My enduring fascination with baseball history in general, and the Deadball Era (1901-1919) in particular, began in the mid-1950s when I was about ten years old. Like most of my peers, I devoted every possible minute to playing baseball, watching baseball on television, and even listening to it on the radio -sometimes the only option at that time. Unlike most of my boyhood friends, however, I also read anything I could get my hands on about baseball. Fortunately, my father was a teacher so his access to the school library insured a regular stream of baseball books. Although I’ve pretty much forgotten the names of the books I devoured over 60 years ago, there’s one I’ve never forgotten and never will forget – My Greatest Day in Baseball. While the term wasn’t in use at the time, the book was a collection of oral histories that originally appeared in the Chicago Daily News.
My Greatest Day anticipated, and has in large measure been replaced by, Lawrence Ritter’s classic The Glory of Their Times. Although the stories in the earlier work were much shorter, the book has the advantage of including the memories of legendary greats like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb who were dead by the time Ritter began his quest to preserve baseball’s past. Interestingly, when the series, then called "My Biggest Day in Baseball," began in the Chicago Daily News on January 23, 1943, the plan was to publish just the memories of nine sportswriters. However the demand for more was go great, the paper reached out to the players themselves and the series continued for several years. The player memories I read in the mid-1950s were drawn from the first half of the 20th century, but what caught the eye of this ten-year old were those from the Dead Ball Era. Stories of overflow crowds watching from roped off sections of the outfield, morning-afternoon doubleheaders played on an unfamiliar holiday called Decoration Day and the intricacies of “inside baseball” were so intriguing I was hooked for life.
There have been multiple editions of My Greatest Day and which one I read back in the 1950s has long since faded from my memory. For this post, I’m working with the 1945 edition that has 47 total stories, 17 from the Deadball Era. With one notable exception, the players from the early twentieth century recalled pennant races, the World Series, historic achievements and/or controversies, especially the Merkle game. The exception is George Sisler. His story stands out because although he was one of the game’s greatest hitters and fielders, Sisler chose a game of no real significance that he pitched during his rookie season. While Sisler’s achievements are no secret, it’s worth emphasizing he had a .340 lifetime batting average and hit over .400 twice. For many years, he held the record for hits in a season (257) and the longest hitting streak in American League history (41 games). With so many possibilities, why choose a game from a short-lived and not especially distinguished aspect of his career? The reason the August 29, 1915 game was so important to Sisler is because he pitched against and defeated his boyhood idol Walter Johnson.
Walter Johnson – "The Big Train"
This post will revisit George Sisler’s account by comparing his version to contemporary newspaper accounts and the historical record. The comparison and especially the differences will give a better sense of Sisler as a man, as well as a player. The first interesting difference is Sisler didn’t mention that the August 29 game was not the first time he pitched against Johnson. Less than a month earlier, on August 2, the two faced off in a game that was pretty much over when Sisler gave up three runs in the first inning. It’s possible Sisler was concerned his claims of being so nervous he couldn’t sleep the night before the August 29 game would have been less credible if readers knew he had already pitched against Johnson. Considering Sisler’s high regard for Johnson, however, it’s more likely, he thought mentioning a prior loss could have given the game a revenge aspect, something Sisler wanted to avoid with his boyhood idol.
Had Sisler wanted to embellish his anxiety about the game, he could have described the origin of the matchup, but, for some reason, chose not to do so. According to Sisler, almost a week before the game, St. Louis Star sportswriter, Billy Murphy predicted Sisler would pitch against Johnson, which was news to both Sisler and his manager Branch Rickey. Murphy did indeed write an article about the matchup, but it appeared the day before the game and was devoted to excoriating Johnson for reneging on a commitment to sign with the Federal League. From 1914 to 1915, the "outlaw" Federal League waged a baseball "war" against the National and American Leagues in a vain attempt to gain major league status. Regardless of the validity of Murphy’s animosity towards the great Washington pitcher, however, the conflict with the Federal League was the reason for the rematch between the rookie and the veteran.
Throughout the 1915 season, three teams were competing for the St. Louis baseball market with the Federal League Terriers enjoying the most on-the-field success. In order to build attendance for the August 29 game, Washington manager Clark Griffith reportedly agreed to the Browns request to hold Johnson back a day so he could pitch against the St. Louis phenom. In response the Federal League club moved up a single game scheduled for Monday in order to play a doubleheader directly opposite the American League game. In the end, the attraction of two games along with lower ticket prices prevailed as the Terriers drew a crowd reported at 9,000 or 11,000 while 6,000 made their way to Sportsman Park. The stage managing of the matchup put more pressure on Sisler and gave him more reason to be nervous, but he failed to mention it.
In the end, the Johnson – Sisler matchup proved to be a pitchers’ duel worthy of the advance, if somewhat contrived, billing. Washington scored once in the top of the first, aided by a St. Louis error, while the Browns tallied twice in the bottom of the second when Washington returned the favor. The three unearned runs proved to be all the scoring. The two pitchers were so dominant, Sisler needed only nine pitches to retire the side in the fourth and fifth innings combined while Johnson set down St. Louis on a mere three pitches in the sixth. Although there isn’t much difference between Sisler’s account and those in the contemporary media, there are some interesting omissions on his part. After the Browns scored twice in the second, they had runners on first and third, with only one out and Sisler himself at the plate. The St. Louis rookie failed to come through, striking out as Johnson escaped a threat that could have put the game out of reach. Considering striking out in that situation was to Johnson’s credit at Sisler’s expense, it’s a little surprising he failed to mention it. More in keeping with Sisler’s modest approach, is his omission of how in the top of the seventh, he shrugged off a line drive that hit him in the shins. Reportedly the crowd feared the sound of “ball and bone” meant a broken leg, but Sisler just kept on pitching.
Also interesting is a play late in the game that was not only left out by Sisler, but also by the St. Louis sportswriters. In the top of the eighth with the St. Louis rookie trying to hold on to his slim one run lead, Washington had pinch runner Horace Milan, on first base with one out. A bunt put the rookie, playing in his first major league game, on second, in scoring position. What escaped Milan’s notice and, with far less excuse, that of Manager Clark Griffith, coaching at first, was that St. Louis second baseman Del Pratt hid the ball under his right arm. While Sisler moved “around the hill in pretense of being ready to pitch,” Griffith ordered the unsuspecting Milan to move further off second base. Meanwhile, “Step by step [Pratt] walked away from the bag, and then . . . ran and took a dive” to tag out the unsuspecting Milan. Needless to say, the “fans gave Griff and Moran the laugh.”
Del Pratt’s use of a trick play helped preserve Sisler’s greatest day in baseball
Exactly why the local media and Sisler failed to mention this classic piece of Deadball Era trickery isn’t clear. Far more important, however, is why a player of Sisler’s stature, not only picked this game as his greatest day in baseball, but also chose to tell the story in this way. Sisler is supposed to be focal point of the story, but over one-third of the paragraphs are about Walter Johnson. In fact, the story opens with three paragraphs about the “Big Train” and closes with two more about the Hall of Fame pitcher. While it’s probably fair to say that most of the memories in “My Greatest Day” aren’t of the bragging variety, they understandably feature players recalling something they did well. The closest Sisler gets to saying something positive about himself is admitting, he “got by all right” in the second inning. Such self-effacement probably also explains Sisler’s failure to mention the hot shot off his shins, his part in the eighth inning trick play as well as needing only nine pitches to retire six batters. Indeed, what is more surprising is his failure to mention being struck out by his idol in the second inning.
Sisler’s modest approach to his greatest day in baseball would have been no surprise to those who knew him. Responding to Detroit Manager Hughie Jennings’ warning, early in Sisler’s career, that too much publicity would hurt hm, the Akron Beacon Journal (where Sisler played high school baseball) retorted that “It may even be said that George is too modest.” Echoing that sentiment was Branch Rickey, Sisler’s first manager and mentor who knew something about baseball players’ egos. Praising Sisler’s innate modesty, Rickey noted “he meticulously observes all the proprieties of self-effacement in speech and action.” According to Sisler’s biographer, Rick Huhn, “if forced to talk about the sport, his focus was on his teammates, never himself.” Given the chance to choose his greatest day in baseball, Sisler wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to talk about his idol, Walter Johnson. Sisler’s approach to baseball and life was clearly an example for his contemporaries. By taking the same approach to his greatest baseball memory, George Sisler enabled his example to be remembered by everyone who reads his story. As we begin another major league season, it's good to be reminded of the importance of being modest.
Great post John. I enjoy them every time!
ReplyDeleteErnie
Ernie, Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and appreciate your taking the time to write. John
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, John.
ReplyDeleteMick
Thanks Mick!
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