- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Phillies
- League: National League
Clifford Carlton Cravath (1881-1963) was the “home-run king of baseball” before being deposed by the Babe. His nickname derived from the seagull (gaviota in Spanish) he supposedly killed in flight during a PCL game for the Angels. Cravath labored in the obscurity of West Coast ball for 5 years before getting the call to Boston in 1908. His lack of speed offset his batting strength and he was sold to the White Sox that season and bounced back into the minors until he caught on at age 31 with the Phillies, becoming the leading power hitter of the Deadball Era. Led the Phils to their first pennant in 1915 and led the NL in HRs six times.
- Ruth broke Cravath’s career HR record in 1921
- In the ’15 Series, his manager inexplicably gave him the bunt sign with the bases loaded and no outs, leading to a double-play grounder to the pitcher
- Said to have caused a rule change by intercepting the ball in a rundown, hurling it into the stands, and scoring. Baseball decided to stop allowing that
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. (1887-1951) was sold by Connie Mack to the White Sox in 1915 for the amazing sum of $50,000. His salary put him behind only Cobb and Speaker. He left the “$100,000 infield” of the Athletics for what would become the most notorious team in MLB history. He never believed the rumored “fix” for the Sox in 1919 and survived the scandal to lead the team in its aftermath.
- Only man to play for 2 teams for at least 12 yrs each
- Spent 15 yrs as GM for the Red Sox under his friend Tom Yawkey
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1939
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Charles Albert Bender (1884-1954) won 212 games en route to a Hall of Fame career. He began life amid the abject poverty of a Minnesota reservation, was mentored by Pop Warner at the Carlisle Indian School and hit the majors with a bang for the Athletics in 1903. “Albert” as Connie Mack called him, beat future Hall members Cy Young and Clark Griffith compiling 17 wins in his rookie season. He led the league 3x in win percentage but was at his best under pressure. In 5 World Series, Bender won 6 games with a 2.44 ERA and completed 9 of his 10 starts.
- Connie Mack said that of all his players he would most trust Bender to win in the clutch
- Admired for his brilliance, Ty Cobb dubbed him the most intelligent pitcher he ever faced
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1953
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
John Franklin Baker (1886-1963) was released by his minor league mgr who declared he “could not hit.” Connie Mack needed a 3rd baseman and gave Baker a try at the end of the 1908 season. Baker played 13 years exclusively at 3rd. He wielded his 52-oz bat like no other in the dead ball era.
- Led the AL in HRs 4 straight years for the Athletics
- Helped Connie Mack’s team to 3 Series victories, closed his career with Babe Ruth’s Yankees
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1955
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Phillies
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887-1950) earned his plaque in the Hall of Fame on the strength of his strong right arm & an indomitable spirit. The battered WWI vet fought German mustard gas, epilepsy-inducing artillery, PTSD-induced alcoholism and opposing hitters, all with honor and distinction. It is impossible to know the record he would have achieved but for the interruption of war.
- Led the NL in ERA 1915, ‘16, ‘17, ‘19, and ‘20. Led GIs into battle in ‘18
- Said of his induction into the HOF: “the greatest treat and one of the biggest thrills” of his life
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1938
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