Philadelphia Athletics - The Roaring Twenties (1920-1929)

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106

1920

100

Decade

104

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1926

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Titles:

Top Athletics Players of the Twenties

1929 World Champs (Beat Cubs)

Pitchers:

Ball Park:

Eddie Rommel (45.53) - 96

Shibe Park

Lefty Grove (29.04) - 63

Rube Walberg (18.56) - 45

Team Name:

Slim Harriss (15.45) - 37

Athletics

Jack Quinn (15.56) - 31

Sam Gray (8.36) - 22

Owner:

George Earnshaw (6.86) - 20

Ben Shibe & Connie Mack (1920-1921)

Rollie Naylor (6.64) - 17

Tom & John Shibe & Connie Mack (1921-1929)

Howard Ehmke (9.13) - 16

General Manager:

Catchers:

Connie Mack

Mickey Cochrane (17.94) - 49

Cy Perkins (6.25) - 40

Manager:

Connie Mack

First Basemen:

Joe Hauser (11.9) - 33

No Hitters:

Jimmie Foxx (13.82) - 26

None

Second Basemen:

Hall of Famers:

Max Bishop (17.99) - 35

Ty Cobb

Mickey Cochrane

ShortStop:

Eddie Collins

Chick Galloway (1.95) - 21

Jimmie Foxx

Whitey Witt (3.42) - 11

Lefty Grove

Connie Mack

Third Base:

Al Simmons

Jimmy Dykes (22.52) - 61

Tris Speaker

Sammy Hale (12.13) - 35

Zach Wheat

Joe Dugan (3.64) - 10

MVP:

Outfield:

Mickey Cochrane (1928)

Al Simmons (31.45) - 73

Bing Miller (17.41) - 55

Notable Events:

Ty Cobb (6.28) - 23

Frank Welch (4.37) - 23

1918 - In a rare glimmer of light in the last half of the Teens for

Tilly Walker (8.61) - 22

the A's, eighteen year old Third Baseman Jimmy Dykes is signed.

Bill Lamar (3.77) - 20

For the moribund, totally lifeless A's, this signing of a top prospect was

Tris Speaker (0.5) - 1

a case of the exception proving the rule of the Teens.

Zach Wheat (0.51) - 0

Dykes will be the A's starting third baseman thru 1932

Notable Events:

1920 - OF Charlie Jamieson, 26, is dealt to the Indians for Braggo Roth

in a terrible trade. Jamieson would be one of the top outfielders

1927 - Connie Mack signs a couple of forty something future HOFers

in the Twenties playing for Cleveland.

that he doesn't need at high salaries - Ty Cobb and Zack Wheat.

The leadup to these signings was that Cobb and a another forty

1920 - Twenty two year old righty knuckleballer Ed Rommel debuts

something future HOFer, Tris Speaker, had been accused of throwing

Eddie was purchased from Newark of the International League in '19

games by former Detroit and Boston Red Sox pitcher Dutch Leonard.

Leonard had been a teammate of both and was a disgruntled ex big

1922 - Ben Shibe dies at the age of 83. His son Tom becomes

leaguer. The allegations were never proven, but baseball commissioner

team president and son John remains involved with the club.

Judge Kenesaw Landis had to tread lightly due to the recent

Meanwhile, Connie Mack seems liberated from his eight year funk

World Series fix and other gambling scandals.

and starts acquiring ballplayers for more championship runs.

Landis decided that a change of venue for both Cobb and Speaker was

No one did it better.

in the cards to get them away from local gamblers. Cobb went to the A's

where Connie Mack could keep an eye on him. Speaker to Washington

1922 - Twenty Seven year old outfielder Bing Miller, 28, is acquired

where Clark Griffith could do the same. Speaker ended up moving to

from Washington in a trade for third baseman Joe Dugan, 21.

the A's with Cobb in '28. Cobb was still playing at a high level while

The deal didn't make much of a splash at the time, but Miller turns

Speaker was winding down. Wheat, meanwhile, played well for the A's

into a fine player for the A's into his late thirties.

in '27, but was released at the end of the season to make room for

Speaker. Unclear why Wheat was even involved in these moves since

1922 - The A's finish seventh after finishing dead last for the past

he had nothing to do with the gambling allegations.

seven straight years.

1928 - OF Mule Haas, 24, is purchased from Atlanta.

1923 - 24 Connie Mack goes on a buying spree purchasing the

He had played briefly with the Pirates in '25

following players from minor and major league teams:

□ RHP - Rube Walberg, 27, (Giants);

1928 - Back in the Twenties, minor league clubs didn’t automatically

□ LHP - Lefty Grove, 24, (Baltimore);

sell their top players to a big league club. Baltimore of the International

□ C - Mickey Cochrane, 21, (Portland);

League was a case in point. George Earnshaw was a big winner in

□ 1B - Jimmie Foxx, 16, (Easton);

Baltimore for several years, but the Orioles, altho' not a major league

□ 2B - Max Bishop, 24, (Baltimore);

team, were doing well financially and were paying well. There was

□ OF - Al Simmons, 22, (Milwaukee);

really not a whole lot of incentive to sell a top player for a club

like the Orioles. There were a lot of other teams like Baltimore, in fact,

1925 - Philly breaks a streak of ten straight losing seasons

the Pacific Coast League was full of them. The Orioles finally sold

with a second place finish. The A's now have the horses to contend

Earnshaw to the A's. He was now twenty eight years old and he was

for titles with the Yankees moving forward as the young team Mack

the last big piece of the puzzle to put the A's over the top and into

has been assembling has started to mature.

championship mode starting in 1929. He cost the A's $80,000, a huge

sum at the time, plus RHP Jing Johnson. The A's also got pitcher Bill Shores

1929 - After contending for the previous four years, it all comes

together for the A's with a 104 win season and a pennant culminating

with a World Series victory over the Cubs