Rube Waddell

I'd like to meet:

RJD2 - 1976

Oakland A's Stomper - On Stage

'74 Oakland A's

Jim Thorpe - I'm Fading Out © 1999 Grant Smith
MF Doom Madvillain Mix - Boondocks

Ric Flair Starrcade '85 Entrance

1901 pic as a Chicago Orphan. The Orphans changed their name to Cubs a year later. I wish we would have kept the Orphans name.My Roommate and personal catcher Ossee Schreckengost. Schreck caught for the A's from 1902 to 1908. I give him credit for making me the best fastball pitcher in baseball. Schreck was so involved in making me a successful pitcher that he considered me a 'blood brother' and became somewhat of an eccentric character, himself. It was not uncommon for Schreck to miss a game and for nobody to know his whereabouts. Ossee had a problem with alcohol, much like me. I remember Connie being so irritated with Ossee's drinking problem during one spring training in Montgomery, Alabama, that he threatened to send Ossee to another team. Harry Davis, our power-hitting first baseman pleaded with Mack to give Schreck another chance. So Ossee went from alcohol to drinking 15 to 20 milk shakes a day. Davis, on some occasions, would accompany Schreck to the drugstore where Ossee got his shakes. On one occasion, traveling by himself, Davis went to the drugstore and asked for a shake, just like Ossee would order. Well, the clerk behind the soda fountain reached underneath the counter and brought up a bottle of sherry and promptly filled the glass half-way. After his career ended, Ossee bounced around the minor leagues eventually leaving baseball in 1912. Ossee was shattered by my death in 1914. He told friends that he had nothing to live for and had a desire to join me in the hereafter. Ironically, just a couple of months after I died, Schreck, in ill health for the past 2 years, collapsed in a cafe and died the next day, after being rushed to a hospital. Ossee's final words were that he had hoped the Athletics would win that year's pennant and that he wished that he and I could have been there to help.Our right fielder Socks Seybold played for the A's from 1901 to 1908. I think he was connected to the Mob. In 1908 Connie Mack sent Socks down to Greenville, South Carolina to bring back a promising rookie Joe Jackson who ditched the A's after a week in the big city. Socks got him on a train back to PA, bought him dinner, spent the evening with him, and saw Joe retire in his berth. When Socks went to check on him in the morning, 'Shoeless' was gone. During the night, Jackson had sneaked off of the train. Connie eventually got 'Shoeless' Joe back to PA in 1908, and Jackson played a few more games for the Athletics that September. Jackson played for a total of five games in both the '08 and '09 season for the Athletics. Shoeless didn't change his mind about the big city and the next time Jackson played baseball in Philadelphia it was as a member of the Cleveland Naps.Eddie Plank's personal catcher Doc Powers in 1905. Doc caught for the Athletics from 1901 till 1909. Powers was an actual medical doctor and a Notre Damer. Doc was injured on Opening Day 1909 in the first ever Major League game played at Shibe Park. It was reported at the time that his pain began when he dove for a foul ball. His injury later turned gangrenous, and sorry to say, he died soon afterward.Lave Cross, Captain and third basemen from 1901-05. He started his career in 1887 with the Louisville Colonels and was one of the most popular players in Philadelphia in the 1890s and early 1900s, playing for four teams in that city in four different leagues. Lave's 108 RBI's in 1902 are the most ever by a player who did not hit a home run.Center fielder Danny Hoffman played with the A's from 1903 to 1906.Our shortstop Monte Cross played with the A's from 1902 to 1907. Monte took over the shortstop position from John 'Schoolboy' Knight in 1905. Monte, one of the worst-hitting position players in history, hit the first home run of the 20th century on April 19, 1900. He was also the first player in modern AL history to hit 2 grandslams in one season (1902). Who woulda thunk it?Our second basemen Danny Murphy played for the A's from 1902 to 1913.Left fielder Topsy Hartsel, my teammate with the Orphans in 1901. He played with the A's from 1902 to 1911. Topsy led the American League in Runs (109), Walks (87) and Stolen Bases (47) in 1902.Weldon Henley pitched for the Athletics from 1903 to 1905. Henley was Georgia Tech's First Major Leaguer. Just like his stint with the A's, his career was short-lived. Though his career was short, he did pitch a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns on July 22, 1905. Less than a month later on August 15, I matched his feat by throwing a no-hitter myself against those same St. Louis Browns!

Music:

Cap Anson - A Better Place To Hide © 2005 Grant Smith

Movies:

Charlie Ferguson, Philadelphia Phillies 1884-87

Television:

1911 Turkey Red Cabinets T3

1888 Allen & Ginter World's Champions N43

1888-89 Old Judge Cabinets N173

Books:

Washington Senators Connie Mack (1) and Dummy Hoy (10)
Chicago Cubs black boy mascot Clarence Duval resting his arm on Cap's knee cap

Heroes:

Wishing I would have stayed a Cub all of my career. I loved drinking on Whiskey Row on the South Side right next to The Yards! Upton Sinclair would later label The Yards as The Jungle. Pssst, what did he know about The Jungle! My favorite Saloon in Chicago, Cahill Bros. Saloon, on Root and Halsted.That's me sitting right next to Connie Mack in 1903. Mack, my Manager and Father figure would dispense my $2,500 salary $10 at a time so I wouldn't blow it all and so I have to show up the next day for more. Otherwise I would disappear for days until my money ran out. On August 19, 1900 when we were still a minor league team, we played a doubleheader against the White Sox. I went all the way in the 17-inning opener, winning it 3-2 on my own triple. Connie and the Sox manager agreed the second game would be five innings. Mack, knowing very well that I was an avid fisherman, asked me, "...how would you like to go fishing at Pewaukee for three days instead of going with us to Kansas City? All you have to do is pitch the second game." Of coarse, I threw a five-inning shutout.Frank Chance my teammate on the Orphans in 1901 before he hooked up with Tinker and Evers. The Frank I know displayed an infamous lack of good sportsmanship that would make the notorious Ty Cobb blush. Frank once incited a riot at the Polo Grounds after physically assaulting opposing pitcher John McGinnity, and on more than one occasion tossed beer bottles at fans in Brooklyn. He spent several off-seasons working as a prizefighter. As a manager he made outfielder Solly Hofman postpone his own wedding until the off-season fearing that marital bliss might affect Hofman's playing ability. It was well known that Frank would fine his own players for shaking hands with opposing players, win or lose! Frank once remarked, "You do things my way or you meet me after the game." Generally, his players complied. He got the nickname "The Peerless Leader" as he was both respected and disliked by those who played for, with, and against him.In 1946 I was Inducted in the Hall of Fame along with Cub legends Tinker, Evers, and Chance. Joe is the one looking down, Johnny is fifth from left in the front row, and Frank is right above him.Eddie Plank our other left-handed Ace was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946. He was the first lefty to reach 300 wins. When Eddie would pitch he would often take off his hat, readjust it, tighten his belt, unbutton and then re-button his uniform and wipe his head with his sleeve in order to make the batter nervous. Whenever it was Eddie's day to pitch in Phili our fans wouldn't show up due to his tactics that made the game last forever!Andy Coakley, our other resident Doctor. Andy went 18-8 in 1905. "There is nothing about the gentle art of pitching unknown to Dr. Coakley. Physically frail, he faces the hardest hitters with calm courage, outwits and outguesses them and holds them in check." - The Sporting News (09/17/1908)Our other Hall of Fame pitcher Chief Bender pitched for the A's from 1903 to 1914. He Possessed a solid fastball, excellent curveball and had outstanding control. Bender also developed a slider which he is credited for inventing. Mack regarded him as his "money pitcher", the hurler he relied on whenever he needed a critical victory. Bender along with Jack Coombs were the only pitchers to pitch for the A's in the 1910 World Series as Mack implemented a two-man rotation. Both pitchers hurled complete games the whole Series leading the White Elephants to their first World Series title! Although he had great success he also had to endure a lifetime of discrimination. Fans jeered him on the field and taunted him with war whoops. Newspapers ridiculed him in their sports pages. My very own teammates derisively referred to him as Chief, and our manager Mack paid him less than half the salary of our other star pitchers. This constant disrespect became a major factor in one of the most controversial episodes in the history of baseball: the alleged throwing of the 1914 World Series. Despite being heavily favored going into the Series against the Boston Braves, the A’s lost four straight games. Some speculate that Bender intentionally compromised his performance in the Series as retribution for all the poor treatment he suffered. Bender along with other A's players had already signed contracts to play for the upstart Federal League the following season. There were also rumors that members of the A’s were being paid not to win the series by gamblers who had placed large bets on the underdog Braves. Although none of these accusations were ever confirmed, suspicions linger that 'corrupt play' tainted the 1914 World Series.Our first basemen Harry Davis played with the A's from 1901 to 1911. He took over Cap duties once Lave left after the 1905 season.John 'Schoolboy' Knight was our shortstop for the first half of the 1905 season at the age of nineteen. John played with the White Elephants from 1905 to 1907. He was traded by the A's to the Boston Americans for Jimmy Collins on June 7, 1907.Outfielder, Bris "The Human Eyeball" Lord, broke in with the A's at the age of twenty-one in 1905. He Played with the A's until 1907 and was so loved by Mack that he got him for a second time in a trade with the Naps on July 25, 1910 for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who kept running away back home to South Carolina.