1914 Future Baseball Hall-of-Famers

1914 Future Baseball Hall of Famers,
Michael Burgan, History Author and playwright

The 1914 Boston Red Sox featured three future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Centerfielder Tris Speaker is considered one of best ever at his defensive position, and he led the Sox that year with a .338 batting average. Speaker broke in with the Red Sox in 1907 at age 19 and played nine seasons in Boston before moving to Cleveland, where he continued to excel.

Joining Speaker in the outfield was Harry Hooper, who played in right. Along with Leftfielder Duffy Lewis, the three comprised one of baseball’s best outfields for several years. Hooper couldn’t match Speaker’s prowess at the plate, but he amassed almost 2,500 career hits—and he had a song written about him. “Hoop, Hoop, Hooper Up for Red-Sox” encouraged Hooper to “Help the Sox to win the race, help them on from base to base.”

The last of the Hall of Fame trio in 1914 was a rookie pitcher named George Hermann “Babe” Ruth. He only pitched 23 innings that season but still managed to record a 2-1 record. The future home-run champion also got to the plate ten times, managing to hit one single and one double. Ruth would show his worth as a pitcher the next season, compiling an 18-8 record. His four home runs in 1915 were just a small indication of the slugger he would become.

Michael Burgan studied history at the University of Connecticut before embarking on his career of writing about history, current events, geography, science, and more for children. He worked at Weekly Reader for six years before becoming a freelance author. He is a member of Biographers International Organization and edits its monthly newsletter, The Biographer's Craft. A produced playwright, he is also a member of the Dramatists Guild.