Nebraska’s Greatest Contribution to the
Major LeaguesThe History of Major League Baseball
Told from the Perspective the Best Players Born in Nebraska
Joba Chamberlain
Sam Crawford
Star Athlete in high school, leading Wahoo to state football championships in 1896-1897
Joined a Traveling Baseball Team in Wahoo in 1898
He played for the Chatam Reds of the Canadian league in 1899.
Crawford Joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1899
In September 1899, he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds of
the National League.
In 1901 he hit 330 and led the league with 16 home runs
In 1902, he led the National League with 12 inside the park home runs, a record that has
never been broken.
He was sold to the Detroit Tigers in 1903-1917
In 1930, he led the league in triples
The Tigers went to the World Series in 1907 & 1909
He was one of the league’s most feared hitters from 1911-1915
`He had a career batting average of 309
97 Home Runs
309 Triples
51 Inside the park Homeruns
Crawford and Cobb
Later Years
Left the Majors after 1917
Became a player/ coach with the Los Angeles Angels of the
Pacific Coast League
Coached for USC
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957
Became reclusive in later life
Fred Beebe
Born in Lincoln, Nebrska December 31st, 1879
Graduated from Hyde Park, Illinois
Attended the University of Illinois
Entered the Major Leagues at 26
Led the League in Strikeouts with 171 in 1908 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Fred Beebe Career
1906 Chicago Cubs
1907-1907 St. Louis Cardinals
1910 Cincinnati Reds
1911 Philadelphia Phillies
1916 Cleveland Indians
Won 63 Games
Lost 83
Ted Easterly
Born in Lincoln in 1885
Played Professional Baseball from 1909-1915
Played for the Cleveland Naps, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Packers (Federal League)
Journeyman Catcher
Career Batting Average of 300
He played 2 seasons for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League
Played 3 seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Salt Lake City Bees and Sacramento Senators 1916-1918
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Born in Elba, Nebraska in 1887
Named for President Grover Cleveland
Entered the Minor Leagues 1909
Ol’ Pete
Nicknamed Ol’ Pete by his friends and the press.
Had to overcome multiple hurdles to achieve greatness
He was hit by a thrown ball, while base running
Missed the end of the 1909 season and all of 1910
Struggled with hearing loss
Alcoholism and
Epilepsy throughout his career
Major League Career
Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1911
Sold to the Chicago Cubs in 1917
Drafted to serve in WWI in 1917
Came back with shell shock, which plagued him for the rest of his life
Played for the Cubs 1918-1926, Cardinals 1926-1929 the Phillies in 1930
Record 373-208 (3rd in baseball history
"Grover Cleveland Alexander wasn't drunk out there on the mound, the way people thought. He was an epileptic. Old Pete would fall down with a seizure between innings, then go back and pitch another shutout." -Ty Cobb
Toured with Grover Cleveland Alexander’s House of David
A Winning Team
Clarence Mitchell
Born on February 22, 1891 in Franklin, NE
Died on Nov. 6, 1963 in Grand Island NE
Detroit Tigers (1911)
Cincinnati Reds (1916–1917)
Brooklyn Robins (1918–1922)
Philadelphia Phillies (1923–1928)
St. Louis Cardinals (1928–1930)
New York Giants (1930–1932)
Career Record 125-139
One of the last spitball pitchers
Hit into a triple play in the 1920 World Series
Tom Seaton Born in Blair in 1887
Played for the Philadelphia Phillies 1912-1913
1913 Went 27-12
1913 Pitched 332 innings
1917 Played for the Chicago Cubs
Played several years with various teams in the Federal League
Was released from Major League Baseball during the time of the Blaxk Sox Scandal
Died in 1940 in El Paso Texas
Billy Southworth
Was born in Harvard, NE March 9, 1893
He is the first player on our list who had more success as a manager than as a player.
Cleveland Indians (1913, 1915)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1918-1920)
Boston Braves (1921-1923)
New York Giants (1924-1926)
St. Louis Cardinals (1926-1927, 1929)
As a Manger
St. Louis Cardinals (1929, 1940-1945)
Boston Braves (1946-1949, 1950-1951)
Billy Southworth
Led the National League in triples in 1919 with 14
Managed 4 National League pennants.1942, 1943, 1944, 1949
Managed 2 World Series titles 1942, 1944
Holds the record for the best three year record as a manager 1942-1944 106 wins, 105 wins, 105 wins
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008
Died in Columbus Ohio in 1969
Cliff Lee
Was born on August 4, 1896 in Lexington, Nebraska
He was in the Major Leagues from 1919-1926
Played for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Cleveland
Played 521 games in his career
38 home runs 216 RBIs
Died in Denver, Colorado in 1980
Hollis John “Sloppy” Thurston
Born in Fremont, Nebraska in 1899 as Hollis John Thurston
His parents moved him to Tombstone, Arizona, where his father owned a restaurant named “Sloppy’s Place”
Pitched from 1923-1933 for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago, White Sox, Washington Senators and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Pitched an Immaculate inning in 1923 against the Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings
Everett Virgil “Pid” PurdyBorn in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1904
Played professional baseball from 1923-1938
Played in the Major Leagues from 1926
Played 181 games 293 Ave. 2 hrs. 59 rbis
Also played for the Green Bay Packers in 1926 as a Back wore No. 17
Spent most of his career in A baseball and in D Nebraska baseball.
He died in Beatrice in 1950.
Mel Harder
Born in 1909 in Beemer, Nebraska
Pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1928-1947
Had a record of 223-188
He was a pitching coach from 1949-1969
Known as a developer of pitchers
Mel Harder
He was the only All-Star pitcher to pitch 10 innings without giving up an earned run.
Only man in major league history to have both 20-year playing and coaching careers
oe DiMaggio recalled that he had more difficulty batting against Harder than against just about any other pitcher. DiMaggio batted only 180
He threw the first pitch in Municipal Stadium and the last 1993.
Johnny HoppBorn in Hastings Nebraska in 1916
Picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937. Played his first game in 1939
Career batting average296 HRs 46 from 1939-1952
Played in 5 World Series competitions
Won 4 World Series rings.
Won 2 Series with the Cardinals and 2 with the Yankees.
Also played for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers
Sheldon Jones
Born in Tecumseh Nebraska in 1922
Pitched for the New York Giants 1946-1951
Boston Braves 1952
Chicago Cubs 1953
Career Record 54-57
Successful as a starter and a reliever from 1946-1950
His arm failed him and pitched unsuccessfully from 1951-1953
Ritchie Ashburn
Born in Tilden, Nebraska in 1927
Played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1948-1959
Played for the Cubs 1960-1961
Played for the New York Mets in 1962
Led the Philadelphia Phillies to their first National League pennant in 1950
Was the first All-Star from the New York Mets
Totals 308 batting average 2,574 hits
Bob Gibson
Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1935
Suffered from rickets and other heath problems as a child.
Attended Omaha Tech and Creighton University
Played professionally with both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Harlem Globetrotters
Played for the Cardinals from 1959-1975
Won 2 Cy Young awards
Was named MVP in 1968
The 1968 SeasonYear of the Pitcher
1.12 ERA modern day record
Pitched 13 shutouts
From June 2 to July 30 he allowed only 2 earned runs in 93 innings 0.20 ERA
Pitched 47 consecutive scoreless innings during this period
Struck out 17 batters in the first game of the World Series
Wade Boggs
Born in Omaha Nebraska and raised in Southern California
The best hitter to come out of Nebraska.
Started with the Boston Red Sox in 1982
Boston Red Sox (1982–1992)
New York Yankees (1993–1997)
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998–1999)
From 1983-1989 hit below 349 only once 1984 325
Started at 3rd base in the All Star Game 12 consecutive years
Wade Boggs
Played in his first World Series in 1986, when the New York Mets beat the Boston Red Sox
Won his only World Series in 1996 with the New York Yankees
Won 2 Gold Gloves with the New York Yankees
He won 8 Sliver Slugger awards
He won 5 American League Batting Titles
328 BA 3,010 hits 118 Home Runs
Top Related