Baseball Legends

The first legends of baseball come from the early days of the major leagues. Ty Cobb, the great Detroit Tiger who is just as well known for his racial aggression outside of the game is still remembered for his amazing abilities on the baseball diamond. Walter Johnson, one of the great early pitchers. Cy Young, the pitcher whose name carries the award given to the most successful pitcher from each league every year. Babe Ruth, the former Red Sox pitcher, whom upon his trade to the New York Yankees helped to create a dynasty that dominated Major League Baseball for 5 decades and sent the Boston Red Sox into an 86 year drought between World Series wins. Ted Williams, the amazing hitter from the Boston Red Sox, who’s career was interrupted by his patriotic service overseas during the war. Lou Gehrig, the Yankees great whose speech at Yankee Stadium is considered one of the most heartfelt and moving speeches ever recorded. Hank Aaron, who still holds the most prestigious record in all of sports: the career home run record. Roberto Clemente whose 3,000 hit career was so tragically ended in a plane crash but who will most dearly be remembered for the changes that he helped to make off the field. Jackie Robinson can quite possibly be considered the bravest man in all of sports, he was able to overcome the outright hatred of many of his teammates and continued segregation to have an amazing career and break the color barrier not just for baseball but for so many other sports played in America.

Quite possibly the greatest hitter in baseball history was Ted Williams. He won two triple crowns while his career was interrupted by service overseas both during World War II and in Korea. From 1946 until 1951, he was baseball’s best, but he never managed to lead the Red Sox to a World Series title. Mickey Mantle was the Yankees great of the same time period. In 1953, he hit the longest home run ever recorded at 565 feet during a game at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. He was the winner of the Triple Crown in 1956 and later became the highest paid player in all of sports with a $75,000 contract with the New York Yankees. Whitney Ford was one of the great pitchers of the period; he served as the Yankees number 1 starter as the Yankees developed the five man pitching rotation during his career, which is the main reason why he would never be a twenty game winner. And he pitched in all four of the Yankees World Series victories during the decade.