Babe Ruth’s Cannon Arm, Walter Johnson’s 401st Win, and Washington Baseball Oddities — May 1926
Babe Ruth’s towering blasts and cannon arm headline a fascinating day in Washington baseball coverage from May 8, 1926, alongside Walter Johnson’s 401st victory, Roger Peckinpaugh’s resurgence, Brooklyn phenom Jess Petty, and bizarre sandlot stories involving the Ku Klux Klan.
Today's Coverage
- Where and How Ruth Socks Home Run Clouts and How He Pegs Out Runners
- Bucky Seeks Southpaws to Battle Yankees
- Johnson’s 401st Win One of Easiest He Ever Achieved
- Today’s Sportorial
- Dodgers’ Mound Sensation
- Brownies Here Next
- McGraw Gets $40,000
- Sandlotters’ Salt and Pepper
- Sandlotters Beware! the Ku Kluxers Enter Team in D. C. Field
Where and How Ruth Socks Home Run Clouts and How He Pegs Out Runners
Washington Times, Saturday May 8, 1926
CAN MR. RUTH HIT? Brother, he can! Can Mr. Ruth throw? Sister, you speak words of wisdom!—Three times this season Mr. Babe Ruth has parked balls over in the right field bleachers, known to the trade as “Ruth’s Roost.” Twice already this season Mr. Ruth has taken a fly deep in right field, cocked his good left arm, and tossed a perfect strike to Mr. Pat Collins at the home plate, to catch a man so bold as to attempt scoring from third after the catch.
The pictures tell the story. Mr. Ruth’s third home-run crash landed far up in the right field bleachers, distance of 380 feet from the home plate. His throw to the plate, measured by Phil Schenck with his own tape line, was a neat 295 feet, and came in fast enough and straight enough to catch Ira Flagstead by three feet when he had only 90 feet to make. Which is not so bad for an old man whose obituary was written many times this spring by sport writers and editors everywhere.
Bucky Seeks Southpaws to Battle Yankees
By Gene Kessler — Sports Editor of The News - Washington Daily News, Saturday May 8, 1926
Recent action of Bucky Harris, manager, and Clark Griffith, owner, tip off the club which is worrying them in the present American League race.
It’s the only team to win a series from their league champion Nationals this year—the Yankees.
Bucky and Griff are scouring the junior not the minors—in search of any discarded left-handed pitchers with experience. They are looking for a couple more Dutch Ruethers to rejuvenate.
Need Left Handers
Because southpaw hurlers are most effective against the Yankees, now Zacary George Mogridge was traded for Joe Bush to give the Nats’ fan another experienced right-handed hurler, Bucky was planning on orthodox fingerers this year.
Seek Art Nehf
But up bobs the Yanks again. Two years ago Bucky beat them down with an incessant fire of left-handed pitching. Today he is angling for Art Nehf, a veteran southpaw about to be discarded by John McGraw.
If McGraw is successful in waiving Nehf out of the National League, Bucky will make the purchase. He has his eye on a couple more aged portsiders.
Just now Harris is concerned with the task of beating back the assault of another challenger—Eddie Collins’ White Sox. It was an assault, too, which the Chisox launched on Walter Johnson as the first game of the western invasion opened yesterday. Yet for three hits and two runs in the opening inning, it ended there. Johnson was warmed up after that and the Griffs breezed in to win 8 to 2 for their sixth straight victory in the last week over the Macks, Red Sox, Yankees and Chicago. That put Barmen ahead as the league’s leading pitcher with five wins and one defeat.
That put the champs in second place only half a game behind the Yankees. And since the New Yorkers were pushed into the eleventh inning before beating the Tigers, Washington was back in the lead for a couple of hours at the head for a couple of hours at least yesterday afternoon.
They are ready to move in permanently any day now. Yes permanently—if Bucky can resurrect another southpaw to help Dutch Ruether keep Murderers’ Row away.
Curley Ogden vs. Ted Blankenship
Harris called upon Curley Ogden for the pitching assignment this afternoon. Curley has displaced Bush as starting hurler for the time at least. This is his third start of the year. He won the other two. Collins saved his veteran fingerer, Urban Faber, yesterday and may save him until next Monday as he intends to use Ted Blankenship today with Ted Lyons down to oppose Stanley Coveleskie in the Sunday match.
Goose Goslin is proving that his batting flash wasn’t due to Boston pitching. He is back in the lead of both leagues today with a .446 mark, having faced Athletic, Yankee and White Sox pitching during the last week, getting three out of the present day.
Sam Rice has started hitting in his natural stride again. He had two out of three yesterday. And Bucky topped that with three out of four. Judge came through with a timely double and Peck a single as the boys stepped out to gather four runs in the third.
This is something of a Murderers’ Row in itself. It was good enough to outhit the Yankees Thursday.
Johnson’s 401st Win One of Easiest He Ever Achieved
By Louis A. Dougher - Washington Times, Saturday May 8, 1926
The champion Griffmen are today riding along in second place, a game and a half behind the Yankees. The triumph over the Chicago White Sox, 8 to 2, in the first clash with the Western clubs kept the champions in step with the Yanks, who also conquered the Tigers.
Urban Faber is expected to enter the box today against the champions. The old boy has been pitching wonderful ball for the Sox ever since the season got under way and believes he is good enough to halt the Griffs.
Curly Ogden is likely to hurl for the Griffs, though Joe Bush is also a possibility. Ogden has horned into the starting list by sheer merit, his two victories against the Red Sox showing him for what he is. Joe Bush is welcoming the warm weather and says that he will be right up there in a week or so, as good as ever.
Walter Johnson’s 401st major league victory was one of the softest he has ever had. The White Sox, acting friskily, hopped aboard the veteran for a couple of runs in the first round and thereafter held their peace. They were done for the day once Johnson put on the brakes.
A pass to Mostil, Eddie Collins’ two-bagger, Sheely’s single and another double by Bibb Falk gave the invaders their two runs right off the reel. After that they played dead and no Belasco actor ever did it better. Not only did they play dead, they were dead.
Gorham Leverett, who is a deceptive hurler not trying to be a pitcher, was a bit wild and so the champions got one of those runs back in their half of the first frame on a single by Harris, two walks and Judge’s fly to Mostil.
Mr. Leverett faded from the scene in the third, but not until the Griffmen had cinched their victory. He started off with passes to McNeely and Harris. Rice’s best was a hopper down to Sheely, but Goose Goslin crashed a single to right and over came McNeely and Harris. Joe Judge slammed a two-bagger to right center and over came Goslin, traveling like a wild man all the way from first base. Bluege biffed, but Peck drove Leverett to the showers with a hot shot to left, scoring Judge. A bird called Steengraf came in to hurl for the Sox.
The Champions tore the clothes off Steengraf in the fourth frame and brought two more runs over the pan. With one gone McNeely beat out a bunt to the pitcher, galloping up when Harris singled so short center. Rice brought McNeely over with a single to center and Goslin’s two-bagger to right scored Harris.
After two were out in the sixth Rice singled to left center and Goslin bunted safely in front of the plate. Crouse’s wild throw putting Rice over the dish and landing Goslin safely on second. Scott tossed out Judge and the scoring was done for the day.
More than 7,000 women were on hand to celebrate the homecoming of the Champions, who appreciated it by socking the Sox.
Today’s Sportorial
By Kirk Miller - Washington Times, Saturday May 8, 1926
Highly instrumental in winning all six of the Griffmen’s last half-dozen games starting with the Philadelphia-Washington contest here last Sunday which marked his initial major league appearance of the season and running through three straight in Boston, a one-day stand in New York Thursday and yesterday’s 8-to-2 defeat of the White Sox, Roger Peckinpaugh has hurled his answer at the self-styled critics who, a few short weeks ago, were saying that Stanley Harris was about to “go to the well” once too often with him as a part of the infield combination.
Today, the Washington ball club, only a breath behind the league-leading Yankees, who set the league afire early with their gatling gun hitting are again being touted as the likely Eastern team to win the pennant and it has been the presence of Peckinpaugh in the line-up which places the club in this favorable light.
In view of last fall’s world series with the Pirates, no one could say definitely whether or not these experts were talking through their one and several hats, but Harris heeded their warnings by starting with Buddy Myer, the inexperienced Pelican who spent only the last few weeks of the 1925 season looking on at the champions from the bench.
However, Peck has lived to see the happy day when he can add just all of this uncertainty which had been thrown around his baseball future and today he and McNeely, who has resumed his accustomed place in center, permitting Sam Rice to go back to right, are being hailed as the two pivot men who have placed the Washington ball club back in the confidence of the local fans and the baseball world in general.
Already, the deadly double-play combination of Peck-to-Harris-to-Judge, greatest suicide squad since the renowned Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance team has made its presence felt in the American League race and any man on the team will tell you, as John Paul Jones is credited with having said, “We have not yet commenced to fight.”
DODGERS' MOUND SENSATION
Jess Petty, new pitcher of the Brooklyn Nationals, who in five games has allowed 24 hits in 160 times at bat, yielding an average of one run per game. He has won all his games.
Brownies Here Next
By Louis A. Dougher - Washington Times, Saturday May 8, 1926
The St. Louis Browns, ancient enemies of the Washington club drift into town next Tuesday for four games with the Champions. The fans will welcome Jezebel Teecumseh Zachary and Win Ballou, former Griffmen, sent to the Mound City in exchange for Johnny Tobin and Joe Bush.
Before the season opened the Browns were touted as sure contenders for the pennant. That was in March. With the risky of the curtain, however, the Browns failed to live up to predictions. Today they are in last place, winning seven and losing 17 games. It will be a hard fight for them to get into the first division, if they ever do.
George Sisler, according to underground rumors, is having his last whack at managing the Browns. If his team fails to deliver the goods this season, he will be supplanted before another season rolls around. Phil Ball, the Browns’ owner, is said to be peeved at Sisler’s showing.
Next Saturday Tris Speaker leads his Cleveland Indians into town for the first of four games with the Champions. Unlike the Browns the Indians have outdone themselves by making a winning fight from the opening of the campaign. Nobody figured on the Indians in March, but everybody is watching them now.
That chap in the press box who sports the cowboy hat and the imperial is not Pancho Villa, but Harry Nelly, expert picture painter of the Chicago Americans. Harry winters in Mexico, which explains his makeup.
Bucky Harris contributed the best fielding play of yesterday’s game in the ninth inning when he went over to the foul line for Buck Crouse’s vicious bounder, coming up with it and getting the runner.
Goose Goslin, with a batting average of .446, is today leading the league and so it seemed strange yesterday when Tex Jeanes hit for him in the eighth inning. Manager Harris simply wanted to look at Jeanes in action. It is not true that Goslin had an early date at the Mayflower.
McGraw Gets $40,000
NEW YORK — John McGraw’s new three-year contract to manage the Giants calls for an annual salary of $40,000, it is believed in baseball circles.
Sandlotters’ Salt and Pepper
By R. D. Thomas - Washington Times, Saturday May 8, 1926
The Ku Klux Klan is on the warpath, but don’t be excited!
“This is to inform you,” writes Creth B. Hines, “that the Invisible Empire of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has organized a baseball team and wishes to book games with the fastest clubs in the District of Columbia.”
So, you see, it’s merely baseball warfare that Washington’s clansmen seek.
“We have won five straight games and can give any team real competition,” continues Manager Hines.
And the clansmen stop not with Washington teams. If there are any klan teams in Maryland and Virginia, within a radius of 50 miles, they are included in the challenge.
Hines believes his team is the only one that represents the klan in this section of the land.
For the information of those that desire to battle the klan on the diamond, Hines’ phone number is Adams 7240. Business Manager Risley’s address is 240 Tenth St. N. E.
Sandlotters Beware! the Ku Kluxers Enter Team in D. C. Field
Washington Daily News, Saturday May 8, 1926
White robes and the Flaming Cross have entered sandlot baseball—figuratively at least.
Manager Creth B. Hines today announced The Invisible Empire of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has organized a team and wishes to book games with the fastest clubs in and around the District.
That the klansmen nine of the District will offer all opponents real competition is evidenced, Mr. Hines said, in the fact that he has collected several ex-minor league players.
The team also is further distinguished as being the first klan nine in the East.
Arrangements for games may be made by phoning Hines at Adams 7240 or writing Mr. Risley 2410 10th st. se.
