Monthly Archives: April 2011

How to Win the World Series – Don’t Hit! Presenting the 1906 White Sox

Leave a reply

Nicknamed The “Hitless Wonders”: The 1906 Chicago White Sox.

Portrait White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan 1909 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

This dour looking man shared the team lead for the Chicago White Sox in home runs in 1906. His name was Billy Sullivan. He was the team’s catcher. He batted .218.

Billy Sullivan in 1910 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

Billy Sullivan and Joe Sugden in 1901 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

The other slugger to lead the team in home runs was outfielder / playing manager Fielder Jones. He batted .230.

fielder Jones at South Side Park 1905 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

Fielder Jones & Frank Isbell 1907 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

Fielder Jones Base Hit vs. Cubs Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

Sullivan and Jones each had two home runs.  This is the shared record with the 1907 Cubs for fewest amount of home runs for an individual team leader on a modern (post 1903) world championship team. Let’s give the 1907 Cubs some credit they walloped nearly double the number the White Sox did in 1906 by hitting 13 home runs.

The White Sox hit a total of seven home runs in 1906. Count them, seven.

The White Sox batted collectively .230. They did not have one .300 hitter who had more than ten at bats. Pitcher Frank Smith had a higher batting average  (.293)  than any other regular starter. They did finish in first place with a 93-58 record.

In the 1906 World Series against the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs the Sox  hit even lower, batting a collective .198.

1906 World Series West Side Grounds Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

1906 World Series fans Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum

The Cubs had won a record 116 games, which is still the modern National League record for victories.

Yet the White Sox whipped the heavily favored Cubs four games to two and even managed to score eight runs in each of the last two games!

Late 19th / Early 20th century Photograph of a UFO in California

3 Replies

What is in the sky in this photograph?

Is this one of the earliest UFO photographs?

Catalina Island Circa 1900

I saw this magic lantern slide photograph for sale on eBay about 5 years ago and thought it was interesting enough to copy on to my computer, but not to bid on.  It was identified as Santa Catalina Island at the turn-of-the-century and that was pretty much all there was to the description. The person selling it did mention there is a strange object in the photograph.

There certainly is.

First I do believe there are UFO’s. But let’s be clear – Unidentified Flying Objects. Not necessarily spacemen from other galaxies or strange visitors from other planets in flying saucers. I won’t eliminate the possibility, but I need better evidence.

There definitely is something in the right hand corner of the photo. For some strange reason I do not believe this photo is a hoax.  It appears to be in the air. But, is it flying? Is it a blemish to the photo itself? Is it a reflection? Somebody threw their hat in the air? A cloud? Sunspot? Optical illusion? Or is it some sort of saucer-like spacecraft? Click on the photo and then click again to get an enlarged closer view.

Larger Image of Catalina Island UFO

I checked the newspaper archives from the Los Angeles Times from 1890-1915 and can find no mention of this event on Catalina Island where the photograph was supposedly taken.  Continue reading →

Professional Sports Team Names And How To Improve Them

1 Reply

What I’ve Noticed About American Sports Team Names: They Really Don’t Reflect The City They Represent, Do They?

Okay, there are some exceptions where the team name does have something to do with the city. The origins of the names can directly correspond to the city.

I know for example: Houston Rockets – NASA is based there.  Minnesota Twins – the Twin Cities.  Cincinnati Reds – large contingency of communists and 1950’s HUAC blacklisted people in the arts are residents.  San Diego Chargers – enormous credit card debt incurred by the citizens. St. Louis Blues – high rate of depression in St. Louis. Los Angeles Kings (and the Sacramento Kings) – refers to the former monarchy that ran the government until 1961 when it was annexed by the United States. Portland Trail Blazers – High rate of arsonists partial to forest fires residing in the state.  This list could go on and on .  But most team names are just silly.

Well you think most of the good names are taken? Nah. You just have to have some creativity.

I’ve been thinking about some names- if any sport decides to come up with some new teams or change the name of a current team, so listen here NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL or MLS, please feel free to use my suggestions at no charge.

How about saying “I’ve got tickets to see…”

  1. The Miami Muggers
  2. The L.A. Traffic
  3. Cincinnati Crack Dealers
  4. Detroit Carjackers
  5. The New York Homeless
  6. Arizona Border Jumpers
  7. Cleveland Blasé
  8. Milwaukee Boozers
  9. Lexington Inbreeders
  10. Philadelphia Manhole Cover Thieves

Continue reading →