A Bad Week

To this point of my blog, only two of the 34 players I featured were still alive. Then this past week those two players died. The first was Bob Feller, and then a couple days later Phil Cavarretta. Their blog entries have been updated to include their death. I do not know how to blog a moment of silence, or else I would.

#34 Babe Herman

Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman is one of long list of baseball characters, but was also one of the most feared hitters of his era. Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1903, Herman's family moved to California at an early age. As scouts caught word of the teen's hitting ability, Herman was signed to a minor league deal with Edmonton in 1921. His hitting caught the attention of Ty Cobb, who was managing the Detroit Tigers, and was invited to the club's spring training in 1922. Despite a decent showing, he could not crack into the Tigers outfield and was farmed out. In 1925, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He joined the Dodgers in 1926, and quickly became a fan favorite.
Herman batted .319 in his rookie year, with 11 home runs, a .500 slugging percentage and a 16th-place finish in the NL MVP voting. He played most of the season at first base, but his fielding was atrocious, committing 14 errors in 101 games. In 1927, he had over 21 errors, and Brooklyn moved him to the outfield. As Brooklyn's rightfielder, he quickly gained the reputation as the worst fielder in the game, committing over 10 errors in five of his first 6 seasons roaming the outfield. Fresco Thompson, a teammate of Babe's, said of Herman: "He wore a glove for one reason: because it was a league custom."
It was easy to forgive his defensive shortcomings, though, because the man could hit. He batted .340 in 1928, followed with a .381 and a .393 average, both of which placed him second in the NL Batting race. Aside from his .393 average in 1930, he also belted 35 home runs and batted in 130 runs. After 1931, he was sent to the Cincinnati Reds where he batted .326 and led the senior circuit in triples. He was then dealt to the Cubs where his career began to tail off. In 1935, he began the season with Pittsburgh, and was sent back to the Reds. In 1937, at 34 years of age, he hung it up after a 17 games with the Tigers. He played for Hollywood in the PCL until World War 2 came around. With major league rosters depleted as player were out fighting the war, Herman returned to the Dodgers in 1945 at 42 years of age. He played in 37 games before finally calling it a career. He finished with a .324 lifetime average, 1818 hits at 997 RBI.
Herman's legacy is not his hitting, or even his poor fielding. It was his colorful personality and amiable charisma. His most notable moment was occurred in 1926. With Hank DeBerry on third, Dazzy Vance on second and Chick Fewster on first with no one out, Herman lined one into the gap. DeBerry scored the go-ahead run easily. Vance held up a moment to see if the ball was to be caught by the fielder, but when he saw it was going to fall in, took off for third and headed home. Fewster was running on the pitch, and Herman was chugging away full speed. As Herman hit second base, he chose to try and stretch the double into a triple. Unfortunately for Herman, Fewster held up at third and Herman slid in well ahead of the throw, only to find Fewster standing on the base. To make matters even worse, also sliding into third base from home plate was Vance, who thought the throw was headed home and returned to third. Of course, the base went to the lead runner (Vance) and both Fewster and Herman were called out for passing the runner. Babe Herman became the only player in history to ever double into a double play. Despite this a numerous other gaffes in his career, Herman was the first player to hit for the cycle three times, and also hit the first home run in a night game in 1935.
After his playing days ended, Herman served as a scout for 22 years. In the mid 1980's, Babe suffered a series of strokes that limited his mobility. Finally, in November of 1987, Herman died of pneumonia at the age of 84.
The Autograph: Herman signed whenever he was physically able, but his strokes limited his abilities by the time I got this card signed, probably at most a year before his death.

In the photo below, Babe Herman and Larry French ponder a new career behind the camera.

#33 Billy Herman

William Jennings Bryan Herman was born in New Albany, Indiana in 1909, and broke in with the Chicago Cubs in 1931, where he became a fixture at second base for many years to come. He batted .314 in his first full season as the Cubs won the 1932 pennant. 1934 was the first of 8 seasons that saw Herman selected to the National League All-Star team, and he was one of the most reliable players in the senior circuit. In 1935, he had a league-best 227 hits and 57 doubles as the Cubs rolled to another pennant, but lost the World Series again.
By 1940, Herman's numbers began to wane, and he saw himself traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Charlie Gilbert and John Hudson. Aided by a depleted talent pool due to World War 2, Herman rebounded in 1943 to hit .330 (2nd in the NL) but next season, at age 34, he joined the military and missed 1944 and '45.
At 36 years of age, it was unexpected that Herman would return from the war as a player, but he played most of 1946, splitting time between Brooklyn and the Boston Braves, playing second, third and first base. He batted a respectable .298. He was traded to Pittsburgh before the 1947 season, and was named player-manager, although he played in only 15 games hitting a paltry .213. He was also relieved of managerial duties before the end of the season as the Pirates went 61-92 under his leadership. It was not his last day on the bench, but his days at the plater were over. His career totals include a lifetime .304 average and over 2300 hits.
Herman moved on to manage in the minor leagues for a few seasons, until he was brought on by the Dodgers as a coach in 1952, followed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1958. In 1960, he became the third base coach for the Boston Red Sox, and in 1964, was named the Red Sox manager for the last two games of the season as the Sox fired Johnny Pesky. The Red Sox fared no better under Herman in 1965, as they lost 100 games and the Sox finished in 9th. Herman was fired partly through the 1966 season.

Billy Herman was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975 by the Veterans Comittee. He died in 1992 of cancer.

The Autograph: Herman was a regular through-the-mail signer, as well as a frequent signer at Hall of Fame ceremonies, spring training and conventions. His autograph is very common.

Where You Been?

I am not dead, but my scanner is.

But I will return.

#32 Terry Moore

Terry Moore was born in 1912 in Vernon, Alabama. Like many Cardinals of his generation, he moved his way through the Cards' farm system and became a member of one of the more notable outfields in baseball history. Teaming with Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Enos Slughter, Moore was a decent hitter as well as an outstanding defensive player.
Moore hit his stride in 1939, batting .294 while being named to the NL All-Star team for the first of four consecutive years. He batted a cumulative .295 from 1939-1942, with 46 home runs, before heading off to fight in the war.
Like so many other players, Moore returned from the World War 2 a shell of player he was. He hung around until 1948, when St Louis released him. He finished with a .280 lifetime average and 1318 hits.
Moore got his chance to manage in 1954, when he took over the Phillies half-way through the season. Replacing Steve o'Neill, the Phils went 35-42 under Moore, and he was replaced by Mayo Smith in 1955. Moore died in 1995.
Not much is written about Moore, at least nothing outside statistical analyses. I did find this sweet pic shown below of Moore modeling an early prototype of a batting helmet. It is hard to be remembered as a good outfielder when you are outshined by the other two outfielders who happen to be great (just ask Davy Jones, Bob Meusel or Duffy Lewis).
The Autograph: In the late 80's and early 90's, Moore enjoyed a resurgence in the hobby as he attended autograph shows along with Stan Musial and Slaughter. He was also one of the first non-HOF or non-HOF-caliber players I wrote to who charged for his autograph. I begrudingly paid the fee for this card.

#31 George Kelly

George "Highpockets" Kelly was born in 1895 in San Francisco, California. A survivor of the 1906 Earthquake, Kelly was a big fan of the Bay City's PCL club, the Seals. This was an inspiration as he played baseball frequently in his childhood. As a 6'4 teenager, Kelly quickly moved ahead of his classmates, and his natural hitting ability caught the attention of semi-pro clubs around Frisco and Oakland. Fresh out of high school, Kelly signed with Victoria in the NorthWest League in 1915 and quickly caught the attention of John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants. The Giants bought his contract and he was called up to the Giants for a look in late 1915.
After poor performances in limited action for the Giants in 1915 and 1916, Kelly was waived by the Giants shortly into the 1917 season. He was picked up by the Pirates, but faired no better and was let go. McGraw decided to give Kelly another chance, and signed him and sent him to Rochester for the remainder of the 1917 season. Kelly was called on to fight in World War One, and missed the 1918 season. Upom his return to Rochester in 1919, Kelly made the most of his time there and tore up the International League, hitting .356 and 15 home runs. He was poised to return to the National League, but it took a dirty player for him to get his chance.
Hal Chase was the full-time first sacker for the Giants in 1919, and was regarded at the time as the best defensive first baseman the game had ever seen. Chase was no slack at the plate. However, his skill on the field was no match for his lack of moral fiber. Rumors had been floating for years that Chase's ability was "for sale" and was willing to make some side money by throwing games. Rumors had been flying about Chase's corruption as early as 1910. By 1919, the stink surrounding Prince Hal had grown strong, and McGraw called up Kelly to be groomed as Chase's replacement. Kelly responded by hitting .290 in 32 games. After the season, the National League President received an envelope from an anonymous contact, showing a payment from a gambler to Chase to throw a baseball game in 1918. The Giants terminated Chase's contract, and Chase never played in the Major Leagues again.
Kelly became the Giants full-time first baseman in 1920, and lead the league in RBI. He followed that up with a home-run title in 1921, helping the Giants to their first of 4 straight pennants. For the next six seasons, Kelly was the best first baseman in the National League, and one of the game's premier sluggers.
After the 1926 season, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Edd Roush. Although his power numbers were off, mostly due to the change of parks, Kelly still batted around .300 over the next four years, splitting 1930 with the Reds, Cubs, and Minneapolis in the International League. He spent 1931 in the minor leagues, before returning to the National League in 1932, this time with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was released by the Dodgers following the close of the season, and Kelly headed back west. He played sparingly with the Oakland Oaks of the PCL in 1933 before hanging his glove up for good. Kelly finished his 16-year career with a .297 lifetime average and 1020 RBI.
Kelly bounced around the National League for the next 14 years, picking up coaching jobs for old friends, and after that became a scout for the Reds. He lived in retirement in Millbrae, California. Kelly was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, and died in 1984 at the age of 88.

Kelly is often maligned as being one of the worst Hall of Fame selections. Sometimes I think that members of the Veterans Committee thought they were voting for third baseman George Kell (a deserving candidate). He may be one of the weakest selections, but the thing that annoys me most about Kelly being in the Hall of Fame is that he is often posted as the argument for other non-HOF caliber athletes to be inducted (see Hodges, Gil). It is not worth my typing to discuss Kelly's Hall of Fame credentials (or lack thereof). He is in, and he is never getting out. Let's not repeat the mistake by letting in other not-quite-qualified players. Oops. We already did (See Rizzuto, Phil).

The Autograph: Always a great signer. I don't have a lot of Kelly because he died early in my hobby.

#30 Larry French

Larry French was born in 1907 in Visalia, California. He joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1929, and from there embarked on a long and successful career, becoming one of the the top lefthanded pitchers in the National League in the 1930's.
After a 7-5 record in his rookie season in '29, he became a mainstay in the Pirates rotation, winning 17 and 15 games before attaining two 18-win seasons in 1932 and 1933. After slumping to 12-18 in 1934, he was traded to the Cubs where his career was resurrected. With a pennant-winning team, French went 17-10 with a 2.96 ERA, but lost two games in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. He followed that up with an 18-9 record in 1936 and 16-10 in '37.
After a few more solid seasons for the Cubs, French was traded to the Dodgers near the end of the 1941 season. In 1942, at 34 years of age, French went 15-4 with a 1.83 ERA (7 innings shy of qualifying for the league lead) in time split between the bullpen and the rotation.
Following the 1942 season, French found beginning of a new career and a new calling. Already a member of the Navy Reserve Corps, French joined the Navy full-time and never again appeared on the diamond. He won 197 games in his career, and threw over 3100 innings.
French saw action in the D-Day invasion of Normandy in June of 1944, and also found himself in the Okinawa invasion the following year in the Pacific. He was released from active duty in late 1945, and contemplated returning to baseball to get those three wins he needed to get 200, but decided against it. He stayed in the Naval Reserve, and in 1951 he was recalled when the Korean War erupted. After the Korean War, he remained stationed in San Diego, and in 1965 was promoted to Commanding Officer. He retired from the Navy in 1969, and lived in San Diego the rest of his life, playing golf and squash, as well as gardening with his wife, Thelma. French died in 1987 at 79 years of age, and is the only man in baseball history to have served ten years in both the military and Major League baseball.

The Autograph: There was a stretch where French stopped responding to autograph requests through the mail, but not when I got this card signed.