Panoramic Photo Above:
Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, PA
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It’s Time for a Quiz!
Let’s Test Your Knowledge of 1930s Baseball!
It’s time to put on your thinking caps!
Or, as I used to hear back in grade school: “OK class, close your desks and take out a piece of paper. We’re having a pop quiz!”
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But don’t worry…you won’t be graded!
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In the featured photo above, we see a neat pic of Babe Ruth as a Boston Brave grouped together with a bunch of other players in Red Sox uniforms. It’s from the Boston Public Library Leslie Jones collection.
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As I’ve mentioned a few times, I was part of the SABR team that helped identify almost 3000 newly discovered photos from the Leslie Jones collection. My forte is individual players and small groups, so one day this one appeared in my in-box, with the following words from project editor Mark Stang: “Hey Gary, see what you can do with this one…”
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Gee thanks Mark! After literally many hours of research, I finally came up with the complete ID’s. It now happens to be one of my favorites from the collection. Don’t feel bad if you can only identify one or two, or even none, of the players. As I said, I spent hours trying to come up with the names. And then I wondered, just why did photographer Leslie Jones put this group together?
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So here’s your assignment…that is, if you choose to accept it! If you prefer, you can go directly below to see the answers.
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1. Can you name any of the players? (OK…besides the Bambino!)
2. What year was it? (That should be easy)
3. Where was it taken?
4. What’s the occasion of the game?
5. Why was this group put together?
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I’ll give you a few minutes to think it all over before revealing the answers. Feel free to write any thoughts you might have about the photo in the comments section. But don’t worry, I promise…You won’t be graded!
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Ready? This should be fun…OK, here we go:
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1. Player Identifications: L-R: Dusty Cooke, Doc Farrell, Dusty Rhodes, Babe Ruth, Hank Johnson, George Pipgras, Billy Werber.
2. The year is 1935, the only year the Bambino was with the Braves.
3. The game was played at Braves Field.
4. It’s the annual Boston City Series pre-season exhibition game between the Braves and the Red Sox.
5. The other six players in the photo were all former Yankee teammates of the Babe who were now on the Red Sox.
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Leslie Jones was the long-time baseball photographer for the Boston Herald Traveler. He was known for odd groupings of ballplayers in his photos. For instance, he loved putting together players who he thought looked alike (some of these are really funny!). He also liked to group together players with the same ethnicity, last name, players from the same hometown, and players who were former teammates. That’s what he did here with these former teammates of the Babe now on the Red Sox.
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I enjoy rescuing obscure ballplayers from the dustbin of history, so I hope you’ll take a minute or two to read a few words about each one of them before they totally disappear from us over the passage of time:
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1. Dusty Cooke: Known for his defensive abilities, Cooke was a competent fourth outfielder able to handle all three outfield positions. In an eight-season career, he was a .280 hitter with 24 home runs, 229 RBI, 324 runs, and a .384 on-base percentage. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1930-’32.
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2. Doc Farrell: In a nine-season career as a utility infielder, Farrell was a .260 hitter with ten home runs, 213 RBI, and 181 runs. As a fielder, he appeared 376 games at shortstop, 118 at second base, 56 at third, and three at first. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1930-‘31.
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3. Gordon “Dusty” Rhodes: In an eight-year pitching career, Rhodes posted a 43–74 record with 356 strikeouts and a 4.85 ERA. He was a competent hitter for a pitcher, posting a .194 batting average (69-for-356) with two home runs and 34 RBI. He’s often confused with another Dusty Rhodes who played in the 1950s for the Giants and was a hero of the 1954 World Series. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1929-’31.
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4. Hank Johnson: In a 12-season pitching career, Johnson posted a 63–56 record with 568 strikeouts and a 4.75 ERA. He divided his playing time as a starter, middle reliever, and occasional closer during a career hampered by illness. His most productive years came with the Yankees, winning 14 games in 1928 and 1930, and 13 in 1931. He developed chronic bursitis that eventually ended his career. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1925-‘32.
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5. George Pipgras: In an eleven-season pitching career, Pipgras posted a 102–73 record with 714 strikeouts and a 4.09 ERA. Pipgras lead the American League in wins in 1928 with a 24–13, 3.38 ERA season for the 1928 World Series champion Yankees. After ending his 11-year career, he became an American League umpire from 1938 to 1946. He was the umpire behind the plate in one of baseball’s most dramatic wins ever on September 30, 1945, at St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park. In the ninth inning, Pipgras suggested to Greenberg that the game should be called on account of darkness. Greenberg convinced him that he could still see the ball, so the game proceeded. Greenberg hit the next pitch over the fence and the Tigers won the pennant and eventually the 1945 World Series. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1923-‘24,1927-‘33.
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6. Billy Werber: In an 11-season career as a third baseman, Werber was a .271 hitter with 78 home runs and 539 RBI. One of the strongest and most aggressive base runners of the 1930s, he stole 215 bases. He led American League third basemen in putouts and assists once each and also led National League third basemen in assists, double plays, and fielding percentage once each. He led the American League in stolen bases three times and led the National League in runs once. Before his death in 2009 at age 100, Werber was the oldest living player and was also the final surviving teammate of Babe Ruth. Yankee teammate of Ruth 1930 and 1933.
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I told you this would be fun!
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Gary Livacari
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Photo Credit: Boston Public Library Leslie Jones Collection
Stats from Baseball Reference.com
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Flunked
Haha! No problem, Joe…Sort of reminds us of days back at QAS with pop quizzes! I guess you have to be a baseball history nerd like me to get this one!
I knew the year the photo was taken – Ruth in a Braves uniform was a giveaway for that one. I struck out on the rest, so I was 1 for 5. Looks like I’m headed back to the minors!
Good try Ron!
Hard to believe any team with Babe Ruth on its roster would finish with a 38-115 record.
He was only on the team until May 20. But he was hitting .191!