May 24th, 1934 - Tiger of the Week - "Schoolboy Rowe"

Tiger of the Week

Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe

Rowe was a key part of the Tigers 1934 and 35 pennant winners, appearing in more games than any other pitcher (45) as both a starter (30) and reliever. That year he posted a 24-8 record with a 3.45 ERA. At one point he won 16 straight games.

A fan favorite (particularly of youngsters for whom he never seem to tire of signing autographs), Rowe was among the game's better hitting pitchers. He is tied at 15th place for home runs among pitchers with 16. His lifetime OPS+ was 87 - very respectable for a pitcher. He actually was above average in 1934 (102) and 1935 (119). He led the NL in pinch hits in 1943.

"Beaten by a schoolboy"

Rowe, a strapping 6'4", 220 pounder, excelled at not only baseball, but football, track, boxing, golf and shooting. He supposedly acquired his nickname when he was pitching for a semipro team in his hometown of El Dorado, Arkansas. With a 15 year old Rowe on the mound, the team defeated a team composed of retired major leaguers. The visitors were taunted by shouts that they had been beaten by "a schoolboy" by the delighted local fans.

"Gimme the Ball"

Rowe was dominant in 1934, at one point winning 16 straight games. One of his most important wins came in the second game of a double header in New York. Rowe had already pitched the first game of a double header the day before. The Tigers had lost the second game that day, and had lost the first game of this double header. Needing to break even in the series to maintain their slim lead over the Yanks for first place, Tigers manager challenged his pitching staff. "Can't anyone beat these baboons?" he shouted. Rowe replied "If no one else wants it, I'll take. Gimme the Ball." Cochrane hurled the ball at Rowe. Rowe responded, "A word of advice to you Mike. You better put some extra sponges in your glove because I'm gonna burn off your hands." Rowe shutout the Yankees 3-0 for his second win in as many days.

"How am I doin' Edna?"

Rowe was teased by other players throughout the 1934 season when, during a radio broadcast, he asked his high school sweetheart (and future wife), Edna Skinner , (see photo) "How am I doin, Edna, honey?" The phrase became famous and was parroted back to him by amused players on opposing teams throughout the season.

A superstitious man, Rowe may have preceeded Mark Fydrych as the first Tigers to talk to the ball. When asked to explain his success during his 16 game winning streak (a mark that put him in a league with Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove and Smokey Joe Wood), he answered "I eat a lot of vittles, climb that mound, wrap my fingers around the old baseball and say to it 'Edna honey, let's go.'"

Rowe pitched for the Tigers between 1933 and 1942 when he was traded to Brooklyn. He spent the remainder of 1942 with the Dodgers, and was then traded to the Phillies, where he pitched in 1943 and then 1946-1949. Rowe was injured for several seasons, and spent time in the minors, but always managed to come back for another solid season.

Rowe had some very solid seasons with the Tigers in the beginning of his career (1933-1935) but also had limited playing time later in the decade. He appeared in three All Star games, and was in the top 10 in the league in WHIP (walks and hits per inning) 5 times. After retiring, Rowe rejoined the Tigers organization, serving as manager of their minor league team in Williamsport, a scout, and ultimately the Tigers' pitching coach.

Rowe was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1961.

www.baseball-reference.com
Zacharias, "Schoolboy Rowe, the Tigers' Southern Gentleman," Detroit News
Detroit Tigers Encyclopedia

May 16th, 1934 - AL Player of the Week: Lou Gehrig

Editor's note: there were no games in the AL on May 16th, so we bring you a special edition of "Player of the Week."

American League Player of the Week: Lou Gehrig

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

-Lou Gehrig's farewell speech

Lou Gehrig (HA1) is probably the best known of the 1930s era ball players. Although a great player in the 1920s as well, it was in the 1930s that he emerged from the shadow of The Babe and became the unquestioned star of the New York Yankees, bridging the team's first dynasty of the 1920s (American League pennants 1921-1928 except in 1924 and 1925) with its second dynsasty of the 1930s and early 1940s (pennants in 1932, 1936-1943 except 1940).

A baseball and football player at Columbia, Gehrig was signed by the Yankees in 1923 and played mainly in their farm system at Hartford. He replaced Wally Pipp as the Yankees' first baseman in 1925 and stayed there until 1939. He is, of course, best known for his streak of 2,130 consecutive games, earning him the moniker "The Iron Horse," a record that would stand until Cal Ripken broke it in 1995.

Gehrig was an All-Star every year the game was played during his career. He frequently led the league in runs, but perhaps most impressive was the five years he led the league in on-base percentage. Combined with his record of games played, Gehrig's career was marked by an impressive, low key disciplined style in contrast to Ruth's outsize lifestyle.

Gehrig, of course, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Scelrosis (ALS) at the beginning of the 1939 season, a disease that is now more commonly known simply as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He passed away in 1941. His number, 4, was the first ever retired by the Yankees.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939 in a special ceremony.

May 16th, 1934 - Background - Video Bio of Eldon Auker

I just discovered a short video bio of Tigers pitcher Eldon Auker here.

It's well worth the five minutes for fans of the era.

I'll be reviewing the book itself, Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms, later on in this blog.

May 16th, 1934 - Transactions

Reds Announce Trade With Phils



The Cincinnati Reds announced today that they had reached a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds will deal pitcher Syl Johnson (not to be confused with Si Johnson) and Johnny Moore (pictured) to the Phils in exchange for Phils pitcher Ted Kleinhans and outfielders Wes Schulmerich and Art Ruble.

Moore is currently batting .324 and Schmulmerich is hitting .347. Ruble is hitting .280. Kleinhans, a relief pitcher, has a 4.63 ERA and no decisions in four appearances. Johnson, also a reliever, has an ERA of 3.00.

May 15th, 1934 - NL Game Summaries

Giants Triumph in Tight Ball Game Against League Leading Cubs

Hubbell wins seventh in a row!!!

Giants.......... 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 - 4 7 1

Cubs............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 3 6 2

Carl Hubbell went the distance at Wrigley Field as the New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 4 to 3. It was Hubbell's 7th win and complete game in as many starts.

Chicago lost it in the 6th inning when New York did all their damage scoring 4 runners on 3 hits. The critical plate appearance was by Gus Mancuso, who disappointed the partisan crowd when he cleared the fences for a two-run home run (his 2nd of the season). Chicago threatened in the 9th but New York was able to put down the rally. Hubbell (7-0) finished the game allowing 3 runs in the victory. Charlie Root(2-1) was tagged with the loss. Giants manager Bill Terry was beaming after the game, 'I don't know when Carl's going to lose. Heck, I don't know if he's ever going to fail to complete a ball game! He's just awesome right now. We need to support him and our other pitchers the way they've supported us. If we do, there's no reason we can't win the pennant again this year.'

Dodgers Upend Cards at Sportsman's Park

Benge contains Cardinal lineup in 6-3 win

Dodgers......... 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 6 11 0

Cardinals....... 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 3 7 0

Ray Benge allowed Casey Stengel to rest his bullpen, tossing a complete gameas the Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 6 to3 at Sportsman's Park. St. Louis was unable to claim the lead after Brooklyn went ahead in the top ofthe 2nd inning scoring 2 runs using 3 hits. Hack Wilson opened up the inning nicely when he hit a single. Sam Leslie stepped up to the plate and doubled. After an out was recorded, Al Lopez came up and would ground out, knocking in a run. Jimmy Jordan stepped in and he stroked a base-hit scoring the final run of the inning. Brooklyn totaled 11 on the afternoon. Benge (4-2) got the victory, allowing 3 runs for the game. Jim Mooney (1-1) suffered the loss. He got hit hard, allowing 9 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings.

May 15th, 1934 - Rookies: 10 to watch for 1934

Ed: There were no games in the American League on May 15th, 1934. In place of the usual game summaries, I thought we'd take a look at some of the players whose careers began in 1934.

Here's a very partial list of rookies who both made significant contributions to their teams in 1934 and went on to have successful pro careers:

Ollie Bejma (SS, SLA) - He debuted on April 24th and will play 94 games for the Browns this year, most of which will be at shortstop. He'll play two more seasons for SLA and one for CHA before hanging up his cleats in 1939.

Zeke Bonura (1B, CHA) - The 25 year old Bonura will start at first for the White Sox and remain there until 1938 (rumors that he was interested in the owner's daughter got him traded) . Bonura was an excellent hitter, but an indifferent fielder (to put it mildly). He ended his career in 1940.

Frenchy Bordagaray (OF-CHA) - Bordagaray will play only one season for CHA, before travelling around the National League. In 1941, he'll finally settle in Brooklyn, and finish his career there in 1945.

Harlond Clift (3B, SLA) - Clift will begin his oddessey as SLA's 3rd sacker until 1943, when he'll be traded to Washington, where he'll finish his career in 1945.

Curt Davis (P-PHN) - Last year, Davis was playing on the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals with a kid named Joe DiMaggio. Now, he's the ace of the Phillies staff. He'll bounce around the NL until landing in Brooklyn in 1940. He'll leave just before Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in 1947.

Paul Dean (P-SLN) - Dizzy's younger brother. 1934 and 1935 will be his only really good years with lots of starts. He'll see limited action and bounce around until finally hanging it up with SLA in 1943.

Augie Galan (2B-CHN) - Davis's and DiMaggio's teammate last year, Galan will play both outfield and infield with the Cubbies until 1941, with some up years and some down. In 1941, he'll move to Brooklyn through 1946. After that, he'll move around until his retirement in 1949. Perhaps the best of the class of 1934, Galan is ranked 42nd in left field by historian Bill James.

Cookie Lavagetto (2B-PIN) - Lavagetto will play about half a season with the Bucs, and remain with the team 1937, when he leaves for the Dodgers. Lavagetto is best known for his walk off double (and the Dodgers only hit) in game 4 of the 1947 World Series.

Fritz Oestermueller (P-BOA) - Oesternueller debut with the Red Sox in 1934 at the age of 26. Too old to enter WWII (34) he played throughout the war, ending his career in 1948 with the Pirates.

Moose Solters (OF-BOS) - Solters played for the Red Sox for only two seasons, and then spent most of his 10 year career playing a few seasons here and a few there. He had a few good seasons, but was mostly a journeyman during his career.

Tuck Stainback (OF-CHN) - Stainback also travelled extensively thoughout his career, stopping in St. Louis, Philadelphia (NL), Brooklyn and Detroit before settling down with the Yankees for the duration of WWII. He played one final season after the war for the other Philadelphia team in 1946 before retiring. Like Galan and Davis, Stainback played in the Pacific Coast League in 1933, but with Los Angelos.

May 15th, 1934 - Transactions

Cards release Grimes; Red Sox Acquire Shortstop; Cubbies add Pitching

Today witnesses a series of moves announced by major league front offices.

First, the St. Louis Cardinals announced that they were releasing spitballer Burleigh Grimes. Grimes, who has been pitching in the bigs since 1916 is among a few "grandfathered" pitchers still allowed to throw spitballs. During the 1920s, no pitcher won as many games as "Ol stubblebeard" as Grimes is known. Grimes has, however, only appeared in 5 games this year for the Cards, and has not been effective with an ERA of 7.11.

Grimes was acquired from the Cubs last year, after the Cubs had in turn acquired him from the Cards. Grimes has also pitched for Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, New York (NL), and Boston (NL) in his long career.

In other news, the Boston Red Sox acquired backup shortstop Lyn Larry from the New York Yankees. Their plan is to give hit solid hitting but error prone shortstop Bill Werber more time at third base, shoring up one of the key weaknesses - fielding.

Finally, in a complex series of maneuvers, the St. Louis Browns returned pitcher Jim Weaver to the New York Yankees from whom they purchased him. The Chicago Cubs however, exercised their rights to acquire Weaver off waivers, so the pitcher who first saw major league action in 1928, but who has played mostly in the minor leagues since, will be pitching for Chicago from now on.