Diamond Heads '15 > V

Hippo Vaughn

Pitcher
  • 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

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Bobby Veach

Outfield
  • Series: Diamond Heads '15
  • City: Detroit
  • Team: Tigers
  • League: American League

Robert Hayes Veach (1888-1925) took over in left field at Navin Field in Detroit on Sept 6, 1912 and held that post until 1924 when the Tigers traded him to the Red Sox. In his decade-plus as wingman to Ty Cobb, along with Harry Heilmann and Sam Crawford, Veach was part of the most potent outfield in history. Many, including Bill James, peg the 1915 Tigers’ outfield the best of all-time. Because he played somewhat in the shadow of these greats, and perhaps because the Tigers never won a World Series, this veteran with a lifetime .310 average and top-of-the-league production at the plate and in left, never made it to Cooperstown. As good as he was before the war years, 1919 was Veach’s pinnacle. He led the AL in hits, doubles and triples. Only Cobb bested his .355 average and only Ruth topped his 101 RBI and 279 total bases. In 1920 Veach became the first Tiger to hit for the cycle. From 1915 to 1922, nobody drove in more runs or had more extra-base hits than Bobby Veach.

  • Playing for the Yankees in his final season, on Aug 9, 1925, Bobby pinch-hit for Ruth, the first time that had happened since Babe left the mound
  • Veach ended his dazzling ML career with pennant-winning Washington that same year

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