Tris Speaker
Encyclopedia
Tristram E. Speaker nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American
baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielder
s in the history of Major League Baseball
, he compiled a career batting average of .345 (fourth all-time), and still holds the record of 792 career doubles. Defensively, his career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder still stand as well. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die."
Speaker led the Boston Red Sox
to two World Series
championships, and then carried the Cleveland Indians
, as player-manager, to that team's first-ever World Series title. His innovations, most notably the platoon system and the infield rotation play, revolutionized the game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in its second year of voting, 1937
.
, to Archie and Nancy Poer Speaker. As a youth, he suffered a fractured right arm in a fall from a horse, forcing him to throw left-handed, which he continued to do throughout his baseball career. In 1905, Speaker played his only year of college baseball, for Fort Worth Polytechnic Institute
. His left arm was severely injured in a football
accident, to the extent that surgeons advised amputation
. Tris refused, and fully recovered.
of the Texas League
in . He batted .318 for the Railroaders, and wanted to be a professional ballplayer, but his mother opposed his being “sold into slavery”, stating that she would never give her consent to Tris’ going to Boston
, even after he had had success in Houston. Roberts sold the youngster to the Sox for $800 – the Red Sox scout beating the St. Louis Browns by a mere half-hour.
Speaker played in seven games for the Red Sox in , with three hits in 19 at bats for a .158 average. The following year, the Red Sox traded Speaker to the Little Rock Travelers
of the Southern League in exchange for use of their facilities for spring training in . Speaker ended up batting .350 for the Travelers and his contract was repurchased by the Red Sox, for whom he appeared in 31 games, logging a .224 average.
Speaker finally won the regular starting center fielder's job in 1909 from the light-hitting Denny Sullivan
, who was then sold to the Cleveland Naps
. Speaker hit .309 in 143 games as the team finished third in the pennant race.
In the Red Sox signed Duffy Lewis
, who became the left fielder
, and, with Speaker and Harry Hooper
would form Boston’s “Million-Dollar Outfield”, one of the finest outfield trios in baseball history, playing together until Speaker was traded to the Cleveland Indians
in 1916.
The Boston Red Sox finished second to Connie Mack
’s Philadelphia A’s
, who were led by their formidable pitching trio of Jack Coombs
, Chief Bender
and Eddie Plank
, the following two years.
Speaker’s best season came in 1912, as he played every game, leading the American League in doubles with 53, and home runs with ten. He set career highs with 222 hits, 136 runs, 580 at-bats, and 52 steals, the latter a team record which would stand until Tommy Harper
stole 54 bases in 1973. He batted .383, a mark he would surpass three times in his career, but his .567 slugging percentage was the highest of his dead-ball days. Speaker set a major league record when he had three batting streaks of twenty or more games (30, 23, and 22) during the season. The Red Sox won the pennant by finishing 14 games ahead of the Washington Senators
and 15 games ahead of the Philadelphia A’s. In the 1912 World Series
, Speaker led the Red Sox to their second World Series title over John McGraw's New York Giants
, with the Red Sox winning the eighth and final game (game two was called on account of darkness and ended in a tie) after Fred Snodgrass's
error—dropping an easy fly ball that would have been the first out—and Fred Merkle's
blunder—failing to go after a Speaker pop foul that would have been the second out, after which Speaker promptly singled home the tying run—allowed the Red Sox to tie and win the game in the bottom of the tenth inning. Speaker hit .300 in the Series, with nine hits and four runs scored.
in the World Series
, led by 18-game winner and team home run leader with four, pitcher Babe Ruth
, in his first full season.
for Sam Jones
, Fred Thomas and $50,000.
The angry Speaker held out for $10,000 of the cash that Boston had got, eventually, with the aid of AL President Ban Johnson
, receiving it. Speaker’s contract with Cleveland for $40,000 was the highest in baseball at the time.
Speaker hit over .350 in ten of his eleven years with Cleveland, in ending Ty Cobb
's run of nine consecutive AL batting titles by batting .386 to Cobb’s .371. Speaker's return to Boston, May 9, 1916, was an unofficial tribute by the fans, as over 15,000 showed up and roared with approval every time he came near the ball. After one half-inning, Speaker started towards the Boston dugout, and the crowd went wild. His return was only spoiled by the Indians' loss of 5-1.
On September 1, 1917, in a game against the Tigers in Cleveland, Speaker was hit with the ball as he tried to steal home in the bottom of the first inning. Batter Joe Evans
swung away and lined the ball into Speaker's face. Detroit manager Hughie Jennings
, as a courtesy, allowed Speaker to sit out the second inning while his face was sewn up. Elmer Smith
played center field until Tris returned in the third.
As a center fielder, Speaker played so shallow for most hitters that he was like a fifth infielder. Twice in 1914, on April 21 and August 8, he executed an unassisted double play at second base, snaring low line drives on the run and then beating base runners to the bag. He repeated this feat in 1918 with the Indians, on April 18 and April 29, and turned six of them during his career. At least once in his career he was credited as the pivot man in a routine double play. Bill Carrigan
, a longtime teammate of Speaker's on the Red Sox, often would send a pickoff throw from his catcher's position to Speaker, who had sneaked in on second base. In addition, as Indians' manager, he insisted the team practice a play where he would come in from center field to cover second on bunt plays, thus freeing his shortstop to cover third, and his third baseman to charge the bunts.
rarely made an important move without consulting Speaker.
In Eugene Murdock's Baseball Players and Their Times (ISBN 0-88736-235-4), George Uhle
discusses an incident that occurred in his rookie year with the Indians, in 1919:
In 1973, Uhle remembered the incident, but couldn't be sure whether Speaker was making the changes because he was new to the team at the time. However, he said it reminded him of another Coumbe story:
As it turns out, these two events happened in the same game. The Indians played the Red Sox on July 18, 1919. After Cleveland scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-3 lead, Boston countered with a run and Coumbe was brought in to face Ruth with the bases loaded, who hit his second homer of the game, as the Sox went on to win, 8-7. The Sporting News reported that Coumbe cried like a baby and Fohl resigned after the game, citing growing criticism from the fans. Speaker was named as his successor. As the Indians had a history of managers quitting mid-season, TSN correspondent Henry P. Edwards stated that, although the resignation was unexpected, the only real surprise would have been if Speaker had not been named player-manager.
In 1920, Speaker guided the Indians to their first ever World Series
Championship despite the death of Ray Chapman
on August 17, after being hit in the head by a pitch from Carl Mays
. In what many call the catch that won the pennant for the 1920 Indians, Speaker, his team playing a season-ending game with the Chicago White Sox
, caught a screaming line drive hit to deep right-center field by Shoeless Joe Jackson
. On the dead run, Speaker leaped with both feet off the ground, snaring the ball before crashing into a concrete wall. As he lay unconscious from the impact, he still had a viselike grip on the ball.
Speaker singled off Senators pitcher Tom Zachary
on May 17, 1925, to become the fifth member of the 3000 hit club
and the second man to reach the historic mark while wearing a Cleveland uniform (Napoleon Lajoie was the first). He managed 1137 games, finishing 617-520, before “retiring” as a manager. This “retirement” was forced by AL President Ban Johnson
after a scandal involving gambling broke in , in which Dutch Leonard
claimed that Speaker and Ty Cobb
fixed at least one Cleveland-Detroit game. Both Speaker and Cobb were forced to “resign” as managers.
When Leonard refused to appear at the January 5, 1927 hearings to discuss his accusations, Landis cleared both Speaker and Cobb of any wrongdoing and reinstated both to their original teams, but each team let them know that they were free agents and could sign with whomever they wished. Speaker signed with the Washington Senators for , Cobb with the Philadelphia Athletics. Speaker then joined Cobb in Philadelphia for the season where he played part-time, finishing with a .267 average.
as the manager of the Newark Bears
of the International League
, a post he held for two years. In 1933 he became a part owner of the Kansas City Blues
.
The announcement of Speaker’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame was made in January . At the time he was in the wholesale liquor business in Cleveland and was chairman of the city’s Boxing Commission.
In 1939, Speaker was named as the President of the National Professional Indoor Baseball League. The league had teams in New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis. The proposed 102-game schedule was short lived as the league shut down operations after only a month due to lack of fans.
Speaker helped found the Cleveland Society for Crippled Children and Camp Cheerful. From 1947 to his death, Speaker was an adviser, coach, and scout for the Indians. In an article in the July 1952 issue of SPORT magazine
, Speaker recounted how Bill Veeck
hired him to be a coaching consultant to Larry Doby
, eventually the second African-American player to cross the baseball color barrier and the American League's first black player. The Indians had signed Doby, the star center fielder of the Newark Eagles
of the Negro Leagues, in 1947. A SPORT photograph that accompanied the article shows Speaker mentoring five members of the Indians—Luke Easter, Jim Hegan, Ray Boone, Al Rosen and Doby.
Speaker is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday
" by Ogden Nash
:
Tris Speaker died of a heart attack
in Lake Whitney, Texas, at the age of 70. He is buried in Section 1, Block 2 of the Fairview Cemetery, Hubbard, Hill County, Texas.
In 2008, Speaker's name was brought up by Marvin Miller
, who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982, as a player who should be removed from the Hall of Fame because of alleged membership in the Ku Klux Klan. Miller said in an interview with Baseball Prospectus
, "Some of the early people inducted in the Hall were members of the Ku Klux Klan: Tris Speaker, Cap Anson, and some people suspect Ty Cobb as well. I think that by and large, the players, and certainly the ones I knew, are good people. But the Hall is full of villains." Noted baseball historian Bill James does not refute this claim, but adds that during the 1920s, the Klan had toned down its racist overtures and pulled in hundreds of thousands of non-racist men, including Hugo Black
. James adds that Speaker was a staunch supporter of Larry Doby when he broke the American League color barrier, working long hours with him in the outfield; and Doby mentioned Speaker favorably during his Hall of Fame induction speech.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
s in the history of Major League Baseball
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...
, he compiled a career batting average of .345 (fourth all-time), and still holds the record of 792 career doubles. Defensively, his career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder still stand as well. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die."
Speaker led the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
to two World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
championships, and then carried the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, as player-manager, to that team's first-ever World Series title. His innovations, most notably the platoon system and the infield rotation play, revolutionized the game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in its second year of voting, 1937
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1937
The 1937 process of selecting inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame was markedly different from the initial elections the previous year. As only half of the initial goal of 10 inductees had been selected in 1936, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America were once again given...
.
Youth
Tris Speaker was born on April 4, 1888 in Hubbard, TexasHubbard, Texas
Hubbard is a city in Hill County in Central Texas. It was named for Texas Governor Richard B. Hubbard. The population was 1,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hubbard is located at ....
, to Archie and Nancy Poer Speaker. As a youth, he suffered a fractured right arm in a fall from a horse, forcing him to throw left-handed, which he continued to do throughout his baseball career. In 1905, Speaker played his only year of college baseball, for Fort Worth Polytechnic Institute
Texas Wesleyan University
Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university founded by the United Methodist Church in 1890. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights Neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, with branch campuses in Burleson and downtown Fort Worth.-History:Texas Wesleyan...
. His left arm was severely injured in a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
accident, to the extent that surgeons advised amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. Tris refused, and fully recovered.
Minor leagues
Speaker's abilities drew the interest of Doak Roberts, then owner of the Cleburne RailroadersCleburne Railroaders
The Cleburne Railroaders was a minor league baseball team located in Cleburne, Texas. The Railroaders were members of the class Double-A Texas League. After joining the league in , the Railroaders captured that year's league title. However, the club folded after that season....
of the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
in . He batted .318 for the Railroaders, and wanted to be a professional ballplayer, but his mother opposed his being “sold into slavery”, stating that she would never give her consent to Tris’ going to Boston
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, even after he had had success in Houston. Roberts sold the youngster to the Sox for $800 – the Red Sox scout beating the St. Louis Browns by a mere half-hour.
Speaker played in seven games for the Red Sox in , with three hits in 19 at bats for a .158 average. The following year, the Red Sox traded Speaker to the Little Rock Travelers
Arkansas Travelers
The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Major League club....
of the Southern League in exchange for use of their facilities for spring training in . Speaker ended up batting .350 for the Travelers and his contract was repurchased by the Red Sox, for whom he appeared in 31 games, logging a .224 average.
1909-12
Denny Sullivan
Dennis William Sullivan was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1905 through 1909 for the Washington Senators , Boston Americans & Red Sox and Cleveland Naps...
, who was then sold to the Cleveland Naps
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. Speaker hit .309 in 143 games as the team finished third in the pennant race.
In the Red Sox signed Duffy Lewis
Duffy Lewis
George Edward "Duffy" Lewis , born in San Francisco, California, was a left fielder and left-handed batter who played Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Washington Senators...
, who became the left fielder
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
, and, with Speaker and Harry Hooper
Harry Hooper
Harry Bartholomew Hooper was a Major League Baseball player in the early 20th century. Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, California. A graduate in engineering at Saint Mary's College of California, he broke into the majors with the Red Sox in 1909,...
would form Boston’s “Million-Dollar Outfield”, one of the finest outfield trios in baseball history, playing together until Speaker was traded to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in 1916.
The Boston Red Sox finished second to Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
’s Philadelphia A’s
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, who were led by their formidable pitching trio of Jack Coombs
Jack Coombs
John Wesley "Jack" Coombs , nicknamed Colby Jack after his alma mater, was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Philadelphia Athletics , Brooklyn Robins , and Detroit Tigers...
, Chief Bender
Chief Bender
Charles Albert "Chief" Bender was a pitcher in Major League Baseball during the first two decades of the 20th century...
and Eddie Plank
Eddie Plank
Edward Stewart Plank , nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He is the first left-handed pitcher to win 200 games and then 300 games, and now ranks third in all-time wins among left-handers with 326 career victories and first all-time in career shutouts by a...
, the following two years.
Speaker’s best season came in 1912, as he played every game, leading the American League in doubles with 53, and home runs with ten. He set career highs with 222 hits, 136 runs, 580 at-bats, and 52 steals, the latter a team record which would stand until Tommy Harper
Tommy Harper
Tommy Harper is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played with the Cincinnati Reds , Cleveland Indians , Seattle Pilots , Milwaukee Brewers , Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Oakland Athletics , and the Baltimore Orioles .-High School...
stole 54 bases in 1973. He batted .383, a mark he would surpass three times in his career, but his .567 slugging percentage was the highest of his dead-ball days. Speaker set a major league record when he had three batting streaks of twenty or more games (30, 23, and 22) during the season. The Red Sox won the pennant by finishing 14 games ahead of the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and 15 games ahead of the Philadelphia A’s. In the 1912 World Series
1912 World Series
In the 1912 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants four games to three .This dramatic series showcased great pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and from Boston fireballer Smoky Joe Wood. Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game...
, Speaker led the Red Sox to their second World Series title over John McGraw's New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, with the Red Sox winning the eighth and final game (game two was called on account of darkness and ended in a tie) after Fred Snodgrass's
Fred Snodgrass
Frederick Carlisle "Snow" Snodgrass was an American center fielder in Major League baseball from 1908 to 1916 for the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He played under manager John McGraw and with some of the game's early greats, including Christy Mathewson...
error—dropping an easy fly ball that would have been the first out—and Fred Merkle's
Fred Merkle
Frederick Charles Merkle , also known as "Bonehead" Merkle, was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball...
blunder—failing to go after a Speaker pop foul that would have been the second out, after which Speaker promptly singled home the tying run—allowed the Red Sox to tie and win the game in the bottom of the tenth inning. Speaker hit .300 in the Series, with nine hits and four runs scored.
1913-15
Speaker batted .338 in and .322 in . The Red Sox beat the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the World Series
1915 World Series
In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one.In their only World Series before , the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game...
, led by 18-game winner and team home run leader with four, pitcher Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, in his first full season.
Traded to the Indians
After the World Series victory, Speaker had a falling-out with Red Sox president J.J. Lannin, who wanted Speaker to take a pay cut from about $15,000 to about $9,000 after his average had fallen to .322; Speaker refused. On April 12, 1916 Lannin dealt Speaker to the Cleveland IndiansCleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
for Sam Jones
Sad Sam Jones
Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in the American League with the Cleveland Indians , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , St. Louis Browns , Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox . A native of Woodsfield, Ohio, Jones batted and threw...
, Fred Thomas and $50,000.
The angry Speaker held out for $10,000 of the cash that Boston had got, eventually, with the aid of AL 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 ....
, receiving it. Speaker’s contract with Cleveland for $40,000 was the highest in baseball at the time.
Speaker hit over .350 in ten of his eleven years with Cleveland, in ending 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...
's run of nine consecutive AL batting titles by batting .386 to Cobb’s .371. Speaker's return to Boston, May 9, 1916, was an unofficial tribute by the fans, as over 15,000 showed up and roared with approval every time he came near the ball. After one half-inning, Speaker started towards the Boston dugout, and the crowd went wild. His return was only spoiled by the Indians' loss of 5-1.
On September 1, 1917, in a game against the Tigers in Cleveland, Speaker was hit with the ball as he tried to steal home in the bottom of the first inning. Batter Joe Evans
Joe Evans
Joseph Patton Evans was a professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues from - for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and St. Louis Browns...
swung away and lined the ball into Speaker's face. Detroit 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...
, as a courtesy, allowed Speaker to sit out the second inning while his face was sewn up. Elmer Smith
Elmer Smith (AL outfielder)
Elmer John Smith born in Sandusky, Ohio was an Outfielder for the Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds ....
played center field until Tris returned in the third.
As a center fielder, Speaker played so shallow for most hitters that he was like a fifth infielder. Twice in 1914, on April 21 and August 8, he executed an unassisted double play at second base, snaring low line drives on the run and then beating base runners to the bag. He repeated this feat in 1918 with the Indians, on April 18 and April 29, and turned six of them during his career. At least once in his career he was credited as the pivot man in a routine double play. Bill Carrigan
Bill Carrigan
William Francis Carrigan , nicknamed "Rough", was a Major League baseball catcher. He was born in Lewiston, Maine.Carrigan started his career as a platoon catcher and played all ten seasons with the Boston Red Sox...
, a longtime teammate of Speaker's on the Red Sox, often would send a pickoff throw from his catcher's position to Speaker, who had sneaked in on second base. In addition, as Indians' manager, he insisted the team practice a play where he would come in from center field to cover second on bunt plays, thus freeing his shortstop to cover third, and his third baseman to charge the bunts.
Speaker as player-manager
For all intents and purposes, Speaker was assistant manager (and according to some sources, player-manager) of the Indians from the day he arrived; manager Lee FohlLee Fohl
Leo Alexander Fohl was an American manager in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Boston Red Sox....
rarely made an important move without consulting Speaker.
In Eugene Murdock's Baseball Players and Their Times (ISBN 0-88736-235-4), George Uhle
George Uhle
George Ernest Uhle was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he began his playing career with his hometown Cleveland Indians...
discusses an incident that occurred in his rookie year with the Indians, in 1919:
... according to (Cleveland writer) Franklin LewisFranklin LewisFranklin D. Lewis is an Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. He is also the incoming Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago...
, manager Lee Fohl had come to rely heavily on... Speaker for counsel on changing pitchers during a game. If Speaker thought a change would be made he would signal to Fohl in the dugout and also indicate who the replacement would be. In one game in mid-season when things were not going so well, Speaker signaled for a certain pitcher to be brought in from the bullpen. But Fohl misread Speaker's signal and brought in Fritz CoumbeFritz CoumbeFrederick Nicholas Coumbe was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1914 through 1921. Coumbe batted and threw left handed...
instead of the man Speaker had intended. At first Speaker tried to correct the mistake, but then realized it would look like he was reversing the manager, so he let it pass. It so happened that Coumbe lost the game and that night Fohl resigned as manager and Speaker was named to replace him. Speaker felt bad about the incident because he felt he was the cause of Fohl's departure.
In 1973, Uhle remembered the incident, but couldn't be sure whether Speaker was making the changes because he was new to the team at the time. However, he said it reminded him of another Coumbe story:
I was sitting on the bench with Guy MortonGuy MortonGuy Morton, Sr. was a Major League baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Morton was born in Vernon, AL.His best years were from 1915 to 1919, where his ERA was below 3.00 every season, and he won 10 games four times....
one day when we were playing the YankeesNew York YankeesThe 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...
. Coumbe was near by. Babe RuthBabe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
came up and got a hit. 'I know how to pitch to that big monkey,' Coumbe remarked. Well he was sent to the bullpen to warm up and later got into the game. 'Now we'll see,' said Morton, 'whether he can pitch to Ruth or not.' Well, Babe knocked the first pitch out of the park. Guy and I both got a big kick out of that and within a day or two, Coumbe was gone just like Fohl.
As it turns out, these two events happened in the same game. The Indians played the Red Sox on July 18, 1919. After Cleveland scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-3 lead, Boston countered with a run and Coumbe was brought in to face Ruth with the bases loaded, who hit his second homer of the game, as the Sox went on to win, 8-7. The Sporting News reported that Coumbe cried like a baby and Fohl resigned after the game, citing growing criticism from the fans. Speaker was named as his successor. As the Indians had a history of managers quitting mid-season, TSN correspondent Henry P. Edwards stated that, although the resignation was unexpected, the only real surprise would have been if Speaker had not been named player-manager.
In 1920, Speaker guided the Indians to their first ever World Series
1920 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 5, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 2:Wednesday, October 6, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 3:Thursday, October 7, 1920 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York-Game 4:...
Championship despite the death of Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman was an American baseball player, spending his entire career as a shortstop for Cleveland....
on August 17, after being hit in the head by a pitch from Carl Mays
Carl Mays
Carl William Mays was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. Despite impressive career statistics, he is primarily remembered for throwing a beanball on August 16, 1920, that struck and killed Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians, making Chapman one of two people to die...
. In what many call the catch that won the pennant for the 1920 Indians, Speaker, his team playing a season-ending game with the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, caught a screaming line drive hit to deep right-center field by Shoeless Joe Jackson
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Joseph Jefferson Jackson , nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball in the early part of the 20th century...
. On the dead run, Speaker leaped with both feet off the ground, snaring the ball before crashing into a concrete wall. As he lay unconscious from the impact, he still had a viselike grip on the ball.
Speaker singled off Senators pitcher Tom Zachary
Tom Zachary
Jonathan Thompson Walton Zachary was a pitcher who had a 19-year career that lasted from 1918 to 1936. He played for the Philadelphia A's, Washington Senators, St...
on May 17, 1925, to become the fifth member of the 3000 hit club
3000 hit club
In Major League Baseball , the 3,000 hit club is a term applied to the group of batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit total is unclear. Two players—Nap Lajoie and...
and the second man to reach the historic mark while wearing a Cleveland uniform (Napoleon Lajoie was the first). He managed 1137 games, finishing 617-520, before “retiring” as a manager. This “retirement” was forced by AL 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 ....
after a scandal involving gambling broke in , in which Dutch Leonard
Dutch Leonard (left-handed pitcher)
Hubert Benjamin "Dutch" Leonard, was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career from 1913–1921, 1924-1925. He played for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, and holds the major league modern-era record for the lowest single-season ERA of all time — 0.96...
claimed that Speaker and 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...
fixed at least one Cleveland-Detroit game. Both Speaker and Cobb were forced to “resign” as managers.
When Leonard refused to appear at the January 5, 1927 hearings to discuss his accusations, Landis cleared both Speaker and Cobb of any wrongdoing and reinstated both to their original teams, but each team let them know that they were free agents and could sign with whomever they wished. Speaker signed with the Washington Senators for , Cobb with the Philadelphia Athletics. Speaker then joined Cobb in Philadelphia for the season where he played part-time, finishing with a .267 average.
Post professional career
In Speaker replaced Walter JohnsonWalter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...
as the manager of the Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, a post he held for two years. In 1933 he became a part owner of the Kansas City Blues
Kansas City Blues (American Association)
The Kansas City Blues are a former minor league baseball team located in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Midwestern United States. The team was one of the eight founding members of the American Association....
.
The announcement of Speaker’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame was made in January . At the time he was in the wholesale liquor business in Cleveland and was chairman of the city’s Boxing Commission.
In 1939, Speaker was named as the President of the National Professional Indoor Baseball League. The league had teams in New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis. The proposed 102-game schedule was short lived as the league shut down operations after only a month due to lack of fans.
Speaker helped found the Cleveland Society for Crippled Children and Camp Cheerful. From 1947 to his death, Speaker was an adviser, coach, and scout for the Indians. In an article in the July 1952 issue of SPORT magazine
Sport magazine
SPORT magazine was an American sports magazine. Launched in September 1946 by the New York-based publisher, Macfadden Publications, SPORT pioneered the generous use of color photography – it carried eight full colour plates in its first edition – and almost immediately became half-bible, half-guru...
, Speaker recounted how Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
hired him to be a coaching consultant to Larry Doby
Larry Doby
Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....
, eventually the second African-American player to cross the baseball color barrier and the American League's first black player. The Indians had signed Doby, the star center fielder of the Newark Eagles
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles was a professional Negro league baseball team that played in the second Negro National League from 1936 to 1948.- Formation :...
of the Negro Leagues, in 1947. A SPORT photograph that accompanied the article shows Speaker mentoring five members of the Indians—Luke Easter, Jim Hegan, Ray Boone, Al Rosen and Doby.
Speaker is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday
Line-Up for Yesterday
Line-Up for Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals is a poem written by Ogden Nash for the January 1949 issue of SPORT Magazine. In the poem, Nash dedicates each letter of the alphabet to an iconic Major League Baseball player...
" by Ogden Nash
Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
:
Tris Speaker died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Lake Whitney, Texas, at the age of 70. He is buried in Section 1, Block 2 of the Fairview Cemetery, Hubbard, Hill County, Texas.
In 2008, Speaker's name was brought up by Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller is a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association , from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States...
, who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982, as a player who should be removed from the Hall of Fame because of alleged membership in the Ku Klux Klan. Miller said in an interview with Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
, "Some of the early people inducted in the Hall were members of the Ku Klux Klan: Tris Speaker, Cap Anson, and some people suspect Ty Cobb as well. I think that by and large, the players, and certainly the ones I knew, are good people. But the Hall is full of villains." Noted baseball historian Bill James does not refute this claim, but adds that during the 1920s, the Klan had toned down its racist overtures and pulled in hundreds of thousands of non-racist men, including Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
. James adds that Speaker was a staunch supporter of Larry Doby when he broke the American League color barrier, working long hours with him in the outfield; and Doby mentioned Speaker favorably during his Hall of Fame induction speech.
Records and achievements
- Most career doubles (792)
- Most career outfield assists (449)
- Fifth highest lifetime major-league batting average (.345)
- Fifth in career hits
- Sixth in career triples
- Eighth in career runs
- Led American League in batting 1 time
- Led American League in slugging percentage 1 time
- Led American League in on base percentage 4 times
- Led American League in hits 1 time
- Led American League in total bases 1 time
- Led American League in doubles 8 times
- Led American League in home runs 1 time
- Led American League outfielders in putouts 7 times
- Led American League outfielders in double plays 6 times
- Led American League outfielders in assists 3 times
- Led American League outfielders in fielding average 2 times
- Batted over .380 five times
- Struck out only 220 times in 10,195 at-bats (although his page at Tris Speaker statistics shows that records of strikeouts were not kept for the first six years of his career. Still, in the seasons in which records were kept, he never struck out more than 25 times).
- In 1999, he ranked Number 27 on The Sporting NewsThe Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor 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...
All-Century Team. - In 1912, became the first of only two players ever (Craig BiggioCraig BiggioCraig Alan Biggio is a former Major League Baseball second baseman, catcher, and outfielder. He played his entire 20-year baseball career with the Houston Astros . He ranks 21st all-time with 3,060 career hits, and is the ninth player in the 3000 hit club to get all his hits with the same team. He...
in 19981998 in baseball-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
) to reach 50 stolen bases and 50 doubles in a season.
Regular season statistics
| G Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,... | AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... | R | H | 2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... | 3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... | HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process... | RBI | SB | CS Caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder while making the attempt... | BB 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... | SO 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.... | BA Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... | OBP On base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes... | SLG | OPS On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League... | TB Total bases In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total.... | SH | HBP Hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:... |
| 2789 | 10195 | 1882 | 3514 | 792 | 222 | 117 | 1529 | 432 | 129 | 1381 | 220 | .345 | .428 | .500 | .928 | 5101 | 309 | 103 |
See also
- List of Major League Baseball Hit Records
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball triples records
- Boston Red Sox Hall of FameBoston Red Sox Hall of FameThe Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of former Boston Red Sox baseball players. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, past and present media personnel, and representatives from The Sports Museum of New England and the...
- List of Major League Baseball players with 2000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- 3000 hit club3000 hit clubIn Major League Baseball , the 3,000 hit club is a term applied to the group of batters who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897, although his precise career hit total is unclear. Two players—Nap Lajoie and...
- Hitting for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions