The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell

[Big Six]

Thanks, Rypry. Glad you're enjoying it!

[Big Six]

Waldorf=Astoria Hotel
Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street
New York, New York

Mr. Bill Carrigan
307 Angell Street
Providence, Rhode Island

June 30, 1922

Dear Bill,

I wanted to hurry up and write to you as quickly as possible, as I have some news I am very eager to share with you. It does not pertain to the All-Star Game, about which I am sure you have already read.

There was a meeting of representatives from every major league club held in conjunction with the game; most clubs sent their president or owner, such was the importance of this meeting. There, it was agreed that the practice of hiring only white men to play in the major leagues, which has been preserved by mutual agreement as long as we have been alive, should end.

The players from the teams were called together this morning, and the plan was presented to us. Not a man among us spoke against the idea. I certainly have no problem with opening the major leagues to colored players, after my experience with them on the barnstorming tour. I met very pleasant fellows among the team Bruce Petway had assembled; I also met men who were more difficult to get along with. In other words, my experience was exactly what I would expect if I were to meet a group of twenty white ball players. That, of course, is the point: that these fellows are no different from any other collection of ball players, and that they deserve a chance to play major league ball.

It appears that about eight players will be involved. Among them are three whom I met while on the tour: Joe Rogan, Joe Williams, and Oscar Charleston. All three of them will be able to help a major league club right away, especially Charleston, who is in his prime and will probably become one of the biggest stars in either the American or National League. Others are young players who might

I received permission to pass this information along to you, with the understanding that you would not release it further, as the leagues wish the news to be announced according to their timetable. Suffice it to say, however, that before very long, the players will be making their major league debuts.


Your pal,
Pat

****************
Note: I'm deciding to go ahead and break the color line for several reasons. One, I've always wondered what players like Charleston might have done in the major leagues. Two, I wanted to give myself (and anyone who's reading the thread) a compelling story line to follow as Pat retires and moves onto his post-playing career. The O'Farrell boys probably won't be ready to make their debuts by the time Dad hangs up his glove.

I've limited the pool of Negro League stars to the men who have been elected to the Hall of Fame. I've based their ratings on the players who were listed as each blackball star's most comparable player (www.blackbaseball.com). Oscar Charleston is the exception, because there truly doesn't seem to have been a player in the major leagues like him.

In the cases of Satchel Paige and Monte Irvin, I'm going to let them begin their careers as 18-year-olds, so we can see what might have been. That means Satch is arriving soon...

I hope you enjoy this story line.

[Big Six]

The National League defeated the American League, 7-6 in the 1922 All-Star game. Pat started the game at second base for the AL, batting third. It was Pat's 13th All-Star appearance, tying him with fellow All-Star Ty Cobb for the most All-Star selections in major league history. Since Ty was not chosen as a starter, however, Pat alone has started thirteen Midsummer Classics.

Pat drove in a run with single to right field against Erv Kantlehner, and later stole second base. He later added a sacrifice fly off Bill Otey. He played the entire game, ending up 1-3.

Other All-Stars from the Red Sox included Babe Ruth (starting RF, cleanup hitter, 1-5 with 2 runs and a solo homer) and George Dauss (selected to the team, but did not pitch).

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, July 8, 1922

RED SOX OBTAIN PAIR OF OUTFIELDERS
Dutch Leonard Sent to Pittsburgh; Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler to Sox

BOSTON--Jimmy Collins has been pulling all the right strings lately, and the Red Sox have responded, moving into a first-place tie with the Detroit Tigers.

Today, the management pulled another string, sending pitcher Dutch Leonard to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for a pair of outfielders, Max Carey and Kiki Cuyler.

The veteran Carey will provide the powerful Sox outfield trio of Irish Meusel, Tris Speaker, and Babe Ruth with some well-earned rest during the "dog days" of summer. Cuyler is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game, and will be sent to New Bedford for seasoning.

****************
The computer GM of the Pirates must see something I don't here. "He" suggested the deal, and I pulled the trigger...

[Big Six]

Statler Hotel
Washington Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri

Mrs. Sarah O'Farrell
84 Westland Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

July 30, 1922

My dearest Sarah,

It is nearly midnight, and I am sitting in the lobby wide awake because my hotel room is far too hot for me to think about sleeping. I tried soaking my sheet in water, and the relief it provided was only temporary. In the lobby, there is at least a fan above my head, stirring the breeze a bit.

We won the game today, and I had three hits, but we lost yet another player to injury. Babe Ruth was running the bases and pulled up lame, and has injured his hamstring muscle. He might not be able to play again for three weeks, and of course, the injury comes just as the Babe has started to knock the stuffing out of the ball. He has hit seven home runs this month and twenty-four for the season, and I have become spoiled with him hitting behind me. Now I suppose I will be batting fourth sometimes, and I much prefer the third spot. Whatever our batting order looks like, the fact remains that we have fallen three games behind Detroit now, in a second place tie with Philadelphia. With or without Ruth, we must bear down or we will be reading about the World Series in the newspapers again this year.

The arrival of the colored players has attracted surprisingly little fanfare. Three of them were signed by Detroit, and the two younger players, Stearnes and Bell, are in the minor leagues. The other, Rube Foster, has pitched and won one game. Foster is an older fellow, probably at least forty, but he apparently has some life left in his arm, and by all accounts he is a fine man to have in a clubhouse. The newspapermen were speculating about what would happen when Ty Cobb realized he had a colored teammate, but as is often the case, it was much ado about nothing. Supposedly Cobb has treated Foster with the respect his long career in the game would naturally earn him.

I hear that the young black player whom the Red Sox signed, Judy Johnson, is playing with a team in Ludington, Michigan, in a Class B league. He is adjusting well, although he has been struggling a bit on the field. To date, these are the only four colored men who have been signed. I would predict that several more will follow; I cannot imagine why a player as good as Oscar Charleston seems to be has not been signed to a contract yet.

I am going back up to my room in an attempt to get some rest. It was almost ninety-five degrees yesterday, and it is supposed to be at least as hot tomorrow. I cannot see how any man plays a full season here in St. Louis! Even Richmond did not feel this infernally hot.

Give the children my love, and remember to save some for yourself.

As always,
Pat

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle, July 31, 1922

HILLIES WIN AGAIN, 6-3
Graham's Home Run Bumps Off Boosters

PITTSFIELD--The Hillies yesterday extended their longest winning streak of the season by defeating the Fitchburg Boosters, 6-3.

Sensational young outfielder Archie Graham was the hitting star, launching a long home run over the right field fence in the sixth inning that provided the Hillies with a lead they would not relinquish. It was Graham's eleventh four-base hit of the season.

The 19-year-old flychaser, who supposedly received the nickname "Moonlight" for his habit of taking batting practice under such illumination, has been a sensation. Along with veteran "Babe" Ellison, he has provided the Hillies with consistent production all season long.

Graham is currently batting .284 with 61 runs batted in. Only Ellison has hit more home runs and driven in more runs than Archie has, and Graham's play afield has also sparkled.

The sky is the limit for this talented young player, who should be moving up to a higher level before much longer. Baseball fans here in the Berkshires should come out to watch him while we still can.

[Carlton]

No Rube Foster?

Oscar Charleston was a fiery fellow, a real hard nose, sort of like Cobb...he was no Jackie Robinson in turn the other cheek category. One story is he pulled off the hood of a klansman and told him to look him in the eye and say that...tough hombre

Max Carey a Red Sox? One of my favorite players...and probably the 2nd best defensive CF of all time (when he played there) right behind Dode Paskert. Scoops was a damn fine base stealer as well, HIGH SB%

[Big Six]

Rube's there, Carlton. He's with the Tigers, and it's looking like he'll get a chance to go to the World Series. In fact, Pat mentions Foster in a letter to his wife, which I posted last night.

Charleston was an amazing player. When I created him, the player I modeled him most closely after was Willie Mays, and that's saying something. Bill James wrote something about the truly great players also being the most unique, and I understand exactly what he means here. Oscar finally got picked up by the Chicago Cubs, and I predict he'll be the first 30/30 man...maybe even 40/40, or 50/50.

With Carey and Speaker in the same outfield, not much is gonna drop out there, and Ruth didn't import too bad defensively, either. Fat Babe was, of course, like Fat Elvis...if you only caught their act toward the end of their careers, you come away with a very different image of the man.

[Carlton]

ah I missed that, and a teammate of Cobb's no less

[Big Six]

227 Elm Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Mr. Patrick O'Farrell
84 Westland Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

August 12, 1922

Dear Pat,

I am back at Mom and Dad's for a few days, relaxing and taking it easy. I have been ill lately, more so than I was the last time I was expecting. Perhaps that is due to worry and anxiety, and that is what I am writing to you about.

Joe's last two letters to me have been unlike any he has ever written. He feels terrible about the way he has pitched this season, and in his last letter he wrote, "My performance is the reason why we are in third place right now. I take all the blame for the fact that we aren't comfortably in front." I have tried to reassure him, but to no avail.

Has his latest injury damaged his arm to the point that he will never be the same again? I have not heard that from him, but he is worried that he will not be able to bounce back this season, and that it will cost the Red Sox the pennant.

Could you please try to talk to him, Pat? I believe if he hears from you that you still have confidence in him, it will make a difference. And, if you honestly believe that he is too badly injured to ever pitch like the "real" Joe Wood again, will you please tell me? Please do not worry about sparing my feelings.

On a happier note, congratulations on your Batter of the Month award for July. I suppose you have already finished the fruit from Mom and Dad's basket, and that Sarah has found another way to display it.

Hopefully Joe will pitch a couple of good games and recover his confidence, and we will all have to make plans for October trips to the home of the National League champions for a game or two. It certainly looks like that might be New York, the way they have been playing lately.

Imagine me, watching the standings so closely! It is amazing what being married to a professional base ball player can do, isn't it?

Love,
Emily

[William4192]

Hey Big Six,

Could you post a lineup of the roster and the rotation? It would be helpful.

[Big Six]

Sure, William. I'm at work and don't have OOTP here, but I believe I remember the Red Sox roster anyway.

Pitchers: Hugh Bedient, George "Hooks" Dauss, Art Nehf, Joe Wood, Waite Hoyt, Marty McHale, Charlie Hartman, Ken Penner, Pete Donohue

Catchers: Johnny Bassler, Fred Snodgrass

Infielders: Joe Judge, Hugh Bradley, Pat O'Farrell, Ray Chapman, Marty Krug, Mike McNally, Joe Paddock, Frank Frisch

Outfielders: Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, Max Carey, Irish Meusel, Chick Shorten, Ben Paschal

The usual batting order:

Carey, lf
Chapman, ss
O'Farrell, 2b
Ruth, rf
Speaker, cf
Bassler, c
Judge, 1b
Frisch, 3b

When Meusel plays, he bats 6th, with Frisch leading off and Bassler and Judge dropping down in the order.

The pitching rotation: Wood-Bedient-Dauss-Nehf. Hoyt is the spot starter, and Hartman is the relief ace.

[Big Six]

148 Cherry Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

October 21, 1922

Fr. James Callaghan
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
823 Park Avenue
Richmond, Virginia

Dear Father Callaghan,

Your letter was a wonderful surprise, and I am very sorry I have taken so long to reply to you. It arrived right as we were about to leave on our season-ending road trip, and when we returned, it was time to pack and head for home.

I appreciate your continued interest in my career very much. I remember what a big base ball fan you were when I was playing in Richmond, and I remember with special fondness the way you welcomed me to your parish. I was away from home for the first time, and was far lonelier than I would ever have admitted at the time. You remind me of the priest who served my parish at home in Massachusetts when I was a boy, Father O'Reilly, who would play catch with me in the field behind the church and encouraged me to pursue my dreams of playing professional ball. He also reminded me to attend Mass, which I can proudly say I have done as regularly as I can.

Our season ended in a disappointing fashion. I suppose I became spoiled by all our pennants and trips to the World Series, but it still feels empty when our season ends in September. We finished six games behind the Tigers, who went on to lose the World Series to the Giants. The Giants have won the last two Series, and I read in the Sporting News that it is being said that New York has supplanted Boston as the center of the base ball universe. My teammates and I are determined to reverse that trend, of course, but the last two years we have fallen a bit short.

Bill Carrigan, the fellow who used to come to Mass with me at Sacred Heart, has just retired from his career as an active player. He managed the Providence club in the Eastern League, and he would like very much to continue in the game in that capacity. I believe he will make as fine a manager as he did a player, and I would not be surprised to see him reach the major leagues as a manager soon.

You are certainly not alone in following Babe Ruth's hitting feats. I see them on a daily basis, and they never cease to amaze me. I do believe the ball is livelier than it used to be--here I am, hitting almost twenty home runs myself this season, when I used to hit fewer than ten. On the other hand, Ruth hit nearly forty this season; nobody else hit as many as twenty-five.

There are players in the minor leagues who are hitting thirty home runs a year now, and soon they will be reaching the highest levels of the sport. They take big, hard swings at any pitch they like, and while they hit lots of balls over the fence, they also miss lots of them, too. I wonder sometimes how the sport will change when more batters with this approach reach the major leagues. I suppose that a man who hits ten home runs a year will no longer be called a slugger.

I fear I have taken too much of your time, so I will close my letter now. I hope all is well with your parish, and that you will continue to keep in touch.

Sincerely,
Pat O'Farrell

[Carlton]

Fred Snodgrass at C?

The Snodgrass of the famous "Muff" play?

He imported with C ratings? Odd, since he was an OF

[Big Six]

Yeah, Snodgrass began with the Giants as a catcher. He only played about 6 games there in his career, but he imported there and in the outfield. He's been the team's backup catcher and has filled in at all three OF spots for the Sox since he was obtained in a 1917 trade with the Giants.

His versatility was what made me accept the deal when the computer GM of the Giants offered me Snodgrass for Walt Thomas, who was then the Sox' starting shortstop. The Sox had Ray Chapman (whom the Indians had released) and Steve Yerkes waiting for playing time at short, so Thomas was expendable, even though he'd had a good run for the Sox.

[Big Six]

148 Cherry Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Mr. Joseph Miller
Paramount Studios
Los Angeles, California

October 28, 1922


Dear Mr. Miller,

I am writing to you in response to your letter of October 22. Thank you for your offer of an audition for a part in your motion picture, "The Ball Player and the Showgirl." I must, however, decline the offer at this time.

As you know, I spent several weeks in late 1920 on the road with a traveling team. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful family, including five children, all ten years of age or younger. The desire to spend as much time as possible with them during the fall and winter is very strong, as I know that beginning in February, I will not see them nearly as much as I would like. While the prospect of appearing in a motion picture is intriguing, it would require me to spend several weeks in California, far from my home here in Massachusetts.

Furthermore, I feel it is my responsibility to my teammates and to my employer, the Boston American League club, to do all I can to prepare myself for the coming season. Therefore, I plan to spend the winter months resting and training, restricting my public appearances to events that benefit various charities.

Thank you once again for your kind offer, and I wish you the best of luck with your project.

Sincerely,
Patrick J. O'Farrell

[seth70liz76]

It would have been interesting to see Pat go into the movies. I love that those early ballplayers could go around the country and appear and draw a crowd. McGraw especially could just be McGraw and fill a theater. Of course, someone like Marty McHale--who had some real talent (Ruth called him the best singer he ever heard) could be in a show and acquit himself nicely. Things never really change tho--instead of going to a theater to pay to see your heroes, you go to an autograph show.

[William4192]

Actually current players can go around the country and draw a crowd, they just don't need the money.

Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, this offseason, allowed fans to spend 5 minutes with them for $7,500; they made over $2,000,000

(sorry Big Six to go a little off topic, but I felt it was okay since I was commenting on a comment)

[Big Six]

98 Arnold Road
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts

Mr. Patrick O'Farrell
148 Cherry Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

November 4, 1922


Dear Mr. O'Farrell,

I would first like to congratulate you for the many oustanding achievements that have made your career in baseball such a notable one. Like many of us who grew up in and near Boston, I have followed your fortunes, as well as those of the Red Sox, since I was a boy. I continue to do so as my schedule permits.

You have provided a consistently positive example of sportsmanship, clean living, and hard work for your many fans, proving that it is possible to win without compromising one's integrity.

As you may know, I have become involved in several charitable enterprises, including a golf tournament that is played each year at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The tournament is held in October of each year, shortly after the conclusion of the baseball season.

I would like to extend to you an invitation to play in next year's tournament. I understand if you will be unable to accept, because it falls so close to the end of your season. I would also like to invite you and your family to a banquet which will be held at The Country Club on November 28, at which you will be recognized as one of the Boston area's most outstanding role models for young men.

I hope you will be able to attend the banquet and participate in our golf tournament. My best wishes to you and your family.

With warmest regards.

Sincerely yours,
Francis D. Ouimet

****************
Here's a link to a short biography of Francis Ouimet, who was one of Boston's, and America's greatest sports heroes of Patrick's day. I thought the two of them would probably get along well.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by seth70liz76

Of course, someone like Marty McHale--who had some real talent (Ruth called him the best singer he ever heard) could be in a show and acquit himself nicely.

It's cool that you mentioned Marty McHale and his singing talent. That's actually going to be part of a story line for Pat, since Pat has a decent voice himself. He's sung with his teammates in barbershop quartets on several occasions--this was common among teams early in the 20th century.