I'm trying to find some player bios on those in the t206 set that have either unusual, criminal or heroic bios outside of their playing careers. Any help?

Burns
Chase
Cicotte
Durham
Gandil
Zimmerman


And for some reason I think Dubuc should fit your criteria with these above.


Heroes.... Rube Waddell

Thanks Frank! Looks like Zimmerman will hit both subsets I'm working on.


Eric

While I agree with Frank's list of bad boys most were while they were in baseball.

For more info on these and others visit:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Category:Blacklisted_Players

Christy Mathewson served as an Army officer in WWI. He was an unfortunate victim of an accidental gassing and contracted TB which contributed to his death.

=

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

Unknown author

--

We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.

No retreat baby, no surrender.

The Boss

Cobb for his violence and both he and Speaker for fixing a game in 1925 that led to their team changes from Detroit and Cleveland to Philly and Washington.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

Larry McLean was shot by a bartender in a bar fight in the early 1920's.

Scott

Ahhh... but did Larry need shooting?


Nice tidbit of information, Scott. Where did you find that?

The deadball era website mentions the shooting and many other lurid tales...


http://www.thedeadballera.com/

These two aren't in T206, but they had notable involvement in WWI:

Eddie Grant (T205) was one of the first men to enlist when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and he served as Captain of the 77th Infantry Division. During the fierce battle of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded, and he took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant on October 5, 1918. He is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

Hank Gowdy (T207) - When World War I broke out, he became the first major leaguer to sign up. With the Ohio National Guard, he saw considerable action in France with the 166th Infantry Regiment, including some of the worst trench fighting in the war. When he returned in 1919, he got his old job as a catcher back, but not before going on a speaking tour of the United States, detailing his war experiences. When the United States entered World War II, Gowdy enlisted again at the age of 53, and was promoted to major. In December 1944, he returned to Fort Benning, where he served as Chief Athletic Officer. He returned to coaching in 1946 with the Reds, and he even served as manager for four games at the end of the season. By 1948, he had retired from baseball. The baseball field at Fort Benning bears his name.



Steve

Steve

Where did you find out the info about Gowdy? Do you know if there is a biography on him? Would like to read about him.

Thanks

Frank L.

Frank: There is a short bio of Gowdy in SABR's Deadball Stars of the National League which, along with its companion DS of the AL, is an indispensable resource.




(Edited to fix junkalunka punctuation)

Thanks David.

I figured the Gowdy biographical info came from SABR. A friend of mine (and of Net54, and baseball knowledge in general) once showed me that publication. He was looking through some of my autographs when he came upon my example of Bob Groom, who pitched for Washington in the 1910's. If any of you folks are interested, the facsimile example of Groom's signature as depicted in his section of that book is not valid. Please find below a genuine example:

Frank,

I'd known about Gowdy for a little while, having I think, learned about him via Net54. I pulled the information in my previous post from wikipedia.


Steve

We have some friends who had a baby and shares a birthday with Larry McLean. Since I collect T206's, it made sense to start a Larry McLean player collection for the kidlet. (It made sense a couple of years ago!)



Scott

Thank you, Jodi Birkholm!

When I first saw the facsimile of Bob Groom's "autograph" in Deadball Stars of the American League, I couldn't believe my eyes. It is definitely not authentic. Bob Groom was my grandfather, and I grew up in his household. The family owned coal mines, and my grandfather was the man who signed the company checks, so I know well what his signature looked like. What makes the bogus "autograph" all the more egregious is the fact that I submitted high resolution scans of Bob Groom's signature to the book's editor and for whatever reason, he chose to use one from an autograph dealer-collector.

The signature in the picture you attached indeed appears to be an authentic one. If there is some way I could get a high resolution scan of it, I would very much appreciate it. I'd also like to learn how you came to possess it and what you know of its provenance. I have just signed on to Net54 so I don't know if you will be able to reach me through the board or not. If not, please email me at petroski@mindspring.com.

Many thanks --
Catherine Groom Petroski

Jerome Willis "Red" Downs (August 12, 1883 - October 19, 1939), was a Major League Baseball player, who gained notoriety later in life as an armed robber during the Great Depression.

"Liquor has put me out for the third time," said Downs to a police detective upon his arrest for armed robbery in 1932. "First, it caused me to lose a place in the big league, where I might, by this time, have been a successful manager. The second time it threw me out of the Coast League. And now it's got me into this jam."
Red Downs,
Los Angeles Times newspaper article, March 29, 1932

Steve, thanks for that tidbit. Downs spent some time playing in Kansas.
Clint

Thanks for all the input and stories. The Gowdy story is my favorite.