After a few false starts back in September, the Countdown is back in full swing! Last year's countdown was a tribute to famous jersey numbers, and I tried to incorporate my old baseball cards as best I could. This year's Countdown is more of a history lesson than anything else. But you never know what surprises might be thrown in.
So, with 37 days to Christmas, let's talk about 1937. The season started off with a bang, as Tigers outfielder Gee Walker became the first player in history to hit for the cycle on Opening Day. Walker, who played 15 seasons with the Tigers, White Sox, Senators, Indians and Reds and had a lifetime batting average of .294, propelled the Tigers to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland. Walker ended up hitting .335 in 1937.
Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals won the triple crown in the Senior Circuit, and was named the league MVP. Medwick, whose real name was Joe, hit .374 with 154 RBI and tied Mel Ott for the league lead in home runs with 31. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, he was a one man show as the team finished in 4th place, 15 games behind the Giants. Leo “The Lip” Durocher said “He is the meanest roughest guy you could imagine. He just stands up there and whales everything within reach. Doubles, triples, home runs… he sprays them all over every park and if he has a weakness, it is a ball over the plate.”
Napoleon Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young become the sixth, seventh and eighth members of the Hall of Fame.
The Homestead Grays, led by Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Judy Johnson, won the first of nine straight Negro League championships in 1937. Gibson and Johnson had played for the famed Pittsburgh Crawfords but jumped to the Grays in 1937.
1937 also was the start of the end of the career of one Hall of Fame pitcher, and the promise of a
new beginning for an up and coming Hall of Famer. Dizzy Dean pitched the first three innings of the All Star game, and with two out in the third, Earl Averill cracked a low line drive that caught Dean on the front of his foot. Later in the clubhouse, they discovered that Dean’s toe was broken, but he and the Cardinals management put him back on the mound before it had completely healed. The injury caused him to change his delivery, ultimately injuring his arm and ending his glory days at age 26. And on December 6th the Boston Red Sox acquired the contract of an up and coming 19 year old named Ted Williams. Williams began his pro career with his hometown San Diego Padres of the PCL and improved enough at Minneapolis of the American Association to catch the eye of the Red Sox.
Hall of Famers born in 1937 include Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda.
So, with 37 days to Christmas, let's talk about 1937. The season started off with a bang, as Tigers outfielder Gee Walker became the first player in history to hit for the cycle on Opening Day. Walker, who played 15 seasons with the Tigers, White Sox, Senators, Indians and Reds and had a lifetime batting average of .294, propelled the Tigers to a 4-3 victory over Cleveland. Walker ended up hitting .335 in 1937.
Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals won the triple crown in the Senior Circuit, and was named the league MVP. Medwick, whose real name was Joe, hit .374 with 154 RBI and tied Mel Ott for the league lead in home runs with 31. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, he was a one man show as the team finished in 4th place, 15 games behind the Giants. Leo “The Lip” Durocher said “He is the meanest roughest guy you could imagine. He just stands up there and whales everything within reach. Doubles, triples, home runs… he sprays them all over every park and if he has a weakness, it is a ball over the plate.”Napoleon Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young become the sixth, seventh and eighth members of the Hall of Fame.
The Homestead Grays, led by Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and Judy Johnson, won the first of nine straight Negro League championships in 1937. Gibson and Johnson had played for the famed Pittsburgh Crawfords but jumped to the Grays in 1937.
1937 also was the start of the end of the career of one Hall of Fame pitcher, and the promise of a
new beginning for an up and coming Hall of Famer. Dizzy Dean pitched the first three innings of the All Star game, and with two out in the third, Earl Averill cracked a low line drive that caught Dean on the front of his foot. Later in the clubhouse, they discovered that Dean’s toe was broken, but he and the Cardinals management put him back on the mound before it had completely healed. The injury caused him to change his delivery, ultimately injuring his arm and ending his glory days at age 26. And on December 6th the Boston Red Sox acquired the contract of an up and coming 19 year old named Ted Williams. Williams began his pro career with his hometown San Diego Padres of the PCL and improved enough at Minneapolis of the American Association to catch the eye of the Red Sox.Hall of Famers born in 1937 include Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda.
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