Seven Baseball Giants
This colorized photograph features seven future Hall of Fame players from the American League at the All-Star game. This was the fifth time the All-Star game had been played, and it was held on July 7, 1937 at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. The American League defeated the National League, 8-3.
Source: (Wikipedia/Colorized by Klimbim).
The first All-Star Game was played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on July 6, 1933 as a way to bolster the sport, as the country contended with the darkness of the Great Depression. It was first billed as the “Game of the Century,” and by the time this photo was taken, it was on its way to become a permanent summer fixture.
Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig. Source: (Wikipedia/colorized by My Heritage).
Lou Gehrig, nicknamed the Iron Horse, was drafted by the Yankees in 1923, and continued to play in the MLB until he retired at the age of 36 in 1939 after he was hindered by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease which would come to be known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was the Yankees first baseman throughout that time, and played 2,130 consecutive games, a record which stood until Cal Ripkin broke it in 1995. Over the course of his 17 year career, he was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winners, an American League MVP twice. He was also the member of six World Series champion teams. He finished his career with a .340 batting average, a .632 slugging average and a .447 on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in. He still holds the record for the ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances at 35.08, and per 100 games, at 156.7. He held the record for the most grand slams, 23, until it was broken by Alex Rodriguez. When Gehrig retired, he gave an iconic and moving speech at Yankee stadium, “The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth.” He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Two years later he died, and he is still revered by fans.
Joe Cronin
Joe Cronin. Source: (Wikipedia).
Joe Cronin, a shortstop, played baseball for 20 seasons, from 1926-1945; he was a player-manager for 13 seasons, from 1933-1945. He continued his baseball career as a manager for two seasons, 1946-1947 and as an executive, working as the president of the American League for 14 years. He was a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Washington Senators, and the Boston Red Sox. He was an All-Star for teams in both leagues and was the first the first to do so; he played in the All-Star game seven times. In 1956, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bill Dickey
Bill Dickey. Source: (Pinterest).
Bill Dickey played catcher for the New York Yankees from 1928-1943. He served in the Navy during World War II, and upon returning, he played in 1946 for one last season as a player-manager. He retired after that season, but returned to baseball in 1949 as a coach, passing his wisdom to Yogi Berra. As a player, he went to the World Series nine times, and was an All-Star player 11 times. He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954.
Joe DiMaggio
Source: (Wikipedia/colorized by My Heritage).
DiMaggio, a center fielder, was nicknamed Joltin’ Joe and the Yankee Clipper. He played for 13 seasons for the Yankees. During his career, he was named the MVP three times, and was an All-Star player all 13 seasons. He still holds the record for hitting streaks, at 56 games. He won ten American League pennants, and has nine World Series rings, which is the second highest number, right behind Yogi Berra. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. When he retired, he was fifth in career home runs at 361, and sixth in slugging percentage at .579. DiMaggio’s other claim to fame was his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.
Charlie Gehringer
Gehringer, aka “The Mechanical Man” because of his consistency both as a batter and a fielder, layed second base for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons, from 1924-1942. His teammate Doc Cramer said of Gehringer, "You wind him up Opening Day and forget him," and that does seem to be the case as he had two consecutive game streaks of more than 500 games; from1927 to 1931 and again from 1931 to 1935.
Over the course of his career, he had a .320 batting average and for seven seasons, had more than 200 hits per season. In 1937, he was the American League MVP and the batting champion with a .371 average. For the first six All Star games, he was the starting second baseman and played every inning. During the games, he batted .500 and did not make an error. He only struck out once in his 81 at-bats during the three World Series games he played in. There are only four players in MLB history to have more seasons of 200 runs during the season. He is widely regarded as one of the best second baseman, but in addition to his batting record, he was also one of the best-fielding second basemen in the history of the MLB. He led the American League in fielding percentage and assists seven times. He was also a coach, general manager, and vice president of the Tigers. Gehringer was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949.
Jimmie Foxx
Wearing his Athletic's uniform. (Source: (Pinterest).
Jimmie Foxx, nicknamed “Double X” and “The Beast” played for 20 seasons with a a number of teams: the Philadelphia Athletics, the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and a National League Team, the Philadelphia Phillies. While playing for the Athletics and the Red Sox, he hit 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons. He was the second player in MLB history with 500 home runs, and held the record for the youngest player to reach 500 home runs, a record he held for years.
Foxx signed with the Athletics, debuting in May 1925, while he was still in his junior year in high school. Although he wanted to pitch or play third base, they moved him to be a catcher. By 1927, he was splitting time between catching, playing first base, and outfield. In the 1930s, the Great Depression hit the Athletics hard, and Connie Mack, the owner of the Athletics, was unable to pay the salaries of the most expensive players. After a contract dispute with Foxx, Mack sold his contract to the Red Sox in 1936. He ended his career in 1945 with the Phillies, pitching in nine games with two as the starting pitcher and filling in at first and third. After his career ended, he was a minor league manager and coach. He coached the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1952 for one season. The character of Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own (1992) was based on Foxx. A three-time MVP, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951.
Hank Greenberg
Nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank,” “Hankus Pankus,” and the “Hebrew Hammer,” Greenberg played first base in the 1930s and 1940s primarily for the Detroit Tigers; he spent 12 of his seasons playing for the Tigers. During what would have been the prime years of his baseball career, he served in the military for 47 months fighting in World War II. He was a two-time MVP recipient: for first baseman in 1935, and left fielder in 1940. He won two World Series with the Tigers, was the AL home run leader four times, and played in four All Star games. While playing with the Tigers, he won two World Series championships. He was the first to hit 25 runs or more in a season in each league, and retains the record for the most RBIs in a single season by a right-handed batter (in 1937, with a 154 game schedule, he hit 183). In 1947, after signing his contract, he was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played his final season. When he retired, he worked as an executive for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
The first Jewish superstar in American team sports, he garnered attention when, during a pennant race, he agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but spent the day at his synagogue on Yom Kippur. He was one of the few players on an opposing team to publicly welcome Jackie Robinson to the MLB in 1947.
Military Service
By December 1941, America had entered World War II, and 37 Hall of Fame players would serve in he armed forces during the conflict. Of the players pictured from the All-Star Game, DiMaggio served in the Army, Charlie Gehringer served in the Navy, Hank Greenberg served in the Army, and Bill Dickey served in the Navy.
Photo colorized by Klimbim. Source:
The photo at the top of this story was colorized by Olga Shirnina, aka Klimbim; you can see more of her work at her Flickr page.
