Baseball History Podcast

Samuel Paul Derringer was born October 17, 1906 in Springfield, Kentucky. Derringer had such command of his pitches that he was called ‘The Control King.” He was known as a great spot pitcher able to put the ball in unhittable places. In addition to his fastball and curve, he also from time to time mixed in a knuckle ball.

Robert Richard Boyd, nicknamed “Rope”, was born October 1, 1919 in Potts Camp, Mississippi. Despite his high batting average, he lacked the home run punch expected from a first baseman and was primarily a pinch hitter in his last seasons.

John Joseph Murphy was born July 14, 1908 in New York City. A righthanded, curveballing control pitcher, Murphy began his career as a starter with the Yankees, starting 20 games as a rookie in 1934. After being switched to the bullpen the following season, he started only 20 more games in his 13-year career.

Wilson Lloyd Fewster, nicknamed “Chick”, was born November 10, 1895 in Baltimore, MD. Fewster broke into organized baseball in 1915 playing second base, and then in 1917 was brought up to the Yankees in time to debut on September 19. In 11 late-season games, he hit .222, driving in just one run and scoring twice.

Robert George Weiland was born December 14, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois. Left-handed pitcher Weiland’s record is a reminder that the team you play for can have as much as anything to do with your won-loss totals. It was his misfortune to play for the worst two teams in the American League for the first six and a half years in the majors putting up a combined record of 20-50.