- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Chicago
- Team: Cubs
- League: National League
James Leslie Vaughn (1888-1966) threw to his catcher for an easy out in the tenth inning of a game against Cincinnati one cold afternoon in Chicago. The catcher stood with his hands at his side, the ball bounced off his chest protector and Hippo’s no-hit bid ended, along with the ballgame. The opposing pitcher, Fred Toney, recorded three more outs to get his own no-hitter. Vaughn’s response after such a curious debacle?: “…I wasn’t sore, I’s just lost another ballgame, that’s all.” Clearly Vaughn shed any disappointment as he went out the next season and led the Cubs and the league, winning the “triple crown” for pitchers. Hippo was one of the premier hurlers in baseball over a six year span but his loss to the Reds in the game’s only “double-no-hitter” will forever leave an indelible mark.
- Recorded five 20-win seasons en route to 178 career victories
- Pitched for NY 1908-12, Washington in 1912 and the Cubs from 1913-1921
- No one knows how this strong 6’4” 215 lb workhorse acquired the unflattering nickname
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
James Francis Thorpe (1888-1953) grew up in the Sac and Fox nation in Oklahoma, a hardscrabble existence that saw him in and out of boarding schools. Orphaned and troubled, the teenager found himself in faraway Pennsylvania and came under the tutelage of the renowned Pop Warner. Thorpe’s athletic skill would carry him to heights few have attained, a Renaissance man of sport, bestride the 20th Century. Acclaimed as the world’s greatest athlete in the 1912 Olympics where Thorpe played in two exhibition baseball games, presaging a professional career. A rare “free agent” in the era of the reserve clause, he was able to choose the Giants over the last-place Browns during the 1913 season. He played sporadically but went to the World Series and was the star of the global tour of Giants/White Sox players that off-season.
- Team owners caromed Thorpe from team to team with limited playing time, ending his MLB tenure with the Boston Braves in 1919
- Hit the ball that Hippo Vaughn misplayed, ending the remarkable “double-no-hitter” in 1917
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Robins
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Charles Dillon Stengel (1890-1975) played and managed over half a century, seeing the game go from the Dead Ball Era to “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Casey broke in with Brooklyn in 1912, then the Pirates, Phillies, Giants and Braves, compiling a respectable .284 BA with 60 HRs. Stengel won the Giants’ two Series victories in ’23 with home runs. But it was not as a player that Casey entered the Hall of Fame. He managed his way to Cooperstown riding 1905 lifetime wins at the helm of the New York clubs and Boston from ’34-’65. He played for one world-title team and managed 7 more. The venerable and voluble manager became a fount of baseball wisdom and humor, endearing him to generations of fans.
- Only man to wear the uniforms of the 4 NY clubs
- Came out of retirement to helm the hapless Mets through their painful early years, giving the Old Perfessor “new ways to lose I never knew existed before.”
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1966
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass (1887-1974) broke into MLB with the Giants in ’08 and became a mainstay in the outfield by virtue of his speed & hitting. As proficient as he was at bat & on base, Snodgrass spent his career mired in controversy, especially on the big stage of the World Series: intentionally spiking Frank Baker, dropping a fly ball & later bringing down the house in Fenway after defiantly challenging the home folks. That incident prompted Boston’s mayor (“Vote often and early for James Michael Curley”) to stride on field and demand Snodgrass’ ouster. Fittingly, Fred was traded to the Bosox the next season.
- Haunted throughout his life by the 1912 Series gaff, Snodgrass was spared the indignity of reading the headline on his NY Times obituary: “Fred Snodgrass, 86, Dead; Ball Player Muffed 1912 Fly.”
- Harry Hooper, Boston’s fleet slugger, was robbed by Snodgrass on the next play. Hooper always defended Snodgrass, citing numerous other miscues that led to the Giants’ loss that day
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Robins
- League: National League
- Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Uncle Robbie (1863-1934). A durable catcher for 17 seasons with 3 teams, Robinson is credited as the 1st to play directly behind the plate at all times. Uncle Robbie once caught 5 games in two days. He also had 7 hits & 11 RBI in a single game. After his playing days were over, Robinson went on to manage for 18 seasons.
- Won 3 NL pennants as player
- Won 2 NL pennants as manager
- Won 5 NL pennants as pitching coach
- Elected to Hall of Fame: 1945
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