Obscure Players Birthday Greetings Thread

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Baseball Reference - Birthdays (http://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/birthdays.shtml)

A little offseason exercise I thought might be some fun. Just checking out the list of birthdays over at Baseball Reference, and thought about picking a player or two every now and then, guys who didn't really get the headlines or have much name recognition. Or, like today's case, players who aren't really known for their feats on the diamond but have become well-known nonetheless along trail.

Feel free to add your own "obscure birthday" greetings. Only one rule: Stick to whatever today's date is wherever you may reside.



Archibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham

Prett cool story about ol' Arch. Got into one game as a major leaguer back in 1905 but never got to bat. But that short MLB career was immortalized some 84 years later in the movie Field of Dreams based on a book by WP Kinsella. Graham's "hall of fame" career would be in medicine, not baseball. He attended both the University of Maryland and University of North Carolina, earning his MD from UNC.

Born on this day in 1876, Graham passed away in Chisholm, Minnesota, on 25 Aug 1965.

http://www.cardmall.com/moonlight-graham/doc4a.gif
Photo from the Graham Scholarship Fund (http://www.cardmall.com/moonlight-graham/) website.

[Baseball Guru]

This is a cool idea... Of course you took the coolest birthday;)

lol:D

[Baseball Guru]

Homer Spragins who pitched briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1947, died Dec. 10, 2002 at the age of 82.

Spragins played baseball and basketball for Mississippi State (he graduated in 1942). He was a teammate of Boo Ferris in college and with the Birmingham Barons.

Spragins had played first base for the college team and in the minors, but when he was called up to the Phillies, the team tried him out at pitcher.

After baseball, he worked with Baldwin Piano and Organ Company in Mississippi.



Yrs G IP W L Sv SO ERA
..1.4 5.1 0 .0 0 ..3 .6.75

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Born 10 Nov 1922 in Martins Ferry, Ohio

MLB Career: 1942, 1946-52 Detroit Tigers; 1952-53 Boston Red Sox; 1953 St. Louis Browns; 1954 Cincinnati Reds

This is one of those guys who is obscure to most of us but probably wasn't to a generation of fans before me, say those fans in their early 60s and older. Like so many athletes of his generation, WWII interrupted Lipon's baseball career. In his case, it interrupted the very start of his career, so you wonder what might have been without his military service.

Lipon played 758 major league games, 717 of them as a shortstop. Batted .259 with 690 hits, 10 HR, 28 SB, 266 RBI and 351 runs scored. Saw pretty significant action for the Tigers from 1948-51, playing a career high 147 games in 1950 with 176 hits, a .293 average and 104 runs scored.

When the Tribe traded him to Boston in June 1952, Lipon was part of a big 8-player trade that also involved players like Hoot Evers, George Kell, Walt Dropo and Johnny Pesky. He was part of the final St. Louis Browns team in 1953, then was dealt by the club from its new Baltimore headquarters in February 1954. The O's traded him to the White Sox, but Lipon never played for the Pale Hose after Chicago sent him to Cincinnati just as the season opened in exchange for Grady Hatton who would eventually manage the Houston Astros. Lipon would have just one at bat with the Reds before retiring.

Lipon went on to have a long and often successful career as a minor league manager (from what I can find, he was still managing as late as the mid-1980s). But he only got one shot to manage a big league club, and that was for a very bad Indians team in 1971 when he took over for Alvin Dark midway during the year. Lipon was 18-41 at the helm and not asked to return as manager in 1972. Among the players on that team were Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, who was in his final major league season, and Chris Chambliss, who was in his rookie campaign.

Read some more stuff on Johnny Lipon at Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/L/Lipon_Johnny.stm) ... Also thought it was weird that Baseball Reference, where I'm basically starting at when looking at the birthday list, does not list Lipon as deceased. But his grave is documented at The Deadball Era (http://www.thedeadballera.com/GravePhotos/LiponJohnnysGrave.html) website. I searched a little more, but couldn't find anything about why/when he moved to Houston which is where he's buried.

And here's one more tidbit: Answer Bag (http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/5567) ............. After getting traded to Boston, Lipon was part of a record-setting performance against his old teammates from Detroit on 18 June 1953 ... The Red Sox plated 17 runs in the 7th inning of a 23-3 win over the Tigers at Fenway. The record part of the deal was Boston sending 23 men to the plate in that frame :eek: Lipon batted three times, striking out his first time to bat that inning and then coming up with a single and a walk in his next two trips.

Today would've been Johnny Lipon's 82nd birthday.

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A couple of HOF’ers were born on November 11th, Pie Traynor in 1899 and Rabbit Maranville in 1891. Also born on this date in 1937 was one Mr. David Burnham Hill. He would have one of the shortest MLB career though it started out as a bonus baby with the old Kansas City Athletics. He was 19 when he made his only two appearances covering 2.1 innings in 1957 for the same A’s. The southpaw allowed 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 homers getting the 8 outs he did for his career, winding up with a 27.00 ERA.

I’m quite certain he coulda’ struck me out, however. So I salute the man today on his 67th.

Other info: Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Attended Northwestern University, one of 20 MLB players from NW (Joe Girardi, Mark Loretta). He wore #12. That’s about all I can find out.

:usa: Happy Veterans Day :usa:

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Bruce Anton Bochte
Born 12 Nov 1950, Pasadena, California

Pretty good example of a guy who can play a lot for a pretty extended period of time, yet be so easily forgotten or overlooked. Bochte is likely well-known to fans of the old AL West from a quarter century ago, but that’s probably about it. He had a 12-year career (1974-82, 1984-86) and played for the Angels (1974-77), Indians (1977), Mariners (1978-82) and Athletics (1984-86). Bochte played in 1538 MLB games over that span, more than a thousand of them at first base. He swatted an even 100 flies and 250 doubles among his 1478 hits to give him a lifetime batting average of .282. He enjoyed one all-star season in 1979 when he established several career highs in Seattle: .316, 16 HR, 100 RBI, 81 runs, 38 doubles, 6 triples and 175 hits.

Bochte was a high (34th overall in 1972) pick out of Santa Clara University (Hal Chase, Nellie Briles, Mike Macfarland and Randy Winn among the MLB alumnus). He “retired” after the 1982 season, fed up with Seattle management according to Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/B/Bochte_Bruce.stm)

And I found this story and thought it wa pretty neat. It comes from the History Link (http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3423) website ... The excerpt is from an essay about the 1979 All-Star game and written by Eric L. Flom who was 11-yrs-old at the time he attended the contest in the Seattle Kingdome.

The one vivid moment of the game for me, and perhaps the one vivid moment for many in the Kingdome that evening, came in the bottom half the sixth inning. The National League had knotted the game at 5-5. Boston great Carl Yastrzemski singled to right, and was replaced by pinch-runner Rick Burleson, also of the Red Sox. Brian Downing then doubled to right-center, sending Burleson to third.

With no outs and the go-ahead run just 90 feet away, the situation was perfect to send up a pinch-hitter. The crowd must have sensed this, for a chant began all over the Kingdome -- soft at first, then louder and louder: "We want Bochte; We want BOCHTE; WE WANT BOCHTE!"

A.L. manager Bob Lemon probably had bigger bats than Bochte’s riding the pine at that moment. But he was also no dummy. At some point, he was going to have to please the hometown fans by putting Bruce Bochte into the game. And the way the crowd was chanting, he probably wouldn’t have made it out of the ballpark alive if he had selected a different pinch-hitter.

Bruce Bochte was a good player, but there were few in the crowd who would have put him up there with Mike Schmidt, George Brett, or Gaylord Perry, the pitcher he was about to face. Still, he was the only Mariner player on the A.L. team, and this was his moment. Everyone got goosebumps as he emerged from the dugout; the crowd remained on their feet, screaming and chanting as he stepped into the batter’s box. Granted, the Mariners’ weren’t a great team, and Bruce Bochte wasn’t a great player, but I think all 58,906 in attendance that night wanted desperately for him to succeed.

Perry, a future Mariner then playing for the San Diego Padres, managed to get two strikes on Bochte before the first baseman slapped a sinker into left field for a single, bringing Rick Burleson in from third and giving the American League a 6-5 lead. As Bochte's hit sailed into the outfield, the crowd erupted into a frenzied roar -- one that was probably louder, and longer, than any other baseball cheer in Kingdome history, at least until the Mariners made their miraculous pennant run in 1995. That is something I’ll never forget.

[Baseball Guru]

Kutyna was 14-10 for Portland (Pacific Coast({-h)h)h)League) as a starter in 1959, then allowed no earned runs in his four-game debut as an Athletics reliever. He appeared in at least 50 games in each of his three remaining seasons. (Source:http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/K/Kutyna_Marty.stm)

http://img110.exs.cx/img110/182/60roebuck3.jpg


Sorry, couldnt find more:)


Career:
.......... IP ..W/L ..ERA
Career 290 14-16 3.88



Other birthdays today:

Players Born on November 14
Player Year Born Years Played
Xavier Nady 1978 2000-2004
Ruben Rivera 1973 1995-2003
Kent Bottenfield 1968 1992-2001
Paul Wagner 1967 1992-1999
Curt Schilling 1966 1988-2004
Steve Peters 1962 1987-1988
Willie Hernandez 1954 1977-1989
Kim Andrew 1953 1975
Danny Lazar 1943 1968-1969
Darrell Sutherland 1941 1964-1968
Johnnie Seale 1938 1964-1965
Marty Kutyna 1932 1959-1962
Jim Piersall 1929 1950-1967
Gil Paulsen 1902 1925
Claude Willoughby 1898 1925-1931
Red Sheridan 1896 1918-1920
Jack Lelivelt 1885 1909-1914
Gene Cocreham 1884 1913-1915
Fred Carisch 1881 1903-1923
Jim Wallace 1881 1905
Harry Howell 1876 1898-1910
Otto Schomberg 1864 1886-1888
John Munyan 1860 1887-1891

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Nov 15

Don Carlos Patrick "Pat" Ragan
1888, Blanchard, Iowa
Died Sep 4, 1956, in Los Angeles

Right-hander who spent all or parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues spread between 1909 and 1923. He played for seven teams, but mostly for the Brooklyn Superbas/Robins (1911-1915) and Boston Braves (1915-1919). He must've been halfway decent since he was traded straight up by the Braves to the Giants in 1919 for Jim Thorpe :eek:

He lost 18 games in back-to-back seasons for Brooklyn (1917-18), and won a career high 17 games in 1919, 16 of those wins coming for the Braves after Brooklyn sold him to Boston. Ragan apparently overcame a tendency to be on the wild side and became a fairly effective strikeout pitcher for his day, finishing in the top 10 of K/9 IP three times in his career. One of only three major league players, all pitchers, who list Cornell College in Iowa as their alma mater.

Career Stats
W . . L . . ERA . . G . . IP
77 . .104 . 2.99. .182. .1608.1

Ragan was also the first NL pitcher to strike out the side on 9 pitches:

From Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Ragan_Pat.stm)

» October 5, 1914: In game two of a twinbill with the Braves, Dodger P Pat Ragan relieves in the 8th inning and strikes out the side on nine pitches, doffing his hat to the home crowd after each K. He's the first National Leaguer to do it. The celebration is a bit premature as the Braves score five runs off Ragan in the 9th to win, 9–5. Boston wins the opener, 15–2.

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Paul Eugene Foytack
Born 16 Nov 1930, Scranton, PA
B-R, T-R
1953, 1955-64

In the late 50s you primarily followed the Tigers to see how Kaline and Bunning were doing. Foytack was one of those players who played in their shadows. He won 10 or more games six times for Detroit before playing the final year-&-a-half of his career with the LA Angels. He had a disastrous 2-11 campaign playing part-time for the Tigers in 1960, but was otherwise posting pretty decent/average numbers for the fact his job was what we’d call a “swingman’s” duty these days. If you followed the Astros in the 1980s, Foytack was Detroit’s version of Danny Darwin basically, only not quite as good.

Control was always a problem for Foytack, but he was third in the Junior Circuit with 184 Ks in 1956, and he led the AL with 37 starts in 1959. From 1956-69, Foytack held the Tigers single game strikeout record with 15. Just reading a little over at Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/F/Foytack_Paul.stm), it looks like Mantle owned Foytack during the years though I have no idea what their overall numbers were against one another. Along with possibly battling The Mick over the years, there’s another reason Foytack isn’t a totally obscure player:

From BaseballLibrary.com » July 31, 1963: The Indians become the first American League club to hit four straight home runs. Number eight hitter Woody Held begins with a 2-out blast off Paul Foytack, P Pedro Ramos follows with his 2nd of the game, Tito Francon makes it three straight, and rookie SS Larry Brown's first ML 4-bagger finishes the string. Foytack sets a dubious ML record—the only pitcher to give up four straight home runs. The Indians win 9–5 in the opener of two with the Angels

Career Stats
W . . L . . ERA . . G . . IP
86. . 87. . 4.14. . 312 . 1498.0

[Baseball Guru]

Herb Washington
http://img110.exs.cx/img110/4904/washington-herb.jpg
Oakland Athletics 1974-75


One of the most unique performers in baseball history, Herb Washington became the games first and only "designated runner" when the Oakland Athletics maverick owner Charles O. Finley signed the world class sprinter in 1974. Washington appeared in 105 games over two seasons in Oakland, but never made a plate appearence.

Herbert Lee Washington was born on November 16, 1951 in Belzoni, MS, and sometime thereafter his family moved north to Flint, MI. It was at Flint's Central High that Washington first gained national attention when he tied world class sprinter Charlie Green in the 50 yard dash at the Milwaukee Journal Indoor Track Meet.

After high school, Washington attended Michigan State University on a track scholarship. At MSU, he broke the indoor records for both the 50 and 60 yard dash several times. During his decorated collegiate career, Washington was named an All-American four times, won seven Big Ten titles, and an captured an NCAA championship.

A superb all-around athlete, Washington also suited up for the Spartans' football team as a wide receiver in 1971 and 1972. Although he caught only one pass for 41 yards, the Baltimore Colts drafted the speedster in the 12th round of the 1973 draft. Washington, however, never pursued a career in pro football.

Meanwhile in Oakland, the Athletics had just captured their second consecutive World Series title, and owner Charlie Finley was, apparently, bored. Finley, who came up with several wacky ideas such as using an orange baseball, decided his team needed a "designated runner"; a player whose sole purpose is to pinch run and steal bases.

Herb Washington, even though he had not played baseball since his junior year in high school, fit the bill. Two weeks before the 1974 season, Finley signed the track star and placed him on the 25 man roster.

Although Washington was fast, he was not well versed in the finer points of base stealing. Nevertheless, the fleet footed specialist managed to swipe 29 bases in 1974, but was caught 16 times. Washington appeared in 92 games that season, all as a pinch runner.

The Athletics won their third straight AL pennant that season, before facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. After winning Game 1, the A's were down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th with one out in Game 2 when Washington was inserted to pinch run for Joe Rudi, who was on first base. Washington, however, was quickly picked off by Dodgers' reliever Mike Marshall who then struck out Angel Managual to end the game. Oakland went on to win the Series in five games, but Washington's pick off lives on in World Series infamy.

Washington opened the 1975 season with Oakland, but was released on May 5, when the organization felt keeping a roster spot for a runner was no longer justified. The former Michigan State track star appeared in just 13 games that season, stealing 2 bases in 3 attempts. All told, Herb Washington appeared in 104 games, stole 31 bases, and scored 33 runs without ever batting, pitching, or fielding.

Following his brief baseball career, Washington joined the pro track circuit and remained in competition until 1976. Today he is a successful business man, owning several McDonalds franchises in the Rochester, NY area. In 1997, he was awarded the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award which recognizes former student athletes who have distinguished themselves 25 years after their collegiate career.

Washington is also a member of the Michigan State University Hall Fame, the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame, and an interesting footnote in our National Pastime's rich and colorful history.

http://z.lee28.tripod.com/sbnsforgottenintime/id24.html



Here are his stats from the baseball reference site: http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/washihe01.shtml

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All told, Herb Washington appeared in 104 games, stole 31 bases, and scored 33 runs without ever batting, pitching, or fielding.

What an amazing stat!

[Baseball Guru]

I know... I saw the stats on baseball reference.com and I thought the #'s were wrong so I did some research and came up with all the other info... Never knew that...

Crazy!!

[MudSnakes]

He actually finished seventh in the AL in stolen bases in 1974. Fascinating story.

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Orlando Gregorio Peña
Born 17 Nov 1933, Victoria De Las Tunas, Cuba
B-R, T-R

Played for eight teams and part or all of 14 seasons from 1958-75 (Reds, Athletics, Tigers, Indians, Pirates, Orioles, Cardinals, Angels)

Lost 20 games (against 12 wins) for Kansas City in 1963. Was the oldest pitcher in the AL his final three seasons, 1973-75 (Peña was 39-41 at that time). He was once actually traded straight to a minor league team when he was shipped by the Reds to Toronto in 1961 for Ken Johnson who would go on to no-hitter infamy with the Houston Colt .45s. According to Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/P/Pena_Orlando.stm) Baseball Library, he was successful in the minors but never could translate that to the bigs. Wore jersey numbers 19, 22, 24, 27, 28, 31, 36, 43, 46 and 51 during his career.


Career Stats
W . . L . .SV . . ERA . . G . . IP
56. . 77. .40 . . 3.71. . 427 . 1202.0

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Joseph Francis “Dody” CICERO
Born 18 Nov 1910, Atlantic City, NJ; Died 30 Mar 1983, Clearwater, FL
B-R, T-R

Played three major league seasons (1929-30 Boston Red Sox; 1945 Philadelphia Athletics)

Outfielder. Batted.312 in his 10-game cup of coffee with the Sox in 1929 when he was the youngest player in the AL at 18. Not sure what caused him to drop off the MLB map after he was 19, then reappear 15 seasons later for lone last go at it at age 34. At first I thought maybe he got hurt and then was serving in the military in the early 40s. But I think he might have just knocked around the minors for a long time. And I found a listing for a Dody Cicero who was recently inducted into the Holy Spirit High School (Absecon, NJ) Hall of Fame. That’s about all I can dig up on the guy, along with what I found at Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/C/Cicero_Joe.stm)

» May 4, 1944: Joe Cicero, actor Clark Gable's cousin, hits three home runs, two of which are grand slams, for 10 RBI, as Newark beats Montreal 17–8 in the International League.


Career Stats
G . H . AVG
40. 18 .222

[Baseball Guru]

Roy Sievers
http://i16.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/d1/29/ef_1.JPG

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Sievers_Roy.stm
A St. Louis native signed by the Browns, Sievers was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1949, batting .306 with 16 home runs and 75 RBI. He hit just .238 the following season, then was hindered by a shoulder separation suffered while making a diving catch in 1951; after reporting early for spring training in 1952, he dislocated his right arm during infield practice. The Browns traded him to the Senators for Gil Coan in February 1954. In Washington, Sievers became a favorite of Richard Nixon (then vice president), driving in 100 or more runs and playing at least 144 games each year from 1954 through 1958. In 1957, though his club came in last, Sievers led the AL with 42 home runs and became the first Senator to win the RBI crown (114) since Goose Goslin in 1924. He tied an AL record in July and August of 1957 by homering in six consecutive contests - a mark since eclipsed by Don Mattingly. He remained productive through 1963 with the Phillies; that year, he matched Jimmie Foxx as the only players to pinch hit grand slams in both the AL and NL. In mid-1964 he was sold to the expansion Senators. He acquired his nickname as a high school basketball player, from hanging around the "cage" all the time.

Career
Games Average HR ..RBI
1887 ...267 ....318 1147

Led League in hr 57
Led League in rbi 57
All-Star in 1956-57, 59, 61

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Wallace Larry Haney
Born 19 Nov 1942, Charlottesville, Virginia
B-R, T-R
Catcher
1966-70, 1972-78
Orioles, Pilots, Athletics, Cardinals, Brewers

A well-traveled backup catcher who was sold off a half-dozen times during his career. Wore number 12 more often than not, also wearing numbers 34, 15, 10 and 7 during his career. He's the father of Chris Haney who pitched for the Royals and other teams from 1991-2002.

Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/H/Haney_Larry.stm)
Although he hit a game-winning two-run homer in his first ML game, Haney's weak bat kept him from being more than a reserve catcher throughout his career. With the division- winning A's in 1974, he played in 76 games but hit just .165. Two years later, in his most active season, he batted .226 in 88 games

CAREER STATS
G . . AB . . H . . HR . . RBI . . AVG
480 . 919. . 198 . 12 . . 73. . . 215

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Jackson A Todd
20 Nov 1951, Tulsa, OK
1977 NY Mets, 1979-81 Toronto

This guy wasn’t so obscure when he was pitching for the University of Oklahoma in the early 1970s. The Mets took him with their 2nd-round pick in the '73 draft, and he finally made it up to the bigs with New York in 1977 with not so great results. The Mets dealt him to the Phillies for a minor league pitcher who never made it to the big leagues, but Philadelphia released Todd about a year later when he caught on with Toronto.

Other OU alumni: Mickey Hatcher, Jack Armstrong, Danny Jackson, Eddie Fisher. Lindy McDaniel, Dale Mitchell, Bobby Witt, Greg Norton and Russ Ortiz.

Wore numbers 30, 32 and 40 according to Baseball Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=toddja01)

http://www.rndng3rd.com/mets/playrssz/Jactod.jpg
This photo/card is after Todd’s playing career when he went on to become a pitching coach in the minors for the “old” Denver Zephyrs.

Career Stats
W . . L . ERA . . G . IP
10. . 16. 4.40. . 36. 286.7

[Baseball Guru]

Pius Schwert

1892-1941
C 1914-15 Yankees

Games Average HR RBI
..11 .....217 .....0 ..6




Schwert had 23 at-bats for the Yankees in 1914-15, then returned to the minors, where he played until 1922. He became a U.S. Congressman from Buffalo, NY long after his playing days had ended, and was in his second term when he died of a heart attack at a Washington, DC dinner party in 1941.-- Pi Schwert (http://rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=Pi+Schwert+/v=2/SID=e/l=WS1/R=7/H=0/IPC=us/SHE=0/SIG=12ihmoot4/*-http%3A//www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Schwert_Pius.stm)

Other junk:


Weight: 160 lb.
School: University of Pennsylvania
Debut: October 6, 1914
Final Game: October 7, 1915
Born: November 22, 1892 in Angola, NY
Died: March 11, 1941 in Washington, DC


Baseballreference player page: http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/schwepi01.shtml



Even more info:

SCHWERT, Pius Louis, a Representative from New York; born in Angola, Erie County, N.Y., November 22, 1892; attended the public schools in Angola and Lafayette High School, Buffalo, N.Y.; was graduated from Wharton School of Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1914; played professional baseball with the New York American League Ball Club 1914-1917; during the First World War served in the United States Navy as a yeoman, first class, and later was commissioned as an ensign; engaged in mercantile and banking pursuits in Angola; president of the Bank of Angola, N.Y., 1921-1931; member of the first salary survey committee of Erie County in 1932; moved to Buffalo, N.Y., and served as county clerk 1933-1938; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses and served from January 3, 1939, until his death in Washington, D.C., March 11, 1941; interment in Forest Avenue Cemetery, Angola, N.Y.

Reference: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000162

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Ralph Orlando "Socks" Seybold
B-R, T-R ... 5-11, 175
Born 23 Nov 1870 in Washingtonville, OH
Died 22 Dec 1921 in Greensburg, PA
MLB Career: 1899, 1901-1908

Socks broke in with Cincinnati in 1899, then played quite a bit in the Philadelphia A's outfield during the first decade of the 20th century. The odd thing was that 8 of his 9 years in the bigs came after he turned 30. Seybold led the AL in 1902 with 16 homers, 5 more than his closest competition that season, and he was consistently in the top 10 in slugging during his days. Those 16 homers were the AL standard until a fellow by the name of Ruth came along a decade after Seybold was gone from the game.

He played in the 1905 World Series for Philadelphia, seeing action in all 5 games as the NY Giants topped the Athletics. Seybold was not a real obscure player in his day, and likely would've been an all-star several times over. But he seems like a great example of a guy who faded into obscurity with the passage of time.

Couple of interesting items from Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Seybold_Socks.stm) :

Not an especially good fielder, he nonetheless had two unassisted double plays from the outfield in 1907. An injury in 1908 ended his major league career.

» September 1, 1906: The AL's longest game to date takes place in Boston. Rookie Jack Coombs and 24-year-old Joe Harris go the route in a 24-inning struggle, ending with a 4-1 Athletics victory after four hours and 47 minutes. Socks Seybold and Danny Murphy triple with two outs to end the contest. Philadelphia's Coombs faces 89 batters, striking out 18 and giving up 14 hits, while the Pilgrims' Harris fans 14 and yields 16 hits. Harris drops his record to 2-21, and will start next year at 0-6 before exiting the majors for Providence, holding the distinctions of the worst winning percentage (.091 for a 3-30 record) and the fewest wins for any pitcher with 300 innings pitched. The 24 innings pitched will only be exceeded this century by the 26-inning battle on May 1, 1920 between Oeschger and Cadore

And this item about the time Philly teammate Nap Lajoie was walked intentionally with the bases loaded. It was Seybold who was on deck when that happened (I made one spelling correction from the original article as it was posted on the website):

Napoleon Lajoie, May 23, 1901--The Philadelphia Athletics were batting against the White Sox in the top of the ninth inning. They were behind, 11-7, but had the bases loaded and none out with Lajoie--on his way to a Triple Crown--at bat. Manager Clark Griffith inserted himself as relief pitcher and "calmly sent four wide ones across" to deliberately force in a run, bringing future home run champs Socks Seybold and Harry Davis up with the bases still full. Griffith then disposed of Seybold, Davis, and Morgan Murphy on infield grounders, saving the 11-9 win.

Bill Deane, Baseball Digest, Nov 2003 (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_11_62/ai_108721608)



CAREER STATS
G . .H . . AVG . .SLG . .RBI . .R
997 .1085. 294 . .424 . .556 . .478

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William George “Billy” Rogell
Born 24 Nov 1904 in Springfield, IL
Died 09 Aug 2003 in Sterling Heights, MI
B-B, T-R . . . Shortstop
1925, 1927-28 Boston Red Sox; 1930-39 Detroit Tigers, 1940 Chicago Cubs

Yet another guy who was pretty well known in his days as a big leaguer only to fade into obscurity somewhat today. A mainstay in the Tigers’ infield in the 30s, including their back-to-back AL pennant winners in 1934-35, Rogell still played in the shadows of the likes of Cochrane, Greenberg and Gehringer who was his longtime double play partner at second for Detroit. Wore numbers 5, 6 and 7 during his career. Known as an above average fielder and for having a keen eye at the plate. His career was linked to Dizzy Dean on more than one occasion.

From Historic Baseball (http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/r/rogell_billy.html)

Rogell played in the 1934 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals despite an ankle fracture. It was in the 4th game that he was involved in one of the more memorable plays in World Series history. The Tigers were leading 10-4 -- Rogell had 4 RBIs in the game -- when Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean entered the game as a pinch-runner at first base. On the next play, Rogell was involved in a force-out and on his relay throw, he hit Dean in the head at knocked him unconcious.

Dean was OK and some newspaper headlines the next day included the humorous "X-Rays of Dean's Head Show Nothing." The Cardinals came back to win the series.

Rogell and the Tigers returned to the World Series in 1935 and beat the Chicago Cubs. Rogell hit .292 in the series.

Rogell debuted in the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1925. He played his last season in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs in 1940 and was released by the Cubs to make room on the roster for Dizzy Dean. :eek:

He then played and managed in the minor leagues until he fractured his shoulder. Rogell returned to Tiger Stadium on Sept. 27, 1999 to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the park's final game. Following his career in the major leagues, Rogell served as a Detroit City Council member for nearly 40 years.


From Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Rogell_Billy.stm)

» August 18, 1938: When Detroit's Billy Rogell walks his first time up, it is his seventh consecutive base on balls, a new AL record.

» August 30, 1950: Eddie Stanky of the Giants walks twice in the sixth inning against the Pirates for a total of seven straight times over two games, tying the major-league record set by Billy Rogell and Mel Ott. The Giants win 4–0 behind Sal Maglie.

http://www.jewsinsports.org/Photos/Large/119.jpg
Greenberg, Gehringer, Rogell, and Marv Owen. In 1934 they became the only infield quartet to drive in at least 100 runs each in the same season.

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
1482. 1375. 267. . 370 . . 609 . 755

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Shingo Takatsu
Born 25 Nov 1968 in Hiroshima, Japan
B-R, T-R
2004 Chicago White Sox

Here’s a guy coming off an excellent rookie season. But since he’s already 36 as of today, there’s a good chance he’ll fade into obscurity eventually since his MLB career is likely to be short. The White Sox picked up their 2005 option on him, by the way. Wears uniform #10. Nickname in Japan translates to Mr. Zero for never allowing a run in 10 Japanese Series games.

Bio @ MLB.com (http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=430968)

Married: Maki . . . the couple has two sons . . . attended Hiroshima Technical High School and Asia University . . . played in the "Koshien," the national high school baseball tournament in Japan . . . is friends with other Major League pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii of the Dodgers and Shigetoshi Hasegawa of the Mariners . . . spent 13 seasons with the Yakult Swallows and is the all-time saves leader in Japan with 260.

Career Stats
W . L . S . G . ERA . IP
6 . 4 . 19. 59. 2.31. 62.1

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Russell Earl O’Dey
(Bucky Dent)
Born 25 Nov 1951 in Savannah, GA
Shortstop . . . B-R, T-R
1973-76 Chicago White Sox; 1977-82 New York Yankees; 1982-83 Texas Rangers; 1984 Kansas City Royals

Doubtful that Bucky Dent will ever fade into obscurity. But there are few people who will ever know much about a ballplayer named Rusty O’Dey.

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
1392. 1114. 247. . 321 . . 423 . 451



Lazaro Ramon Gonzalo “Cholly” Naranjo
Born 25 Nov 1934 in Havana, Cuba
Pitcher . . . B-L, T-R
1956 Pittsburgh Pirates

One of my favorite names in the game, plus I have a fondness for Cubans.

Career Stats
W . L . S . G . ERA . IP
1 . 2 . 0 . 17. 4.46. 34.1


Bobby Lamar “Luke” Etheridge
Born 25 Nov 1942 in Greenville, Mississippi
3B . . . B-R, T-R
1967, 1969 San Francisco Giants

Though his career in the bigs was short and uneventful, he will never be obscure to me since he was the star in a little baseball game I “invented” using my baseball cards. Etheridge was pretty much the Honus Wagner-Babe Ruth of my game.

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
96. . 60. . 244. . 350 . . 25. . 26


Cesar Octavio “Tavo” Alvarez
Born 25 Nov 1971 in Cuidad Obregon, Mexico
Pitcher . . . B-R, T-R
1995-96 Montreal Expos

Born on Thanksgiving Day 33 years ago, though given the fact he was born in Mexico, I doubt his parents had comida de pavo on their menu.

Career Stats
W . L . S . G . ERA . IP
3 . 6 . 0 . 19. 5.40. 58.1

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Lots of great names in the game who were born on the first day of the twelfth month. . .


Matthew Thomas Broderick
Born 01 Dec 1877 in Lattimer, Pennsylvania
Died 26 Feb 1940 I Freeland, Pennsylvania
B-R, T-R . . . 2B
1903 Brooklyn Superbas

Attended both Niagra and Villanova Universities. Went 0-for-2 in his MLB career. Wonder if his wife's name might have been Sarah or if ol' Matthew Broderick had a penchant for the stage after his baseball days? :)

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
2 . . 0 . . 000. . 000 . . 0 . . 0


Charles Edwin High
Born 01 Dec 1898 in Ava, Illinois
Died 11 Sep 1960 in Oak Grove, Oregon
B-L, T-R . . . OF
1919-1920 Philadelphia Athletics

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
28. . 22. . 234. . 309 . . 7 . . 9




Paul Stanford “Buddy” Dear
Born 01 Dec 1905 in Norfolk, Virginia
Died 29 Aug 1989 in Radford, Virginia
B-R, T-R . . . 2B
1927 Washington Senators

A Hokie from VaTech, Buddy Dear was 0-for-1 in his career but still managed to cross the plate one time.

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
2 . . 0 . . 000. . 000 . . 0 . . 1




Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto
Born 01 Dec 1912 in Oakland, California
Died 10 August 1990 in Orinda, California
B-R, T-R . . . 3B-2B
1934-36 Pittsburgh Pirates; 1937-41, 1946-47 Brooklyn Dodgers

A 4-time All-Star who went on to manage for all or part of five seasons in the majors, Lavagetto’s name was permanently etched into baseball lore during the 1947 Series when he was at the tail end of a career that was interrupted by WWII.

Info @ Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/L/Lavagetto_Cookie.stm)

» October 3, 1947: Brooklyn pinch hitter Cookie Lavagetto doubles home 2 runs with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th to break up Floyd Bevens’ dramatic no-hit bid and give the Dodgers a 3-2 victory over the Yankees in game 4 at Ebbets Field.

Career Stats
G . . H . . AVG. . SLG . . RBI . R
1043. 945 . 269. . 377 . . 486 . 487




Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish
Born 01 Dec 1925 in Anadarko, Oklahoma
B-B, T-R . . . Pitcher
1944, 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers; 1947-48 Pittsburgh Pirates; 1949-51 Chicago Cubs; 1956-59 Cleveland Indians; 1960 Cincinnati Reds; 1962-64 Philadelphia Phillies

Also went by the nickname Buster, as if he didn’t already have enough names to choose from. McLish went an even 92-92 in 15 major league seasons that covered 21 years and seven teams. He was just short of the magical 20-win mark in 1959 when he was 19-8 for the Indians and enjoyed his only All-Star nod.

Info @ Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/McLish_Cal.stm)

"There were eight kids in my family, and I was the only one my father was permitted to name, so I guess he figured he'd make up for the situation." That is how Cal McLish explains his long string of given names.

» August 26, 1995: Atlanta P Greg Maddux ties a major league record by notching his 16th consecutive road win, a 7-2 victory over his former team, the Cubs. Maddux now shares the record with Denny McLain, Cal McLish, and Rich Dotson.

Career Stats
W . L . S . G . . ERA . IP
92. 92. 6 . 352 . 4.00. 1609