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dlfleitz@wcnet.org
P.S. Several other states could put together pretty good teams.
Alabama, a relatively small state, has Hank Aaron, Willie Mays,
Satchel Paige, and Willie McCovey.
California starts out with Ted Williams, Tom
Seaver, and Joe DiMaggio, while Maryland can put Babe Ruth, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Kaline on the field.
However, Oklahoma might beat them all. Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, the Waner brothers, and
Willie Stargell fill five of the positions on the All-Oklahoma team.
Add a few other Okie stars, like Pepper Martin and Allie Reynolds, and
this team could challenge any other state.
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I got on an e-mail list from someone who likes to make all-time teams of whatever strikes his fancy. Last week it was the
All-Alabama Resident team; another time, it was the All-Time Team of Players Whose Names Resemble Those of Fruits or Vegetables (Bob Lemon was one of the pitchers).
Today, it was the All-Ohio team, and I read it because I live in
Ohio. Here's the list he sent me of players born in Ohio, with my italicized comments:
1b - George Burns (???????????????)
2b - Frank LaPorte
3b - Denny Lyons (??????????????)
SS - Barry Larkin
C - Roger Bresnahan
LF - Ed Delahanty
CF - Dummy Hoy
RF - Tommy Henrich
DH - Al Oliver
RH - Roger Clemens
LH - Rube Marquard
RP - Rollie Fingers
PH Thurman Munson
Mgr - Miller Huggins
Batting Coach - Larry Hisle
Umpire - Ed Brinkman (I think they mean Joe Brinkman)
Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Benjamin Harrison
William H. Taft
Warren G. Harding
Honorable Mention
Kid Elberfeld
Cy Young
(and, to save space, more than 50 other names)
Cy Young gets honorable mention? And where is William McKinley in the list of presidents?
I think this guy forgot a few people, and you've probably already guessed one of them. I don't see Pete Rose, born and raised in Cincinnati, in this list anywhere. He's been banned from baseball, but I see no reason why he should be banned from this list.
Anyway, here's my list of all-time Ohio players:
First base: George Sisler, from Manchester, who hit .407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922, and was named to the Hall of Fame in 1939.
Second base: Miller Huggins (Cincinnati), who made the Hall of Fame by managing the Yankees to their first six pennants.
Shortstop: Barry Larkin (Cincinnati), ahead of Eddie Brinkman, also from Cincinnati.
Third base: I don't know how they possibly forgot Mike Schmidt, who grew up in Dayton and played college ball at Ohio University in Athens.
Outfield: Pete Rose and two Hall of Famers: Ed Delahanty (Cleveland) and
Elmer Flick (Bedford). I left off Ken Griffey Jr., who went to high school in Cincinnati but was born in Pennsylvania. Dummy Hoy (Houcktown) could be a reserve on this
team, and so could the recently retired Paul O'Neill (Columbus).
Catcher: Chris Hoiles was born in my town, Bowling Green, but I'll go with Roger
Bresnahan (Toledo) and Buck Ewing (Hoaglands), both of whom have
plaques in Cooperstown. Thurman Munson (Akron) would be a good choice as well.
Pitcher: Ohio has done very well in the pitching department. You
can make a starting pitching staff of four Cooperstowners: Cy Young
(Gilmore), Rube Marquard (Cleveland), Jesse Haines (Clayton), and Phil
Niekro (Blaine). You could keep Harvey Haddix (Medway), Grant Jackson
(Fostoria), Joe Niekro (Blaine), Dick Drago (Toledo) and Sad Sam Jones
(Woodsfield) in reserve. Roger Clemens was born in Dayton, but most people
think of him as a Texan, not as an Ohioan.
Reliever: Rollie Fingers, from Steubenville.
Designated hitter: Al Oliver, from Portsmouth.
Manager: Walter Alston, from Venice.
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