MONDAY
Q. Who did Dale Murphy call "…the only pitcher you start thinking about two days before you face him."?
Hint: He was the first person to play for the four 1961-62 expansion franchises.
Hint Those are the only teams he played for in the majors.
Hint: "He was the only guy that could put fear in me. Not because he could get me out, but because he could kill me. You just hoped to mix in a walk so you could have a good night and go 0-for-3," stated Reggie Jackson.
Twint: He holds two records that look as unassailable as any on the books.
A. NOLAN RYAN (NYM1966, 68-71, CAL1972-79, HOU1980-88, TEX1989-93 [Moved from Washington after the 1971 season.]; Unreachable records: 7 no-hitters & 5,714 career Ks)
FCR - Phil Hertz, North Bethesda, MD
Incorrect answers: Ryne Duren, Randy Johnson
TUESDAY
Q. Who was known as baseball biggest tightwad before becoming a baseball, and even social, icon?
Hint: He still holds the record for most bases stolen against a catcher in a single game: 13!
Hint: He was George Sisler’s college baseball coach.
Twint: He’s a “double-unique”.
A. BRANCH RICKEY (13 SB 28-Jun-1907 by WSH; Coached Sisler@ Michigan1912-15; No one in the major leagues’ 144-year history has played under the first name of Branch or the last name of Rickey.)
FCR - Steve Bonfield, Calgary, AB
Incorrect answers: Ty Cobb, Buck Ewing, Charlie Comiskey. Leo Durocher, Clark Griffith, Billy Hamilton
TUESDAY BONUS
Q. Who played more games at second base than any other player in history?
Hint: He led his league in fielding nine times during his career.
Hint: He had seasons of hit .372, .365 and .360 and a lifetime average of .333 but never won a batting title in his 25-year career.
Twint: He won a league MVP for the team he debuted with and had played for nine seasons, but was sold to a team in the same league a few weeks later.
Twint: He soon became captain of his new team.
A. EDDIE COLLINS (2,650 G @ 2b; MVP 1914, dealt to CHW for 1915)
FCR - Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, NY
Incorrect answers: Johnny Evers, Ryne Sandberg, Nap Lajoie, Rogers Hornsby, Cap Anson, Bid McPhee
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who was the only man ever to lead the Players’ League in number of times hit-by-pitch?
Hint: He was the first Pirates manager to pilot the team to winning records for two full seasons.
Hint: He lost six syllables along the way.
Twint: He was fined $100 & ordered off the field for using "insulting and abusive language" on former teammate Hank O'Day.
Twint: He refused to leave until several policemen ushered him from the field.
Twint: He was tactically tall.
A. CONNIE MACK (Players League only operated in 1890. Mack had 20 HBP and lost big $ he had invested in the league; PIT 1895-96; Birth name: Cornelius McGillicuddy = 9 > Connie Mack = 3; As a manager was nicknamed “The Tall Tactician”)
FCR - John Robertson, Cambridge, ON
Incorrect answers: Fred Clarke, Bill McKechnie, Al Buckenberger, Horace Phillips
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who was the first player to collect more RBI in a season than the number of games he played (minimum 100)?
Hint: In 2005, Julio Franco replaced him as the oldest player to hit two home runs in one game.
Hint: He only had three all year.
Twint: He hit those two in the 2,276th game of his 2,277-game career, spanning 27 seasons.
A. CAP ANSON(1886 for CHC: 125 G/147 RBI*; At age 45 years and 169 days, homered twice on 03-Oct 1897 for CHC against STL, Franco was 45 years )
FCR - Bill Deane, Cooperstown, NY
*It turns out that over 60 players have accomplished this feat, most notably Dave Orr who did it TWO YEARS before Anson. We apologize with a tip of the hat to those who saw through this and answered with Anson anyway.
Incorrect answers: Babe Ruth, Minnie Minoso, Jason Giambi
THURSDAY
Q. What slick-fielding first baseman was appointed player/manager by his team’s mercurial owner at age 25 and won four consecutive pennants in his first four full seasons?
Hint: He was instrumental in the founding of three major leagues, one of which survives today.
Hint: He toured several major league stadiums to get ideas for the design his new stadium prior to its construction.
Hint: He called the stadium a “monument to the fans”, but built it on a former garbage dump and named it after himself.
Twint: His nicknames match neither his political leanings nor his ethnicity.
A. CHARLIE COMISKEY (Owner was beer baron Chris von der Ahe, Pennant run w/STL 1885, 86, 87, 88; A vital part of founding the short-lived Players’ League [1890], the American League [1901‑ ] & the Federal League [1914-15]; Comiskey Park[1910-90]; “Commy” [paragon of capitalism] & “The Old Roman” [He was of Irish descent.])
FCR - Harvey Judkowitz, Miami, FL
Incorrect answers: Charlie Ebbets, Connie Mack, Frank Chance, Fred Clarke, Bill Terry, Cap Anson, Harry Wright
TRYPTOPHAN SPECIAL
Q. Who changed from a right-handed pitcher to a left-handed outfielder when his right arm went bad?
Hint: His career home runs surrendered exactly matches the number of home runs he hit.
Hint: Scholastically, he was twice leonine.
Hint: The baseball world has only recently agreed on what he should be called.
Twint: As a twenty-year-old he pitched a perfect game, the second in history.
Twint: His home town is within the boundaries of the Bob Davids chapter of SABR.
A. MONTE WARD (Stopped pitching in 1884; 26/26; Columbia Lions/Penn State Nittany Lions; “John Ward”, “John Montgomery Ward”, “Montgomery Ward”, “J.M. Ward”; [I don’t know who settled it, but thank you.]; Perfecto 17-Jun-1880, losing pitcher was Pud Galvin, also headed for the Hall, B. 03-Mar-1860 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania)
FCR - Gary Moore, Walker, MI
Incorrect answers: Smokey Joe Wood, Rick Ankiel, Lefty O’Doul
FRIDAY
Q. Which Hall of Famer was born in a log cabin, the son of a fur trapper?
Hint: He was the first pitcher to ever face only one batter in a season and give up a home run.
Hint: He was the first manager to use eight pitchers in a game. Good ploy—they got the win.
Hint: He claimed to be the inventor of the screwball.
Twint: He recruited 39 players to the new American League, then played in that same league pitched 20 victories and managed his team to the first league pennant.
Twint: He was a player, manager and owner, serving in each capacity for twenty years, a record unmatched in major league history.
Twint: Of him, Bobo Newsom said, "He was the greatest humanitarian who ever lived and the greatest pillar of honesty baseball ever had. I never played for a better man, on the field or off."
A. CLARK GRIFFITH (B. Clear Creek, MO 20-Nov-1869; Player1891-1914, Manager1901-1920, Senators Owner1920-1955; Faced Hal Chaseand yielded a homer 05-Oct-1912, matched only by Dave Koslo 14‑Apr‑1955to Bill Virdon; 8 P-G 04-Oct-1913; VP of the League Protective Player’s Association he helped Ban Johnson form the AL, as player/manager Chicago White Stockings/White Sox 1901 went 83-53 record to top the league. No World Series was played until 1903)
FCR - Kirk Colwell, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Incorrect answers: Iron Man McGinnity, Fred Hutchinson, Red Schoendienst, Candy Cummings, Judy Johnson
SATURDAY
Q. What legendary skipper managed 27 players who became major league managers?
Hint: Six of those have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Hint: He was the last out in Lee Richmond's perfect game.
Hint: He owned the property where the team he managed built their ballpark.
Twint: He played for the Detroit Wolverines all eight years of their existence.
Twint: He managed five teams who won the National League pennant, the top championship of its day.
A. NED HANLON (First ever major league perfect game 12-Jun-1880)
Hanlon managed the following players who became major league managers: [Underlinedare in the Hall of Fame]
Frank Bowerman
Lave Cross
Bill Dahlen
Bill Donovan
Jack Doyle
Fred Dunlap
Pud Galvin
John Ganzel
Doc Gessler
Kid Gleason
Charley Huffington
Hughie Jennings
Fielder Jones
Joe Kelley
Hans Lobert
Harry Lumley
John McGraw
Deacon McGuire
Doggie Miller
Fred Mitchell
Joe Quinn
Wilbert Robinson
Jack Rowe
Harry Stovey
Cub Stricker
George Van Haltren
Deacon White
- - -
Jack Dunn*
- - -
John Hummel**
Bob Spade**
*Became legendary himself managing the minor league Baltimore Orioles, including one George H. Ruth
**Managed in the Negro Leagues
FCR - Andrew Distler, New York, NY
Incorrect answers: Connie Mack, Bill Phillips, John McGraw, Casey Stengel, Rod Dedeaux, Buck O’Neil, Jim McCormick, Hughie Jennings, Addie Joss
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Which big league pitcher, eligible for the title, holds the career record for win percentage?
Hint: He is the only pitcher to lead his league in wins six consecutive years, during which he became the only pitcher with consecutive fifty-win seasons.
Hint: After his six-year streak, he only won a single game the rest of his career.
Twint: The league and sporting goods company he formed survive to this day.
A. AL SPALDING (Career .795; 1871-1876 led with 19/38/41/52/54 (National Association) 47 (National League); 1877 1-0; National League [w/William Hulbert] & Spalding Sporting Goods)
FCR - Dave Johnson, Swarthmore, PA
Incorrect answers: Hughie Jennings, Cy Young, Bob Caruthers, Charles Radbourn
SUNDAY
Q. What major leaguer was once an All-SEC quarterback and catcher for the University of Florida?
Hint: His rocket arm got him an offer from the Boston Red Sox.
Hint: His Florida football coach asked future Hall of Famer Bill Terry to speak with him about the offer, and they had this conversation: Terry asked the prospect, “Do you mean to tell me you get this money even if you don’t make it to the big leagues?” He said that he did and Terry replied, “Then boy, what are you waiting for?”
Twint: He was the Boston Red Sox General Manager when the team’s reputation got “dented”
A. HAYWOOD SULLIVAN (GM 1977-84, Bucky Dent’s famously infamous homer coming in 1978; SEC Quarterback/Catcher1950-1951, signed in 1952 by the Red Sox for a $75,000 bonusand conversation from SABR Bio)
FCR - Andrew Distler, New York, NY
Incorrect answers: Jake Gibbs
END-OF-THE-WEEKEND BONUS
Q. After Jim Creighton's death in 1862, who was considered the fastest pitcher in "base ball"?
Hint: He was undefeated for the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1864-65.
Hint: He was the first native of Massachusetts to play in the major leagues.
Twint: His debut game was also his last and only game. He went two-for-six.
A. TOM PRATT (B. 26-Jan-1844, Chelsea, MA, Debut 18-Oct-1871)
FCR - No one
Incorrect answers: Amos Rusie, Candy Cummings
WEEKLY THEME – Well-known team owners who also played in the majors.
Anson Chicago Cubs
Collins Chicago White Sox
Comiskey Chicago White Sox
Griffith Washington Senators
Hanlon Brooklyn Dodgers
Mack Philadelphia A's
Pratt Philadelphia Athletics
Rickey St. Louis Cardinals
Ryan Texas Rangers
Spalding Chicago Cubs
Sullivan Boston Red Sox
Ward Boston Braves
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Marc Kell, Columbia, MD
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday - Hall of Famers known by their middle name
Tuesday - Team presidents
- Highest per cent of Hall of Fame votes
- Hall of Famers whose sons became baseball executives
- Hall of Fame players who were team presidents
- Players who later moved to the front office (Hall of Famers)
Wed - HOFers who were players and also were Executives of teams in the World Series
Thursday - HOFers who have children or other ancestors who are or have been baseball execs
Friday - Owners who named parks after themselves
We archive our questions here: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/
Horsehide Trivia home page: https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia
.jpg){kind=link}
0 Comments