Baltimore Orioles Quiz (1954-2003…excluding St. Louis
Browns years): 1) Name the four Cy Young winners (one
received it 3 times). 2) Who is the only batting champ? 3) Who
am I? I threw a no-hitter in 1968 and my initials are T.P. 4)
Name the 5 pitchers who won 140 or more games in a Baltimore
uniform. 5) Who is the single season home run leader? Answers
below.
Two Secrets
Edgar Charles (Sam) Rice was born in 1890 in Morocco,
Indiana. Though it took a while, at the age of 25 he made it to
the major leagues, playing outfield for the Washington Senators.
It wasn’t until two years later, though, that Rice hit his stride and
he went on to compile a Hall of Fame career…2,987 hits over 20
campaigns, with a .322 lifetime BA, six 200-hit seasons, 351
stolen bases, and, incredibly, just 275 strikeouts in 9,269 at bats.
[Think about this last fact. In 13 of the 20 seasons, alone, he had
over 500 at bats. In 12 of these 13 he never whiffed more than
26 times.]
Well, it seemed that Sam Rice was able to keep a secret or two,
and one of them was part of baseball lore. A few years back I
was going through some old Sports Illustrateds and came across
a story by Steve Wulf from 1993. What follows is taken from
this article.
On October 25, 1925, the Washington Senators and the
Pittsburgh Pirates were playing Game 3 of the World Series, the
teams having split the first two contests. Washington was
leading 4-3 after seven innings and in the top of the eighth,
Washington reliever Firpo Marberry faced Earl (Oil) Smith with
two outs and nobody on. Smith lined a ball toward the
temporary bleachers in right centerfield. As Wulf writes it:
“(Sam) Rice, who had moved over to right from center at the
start of the inning, took off after the ball. He leaped and made a
backhanded catch near the fence, then tumbled over the four-
foot-high barrier and disappeared into the crowd. Everyone in
the stadium froze, waiting for Rice to reappear. Seconds passed.
Finally, he emerged from the crowd, holding the ball in his
glove. Umpire Charlie Rigler signaled that Smith was out.”
As you can imagine, the Pirates, led by manager Bill McKechnie,
stormed the field in protest, maintaining that Rice had dropped
the ball and that a spectator had placed it back in his glove. But
the umpires refused to reverse the call and the Senators went on
to win the game and take a 2-1 Series lead.
The next day The Washington Star reported: “Old baseball men,
players and writers searched their memories for a catch that
could rival Rice’s, but found none.”
Most folks just shook their head and said, “How did he do it?”
But the more pressing question was, “Did he do it?”
Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis questioned Rice
the next morning and Rice told him, “Judge, the umpire said I
(caught it).” Landis mulled it over a second and then replied,
“Sam, let’s leave it that way.”
Well, it helped matters that the Pirates became the first team to
come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Series, but people still
wondered.
Rice wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame until 1963 and the
director of the Hall at the time, Paul Kerr, asked him to divulge
the long-held secret. Two years later, at a banquet during
induction weekend, Rice told his fellow Hall of Famers that he
had just written a letter in which he revealed the truth. The letter
was to be opened upon his death.
As Steve Wulf writes, Rice certainly knew how to keep a secret.
What was known about his life is that at 23 he joined the Navy
and at 25 he began a successful tryout in the minor leagues,
where he caught the attention of Washington Senators owner
Clark Griffith. Rice then was called up late that season. But
something had happened three years earlier, in April 1912, that
would have shaken anyone to the core.
Rice had married Beulah Stam in 1908 and they had two
children; Bernie, born in 1909, and Ethel, born in 1910.
In 1912, Edgar (he was ‘Sam’ later) Rice tried out for a minor
league team in Galesburg, Illinois, leaving Beulah and the kids at
their farm in Watseka, Illinois. Beulah then decided to stay a
few days with Edgar’s parents and his two younger sisters in
Morocco, and on Sunday, April 21, the family went to Iroquois,
Illinois to visit some friends, returning to Morocco around 6:00
p.m. As they arrived the skies darkened and storm clouds were
gathering. The family huddled inside, but at 6:30 the house took
a direct hit from a tornado. The local newspaper described the
devastation:
“Its work there was almost too terrible to relate. The house was
blown entirely away as were other buildings but a tool shed
which was untouched. The timbers of the house and barn were
scattered for nearly a quarter of a mile to the southeast. The
furniture and contents of the house were twisted into shapes
which would seem impossible to accomplish, and when the
wreck had passed, every member of the family except Mr.
(Charles) Rice lay dead either in the yard or adjoining fields…
The bodies were found as far as 60 rods from the house, nearly
stripped of clothing, bruised and broken.”
After the tornado hit, neighbors found Charles Rice “running
distractedly among his dead loved ones, carrying the body of one
of the children in his arms.” [Wulf]
Thousands attended the funerals for the six victims and Edgar
Rice spent his time at his father’s bedside, but Charles lost the
will to live and died on April 30.
Edgar’s life was destroyed as he tried to deal with all the “what
ifs?” What if he hadn’t been away? Beulah and the kids would
have been back in Watseka. Rice became a drifter, eventually
ending up in the Navy and finding his way into the major
leagues, but he never told anyone about his tragic past.
Sam (he adopted the name when he joined the Senators…a
sportswriter didn’t know it was Edgar and just called him that)
remarried in 1929 and following his retirement from baseball at
the age of 44 in 1934 (Rice hit .349 with 207 hits at age 40,
incidentally), Sam led a pretty ordinary life.
One day in the mid-60s, a reporter stopped to interview him, with
wife Mary alongside. The writer suddenly asked Sam about
Indiana and that was the first time Mary heard about it. Imagine
the shock on her face.
Rice had stayed away from baseball for the most part after his
retirement and he didn’t expect to get a call from the Hall of
Fame, but thanks to a big push by Ty Cobb, who lobbied on his
behalf, Rice was selected and it was in 1965 that he told his
fellow inductees about the letter and the controversy from 1925.
On October 13, 1974, Rice died at age 84. Paul Kerr of the Hall
had Sam’s letter and it was decided not to open it at the funeral.
On November 4, Kerr held a press conference. Dated July 26,
1965, it read:
“It was a cold and windy day – the rightfield bleachers were
crowded with people in overcoats and wrapped in blankets, the
ball was a line drive headed for the bleachers towards right
center. I turned slightly to my right and had the ball in view all
the way, going at top speed and about 15 feet from bleachers
jumped as high as I could and back handed and the ball hit the
center of pocket in glove (I had a death grip on it). I hit the
ground about 5 feet from a barrier about 4 feet high in front of
bleachers with all the brakes on but couldn’t stop so I tried to
jump it to land in the crowd but my feet hit the barrier about a
foot from top and I toppled over on my stomach into first row of
bleachers. I hit my adams apple on something which sort of
knocked me out for a few seconds but [Senator outfielder Earl]
McNeely around about that time grabbed me by the shirt and
picked me out. I remember trotting back towards the infield still
carrying the ball for about half way and then tossed it towards
the pitchers mound. (How I have wished many times I had kept
it).
“At no time did I lose possession of the ball.
“‘Sam’ Rice”
Stuff
–I had some fun the first week of baseball season, with projected
team performance and stats and all, but just to set the record
straight, I am serious about my Houston – Kansas City World
Series, Houston taking it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
–Mike Mussina, at 1-3, is still on track for my projected 2-32
record.
–Well, Oakland A’s fans, they said Jermaine Dye’s comeback
was a huge key this year and had I known he was once again an
impact player I probably wouldn’t have picked K.C. in the A.L.
But one must learn to live with their predictions.
–Nice start, Scott Rolen of the Cardinals! Goodness, gracious.
7 HR and 21 RBI through the first 13 games.
–Through Sunday, Barry Bonds was hitting .500 with 7 HR and
16 RBI. Someone stop him!!!
–I loved the Red Sox fans this weekend as they chanted “Balco,
Balco” and “You use steroids” each time Jason Giambi and Gary
Sheffield stepped to the plate.
–So I was pretty fired up to watch Chris Rock’s HBO concert on
Saturday night, being a fan of his, but what a disaster. Yoh,
Chris, you hadn’t done a gig like this in four years and you mean
to tell me this is the best material you could come up with? I
turned it off after the first 60 (of 90) minutes and I can’t believe I
stuck with it that long. And, look, I’m not like Bill Cosby,
always bemoaning the fact that today’s comics are too crude, but
in case you didn’t see it, Rock must have used the ‘f-word’ about
ten times a minute.
–You know, sometimes it”s tough falling asleep on Sunday nights
after watching both “The Sopranos” and “Deadwood.”
–A new scientific study has found that 3 drinks a day, or 100 a
month, can cause brain damage, including “loss of memory,
reduced intelligence, poor balance and impaired mental agility.”
Meanwhile, a team of researchers from Duke University is
developing a patch, similar to that used by those trying to quit
smoking, that would inhibit one’s craving for premium lager
(Old Milwaukee if the portfolio losses are large in any given
week).
–I have to admit I wish I was down in Charleston, South
Carolina this past week for the funeral of the 8 that comprised
the crew of the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley. The
Hunley launched the first successful sub attack in the history of
warfare on February 17, 1864 when it sank a Union warship.
But then the Hunley never made it back to port itself and to this
day historians aren’t sure why. The sub wasn’t discovered until
1995 and it was raised from the ocean floor in 2000, everything
in tact, including the bodies that have now been identified. 4
Americans and 4 Europeans. So they were finally laid to rest in
Charleston.
But to those Southerners who didn’t take too kindly to the event,
I have but three words… “Get over it.” It’s history, period.
–Allen St. John had a piece in the Wall Street Journal the other
day on how the women’s marathon record is fast approaching the
men’s mark. For example in 1974, the men’s world record that
year was 2:08:34 and the women’s 2:43:54. But thus far in ’04,
the top male clocked a 2:04:55 and the top woman 2:15:25.
However, sports fans, St. John points out that there is a bit of
controversy here. Race organizers are so eager for a record time
that in the case of the women, they have been employing selected
male runners to keep the girls on a record pace. As an official of
the IAAF, track and field’s governing body, said, “What are they
going to do next, put a car in front of someone?”
–Harry K. passed along a rather scary photo of the camel spiders
being found in Iraq. Now there is a bit of controversy here, too,
because it’s possible the photos were shot in such a manner as to
make the beasts far bigger than they really are, but nonetheless
Harry correctly points out that camel spiders “could go toe to toe
with coyotes and bears and wolverines!” Personally, I beg to
differ on wolverines, but Harry concludes with the best advice
for our returning soldiers and civilians from this theater. “Check
your luggage very carefully.”
–Congratulations to Rusty Wallace for his first NASCAR win in
105 races as he won at Martinsville. But what an embarrassment
for race officials as the event was delayed 77 minutes to fix
a freakin” pothole. It was Wallace”s 55th career victory.
–For those of you who watched the end of the MCI Heritage golf
tournament on Sunday, it turns out there was a whole lot of
controversy over Stewart Cink”s sand shot on the 5th playoff
hole. PGA tournament director Slugger White watched about 10
replays before ruling Cink”s play was legal. [Cink was removing
all manner of debris from a waste area and a ton of television
viewers called in, questioning it. I was a bit perplexed myself.]
–Katie Wang of the Star-Ledger here in New Jersey filed a
report on a brawl between two parents over a dispute concerning
their 7-year-olds T-ball practice. The principles are David
Kramer, 38, and David Lomita, 43.
“The tussle began when Lomita’s wife, Hope, went to practice
Saturday afternoon to pick up a jersey for her son who was at a
Yankees game and unable to attend the practice. Kramer refused
to give her the jersey because he wanted to offer the players who
were present first choice on what number jersey they wanted,
police said.
“According to police and attorneys, Hope Lomita said jersey
selection was done differently on the basketball team that her
husband, David, coaches.
“Kramer said he shot back in jest, ‘at least I’m a better coach
than your husband. At least we can win a game.’
“Hope Lomita left the Blackstone Drive field and returned home
to tell her husband about the incident, police and attorneys said.
“David Lomita came to the field and charged at Kramer with his
fists…”
Well, the two got in a little fight and as five other parents tried to
pull the men apart, Lomita picked up a bat and struck Kramer in
the head, leg and back. Kramer is OK, while David Lomita was
arrested. And so it goes…America’s youth being taught the
virtues of good sportsmanship on our playing fields.
–Christian A. recommends a book “Gentlemen’s Blood,” a
history of dueling, that I’m going to have to pick up. C.A. isn’t
the first one to write in with this so it must be good. [He also
adds that in his opinion, the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” is
the best rock song ever.]
–Remember, folks, the Brood X cicada swarm is just weeks
away from emerging. Up and down the east coast, as many as
1.5 million per acre will pop up and gross the hell out of all of us.
But what if you get the craving to eat them? Well, Cameron Barr
of the Washington Post reports that the executive chef at the
Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown has a recommendation. You want to
roll the freshly molted cicadas in flour, then pan-fry them in
olive oil, topped with a sauce of wine, butter and shallots.
The key is to pluck ‘em after they molt but before the shells
harden. Don’t worry, you can still eat the critters afterwards, but
“they lose their soft-shell cachet.”
Personally, I’d just batter and deep-fry them.
–Sports Illustrated named UConn’s Emeka Okafor the Player of
the Year. As for next season, they project the following as the
leading candidates…Luol Deng (Duke), Ryan Gomes
(Providence…assuming he doesn’t go early), Devin Harris
(Wisconsin), Wayne Simien (Kansas), and, the real reason why
I’m writing this……Chris Paul of Wake Forest!!!!!! [My early
bet is Simien, however.]
–Goodness, gracious…what’s the deal with St. Louis Blues
center Mike Danton? He was arrested by the FBI on murder-for-
hire charges, along with Katie Wolfmeyer, 19. [I’ve always
found that you need to be careful when dating a Wolfmeyer,
guys.] The two were looking to kill an acquaintance of
Danton’s.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/23/66: #1 “(You’re My) Soul And
Inspiration” (The Righteous Brothers) #2 “Bang Bang (My Baby
Shot Me Down) (Cher) #3 “Secret Agent Man” (Johnny Rivers)
Baltimore Orioles Quiz Answers: 1) Four Cy Young winners:
Mike Cuellar (1969), Jim Palmer (1973, ’75, ’76), Mike
Flanagan (1979), Steve Stone (1980). 2) Frank Robinson is the
only batting champ…kind of a trick question since the year he
did this, 1966, was also his Triple Crown season; .316, 49-122.
3) Tom Phoebus threw a no-hitter in 1968. 4) Five pitchers with
more than 140 wins in an Orioles uniform: Jim Palmer, 268;
Dave McNally, 181; Mike Mussina, 147; Mike Cuellar, 143;
Mike Flanagan, 141. 5) Brady Anderson is the single season
home run leader with his highly suspicious 50 in 1996.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Earth Day…with a twist this time.
