Baseball Legends: Hazen Shirley “Kiki” Cuyler (Pirates 1921-1927, Cubs 1928-1935, Reds 1935-1937, Dodgers 1938)

An outstanding hitter and the fastest player in the NL in his prime, KiKi Cuyler reached the majors in 1921 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was a regular in the lineup in 1924, when he hit .354. In 1922, he hit .357 with 45 doubles, 26 triples, 18 homers, 102 RBIs, 144 runs scored, and 41 stolen bases.

In the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators, he had a game-winning home run in the second game, and in game seven his 2-run double in the 8th defeated Walter Johnson and Washington 9 to 7, making it the only time in his career he would be part of a championship team.

Baseball Legends: John Henry “Pop” Lloyd (Cuban X-Giants 1906, Philadelphia Giants 1907-09, Leland Giants 1910, New York Lincoln Giants 1911-15, 1926-30, Chicago American Giants 1914, 1916-17, New York Lincoln Stars 1915, Brooklyn Royal Giants 1918-1920, New York Bacharach Giants 1919, Columbus Buckeyes 1921, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 1922, 1924-25, 1931-32, Hilldale Daisies 1923, Harlem Stars 1931)

“I do not consider that I was born at the wrong time. I felt it was the right time, for I had a chance to prove the ability of our race in this sport, and because many of us did our very best to uphold the traditions of the game…we have given the Negro a greater opportunity now to be accepted into the major leagues with other Americans.” – Pop Lloyd

Pop Lloyd is yet another reason why it is such a shame that baseball was segregated. He is considered one of the best players to ever play the game, but did not get a chance to shine. Because he did not play in the Major Leagues he is not very well known right now, but during his playing days he was considered the best shortstop in the Negro Leagues, and maybe all of baseball. His fielding earned him the nickname “the shovel.”

Baseball Legends: Josh Gibson (Homestead Grays 1929-1931, 1937-1940, 1942-1946, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1932-1936)

“He had an eye like Ted Williams, and the power of Babe Ruth. I played with Willie Mays and against Hank Aaron, they were tremendous players, but they were no Josh Gibson.” – Monte Irvin

One of the unfortunate periods of baseball history was when it was segregated. The sheer act of racism was bad enough, but the fans were robbed of seeing some great players. One of those players was Josh Gibson. He was called “the Black Babe Ruth.” The fact that he is credited with more home runs than the Bambino makes you wonder if Babe Ruth shouldn’t be called “the White Josh Gibson.” Gibson lived a short but eventful life, and is one of the most recognized Negro League players to this day.

Baseball Legends: Mel Ott (Giants 1926-1947 player, 1942-1948 manager)

Mel Ott was my grandfather’s favorite player. All other players were compared to him. My dad’s favorite player was Minnie Minoso. According to my grandfather Minnie was not good. My favorite player was Carlton Fisk. I used to sit at his house and listen to how Carlton was a horrible catcher. As far as my grandfather was concerned after 1947 there were no good ball players anymore.

Mel was one of those players that played (and managed) his entire career with one team. He played his entire 22 year career with the New York Giants. In those 22 years he hit .304 with 511 home runs and 1860 RBIs. He did play at the Polo Grounds though. Being a left handed batter he only had to hit the ball 258 feet to right field. Of his 511 home runs 323 of them came at home. He may have had a short porch to aim for in right, but center field was 505 feet away.

Baseball Legends: Stanley Coveleski (A’s 1912, Indians 1916-1924, Senators 1925-1927, Yankees 1928)

I chose Stanley Coveleski for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that he is Polish. As a Polish-American I can relate to him. I even know what it is like to have your name misspelled. On the card to the left you can see the misspelling. One reason for the misspelling is the fact that he changed his name. He was born Stanislaus Kowalewski.

The second reason that I chose to write about him is that our local minor league team the South Bend Silverhawks named their stadium after him. He moved to the area after his playing days were over, and made such an impact that they name Coveleski Stadium in his honor.

Baseball Legends: Ty Cobb (Tigers 1905-1926, A’s 1927-1928)

“I often tried plays that looked recklessly daring, maybe even silly. But I never tried anything foolish when a game was at stake, only when we were far ahead or far behind. I did it to study how the other team reacted, filing away in my mind any observations for future use.”

These are the immortal words of Ty Cobb. He is regarded as the best player of the dead-ball era. His accomplishments on the field are often disputed, mostly because records were poorly kept at the turn of the 20^th century. As a result, his career hits total anywhere between 4,189 to 4,192. He also has 11 or 12 batting titles, depending on the source. Even with these discrepancies, the numbers are still impressive.