All-Time All-Poncey Team

More of my notes from last Saturday's SABR Day presentations.
Back to more normal boring programming tomorrow.

Building an all-time Poncey team -- by Andrew Mearns, former writer for Cut4 at mlb.com and Development Research Analyst at Georgia Tech, looks at the parameters necessary to create an all-time Poncey team. Often teams recognize the history of a ballpark with an all-time team -- so who would be selected in a celebration of Crackers & Black Crackers legends?

 

RF 36-41 330 Emil Maitho from PCL

RF 51-54 326 Chuck Tanner also managed

CF 48-52 302 Ralph Country Brown Summersville GA

CF 40-42 309 Hubert Bud Bates robbed HRs

LF 52-59 268 Bob Montag 49 HR

LF 08-18 265 Roy Moran

LF 37-38 ABC Don Pelham

1B 35-48 ABC James Red Moore

1B 39-41 295 Kermon Les Burge MVP

1B 35-37 Alex Hooks

2B 36-47 313 ABC James Gabby Kemp Morris Brown football

2B 54-57 302 Frank Diprima

2B 24-28 Bert Niehoff

3B 50-51 287 Eddie Mathews, then a Navy stint

3B 45-47 344 Ted Cieslak

3B 40-48 Charlie Glock

SS 32-38 289 Charles Buster Chatham

SS 57-63 294 Joe Morgan

SS 37-39 ABC Thomas PeeWee Butts

C 36-42 298 Paul Richards

C 32-38 ABC Joe Greene Stone Mountain

C 23-28 John Breck

P 17-20 Tom Sheehan in WWI

P 40-45 Lew Carpenter from GT, Woodstock

P 35-43 ABC Felix Chin Evans Morehouse

P 49-53 NYG John Art Fowler

P 28-33 Clarence Climax Blethen

P 44-45 ABC Felix Manning

P ABC Telosh Howard

P 60 Pete Richert

P 38 Tom Lefty Sunkel

Honorable mention: one season wonders…Luke Appling, Tim McCarver, Frank Torre, Jack Daniels (fun guy, hit HR, more BB than K).

 

60 feet 6 inches, and 6 feet under:

A Grave Look at Atlanta Baseball History.

Sam Gazdziak founder of www.RIPBaseball.com writing about baseball history one gravesite at a time. He will examine the careers of several ballplayers buried in the Atlanta area, from one-game wonders to Hall of Famer and one-time Atlanta Cracker Luke Appling. Sam travels for work. In his spare time he searches out tombstones of former ballplayers, looking for unique stories behind the statistics.

BILL WEBB 1943 Macon Peaches, then WWII. Spent years playing for amateur teams around Atlanta, with little success as a pro. During the war he lobbied the Phillies to give him a spot on the roster. Made the team and finally got the call May 29 – giving up a HR, BB, double play, then coaxing Stan Musial to ground out to first. The only MLB inning he ever pitched. Buried in Marietta’s Cheatham Hill Memorial Gardens.

HANK SMALL grew up in Atlanta, starred at Dykes High with David Hurt. Set records at South Carolina. Compared to Mantle by SC coach Bobby Richardson. Drafted by Braves. Did well in AA. First struggled at AAA Richmond then won 78 International League MVP. Called up in September. In his only game went 0-4 with a double play. At a banquet sat with Lilian Carter. Small asked if she was going to eat her chicken. Played 1B. Young Dale Murphy struggled at catcher, and was moved to first. Braves also signed 1B Mike Lum to be big contract. Left Small off the 40 man roster but the letter telling him was lost. Bitter, Small hit .220 at Richmond in 1979 and was released. Small had trouble adjusting to normal life. Moved to SC, then Griffin. Rediscovered his faith. Fell off a sloop, hit his head and died at 56. Buried in Sandy Springs at Arlington Memorial Park.

LUKE APPLING went to Oglethorpe, hit 326 for the Crackers. Signed with White Sox. Made 46 errors in 79 games playing shortstop. His bad defense affected his offense. Begged to keep his job. Two years later broke out, became an all star. Buried near Junior Samples in Saunee View Memorial Gardens in Cumming. 

TY COBB was a bad guy, prejudiced. But also a philanthropist. His hometown of Royston considered him a hero, the whole town turned out for his funeral. Buried in Royston at Rose Hill Cemetery.

 

ERNIE NEVERS former St. Louis Browns pitcher was inducted into the San Francisco Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in its inaugural class along with Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio in 1980. A Stanford grad, he returned to Stanford as an assistant coach and was later the head coach at Lafayette. Played football at Stanford University 1922-25. Coached football at Lafayette University in 1936. Played for the Browns under player/manager future Hall of Famer George Sisler and had a decent batting average for a pitcher, including a brace of doubles during his career. He played 3 years in the majors 1926-28. Career BA = .200 w/12 hits. Was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 1951. He is, of course, also in the NFL Hall of Fame.