1921 MLB - The Story of the Sumption Twins
 

The year is 1921. The action begins at the close of Spring Training. Ty Cobb is getting up in years but the Babe is still warming up. The focus of this replay will be to follow twin brothers who are at the AA level of the Detroit Tiger organization, the Fort Worth Panthers.

The Sumption brothers, born in South Bend, Indiana, are hoping to some day play at the top level.

The twins make for a unique battery combination as Fred is a pitcher while Rob is a position player, including catcher.

The Negro League, and their 9 city franchise contingency, will grab a headline here and there, too. The focus, however, are the careers of the twins.

April 15, 1921
 

Rob Sumption has his first impact game for the Fort Worth Panthers as he goes 3 for 4 with a single, double, and round tripper. He scores 3 and bats in as many.

The highly touted position player of the twin duo is batting .500 while playing third base and some CF.

His brother Fred got racked for 12 hits and 6 runs in his pitching debut in Game 3 of the season. He walked 1 and struck out 1.

Club officials have discussed the possibility of Rob catching all of Fred's games.

April 19, 1921
 

Fred Sumption is handed the ball for his second career start. The AA Panthers faced Dallas in what was a very close contest. Dallas prevailed after scoring two late runs, but, Fred Sumption gave the brass something to think about with his strong pitching performance. He credited the improved performance to his brother Rob who did the catching.

Lu Blue is hitting .500 but it's Rob who is turning heads with his .429/3/12 start.

MLB Tigers
 

Cobb and Heilman get the Tigers off to a good start. The Yanks have but one loss as the Babe has reached the seats 4 times.

April 21, Bos at NYY
 

The Red Sox have to watch the Babe belt another HR (#5) off of Sad Sam Jones, but it was Boston that comes away with a 3-2 win.

The April 20 Standings
 

Here are all 4 leagues, even the PCL for the many fans who follow that league.

May 1, 1921
 

The Sumption twins finish the month with an identical record as their parent club the Detroit Tigers, 9-9.

SP Fred Sumption has had two good starts after the shaky opener when he was shelled by the San Antonio Bears.

Position Player Robert Sumption has 10 extra base hits in 64 AB's.

June 1 AA Fort Worth
 

The Panthers are just one team removed from the cellar as they are now 20-27, ahead of only the Houston Buffaloes. They did finish May with a four game winning streak.

On the mound, Fred Sumption has been inconsistent. He's twice been rocked for huge losses but has a couple of very impressive outings to go with them. Occasionally, as is the custom in the 20's, SP's are called upon to relieve. It should be noted that Fred's FIP is a respectable 3.66 ERA, vs. 4.17 actual.

In the field, brother Rob is manning 5 different positions while posting up a .756 OPS. Rob leads the Panthers with 30 rbi's.

The Promotion
 

Opinions were split on whether the twins had earned a promotion, or if they are even ready for one, but in these cases ownership has the last word sometimes to the detriment of the organization. With that caveat, Rob and Fred are now part of the Tiger 25 man roster.

Rajah
 

Rogers Hornsby is on a 25 game hitting streak elevating his batting average to even gaudier level that what he's attained in recent years.

June 6
 

Cy Perkins, Tillie Walker, and Chick Gallaway are just a few of the colorful names that dot the 1921 line up cards. Not to mention Lu Blue and Ira Flagstead (Player of the Game today).

Each team had its own 2 out rally but it was the Tigers that prevailed with their 8th inning comeback. Flagstead was 4 for 5.

Howard Ehmke is now 5-3 with the W while Slim Hariss drops to 3-8. Neither of the Sumption twins played in the game.

June 7 - Rob's first MLB appearance
 

Rob Sumption was called upon to handle the catching duty in the nations capital today and had a successful debut. He went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. The Senators stole 2 bases w/out being thrown out.

The Tigers are in 2nd place 4 back of the Yanks. The Monarchs and Buckeyes are running one and two in the Negro Baseball League. Oscar Charleston leads all the players with 12 homers.

Rajah makes it to 30
 

It was the Brooklyn Robins that finally corralled the red hot Hornesby at Game #30, but that didn't stop the Cards from winning in extra frames.

May Rookie of the Month
 

Here are the rookies of the month for May

The Standings
 

Here are the standings for June 1 in both leagues.
Maybe an exhibition series at the end?

Rob's debut
 

With little fanfare, Rob Sumption received his first playing time as a professional as he got the call behind the dish. Management has Rob listed as a back up for tired players at a few different positions.

Fred is in the bullpen and has not yet taken the mound.

The KC Monarchs
 

The Monarchs are grabbing most of the headlines in the Negro Baseball league despite only a 1.5 game lead on second place Columbus.

Kansas City leads the league in every major statistical category except stolen bases. Bullet Rogan is getting it done on the mound and in the field.

Is "Gentleman Dave" Malarcher on that Chicago American Giants squad?
If so, I'd love any updates you care to share regarding one of my favorite (if not my very favorite) players from the Negro Leagues.

Dave Malarcher
 

Malarcher appears to be a good OBP guy but is batting out of the 7 hole. Here is one of his better games, below.

Thanks!
Yes, Dave Malarcher was not one of the premiere Negro Leagues players, but he was universally respected. A true gentleman, as his nickname indicates. He was also highly intelligent and had a successful life post-playing career. He served as player-manager for several seasons, and he formed his own independent club for a time. Having attended both Dillard University and Xavier University, he later opened his own real estate agency and was also a published poet.

Malarcher become one of my favorite players from the Negro Leagues when I learned more about him after Replay Baseball put out their 1923 Negro Leagues card set some years back.