Tris Speaker

Thrown is outside for ball two.

Certainly missing Tris Speaker, the old Gray Eagle, here this afternoon.

We certainly hope he's resting very comfortably and hope he's listening in this afternoon.

Pitch to the plate.

Two-thirds of the eighth inning is all that, uh, Keegan is able to pitch, and Casey Stengel is gonna take him out of there.

So got quite a ball game cooking along here, uh, nine to eight affair in favor of the National League in a game that seesaws back and forth, uh, to the delight of all the fans that have come in here to the Lakefront Stadium in Cleveland.

And, uh, we're sincerely sorry, as we said earlier in the broadcast, that, uh, Tris Speaker isn't here with us.

The old Gray Eagle, one of the fine stars of yesteryear, and now with the Cleveland organization, suffered a mild heart attack yesterday and is resting in the hospital very comfortably today, and we sincerely hope that he's enjoying the ball game, and we're...

He is, uh, he's an interesting dude.

It is my position that Pete Rose may be the single greatest baseball player of all time, and, and I'm a guy that grew up reading about Rogers Hornsby and, and, and Tris Speaker.

I, I'm not just lightly saying that.

I think in terms of what he did, how he did it, and the length of time he did it, not just statistically, uh, he was.

It is my position that Pete Rose may be the single greatest baseball player of all time.

And, and I'm a guy that grew up reading about Rogers Hornsby and, and, and Tris Speaker.

I, I'm not just lightly saying that.

I think in terms of what he did, how he did it, and the length of time he did it, not just statistically, uh, he was.

He named his price in public, then he was sold.

The following week, January fifteenth, the Sporting News printed a list of the highest prices ever paid for a ballplayer, Ruth over a hundred thousand, then Carl Mays at fifty-five thousand, then Tris Speaker, Grover Alexander at fifty, Eddie Collins at fifty, Frank Baker at thirty-five, Joe Jackson at thirty-two, all the way down to Rube Marquard at eleven thousand.

Ruth cost roughly double the previous record for a human being in that trade.

Ed Barrow, the manager, was told about the sale after the fact.

It was not the biggest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Texas because, uh, back some 12 or 13 years ago, big promotion was staged on opening day of the Texas League, uh, and a game was played in the Cotton Bowl with a number of old-timers participating in the ballgame, and it drew something like 50,000 at the Cotton Bowl.

Tris Speaker was in the ballgame, and Ty Cobb, Charlie Grimm was managing the Dallas club at the time.

Here's a pitch high and away for a ball, and he walked him.

So Sammy Taylor goes down to first base with a base on balls.

He advances to second on Bill Womskan's, I love that name, Bill Womskan's single.

Tris Speaker lays down a bunt and Grimes falls down fielding it.

So the bases are loaded with no outs, right? Okay.

Then cleanup hitter outfielder Elmer Smith, who led the team with 12 homers that year, comes up and on a one and two count deposits the ball over the right field screen for a grand slam.

After a game on September 25, 1919, Cleveland at Detroit, four men were said to have met under the grandstand at Navin Field.

Cobb, Tris Speaker, the pitcher Joe Wood, and Leonard.

Cleveland had already clinched second place.

Detroit was fighting for third.

Then there is the game itself.

Detroit won it 9-5.

Cleveland collected 13 hits, including two triples by Tris Speaker, who was supposedly in on a Detroit win, and Ty Cobb went 1-5.

One hit and five at-bats and $130.

...

Tris, Tris Speaker-

Oh, yeah

... who played for the Boston Red Sox in the 19, uh, 10s.

Um, all right-

Also, let me apologize.

Tr- Tris Speaker leads all time in doubles, not triples

Oh