- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: New York
- Team: Giants
- League: National League
Edward Leslie Grant (1883-1918) had a cup of coffee replacing an ailing Nap Lajoie with the Indians at the end of the 1905 season, upon his graduation from Harvard. Caught on with the Phillies ’07-10, then played for the Reds and Giants thru 1915. An early enlistee for WWI, Grant became the 1st ML veteran to die in that conflict, leading a heroic search for the “Lost Battalion.”
- A Harvard lawyer (’09), Grant refused to holler “I Got It!,” preferring “I Have It!”
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Boston
- Team: Braves
- League: National League
Henry Morgan Gowdy (1889-1966) made his name on the ball field and his fame on the battlefield. A catcher and first baseman, Gowdy debuted with the Giants in 1910, getting into a few games over his first four seasons before claiming the starting catcher’s job with the Boston Braves in 1914. He became a key contributor to that “miracle” season as his team achieved a first: winning it all following their last-place finish in ‘13. This was far from the only “first” in Gowdy’s distinguished life and career. He would go on to become the first major leaguer to enlist in World War I, return a hero and tour the country relating his wartime experiences and then return to Boston. After a playing career spanning three decades, Gowdy would then sign up as a captain in WWII, the only player to serve in both conflicts. Again, Hank returned to the game he loved as a coach with Cincinnati, finally retiring in 1948.
- Having starred in the ‘14 Series, Gowdy played the goat when his error led to the Giants’ heartbreak loss to the Senators in 1924
- Another “record” for this great American player/warrior: received votes for induction to the HOF 17 times without success, exceeded only by Edd Roush who finally made it in
- 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
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Robins
- League: National League
Norman Arthur Elberfeld (1875-1944), nicknamed the “Tabasco Kid” for his fiery temper and violent outbursts against umpires, covered 2nd base with a ferocity that daunted even Ty Cobb – who never slid head-first again after losing an encounter with Elberfeld’s spikes. Played mostly SS for 7 teams, 1898-1914 and was a solid hitter (.271 lifetime).
- Never afraid to take a spike, a punch or a pitch, he still ranks 13th on hit-batter list
- Career stats suffered from frequent suspensions and injuries
- Had a knack for mentoring young players, including rookie Casey Stengel
- Series: Diamond Heads '15
- City: Brooklyn
- Team: Robins
- League: National League
Charles Hercules Ebbets, Sr (1859-1925) started work for the new Brooklyn baseball team in 1883 and did just about every job possible before taking over operations in ’98. He became president of the Bridegrooms and was even the field manager that year. A tenth-place finish (out of 12 NL teams) ushered Ebbets out of the dugout and into the executive suite. A lifelong love of the game had drawn this architect/businessman/politician to the most menial of tasks for the franchise, working his way to the top upon the death of Charles Byrne. Twice he risked personal bankruptcy: in 1902 to keep the team in Brooklyn and later to buy the land and build the club’s new park. When the modest Ebbets suggested “Washington Park” as the name of the stadium, a Brooklyn Times reporter admonished him “Why don’t you call it Ebbets Field? It was your idea and nobody else’s, and you’ve put yourself in hock to build it.”
- The park he built would become the site of some of the most zany and beloved moments in all of sport
Ars Longa Store
Newsletter
