Three Interesting Characters

    Of the many thousands of men to have played professional baseball, at least a few of them are bound to have pretty good stories. Three in particular have interested me. 

On May 18, 1912, the Detroit Tigers had to scramble to field a team. The regular team went on strike after Ty Cobb was suspended, and manager Hughie Jennings played a lot of amateur players against the Philadelphia A's. Among them was 48 year old Deacon McGuire, formerly a top catcher who came out of retirement for the second time and went 1-for-2; Ed Irwin, who went 2-for-3 that day with a pair of triples and has MLB's highest career slugging percentage (2.000); and even Jennings himself, who came out of retirement for the third time and inserted himself as a pinch hitter. The Tigers' pitcher that day was Aloysius Travers, one of seven players from St. Joseph's University. Travers batted third in the Tigers' lineup and pitched a complete game loss, surrendering 24 runs, 14 earned. He later became a Jesuit priest serving the archdiocese of Philadelphia. (I guess I should have referred to him as Father Aloysius Travers.) 

Joe E. Brown was a famous actor in the 1930's, known for his down home personality and massive maw. He was most famous for his baseball trilogy from 1932 through 1935. He got his chance to play at the age of 42, pitching one game for the 1935 Mission Reds (PCL). One has to wonder if he used his trademark whirlybird pitching windup. 

Randy Poffo played four seasons in the minor leagues, mostly as an outfielder and catcher, in the early 1970's. After he quit he became Randy Savage, or "Macho Man", one of the most famous fake wrestlers. If Wrestlemania were real, one would say that he was one of the greats. He may be best known as the guy breaking slim jims on commercials. 

Anyway, baseball is a career for a lot of people, but some people are good at other things. These guys made their mark on the world in other ways.