Backroads and Ballplayers #29

Stories of the famous and not-so-famous men and women from the days when baseball was "Arkansas' Game." Always free and always short enough to finish in one cup of coffee.

A Personal Invitation:

On Thursday, October 26, Arkansas Tech is hosting a World Series Eve event called “Play Ball! The History of Arkansans in the World Series!”

I am honored and excited to be able to host this presentation, and I would like to personally invite all the readers of Backroads and Ballplayers to attend. When I started this weekly column/blog, I had no idea that we would have an average readership of more than 400 weekly participants. More than 17,000 total readers have checked in since March. Thank you for your interest. This column will always be free.

Library Events

One Hundred Years Ago…The Cast-Out Yanks Win the Series, Booneville’s Aaron Ward Leads the Way

The 1923 season was the inaugural season for Yankee Stadium. For the previous several years the Yanks had shared the Polo Grounds with their somewhat friendly neighbors the New York Giants and things had gone well enough. The Yankees knew their place. They were the guests and as such they were expected to act subservient to the landlords. That subordinate behavior would include politely losing the World Series should the two teams meet, and above all, the Yankees should not engage in behavior that would make the American League New Yorkers more popular than the Giants.

BUT, this guy they had stolen from Boston in that terrible Christmas trade of 1920 was hitting more home runs than most complete teams, and surprisingly the fans were loving it. Who knew fans would “enjoy” seeing the ball disappear over the wall more than seeing a nice double in the gap? In 1921, the Yanks drew 1,230,696 to their games in the Polo Grounds and the Giants drew less than a million. Babe Ruth, the Boston cast-off, hit 59 home runs. The Giants’ National League-leading home run guy, High Pockets Kelly hit 23. Although the Yankees obliged by losing the World Series, they had to go. The word from the Giants, be out by 1923.

Rudely, the Yankees built an architectural marvel that towered over the Giants’ digs. The “House that Ruth Built” would have a capacity of more than 60,000. How impertinent are these Yanks? Well, they were so rude as to not only outdraw the Giants in 1923 the first year the two teams played in separate parks, but the Yanks also won the World Series four games to two.

Back in April their second baseman, Aaron Ward of Boonville, Arkansas, had gotten the first hit by a Yankee in the new stadium (He earned a box of cigars). In the Series, the 26-year-old Ward batted .417, hit a home run in Game Two, and led the team in hits. The owner would later say, "Babe Ruth was great, but then we expect Ruth to be great. Bob Meusel had a good Series, and Herb Pennock pitched two great games. But let us give credit where credit is due, and give most of the credit to 'Wardie', who hit .417, and to 'little Hug', the fine manager of this fine team.”

I nominate Aaron Ward as the “Most Inexplicably Forgotten Arkansas-born Baseball Star.”

One last thought:

When Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo pulled Brandon Pfaadt, after 5 2/3 brilliant shutout innings Thursday, did anyone wonder, “How would Bob Gibson handle this?” I am not sure Bob would have approved!

Thankfully for Torey, it all worked out.

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