<Archive Obituaries> Johnny Evers (March 28th 1947)
Bill Schenley
Middle-Man in Double-Play Combination of Chicago Cubs
With Tinker and Chance
Caught Merkle In Boner
He Saw Giant Fail to Touch Base
Elected to Hall of Fame Last April at 64
Photo:
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/photos/headshots/Evers_Johnny.gif
FROM: The New York Times (March 29th 1947) ~
By Special to the Times
ALBANY, N.Y., March 28
Johnny Evers, the second baseman in the famous baseball triumvirate of
Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, died this morning in St. Peter's Hospital
of a
cerebral hemorrhage suffered earlier this week. He was 65 years old.
In 1942 Evers suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed.
Notwithstanding his condition, he was frequently seen at Albany
baseball
games.
He leaves a widow; a son, John Joseph Evers Jr. of Albany; two
sisters, Mrs.
William P. McCarthy of Troy, N.Y., and Mrs. Ella Evers of New York,
and
three brothers, Edward S., Joseph F. and Michael P. Evers of Troy.
In a tribute to the baseball hero, Governor Dewey said: "The untimely
passing of Johnny Evers will sadden every American who loves
competitive
sport. As a member of the immortal 'Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance'
combination,
he was one of the greatest infielders of all-time. More than one
generation
of Americans will join in mourning his loss."
ALBANY, N.Y., March 28 (AP) ~
Joe Tinker, the last survivor of the famous baseball combination, is
in an
Orlando, Fla., nursing home recovering from an operation in which his
leg
was amputated. On hearing of Evers' death he said baseball lost one
of its
greatest players. Frank Chance, who was the first baseman in the
double-play trio, died in 1924.
Middle-Man in Double Play
The playing days of Johnny Evers ended thirty years ago, but his name
will
remain a baseball byword long after his death because of the faithful
adherence by diamond fans to the "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" standard
in
measuring the worth of double-play combinations.
It was as the middle-man of this great infield trio of the Chicago
Cubs that
Evers attained enduring acclaim. Appropriately, he was immortalized
jointly
with Joe Tinker and Frank Chance in April, 1946, by admission to
Baseball's
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
However, Evers was more than just the pivotal cog in a smoothly
functioning
machine. On his own merits he was one of the most vivid personalities
the
American national pastime has known.
A bantam in physique - he weighed only ninety-five pounds when he
joined the
Cubs in 1902 and never topped 130 during a stormy, embattled career
that
extended the stature of a giant by his dauntless spirit and quick
thinking.
The most celebrated example of his resourcefulness beat the Giants out
of
the National League pennant in 1908 and made a national "goat" of Fred
Merkle, the New York team's first baseman.
This was the situation: the Giants and Cubs, locked in a duel for the
championship, were tied 1-all in the ninth inning of their final
meeting at
the Polo Grounds on Sept. 23. With two out, the Giants had Moose
McCormick
on third base and Merkle on first.
Don Bridwell, the Giant shortstop, drove a single to center field.
McCormick dashed home, but Merkle headed for the clubhouse, figuring,
of
course, that his team had won the game, 2-1.
Called for Ball
The crafty Evers noticed that Merkle has failed to touch second base
and
motioned frantically for the ball. Although the crowd already was
surging
on the field, it finally was relayed to him and he touched second
base,
whereupon Umpire Hank O'Day called Merkle "out," invalidating the run
and
leaving the score tied.
In the resultant confusion it was impossible to resume play. The
upshot was
that the game was ordered to be replayed after the close of the
season. The
Cubs won the play-off and the pennant by defeating Christy Mathewson,
4-2,
on Oct. 8.
It later came out that this unheard-of play was not sheer inspiration.
The
crafty Evers knew the rule book by heart and for long had been waiting
for
such an opportunity. In fact, he had previously discussed it with
Umpire
O'Day.
A police escort was needed to get him off the field in one piece that
day,
for the enraged fans were ready to tear him apart. For the rest of
his
playing days he was persona non grata at the Polo Grounds, which
didn't faze
him a bit.
With the uncompromising outlook peculiar to many great athletes, Evers
thrived on storm and strife. He and Tinker were bitter personal
enemies off
the field. They did not speak the last two years they played together
and
had several rough-and-tumble fights in the clubhouse. Yet they
continued to
sparkle as a team.
Dubbed "the Trojan" because he came to Chicago from his hometown team
in
Troy, N.Y., where he was born on July 28, 1881, Evers stayed with the
Cubs
for twelve years, during which his stellar play had much to do with
their
keeping near the top.
In 1914, he shifted to the Boston Braves, with whom he participated in
another of baseball's greatest epics. Teamed with another tough
little
campaigner, Shortstop Rabbit Maranville, he helped set up the airtight
defense that aided Boston in its celebrated drive from the cellar to a
pennant and world series victory.
He stayed with the Braves for three years, then wound up his playing
career
in Philadelphia in 1917. Turned down by the Army when he sought to
enlist,
he went overseas in the first World War as director of physical
activities
for the Knights of Columbus.
He coached for his old diamond enemy, John J. McGraw of the Giants, in
1920.
The next season he returned as assistant manager of the Cubs but
lasted only
until August. He went to the Chicago White Sox as a coach in 1923 and
the
next season managed that club.
Then he dropped out of baseball to go into business in Albany but
returned
as assistant manager of the Braves in 1929. He continued with the
Boston
team and, then the Giants again, in various scouting capacities until
1935.
After leaving major league baseball for good, Evers was for awhile
associated with the management of the Albany Eastern League team and
served
as superintendent of the municipal stadium there. He also operated a
sporting goods business.
Although not noted as a hitter, Evers had an average of .279 in
fourteen
years of regular play. He achieved .341 in 1912 and, in four world
series,
batted .316. A daring base-runner, he led the league in stealing
several
times.
Plaque to Be Draped
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. March 28 (AP) ~
The plaque honoring Johnny Evers in baseball's Hall of Fame will be
draped
in black for a thirty-day period. Ernest J. Lanigan, director of the
National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame here, said Evers' plaque
would be
placed on a special easel and draped. The plaque, along with ten
others,
has not been displayed as yet at the baseball shrine. An official
dedication ceremony had been planned for later this spring.
---
Photos:
http://members.tripod.com/janesbit/images/hall/evers.jpg
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nl/bosbraves/Eversbosb.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/9523/evers.jpg
http://images.collectors.com/articles/eversphoto_200.jpg
(In his sporting goods store)
1910 Sepia postcard (#12):
http://www.vintagecardtraders.org/virtual/pc796/pc796-12.jpg
1911 American Tobacco Company baseball card (front):
http://www.rainfall.com/posters/images/baseballcards/1368fu.jpg
1911 Mecca baseball card:
http://instruct.westvalley.edu/peltz/cards/t201_evers.jpg
1960 Fleer (#57) baseball card:
http://www.vintagecardtraders.com/virtual/60fleer/60fleer-57.jpg
Johnny Evers in art:
http://www.dickperez.com/images/psd_bhf_JohnnyEvers_lg.jpg
http://www.dickperez.com/images/bo_w_Tinkers_lg.jpg
(Tinker, Evers and Chance)
"My favorite umpire is a dead one."
- Johnny Evers -