When Pedro Martinez is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this coming July,  he will join a “club within a club” made up of the ten Hall of Famers who went out on top – pitching to their last major league hitter or taking their last major league at bat while playing on MLB’s biggest stage,  in the World Series.  Within that group, there is an even more unique set of players – just three – who retired as World Champions, all three making their last trip to the plate for a World Series winner. 

BBRT will take a look at just how those players finished up their careers, but – for those in a hurry – here’s the list without the detail.

Hall of Fame players who made their final major league appearance for a World Series winner:

• Joe DiMaggio – 1951 New York Yankees
• Johnny Mize – 1953 New York Yankees
• Eddie Mathews – 1968 Detroit Tigers

Then there are the seven additional Hall of Famers who came to the plate or went to the mound for their final major league appearance in the World Series, but whose teams did not come away champions:

• Frank “Home Run” Baker – 1922 Yankees
• Bill Terry – 1936 Giants
• Travis Jackson – 1936 Giants
• Jackie Robinson – 1956 Dodgers
• Sandy Koufax – 1966 Dodgers
• Willie Mays – 1973 Mets
• Pedro Martinez – 2009 Phillies

The fact that seven of the ten players who finished their MLB playing careers in the World Series come from the Yankees, Giants or Dodgers should be  no surprise; those teams represent three of the top four franchises in terms of World Series appearances:

1. Yankees … 40 World Series/27 Championships
2. Cardinals … 19 World Series/11 Championships
3. Giants … 19 World Series/7 Championships
4. Dodgers … 18 World Series/6 Championships

Now let’s look at the list of players who went out on top.  First, the three whose final appearances earned them World Series Championship rings. 

Joe DiMaggio (The Yankee Clipper) – Hall of Fame 1955

Last major league appearance: With the Yankees, October 10, 1951; Game Six of the World Series (versus the New York Giants)

What can you say about the Joe DiMaggio?  He was indeed a “champion.” He came in a champion as a Yankee rookie in 1936 – manning center field for every game of the all-New York World Series, as the Yankees topped the Giants in six games.  And, he retired as a champion – manning center field in every game as the Yankees (fittingly) again topped the Giants in six. In between those bookends, DiMaggio played in eight more World Series – with his Yankees winning seven of them.  In a total of 51 World Series games, DiMaggio hit .271, with eight home runs and 30 RBI.

How well was Joltin’ Joe seeing the ball during his record hitting streak?

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio ran off a still MLB-record 56-game hitting streak.  During the streak DiMaggio went 91-for-223 (.408) with 15 home runs and 55 RBI.  How well was he seeing the ball?  In the 56 games, DiMaggio struck out only five times.

DiMaggio was an All Star in each of his 13 MLB seasons (1936-42 & 1946-51, in a career interrupted by three years of military service).  He was a three-time AL Most Valuable Player (1939, 1941, 1947) and a two-time batting champ (1939, 1940).  He also led the AL in home runs (twice), triples (once), runs (one) and RBI (twice) – compiling a .325 lifetime batting average, with 361 home runs and 1,537 RBI.

DiMaggio’s final plate appearance in the major leagues produced an extra base hit – a stand-up double to tight center, with DiMaggio gliding gracefully into second base –  in Game Six (final game) of the 1951 World Series.  It came in the eighth inning off New York Giants’ right-hander Larry Jansen, who had led the NL with 23 victories during the season.  It was the sixth hit of the Series for the Yankee Clipper, who hit .261, with one home run and five RBI for the Series.

Johnny Mize (The Big Cat) – Hall of Fame 1982

Last major league appearance: With the New York Yankees, October 5, 1953; Game Seven of the World Series (versus the Brooklyn Dodgers)

Johnny Mize hit 359 home runs in a 15-season big league career that was interrupted for three years of military service.  (Mize played in the majors from 1936-42 and 1946-53.)  He was a ten-time All Star who led his league at least once in most major categories:  doubles (once); triples (once); home runs (four times); batting average (once); runs scored (once); RBI (three times); total bases (three times). In 1947, while with the New York Giants (Mize played for the Cardinals, Giants and Yankees in his career), Mize hit .302, leading the league in home runs (51), runs scored (137) and RBI (138).

Injuries and age slowed Mize, who was traded by the Giants to the Yankees in 1949 (at age 36).  Mize proved valuable as a part-time player and pinch-hitter, helping the Yankees win five straight World Championships during his years with the team (1949-53). Mize, in fact, was the star of the 1955 Series, when he played in five of the seven games: hitting a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning of Game Three; going 2-for-3, with a home run and a double as the starting first baseman in Game Four; hitting a three-run homer in Game Five; and picking up a pair of hits and an RBI in Game Seven. Overall, Mize hit .400 for the Series, with three home runs and six RBI.

 How good was Johnny Mize when it came to bat control?

In 1947, Johnny Mize rapped 51 home runs, but struck out only 42 times.  He is still the only player to have a season of  50+ homers and less than 50 strikeouts.  The next season, Mize proved it 1947 was no fluke, hitting 40 home runs and fanning only 37 times.

So what about Mize’s final MLB appearance?  It came in the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 1953 Series.  With the Yankees up 2-1, the 40-year-old Mize was called upon to pinch hit for Yankee starting first baseman Joe Collins (with two on and two out). Mize, facing Dodgers’ reliever Clem Labine, grounded out to first. Mize went 0-for-3 as a pinch hitter in the Series, but he still retired a World Champion.

Eddie Mathews – Hall of Fame 1978

Last major league appearance: With the Detroit Tigers, October 6, 1968; Game Four of the World Series (versus the Saint Louis Cardinals)

The left-handed hitting Eddie Mathews was an All Star at third base in nine of his seventeen seasons – during which he hit .271 with 512 home runs (twice leading the NL) and drove in 1,453 runs.  He also led the NL in walks four times and on-base-percentage once.  He hit 493 of his round trippers as a Brave – and Mathews and fellow HOFer Hank Aaron hit more home runs while teammates (863) than any other pair in MLB history. Mathews chose a Milwaukee Braves’ cap for his HOF induction.  No surprise there, Mathews played for the Braves during their last season in Boston (1952), for all 13 seasons they were in Milwaukee and for their first season in Atlanta (1966) – the only player to take the field for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.  Mathews last MLB at bat, however, did not come with the Braves, or even in the National League.  His final trip to the plate came in a Detroit Tigers uniform – during the 1968 World Series.

How sweet was Eddie Mathews swing?

None other than the great Ty Cobb once said, “I’ve only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them.”

Before making it to Detroit, Mathews made a stop in Houston. Mathews was nearing the end of his career as the 1966 season closed. His output had dropped from 23 home runs and 95 RBI in 1965 to just 16 homers and 53 RBI in 1966.  In the off season, the Braves acquired third baseman Clete Boyer from the Yankees and sent Mathews to the Houston Astros – where he didn’t stay long (but long enough to hit his 500th homer run – this one off another future HOFer, Juan Marichal).  In mid-August of that year, the Detroit Tigers, in the middle of a pennant race and having lost starting third baseman Don Wert to injury, picked up Mathews in a trade with the Astros. Tiger manager Mayo Smith indicated they were looking at Mathews not only for his ability to fill in at third base, but also for his veteran leadership down the stretch.  Mathews played in 36 games for Detroit (3B/1B/PH), hitting .231 with six homers and 19 RBI, as the Tiger finished just one game behind the Red Sox.  Mathews was still with the Tigers as they won the AL title in 1968 – primarily playing first base in an injury-interrupted season.  In that final campaign, he hit .212, with 3 homers and 8 RBI in 31 games.

Now for that MLB final at bat. Mathews played in only two games in the 1968 World Series.  Leading off the eighth inning of Game One, he pinch hit for Don Wert and became strikeout victim number 14 in the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson’s World Series record-setting 17-strikeout performance.  (The Tigers lost 4-0.)  Mathews’ final major league plate appearance came at Tiger Stadium on October 6, with Gibson back on the mound for the Cardinals. Mathews, fittingly, started his final game at the position he manned for so long – third base. Gibson was again masterful, giving up just one run (five hits, two walks, ten strikeouts) in an 8-1 Cardinal victory. Mathews, however, held his own – going 1-for-2 (single and a popup) before drawing an eighth-inning walk in his last ever major league plate appearance. Detroit went on to win the Series four games to three – and Mathews ended his career a World Series Champion.

DiMaggio, Mize and Mathews, there are your three Hall of Famers who went out as World Series Champions.  Now, let’s look at the seven HOFers, who came so close – finishing their careers in the World Series, just not coming away with that championship ring.

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Frank “Home Run” Baker – Hall of Fame 1955

Last major league appearance: With the New York Yankees, October 6, 1922; Game Three of the World Series (versus the New York Giant).

Frank “Home Run” Baker’s reputation as a power hitter became so ingrained that he remains better known as Home Run Baker than Frank Baker. He earned his nickname in the 1911 World Series, when he hit a game-winning, two-run home run in Game Two (as Baker’s Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants 3-1) and then rapped a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game Three (which the Athletic won 3-2 in eleven innings). BBRT note:  These home runs were especially meaningful, as only three home runs were hit in the entire Series – won by the Athletics in six games – and Baker’s 11 regular-season home runs led the American League in 1911.

Notably, Baker went on to prove himself worthy of the “Home Run” nickname – leading the AL in home runs not only in 1911, but also 1912, 1913 and 1914.  He also led the league in RBI in 1912 and 1913.  Regarded as one of the top power hitters of his era, Baker not only led the league in home runs four times, but hit over .300 six times, three times topped 100 RBI and twice scored more than 100 runs.  Baker finished his 13-season MLB career with a .307 average, 96 home runs and 987 RBI.  He played with the Philadelphia Athletics from 1908-1914 and with the New York Yankees (1916-1919 and 1921-22.)  BBRT note:  Baker was out of major league baseball in 1915 due to a contract dispute with Connie Mack, who then sold Baker’s contract to the Yankees.  Baker also sat out the 1920 season due to a family tragedy.

Ironically, in his final two seasons, “Home Run” Baker was a teammate of the game’s newest premier power hitter, one who would change the game and the record books (and also be better known by his nickname) – Babe Ruth.

How did Frank Home Run Baker respond to pressure?

In six World Series (25 games), Baker hit .363 with three home runs and 18 RBI.

Baker got only one at bat in that 1922 Series (in which the Giants Swept the Yankees in four games), grounding out to first as a pinch hitter (for pitcher Waite Hoyt) leading off the eighth inning of Game Three.

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Travis Jackson (Stonewall) – Hall of Fame 1982

Bill Terry (Memphis Bill) – Hall of Fame 1954

Last major league appearance(s): For the New York Giants, October 6, 1936; Game Six (final game) of the World Series (versus the New York Yankees)

BBRT put these two Hall of Famers together because they took their last major league swings in the final game of a World Series – for the same team on the same day.

Giants’ first baseman Bill Terry’s last at bat came in the eighth inning of the final game of the 1936 World Series, against Yankee right-hander Johnny Murphy (9-3, with five saves and a 3.38 ERA in the regular season).  There were two outs and the Giants were down three games to two and by a score of 6-5 in Game Six. Terry, who had a single in his first three at bats that day (driving in a run in the seventh inning) grounded out to second to end the inning.  (The Yankees went on to score seven runs in the top of the ninth to put the game and the Series away.)  Terry hit .240 for the Series with no home runs and five RBI.)

When did Bill Terry tell his manager about hit retirement?

Bill Terry the player retired after the 1936 World Series, but he didn’t have to tell his manager.  Terry was not only the Giants’ first baseman, he was also the team’s manager.  Terry served as player-manager of the Giants from 1932 to 1936, bringing home two pennants (1933, 1936) and one World Championship (1933). He continued to manage until 1941, capturing one additional NL title (1937).

Travis Jackson, who made it to the Hall of Fame primarily on his skills at shortstop, started all six games of the 1936 World Series at third base – and ended his career just a bit earlier than Terry.  Jackson was lifted (by manager Terry) for a pinch hitter in the seventh. In his final major league plate appearance, Jackson popped out to second to lead off the sixth inning against Yankees’ starter Lefty Gomez.  Jackson ended the game one-for-three and hit just .190 (4-for-21) for the Series.

A little bit about these two Hall of Famers, who retired as players in the same World Series contest:

Like Jackson, Terry was an accomplished fielder (he led the league’s first basemen in putouts and assists five times each), but he earned his way into the Hall of Fame primarily with his bat.  The big left-hander hit .341 over a 14-year career with the Giants. He ended with 154 home runs and 1,078 RBI.  He was on the first NL All Star team (the Al;l Star game was inaugurated in 1933), and was also an All Star in 1934 and 1935.  Terry hit .295 in three World Series (16 games), including .429 in a losing cause in 1924.

What was Bill Terry’s greatest season?

In 1930, Terry led the NL with 254 hits and a .401 average – and also notched career-highs in home runs (23), RBI (129), and runs scored (139). Terry remains the last National Leaguer to hit over .400 for a season. 

Jackson was considered one of – if not the – best defensive shortstop of his time; with wide range and a powerful arm.  While Jackson never led the league in any offensive category, he still finished in the top ten in the MVP voting four times in his fifteen seasons.  Much like Terry was a solid defender, known for his skill with the bat, Jackson was a solid hitter, known for his glove.  Jackson hit over .300 six times (.339 in 1930), knocked 21 home runs in 1929 (10th best in the NL) and drove in 101 runs in 1934 (seventh in the NL). He finished his career (1922-36, all with the Giants) with a .291 average. 135 home runs and 929 RBI.

How good was Travis Jackson’s glove?

Travis Jackson was selected as MLB’s Most Outstanding Shortstop by The Sporting News in 1927, 1928 and 1929.

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Jackie Robinson – Hall of Fame 1962

Last major league appearance: With the Brooklyn Dodgers, October 10, 1956; Game Seven of the World Series (versus the New York Yankees)

Jackie Robinson, of course, is best known for breaking MLB’s color line (April 15, 1947), but he did much more than that in his ten seasons as a Brooklyn Dodger.  He was a six-time All Star, the first-ever winner of the Rookie of the Year (1947), National League MVP (1949), a batting champion (.342 in 1949), twice led the league in stolen bases and helped the Dodgers to six World Series appearances and one World Championship (1955) between 1947 and 1956.  Robinson came to the major leagues at age 28, after attending UCLA, playing professional football, serving in the military, spending a season with the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs (where hit .387 in 47 games) and one with the Dodgers’ Montreal Royals minor league team (where he hit .349 and stole 40 bases in 124 games). For his MLB career, Robinson hit .311, with 137 home runs, 947 runs, 734 RBI and 197 steals.

How good an athlete was Jackie Robinson?

Jackie Robinson was UCLA’s first four-letter athlete – baseball, basketball, football, track.

In his final MLB plate appearance, Robinson made the final out of the 1956 World Series.  It was Game Seven and Robinson was facing the Yankees’ Johnny Kucks with the Dodgers trailing 9-0 in the bottom of the ninth, two out and Brooklyn CF Duke Snider on first base.  Robinson struck out, but Yankee catcher Yogi Berra dropped the ball and had to throw Robinson out at first – ending the Series. Robinson started at third base and hit clean-up in all seven games of the Series, going 6-for-24, with five walks, five runs and two RBI.

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Sandy Koufax – Hall of Fame 1972

Last major league appearance: With the Los Angeles Dodgers, October 6, 1966; Game Two of the World Series (versus the Baltimore Orioles)

If anyone ever deserved to top off their career – and final MLB appearance – with a World Series Championship, it was Dodgers’ southpaw Sandy Koufax.  Not only did he lead his Dodgers to the NL pennant in his final MLB season, he was also a unanimous Cy Young Award winner – leading the league in wins (27), ERA (1.73), games started (41), complete games (27), shutouts (5), innings pitched (323) and strikeouts (317). But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Sandy Koufax spent his entire (too short) 12-year career with the Dodgers – in Brooklyn from 1955 to 1957 and in Los Angeles from 1958 to 1966. It did take this Hall of Famer awhile to find his groove. Let’s divide is career into two twelve-year segments.

• In his first six seasons, Koufax won 36 and lost 40 – in his final six, he won 129 and lost 47.
• In his first six seasons, his ERA was 4.10 – in his final six, 2.19.
• In his first six campaigns, Koufax pitched 691 2/3 innings, walking 405 and fanning 683 – in his last six seasons, he threw 1,632 2/3 innings, walking 412 and fanning 1,713.
• In his first six seasons, Koufax three five complete-game shutouts – in the final six, he tossed 35 shutouts.
• In those final six seasons, he tossed four no-hitters, one a perfect game.

In that final six-year span, Koufax led the league in wins three times, winning percentage twice, ERA five times, complete games twice, shutouts three times and strikeouts four times. Over his final six seasons, Koufax also made the All Star team every year, won three Cy Young Awards (1963, 1965, 1966) and was the NL MVP (1963). In post season play, for his career, Koufax went 4-3, with a 0.95 ERA in eight games (seven starts). He was the MVP of the 1963 and 1965 Series.

So, why the early retirement? Koufax suffered from chronic arthritis in that potent left arm – and pitched most of his final two seasons in significant pain and at significant risk. Told by doctors that continuing to pitch could end up costing him full use of the arm, Koufax chose to retire after the 1966 Series – at the age of thirty.

What did the opposition think of Sandy Koufax?

After facing Sandy Koufax in the 1963 World Series, Yogi Berra, an astute judge of pitchers, said this:  “I can see how he won 25 games.  What I don’t understand is how he lost five.”  (Koufax finished 25-5, 1.88, with 20 complete games, 11 shutouts and 306 strikeouts in the 1963 season.)

Koufax’ final MLB appearance came on October 2, 1966 – in Game Two of the World Series against the AL Champion Baltimore Orioles.  The appropriate ending to the story would be for Koufax to have finished in a blaze of (fastball) glory, earning the victory and eventually leading the Dodgers to the World Championship.  It didn’t go that way.  In his final game on an MLB mound, Koufax gave up four runs on six hits and two walks (before Ron Perranoski took over in the seventh). Koufax, who struck out two in his six innings, took the loss, as the Dodger fell 6-0 (on their way to being swept by the Robinson – Frank and Brooks – led Orioles).  In his last inning, Koufax gave up one run on three hits (a triple by RF Frank Robinson, singles by 1B Boog Powell and 2B Dave Johnson) and an intentional walk (CF Paul Blair).  The last batter MLB hitter Koufax faced was Baltimore catcher Andy Etchebarren, who hit into a third-to home-to first double play to end the inning. Koufax did deserve a better line that day.  Only one of the runs was earned, as Dodgers’ CF Willie Davis made three errors (leading to three unearned runs) in the fifth inning.

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Willie Mays (The Say Hey Kid) – Hall of Fame 1979

Last major league appearance: With the New York Mets, October 16, 1973; Game Three of World Series (versus the Oakland A’s)

Willie Mays was an All Star in 20 of his 22 seasons, as well as Rookie of the Year (1951), twice NL MVP (1954, 1965), four times the NL leader in home runs, four times the NL leader in stolen bases, a batting champion (1954) and a 12-time Gold Glove winner.  He did practically all of this damage for the New York/San Francisco Giants (for whom he hit 646 of his 660 home runs and stole 336 of his 338 bases). Mays chose a San Francisco Giants’ cap for his induction into the HOF.  Still, when Mays made his final major league appearance it was not as a Giant, but rather as a New York Met.

Mays was traded to the Mets – and back, of course, to the city where he started his MLB career –  early in the 1972 season. His very first game in a Mets’ uniform was, fittingly, against the Giants – May 14, 1972, at Shea Stadium.  Mays homered in the fifth inning to break a 4-4 tie in a game the Mets eventually won 5-4. In his two seasons with the Mets, Mays played in 135 games, hitting .238, with 14 home runs and 44 RBI. For his career, ”The Say Hey Kid” played in 2,992 games, hitting .304, with 660 homers, 1,903 RBI and 2,062 runs scored.

Now to the 1973 post season and Mays’ final MLB at bat.

Mays got into just one game in the 1973 NLCS, picking up a single in three at bats in Game Five, as the Mets advanced to the World Series by topping the Reds three games to two. Mays started Game One of the 1973 Series (in Oakland), playing centerfield and batting third. He had a single in four at bats in what would be his only start in the Series.  In Game Two, Mays came on in the ninth inning as a pinch runner for Rusty Staub  (with the Mets ahead 6-4) and stayed in the game in center field.  The A’s tied it up off Tug McGraw in the bottom of the inning. Mays popped out to first in the top of the eleventh (off Rollie Fingers), and then hit an RBI (go-ahead) single off  Fingers in the twelfth inning. The Mets scored three more times in the inning, and won the contest 10-7.  (That twelfth-inning tie-breaking hit would have been a fitting final appearance, but Mays would get home more at bat in the Series.)

How did Willie Mays fare in All Star games?

Willie Mays played in 24 All Star games, going 23-for-75 (.307) with three home runs, three triples, two doubles, 20 runs scored,  nine RBI and six stolen bases,  He holds the ASG career record for runs, hits, triples, stolen bases (tied with Brooks Robinson) and total bases (40). Ted Williams once said “They invented the All Star Game for Willie Mays.”

Mays’ final major league appearance came in Game Three of the 1973 World Series (October 16 at Shea Stadium). Mays was called upon to pinch hit for pitcher Tug McGraw with two-out and a runner (Bud Harrelson) on second in the bottom of the tenth inning of a 2-2 game.  He ended the inning by grounding to short (with Harrelson forced at second).  The Mets lost the game in 11 innings – and lost the Series in seven games.

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Pedro Martinez (Petey) – Hall of Fame 2015

Last major league appearance: With the Philadelphia Phillies, November 4, 2009; Game Six of the World Series (versus the Yankees)

Pedro Martinez, an eight-time All Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, five-time ERA leader and three-time strikeout leader finished with a 219-100 record, a 2.93 career ERA and 3,154 strikeouts. The right-hander started his 18-year MLB career with the Dodgers, won his first Cy Young Award as an Expo, had his best years (and 117 of his wins) with the Red Sox (whose cap he will wear for his Hall of Fame induction), spent four seasons with the Mets and pitched his final MLB inning (during the 2009 World Series) for the Phillies – a team he spent only a half season with.

How electric was Pedro Martinez’ stuff?

Pedro Martinez, with 760 career bases on balls, is one of only four pitchers to log 3,000+ strikeouts with fewer than 1,000 walks (Curt Schilling – 3,116 Ks/ 711 BBs; Fergie Jenkins – 3,192/997; Greg Maddux – 3,371/999).

How did Pedro Martinez get to Philadelphia and the World Series mound?  In 2008, Martinez career was on the wane, as he ran up a 5-6 record with 5.61 ERA (in an injury-marred year) for a Mets team that missed the playoffs by a single game.  A free agent in 2009, no one expressed much interest in the 37-year-old hurler.  That is, not until July 15, when the Phillies – facing a pennant race (they were the 2008 WS Champions) and  a  shortage of starting pitching – signed Martinez to a one-million-dollar contract.

Martinez joined the Phillies on August 12, after three minor-league appearances. He finished the season with five wins (one loss) and 3.63 ERA; and started one game in the NLCS (against the Dodgers), going seven innings and giving up just three hits and no runs. He started Games Two and Seven (losing both) in the World Series, won by the Yankees four games to two.  Martinez’ last MLB appearance came as the Game Six starter.  He lasted just four innings, giving up four runs on three hits, two walks and one hit batsman, while striking out five.   In his final major-league inning (the fourth), he retied the bottom of the Yankee lineup in order, getting second baseman Robinson Cano to fly out to left; striking out right fielder Nick Swisher looking; and retiring center fielder Brett Gardner on a liner to second.

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So, they are your ten Hall of Famer who played their final games on MLH’s biggest stage – The World Series playing field.

* The photos of Mize and Mathews first appearance in Baseball Digest.

I tweet baseball at DavidBBRT

When you think of strikeout artists, a lot of names come to mind –  Ryan, Koufax, Johnson, Feller.  The major league single season strikeout leader, however, is seldom on that list – despite the fact that he whiffed so many hitters, baseball actually experimented with a four-strike rule the season after he set the record.

Matt Kilroy – 513 strikeouts in a single season.

The player was Matt Kilroy, the year was 1886, the team was the Baltimore Orioles and the southpaw’s record of 513 whiffs in a single season has stood for more than 125 years. Even more surprising, Kilroy set the record in his rookie season (which began two months shy of his twentieth birthday.).    

Kilroy – a 5-foot 9-inch, 175-pound southpaw – broke into the American Association (considered a major league) on April 17, 1886 (Opening Day) – pitching for the Baltimore Orioles and picking up a 4-1 victory.   Victories, however, would prove hard to come by for the rookie hurler, as the Orioles would end up finishing dead last, with a 48-83 record.   For the season, Kilroy would win 29 games, while leading the league with 34 losses. Overall, he started 68 of the Orioles’ 131 games, tossing 66 complete games, posting a 3.37 ERA and striking out a STILL major league record of 513 hitters in 583 innings.

The rules were a bit different back then. There was no mound and no pitching rubber, but rather a flat, pitcher’s box (rectangle) the front line of which was 50-feet from home plate. (The current pitching distance, from the mound and pitching rubber to home plate, is 60-feet, six inches.)  It also took six balls to walk, but hitters could call for a high or low pitch.

BBRT note:  The modern record for strikeouts in a seasons is 383 by the Angels’ Nolan Ryan in 1973 (21-16, 2.87 with 383 whiffs in 326 innings); while the rookie record is 276 by the Mets’ Dwight Gooden in 1984 (17-9, 2.60, 276 strikeouts in 218 innings). In his MLB career, by the way, Ryan led the league in strikeouts 11 times, walks eight times and wild pitches six times – three times leading the league in all three categories in the same season.

After Kilroy’s remarkable 1866 strikeout totals, which earned him the moniker “The Phenomenal Kid,”  the American Association experimented (for the 1887 season) with a four-strike strikeout rule.  Kilroy’s strikeout total dropped to 217, but he was still effective, leading the American Association in wins (46 versus 19 losses), games started (69), complete games (66), shutouts (6) and innings pitched (589 1/3).  Kilroy’s 46 wins remains the single-season MLB record for a left-handed pitcher.

Here’s a little background on this MLB record holder.

Matthew Aloysius (Matt) Kilroy was born on June 21, 1866, in Philadelphia. He was the seventh of 13 siblings.  He dropped out of school is in his teen years to help support the family, yet still found time to build a reputation as an outstanding amateur pitcher.

Kilroy got his first taste of professional baseball in 1885, with the Augusta Browns of the Southern League, where he went 29-22, with a 0.97 ERA, 49 complete games in 52 starts and 363 strikeouts in 447 innings pitched.  His performance did not go unnoticed, and made his major league debut – and major league history – with the Orioles the next season

Despite winning 75 games in his first two seasons, you will not find Kilroy’s name among the top MLB winners.  Late in the 1887 season, he suffered a shoulder injury in an on-field collision.  The effects of that injury carried over into the following season (1888), when Kilroy went 17-21, 4.04 and dropped to 40 starts (35 complete games – not bad for a sore-armed pitcher and a reflection of how the game has changed). In 1889, he rebounded to a 29-25, 2.85 stat line – matching his 217 strikeout total of his 46-win season of 1887.  Whether it was overwork or the earlier shoulder injury, Kilroy’s arm problems grew progressively worse and in six more major league campaigns, he went 20-34 – ending with a career mark of 141-133, 3.47 – and, as was the expectation of the times, 264 complete games in 292 starts.

Still, 117 years after he threw his last MLB pitch (1898), Matt Kilroy holds the single-season strikeout record for all of MLB – as well as the single-season victory record for southpaws.

Phenomenal Kid, indeed.

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT.

With the annual TwinsFest in full swing and Spring Training just around the corner, BBRT would like to take a look at the rich family heritage that is the foundation of the Minnesota Twins MLB franchise.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE TWINS – It all goes back to Hall of Famer Clark Griffith (center).

When Calvin Griffith moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota in 1961, he brought with him more than a ball club.  He brought a family history with deep roots in our national pastime.  Those roots go back to Baseball Hall of Famer Clark Griffith – the only person ever to serve at least twenty years as a player, as a manager and as an owner. Griffith is also the only Hall of Famer ever to have saddled Jesse James’ horse (more on that later). 

Baseball is rich in statistics, so before getting into the life and times of Clark Calvin Griffith, here are a few meaningful statistics and facts:

• In twenty major seasons (between 1891 and 1914) as a right-handed pitcher, Griffith went 237-146, with a 3.31 ERA.
• Griffith was a twenty-game winner seven times, with a high of 26 wins (14 losses) for the 1895 Chicago Colts/Orphans (the franchise that eventually became the Cubs). He was a 20-game winner for Chicago in six consecutive seasons (1894-99).
• Griffith led the NL in ERA once, complete games once and shutouts once. He also led the AL in winning percentage once and shutouts once.
• Griffith’s major league playing career included stints with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Reds, Chicago Colts/Orphans, New York Highlanders, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Senators
• As a manager, Griffith ran up a 1,491-1,367 record over 20 seasons.
• In 1901, Griffith managed the Chicago White Stockings to the first-ever American League Pennant. Serving as player-manager, he also went 24-7 on the mound.
• In 1903, Baltimore’s AL franchise moved to New York – to become the Highlanders and, eventually, the Yankees. Griffith was the Yankee franchise’s first manager in New York.
• Griffith’s managerial career included stints with the Chicago White Stockings (Sox), New York Highlanders (Yankees), Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators.
• Ban Johnson, Charles Comiskey and Griffith are credited with being the driving forces behind the successful establishment of the American League – with Griffith playing a key role in getting a significant number of National League players to make the “jump” to the new league.
• As an owner, Griffith brought the World Series to Washington D.C. in 1924, 1925 and 1933 (World Series Champions in 1925=4).

So, how did this baseball journey begin – and how did the Senators’ franchise end up in Minnesota?  It’s a story of perseverance in the face of difficult times and tough odds, passion for the national pastime and a deep sense of family.  It is – for the most part – the Clark Griffith story.  And, despite taking place primarily in Missouri, Illinois and Washington D.C., it’s a story that  helped shape the future of baseball in Minnesota.

Clark Griffith was born November 20, 1869 on a farm in Clear Creek, Missouri.  The family – his father, mother and four siblings – who had moved to Missouri from Illinois were as close to “dirt poor” as you could get.  Things only got worse when Clark was two-years-old and his father was mistakenly shot and killed by a deer hunter. Clark’s mother Sarah Anne Griffith was left alone with five children and one on the way.  The family struggled to keep the farm going – and worried about the ongoing health of frail young Clark.  As he grew older, Clark – suffering what was later diagnosed as malarial fever – developed an interest for baseball, as a spectator and water boy for a local team.

Jesse James and Clark Griffith

After his father’s death, Clark Griffith’s mother would pick up a little extra – and much–needed money – by putting travelers up overnight in their large farm house. One of those traveling groups was made up of Jesse and Frank James and two of the Younger brothers.  On the morning of their departure, Jesse asked young Clark to saddle up the horses and bring them from the barn to the house. It was meeting Clark never forgot, and a story he liked to tell.

As Griffith reached his teen years, his mother – looking for a better life – moved the family to Normal, Illinois and opened a boarding house.  Clark maintained his passion for baseball, but being small for his age, did not play organized ball (not even for his high school team). He did, however, manage to work his way into a variety of pickup games, where the 5-foot six-inch, 156-pound right-hander began building a reputation as a pitcher.

In 1887, the now 18-year-old Griffith made it into organized ball, pitching for the Bloomington (IL) Reds of the Central Inter-State League.  It was there that he got his first big break. During Bloomington’s 1988 season, Griffith was called upon to pitch an exhibition game against the Milwaukee Brewers team from the much more prestigious Western Association. Griffith performed well and came away with a $225 per month Milwaukee contract.  What followed were stops in: Milwaukee of the Western Association (1988-89); St. Louis and Boston of the American Association (1891); Tacoma of the Pacific Northwestern League (1892); and Oakland of the California League (1893).  Griffith’s season with the Oakland Colonels –  when he won 30 games (17 losses), with a, 2.30 ERA and  47 complete games in 48 starts – earned him a late season move to the National League Chicago Colts (Cubs) and, in 1894, he began his National League streak of six consecutive 20-plus win seasons.

Not an overpowering pitcher, Griffith earned the nickname “The Old Fox” for his ability to get hitters out with a combination of sharp breaking pitches, changes of speed and even psychological warfare.

The Old Fox Outfoxes the Competition

“Griff wasn’t very big or very strong and he didn’t have enough of a fastball to knock your hat off, but he knew how to pitch – and he had the nerve of a burglar … The hitters in the national league called him The Old Fox, because they couldn’t figure out how such a slow-balling pitcher could beat them without resorting to tricks.  While the batters fumed, Griff, at all times the picture of poise and confidence, struck them out by stalling until they were nervous wrecks, quick-pitching them when they weren’t ready, by scraping the ball against his spikes and taking advantage of the odd twists that could be achieved with a lacerated cover, and by needling the batters with as glib and caustic a tongue as the game has ever known.

               Ed Fitzgerald, May 1954 Sport (magazine) …  “Clark Griffith – the Old Fox”

The Old Fox was a twenty-game winner seven times.

While building a Hall of Fame career as a player, Griffith had also developed a keen interest in – and did all he could to learn about – the business side of the game. He saw baseball as his long-term future – wanting to be a manager, and someday even a team owner. Things took a step in that direction as the new century came around and Ban Johnson and Charley Comiskey consulted with Griffith on plans for the establishment of a second major league – with Griffith assuring Johnson and Comiskey that, if team owners and finances could be recruited, he could bring a significant number of current National League players into the fold.   In a move involving demands from  the Ballplayers Protective Association (of which Griffith was vice-president) and the National League’s apparent unwillingness to negotiate (the players wanted, among other things, to increase the salary limit from $2,400 a season to $3.000), Griffith paved the way for players to move to the new American League. Later, as he looked back on his baseball career, Griffith always listed getting the American League off the ground as one of his proudest accomplishments.  And, eventually, the Twins would play in the American League.

At least partially in recognition of Griffith’s role in that making the American League  a reality, Comiskey gave Griffith his chance to manage – as player-manager of the Comiskey-owned Chicago White Stockings.  And, as noted earlier, Griffith delivered 24 wins from the pitching rubber and the AL’s first pennant from the manager’s seat. Griffith went on to manage the White Sox, New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds between 1901-1911.

In 1912, the managerial post with the Washington Senators opened and Griffith, who had managed the Cincinnati Reds for the previous three seasons, saw a two-edged opportunity – to get back to the American League and to pursue the ownership position he had long desired.  He took the job – on the condition that he be allowed to purchase 10 percent ownership in the franchise.  He financed the purchase with $7,500 in savings and $20,000 loan secured by his ranch (bought with his earnings as a player) in Helena, Montana.

Griffith would maintain an ownership position in the franchise (that, in 1961 became the Twins) until his death in 1955 – but I’m getting ahead of myself.  To condense the ownership part of the Clark Griffith story, he was both an owner and manager through the 1920 season.  However, in 1919, he partnered with grain broker William M. Richardson to acquire approximately 80 percent ownership of the team and, after the 1920 season, he devoted himself solely to his executive/ownership duties.  As an owner. Griffith became known for his dedication to the game, recognition of baseball talent, business sense and frugality, commitment to family and (this possibility related to frugality) pioneering role in signing Cuban ballplayers.  Remember these traits; we’ll see them again (in Minnesota).

Coincidentally, just as Clark Calvin Griffith was pursuing an ownership position in the American League’s Washington club, his sister-in-law (Jane Robertson) gave birth to the second of her seven children – Calvin Robertson, born December 1, 1911 in Montreal, Quebec.  Times were hard for the Robertson’s. Money was tight and Calvin’s father James Robertson had issues with alcohol.  As more children arrived – there were a total of seven youngsters in the family by 1921 – life became more difficult.  It reached a point where Clark Griffith and his wife Addie (who were childless) agreed to take in two of the youngsters – 11-year-old Calvin and his nine-year-old sister Thelma. Although not officially adopted, the pair did legally change their names to Griffith.  In 1923, Calvin’s father died (at age 42) and the rest of the family was taken under Clark Griffith’s wing in Washington D.C. Being the first to join the Griffiths in the nation’s Capital would prove a stroke of luck for Calvin and Thelma – and perhaps Minnesota (more on that later).

Calvin Griffith shared (perhaps was influenced by) his uncle  Clark Griffith’s love of the game and and served as bat boy for the Washington team from 1922 to 1925.  Calvin later attended Staunton Military Academy and George Washington University, where he studied and played baseball (pitcher and catcher).

In 1935, he took his first official position in the Senators’ organization – working as secretary-treasurer for the Chattanooga Lookouts, a Washington farm club.  He eventually headed the operations at Chattanooga and then at Charlotte (Hornets) before joining his uncle Clark in the Washington front office in 1941. Over the years, under Clark’s tutelage, Calvin took on more and more responsibility for the team’s operations.

When Clark Griffith passed away in 1955 Calvin and his Sister Thelma Griffith inherited 52 percent ownership of the club and Calvin was elected its president. At that time, the family nature of the baseball business was clearly established – not only were Calvin and Thelma and integral part of the team’s front office (with Thelma playing a key role in the teams finances), their brothers Sherry, Billy and Jimmy also were part of the leadership team.

And the family’s baseball ties went even deeper.  Before joining the franchise’s front office (and eventually heading up the farm system), Sherry Robertson played ten seasons in the major leagues (between 1940 and 1952) as a utility player (OF, 2B, 3B. SS) – primarily with Clark Griffith’s Washington club. His best year was 1949, when he hit .251 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 110 games.  In addition, Thelma’s husband Joe Haynes (a veteran of 14 major league seasons as a player) was appointed a roving minor league pitching instructor.  Sister Mildred Robertson served for a time as Clark Griffith’s personal secretary and married future Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Cronin.  Cronin was clearly a good fit for the Griffith/Robertson baseball family.  Consider his ultimate MLB resume: seven-time All Star in a 20-year playing career with the Pirates, Senators and Red Sox; managed the Senators (1933-34) and Red Sox (1935-45); served as treasurer, general manager and president of the Red Sox; and was president of American League from 1959 to 1973.)

Once he took control of the team, Calvin contused his late uncle’s commitment to baseball, business and family – and when the league approved the Senators move to Minnesota for the 1961 season, Calvin brought his team, his executive (family) team and all that he had learned from is uncle Clark Griffith to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  Given the family’s established dedication to the business of baseball, the move to Minnesota made perfect sense.  The Washington club had finished below the league average for seventeen consecutive seasons (topping one million in attendance only once) prior to the move.  The Twins finished above the league attendance average and topped one million fans in each of their first Minnesota seasons. 

So, following in Clark Griffith’s footsteps – and maybe stretching the stride even a bit longer – Calvin Griffith brought major league baseball to Minnesota in 1961.

In his time at the helm in Minnesota – until he sold the team to Carl Pohlad in 1984 – Calvin was known for his dedication to the game, recognition of baseball talent, business sense and frugality, commitment to family and success in discovering and signing Cuban ballplayers. Sound familiar – the influence of Uncle Clark was clearly long-lasting.   What has all this meant for Minnesota fans?   Over the years, we have seen:

• big league baseball in three stadiums (Metropolitan Stadium, The HHH Metrodome, Target Field);
• three World Series – with one World Championship;
• ten division titles;
• six American League championships;
• three All Star games;
• Five Hall of Famers in Twins’ uniforms – Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, and even Steve Carlton;
• five MVP seasons – Zoilo Versalles, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer;
• three Cy Young Award winners – Johan Santana (twice), Frank Viola, Jim Perry;
• 14 batting titles – Rod Carew (7), Tony Oliva (3), Joe Mauer (3), Kirby Puckett;
• five home run titles – all by Harmon Killebrew;
• 16 20-game winning seasons – Camilo Pascual (twice), Jim Perry (twice), Jim Kaat, Mudcat Grant, Dean Chance, Bert Blyleven, Dave Boswell, Dave Goltz, Jerry Koosman, Frank Viola, Scott Erickson, Brad Radke, Johan Santana;
• Homer Hankies, bobble heads, Bat Day, Hat Day, Stocking Cap Day (even Fishing Lure Day), Dollar Dog Day (I do love a bargain), Nickel Beer Night (won’t see that again), walleye fingers (this is Minnesota, after all), Harmon Killebrew Day (1974), the Thunderdome decibel readings;
• and much, much more

In short, it’s been a great – and continuing ride.  And, it all started with the Hall of Famer to which this post is dedicated:  Clark Griffith -baseball man, businessman, family man.

Note:  Throughout this post, the Washington franchise is referred to as the Senators.  However, the franchise that became the Twins, was known as both the Nationals and the Senators in its history – sometimes as both at the same time. And, it was reported that Clark Griffith actually preferred the Nationals moniker. Sportecyclopedia.com reports that, in 1956, “After more than 50 years of insisting the team was officially called the Nationals, the team finally changes its name to the more commonly called  Senators.  We’ll save that controversey for another post. 

Calvin Griffith and My Family

July 4, 1976 – Me, Calvin Griffith and my dad outside Metrpolitan Staidum

I always enjoyed Calvin – and found him to be a fan-friendly owner, with little pretense, lots of passion for the national pastime and a genuine affection for the fans of the upper Midwest.

On July 4, 1976, for example, I celebrated the birthday of my father George Karpinski and my softball team’s shortstop Bill Morlock (yes, they were both Independence Day babies, just about 30 years apart) by tailgating beyond the left centerfield fence at the old Metropolitan Stadium (followed by the game, of course).

Who should show up to join our gathering?  Twins owner Calvin Griffith and former player, manager and then broadcaster Frank Quilici.  We spent considerable time discussing baseball, the Twins and the importance of hot dogs, over a cold brew or two (at least on my part).  The Twins, by the way, won 9-4 on a grand slam by Rod Carew.

Just over a year later, I celebrated my 30^th birthday (with my friends and family) in a private box at the old Met.  Back then, a private box was an enclosed area above the second deck, with a formica table top and plastic chairs –  and you could bring in your own food and beverage if you wanted.  Calvin sent an employee – in a bow tie and gold vest – with a special birthday note.  And, during the game, the Twins-O-Gram displayed “Happy Birthday Super Fan Dave Karpinski.” – at no charge.  (Note:  Actually, at first it read “Happy Birthday Super Fan Dave Krapinski” – but that was corrected, after I got my picture.

 

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When Kevin Joseph Connors was growing up in Brooklyn he dreamed of someday taking the field for his hometown Dodgers. If he was like most boys at the time, he also probably dreamed of being a cowboy.  Little did Kevin know that he would live both dreams – and then some.

In his lifetime, Connors would take to:

• the court under the tutelage of Basketball Hall of Famer John Russell;
• the diamond alongside Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda; and
• the movie set across from Academy Award winner Spencer Tracy.

If you are old enough to be aware of Kevin Connors, you may know him better by his nickname “Chuck” – or as star of the successful TV western series The Rifleman.  You may also recall him in such classic movies as Old Yeller or for his appearances in television presentations like Roots (which earned Connors an Emmy nomination).

But this is a baseball blog, so why all this attention to an actor?  To answer that, we need to go back to Connors’ boyhood dream of playing for his beloved Dodgers. Connors made that dream come true – if only for a single pinch-hitting appearance. (And, what would most baseball fans give for even just one at bat with our favorite team – and one line in the Baseball Encyclopedia?)

Connors also went on to play first base for the Chicago Cubs, forward and center for the Boston Celtics, be drafted by the Chicago Bears and earn his way into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame – now the Western Performers Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

The most compelling reason BBRT is taking a look at Chuck Connors, however,  is that (as NBA Hoops Online notes) Connors is one of only twelve players to play in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball – and BBRT has a significant interest in multi-sport athletes.

For a look at BBRT’s favorite multi-sport athletes click here.  You’ll read about:

– Deion Sanders – the only player to hit a major league home run and score an NFL touchdown in the same week;

– Gene Conley – the only player to play on a World Series winner and an NBA champion;

– Bo Jackson – selected as an MLB All Star and NFL Pro Bowler in the same year;

– Carroll Hardy – who pinch hit for Ted Williams, Roger Maris and Carl Yastrzemski and scored four NFL touchdowns as a receiver; and 

– 17 more multi-sport achievers.

Connors signed with his beloved Dodgers in 1940, right out of high school. After a one-for-eleven start for the Class D Newport Dodgers, Connors decided accepting a baseball scholarship to Seton Hall University might be a wiser course of action.  At Seton Hall, the six-foot five-inch Connors played baseball and basketball and, in what would later prove extremely important to his future, got hooked on the performing arts.

Connors went back to the professional ranks in 1942, signing with the Yankees and playing one season for the Class B Norfolk Tars. Later that same year, he enlisted in the Army and served stateside until early 1946 (playing semi-pro basketball in his free time). After his discharge from the Army, Connors joined the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League, playing in 14 games before returning to the Yankees, who put him on waivers during 1946 Spring Training.  To Connors’delight, his hometown Dodgers picked up his waivers and sent him to Newport News, where he emerged as a power-hitting first-base prospect – leading the Class B Piedmont League with 17 home runs.  In the fall of that year, Connors added to his athletic resume by signing with the Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America (soon to merge with the NBL to form the today’s National Basketball Association). He played just two seasons with the Celtics – averaging 4.5 points per game.

Between 1946 and 1949, Connors moved up the minor league baseball ladder – from the B level Newport News Dodgers (1946) to the AA Mobile Bears (1947) to the AAA Montreal Royals (1948-1949). Notably, Connors proved a decent player – and somewhat of a good luck charm. Each of the teams he played on from 1946 to 1949 ended up as league playoff champions. Over those four minor seasons, Connors played in 544 games, compiling a .293 average with 69 home runs.

Connors’ dream of playing for the Dodgers came true at Ebbets Field on May 1, 1949 – when he was called off the bench to pinch hit for Brooklyn right fielder Carl Furillo (who would go on to hit .322 with 18 homers and 106 RBI that season). With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Gil Hodges on first and the Dodgers trailing the Phillies 4-2, Connors hit into a pitcher-to short-to-first double play to end the game.

It wasn’t long afterwards, that Connors found himself back in Montreal, where he finished the season hitting .290, with six home runs, 68 RBI and a surprising 14 stolen bases.  Despite his love for the Dodgers, Connors realized Gil Hodges was firmly entrenched at first base and requested a trade. The Dodgers complied and dispatched him to the Cubs.  The Cubs sent Connors to their Pacific Coast League farm club, the Los Angeles Angels, where a strong start to the 1951 season (.321 with 22 home runs, 77 RBI and eight steals) made him a fan favorite – and earned him a mid-season call-up to Chicago, where he hit just .239 with two home runs and 18 RBI in 66 games.

Through all of his athletic endeavors, Connors was a showman (or in some people’s eyes a showboat).  In a May 1951 Sport Life magazine article, Connors was described as “part-comedian, part-time first baseman and all character.”  He was also known as a hotel lobby magician and a great banquet speaker  renowned for his dramatic recital of “Casey at the Bat”).

Connors’ flair for the dramatic – on and off the field – did not go unnoticed by the show business crowd that often attended Angels games.  In fact, in the fall of 1951, one of Connors’ Los Angeles fans tapped the good-looking first baseman for another kind of performance.  Bill Grady, an executive with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, asked Connors to do a screen test for a small part in the film Pat and Mike (starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy). Connors got the part and a new career was born.  In an acting career that stretched into the 1990s, Connors – probably most remembered for his role as Lucas McCain in the popular Rifleman television series – appeared in more than 40 movies and a host of television series and specials.

Connors made his preference for the Pacific Coast League known in a July 1952 Sport magazine article,

Connors recognized his good fortune and always maintained his greatest break as a ballplayer came in 1951, when the Cubs sent him to Los Angeles – putting him “right out in the middle of the movie business.”  He saw significant enough potential in acting that when he agreed to his 1952 baseball contract, he signed a then available clause that allowed minor leaguers to waive the opportunity to be drafted by a major league club.  In an article for Sport Magazine, he extolled the west coast earnings opportunities, the weather, and the Pacific Coast League’s salaries, playing conditions and travel accommodations. In the closing paragraphs of that article, Connors said, “I live in my own home in the San Fernando Valley the year round.  I can play golf and go fishing everyday if I want to. I’m two hours from ski country, 20 minutes from good swimming, two-and-a-half hours from a bull fight. I’m near many lucrative income sources.  Do I want to be drafted away from all this … Not me.”

As anyone reading or watching might have predicted, Connors left baseball in 1953 to pursue his acting career – and the rest is history.

The Rifleman – 1958-63 – was one of televisions most popular westerns.

A few Connors’ tidbits:

– In 1959, Connors won a Golden Globe Award (Best Television Performers) for his work in The Rifleman.

– Connors starred in four television series: The Rifleman; Arrest and Trial; Branded; and Cowboy in Africa.

– In 1984, Connors was honored with a “star” on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

– In a four-season span at AAA (1948-51), Connors’ batting averages were: .307; .319; .290 and .321.

– In 1966, Connors brought his baseball past and his Hollywood present together, serving as an intermediary credited with ending the much-publicized holdout of Dodgers’ star pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

– Connors was known to turn cartwheels while circling the bases after a home run.

– Connors made guest appearances on television shows ranging from Gunsmoke to Spenser for Hire to the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

– Connors’ movie credits include such films as Pat and Mike; Old Yeller; Geronimo, Flipper; The Big Country; Solyent Green; and Airplane II.

– Connors is credited with shattering the first glass backboard ever, during a November 1946 Celtics’ pregame warm-up.

One final Connors story, this one shared on the “Our Chuck Connors” website … ourchuckconnors.com  

After a 1946 appearance – reciting Casey at the Bat – representing the Celtics at the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner, Connors was approached by Ted Williams who told him: “Kid, I don’t know what kind of basketball player you are, but you ought to give it up and be an actor.”

Teddy Ballgame always did have a good eye.

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