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Tag: philadelphia athletics

Wed. 08/23/23Wed. 10/23/24 by Weston Ulbrich

When Hartford Witnessed the Remarkable Rube Waddell

Of all the Hall of Famers to barnstorm Hartford, Connecticut, (Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Babe Ruth – to name a few) one of the earliest stars to come here was George Edward “Rube” Waddell. The unpredictable left-hander led Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics against the Washington Senators at Hartford Base Ball Park. The postseason exhibition game took place on a Monday afternoon, October 8, 1906, to benefit Newington’s Cedar Mountain Hospital for consumptives (patients with tuberculosis).

Rube Waddell, Philadelphia Athletics, 1902.

A year prior to his Hartford visit, Waddell won a rare pitcher’s Triple Crown. He paced the American League with 27 wins, 287 strikeouts and an earned run average of 1.48. Waddell was baseball’s biggest celebrity and drawing card, though he was injured for the 1905 World Series. Over thirteen big league seasons, he appeared with Louisville, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis. He was nicknamed “Rube,” meaning “country bumpkin” – as many rural players were called at the time.

Philadelphia Athletics at the World Series (an injured Rube Waddell kneels to the right of Connie Mack, standing center) Polo Grounds, New York City, 1905.

Born on Friday the 13th of October, 1876, in Bradford, Pennsylvania, George Edward Waddell was the sixth child of Mary and John Waddell, who worked in the oil fields for Standard Oil Company. Rube made his Major League debut at 20 years old. He garnered a reputation for unmanageable free-spiritedness. Rube was known to miss regular season games for fishing trips and he often moonlighted with amateur teams, which included appearances at Rollins College and Volant College. Sometimes dubbed “Lunatic Lefty,” Waddell indulged in drinking, gambling, firefighting and even alligator wrestling.

Despite his eccentricities and idiosyncrasies, Waddell was baseball’s top southpaw at the time of his Hartford sojourn. Rube was the talk of the city as the Philadelphia club arrived late to check-in at Hartford’s Heublein Hotel on Wells Street. The game was scheduled for 2:30 PM. Fans arrived early, packing the grandstand and encircling the roped off field. Local dignitaries such as Morgan G. Bulkeley, former U.S. Senator, Connecticut Governor and first President of the National League, William J. Tracy, Vice President of the Connecticut League of Baseball Clubs and John F. Gunshanan, former professional ballplayer, community leader and head organizer of the Rube-featured exhibition.

Hotel Heublein, Hartford, Connecticut, 1908.

Before night fell over Hartford Base Ball Park, onlookers were awed by Waddell’s victorious complete game shutout. He allowed two hits and struck out 16 batters. His fastball was overpowering and his curve confounded opponents. Behind Rube at second base was another Hall of Famer, Charles “Chief” Bender who recorded a double and a run in the game. A pitcher’s duel that lasted one hour and twenty minutes ended with the Athletics downing the Senators, 2-0. Washington’s lefty, Frank Kitson earned the loss on just five Philadelphia hits.

Hartford Courant excerpt, October 9, 1906.

More than 4,000 fans were estimated in attendance at $0.50 per ticket. Waddell’s Hartford game raised $1,250 for consumptives at Cedar Mountain Hospital – the reported cost of running the institution for about a month. After the game, it was claimed that Waddell has some of his teammates stopped in at Wethersfield Prison to lift the spirits of inmates (something you would never hear of Major League baseball players doing today).

Coincidentally, Waddell contracted tuberculosis less than eight years later. He died of consumption at 37 years old on April Fool’s Day, 1914. He was buried in San Antonio, Texas. The nearly unhittable “Rube” was eventually elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

Rube Waddell’s National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque.

Rube was one of a kind — just a big kid, you know. He’d pitch one day and we wouldn’t see him for three or four days after. He’d just disappear, go fishing or something, or be off playing ball with a bunch of twelve-year-olds in an empty lot somewhere. You couldn’t control him ’cause he was just a big kid himself. Baseball was just a game to Rube.”
Sam Crawford, Detroit Tigers, National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee

Sources

Wed. 11/10/21Tue. 03/12/24 by Weston Ulbrich

Meriden’s Jack Barry, 5-time World Series Champion

Meriden, Connecticut, native Jack Barry was a reliable shortstop in the early years of the American League. Most notably, he played on Connie Mack‘s fabled $100,000 Infield. Mack, who also began his baseball career in Meriden, signed Barry to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908. At the time of his signing, Barry was captain of the Holy Cross baseball team in Worcester, Massachusetts. He wound up playing eleven seasons in the majors and won the World Series five times.

Jack Barry, Philadelphia Athletics, 1908.

Jack Barry, Philadelphia Athletics, 1913.

Though Jack Barry had a mediocre .243 career batting average, he was a defensive wiz. He suited up for winning clubs every season of his career except for his rookie year and his last year. With Philadelphia, he earned World Series victories in 1910, 1911 and 1913. During the 1911 World Series, he slashed .368 against John J. McGraw‘s New York Giants dynasty, beating them in six games. Barry also appeared in the 1914 World Series but lost to the miracle Boston Braves. He was lauded by sportswriters as the A’s best glove and perhaps the best infielder in the American League.

*$100,000 Infield* – L to R: Stuffy McInnis, Frank “Home Run” Baker, Jack Barry and Eddie Collins, Philadelphia Athletics, 1913.

Despite his talents, Barry was sold midseason in 1915 by Connie Mack to the Boston Red Sox, in part due to financial pressures caused by the nascent Federal League. Barry joined a Boston roster which included rookie pitcher, Babe Ruth. Alongside Ruth, Barry continued to win with a playoff bound club. At the 1915 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies and their ace, Grover Cleveland Alexander, the Red Sox took the series in five games.

In 1916, Barry appeared in 94 games during the Regular Season and Boston would repeat as champions. However, Barry did not appear in a playoffs game due to an injury. Instead, he served as Assistant Manager during the postseason under Holy Cross teammate and Red Sox manager, Bill Carrigan. The next season Boston’s owner Harry Frazee promoted Barry to player-manager. However, by the middle of 1917, a patriotic Barry became one of the first professional ballplayers to enlist for World War I.

I consider it my duty to do all I can for my country…I’m no slacker. If I can be of any use, I’ll quit baseball.”
Jack Barry, Washington Times, July 29, 1917.

L to R: Babe Ruth, Bill Carrigan, Jack Barry and Vean Gregg of the Boston Red Sox, 1915.

Barry and four other Red Sox players enlisted as yeomen in the Naval Reserve. They were called to active duty and ordered to report on November 3, 1917. Barry and his teammates were stationed at Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston throughout the 1918 season. Meanwhile, Babe Ruth and the rest of the Red Sox captured another World Series. On the orders of his commanding officer, Barry managed a major league caliber team on the base. The servicemen were known as Jack Barry’s Charlestown Navy Yard nine, but they called themselves the Wild Waves.

Braves Field, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1920.

Barry’s Navy Yard All-Stars featured two future Hall of Fame inductees: Herb Pennock and Rabbit Maranville. Other star players included King Bader and Ernie Shore. The Navy used their star power to boost morale at home and abroad. The Wild Waves matched up against amateur, college and professional clubs and on a few occasions, performed before an estimated crowd of 40,000 fans at Braves Field and in Boston.

Babe Ruth, Jack Barry and Rabbit Maranville, Braves Field, 1935.

Due to Barry’s year-long absence from the Red Sox, owner Frazee hired Ed Barrow as Boston’s manager in 1919. Then in June, Barry was traded back to Philadelphia as part of a four-man deal. At 32 years old with an ailing knee, Barry was no longer the player he had once been. He retired a few weeks later. In his major league career, Barry compiled 1,009 hits, 10 home runs and 429 RBI in 1,223 games. Even though he never made the AL All-Star Team, Barry exhibited defensive dependability and winning intangibles.

Jack Barry, Manager, Holy Cross, with Joe Cronin, Infielder, Boston Red Sox, 1937.

In 1921, Jack Barry was tapped to be head coach at his alma mater, College of the Holy Cross. His coaching days were just as successful as his playing career. He compiled the highest career winning percentage (.806) in collegiate baseball history and won the 1952 College World Series. Barry was head coach at Holy Cross for more than forty years until his death in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts at age 73. In 1966, he was among the first class of inductees to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Barry also became an inaugural veteran inductee of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, along with Lou Gehrig, Christy Mathewson and Joe Sewell.

Jack Barry (right), Manager, Holy Cross, 1951.

A few miles away from where he grew up on Grove Street, Jack Barry was laid to rest at Sacred Heart Cemetery. The City of Meriden and its residents honored his legacy by creating Jack Barry Little League. The youth league existed from 1950 until 2020, when it merged with Ed Walsh Little League, after Ed Walsh – another major leaguer from Meriden. In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Little League program has retained the name Jack Barry Little League to this day.

Sources

Meriden’s Jack Barry and the Wild Waves by Michael Griffen on Slideshare.net.
Jack Barry SABR Bio Project entry by Norman Macht.
Various articles found on Newspapers.com.

Sat. 09/11/21Sat. 09/11/21 by Weston Ulbrich

A Real Connecticut Yankee’s Baseball Career Cut Short

This article was published on ConnetcticutHistory.org on April 20, 2020.

Danny Hoffman’s story reminds sports fans of the fragile nature of a professional athlete’s career. An up-and-coming baseball star discovered playing on the lots of Collinsville, Connecticut, Hoffman played in the majors under legendary manager Connie Mack before joining the New York Yankees (before they were even known as the “Yankees”); but one pitch dramatically changed his career trajectory.

Hoffman was a native of Canton, Connecticut, attended local schools, and frequently played ball in the Collinsville section of town. There, a scout from the Connecticut League’s Springfield, Massachusetts, franchise discovered Hoffman and offered him a contract. Once in Springfield, it did not take long for major league teams to take an interest in him and Hoffman eventually signed with the Philadelphia Athletics to play for Hall-of-Fame manager Connie Mack in 1903.

Daniel J. Hoffman in a Philadelphia Athletics baseball uniform, 1906 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Hoffman an Early Hit with Philadelphia Athletics

As the Athletics headed up to Boston to play the Red Sox in the summer of 1904, baseball experts considered Hoffman one of the more promising young players in the majors. When Hoffman (hitting a career-high .299 with three home runs) stepped to the plate against Red Sox left-hander Jesse Tannehill, however, an errant pitch struck Hoffman in the right eye, ending his season.

Back with the A’s in 1905, Hoffman’s statistics dropped off precipitously. He utilized his great speed to steal 46 bases that year, but he struggled against left-handed pitching—causing Mack to regularly pull Hoffman out of the lineup against lefties.

Hoffman lasted one more year with the A’s before joining the New York Highlanders (who later changed their name to the New York Yankees). He spent two relatively unproductive years in New York before joining the St. Louis Browns in 1908 and then ending his major league career 3 years later. Hoffman tried to make it back to the majors by playing for St. Paul of the American Association and then Wilkes-Barre of the New York State League, but his comeback ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Daniel J. Hoffman, St. Louis Browns, American Tobacco Company baseball card portrait, 1911 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Once-Promising Talent Sidelined by Injury

Life after baseball saw Hoffman become a resident of Bridgeport. Having invested his baseball earnings wisely, Hoffman resided in a beautiful home on Stratford Avenue in the city’s east end. He became a very popular figure in Bridgeport and at one point local residents and civic leaders encouraged him to purchase the city’s struggling Eastern-League baseball team, but Hoffman slowly began retreating from public life.

In 1921, he left Bridgeport to move in with his parents in Manchester. Local residents reported rarely seeing Hoffman in public after that. Seven months after the move, in March of 1922, the Hartford Courant reported that Hoffman had passed away at his parents’ home due to “a general breaking down in health.” He was just 42 years old.

Fri. 07/26/19Tue. 07/13/21 by Weston Ulbrich

The Legend of Connie Mack Began in Connecticut

When Connie Mack left his hometown of East Brookfield, Massachussetts, to embark on a baseball career, his journey began in Connecticut. The journey would eventually take Cornelius Alexander Mack, born Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, to the Hall of Fame. He won five World Series and nine American League pennants with the Philadelphia Athletics and earned a plaque in Cooperstown in 1937, the same year as Nap Lajoie, John McGraw, Tris Speaker, George Wright and Cy Young. Nobody has approached his managerial record of 53 seasons.

Connie Mack, Catcher, Washington Nationals, 1887.

Mack’s first baseball stop was Meriden in 1884. He caught for a semi-pro team in the Connecticut State League for $90 a month and was so beloved by fans that he was presented with a gold watch at the end of the season. In 1885, he joined Hartford of the merged Connecticut State League and Southern New England League. He played two seasons in Hartford as the team became a member of the Eastern League.

Mack hit .251 for Hartford in 1886. Teaming with pitcher Frank Gilmore to form the “bone battery” — both were tall and lanky — Mack, 6 feet 1, 150 pounds, was known for his defense. But when the Washington Nationals attempted to sign Gilmore at the end of the 1886 season, the pitcher insisted they also sign Mack.

Manager Connie Mack, Philadelphia A’s, 1906.

So they did. Mack played three seasons in Washington and 11 in the major leagues, including three seasons as the Pirates’ player-manager. He became manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 and retired after the 1950 season. He won 3,731 games and managed 7,755, both major league records.

Philadelphia Athletics with Connie Mack (tallest) at the Polo Grounds, 1905.

How was Mack remembered in Hartford? In an August 3, 1930, Hartford Courant story about baseball’s early days in the city, former local semi-pro player and National League umpire John Jackson Brady reminisced about Mack, who had won four World Series titles and would win his fifth in 1930.

Connie Mack, Manager, Philadelphia Athletics, 1913.

“Connie was one good fellow,” Brady said enthusiastically, as described by The Courant. “He was one of the most conscientious ballplayers I’ve ever seen. Sometimes his hands would be so sore that every catch nearly killed him, but he was right in there playing every day with hand plastered up in some manner. He never shirked.”

Connie Mack, The Grand Old Man of Baseball, 1930.

Brady, who ran the Hartford-based Brady Brothers Bottling Works and was well-known in the city, described Mack’s difficulty throwing to second base during his early years in Connecticut.

“It was both weak and inaccurate,” said Brady, who died in 1937. “But being a serious fellow, he set out to overcome the weakness. Every morning for more than month he went to the ballpark alone and practiced his throw. Soon he had it perfect, although there was slight curve in the throw. It would start to the right of second base, but when the baseman caught it, it was right on the bag.”

Brady was a National League umpire in 1887, but he worked the Connecticut circuit when Mack was playing.

Connie Mack the Psychologist of Baseball, 1912.

“Mack was a peppy catcher,” Brady said. “I didn’t feel any too comfortable when I was umpiring in front of him. There was but one umpire in those days, you know, and he stood in back of the pitcher. Every time I called a ball, Mack would give me a dirty look. He wouldn’t say a word, just a dirty look.”

Mack would return to Hartford with his Athletics for an exhibition game against the Senators. Gilmore was living in Hartford and his health was failing, so Mack arranged the game to raise money for his old teammate. When Gilmore died in 1929, Mack sent $500 to his widow.

Connie Mack visits Clarkin Stadium, Hartford, 1925.

In 1940, Mack returned to Meriden for a celebration to commemorate the anniversary of his first season. He also came to New Haven to receive a Gold Key from the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance in 1940. And in 1951 — five years before his death — Mack came to Hartford once again for a dinner honoring former Boston Braves president Bob Quinn. Mack, according to Courant sports editor Bill Lee, Mack “went to Bulkeley Stadium and sat through the entire Eastern League game between Hartford and Williamsport.”

Fans gather to welcome Connie Mack to Hartford, 1951

Connie Mack attends dinner in Hartford, 1951

Article published March 7, 2014 by Paul Doyle in the Hartford Courant.

Connie Mack monument at Legion Field Meriden, Connecticut.

Wed. 07/18/18Fri. 09/02/22 by Weston Ulbrich

When Jimmie Foxx & the Philadelphia Athletics Came to Hartford

In 1933 and 1935 the American League powerhouse Philadelphia Athletics visited Hartford, Connecticut. The A’s were 2-time World Series champions, nicknamed the “Mackmen” after their manager Connie Mack. They came north to play exhibition games against Hartford’s semi-pro team, the Savitt Gems, comprised of guest starring professionals like Rabbit Maranville of the Boston Braves and local players such as Johnny Roser, Bob Cronin and Jigger Farrell. Jewelry store owner and philanthropist Bill Savitt organized the games. His Gems hosted the A’s before thousands of fans at Hartford’s Bulkeley Stadium. Leading the Mackmen was their slugging first baseman and Most Valuable Player, Jimmie Foxx.

Jimmie Foxx, First Baseman, Philadelphia Athletics, 1933.

Connie Mack, Manager, Philadelphia Athletics, 1933.

When the Athletics first came to Hartford, James “Jimmie” Emory Foxx, nicknamed “Double X” and “The Beast” was baseball’s most coveted young star. Foxx led the majors in home runs during the 1932 and 1933 seasons. His power-hitting prowess made the A’s visit a highly anticipated event throughout Connecticut. The first exhibition game was scheduled when Connie Mack, who began his professional career in Hartford, accepted an invitation from Bill Savitt. Even though Mack was unable to attend the game, he telegraphed a lineup to the Hartford Courant in advance.

Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics, 1933.

L to R: Max Bishop, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove and Dib Williams, 1933.

On Thursday, June 15, 1933, Foxx and the Philadelphia Athletics arrived in Hartford on their day off. The A’s traveled by train but without their ace, Lefty Grove who had recently pitched. Connie Mack’s train was delayed, so he decided not to make the trip. Nevertheless, the Mackmen nearly shutout the Gems behind the pitching of “Big” Jim Peterson who threw a complete game. Jimmie Foxx was held to a single base hit on the day, but the A’s easily defeated the Gems by a score of 6 to 1. At summer’s end Foxx was baseball’s Triple Crown winner with 48 home runs, 163 RBI and a .356 batting average.

Hartford Courant excerpt, June 15, 1933.

A rematch at Bulkeley Stadium in Hartford occurred on September 23, 1935. Because Connie Mack was absent due to an illness, Jimmie Foxx assumed the role of A’s manager that evening. Foxx’s teammate Pinky Higgins went 2 for 4 at plate with a towering home run. A’s catcher and former Hartford Senators farm hand, Paul Richards smashed another homer. On the mound for the Gems was the former Red Sox lefty hurler Johnny Micheals who allowed 10 hits and 4 runs in 9 innings of work. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s starting pitcher Bill Dietrich struggled against the Gems.

Pinky Higgins and Eric McNain, Philadelphia Athletics, 1935.

By the end of two innings the Savitt Gems scored 5 runs on triples from Jigger Farrell and Johnny Michaels. To the everyone’s surprise, the Gems held the lead throughout the game. Michaels earned the win, mustered 3 hits at the plate and scored the deciding run. Hartford’s brotherly duo, Jigger and Tommy Farrell shined for the Gems, each collecting two hits. Hartford’s team upset Philadelphia’s world champions by a final tally of 6 runs to 4. The well-attended contest ended under the lights as Jimmie Foxx, who was held hitless on the night, made a rare two-inning appearance on the mound.

Hartford Courant excerpt, September 24, 1935.

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Fri. 01/19/18Fri. 11/12/21 by Weston Ulbrich

Pete Naktenis, Hartford’s Major League Southpaw

Peter “Lefty” Naktenis was the first Hartford Twilight League player to advance to Major League Baseball. Naktenis was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1914. Soon after his birth, the Naktenis family moved to Manchester, Connecticut. He grew up to be a talented pitcher at Hartford Public High School, and set the state record for strikeouts in a season. As a young pitching phenom, he dominated the Hartford Twilight League during the summer months. At 18 years old, Naktenis pitched well for the Frederick Raff team in the summer of 1932.

The following summer he hurled for the Mayflower Sales team, who became champions of Hartford Twilight League. Naktenis pitched a no-hitter in the 1933 championship series against Charlie Repass of the Home Circle team, winning 4 to 0. In his second game of the day, Naktenis took the mound again and beat crosstown rival, Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor, a hard-throwing right hander from Bulkeley High School. Taylor, who later became a Negro League star and Naktenis would become two of Hartford’s greatest pitchers.

Pete Naktenis toss no-hitter in Hartford Twilight League, September 3, 1933.

The 6’1” Pete Naktenis was highly sought after by professional teams, but he would take the advice of a Philadelphia Athletics scout and attend college instead. After graduating from Duke University in 1936, he signed his first professional contract to pitch for Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics. Naktenis made his major league debut for the Athletics that same year at age 22. He played in seven games and compiled an 0-1 record, allowing 24 hits and 26 runs with 18 strikeouts.

Philadelphia Athletics sign Pete Naktenis, June 13, 1936.

However, Naktenis ended up spending most of his time in the minor leagues. In 1937, he competed in the New York-Pennsylvania League, pitching for the Binghamton Triplets of the New York Yankees organization. The following year he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds and pitched well for their minor league team, the Albany Senators of the Eastern League . Naktenis didn’t compile eye-popping numbers, but he many memories.

I remember one time in 1936 when I was with the A’s, I had my hair parted by a line shot off the bat of Joe Vosmik of the (Cleveland) Indians. The drive hit the button of my cap and the centerfielder picked up the ball on one short hop. A little lower and it would have parted me in half. That was what you would call a narrow escape.”
Pete Naktenis

Pete Naktenis, Pitcher, Philadelphia Athletics, 1936.

When his professional seasons were complete, Naktenis often returned to Hartford during the off-season and signed with the Savitt Gems. The Gems were a semi-pro team led by their owner, Bill Savitt and player-Manager, Jigger Farrell. Throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s Naktenis drew great crowds to Bulkeley Stadium for the Gems. “Lefty” made his first appearance for the Gems in Hartford on September 25, 1938. He delivered a complete game performance versus the Philadelphia Colored Giants, allowing just 3 hits and one unearned and leading the Savitt Gems to victory.

Naktenis pitches for the Savitt Gems, 1935.

In 1939, the southpaw from Connecticut logged three games in the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds. While property of the Reds, Naktenis found more competitive opportunities with the Savitt Gems. On September 24, 1939, he took the mound for the Gems against the Scranton Red Sox (previously known as the Scranton Miners) of the Eastern League. He out-pitched Mickey Harris and the Gems trounced Scranton by a score of 11 to 3.

Pete Naktenis, Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds, 1939.

In 1940 and 1941, Naktenis was a starter in the Reds organization with the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association. His next minor league stop was with the 1942 Milwaukee Brewers led by Bill Veeck and Charlie Grimm, former big leaguers turned owners. During World War II, Naktenis returned home and gained employment at Colt Manufacturing to support the Am erican war effort. He continued to pitch on a part-time basis for the Hartford Senators, choosing to throw solely in home games. In 1944, he led Hartford to an Eastern League pennant title.

Pete Naktenis, Pitcher, Hartford Senators, 1943.

Pete Naktenis, Pitcher, Hartford Senators, 1944.

Naktenis retired after the 1945 season. He and his wife Kathleen became residents of Newington, Connecticut, where they raised three daughters. He continued to work in manufacturing and became president of Dean Machine Products in Manchester, Connecticut. Later in his life, Naktenis was inducted into the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League Hall of Fame and the Hartford Public High School Hall of Fame. He eventually moved south to Singer Island, Florida, in the 1980s. Peter “Lefty” Naktenis went to rest in eternal peace on August 1, 2007.