1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Christy Mathewson
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He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top ten in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and ERA. In fact, he is the only pitcher in history to rank in the top ten both in career wins and in career ERA, if taking 19th century pitchers statistics into account. Mathewson grew up in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and began playing baseball when he was 14 years old. He played in the leagues in 1899, recording a record of 21 wins. He pitched for the New York Giants the next season but was sent back to the minors and he would eventually return to the Giants and go on to win 373 games in his career, a National League record. He led the Giants to victory in the 1905 World Series by pitching three shutouts, Mathewson never pitched on Sundays, owing to his Christian beliefs. Mathewson served in the United States Armys Chemical Warfare Service in World War I and his respiratory system was weakened from the exposure, causing him to contract tuberculosis, from which he died in Saranac Lake, New York. Mathewson was born in Factoryville, Pennsylvania and attended school at Keystone Academy. He attended college at Bucknell University, where he served as class president and he was also a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. His first experience of baseball came in 1895, when he was just 14 years old. The manager of the Factoryville ball club asked him to pitch in a game with a team in Mill City. Mathewson helped his team to a 19-17 victory, but with his batting rather than his pitching. He continued to play baseball during his years at Bucknell, pitching for minor league teams in Honesdale and Meridian, Mathewson was selected to the Walter Camp All-American football team in 1900. In 1899, Mathewson signed to professional baseball with Taunton of the New England League. The next season, he moved on to play on the Norfolk team of the Virginia-North Carolina League and he finished that season with a 20–2 record. He continued to attend Bucknell during that time period, in July of that year, the New York Giants purchased his contract from Norfolk for $1,500. Between July and September 1900 Mathewson appeared in six games for the Giants and he started one of those games and compiled a 0–3 record. Displeased with his performance, the Giants returned him to Norfolk, later that month, the Cincinnati Reds picked up Mathewson off the Norfolk roster
5.
World Series
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The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League champion team and the National League champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a playoff. As the series is played in October, during the season in North America. As of 2016, the World Series has been contested 112 times, with the AL winning 64, the 2016 World Series took place between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs. Seven games were played, with the Cubs victorious after game seven, the final score was 8–7, the game went into extra innings after a tied score of 6–6. This was the third World Series won by the Cubs, as well as their first title since 1908, in the National League, the St. As of 2016, no team has won consecutive World Series championships since the New York Yankees in 1998,1999, all championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to the modern World Series, the number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884, to a high of fifteen in 1887. Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game, the series was promoted and referred to as The Championship of the United States, Worlds Championship Series, or Worlds Series for short. In his book Krakatoa, The Day the World Exploded, August 27,1883, Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. Until about 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on a basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903, following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between half-season champions and this scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league played the runners-up in the post season championship series called the Temple Cup. A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, in 1901, the American League was formed as a second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and these series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s Worlds Series matches had been
6.
1914 World Series
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In the 1914 World Series, the Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-game series. The Miracle Braves were in last place on July 4, then won the National League pennant by 10 1⁄2 games, the Braves relatively unknown starting trio of pitchers, with a combined career record of 285–245, outperformed the Athletics vaunted rotation in all four games. Hank Gowdy hit.545 with five hits and also drew five walks for Boston in the series and was the difference maker in Games 1 and 3. Adding to their supposed disadvantages, the Braves arguably lacked a notable home-field advantage and they had abandoned their 43-year-old home field South End Grounds in August 1914, choosing to rent from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park while awaiting construction of Braves Field. Thus their home games in this Series were also at Fenway and this was the first four-game sweep in World Series history. The Cubs had defeated the Tigers four games to none in 1907, cohan through bookmaker Sport Sullivan, who was also implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Chief Bender and Eddie Plank would jump to the rival Federal League for the 1915 season, Mack unloaded most of his other high-priced stars soon after and, within two years, the As achieved the worst winning percentage in modern history. The heavily favored As with all their hall-of-fame talent were assumed to win as they were the team on paper. This attitude was reflected in the case when the pennant was assured in the As case, Connie Mack gave star pitcher Chief Bender the week off. When scolded by Mack, he replied, Why should I check out a bunch of bush league hitters, catcher Hank Gowdy had a single, double and triple as well as a walk in leading Bostons offensive attack. He was also on the end of a double steal in the eighth inning. Meany may also have been the source for the sensational sidelight that Stallings motive for this may have been the rumor that the As may have sabotaged the Shibe Park visiting clubhouse. Bill James, Bostons other 26-game winner, hooked up against Philadelphias Eddie Plank in a pitchers duel. James allowed only three runners in the first eight innings, picking off two of them in holding Philadelphia scoreless. Plank matched him until the ninth, when Amos Strunk lost Charlie Deals fly ball in the sun for a double, deal then stole third, and scored on a two-out single by Les Mann. James walked two batters in the ninth, but got Eddie Murphy to ground into a double play to give Boston a 2–0 advantage in the series coming back home to Fenway. Lefty Tyler of the Braves went up against Bullet Joe Bush in a twelve-inning thriller, frank Home Run Bakers two-out single in the tenth plated two runs to give the Athletics a 4–2 lead and a seeming victory to get them back in the series. But Hank Gowdy led off the bottom of the tenth with a run
7.
Chicago Cubs
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The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. The team plays its games at Wrigley Field, located on the citys North Side. The Cubs are one of two league teams in Chicago, the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League Central division. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, was a member of the NL in 1876. The Cubs have appeared in a total of eleven World Series, the 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of.763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, the 108-year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major North American sports. Since the start of play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason eight times through the 2016 season. The Cubs are known as the North Siders, a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, there is a divisional rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals and also a newer rivalry with the Milwaukee Brewers. There is also a rivalry with the White Sox. The Cubs began play in 1876 as the Chicago White Stockings, joining the National League as a charter member. Owner William Hulbert signed multiple star players, such as pitcher Albert Spalding and infielders Ross Barnes, Deacon White, the White Stockings played their home games at West Side Grounds and quickly established themselves as one of the new leagues top teams. Spalding won forty-seven games and Barnes led the league in hitting at.429 as Chicago won the first ever National League pennant, which at the time was the games top prize. After back-to-back pennants in 1880 and 1881, Hulbert died, and Spalding, the White Stockings, with Anson acting as player-manager, captured their third consecutive pennant in 1882, and Anson established himself as the games first true superstar. In 1885 and 86, after winning N. L. pennants, both seasons resulted in match ups with the St. Louis Brown Stockings, with the clubs tying in 1885 and with St. Louis winning in 1886. This was the genesis of what would become one of the greatest rivalries in sports. In all, the Anson-led Chicago Base Ball Club won six National League pennants between 1876 and 1886. As a result, Chicagos club nickname transitioned, and by 1890 they had known as the Chicago Colts, or sometimes Ansons Colts
8.
Detroit Tigers
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The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League Central division. One of the ALs eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in 1901 and they are the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in the AL. The Tigers have won four World Series championships,11 AL pennants, the Tigers also won division titles in 1972,1984 and 1987 while members of the AL East. The team currently plays its games at Comerica Park in Downtown Detroit. The Tigers constructed Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Avenue in Corktown, in 1912, the team moved into Navin Field, which was built on the same location. It was expanded in 1938 and renamed Briggs Stadium and it was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961 and the Tigers played there until moving to Comerica Park in 2000. The club is a member of the American League, one of four clubs still located in its original city. It was established as a member in 1901. The Tigers played their first game as a league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 25,1901. After entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a comeback to win 14–13. The team finished third in the eight-team league,11 years later, an elegant stadium was constructed on the site of Bennett Park and named Navin Field for owner Frank Navin. In 1938, it was improved and named Briggs Stadium, and was subsequently renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961, Tiger Stadium was used by the Tigers until the end of the 1999 season. Since 2000, they have played in Comerica Park, there are various legends about how the Tigers got their nickname. One involves the orange stripes they wore on their black stockings, Tigers manager George Stallings took credit for the name, however, the name appeared in newspapers before Stallings was manager. Another legend concerns a sportswriter equating the 1901 teams opening day victory with the ferocity of his alma mater and they had played significant roles in certain Civil War battles and in the 1898 Spanish–American War. The baseball team was informally called both Wolverines and Tigers in the news. The earliest known use of the name Tigers in the media was in the Detroit Free Press on April 16,1895, upon entry into the majors, the ballclub sought and received formal permission from the Light Guard to use its trademark
9.
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
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The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5,04 p. m. local time. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, no surface faulting occurred, though a large number of other ground failures and landslides were present, especially in the Summit area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Due to the coverage of the 1989 World Series, it became the first major earthquake in the United States that was broadcast live on national television. Andrew Lawson, a geologist from the University of California, Berkeley, had named the fault after the San Andreas Lake and later led an investigation into that event. The San Andreas Fault ruptured for a length of 290 mi during the 1906 shock, several long term forecasts for a large shock along the San Andreas Fault in that area had been made public prior to 1989 but the earthquake that transpired was not what had been anticipated. The 1989 Loma Prieta event originated on an undiscovered oblique-slip reverse fault that is located adjacent to the San Andreas Fault, since many forecasts had been presented for the region near Loma Prieta, seismologists were not taken by surprise by the October 1989 event. Two moderate shocks, referred to as the Lake Elsman earthquakes by the USGS, occurred in the Santa Cruz Mountains region in June 1988, each events aftershock sequence and effect on stress drop was closely examined, and their study indicated that the shocks affected the mainshocks rupture process. The June 27,1988, shock occurred with an intensity of VI. Its effects included broken windows in Los Gatos, and other damage in Holy City. Farther away from the Santa Cruz Mountains, pieces of concrete fell from a structure at the Sunnyvale Town Center. More moderate damage resulted from the August 8,1989, shock when chimneys were toppled in Cupertino, Los Gatos, other damage included cracked walls and foundations and broken underground pipes. At the office of the Los Gatos City Manager, a window that was cracked had also broken in the earlier shock. Also in Los Gatos, one man died when he exited a building through a window, the Loma Prieta earthquake was named for Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which lies just to the east of the mainshock epicenter. At sites with rocky terrain, the duration was shorter and the shaking was much less intense, the strong motion records also allowed for the causative fault to be determined – the rupture was related to the San Andreas Fault System. While a Mercalli Intensity of VIII covered a large swath of territory relatively close to the further to the north. At more than 44 miles distant, the San Francisco Bay Area recorded peak horizontal accelerations that were as high as 0. 26g, in a general way, the location of aftershocks of the event delineated the extent of the faulting, which extended about 24 miles in length. Because the rupture took place bilaterally, the duration of strong shaking was about half of what it would have been had it ruptured in one direction only, the duration of a typical M6.9 shock with a comparable rupture length would have been about twice as long. Gregory Beroza, a seismologist with Stanford University, made several distinctions regarding the 1906 and 1989 events, near Loma Prieta, the 1906 rupture was more shallow, had more strike-slip, and occurred on a fault that was near vertical
10.
Polo Grounds
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The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963. The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890 and renovated after a fire in 1911, is the one generally indicated when the Polo Grounds is referenced. It was located in Coogans Hollow and was noted for its distinctive shape, very short distances to the left and right field walls. As the name suggests, the original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876, in baseball, the original Polo Grounds was home to the New York Metropolitans from 1880 until 1885, and the New York Giants from 1883 until 1888. The Giants played in the second Polo Grounds for part of the 1889 season and all of the 1890 season, and at the third and fourth Polo Grounds from 1891 through 1957. The Polo Grounds was also the field of the New York Yankees from 1913 until 1922. It hosted the 1934 and 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, in football, the third Polo Grounds was home to the New York Brickley Giants for one game in 1921 and the New York Giants from 1925 to 1955. The New York Jets of the American Football League played at the stadium from the inaugural season of 1960 through 1963. Other sporting events held at the Polo Grounds included soccer, boxing, the last sporting event at the Polo Grounds was a football game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills on December 14,1963. Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and replaced the Polo Grounds as the home of the Mets and Jets, the Polo Grounds was demolished over a period of four months that year and a public housing complex, known as the Polo Grounds Towers, was built on the site. The original Polo Grounds stood at 110th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, directly across 110th Street from the northeast corner of Central Park. The venues original purpose was for the sport of polo, and its name was merely descriptive, not a formal name. For this purpose the ownership built a second diamond and grandstand at the park, dividing it into eastern and western fields for use by the Giants and Metropolitans respectively. Polo Grounds I thus hosted its first Major League Baseball games in 1883 as the stadium of two teams, the American Association Metropolitans and the National League Gothams. George Cricket Grounds on Staten Island in 1886, the original Polo Grounds was used not only for Polo and professional baseball, but often for college baseball and football as well—even by teams outside New York. The earliest known surviving image of the field is an engraving of a game between Yale University and Princeton University on Decoration Day, May 30,1882. Yale and Harvard also played their traditional Thanksgiving Day game there on November 29,1883, New York City was in the process of extending its street grid into uptown Manhattan in 1889. Plans for an extended West 111th Street ran through the Polo Grounds, City workers are said to have shown up suddenly one day and begun cutting through the fence to lay out the new street
11.
Shibe Park
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Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a baseball park located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League, when it opened April 12,1909, it became baseballs first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to The $100,000 Infield, The Whiz Kids, Shibe Park stood on the block bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 20th Street, Somerset Street and 21st Street. It was five blocks west, corner-to-corner, from the Baker Bowl, the stadium hosted eight World Series and two MLB All-Star Games, in 1943 and 1952, with the latter game holding the distinction of being the only All-Star contest shortened by rain. In May 1939, it was the site of the first night game played in the American League, Phillies Hall-of-Fame centerfielder and longtime broadcaster Richie Ashburn remembered Shibe Park, It looked like a ballpark. It had a feeling and a heartbeat, a personality that was all baseball, when as many as 28,000 showed up to fill the 9,500 wooden bleacher seats, Shibe and partner Connie Mack decided the As needed a new place to play. He searched for a site for his new park and found one on Lehigh Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets, five blocks west of Baker Bowl, straddling the neighborhoods known as Swampoodle and Goosetown. It was still primitive at the time, an area of high bluffs, rain-washed gullies, quagmires, open fields, even ponds where chickens pecked. Although a grid of streets was planned for the area, few actually existed, without the hospital, the areas stigma would eventually dissipate, but at the time, the land was still a bargain. He spent a total of $67,500 on seven land packages totaling 5.75 acres, for the design and its execution, Shibe hired William Steele and Sons. Their engineering staff had worked with the new technology of steel-reinforced concrete, and designed and built the citys first skyscraper, the Steele design for the Shibe façade was in the ornate French Renaissance style, including arches, vaultings, and Ionic pilasters. The souvenir program on Opening Day called it a combination of color. Gabled dormer windows on the upper decks copper-trimmed green-slate mansard roof looked out over the streets below, presiding over all were terra cotta busts of Shibe and Mack above the main entrances on Lehigh and 21st. The signature feature of the design was the octangular tower on the southwest corner. On the ground floor was an entrance lobby. Bobby Shantz, pitcher for the As in their last years at Shibe, Shibe was proud of the egalitarianism of the design, he said it was for the masses as well as the classes. In April 1908, design in hand, the Shibes and the Steeles broke ground, with the resources of the Steele firm, construction was speedy, efficient and completed in time to open the 1909 season. The city was excited about its new ballpark – the Philadelphia Public Ledger called it a palace for fans, American League president Ban Johnson pronounced that Shibe Park is the greatest place of its character in the world
12.
John K. Tener
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John Kinley Tener was an American politician and Major League Baseball player and executive. He served as the 25th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1911 until 1915, a Republican, he had previously served as a U. S. Representative for Pennsylvanias 24th congressional district, John Tener was born in County Tyrone on the island of Ireland. His parents were George Evans Tener and Susan Wallis, in 1872, Teners father died and the family moved the following year to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tener attended public schools and later worked as a clerk for hardware manufacturer Oliver Iron, in 1885, Tener, who was six-foot-four, decided to try his hand at professional baseball. Later that year, Tener made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association, while playing in Haverhill, Tener met his future wife, Harriet Day. In 1888, Cap Anson, the manager of the Chicago White Stockings, noticed him pitching in Pittsburgh, Tener was a pitcher and an outfielder for two years in Chicago with moderate success. He notched a 7–5 record with a 2.74 ERA in 1888, after the 1888 season, Tener accompanied the team on a world tour of Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, France, Italy and England. While in England, Tener was chosen to help explain the game of baseball to the Prince of Wales, who would go on to become King Edward VII. Tener was elected as Secretary of the Brotherhood of Professional Players, a players union and served under President John Montgomery Ward. In 1890, unhappy with baseballs reserve clause, Tener joined other players in jumping to the Players League, playing for the Pittsburgh Burghers, Tener compiled a poor 3–11 record. The league folded after one year and Tener decided to retire from professional baseball and he entered the banking business in Charleroi, Pennsylvania in 1891, becoming a cashier at the First National Bank of Charleroi. By 1897, he was the president of the bank, over the years, Tener became a prominent business leader, founding the Charleroi Savings and Trust Company and the Mercantile Bridge Company. In 1908, Tener, a Republican, was elected to serve in the 61st United States Congress from Pennsylvanias 24th congressional district, as a former ballplayer, Tener organized the first Congressional Baseball Game which is now an annual tradition on Capitol Hill. Tener planned to run for re-election in 1910, instead, the Republican Party nominated Tener as its candidate for Governor where he would face a divided electorate. Pennsylvania had recently experienced a scandal during the construction of the new Pennsylvania State Capitol, State Treasurer William H. Berry had found that there had been an unappropriated cost for the buildings construction of over $7.7 million, including a number of questionable charges. The scandal led to the conviction of the architect and a former State Treasurer. Berry failed to get the Democratic nomination and broke away taking independent Republicans, Tener won the election with 415,614 votes over Berry with 382,127 with the help of a 45, 000-vote victory in the City of Philadelphia
