Cooperstown's Charter Members of 1936 Quiz

Answer: Bill Carrigan

Bill "Rough" Carrigan was Babe Ruth's first Major League manager. Carrigan led the Boston Red Sox in 1906 and from 1908 to 1916, compiling a record of 489-500. Ruth respected Carrigan and would much later in his career claim that Carrigan was the best manager he ever had. Pants Rowland was the manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1914, Roger Peckinpaugh was the Yankees' skipper for part of the 1914 season, and Miller Huggins was the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1914 campaign. Huggins would later manage Babe Ruth for the Yankees during the 1920s.

Answer: He batted left-handed and threw right-handed

He batted left-handed but threw with his right hand. During his career, the Georgia Peach had 4189 hits, drove in 1937 runs, and had a career batting average of .366, with 892 stolen bases. Cobb began his career with the Detroit Tigers in 1905 and stayed with the team until 1927.

He ended his playing days with the Philadelphia A's. When Cobb began his career, uniform numbers had not yet become standard. Al Kaline would become famous during the 1950s and 1960s while wearing the Tigers' number six.

Answer: He hit fewer than 100 home runs in his Major League career

Honus Wagner broke into the Major Leagues with the Louisville Colonels in 1897 and played with the team for three seasons. When the team disbanded, Wagner joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900 and remained with the Bucs for 18 years. The "Flying Dutchman" was an outstanding shortstop who batted and threw right-handed.

Although Wagner played in the dead-ball era, he belted 101 home runs during his career. His highest single-season total for home runs was 10, in 1898 and again in 1908.

Answer: Washington Senators

Walter Johnson spent his entire Major League career with the Washington Senators, winning 417 games for the franchise. Johnson was part of the Senators team which won the World Series in 1924. Overall, the Big Train appeared in 802 games for Washington. Johnson would later manage the Senators (1929-1932) and then the Cleveland Indians (1933-1935).

Answer: Big Six

Christy "Big Six" Mathewson pitched in the Major Leagues from 1900 to 1916, winning 373 games and all but one with the New York Giants. He was called "Big Six" because his fastball supposedly traveled with the power of a locomotive train engine. Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and "Smokey" Joe Wood were Big League pitchers who competed in the same era as Mathewson did.

Answer: Forbes Field

Babe Ruth became a superstar slugger for the New York Yankees between 1920 and 1934, belting an astounding total of 659 home runs for the Bronx Bombers. In 1935, an aging Bambino was sold to the Boston Braves to finish out his career. In a final afternoon of glory, the Babe smacked three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field on May 25, 1935. Those home runs (712, 713 and 714) would be the last round trippers that Ruth would ever hit in his Hall of Fame career. Shibe Park was located in Philadelphia, Crosley Field was in Cincinnati, and New York City was the home of the Polo Grounds.

Answer: Coca-Cola

Ty Cobb, a Georgian, invested early in the Coca-Cola soft drink company, and he apparently made a fortune from this investment. According to some reports, Cobb purchased 300 shares of Coke stock. Within eight years, the Georgia Peach was earning a tremendous annual salary from his Coca-Cola stock alone.

When Cobb died in 1961, he had become a multi-millionaire. Standard Oil was located in Ohio, U.S. Steel was located in Pittsburgh, and Mercedes-Benz was located in Germany.

Answer: The American Tobacco Company

The American Tobacco Company printed pictures of Big League players between 1909 and 1911. According to legend, Honus Wagner objected to his image being used on a card, therefore only about 100 Wagner cards were ever printed. The Wagner T-206 card has become the "Holy Grail" of baseball collectibles. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky made news in 1991 by purchasing a Wagner card.

The Goudey Gum Company introduced baseball cards in 1933, Topps began issuing baseball cards in 1951, and Fleer started printing baseball cards in the late 1950s.

Answer: Nolan Ryan

Walter Johnson produced some stellar numbers during his career, and he set a strikeout record which would stand for 55 years. It wasn't until 1983 when a flame-throwing right-handed pitcher named Nolan Ryan would eclipse Johnson's mark of 3508 strikeouts. Ryan, pitching for Houston, struck out Expos' batter Brad Mills to move ahead of Johnson. Steve Carlton, a lefty, would also pass out Walter Johnson's mark later in the 1983 season. Walter Johnson pitched an incredible 110 shutouts during his career. Vida Blue and Warren Spahn were both southpaws.

Answer: Bucknell

Christy Mathewson was a clean-living, well-educated athlete. He refused to pitch on Sundays, and he attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, from 1897 to 1899. While at Bucknell, Mathewson played baseball and football for the Bison before he embarked on a pro baseball career.

The Bucknell University stadium, dedicated in 1924, seats about 13,100 spectators for football games. Penn's nickname is the Quakers, Penn State is known as the Nittany Lions, and the LaSalle Explorers play in Philadelphia.