- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Senators
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Clark Calvin Griffith (1869-1955) was a successful pitcher for over 20 years but had only just begun his baseball career. AL founder Ban Johnson prevailed on Griffith to take the helm of the NY entry into the new league in 1903. That began a tenure as manager and owner that lasted until Griffith’s death in 1955. With a showman’s touch and a veteran player’s savvy, Griffith turned around the D.C. franchise.
- Only one in history to be a player, manager and owner for over 20 years in each role
- Counted eight U.S. presidents as friends during his long tenure as owner of the Senators
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1946
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Chicago
- Team: American Giants
- League: Independent
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Andrew Foster (1879-1930) was “the foremost manager and executive in history of the Negro Leagues” according to his Cooperstown plaque. He is known by many as “the Father of Negro Baseball,” a title earned by decades of playing greatness on the mound, managing championship teams, and founding the Negro NL in 1920. John McGraw recruited Foster to instruct his pitchers. Foster is said to have taught Mathewson the screwball. His nickname may derive from his defeat of Waddell in one of many exhibitions with the “real” big leaguers.
- Honus Wagner said Foster was “one of the greatest pitchers of all-time”
- But it was his brilliance as an executive that left a legacy of greatness in African-American history as the league he founded finally gave a national platform for the talents of black players
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1981
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Chicago
- Team: White Sox
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Urban C. Faber (1888-1976) was the rare pitcher who thrived in both the Dead & Live Ball Eras, one of a handful to win 100 games in each. He was one of the 17 legal spitballers in the ‘20s. A lifelong White Sox, the 20-year ML veteran became the shining light in the gloom of the scandal-shrouded club, once winning 40% of the team’s victories (25) in 1921 while leading the AL in ERA. A smoker from age 8, Faber hated the chaw he used every time he pitched but he made the spitter dance so effectively he claimed he rarely had to use it. His skill at fooling batters was never more evident than when he shut down the Senators on 67 pitches in ‘15. No one has equaled his four WS decisions against NY in ’17, winning 3 including game 7.
- This thoroughly honorable man (dubbed by Babe Ruth “the nicest man in the world”) endured injuries and illness but survived to age 88
- Founded Baseball Anonymous to aid indigent players
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1964
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Boston
- Team: Braves
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
John Joseph Evers (1881-1947) was immortalized as the pivot man with Joe Tinker and Frank Chance in the most famous double-play combo of all time. Evers was a good-hitting, slick-fielding 2nd baseman, winning World Series with the Cubs and Braves. A fiery-tempered man, Evers was said to have had more impact on a team than any at his position.
- The quintessential “small ball” player, Evers excelled in bunts, steals and heads-up play
- Saved a pennant race for Chicago by calling ump’s attention to Fred Merkle’s “Boner”
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1946
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
William George Evans (1884-1956) began as the youngest ML umpire and went on to a Hall of Fame career of whom a top Yankee pitcher said “He is the best, fairest and squarest umpire in the league.” A rare official with no playing experience, Evans quickly established his credibility in a rowdy era. In “one of the most disgraceful scenes ever witnessed on a ball field” his skull was fractured by a hurled bottle in a Browns/Tigers game.
- A gifted writer and analyst of the game, authored books and was an early sports columnist
- Went on to executive positions with teams and head of the minor league Southern Association
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1973
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