Complete Universe Facegen Pack

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

Primarily a catcher, Eddie Fusselback was the first pitcher to record a save in the American Association. His save recorded for the St. Louis Brown Stockings in one of only four pitching appearances, was the only one of the AA's inaugural 1882 season. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

Much obliged, good sir!

[BigRed75]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

(How did the Mariners get Tartabull, anyway? All I can find is "compensation", but the Reds didn't sign any FAs from them. Huh.)

In the 80s, the teams were trying out different ways to compensate for free agent signings (collectively bargaining with the union, of course). One of the things they tried was that every team would contribute players to a compensation pool, and teams would select from that pool if they lost a free agent. It didn't have to be from the team that signed the FA, it could have been anyone in the pool.

That idea died a premature death when Gussie Busch (I believe) realised he was losing players without even signing free agents. Pretty sure the fact that Steinbrenner was signing FAs and teams were selecting Cardinals as compensation made it even more galling.

[LansdowneSt]

Bill Rodgers played for three major-league teams in his first year in the leagues, but he only played in four games in his second – and last – year. He played for Cleveland and the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds in 1915, swiftly moving from one team to another, and then appeared in a handful of early-season games for Cincinnati in 1916. “Rawmeat Bill” Rodgers started the 1915 season for Cleveland and was hitting .311 after the first 16 games, with seven RBIs. He’d committed three errors, however, and perhaps for that reason, Cleveland released him unconditionally on May 15. Rodgers felt he “got an unfair deal” from Cleveland. He detailed his thoughts in a lengthy letter he made public, in which he slammed Cleveland manager Joe Birmingham, saying among other things, “Birmingham has no knowledge of human nature whatever, and he does not know common sense baseball. Consequently, he cannot run this team or any other organization successfully, but you have to give him credit for one thing. He has established a reputation as the best wrecker the game has ever produced. How he gets away with it is a mystery…Get busy and kill the snake.” Remarkably, the letter had been written on May 12 and Birmingham was fired from his position on May 19 and never returned to managing in the majors. - SABR

After his brief tenure in the league, Rodgers became a longtime manager in the minor leagues. His son Buck Rodgers, played in the minor leagues at the same time and when Bill was named manager of the Sanford minor league club in May 1938, Buck asked for his release from the club so that he wouldn't play for his father. There is no record of Buck accounting for his reasons or thought of his old man's managerial abilities via public letter however...

[LansdowneSt]

Doug Baird came up with the Pirates, played all over the diamond for six years and five teams from 1915 to 1920. He slashed .223/.282/.305 over 1,197 PA, had a little speed, and one great play in the field that wiped a game from the books. thisdayinbaseball recounts it:

June 3, 1918 – At Brooklyn‚ the Cardinals outslug the Dodgers‚ 15-12‚ in 10 innings. But the Dodgers play the game under protest after a 6th inning run by Doug Baird is allowed by umpire Rigler. The baserunner, Baird, passed 3B‚ reverses himself to head for 2B‚ reverses again and scores by cutting across the diamond. The NL will uphold the protest‚ erasing today’s game and Zach Wheat’s 0-for-5 at the plate. This‚ plus the Reds’ protested game of April 29‚ will give Wheat the batting title over Edd Roush .335 to .333.

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Fred Kommers would play 40 games for the Pirates in 1913, all in center field, and he hit .232 with 22 RBIs and 14 runs scored. On August 11th, five days after his final game with the Pirates, he was released to Columbus of the American Association as partial payment for pitcher George McQuillan, who joined the Pirates a month earlier. When the Federal League became classified as a Major League in 1914, Kommers was one of several players to jump their contract with Columbus to join the new league. He spent 1914 playing for two different teams in the league. He hit .294 in 92 games, in what would be his last season in the majors. Kommers played two more years in the minors (1917 and 1921) before retiring as a player. He had to play independent ball in 1915 because no team was willing to sign him after jumping his contract the previous year. It was a problem that kept him from playing minor league ball during many of those missing years from 1915-1921. - history.pittsburghbaseball.com

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Only 20 years old when the Washington Senators broke camp in spring 1914, right-hander Jim Shaw was deemed a can’t-miss pitching prodigy. The youngster had impressed the previous September during a brief late-season audition with the club, and his spring work had left some onlookers near-swooning, with favorable comparison to renowned staff ace Walter Johnson coming from no-less-informed an observer than Washington manager Clark Griffith. Good-sized (6-feet, 180 pounds) with broad shoulders and noticeably long arms, Shaw bore a striking physical resemblance to Johnson and reputedly threw just as hard, with a nasty, sharp-breaking curve besides. Greatness, it seemed, was destined for Jim Shaw.

A century later, any comparison of the long-forgotten Shaw to the immortal Walter Johnson would be ludicrous. Handicapped by chronic control problems, nagging injuries, and an often complacent attitude, Shaw was never able to fully harness his natural talent and proved a disappointment. But he was far from a bust. Despite his shortcomings, Shaw gave the Senators almost a decade of useful service, posting five double-digit-win seasons. At times he even managed to lead American League hurlers in certain secondary pitching statistics, some positive — game appearances (1919); innings pitched (1919), and retroactive saves (1914 and 1919), others not — walks (1914 and 1917) and wild pitches (1919 and 1920). In the end, Jim Shaw was neither phenom nor flop. Rather, the descriptive that perhaps best suits him is: underachiever. - SABR

I didn't see a facegen for him in the CU Facepack. Made this one.

[percolaten]

70's/80's/90's Lasorda, or an Eric Gagne w/ glasses?

[LansdowneSt]

In 1999, Canadian Éric Gagné compiled a won-loss record of 12-4, with an ERA of 2.63 and 185 strikeouts in 26 starts. That earned him the league's "Pitcher of the Year" award and a first call-up to the big club, and he made 5 late-season starts for the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a sparkling 2.10 ERA over 30 innings. Now the top pitching prospect in the Dodgers organization, it was just a matter of time until Gagné earned a permanent spot in the major league team's starting rotation. He split 2001 between AAA Las Vegas and Los Angeles, improving to 6-7, 4.75 in the majors; in AAA, he showed that he had nothing left to prove, posting 3 wins in 4 starts with an ERA of 1.52.

It seemed at that point that Eric Gagné was ready to settle in as a full-time member of the Dodgers starting rotation, but fate intervened. His manager in spring training of 2002, Jim Tracy, decided to make him his closer. To say that he took well to his new job would be a major understatement. From 2002-2004, he managed to pitch exactly 82 1/3 innings in each of the three years. During that stretch, he was the most dominating relief pitcher in the majors, saving 52 games with an ERA under 2.00 the first season, then turning in one of the greatest seasons ever by a relief pitcher in 2003. He saved 55 games in 55 opportunities to lead the National League, allowed a mere 37 hits for the season, and struck out 137 batters while walking only 20. He earned the nickname "Game Over", as he was almost untouchable when he stepped on the mound. With his hulking physique, unkempt hair, black goatee and goggles, he was an extremely intimidating presence on the mound, and a favorite of Dodger Stadium fans. He was voted the winner of the National League Cy Young Award in 2003. Gagné's run of God-like dominance ended early in the 2005 season. He hurt his knee in spring training, tried to come back too early, then hurt his arm and departed as a free agent in 2006.

He resurfaced in the news just before the 2018 World Series, which ironically featured two of his former teams, the Dodgers and Red Sox. A long-time friend of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, he realized while watching the games from his home in Montréal that closer Craig Kimbrel was tipping his pitches, which explained his struggles through the first two rounds of the postseason. He immediately informed Cora, and pitching coach Dana LeVangie worked to correct the flaw before Game 5 of the ALCS. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Nearly every formal picture Gagne had done was without his glasses. That's why the default CU Facepack is without them. There was just one good photo I found to use and it had some odd coloring patches (bright whitish spots) that the facegen software kept picking up that I had to color out of the source file before getting something close to work with. Some of the spots remain but I don't think they materially detract from the image. What I couldn't fix, I smoothed out of the fg as best I could - but I think the glasses, thanks to the trademark black centerpiece, can still be discerned. The edges of his custom Oakley-made frames were clear anyway so it's not surprising they are not readily visible. So, here's a with-glasses Gagne as best I could make it. I've tried Lasorda a few times and will again. I wasn't happy how the fg I made aged in the game.

[LansdowneSt]

Johnny Johnston played ten years in the minors before batting .320 in the Southern Association in 1912. That earned him a spot on the St. Louis Browns' roster at the age of 23 the next year. He played in 111 games as the team's left fielder putting up a .224/.308/.297 slash line. That one year would prove to be his only one is The Show.

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Paul Strand had a dream season in 1923. Playing for the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League, Strand won the Triple Crown, and, in so doing, set the PCL record for home runs in a season with 43 and the Organized Baseball record for hits in a season with 325. A former pitcher with the 1914 Miracle Braves, now nine years later turned into a power-hitting outfielder, he was called another Babe Ruth. However, 1924 turned into a nightmare season. After Connie Mack paid $35,000 and sent three players to Salt Lake City, the much-hyped Strand played only 47 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, batting .228 before Mack traded him in disgust to Toledo of the American Association. Worse yet, his name would become synonymous with the word “flop” in the nation’s sports pages for years to come.

Redid the facegen using the picture on the left (B&W one)

[percolaten]

Fantastic, thanx!

[LansdowneSt]

Third baseman Art Phelan began his playing career in 1907 and earned his first cup of coffee in the majors with the 1910 Cincinnati Reds. He returned to the Reds as the team's regular third baseman in 1912 and hit .243 in 130 games. After the season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played three years and was the starter at third in 1915. He then returned to the minors. He coached for the University of Florida in 1919-1920. He was with the Fort Worth Panthers from 1920 to 1926, when he left to become skipper of the Shreveport Sports. He later managed the Alexandria Aces for many years and was owner of the club from 1935 to 1951. - bRef Bullpen wiki

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

At the end of the 1914 season, 22-year-old "Seattle" Bill James stood on the cusp of baseball stardom. He had just pitched his "Miracle" Boston Braves to the most improbable pennant in baseball history, and followed up on that performance by beating the mighty Philadelphia Athletics twice in three days during that year’s World’s Series. He was such a uniquely gifted pitcher that John J. Ward of Baseball Magazine predicted, “The further acquisition of experience should [make him] one of the greatest all-round pitchers in history.” When he wrote those words, Ward probably never could have imagined that this talented pitcher, who already had 32 major league wins behind him, had but five more in front of him.

A year after his 1914 heroics, it soon became apparent that he was a mere shadow of the pitcher who had dominated the league the previous year. From the start of the season James complained of chronic arm fatigue. Initially the press took a dim view of the injury, dismissing his protests as the petulant whining of an overpaid athlete. But by June, reduced velocity and flagging endurance forced James out of the starting rotation. After a poor relief appearance on July 30, he was shelved for the rest of the season.

The Braves hoped that a long winter’s rest would restore strength to James’ right arm, but it was not to be. In late March 1916, teammate Johnny Evers signaled the end was near when he admitted to reporters: “His arm is gone. Bill knows it and we know it.” Shortly thereafter, the 24-year-old pitcher was placed on the voluntary retired list. The press described the injury as a “dead arm,” but in all likelihood James suffered from a torn rotator cuff, a condition the medicine of the day was powerless to correct.

Redid the facegen.

[luckymann]

Hey bud just a couple of random ones when you get a sec please.

Artie Dede is a new PIT recruit for 1916, his only IRL year in the bigs

Oscar Graham is in the AtHoL and it seems his FG is corrupted, not sure how he got missed in the Bucs updates as he only played IRL in 1907.

Thanks muchly

G

[luckymann]

Might as well get 'em up here as there are so few of them.

Tex McDonald BOS 1912-15
Leon Cadore CIN 1915-24
Zeb Terry DET 1916-22
Earl Smith NYY 1916-22
Roy Grover PHA 1916-19
Ben Houser PHI 1910-12
Paul Meloan SLA 1910-11

Ta bud

G

[LansdowneSt]

One game. Oh for one. But I dug a little more From dodgersblueheaven.com :

How Artie Dede became a Dodger is the stuff of legends. He was one of those Moonlight Graham kind of players -- having recorded just a single at-bat in his Major League career. In fact, Frank Graham Sr. (a sportswriter for the New York Sun) wrote in his 1981 book titled, "A Farewell to Heroes," that:

Dede was one of the sweetest men alive, everyone's idea of a gentle, twinkle-eyed, wisecracking grandfather. None of us minded that his jokes were pure cornball; it was the manner and not the substance of his patter that brought out the laughs. He had been a catcher for the Bushwicks and other semiprofessional teams of the World War I era and, responding to some long-forgotten emergency at Ebbets Field, had played in a single game for the Dodgers in 1916.

Dede may have never technically made it on the Dodgers playing roster. Instead, he was a well-regarded semipro catcher from Brooklyn who, based on his reputation as a knowledgeable player, got a gig as a 20-year-old bullpen catcher for both the NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. His work with those clubs gave him the opportunity to catch Major League pitchers, such as; Christy Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Al Demaree, Sherrod Smith, Jack Coombs and Nap Rucker. He was also known to have traveled with the teams on occasion; having bunked with Jim Thorpe.

Fortunately, the circumstances surrounding his lone Major League at-bat has not been lost to time; as Frank Graham had mused above. Through the wonder of the internet we find a July 17, 1947 Brooklyn Daily Eagle story about it from Jimmy Murphy.

In 1916, during the second to last game of the season, Dede had his chance to enter the record books. The Dodger catchers (Chief Myers, Otto Miller and Mack Wheat) had banged up fingers, so the team decided to give them a spell. They brought in Artie Dede as an emergency catcher out of the bullpen. The Dodgers were on their way to winning their very first pennant of the century, and they likely decided it was best to rest their backstops before their World Series matches against the Boston Red Sox.

Artie Dede faced Giants pitcher Slim Sallee, recorded an out, and caught two innings.

And how was he as a scout?

"Everyone was high on [Koufax]," General Manager Buzzie Bavasi remembered years later. "I hadn't seen him play of course, but his father came in asked for $14,000. So, I called Arthur in and said, "Arthur, Mr. Koufax wants $14,000."

He said, 'If I had it, I'd give it to him.'

"That was enough for me."

I used the picture of him as an older gentleman and had a great facegen of him as a scout. I then smoothed it a lot until the glasses were gone and the smoothness imparted some youth. I see him in there though, smoothness notwithstanding. Either way, an improvement on an old file that has probably been untouched for years.

[luckymann]

That is another one of your best there bud, excellent work. I feel compelled to give him a run at some stage after reading his IRL story. Maybe 1 AB...

G

[LansdowneSt]

Histories of Stanford University have referred to Zebulon “Zeb” Terry as “one of the greatest baseball players in Stanford history.” More than a century has passed since Terry graduated, but his name continues to come up when the early days of Stanford athletics are retold and the foundation of the university’s stellar athletics teams is mentioned. During his playing days, Terry was known as a brilliant, speedy middle infielder with a rifle arm. Yet his professional career (1914-22) was dwarfed not only by a 71-year marriage but also by a life that spanned 18 U.S. Presidents from 1891 to 1988. One of them – Dwight D. Eisenhower – was delivered by Terry’s physician father. - SABR

The facegen looked fine as a representation of ol' Zeb, so I just recolored it.

[LansdowneSt]

Oscar Graham pitched a total of 17 years and won 276 games – 272 in the minor leagues and 4 in the major leagues while with the Washington Senators during the 1907 season.

Redid the facegen.

[LansdowneSt]

Charles C. Crabtree was born on January 31, 1888, in Farmersville, Texas. His father, Jim, was a carpenter, and his mother, Susie (Burns) Crabtree, was a housewife and helped with chores on their farm. When Charles died on March 30, 1943, at the age of 52 in Houston, his death certificate gave his name as Charles “Tex” McDonald; and yet his gravestone reads “Charlie C. Crabtree.” With some mystery surrounding the different names, in baseball they were the same person. In box scores, game accounts, or sports news, he was Charles, Charlie, Charley, or Tex – all were names he was known by.

Perhaps the best explanation for the different monikers came from Atlanta Constitution sportswriter Dick Jemison:

“Years ago – ‘Tex’ isn’t a youngster by any means – when McDonald or Crabtree was playing in the Texas tall grass, he is said to have carried the handle Crabtree. ‘Tex,’ it seems, occasionally, as all ball players will do, dropped a fly ball or something of that sort, and it always hurt him when he did. Accordingly, ‘Tex’ would get a little huffy and sulk around. The result was instantaneous. Fandom decided that ‘Tex’ wasn’t really only Crabtree – they agreed he was a crab. When the fans started calling him ‘Crab,’ ‘Tex’ resented it, and, though his contract was good for the remainder of the year, some claim he hopped it, landed in the western league, where he adopted the name McDonald. He has worn it ever since.”

“And ‘Tex’ won’t even agree that this is the correct story. So, there you are.” - SABR

Overall, he played 16 years in the minors with a .314 batting average plus two years in the Federal League and two in the National League.

My pack had no fg for him so no before picture.