- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: St. Louis
- Team: Browns (AL)
- League: American League
Derrill Burnham Pratt (1888-1977) played for the Browns, Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers over a 13-year career in the majors. The scion of a cotton-mill dynasty, Pratt studied the family business at the University of Alabama while pursuing his first love, baseball. He excelled with ‘Bama in both football and baseball to the extent he was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. Del entered minor-league ball in 1910 and showed himself to be an outstanding hitter. St. Louis signed him and held on against John McGraw’s efforts to lure him to the Giants. He rewarded the Browns with five great years where Pratt was the everyday second-baseman consistently batting near .300. Perhaps befitting one who was to the manor born, Pratt was a fighter. He became a union leader in the tumult of the Federal League era, had some fistfights with rowdy opponents, and generally stood his ground. Branch Rickey admired his feisty infielder but lost his managerial job when the Browns were sold in 1916. Del ran afoul of the new owner and was traded to NY where Miller Huggins would say Pratt “put the ball club on its feet.”
- Long before the vaunted ‘27 club, sportswriters dubbed the infield Pratt joined as “Murderers’ Row,” the “greatest collection of pitcher thumpers in baseball today.”
- During Pratt’s career, from 1912-1924, Pratt was 12th in all of baseball in WAR (between Max Carey and Home Run Baker)
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Edward Stewart Plank (1875-1926) hurled more shutouts and complete games than any other lefthander in his 17-season career. He ranks behind only Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton among southpaws in wins. Signed by Connie Mack straight out of college, Plank never played a day in the minors. Playing in 4 Series for Philadelphia, Plank had an ERA of 1.32 but got no run support, going 2-5 but finishing all six of his starts.
- His 326 wins ranks 13th on the all time list. He had eight 20-win seasons
- At the end of his career, played for St. Louis in the Federal League’s final year in 1915 and then with the Browns for two more
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1946
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Washington, D.C.
- Team: Senators
- League: American League
Jesse Clyde Milan (1887-1953) spent most of the first half of the 20th century as a Senator. He was a steady outfielder and renowned base stealer from 1907-1922. After brief stints in the minors, Milan returned to scout and coach for the team until stricken on the field in spring training. Over his 16 seasons Clyde hit .285 and stole nearly 500 bases. His 88 steals in 1912 stood as the ML record until Ty Cobb swiped 96 in ‘15. Clark Griffith considered Milan the franchise’s greatest centerfielder whose speed allowed him to play more shallow than any in the game. Clyde was lured to D.C. by a $1000 bonus, joining fellow rookie Walter Johnson who signed for a hundred bucks. The two became fast friends and the best players on the roster. Griffith tried to make a manager of Milan in 1922 but he didn’t have the stomach for the job. Ulcers drove Clyde to the minors for several years before rejoining his beloved Senators.
- For two seasons, Milan was a teammate of brother Horace: 1915 and ‘17
- Only 167 players spent their entire career with one team. Milan’s tenure in Washington ranks him in the upper fourth of those stalwarts
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Philadelphia
- Team: Athletics (AL)
- League: American League
John Phalen McInnis (1890-1960) helped five teams to world championships as a stellar first baseman. He broke in with the Athletics in 1909 and soon became part of the elite “$100,000 Infield” with Eddie Collins, Frank Baker and Jack Barry. That team won four AL pennants in five years with three titles before losing to the Miracle Braves in their incredible 1914 sweep. Federal League incursions prompted Connie Mack to break up his famed nine but kept Stuffy through the 1917 season. A great batting eye made McInnis one of the toughest to fan (he struck out a mere 189 times in 7822 career at-bats.) and he compiled a .307 lifetime average. Equally adept afield, Stuffy was a perennial defensive leader at first. In 1921 he made one error in 1651 attempts. His Red Sox record was not exceeded until Kevin Youkilis played 120 error-free games in 2007. McInnis would play for the Indians, Braves, Pirates and Phillies, wrapping his long and distinguished career as player-manager in Philadelphia in 1927.
- His skill at the plate enabled McInnis to accomplish 384 sacrifice hits, the third-best in MLB history
- After his career in the majors, Stuffy coached college squads ending with the Harvard Crimson from 1949-54
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Boston
- Team: Red Sox
- League: American League
George Edward Lewis (1888-1979) turned 18 on April 18, 1906 and thought he’d never see 19. His home town of San Francisco was rocked by quake and fire but Lewis survived to play college and minor league ball before Boston Red Sox owner John Taylor trekked all the way to the coast to personally sign this promising youngster. Lewis didn’t endear himself to his teammates in 1910 — too pushy for a rookie, didn’t defer to Speaker, Hooper, et. al. But his bat justified his cockiness and Lewis quickly emerged as one of Boston’s finest. Long before the Green Monster, eternally quirky Fenway sported an incline up to the left field fence. No one mastered that terrain like Lewis and the geography became “Duffy’s Cliff.” Went on to anchor left for perhaps the best defensive outfield ever. Three Series’ titles and league leadership in most hitting categories followed.
- Witness to the Babe’s first and last HRs, the final while coaching the Braves (1931-35)
- Proudly recounted the time he pinch hit for Ruth, 7/11/14, and won the game
- Only member of the famed OF trio not to be inducted into the Hall
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