I’ve known for some time that Beat generation writer Jack Kerouac was a baseball fan. This YouTube video talks a little bit more about Kerouac’s fascination with the sport and the fantasy game he created to play on his own time. The host of the video is a bit cheesy, but the information is interesting.
A little additional research led me to find a picture of the Kerouac bobblehead mentioned in the video:
Jack Kerouac bobble head (ebay.com)
I wasn’t able to find anything about the bobblehead on the Baseball Hall of Fame website, so I’m guessing the bobblehead is no longer a part of the museum. However, it does look like it definitely was there for a time. The bobblehead was created as a promotion by the minor league Lowell Spinners in 2003, in acknowledgement of Kerouac’s birth in the Massachusetts town.
On May 30, 1922, Cubs outfielder Cliff Heathcote and Cardinals outfielder Max Flack exchanged uniforms after being traded for one another between games of a doubleheader. Both ballplayers would both get hits for their new teams in the second game of the Cubs Park twin bill, in which Chicago won both games, 4-1 and 3-1.
Max Flack, 1918 (public domain)Cliff Heathcote, 1918 (public domain)
On May 27, 1923, Phillies outfielder Cy Williams hit a two-run home run to become the first major leaguer to hit 15 homers in a single month. Williams would lead the National League with 41 home runs that season.
Having shared the Polo Grounds with the Giants since 1913, the Yankees began construction on their ballpark in the Bronx on May 22, 1922. The stadium would become known as the ‘House that Ruth Built,’ due to Babe Ruth’s popularity and influence.
This documentary on Hank Aaron does a great job of depicting the level of racism Aaron faced not only as a ballplayer, but throughout his life. In spite of it all, he excelled on the field and made an incredible and lasting impact on the game.
Cleveland Indians player-manager Tris Speaker collected his 3,000th hit on May 17, 1925. Speaker singled off Washington Senators pitcher Tom Zachary to become just the fifth major leaguer to reach the milestone.
Tris Speaker, 1912 (Library of Congress/public domain)
On May 16, 1912, Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb was suspended due to his attack on Claude Lucker two days previous. Lucker was a one-handed, outspoken fan who possessed an extreme hatred for Cobb (not an uncommon feeling amongst fans at the time). The story goes that after a few innings of trying to ignore Lucker’s taunts, Cobb eventually lost his temper and charged the stands.
According to sportswriters, “Everything was very pleasant…until Ty Cobb johnnykilbaned a spectator right on the place where he talks, started the claret, and stopped the flow of profane and vulgar words. Cobb led with a left jab and countered with a right kick to Mr. Spectator’s left Weisbach, which made his peeper look as if someone had drawn a curtain over it…. Jabs bounded off the spectator’s face like a golf ball from a rock.”
Cobb was thrown from the game by Umpire Silk O’Loughlin. Then, without hearing Cobb’s side of the incident, American League President Ban Johnson suspended him indefinitely. In support of their teammate, the rest of the Tigers went on strike to protest the decision, sending a message to the League office claiming, “We, the undersigned, refuse to play in another game after today, until such action is adjusted to our satisfaction. [Cobb] was fully justified in his action, as no one could stand such personal abuse from anyone. We want him reinstated for tomorrow’s game, May 18, or there will be no game. If the players cannot have protection we must protect ourselves.”
The strike resulted in the formation of a hodgepodge sandlot team taking over for the Tigers one day, committing nine errors and losing spectacularly to the Athletics, 24-2. Concerned about the potential repercussions the strike would have on his teammates, Cobb convinced the real Tiger players to end their protest and return to the diamond. Ban Johnson would hit Cobb with a $50 fine and a ten-day suspension for his attack on Lucker.
On April 29, 1931, Cleveland Indians pitcher Wes Ferrell pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns, striking out eight. Ferrell also hit a home run and a double with four RBIs in the 9-0 victory. Ferrell’s brother Rick was the catcher for the Browns that day, going 0-for-3 at the plate. The box score for the game can be found here.
Wesley and Rick Ferrell as Boston Red Sox (Baseball Hall of Fame)
John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil, Jr. was born on November 13, 1911 in Carrabelle, Florida. He grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where he worked in the celery fields while his father ran a pool hall in Newtown. O’Neil later moved to Jacksonville with relatives, where he attended Edward Waters College to complete high school and two years of college courses. He was nicknamed “Buck” after the co-owner of the Miami Giants, Buck O’Neal. His father, John Jordan O’Neil, Sr., played on a local team, thus exposing Buck to baseball at an early age.
O’Neil left Florida in 1934 to play semi-professional baseball, collecting several years of barnstorming experience. His efforts were rewarded when he signed with the Memphis Red Sox in 1937 and then joined the Kansas City Monarchs in 1938. O’Neil had a career batting average of .288 (based on statistics from 1937 to 1950), which included four seasons above .300, and he also played in three East-West All-Star Games and two Negro World Series.
Buck O’Neil served in the United States Navy in 1944 and 1945 during World War II. He served in a naval construction battalion in New Jersey during this time, and then returned to the Monarchs at the start of the 1946 season.
Buck O’Neil as manager of the Kansas City Monarchs (public domain)
O’Neil was named manager for the Monarchs in 1948, continuing to play first base full time through the 1951 season. He continued to manage the Monarchs through 1955, serving as a reserve player and pinch-hitter during these later years, winning pennants in 1953 and 1955. Following the 1955 season, O’Neil resigned as manager of the Monarchs and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962, though he was not assigned in-game base coaching duties. In 1988, O’Neil joined the Kansas City Royals as a scout, and in 1998 was named “Midwest Scout of the Year.”
In 1990, O’Neil played a major role in the establishment of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death. In 1996, O’Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and in 2006 he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State University, where he also gave the commencement speech.
Also in 2006, O’Neil was nominated to a special Hall of Fame ballot for Negro League players, managers, and executives in 2006, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission. Nevertheless, the always good-natured O’Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the seventeen Negro League players who did get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame that year.
After several weeks in the hospital, Buck O’Neil died on October 6, 2006 in Kansas City, Missouri due to heart failure and bone marrow cancer.
On December 7, 2006, O’Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush due to his “excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field.” On Opening Day of 2007, the Kansas City Royals announced they would honor O’Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat in Kauffman Stadium each game who best exemplifies O’Neil’s spirit. The seat itself has been replaced by a red seat amidst the all-blue seats behind home plate.
In 2021, the Early Baseball Era Committee elected Buck O’Neil to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 81.3% of the vote. He was formally inducted on July 24, 2022.
On April 22, 1962, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Mets to bring their record to 10-0 to start the season. This hot start matched a Major League record at the time for an undefeated record to open the year. For the Mets, meanwhile, the loss meant they fell to 0-9, matching a National League record at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, c. 1909 (Library of Congress / public domain)
