- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Detroit
- Team: Tigers
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Harry Edwin Heilmann (1894-1951) won the AL batting title four times. Had he scratched out a handful of singles in 1921 and ‘25, he would have been the only player to hit .400 four times. Teammate Ty Cobb considered him second only to Hornsby among right-handers. He was the last right-hander to hit .400 (1923). Harry came out of the PCL to sign with Detroit in 1914 as an outfielder, vying for playing time amongst stalwarts Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford and Bobby Veach. Following a stint in the wartime Navy, Harry returned in 1919 as a first baseman (he would move back to the outfield in 1921) and launched an extraordinary run as one of the most dominant hitters of any era. “Slug” (being slow afoot) was indeed a slugger, but of the line-drive variety, compiling a career average of .342, twelfth best in baseball. Yet, his induction to Cooperstown was delayed until the year after he died based on a bias against 20’s hitters who were seen as feasting on the “live-ball.” Heilmann’s lifelong friend Cobb lied to him on his deathbed that he had made it into the Hall, a fib that became truth the following year.
- Arthritis took a toll in his later years. Heilmann was traded to the Reds in 1930 where he still hit .333 that year
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1952
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Cardinals
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Miller James Huggins (1879-1929) played 2B for the Reds and Cards (1904-16), then managed the Cards and Yankees during the latter’s dominant decade, winning 6 AL pennants and 3 World Series. Despite a low-key style, Huggins shook up the NY roster, drawing heavily from the Red Sox and even reined in the mighty Babe, laying the groundwork for Murderers’ Row.
- Presided over consecutive World Series sweeps in 1927 & 28
- Following Huggins’ untimely death at age 50, all AL games were canceled in tribute
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1964
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Miller Huggins
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Boston
- Team: Red Sox
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Harry Bartholomew Hooper (1887-1974) anchored right field for one of the best outfields in baseball for the Red Sox with Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis from 1910-15. Still holds Boston club records for triples and SBs. Entered the Hall of Fame in 1971 with 2466 hits and a career .281 BA.
- First player to lead-off both games of a doubleheader with a home run
- With Heinie Wagner, was part of a record four Sox World Series championships
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Roy Miller
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: New York
- Team: Highlanders
- League: American League
Roy Allen Hartzell (1881-1961) was a versatile infielder/outfielder for the St Louis Browns and NY Highlanders (Yankees) from 1906-16. A NY Times article in 1914 called him the “handiest utility man the Yankees ever had…” After his ML career, Hartzell returned to his CO home to manage the Denver Bears.
- Was 6th in AL in RBI in 1911
- On 7/12/11 drove in 8 runs, a record that stood until Jimmy Foxx had 9 in 1933
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Roy Hartzell
- Series: Pilgrims
- City: Chicago
- Team: American Giants
- League: Cuban-American Negro Clubs Series
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
John Preston Hill (1882-1951) was a giant among early 20th Century players, starring for the Cuban X Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Leland Giants & the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues. The Virginia native broke in with the Pittsburgh Keystones in 1899 & went on to a renowned career in the US & Cuba playing & managing for 11 teams until his final tenure with the Baltimore Black Sox in 1925. Hill forged a strong bond with Rube Foster while playing for the Leland Giants. Following their phenomenal 1910 season (123-6), Hill was Foster’s captain when he formed the Chicago American Giants. While relegated to playing against minor league white teams, Hill’s teams also held their own when given the chance with MLB squads. For example, the vaunted 1908 Cubs (104 wins) played an October exhibition against the Leland team. Mordecai Brown won two close games to edge the black team.
- Hill’s HOF plaque notes his “rifle arm” in CF, and calls Hill “one of the greatest line-drive hitters of his era”
- Homestead Grays’ Cumberland Posey called Hill “the most consistent hitter of his time”
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 2006
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T201 Mecca Canvas: Ed Summers
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