Allan Travers
Encyclopedia
Aloysius Joseph "Allan" Travers, aka Rev. Aloysius Stanislaus Travers (May 7, 1892 – April 19, 1968) was a Major League Baseball
pitcher
who made a one-game appearance during the 1912 strike of the Detroit Tigers
.
Travers was only playing because the Detroit Tigers team had refused to play after their team mate Ty Cobb
had been suspended for attacking a heckler who called him a "half-nigger" during a game against the New York Yankees
at Hilltop Park
three days earlier.
Travers does not, as is often reported, hold the major league record for most hits or runs allowed in a game, although he does hold the major league record for earned runs in a single major league game. The Cleveland Blues
' Dave Rowe
, who was primarily an outfielder, gave up 35 runs (12 earned) on 29 hits in a game played on July 24, 1882. Travers does hold the two negative records for American League play.
'. When Cobb began beating him, fans pleaded with him to stop hitting a man with no hands. But Cobb reportedly shouted back, "I don't care if he has no feet!".
American League
president Ban Johnson
responded by suspending Cobb indefinitely. Cobb's teammates voted to strike in support, refusing to play until he was reinstated. When Ban Johnson
threatened Tigers owner Frank Navin
with a $5,000 fine for every game in which they failed to field a team, Navin ordered manager Hughie Jennings
to find replacement players. As the Tigers were on the road in Philadelphia, Jennings recruited eight "Tigers" from a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. Each man was paid $25.
ist in the student orchestra
, but had never pitched a game in his life. He had even been unable to make the school's varsity baseball team. Instead, Travers served as the team's assistant manager, preparing game summaries for the school annual.
Yet on May 18, 1912, Travers became a starting pitcher in a major league baseball game, walking out onto the mound in front of 20,000 Philadelphia fans at Shibe Park. Over the next few hours Travers pitched to some of the best players of the era, including Frank "Home Run" Baker, Eddie Collins
, and Stuffy McInnis
.
Under these unlikely circumstances, Travers pitched the sport's most unlikely complete game
, allowing 26 hits, 24 runs, 14 earned runs, 7 walks
and 1 strikeout
. Travers faced 50 batters through 8 innings, and was tagged with the loss in the 24-2 decision.
After the embarrassing display, Ban Johnson
met personally with the striking Tigers and told them they would be banned for life if the strike continued. Ty Cobb urged his teammates to end the strike, and the Tigers complied. Accordingly, the major league career of Allan Travers and all but one of the other replacement Tigers was cut short at one game. The lone exception was Billy Maharg
, who later played in one game for the 1916 Philadelphia Phillies, but is best known for his off-the-field involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
.
Additionally, Tigers manager Hughie Jennings
(age 43) and coaches Joe Sugden
(age 41) and Deacon McGuire
(age 48), each of whom previously had long and distinguished careers as players, played in the game for the Tigers. For all three men, it was their only playing appearance of the 1912 season. Jennings would play in only one more major league game, in 1918. It was the final game of both Sugden's and McGuire's careers. The unplanned appearance raised McGuire's career total to 26 Major League seasons, a record which would not be surpassed until 1993, by Nolan Ryan
. McGuire's two fielding assists in the game were his 1,858th and 1,859th, which remains the all-time record for catchers.
Travers (0-1) never played again in the major leagues, preserving his career ERA
at 15.75 and career WHIP
at 4.13.
. He recalled being asked to round up "as many fellows as I could find" to play for the Tigers. Travers claims to have gone to the corner of 23rd and Columbia in Philadelphia where "a bunch of fellows were standing around the corner." http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1937&pid=14325 That "bunch of fellows" became the Detroit Tigers
for a day.
When asked about his performance on the mound, Travers told Red Smith
that he threw "slow curves
" that day, because the A's were not used to them, and because "Hughie Jennings
told me not to throw fastball
s as he was afraid I might get killed." http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1937&pid=14325
Travers later entered the Society of Jesus
(the "Jesuits") and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1926. He is the only priest to have played major league baseball. Travers taught at St. Francis Xavier High School in Manhattan and was later named Dean of Men at St. Joseph College. From 1943-1968, he taught Spanish and religion at Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia.
Travers lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
for almost all of his life. He died at Misericordia Hospital in 1968 at age 75.
The date of Travers' sole appearance was a key part in breaking a code in a 2010 episode ("Keep the Ends Out
") of Rubicon
, a television series.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who made a one-game appearance during the 1912 strike of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
.
Travers was only playing because the Detroit Tigers team had refused to play after their team mate Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
had been suspended for attacking a heckler who called him a "half-nigger" during a game against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at Hilltop Park
Hilltop Park
Hilltop Park was the nickname of a baseball park that formerly stood in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. It was the home of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball club during 1903-1912 when they were known more often as the "Highlanders"...
three days earlier.
Travers does not, as is often reported, hold the major league record for most hits or runs allowed in a game, although he does hold the major league record for earned runs in a single major league game. The Cleveland Blues
Cleveland Blues (NL)
The Cleveland Blues were a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio that operated in the National League from 1879 to 1884. In six seasons their best finish was third place in 1880. Hugh Daily threw a no-hitter for the Blues on Sept. 13, 1883. Besides Daily, notable Blues players...
' Dave Rowe
Dave Rowe (baseball)
David Elwood "Dave" Rowe was an American Major League Baseball center fielder and manager from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His brother, Jack Rowe also played and managed in the Major leagues. Over the course of Rowe's career, he had 383 hits and a .263 batting average...
, who was primarily an outfielder, gave up 35 runs (12 earned) on 29 hits in a game played on July 24, 1882. Travers does hold the two negative records for American League play.
Background
On May 15, Cobb had entered the stands at the end of the sixth inning after being taunted with racist abuse from a heckler. Claude Lueker, who due to an industrial accident had lost one complete hand and only had three fingers on the other, had repeatedly called Cobb 'a half niggerNigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
'. When Cobb began beating him, fans pleaded with him to stop hitting a man with no hands. But Cobb reportedly shouted back, "I don't care if he has no feet!".
American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
president Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
responded by suspending Cobb indefinitely. Cobb's teammates voted to strike in support, refusing to play until he was reinstated. When Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
threatened Tigers owner Frank Navin
Frank Navin
Francis Joseph Navin was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1909 to 1935. He also served as vice president and acting president of the American League....
with a $5,000 fine for every game in which they failed to field a team, Navin ordered manager Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
to find replacement players. As the Tigers were on the road in Philadelphia, Jennings recruited eight "Tigers" from a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. Each man was paid $25.
Detroit Tigers
Jennings found Allan Travers on a city street corner. The 20-year-old junior from Philadelphia's St. Joseph's College was a violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist in the student orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, but had never pitched a game in his life. He had even been unable to make the school's varsity baseball team. Instead, Travers served as the team's assistant manager, preparing game summaries for the school annual.
Yet on May 18, 1912, Travers became a starting pitcher in a major league baseball game, walking out onto the mound in front of 20,000 Philadelphia fans at Shibe Park. Over the next few hours Travers pitched to some of the best players of the era, including Frank "Home Run" Baker, Eddie Collins
Eddie Collins
Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. , nicknamed "Cocky", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive...
, and Stuffy McInnis
Stuffy McInnis
John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis was a first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball.McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburban leagues, where his spectacular playing brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid".From 1909-27, McInnis played for the Philadelphia Athletics ,...
.
Under these unlikely circumstances, Travers pitched the sport's most unlikely complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
, allowing 26 hits, 24 runs, 14 earned runs, 7 walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
and 1 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
. Travers faced 50 batters through 8 innings, and was tagged with the loss in the 24-2 decision.
After the embarrassing display, Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
met personally with the striking Tigers and told them they would be banned for life if the strike continued. Ty Cobb urged his teammates to end the strike, and the Tigers complied. Accordingly, the major league career of Allan Travers and all but one of the other replacement Tigers was cut short at one game. The lone exception was Billy Maharg
Billy Maharg
William Joseph Maharg, also known as William Joseph Graham has three distinct historical connections with Major League Baseball -- first, as a replacement player in the 1912 Detroit Tigers' players strike, second, for a one-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916, and third, for his role...
, who later played in one game for the 1916 Philadelphia Phillies, but is best known for his off-the-field involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
.
Additionally, Tigers manager Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
(age 43) and coaches Joe Sugden
Joe Sugden (baseball)
Joseph Sugden , was a professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, St...
(age 41) and Deacon McGuire
Deacon McGuire
James Thomas "Deacon" McGuire was a catcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball who spent over a quarter of a century playing professional baseball in a much-traveled career which saw him set several records for durability...
(age 48), each of whom previously had long and distinguished careers as players, played in the game for the Tigers. For all three men, it was their only playing appearance of the 1912 season. Jennings would play in only one more major league game, in 1918. It was the final game of both Sugden's and McGuire's careers. The unplanned appearance raised McGuire's career total to 26 Major League seasons, a record which would not be surpassed until 1993, by Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
. McGuire's two fielding assists in the game were his 1,858th and 1,859th, which remains the all-time record for catchers.
Travers (0-1) never played again in the major leagues, preserving his career ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
at 15.75 and career WHIP
Walks plus hits per inning pitched
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...
at 4.13.
Later life
For years, Travers was reluctant to speak about his day as a major league ball player. But many years later, he told his story in an interview with sportswriter Red SmithRed Smith (sportswriter)
For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...
. He recalled being asked to round up "as many fellows as I could find" to play for the Tigers. Travers claims to have gone to the corner of 23rd and Columbia in Philadelphia where "a bunch of fellows were standing around the corner." http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1937&pid=14325 That "bunch of fellows" became the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
for a day.
When asked about his performance on the mound, Travers told Red Smith
Red Smith (sportswriter)
For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...
that he threw "slow curves
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
" that day, because the A's were not used to them, and because "Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
told me not to throw fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
s as he was afraid I might get killed." http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1937&pid=14325
Travers later entered the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(the "Jesuits") and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1926. He is the only priest to have played major league baseball. Travers taught at St. Francis Xavier High School in Manhattan and was later named Dean of Men at St. Joseph College. From 1943-1968, he taught Spanish and religion at Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia.
Travers lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
for almost all of his life. He died at Misericordia Hospital in 1968 at age 75.
The date of Travers' sole appearance was a key part in breaking a code in a 2010 episode ("Keep the Ends Out
Keep the Ends Out
"Keep the Ends Out" is the third episode of Rubicon. It was broadcast on AMC on August 8, 2010.- Plot :On his way to work, Will notices a man following him. When he looks back, the man disappears....
") of Rubicon
Rubicon (tv series)
Rubicon is an American television series created by Jason Horwitch and produced by Henry Bromell that was broadcast on the AMC television network...
, a television series.