BASEBALL BASEBALL Volume 1 Hank Aaron–Mark McGwire Edited by The Editors of Salem Press Special Consultant Rafer Johnson Salem Press Pasadena, California Hackensack, New Jersey Editor in Chief: Dawn P. Dawson Editorial Director: Christina J. Moose Photo Editor: Cynthia Breslin Beres Managing Editor: R. Kent Rasmussen Acquisitions Editor: Mark Rehn Manuscript Editor: Christopher Rager Page Design and Layout: James Hutson Research Supervisor: Jeffry Jensen Additional Layout: Frank Montaño and Mary Overell Production Editor: Andrea Miller Editorial Assistant: Brett Weisberg Cover photo: John Angelillo/UPI/Landov Copyright © 1992, 1994, 2002, 2010, by Salem Press All rights in this book are reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner what- soever or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, record- ing, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews or in the copying of images deemed to be freely licensed or in the public domain. For information, address the publisher, Salem Press, P.O. Box 50062, Pasadena, California 91115. ∞ The paper used in these volumes conforms to the American National Standard for Permanence of Pa- per for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48-1992 (R1997). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Great athletes / edited by The Editors of Salem Press ; special consultant Rafer Johnson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58765-473-2 (set : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58765-477-0 (vol. 1 baseball : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58765-478-7 (vol. 2 baseball : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58765-479-4 (set baseball : alk. paper) 1. Athletes—Biography—Dictionaries. I. Johnson, Rafer, 1935- II. Salem Press. GV697.A1G68 2009 796.0922—dc22 [B] 2009021905 First Printing printed in the united states of america Contents Publisher’s Note . vii Andre Dawson . 118 Introduction . xi Dizzy Dean . 121 Contributors . xvii Ed Delahanty. 124 Complete List of Contents. xxv Carlos Delgado. 127 Joe DiMaggio. 130 Hank Aaron. 1 Larry Doby . 133 Jim Abbott . 4 Don Drysdale. 136 Grover Alexander. 7 Herb Dudley . 139 Roberto Alomar . 10 Dennis Eckersley . 141 Sandy Alomar, Jr. 13 Johnny Evers . 145 Cap Anson . 15 Eddie Feigner . 148 Luke Appling . 18 Bob Feller . 150 Jeff Bagwell . 20 Lisa Fernandez . 153 Ernie Banks . 23 Jennie Finch . 156 Josh Beckett . 26 Rollie Fingers . 159 James “Cool Papa” Bell . 28 Carlton Fisk . 162 Albert Belle . 31 Curt Flood . 165 Johnny Bench . 34 Whitey Ford . 168 Chief Bender . 37 Jimmie Foxx . 171 Yogi Berra . 40 Julio Franco . 174 Craig Biggio . 43 Eric Gagné . 177 Wade Boggs . 46 Andrés Galarraga . 180 Barry Bonds . 49 Nomar Garciaparra . 182 George Brett. 53 Steve Garvey . 185 Lou Brock . 56 Lou Gehrig . 188 Mordecai Brown. 59 Charlie Gehringer . 191 Crystl Bustos. 62 Bob Gibson. 194 Miguel Cabrera . 64 Josh Gibson. 197 Roy Campanella . 66 Tom Glavine . 199 José Canseco. 69 Lefty Gomez . 202 Rod Carew . 72 Juan González . 205 Steve Carlton . 75 Dwight Gooden . 208 Gary Carter . 78 Rich Gossage . 211 Orlando Cepeda. 81 Mark Grace. 214 Frank Chance . 84 Hank Greenberg . 216 Oscar Charleston . 87 Ken Griffey, Jr. 219 Will Clark . 89 Burleigh Grimes . 222 Roger Clemens . 92 Lefty Grove . 225 Roberto Clemente. 97 Vladimir Guerrero . 228 Ty Cobb . 100 Tony Gwynn . 231 Mickey Cochrane . 103 Gabby Hartnett . 235 Eddie Collins . 106 Todd Helton . 238 David Cone. 109 Rickey Henderson . 240 Stan Coveleski . 112 Orel Hershiser . 243 Johnny Damon . 115 Gil Hodges . 246 v Great Athletes: Baseball Trevor Hoffman . 249 Jim Kaat . 300 Rogers Hornsby . 252 Al Kaline . 303 Carl Hubbell . 255 Dorothy Kamenshek . 306 Catfish Hunter . 257 Masaichi Kaneda . 308 Torii Hunter . 260 Tim Keefe . 310 Monte Irvin . 262 Willie Keeler . 313 Reggie Jackson . 265 Jeff Kent . 316 Shoeless Joe Jackson . 268 Harmon Killebrew . 319 Ferguson Jenkins. 270 Ralph Kiner . 322 Derek Jeter . 273 Sandy Koufax. 325 Howard Johnson . 276 Nap Lajoie . 328 Judy Johnson . 279 Bob Lemon. 331 Randy Johnson . 282 Buck Leonard . 334 Walter Johnson. 285 Pop Lloyd. 337 Andruw Jones . 288 Kenny Lofton . 339 Chipper Jones . 291 Al Lopez . 342 Joan Joyce . 294 Willie McCovey. 345 David Justice . 297 Mark McGwire . 348 vi Publisher’s Note The two volumes of Great Athletes: Baseball are part ers who during the early twenty-first century ap- of Salem Press’s greatly expanded and redesigned peared destined for more greatness, such as Miguel Great Athletes series, which also includes self-con- Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Alfonso Soriano. A par- tained volumes on basketball, boxing and soccer, ticularly interesting addition is Wally Yonamine, football, golf and tennis, Olympic sports, and rac- who was both the first Japanese American to play in ing and individual sports. The full 13-volume series the National Football League and the first Ameri- presents articles on the lives, sports careers, and can to play professional baseball in Japan. unique achievements of 1,470 outstanding com- These volumes also include articles on softball petitors and champions in the world of sports. players. Most of these athletes are women, but the These athletes—many of whom have achieved list also includes Eddie Feigner, the legendary “King world renown—represent more than 75 different of Softball” who reputedly pitched more than 900 nations and territories and more than 80 different no-hitters during his long barnstorming career. sports. Their stories are told in succinct, 1,000- word-long profiles accessible in tone and style to Organization readers in grades 7 and up. Each article covers the life and career of a single The 13 Great Athletes volumes, which include a baseball or softball player, and all names are ar- cumulative index volume, are built on the work of ranged in one alphabetical stream. Every article is three earlier Salem Press publications designed for accompanied by at least one boxed table, summa- middle and high school readers: the 20 slender vol- rizing the career statistics, honors and awards, rec- umes of The Twentieth Century: Great Athletes (1992), ords, and other milestones that set apart each great their 3-volume supplement (1994), and the 8 player. Most articles are also accompanied by pho- stouter volumes of Great Athletes, Revised (2002). This tographs of their subjects. Every article lists up-to- new edition retains articles on every athlete covered date bibliographical notes under the heading “Ad- in those earlier editions and adds more than 415 en- ditional Sources.” These sections list from three tirely new articles—a 40 percent increase. Great Ath- to five readily available books and articles contain- letes: Baseball adds 60 new articles to the 165 in the ing information pertinent to the athlete and sport previous edition to cover a total of 225 baseball and covered in the article. Appendixes in volume 2 con- softball players. The content of original essays has tain additional sources in published books and been updated as necessary, with many articles sub- Web sites. stantially revised, expanded, or replaced, and biblio- Averaging three pages in length, each article is graphical citations for virtually all articles have been written in clear language and presented in a uni- updated. Information in every article is current up form, easily readable format. All articles are di- to the beginning of the 2009 baseball season. vided into four subheaded sections that cover the athlete’s life and achievements chronologically. Criteria for Inclusion Within these pages, readers will find articles on • Early Life presents such basic biographical in- virtually all the legends of baseball—from Hank formation as vital dates, parentage, siblings, Aaron and Grover Alexander to Carl Yastremski and early education. It also sketches the social and Cy Young. In selecting new names to add to milieu in which the baseball or softball player Great Athletes: Baseball, first consideration was given grew up and discusses other formative experi- to players whose exceptional achievements have ences. made their names household words. These players include such undeniable stars as Johnny Damon, • The Road to Excellence picks up where the Don Newcombe, Phil Rizzuto, and Ichiro Suzuki. player’s earliest serious involvement in sports Consideration was next given to accomplished play- began. This section describes experiences and vii Great Athletes: Baseball influences that shaped the player’s athletic • Annual Awards and Honors contains 5 appen- prowess and propelled him or her toward dixes listing Major League Baseball’s annual greatness. These sections also often discuss most valuable players, rookies of the year, Cy obstacles—such as poverty, discrimination, Young Award winners, and batting and home and physical disabilities—that many great ath- run champions. letes have had to overcome. The Cumulative Indexes volume, which accompa- • The Emerging Champion traces the player’s ad- nies the full Great Athletes series, includes all.