Blog Archives
The Senators Are In the World Series! (1924)
The eternally woeful Washington Senators were headed to the World Series in October of 1924 to face the New York Giants. Actually, during the 1920s, they were not that woeful. In fact, they were one of the better teams in the American League. They had beaten Babe Ruth and the hated New York Yankees by two games and were league champs.
The town was abuzz with excitement and ready to rally around their star pitcher, and Mount Pleasant resident, Walter Johnson. Johnson was the best pitcher ever to represent a baseball team in the nation’s capital and, quite possibly, was the best pitcher in the history of professional baseball (our modern-day Johnson is Stephen Strasburg, as long as he can dominate as a Washington National until the year 2030).
On October 3rd, a large party was held at the Willard Hotel to show support for the team and send them off in style to the World Series the next day.
Walter Johnson in 1924 (Wikipedia)
I came across an article in the Post talking about what the citizens of Washington did to show their gratitude for Walter Johnson.
Babe Ruth Enlists in the National Guard
The most popular man in America, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, arrived with the New York Yankees in May of 1924 to play two games against the Washington Senators. Several days earlier, he had enlisted with the New York National Guard in a well-publicized event in Times Square – a large National Guard recruitment push.
Babe Ruth signs up for the New York National Guard
Thanks Shorpy for these great Babe Ruth photos.
Washington Senators Secure Moran of Georgetown
The front page of the Washington Times reported a big local signing in December of 1902 for the Washington Senators. They had inked the Georgetown shortstop, Charley Moran, to a contract
Washington Times Headline (1902)
Nick Altrock: A Columbia Heights Major Leaguer
I love D.C. and I am also obsessed with baseball…so fittingly, my first post will merge the two.
Nick Altrock in 1912 (source: Library of Congress)
I was poking around Flickr, looking at photos from the Library of Congress and I came across this guy. I couldn’t resist. Who is this goofy looking guy and what is his story?
The man in the photo is Nick Altrock, former Major League baseball player. He played with four teams over the course of his career, but he gained fame by being one of the best pitchers in the league between 1904 and 1906 while pitching for the Chicago White Sox. In 1906, at the age of 29, he helped guide the team to a World Series victory over the crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. That was the peak.
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