a catcher. Beginning in 1884, he played on minor league teams in the Connecticut cities of Meriden, in the winter of 1889, he jumped to the Buffalo team of the new Players League, the Bisons, investing his entire life savings of $500 in shares in that club. But the Players League went out of business only a year. In December 1890 Mack signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, as a player, Mack was a light-hitting catcher with a reputation as a smart player, but didnt do anything particularly well as a player. Mack was one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind home plate instead of in front of the backstop, according to Wilbert Robinson, Mack never was mean
3.
1913 New York Giants season
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The 1913 New York Giants season was the franchises 31st season. It involved the Giants winning the National League pennant for the third consecutive year, led by manager John McGraw, the Giants dominated the NL and finished 12½ games in front of the second place Philadelphia Phillies. They were beaten by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1913 World Series, ace pitcher Christy Mathewson went 25–11 and led the NL with a 2.06 ERA. Rube Marquard and Jeff Tesreau also won over 20 games, taken together with the 1911 and 1912 pennant winners, this team is considered one of the greatest of all-time. The roster was basically unchanged from 1912, september 15,1913, Rule 5 draft Ben Dyer was drafted by the Giants from the Decatur Commodores. Hank Ritter was drafted by the Giants from the Wilmington Chicks, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg
4.
John McGraw
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John Joseph McGraw, nicknamed Little Napoleon and Mugsy, was a Major League Baseball player and long-time manager of the New York Giants. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, while primarily a third baseman throughout his career, he also played shortstop and the outfield in the major leagues. Much lauded as a player, McGraw was one of the standard-bearers of dead-ball era baseball, even with his success and notoriety as a player, he is best known for his managing, especially since it was with a team so popular as the New York Giants. His total of 2,763 victories in that capacity ranks second overall behind only Connie Mack, McGraw is widely held to be the best player to become a great manager in the history of baseball. McGraw also held the MLB record for most ejections by a manager until Bobby Cox broke the record in 2007, McGraws father, whose name was also John, and his older brother Michael immigrated from Ireland in 1856. Their last name is spelled McGrath but pronounced McGraw and he and his brother had arrived in time for the Civil War, and were drawn into the conflict as part of the Union army. Shortly after the war, he married and McGraws older half-sister was born, John McGraw, Sr. s first wife died, and he began moving around looking for work—a search that ultimately led him to Truxton, New York, in 1871. It was there that the elder John McGraw married young Ellen Comerfort and they had the younger John McGraw on April 7,1873. The younger John McGraw was named John after his father, even as a baby, young Johnny had raven hair, and eyes so dark that many people thought they were black. The boys birth was the first of many to the family, the sheer number of children, combined with the paucity of well-compensated work led to hard times for the large family. It was often a struggle simply to have food for everyone. Tragedy struck the family in the summer of 1883, when a debilitating fever swept through the family, johnnys half-sister Annie,13, was the first to succumb, and his mother died shortly thereafter. By the time September 1883 had passed, three more McGraw children had died, the devastated family moved from their house in the country into a hotel in town. Johnnys father, understandably bitter, heaped even more responsibility on the boys shoulders. He became abusive toward the boy, and later on in 1885, from that day onward, he was raised by a kindly neighbor, Mary Goddard, under whose care he did quite well. He quickly became the best player on his school team, shortly after his 16th birthday, he began playing for his towns team, the Truxton Grays, making a favorable impression on their manager, Albert Bert Kenney. While he could play any position, his ability to throw a big curveball made him the star pitcher, McGraws relationship with Kenney precipitated his professional playing career. In 1890, Kenney bought a portion of the new professional franchise in Olean
5.
Bill Klem
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William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm, known as the Old Arbitrator and the father of baseball umpires, was a National League umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He worked 18 World Series, which is a league record. Klem was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, Klem was born on February 22,1874 in the Dutchtown area of Rochester, New York. He had changed the spelling of his last name from Klimm to Klem because he thought it had a better sound, Klem pursued a baseball career as a catcher until he sustained an arm injury. He then worked as a bartender and traveled through the Northeast building bridges and he decided to pursue umpiring after reading a newspaper article about major league umpire Silk OLoughlin. His umpiring career began in the Connecticut League in 1902 and that year, Klem had a run-in with league secretary and team manager Jim ORourke after Klem ejected one of the managers players. ORourke threatened that Klem would not umpire another game in the league, but Klem responded, Maybe so and he worked in the New York State League the following year. Klem spent the 1904 season in the American Association before joining the NL in 1905. He worked a record 18 World Series,1908,1909,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1917,1918,1920,1922,1924,1926,1929,1931,1932,1934 and 1940. No other umpire has worked in more than ten Series, of the 16 major league teams in existence during his career, all but one—the St. He was also one of the umpires for the first All-Star Game in 1933, Klem holds the MLB record for most career ejections by an umpire with 251. He called balls and strikes in five no-hitters, an NL record later tied by Harry Wendelstedt and he was also the home plate umpire on September 16,1924, when Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals had a record 12 runs batted in. Klem had a number of nicknames amongst the players, his favorite was The Old Arbitrator, Klem despised the latter name, and was notorious for ejecting players whom he caught using it. One particular incident involved a player whom Klem ejected after he caught the player drawing a picture of a catfish with his foot in the infield dirt. Klem also dismissed catcher Al López from a game after López pasted a newspaper clipping onto home plate which showed Klem clearly in error calling a play involving López, the catcher had covered the photo with dirt and waited for Klem to brush off home plate. As Klem got older, he began to experience a skin condition that he related to his nerves. He once commented on the toll that umpiring took on him, saying, feel that these verbal and physical public humiliations go in one ear and out the other. They go in one ear and go straight to the system, eating away coordination, self-confidence
6.
Tom Connolly
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Thomas Henry Connolly was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball. He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1931, Connolly was born in Manchester, England, and played cricket as a boy. He immersed himself in the book, and within a few years was umpiring for local games. While working in YMCA games, he was discovered by major league umpire Tim Hurst, who obtained a position for Connolly in the New England League, where he umpired from 1894 to 1897. Connolly had the privilege of umpiring, as its sole arbiter, during the ensuing argument, Connolly was struck in the mouth by a bottle thrown by a spectator. His reputation earned him prominent game assignments, including the first AL games ever played at Comiskey Park, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, Connolly was also the sole AL umpire chosen to work in the first World Series in 1903. In his career, Connolly worked in an AL-record eight World Series,1903,1908,1910,1911,1913,1916,1920 and 1924. He was also the plate umpire for Addie Joss perfect game on October 2,1908, one of four no-hitters in which he called balls. Connolly was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953, Connolly and Klem are the only two umpires in history to have worked in five decades, Connollys record of 31 years umpiring American League games was broken by Larry Barnett in 1999. Connolly died at age 90 in Natick, Massachusetts
7.
Cy Rigler
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Charles Cy Rigler was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1906 to 1935. His total of 4,144 games ranked fourth in league history when he retired. Rigler is tied with ODay for the second most World Series as an umpire, Rigler has also been credited with instituting the practice of using arm signals when calling balls and strikes. Born in Massillon, Ohio, Rigler never played baseball in his younger days and his first major league game was on September 27,1906, with the Brooklyn Dodgers visiting the Chicago Cubs, he became a member of the NLs regular staff in April 1907. Rigler joined the majors at a time when the use of one umpire in a game was still common, by the time his career ended, three umpires had become standard. The ensuing controversy over league umpires signing players for teams whose games they would be officiating led to the establishment of a rule barring umpires from also acting as scouts. Rigler was highly regarded for his nature and for his ability to let criticism roll off his back without becoming visibly irritated. He allowed players and managers to make their arguments, and demonstrated a willingness to eject only the most egregious offenders. Rigler officiated in 10 World Series, second only to Bill Klems 18,1910,1912,1913,1915,1917,1919,1921,1925,1928 and 1930 and he was also one of the umpires in the first All-Star Game in 1933. When Rice emerged from the crowd with the ball in his glove, Riglers call of a catch, washington won the game 4-3, although they went on to lose the Series to Pittsburgh. Rigler was again the base umpire on August 25,1922, Rigler was promoted to supervisor of the NL staff in December 1935 following the death of Hank ODay, but he never got the opportunity to fulfill his duties. He died less than two weeks later, following surgery for a tumor, in Philadelphia at age 53. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26
8.
Rip Egan
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John Joseph Rip Egan was a professional baseball player throwing right-handed and later an umpire. Egan played seven seasons in baseball, including one in Major League Baseball. On April 30,1894, Egan made his league debut with the Washington Senators. In his only game, Egan gave-up six runs, all earned, after his playing career was over, Egan managed in the minor leagues and was a major league umpire. Egan was sometimes known as Jack and he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, married Eleanor McGarrahan and raised two daughters, Judith and Eleanor. Egan began his playing career in 1894 with the minor league Providence Clamdiggers of the Eastern League. Later that season, Egan was signed by the major league Washington Senators, in his debut on April 30,1894, Egan pitched five innings and gave-up five runs. That game would prove to be his major league game as a player. Egan continued to play in the leagues in 1895. That season, he played for the Class-B Omaha Omahogs of the Western Association, with the Omahogs, Egan went 16–14 in 36 games,31 starts with one shutout. For the next two seasons, Egan played for the Class-A Detroit Tigers of the Western League. Statistics were not kept during his first season with the Tigers, however, during his second Egan went 11–14 with a 3.36 earned run average, in 1898, Egan joined the Class-A Kansas City Blues, also of the Western League. He went 16–12 with five shutouts in 31 games,27 starts and that season, Egan led the league in shutouts. He spent his season with Kansas City in 1899. Statistics were not kept for that season, in 1900, Egan split the season between the Class-A Cleveland Lake Shores of the American League and the Class-B Omaha Omahogs of the Western League. With Omaha, Egan went 4–3 in seven games, all starts, finally, with Cleveland, he went 1–1 in two games, both starts. He was released from Cleveland in mid-May because the team had to make cuts in their payroll and that year would prove to be his final season as a player in professional baseball. From 1907 to 1914, Egan was an umpire in the American League, Egan is cited as a highly regarded umpire
9.
Home Run Baker
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John Franklin Home Run Baker was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Baker played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922, for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baker has been called the original home run king of the majors. Baker was a member of the Athletics $100,000 infield and he helped the Athletics win the 1910,1911 and 1913 World Series. After a contract dispute, the Athletics sold Baker to the Yankees, Baker appeared with the Yankees in the 1921 and 1922 World Series, though the Yankees lost both series, before retiring. Baker led the American League in home runs for four consecutive years and he had a batting average over.300 in six seasons, had three seasons with more than 100 runs batted in, and two seasons with over 100 runs scored. Bakers legacy has grown over the years, and he is regarded by many as one of the best power hitters of the deadball era, during his 13 years as a major league player, Baker never played a single inning at any position other than third base. Baker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1955, Baker was born on March 13,1886, to Franklin Adams Baker and Mary Catherine on their farm in Trappe, Maryland. The Bakers, who were of English descent, had been farmers in Trappe for six generations and his mother, of Scottish descent, was reported to be a distant relative of Robert E. Lee. Baker enjoyed working on his fathers farm, but he aspired to become a baseball player from the age of ten. In Trappe, most of the attended the local baseball teams games on Saturdays. Franks older brother, Norman, was known in the town for his playing ability. Norman once tried out for the Philadelphia Athletics, but he did not like that city, Baker pitched for the local high school baseball team and worked as a clerk at a butcher shop and grocery store owned by relatives. He signed with a local baseball team based in Ridgely, Maryland, in 1905. The team, which was managed by Buck Herzog, paid him $5 per week, Herzog found that Baker could not pitch well, but that he could hit. Baker was unable to play the outfield well, but he was able to move into the infield as a third baseman for Ridgely, in 1906, Baker played for Sparrows Point Club in Baltimore, earning $15 per week. He received an offer to play for a team in the Class C Texas League in 1907 and he instead signed with an independent team based in Cambridge, Maryland. A scout for the New York Giants of the National League noticed Baker while he was playing for Sparrows Point and they arranged for Baker to receive a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles of the Class A Eastern League late in the 1907 season. Playing in five games, Baker recorded two hits, both singles, in 15 at-bats, Orioles manager Jack Dunn decided that Baker could not hit, and Baker was released
