[AZTarHeel]

1917 Retirees

For some reason, I feel compelled to go through the entire list of retirees each year before I begin a new season. I don't know why. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Actually I'm worried I'll miss something notable that happened in my league (like the guy who gets one AB and hits a home run)

Frankly I kind of dread this past. It's tedious and slows up my posting on the new season (hence why I'm sometimes slow to get updates posted).

But then I start poking through the list of player profiles and find myself fascinated by what I find — from the guys who developed into Hall of Famers (there are some this year, plus a few up for debate) to the guys who only dipped their toes in the big leagues (a few players make my Cup of Coffee Hall of Fame this season as well)...

Anyways, here is the list of the 1917 retirees (including my favorite player so far, Sam Crawford -- sad, sad that he's done), plus some notes on a few of the more intriguing guys. Enjoy. If there is anyone else you want an update on, let me know and I'll look it up...

Heinie Berger retires ...
Sam Crawford retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
Lena Blackburne retires ...
Jack Hayden retires ...
Joe Casey retires ...
Drummond Brown retires ...
Tommy Leach retires ...
Bill Chappelle retires ...
Matty Mcintyre retires ...
Harry Fanwell retires ...
Jack Coombs retires ...
Lefty George retires ...
Clyde Engle retires ...
Addie Joss retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
Jack Flater retires ...
Harry Aubrey retires ...
Fred Burchell retires ...
Brad Kocher retires ...
Pat Hynes retires ...
Willie Hogan retires ...
Andy Coakley retires ...
Earle Gardner retires ...
Frank Lange retires ...
Jake Stahl retires ...
Art Griggs retires ...
Bob Groom retires ...
Phil Lewis retires ...
Allie Strobel retires ...
Denny Sullivan retires ...
Lou Fiene retires ...
Irv Higginbotham retires ...
Finners Quinlan retires ...
Eddie Murphy retires ...
Red Morgan retires ...
Jim Moroney retires ...
Henri Rondeau retires ...
Lew Richie retires ...
Alan Storke retires ...
Otto Knabe retires ...
George Whiteman retires ...
Amby Mcconnell retires ...
Queenie O'rourke retires ...
Tom Reilly retires ...
Ham Hyatt retires ...
Oscar Stanage retires ...
Art Phelan retires ...
Lefty Webb retires ...
Doc Kerr retires ...
Joe Riggert retires ...
Bob Williams retires ...
Alex Main retires ...
Harvey Russell retires ...
Art Watson retires ...
CTW: Hans Lobert retires ...
JER: Ed Willett retires ...
PRE: Happy Townsend retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
BIS: George Disch retires ...
NOG: Bill Foxen retires ...
NOG: Chief Meyers retires ...
PHX: Al Mattern retires ...
PHX: Ben Houser retires ...
TOM: Del Mason retires ...
TOM: Frank Laporte retires ...


• Pitcher Al Mattern joins my Cup of Coffee Hall of Fame. He was drafted in 1919 and spent his entire career in Phoenix's Triple A team. Except for one game during the 1909 season. He came up to the big club, pitched to one batter and got a strikeout. That was it. No other appearances for the Dust Devils big club...

• Reliever George Disch was a reliever for the Bisbee Prospectors for many years. He only made one appearance in a post-season, but it was a good one. He was perfect through two innings of relief for Bisbee -- no hits, no runs, no walks -- in 1905...

• Pitcher Heinie Berger won 187 games with five teams, but lost 181. His final ERA: 2.91...

• RF Jack Hayden retired seven hits shy of 2,000 for his career. The RF spent 17 years with Phoenix, reaching one All-Star Game. His final average was .266.

• 3B Tommy Leach spent his entire 17-year career with the Grand Canyon River Runners. He amassed 2,320 hits — fourth-most in AZL history thus far — and finished with an average of .249. He's currently third on the career list in home runs with 139. He started every year but his last one with the Runners. Could get Hall of Fame consideration as one of the league's top pioneers.

• LF Matty McIntyre earned 2,030 career hits during his career with Tombstone and Jerome.

• "Colby Jack" Combs earned 197 career wins during his time with the Cottonwood Monsoon. He won 31 games in 1908, 30 in 1910 and 29 in 1911. His final record 197-135 with an ERA of 2.72. Hall of Fame worthy?? He was named Top Hurler in '08 and '10...

• Pitcher Fred Burchell was an interesting character. He won 209 games hurling for Payson, Lake Havasu, Cottonwood and Grand Canyon but lost 221. Yikes. He ERA was 3.5+ ... He only had three 20-win seasons ...

• Pitcher Bob Groom was the top overall pick in the 1909 draft (by Tucson). He didn't really pan out as a star, however. He finished with a career record of 6-6, with two saves. His ERA with the big club was a nice 2.01, but he spent most of his time in AAA. Weird that they didn't try to use him more. He didn't really have injury issues. One of those guys who got lost in the shuffle. Tucson had pretty good pitching without him...

• Pitcher Irv Higginbotham pitched a no-hitter for Tombstone in 1906, his AZL debut. He didn't strike out a single batter in that game, however. He went on to win Rookie of the Year and won 27 games the next season. But his career quickly tailed off and he finished with a career mark of 103-83.

• OF Henri Rondeau didn't have much of a career, finally retiring after being released by Cottonwood in 1914 (He was drafted the year before and no one else ever picked him up). But his career batting average will go down as 1.000. He appeared in two games, had two hits (one a double) and finished with four RBIs — a nice SLG of 1.500 and OPS of 2.500. He was a .253 hitter in two minor league seasons.

Up next: Hall of Fame Inductions...