His best seasons were with the Chicago Cubs from 1931-1941. Batting in the number two spot in the order, 'The Louisville Cornell' in 1935 batted .341, scored 113 runs and led the NL in hits 227 and doubles with 57. He helped the Cubs win pennants in 1932, 1935 and 1938. Herman played in ten straight All-Star games 1934-1943, hitting a NL record .433 with 13 for 30.

He was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in mid-1941 and helped them win their first pennant in over 20 years. On defensive, Billy Herman tied a NL record for most years leading 2nd basemen in putouts (7). He led the league in assists three times and with his aggressive fielding range also led the NL in errors four times.

Herman was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975 and he managed the Red Sox in 1965-1966.

Billy Herman career: .304 BA, 2345 hits, 486 D's, 82 T's, 47 HRs, 1163 runs, 839 RBI's and a fine .367 on-base-pct. baseballhistorian.com - Archives

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Jurges and Billy Herman were often called 'the modern day Tinker to Evers DP duo', reflecting the famous Cubs' double play combo of the 1910's.

Billy Jurges fiery style of base-running, hard sliding, bumping, fighting- 'I'll take none of your guff' set him apart from others during his career.

His fine defensive play helped the Cubs win pennants in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Jurges' best offensive season was in 1937, when he hit .298 with 18 doubles and 10 triples and made the NL's All-Star team.

In 1939 he was traded to the New York Giants, to the displeasure of Cub fans, was picked for two more All-Star teams. His aggressive play in the Giants' Polo Grounds made Jurges an instant hero to Giant fans.

Jurges coached the Cubs and Senators after retiring from active play. He also managed the Red Sox during 1959.

Billy Jurges career: .258 BA, 1613 hits, 245 D's, 55 T's, 43 HRs, .325 on-base-percentage. Baseballhistorian.com archives

The next year, York powered 33 homers and scored 127 runs. That year, York and teammate Hank Greenberg combined for 91 HRs, the fifth best among AL duos in history.

York's ancestry was mostly American Indian and he often stated, 'I'm a Cherokee Indian, and I'm proud of it. Any time an Indian puts on a baseball uniform, he's twice as interesting a character as the other fellow.'

He had his best season as a Tiger in 1940, hitting .316, 46 doubles, 33 home runs and 134 RBI's. He was traded to the Red Sox in January of 1946 and on July 27, York hit two grand slams in one game with 10 RBI's. Rudy York hit 277 career homers including 12 grand slams. York's career stats: .275 BA, a lofty .362 on-bse-pct, .483 slg pct, 291 D's, 277 HR's, along with 1621 hits and 1152 RBI's. baseballhistorian.com - Detroit Tigers Baseball History

Joe Judge led the AL in fielding six times, still an unbroken record, and his lifetime mark of .993 stood for almost 35 years. When he retired he held the AL career 1st basemen records for games played, chances, putouts and double plays.

Judge batted over .300 nine times and except for the fact that Lou Gehrig, Yankees, played at the same time, Joe Judge would have been considered baseball's best all-around 1st baseman during this era.

After he retired from the majors, Judge was the baseball coach at Georgetown U. for 18 years until 1958. Joe Judge career record: .298 batting average, 2352 hits, 433 D's, 159 T's, 71 HRs with over 1,000 runs scored and RBIs each. baseballhistorian.com archives

The happy-go-lucky Charlie Grimm's batting average rose to .274 the next season, but his superior fielding range and sure hands were his lifelong trademarks.

In 1923, he put together a 23 game hitting streak , batted .345 along with 99 RBIs and led the league in fielding again. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the 1924 season and became instantly popular with his Jolly demeanor. Charlie Grimm won a total of nine fielding titles.

In 1931, he hit .331 with 33 doubles and fanned only 29 times in over 500 at bats. In 1932, his eighth year in a Cub uniform, he became a player manager and led them to a pennant. The Cubs won the pennant again under his leadership in 1935. In mid-1938, he resigned. Gabby Hartnett became manager and Jolly Cholly Grimm called the games from the radio broadcasting booth. The Cubs rallied and won another pennant.

In 1944, Grimm returned as the Cubs' manager and the team responded by winning another pennant in 1945. He was dropped by the Cubs and then managed in the minors, leading a Milwaukee team to the minor league championship.

Charlie Grimm became the Boston Braves manager in 1952 and when they moved to Milwaukee the next season, Grimm stayed on for 3 more seasons, leading the Milwaukee Braves to two second place finishes. He returned to the Cubs and worked in their front office for 15 years. After his death in November of 1983, his window was permitted to scatter his ashes over Wrigley Field.

Charlie Grimm's career: .290 BA, 2299 hits, 394 D's, 108 Ts, 908 Runs, 1078 RBIs, struckout 410 times in 7917 at bats. baseballhistorian.com archives... Research Dept

In his rookie season of 1921, he helped lead Hilldale to the Negro League pennant. With a career batting mark of over .300, he helped Hilldale play in the first two Negro League World Series, 1924-1925.

During the winter months, Judy Johnson played in Florida and Cuba and averaged .334 in six years. In 1929, Johnson hit .401 and the next year when the league folded due to the depression, he joined the Homestead Grays as a player-coach.

Connie Mack told Judy Johnson in the late 1920's, "You're one of the finest infielders I ever saw. If you were a white boy you could name your own price".

After the major leagues color barrier was shattered, Judy Johnson coached for the Philadelphia A's and during the 1960's he was a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and helped sign Dick Allen. According to sketchy records of the Negro League here's

Judy Johnson's career batting marks: .307 batting average, 19 home runs in 17 seasons. Judy Johnson's excellent fielding set him apart from others and put him in the Hall of Fame. baseballhistorian.com

Final Standing:

American League:

Yankees 101-53, ... Red Sox 84-70, 17 GB... White Sox 77-77, 24 GB... Tigers 75-79, 26 GB... Indians 75-79, 26 GB... Senators 70-84, 31 GB... Browns 70-84, 31 GB... Athletics 64-90, 37 GB

* 1941 New York Yankees:

Amid all sensational headline news surrounding Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak and Ted Williams hitting .406 for the year, the comeback of the New York Yankees is often-times forgotten.

On May 15, 1941, the day Joe D started his consecutive streak, the New Yorks were bogged down in fourth place, after losing 7-of-9 games.

On June 2nd, Yankee legendary first baseman Lou Gehrig passed away after his three-year illness - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALC), the funeral was attended by Babe Ruth as well as then-current Yankee players, manager Joe McCarthy and catcher Bill Dickey. However, by June 6th, the Yankees were running hot... they completed a eight-game winning streak, and a 41-13 record during DiMaggio's hitting-streak vaulted them into the pennant... finishing a full 17 games ahead of the second place Boston Red Sox.

The 1941 New York Yankees were led by DiMaggio, .357, including 30 homers and 125 RBIs, catcher Bill Dickey, who at age 34 hit .287 with 71 RBIs, and pitchers Red Ruffing, 15-6, Lefty Gomez 15-5, Spud Chandler, 10-4, and Marius Russo, 14-10.

Yanks' Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy who led the Bronx Bombers to four straight World Crowns, 1936-1936, was still at the helm. He installed rookie shortstop Phil Rizzuto in place long-time Yankee great Frankie Crosetti and replaced replacing veteran outfielder Goerge Selkirk with Tommy Henrich, .277, 31 homers, 85 RBIs.

Now-then, Rizzuto, playing alongside second baseman Joe 'Flash' Gordon, immediately formed one of the top double play combinations in the league. Gordon, one of the best hitting second baseman in baseball history, hit a solid .276, belted 26 doubles and 24 homers, scored 104 runs and drove in 87 runs.

* 1941 Boston Red Sox - with their short left-field wall at Fenway Park, the Red Sox provided the most potent lineup in baseball. As a team they featured a .283 batting average and complied a team .430 slugging percentage.

Hitting-legend Ted Williams hit a torrid .406, led the majors With 135 runs scored, captured the major league home run crown with 37 and led the majors with a robust .735 slugging percentage. The Splendid Splinter also set a major league record with the highest on-base-percentage of all-time - .551 - walking 145 times, while striking out just 27 times in 456 official at-bats.

Aging Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx anchored first base for Boston, hitting an even .300, with 27 doubles, 8 triples, 19 homers and drove in 105 runs. Shortstop/manager Joe Cronin, another Hall of Famer who started playing in the big-leagues in 1927, was still one of the league's heavy hitters. Cronin hit .311, rapped 38 doubles, 8 triples 16 home runs and had 95 RBIs.

Leadoff hitter Dom DiMaggio hit .283 and scored 117 runs. Hall of Fame second baseman hit .282, with 28 Ds, 16 Hr, and 93 RBIs. Third baseman Jim Tabor joined in the Red Sox hitting-onslaught with a .279 batting mark, 28 Ds, 16 Hr and had 101 RBIs.

Pitcher Dick Newsome led the Red Sox pitching staff, going 19-10 with a 4.12 ERA, Charlie Wagner posted a 12-8, and a nice 3.07 ERA, Joe Dobson went 12-5, had a 4.49 ERA and Mickey Harris was the team's hard-luck hurler... he was 8-14 even though his 3.25 ERA was second best of all Red Sox pitchers.

* 1941 Chicago White Sox

Playing an even .500 ball - 77 wins and 77 loses - under the guidance of popular manager Jimmie Dykes, the White Sox finished in third place among the eight American League teams.

'Old Aches and Pains' Luke Appling, a Hall of Fame shortstop, and outfielder Taffy Wright were the team's leading hitters. Appling hit .314, scored 93 Runs and Wright batted .322 with 35 doubles, 10 homers and drove in 97 runs including a streak of an RBI in 13 consecutive games. First baseman Joe Kuhel hit .250 with 63 RBIs and led the entire team with 12 homers.

Pitcher Thornton Lee was the heavy-winner in 1941, going 22-11, led the league with a stunning 2.37 ERA and also led the league in complete games with 30. 40-year old Ted Lyons, who collected 260 career wins for the Sox, was 40-years old but still put up decent numbers, 12-10, 3.70 ERA. John Rigney was 13-13, 3.84 ERA and Eddie Smith complied a 13-17 mark in 38 games, while posting a nice 3.18 ERA.

* 1941 Cleveland Indians

Led by fastball pitcher Bob Feller the team ended in a tie with Detroit for 4th place. The strong-armed Feller went 25-13, a 3.15 ERA and led the AL in wins, innings pitched with 343, led in strike outs with 260, led in shutouts with 6 and led in games with 44.

Outfielder Jeff Heath and third baseman Ken Keltner supplied the Indians with fire-power in '41. Heath batted .341, cranked out an eye-popping 32 doubles, 20 triples and 24 home runs, becoming the first-ever in AL baseball history to hit at least 20 doubles, triples and home runs in the same season, and he drove in 123 runs. Kenny Keltner meanwhile hit .269, busted 31 doubles, 13 triples, 23 homers and drove in 84 runs.

* 1941 Detroit Tigers

Although the Tigers won the pennant in 1940, the team finished with a 75-79 mark when slugger Hank Greenberg became the first player to enlist into the Armed Forces in World War II. Greenberg missed more than four full seasons during the prime of his years.

Al Benton was Detroit's main mound-stay, compiling a brilliant 15-6 record, 2.97 ERA, completed 7-of-14 starts while appearing in 38 games, allowed just 130 hits in 157 2/3 innings. A bit of baseball history here: - Al Benton pitched from 1934-1952 and is the only pitcher in the history of baseball to face both Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.

* 1941 Washington Senators

Everybody's second favorite team during the years preceding the War, the Washington Senators' pitching staff was led by Emil 'Dutch' Leonard, 18-13, 3.45 ERA and shortstop Cecil Travis, who led the AL in hits with 218 and finished second in the majors with a .359 batting average... Ted Williams hit .406.

Speedy outfielder George Case led the AL for the third successive year in stolen bases with 33, first baseman Mickey Vernon hit .299, lined 27 doubles, 11 triples, 9 homers and Had 93 RBIs and Buddy Lewis batted a solid .297, with 9Hr, 72 RBIs in 149 games. The Senators had two of the finest defensive backstops in the league - catchers Jake Early and Al Evans. Early hit .287, whacked 10 homers, 54 RBIs in 104 games, while Evans hit a solid .277 in 53 games.

Right-handed pitcher Sid Hudson, who went 17-16 in his rookie year of 1940, put up some nice numbers again in '41, finishing at 13-14, 3.46 ERA, hurled 3 shutouts and completed 17-of-33 starts, spanning 249 2/3 innings. Steve Sundra moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation and finished the '41 season at 9-13, a 5.29 ERA in 168 1/3 innings and completed 11-of-23 games. And, the Washington Senators 1941 had a young 20-year old right-hander by the name of Early Wynn, who was brought up late in the season. Wynn, who went on to the Hall of Fame, posted a 3-1 record, a miserly 1.57 ERA while completing 4-of-5 games.

* 1941 St. Louis Browns

The Brownies' pitching staff included had the second worst ERA in the majors, .472. Eldon Auker won the most games on the staff. Auker finished at 14-15, a 5.50 ERA in 34 games. Bob Muncrief posted a solid 13-9 mark, 3.65 ERA, Bob Harris went 12-14, 5.21 ERA and Denny Galehouse was 9-10, 3.64 ERA.

Even though the St Louis Browns had four players smash double-figures in homers and had 5 players drove in over 80 runs, they set a new AL record by stranding 1,334 runners on base.

George McQuinn 18Hr, 80 RBIs, Harlond Cliff 17Hr, 84 RBIs, Wally Judnich 14Hr, 83 RBIs, and Chet Laabs 15Hr, 59 RBIs. Their leading was Roy Cullenbine .317 batting average, with 9 homers and 98 RBIs and Johnny Berardino hit .271 with 89 RBIs.

* 1941 Philadelphia Athletics

Compiling a dismal 4.83 ERA, the highest of all the 16 major league teams, the Philadelphia Athletics 1941 had only two pitchers who won 10 games. John Knott went 13-11, 4.40 ERA and Phil Marchildon posted a 10-15 and led the staff with a 3.57 ERA.

The A's big guns were Sam Champion, .322 BA, 25 home runs, 106 RBIs in 143 games and Bob Johnson, .275, 22 homers, 107 RBIs in 149 games. Wally Moses, Dick Siebert and Frank Hayes were the get-on-base-guys. Moses hit .301, scored 78 runs, lashed 31 doubles, Siebert hit a robust .334, scored 63 runs, with 28 doubles in 123 games, while Frankie Hayes hit a solid .280, lined 27 doubles, 12 homers, and scored 63 runs.

Baseballhistorian.com - The History of Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies 1941 Roster and Statistics:

Pitching Summary:

Johnny Podgajny 9-12, 4.62 ERA in 34 Games... Ike Pearson 4-14, 3.57 ERA in 46G... Boom-Boom Beck 1-9, 4.63 ERA in 34G... Si Johnson 5-12, 4.52 ERA in 39G... Tommy Hughes 9-14, 4.45 ERA in 34G... Lefty Hoerst 3-10, 5.20 Era in 37G... Lee Grissom 2-13, 3.97 ERA in 29G...

Rube Melton 1-5, 4.73 ERA in 25G... Cy Blanton 6-13, 4.51 ERA in 28G... Bill Crouch 2-3, 4.42 ERA in 20G... Roy Bruner 0-3, 4.91 ERA in 13G... Bill Harman 0-0, 4.85 ERA in 5G... Dale Jones 0-1, 7.56 ERA in 2G... Gene Lambert 0-1, 2.00 ERA in 2G... Paul Masterson 1-0, 4.76 ERA in 2G... Vito Tamulis 0-1, 9.00 ERA in 6G...

Batting Averages:

Stan Benjamin .235 BA, 3Hr, 27 RBIs in 129 Games... Bobby Bragan .251 BA, 4Hr, 69 RBIs in 154G... Nick Etten .311BA, 14Hr, 79 RBIs in 151G... Danny Litwhiler .305, 18Hr, 66 RBIs in 151G... Joe Marty .268 BA, 8Hr, 39 RBIs in 137G... Pinky May .267 BA, 0Hr, 39 RBIs in 142G... Mickey Livingston .203 BA, 0Hr, 18 RBIs in 95G... Hal Marnie .241 BA, 0Hr, 11 RBIs in 61G...

Heine Mueller .227 BA, 1Hr, 22 RBIs in 93G... Johnny Rizzo .217 BA, 4Hr, 24 RBIs in 99G... Bernie Warren .214 BA, 9Hr, 35 RBIs in 121G... Bill Nagel .143 BA, 0Hr, 6 RBIs in 17G... Bill Harman .071 BA, 0 RBIs in 15G... Danny Martaugh .219 BA, 0Hr, 11 RBIs in 85G... Chuck Klein .123 BA, 1Hr, 3 RBIs in 50G... George Jumonville .429 BA, 1Hr, 2 RBIs in 6G... Paul Busby .313 BA, 0Hr, 2 RBIs in 10G... Jim Carlin .143 BA, 1Hr, 2 RBIs in 16G... Wally Millies .000, 0 RBIs in 1G...

baseballhistorian.com - Philadelphia Phillies 1941

Actual Wording as follows:

3 Gals May Play In Negro League Twin Bill Sunday

Three women will appear in the lineup in Sunday's July 4th Negro American League doubleheader between the Indianapolis Clowns and the Kansas City Monarchs at Comiskey Park.

The Clowns have two females on their team - second baseman Connie Morgan and pitcher Mamie Johnson. The other gal expected to play is Toni Stone, Kansas City second baseman.

baseballhistorian.com - The History of the Negro Baseball Leagues

Hall of Famer Ted Lyons pitched for the Chicago White Sox for 21 years. His 260 lifetime wins are the highest in the team's history. Lyons never played an inning of minor league baseball and went straight from Baylor University to the White Sox. He possessed excellent control of his fastball and hard curve.

In 1939, Lyons pitched 42 straight inning without allowing a walk.

He was known as the fastest throwing pitcher; and once hurled a complete game in one hour and 18 minutes.

Ted Lyons had the misfortune of never pitching in a World Series as the Chicago White Sox seldom contended for the pennant during his tenure.

In 1930, Lyons led the AL in wins with 22, complete games 30, and in innings 307 although the White Sox finished 7th. In 1935, he again led the league in victories going 22-11, shutouts with five for the 5th place White Sox. The next year he hurled a no-hitter and in 1927, Lyons again led the league in wins with 22 as the White Sox ended 5th again.

Ted Lyons was ranked as the best fielder of his time and was also a great hitting pitcher. His 364 career hits are 11th highest of all-time for pitchers. In his later years, he started throwing a knuckleball and at age 41 he went 14-6, leading the league with a 2.10 ERA.

Always considered as one of baseball's nice guys, in 1940, 'The Chicago Tribune Newspaper' sponsored a 'Ted Lyons Day' and asked fans to send a dime towards a gift. The response was overwhelming - the 'Chicago Tribune' collected enough dimes from fans to buy Lyons a new car. Ted Lyons managed the White Sox, 1946-48 and his number 16 uniform was retired by the White Sox.

Ted Lyons, Hall of Fame career: 260-230, ERA 3.67, 594 games, 356-GC, 27 shutouts, 23 saves, 4161 innings, 1073 K's, 1121 walks. baseballhistorian.com

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