Baseball History Podcast

George Clyde Kell was born August 23, 1922, in Swifton, Arkansas. Easily the best player to emerge during the WWII player shortage, Kell remained the American League’s premier third baseman long after the war had ended, and eventually earned a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Wesley Noreen Westrum was born November 28, 1922 Clearbrook, Minnesota. He was known as a superb defensive catcher. In 1950 he set a National League record for catchers with a .999 fielding average. He later served as the second manager in the history of the New York Mets, replacing Casey Stengel.

Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh, nicknamed “Peck”, was born February 5, 1891 in Wooster, Ohio. Peckinpaugh was one of the finest defensive shortstops and on-field leaders of the Deadball Era.

Alfonso Ramon Lopez, nicknamed “Al”, was born August 20, 1908 in Tampa, Florida. A solid major league catcher whose record of games caught stood for more than 40 years. He later found great success as manager.

John Lester Moss, nicknamed “Les”, was born May 14, 1925 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Moss played as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns for the most significant portion of his career, and was a backup catcher almost all his career. He also scouted, coached, and managed in the White Sox and Tiger organizations for nearly 30 years.