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Playing CF stopped him crashing off walls, which he might have done in LF or RF, where they're closer! Eat your heart out, Bill Terry -- 190 RBI beats .400 any day, and unlike Ruth's wimpy 60 homers, hasn't been equaled since. Best peak on the ballot, better than Jennings, Terry, Dickey Pearce, Bingo deMoss or anyone else!

Best peak on the ballot, better than Jennings, Terry, Dickey Pearce, Bingo deMoss or anyone else!

Pearce is eligible again? :-)

Playing CF stopped him crashing off walls, which he might have done in LF or RF, where they're closer!

LOL

Wholly crap - wikipedia is cool . . .

I just looked up my city, Martinsburg, WV and I find this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_Wilson

Hack Wilson is buried like a mile and a half from my house, he's been there for over 57 years, and I didn't know. That is wild. I guess I've got to go check out the gravesite sometime, being that close.

His B-R page lists him as being from PA, so I never made the connection that he lived in Martinsburg, pretty cool!

Heh, after a little more research, apparently we even have a "Hack Wilson Way" in town here . . .

Apparently, he didn't live here, from what I can gather - he just had an 'affinity' for the town, after playing Class D ball here in the early 20s. He lived in Baltimore . . . kind of wild that they buried him out here, there must be more to it than that, he have some other tie to the town that I'm missing, or maybe he just liked to visit out here to get away from the city. It's about an hour and a half to downtown Baltimore from here, but that's the way I drive, I'd imagine cars in the 1940s were a little slower.

I'd imagine cars in the 1940s were a little slower.

The *roads* were certainly a lot slower.

Joe Dimino;

We're practically neighbors; we'll that's stretching the concept of neighborhoods a bit......I live in Lovettsville, VA which is almost Maryland and almost West Virginia.

If you ever organize an HoM gathering in the general DC area or go to an orioles/nationals game I'm up for attending.

I still think Hack is getting short shrift from the electorate especially the peak voters who are now clamoring for their shiny new toy, Koufax.

Clearly an underrated poster -- I wish he'd show up more in non-Cubs threads.

Oh, you're talking about the player?

No kidding jingoist, wow, small world.

I know exactly where Lovettsville is . . . when I used to live in Sterling, I'd shoot up 15 to get to Harrisburg, PA fairly regularly.

We definitely need to get something organized for the DC area . . . I'll let you know if we come up with anything for sure.

I hope I have time to come! Make sure it's after June 1st.

Presumably Vienna VA counts as Washington area as well, so I'd like to join you if you'll have me. Will be fun to meet the Commissioner after 70 "years" of voting!

karlmangus;
Vienna! my old stomping grounds!
I lived in Wendover, off Lawyers Road near Hunter Mill Road from 1983 until 2005 when I hit my almost-end-of-life crisis and moved my wife to the country. You know the drill; kids grown, downsize the house (hah, not with Mrs. C you dont downsize).

Still have many great friends in the Vienna area.
I work in Tysons Corner, right across from the Tysons II mall.

Went to 5 Nationals games last year...drive to Vienna metro and take the train to RFK; only way to go.

My buddy and I ran into Frank Howard on the train one evening last year.

Frank looks great.
He's lost a ton of weight from his playing days; he's a mere shadow of his former self.
He works for Steinbrenner now, scouting teams/players.

Once the games begin we should have a meet-up and go see mlb.

After all, after 33 years of waiting: "baseballs back in DC".

Haven't yet been to a Nats game; wrong league. We've lived here 5 years (in the Dunn Loring Woods development, convenient for the Metro) and this is about 4 years longer than I had expected. However, the Young Master is now in 8th grade in the excellent school system (goes to Thoreau MS now and Marshall HS next year)so we may be here until June 2010 at this point, after which I shall retire to New England somewhere -- I HATE Washington summers.

Red Sox playing Nats in Boston this year, but presumably the Evil Yankees are visiting DC, which would be fun, particularly as the Commissioner is, I think a Yankee fan.

Joe, you could probably dig up ole Hack pretty much intact. I bet he is quite well preserved (through a lifelong pickling process). :)

I shall retire to New England somewhere -- I HATE Washington summers.

What could anyone hate about Washington summers?
;-)

What about Hack Wilson?
Joe, did you ever find out why he is in Martinsburg?

Oh, yeah, baseball. Hack Wilson played the game "at the highest level" as we say around here, and for a few seasons there he played at the highest level. It is a bit surprising he didn't get more attention here.

I shall retire to New England somewhere -- I HATE Washington summers.

Sorry, I forgot to anticipate that we will meet at a Southern New England SABR meeting, if I am still in the region. I suppose you will be in southern New England, avoiding both Washington summer and northern New England winter. Many people do retire to the South coast, and some to Cape Cod, although one of these years a really big hurricane will hit really hard, and some of them will spend their last years in insurance court.

Man, bummer - can't believe the get together idea dropped. Seeing Paul revive this thread makes me wish someone had done so before I moved to Illinois.

Speaking of hurricanes (I was on Long Island for Gloria in the 80s), I was woken up by the earthquake this morning and felt the aftershock at work too, pretty wild.

The brochure did not mention earthquakes, only tornadoes. Pretty disappointed with that.

Speaking of hurricanes (I was on Long Island for Gloria in the 80s),

I was in college for that one. I never saw so many trees down, until I saw what Hurricanes Fran and Floyd did to NC.

Oh, yeah, baseball. Hack Wilson played the game "at the highest level" as we say around here, and for a few seasons there he played at the highest level. It is a bit surprising he didn't get more attention here.

Just too much worthier competition that Hack had to deal with as a candidate.

I feel obligated to say something here. Got nothing.

Anyone read this?

"Fouled Away: The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson"

From Wilson's early career as a steelworker, through his time as the beloved ballplayer and icon for the City of Big Shoulders to his days as a down-on-his-luck baseball washout and itinerant laborer, an unflinching look at this Hall of Famer is provided.