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Bob Bescher

Born: February 25, 1884 in London, Ohio
Died: November 29, 1942 (aged 58) in London, Ohio
Bats: Both
Throws: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
Position: Leftfielder

Played For:

Cincinnati Reds (1908–1913)
New York Giants (1914)
St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1917)
Cleveland Indians (1918)

Biography:

Robert Henry “Bob” Bescher (February 25, 1884 – November 29, 1942) was a baseball outfielder who played 11 seasons in the major leagues. Born in London, Ohio, he played his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and was one of the National League’s best base stealers during his time. Bescher originally attended the University of Notre Dame, but did not play college baseballthere. He played college football at Wittenberg University before signing his first minor leaguecontract in 1906. In September 1908, he joined the Reds for the first time and became the team’s regular left fielder in 1909. The switch-hitting Bescher played 5 seasons with Cincy, and established himself as a dangerous player on the basepaths with the Reds. He led the NL in stolen bases for four consecutive years from 1909 to 1912, and his 81 stolen bases in 1911 set a league record which was not broken for over 50 years.

Outside of stolen bases, he was the NL leader in runs in 1912, and was the NL leader in walksin 1913. Also in 1912, he hit a career-best .282 and finished 5th in voting for the Chalmers Award, a forerunner to the modern MVP award. He played for the New York Giants in 1914, after being traded there in exchange for Buck Herzog, and hit .270 in his lone year in the Big Apple. Three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals followed, which ended after he was traded to the minor league Milwaukee Brewers, the trade coming at a time before minor league teams were affiliated with Major League clubs. Bescher eventually returned to the majors in 1918 to play 25 games for the Cleveland Indiansto end his big league career, although he continued to play in the minor leagues into his 40s. He settled back down in London after his Major League career to run a local lodge. He later died at the age of 58 in a car accident after being hit by an oncoming train.

More info:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beschbo01.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Bescher

Chief Bender

Born: May 5, 1884 Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Died: May 22, 1954 (aged 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
Positions: Pitcher

Played For:

Philadelphia Athletics (1903–1914)
Baltimore Terrapins (1915)
Philadelphia Phillies (1916–1917)
Chicago White Sox (1925)

Biography:

American Indian. Innovator. Renaissance man. Charles Albert “Chief” Bender lived a unique American life, fashioned a Hall of Fame career, and was an important member of modern baseball’s first dynasty. He silently struggled against racial prejudice, became a student of the game, and was a lifetime baseball man. His legacy, however, is less nuanced than all of that. Bender is known foremost for a rare ability to pitch under pressure. “If I had all the men I’ve ever handled, and they were in their prime, and there was one game I wanted to win above all others,” said Philadelphia Athletics icon Connie Mack, who managed fellow all-time pitching greats Lefty Grove, Herb Pennock, Eddie Plank, and Rube Waddell, “Albert would be my man.”

For nearly the entire second half of the 20th century Bender was the lone Minnesota representative in the Baseball Hall of Fame. That he is no longer a household name in the North Star State is in part because he spent so little time in Minnesota and because some details about that time remain unclear. Bender’s birthday, for one, is not certain. His birth certificate, registered decades after the fact, says May 3, 1883. Other sources list May 5, 1883. Based on the federal Indian census and on Bender’s school records, the correct year, almost certainly, is 1884. Many sources list his birthplace as Brainerd but that is likely inaccurate. According to research on Bender’s early years conducted by researcher Robert Tholkes, within a year of Charley’s birth the family lived in an area close to Partridge Lake, 20 miles east of Brainerd. No town existed on the site at the time. So it is most accurate to say that Bender was born in Crow Wing County.

More info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Bender
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bendech01.shtml
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/03e80f4d

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