Baseball Brothers

 

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Baseball Brothers Photo Gallery
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Baseball Brothers

My recent post about Dizzy Dean got me thinking about some of the many “baseball brothers” who have played in the major leagues. Not meant to be complete, I put together a photo gallery of some of the more successful brother combinations. Since this is “Old-Time Baseball Photos,” it’s mainly a pre-1970 list, with a couple of exceptions. Here’s a few words about some of the more notable“baseball brothers”:

Paul and Lloyd Waner

Hall-of-Famers Paul (Big Poison) and Lloyd (Little Poison) Waner were the best hitting brothers in baseball history. The Waners combined for 5,611 hits – the major league record for brothers – easily besting the three Alous (5,094), and the three DiMaggios (4,853). They are the only brothers elected to the Hall of Fame since the beginning of the Twentieth Century. In 1927, the Waners had the greatest season two brothers ever had. Playing side-by-side in the Pirates’ outfield, Paul and Lloyd had 460 hits, with a combined average of .367.

Vince, Joe, and Dom DiMaggio

Little-known Vince DiMaggio played 10 seasons in the majors, but had his most success during the depleted WWII years. Vince drove in 100 runs for the Pirates in 1941, which was the year brother Joe was the American League MVP, with the famous 56-game hitting streak. Joe was one of the greatest Yankees of all time, hitting .325 in a 13-year career. Dom was the youngest and was a stalwart in center field for the Red Sox for a decade, with a career .298 average. Dom might have joined Joe in the Hall of Fame if he didn’t lose four seasons because of World War II.

Phil and Joe Niekro

The Nierko brothers were known for the  knuckleball, and they were the masters in the 1970s and into the 1980s. Phil, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997, starred for the Braves for most of his 24-year career that ended when he was 48 years old after 318 wins. Joe was five years younger and won 221 games, mostly for the Astros, giving the Niekro 539 wins, a record for brothers.

Jim and Gaylord Perry

The Perry brothers were crafty right-handers with a combined 529 victories. Hall-of-Famer Gaylord is the younger brother, whose stellar 22-year career included 314 wins and two Cy Young awards. Jim Perry also had a fine career, winning 215 games over 17 years, including 20-win seasons with the Twins in 1969 and 1970. They were teammates for the Cleveland Indians in 1974 and 1975.

Felipe, Matty, and Jesus Alou

Felipe was the best of the Alou brothers with 2,101 hits from 1958-74. Matty had 1,777 hits from 1960-74 and Jesus had 1,216 from 1963-79. They made history in 1963 when all three played for the Giants and batted in succession against the New York Mets. The Alous, some of first to come from the Dominican Republic, played a combined 47 seasons.

Hank and Tommie Aaron

The Aaron brothers hold the major league record for most home runs by brothers, with the great Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron hitting 755 and brother Tommie hitting 13,

Dizzy and Paul Dean

Dizzy Dean was one of the great pitchers of the 1930s, even though his career came to an early end due to injury. He incredibly won 102 games from 1933-36 for the St. Louis Cardinals, and is in the Hall of Fame. Paul Dean’s career was even shorter than Dizzy’s, but they combined for 49 victories for the Cardinals in 1934, a record for brothers that will be very hard to break.

Cloyd, Ken, and Clete Boyer

Three Boyer brothers played in the majors in the 1950s. Cloyd was the oldest and least successful, going 20-23 as a pitcher from 1949-55. Ken and Clete were third basemen. Ken was an excellent ball player, hitting .287 with 282 homers and winning six Gold Gloves from 1955-69, mostly with the Cardinals. Clete was perhaps more famous than Ken as the third baseman for the great Yankees teams of the early 1960s. But he only hit .242 lifetime. Only the Aarons and DiMaggios hit more homers as brothers than the Boyers’ 444. Ken and Clete Boyer are the only brothers to each hit more than 150. Ken hit 282, and Clete hit 162.

Ken and George Brett

Hall-of-Famer George was the younger brother, and he led the way with a .305 average and 317 homers in a 21-year career in Kansas City. The Royals were one of many stops for journeyman pitcher Ken, who went 83-85 with a 3.93 ERA in 14 seasons.

Honorable Brother mentions: Ed, Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom Delahanty; Stan and Harry Coveleski; Dixie and Harry Walker; Bob and Ken Forsch; Livan and Orlando Hernandez; Bengie, Jose and Yadier Molina

One-sided: Christy and Henry Mathewson; Bill and George Dickey; Hank and Tommie Aaron; Eddie and Rich Murray, Greg and Mike Maddux; Cal and Billy Ripken, Barry and Steve Larkin, Robin and Larry Yount, Tony and Chris Gwynn.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from public domain

Information: Excerpts edited from article: “Top Ten Baseball Brothers,” by Scott Kendrick. Read more at : http://baseball.about.com/od/majorleagueplayers/tp/baseballbrothers.htm

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