'THE' Hall of Fame Game

[DOUGHBOYS]

We will see a game like the Angels vs. the Tigers. To us, just an everyday game.
Broadcasters try to pump up these everyday games.
"YOU MAY BE SEEING FOUR FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS IN THIS GAME!"
And they may be right. It doesn't give me any more incentive to watch the game, but yes, Trout, Pujols, Cabrera, and Verlander (before the trade) could all be Hall of Famers one day.

It did get me to thinking though about which regular season game had the most Hall of Fame players involved.
Believe me, it's a record that will never be broken.
It happened in May of 1928. Years before the Hall of Fame was even a thing.
The Yankees were coming off a year when they were revered as the best team to ever take the field.
Murderer's Row.
They were managed by Miller Huggins, of course, a future Hall of Famer.
Here was their lineup...

Earle Combs-
Combs was the best leadoff man of his time.
Would he have gotten into the Hall without playing with the Yankees?
He would be borderline, but he is in the Hall of Fame.

Leo Durocher-
Durocher was a backup infielder. Of course, 'scrappy' was the word most used to describe him.
Durocher was in the lineup for Mark Koenig, another terrific 'Murderers Row' hitter.
Durocher never amounted to being much of a player, but he had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
He saw Murderers Row and he saw 'The shot heard round the world' later when Bobby Thomson hit his homer off Ralph Branca to win the pennant for the Giants.
(Who just read that and didn't hear, "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!")
Durocher would manage his way to the Hall of Fame.

Babe Ruth-
Nothing needs to be said here. Ruth played left field that day. He split almost all of his duties with the Yankees between left and right field. Being a star, he got the field that didn't have the sun shining in his eyes.

Lou Gehrig-
Like Willie McCovey and Eddie Mathews later, Gehrig played second fiddle to Ruth.
He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
While Ruth embraced the spotlight, Gehrig avoided it.

Bob Meusel-
A non- Hall of Famer but a wonderful hitter.
Meusel was a lifetime .300 hitter
From 1918 to 1939, Ruth, Gehrig, Ken Willams, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, and Bob Meusel were the only players to lead the American League in homers over two decades.
Meusel belted 33 homers and led the A.L, with 124 rbi in 1925.

Tony Lazzeri-
This lineup is almost unfair. Lazzeri would have been a center piece for most other teams.
Here, just another future Hall of Famer.

Joe Dugan-
Dugan was 'only' a good ball player.

Pat Collins-
The Yankees had two catchers that split time. Collins played this day.

Al Shealy-
A run of the mill pitcher

The Yankees opposition this day was the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics were a mix of a few young players and a lot of old ones. Here's their lineup......

Max Bishop-
I know nothing about the guy.

Ty Cobb-
Cobb had 'retired'. He was pressured, along with Tris Speaker to resign their Managing jobs in 1926 by American League President Ban Johnson. Johnson then tried to ban Cobb and Speaker altogether for gambling and throwing a game.
Judge Kenesaw Landis, the same Commisioner who threw the book at the 'Black Sox' exonerated Cobb and Speaker and they came out of 'retirement' to play with the A's.

Tris Speaker-
Speaker was a wonderful ball player.
A Hall of Famer.
As long as players like Cobb and Speaker are in the Hall of Fame, there will always be a door open for Joe Jackson and Pete Rose.

Joe Houser-
I know nothing, nothing.

Mickey Cochrane-
One of the All-Time catcher greats.
Cochrane was only 25 when this game was played and was well on his way to the Hall.

Sammy Hole-
Nothing

Joe Boley-
Again, nothing.

Lefty Grove-
One of the best pitchers ever and the best of his generation.
Easy Hall of Famer.

So, we have eight starting lineup Hall of Famers.
But that is not all.
Both Managers, Huggins and Connie Mack are in the Hall of Fame.
And then, the players coming off the bench....

Eddie Collins-
Over 3,000 hits. Collins was one of the best players of his generation.
Collins played with the Black Sox, Ty Cobb, and Tris Speaker. Not many can/would say that.
Collins, like Cobb and Speaker was near the end of his career.

Al Simmons-
Simmons was battling arthritis and wasn't in the lineup, but pinch hit.
Simmons was in the prime of a great Hall of Fame career.

Jimmie Foxx-
Double XX was only 20 years old. He would capture most of the home run titles after Ruth's departure.
Foxx would end his career with 534 homers. Second, only to Ruth.
More about this later.

And later in the game, a 'reliever'.

Waite Hoyt-
Hoyt would win 23 games that year and finished leading the league with eight Saves to boot.
Another Hall of Famer.

There were also two Hall of Famers, Herb Pennock and Stanley Covaleski, who never got into the game on the bench!

When their careers were over, Ruth, Foxx, Gehrig, and Simmons accounted for four of the five (Mel Ott) leading home run hitters of all time.

Who won the game?
It was part of a doubleheader and the estimated crowd (fences were broken down and crowds formed to watch the ball game in right field) was 45,000.
The Yankees won 9-7.
The A's had runners on second and third in the ninth inning. Cobb, who already had three hits, hit a screaming liner back at Hoyt. Hoyt speared the grounder with his bare hand and flipped to Gehrig for the Win.

The only 'modern day' game (that I could find) that could come close to the amount of Hall of Famers in one game came in the 1960's.
In 1964, the Giants played the Braves.
Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, and Duke Snider ending his career, played for the Giants. (with Juan Marichal on the bench)
The Braves featured Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Joe Torre.

The next time a broadcaster hypes a game with future Hall of Famers, maybe you'll think about that game played in 1928...

[DOUGHBOYS]

OK, OK, you guys can quit with the texts and email jokes already.
No, I was not there.