Deadball HOFer “Wahoo” Sam Crawford — a player you should know about
Some of you may know that I am member of the IBWAA — Internet Baseball Writers Association. All of us who contribute love to write about baseball and I encourage checking it out. One of the editors Jeff Kallman who also writes a terrific blog Thronberry Fields Forever edited my piece that appeared there yesterday and he made it better so I am using his version of my post below.
If you’ve been following me and my article posts, you know I’ve set out to learn more about the MLB Dead Ball Era (1901–1919). There’s a lot to know. Because it was so long ago, it’s messy and complicated. You may not realize that there was a second Dead Ball Era from 1964–1972, but nobody refers to it that way.
Almost Cooperstown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I used AI to answer the question about Dead Ball Era dates. The answer was succinct and as far as I can tell, correct.
Now: These were the causes of the Dead Ball Era
* Balls: The balls were softer and less lively than later cork-centered balls. They were often used until they were misshapen and discolored, making them harder to hit.
* Pitching: Pitchers were allowed to adulterate the balls, particularly with the spitball.
* Ballparks: Spacious ballparks made it harder to hit for power.
And, then there was the end of the Dead Ball Era
Ty Cobb, Joe Jackson & Sam Crawford
By 1921, offenses scored 40 percent more runs and hit four times as many home runs as in 1918. The end of the Dead Ball Era marked the beginning of a period of relative stability in MLB rules and structure.
What AI left out was that banning the spitball and general defacement of baseballs (except for the handful of hurlers who were grandfathered and continued to load up the pill) leveled the playing field between pitchers and hitters.
Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb epitomized the best of the Dead Ball hitters. Wagner began his career in 1897 and Cobb in 1905. But under the radar was Cobb’s teammate, outfielder/first baseman Sam Crawford, who began his career six years before Cobb, in 1899.
Crawford and Cobb had a rocky relationship considering they were teammates for fifteen years. Although they would lead the Detroit Tigers to the World Series in 1907–08–09, the team lost all three, and neither ever played on a Series winner. This is probably why Wahoo Sam has been largely forgotten by all except the most dedicated Tiger fans. I’m here to help him be remembered.
Keep in mind that hitting overall suffered during the Dead Ball Era. Crawford was not a great defensive player by dWAR metrics (-18.2 career dWAR), though he was not thought of as a defensive liability in the outfield. But his career bWAR did not measurably suffer. What Crawford did do, was lead the National League in home runs in 1901 with 16 and again in 1908 with seven, and that’s not a typo.
Crawford also led the league in triples six times in his career, and he is the MLB leader in career triples with 309. It’s safe to say that record might be one of the safest in baseball history: No other player has half as many since Roberto Clemente’s 166.
In playing for a storied franchise like the Tigers, there’s great competition beyond Cobb for all-time team records. Most of the Tiger hitting records belong to Cobb but he left a few here or there for Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg and Al Kaline. That’s mostly because Cobb was, well Cobb. Both he and Crawford far outperformed their Dead Ball Era peers. Cobb played an incredible 24 seasons the last being in 1928. Sam Crawford played a measly 19 MLB seasons in comparison.
I like that Crawford’s nickname was Wahoo Sam. You’d have thought he’d come up to the plate and fans would yell “Wahooo!” But that’s not the case: Crawford hailed from Wahoo, Nebraska. Society for American Baseball Research Bio Project writer Bill Lamberty wrote a nice article on Crawford if you want to read more.
Here’s an excerpt:
His father fought in the Civil War and used his military pension for a number of commercial ventures, including a general store and real estate speculation. Although Sam was widely regarded as articulate, well-read and eloquent during and particularly after his playing days, he forsook his formal education after the fifth grade to work as an apprentice barber.
Crawford’s trade would make for a great story in later years. National columnist Charles Dryden, in a mock interview with Crawford, had the slugger talk of building his renowned natural strength by “whacking the wind-whipped whiskers of Wahoo.” I believe it’s possible writers like Charles Dryden had even more fun writing than I do.
Thanks for reading Almost Cooperstown! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Crawford was very different in demeanor from the mercurial Cobb. Yet it was Cobb who reputedly accused Crawford of teasing him mercilessly when Cobb joined Detroit in 1905. Crawford was ever the gentleman. Nobody ever called Cobb a gentleman during his playing career.
But it was Cobb who forcefully advocated for his former teammate’s induction into Cooperstown. And it paid off in 1957, when both Crawford and former Yankee manager Joe McCarthy were inducted on July 27. Sam was 77 years old at the time of his induction, and he kept his speech short, sweet, along with a well-earned few tears of joy.
Wahoo Sam hadn’t been forgotten after all.
Mark Kolier and his son Gordon co-host a baseball podcast, Almost Cooperstown. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com. Mark can be reached on x @almostcoop and almostcooperstown@gmail.com.
