“1921
Birds”
By Jimmy Keenan
The 1921 Baltimore Orioles are considered by baseball
historians to be one of the best Minor League teams of all time. This Oriole
ball club captured the International League pennant with a record of 119 wins
and 47 losses. The Birds ran away with the league that year finishing twenty
games in front of the second place
Even more astounding is that from 1919 through 1925 the Baltimore Orioles were the International League Champions seven years in a row. This is a feat that is unprecedented in the history of Minor League baseball. The Orioles were owned and managed by Jack Dunn Sr. and his teams averaged 111 wins during those seven years. The Birds even won 101 games in 1926 when their championship run ended with a second place finish.
Jack Dunn was able to build these powerhouse teams by
continually fighting to keep his Oriole ball club and the International League
exempt from the Major League draft. By avoiding the draft, Dunn was able to keep
his great teams intact and his star players in the Oriole lineup. Dunn did not
think it was fair for Major League teams to pay him just $5000 to purchase his
established players. Dunn was an astute businessman who knew that he could get
much more for his players by selling them himself on the open market. One of the
reasons Dunn was able to assemble these great Oriole teams was the extensive
scouting network he employed that covered the entire country. Dunn’s unique
scouting staff consisted of players, umpires, baseball executives and even loyal
fans. These friends of Dunn’s constantly sent reports about potential players
to the Oriole leader. This deep talent pool allowed Dunn to have capable
replacements waiting to take the place of the players he eventually sold. If not
for the other International League owners complaining about Dunn’s star
studded teams, the Oriole boss would have kept his great clubs together even
longer. Dunn was constantly being pressured to sell off his big name players to
the majors in order to create parity with the other teams in the league. Another
reason Dunn’s Oriole were so good was that he had working agreements and
arrangements with Major and Minor League teams from all over the country. These
connections kept a steady flow of players available to the
Jack Dunn had first joined the Baltimore Orioles in 1907 as
the team’s player/ manager. Dunn
had been an outstanding pitcher for Ned Hanlon’s
At the end of the following season, Dunn bought the Oriole
franchise from
For the first few years in Baltimore, Jack Dunn’s Orioles were competitive and he made enough money to keep the
franchise solvent by selling off his good players to the Majors. In February of
1914, Dunn signed left-handed pitching prospect George Ruth from Saint Mary’s
Jack Dunn’s great seven- year Oriole dynasty began with pennants in 1919 and 1920. As the 1921 baseball season approached, Dunn’s veteran Orioles were gearing up for their third straight International League title. The 1921 Baltimore ball club was a team that was loaded with talented ball players. Anchoring the Oriole infield was a great left-handed first baseman by the name of Jack Bentley. Bentley was a native of Sandy Spring, Maryland and had previously played with the Washington Senators from 1913 through the 1916 season. Bentley was known as the Babe Ruth of the Minors because of his prowess as a pitcher, as well as being a great slugger. In 1921, Bentley had one of the greatest all around seasons in the history of professional baseball. That year the left-handed hitting slugger led the International League with 246 hits, 21 home runs, 47 doubles and a .412 batting average. He also scored 122 runs for Dunn’s three time champs. Pitcher Bentley took the mound eighteen times for the Birds in 1921. He had a pitching record of 12 wins and 1 loss with an earned run average of 2.35. Bentley would have pitched more games but the Orioles had so many injured players that Manager Dunn could not afford to take Bentley off of first base. Dunn sold Bentley to John McGraw’s New York Giants after the 1922 season for $72,500.
Max Bishop was the outstanding second baseman on this great
Oriole team. Bishop was a Baltimore City College graduate who had been on the
Birds since 1918. In 1921, Bishop hit 28 doubles, 16 triples and 14 homeruns. He
also stole 12 bases and scored 106 runs. Bishop finished the year with a .319
batting average and he also led the International League second basemen in
fielding percentage. Dunn sold Max Bishop to Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s
after the 1923 season for $25,000. Bishop was the second baseman on Connie
Mack’s World Series Champion teams of 1929 and 1930.
Joe Boley was the smooth fielding shortstop on the 1921
Baltimore ball club. Boley and
Oriole third baseman Fritz Maisel were the only two players to play on all seven
of Jack Dunn’s seven straight pennant winners. In 1921, Boley scored 103 runs
to go along with 37 doubles, 21 triples, 5 homeruns and 6 stolen bases for
Dunn’s International League champs. The steady shortstop had a .317 batting
average and he was the league’s top fielding shortstop. Dunn sold Joe Boley to
the Philadephia A’s for $50,000 and three players after the 1926 season. Boley
was the shortstop for the World Champion A’s in 1929 and 1930.
Fritz, (the Catonsville Flash), Maisel was the sure-handed
Oriole third-baseman. Maisel had previously played for Dunn’s Orioles in 1910,
1911
and 1912. The Oriole chieftain sold Maisel to the New York Yankees in 1913 for
$12,000 and three players. Maisel’s 74 stolen bases in 1914 set a New York
Yankee record that lasted until 1980. Maisel returned to the Oriole team in
1919. In 1921, the fleet-footed Maisel scored 154 runs for the Baltimore ball
club. The Catonsville, Md. native was also credited with 221 hits and a .339
batting average that season. Maisel compiled 30 doubles, 6 triples, and 8
homeruns to go along with 31 stolen bases for the three time champs. Maisel was
an Oriole stockholder and took over as the Birds manager after Jack Dunn’s
death in 1928. He was elected to the International League Orioles Board of
Directors in 1933.
Merwin Jacobson was the graceful, left-handed centerfielder on this outstanding Oriole ballclub. Jacobson could also handle the bat as shown by his league leading .404 batting average for Dunn’s 1920 pennant winners. The consistent Jacobson had another great season for Baltimore in 1921 and finished with a .340 batting average. Jacobson amassed 215 hits, 38 doubles, 14 triples, 12 homeruns and he stole 26 bases that year. Jacobson was a key member on six of the seven straight Oriole pennant winners.
The right fielder on this Forgotten Birds ball club was
Bill Holden. The hard-hitting outfielder had 23 doubles, 10 triples 19 homeruns,
and 8 stolen bases to go along with a .302 batting average for the 1921 champs.
The right hand hitting Holden had compiled a .352 batting average the previous
year for Dunn’s 1920 pennant winners. Holden had some nagging injuries and
personal problems with manager Dunn in 1921 that caused him to miss 37 games
during the season.
Otis Lawry played leftfield for the Birds in 1921. The five foot eight, one hundred and thirty-five pound left-handed batter had 19 doubles, 13 triples, 3 homeruns to go along with 28 stolen bases and a lofty .352 batting average. Lawry had led the International League with a .364 batting average in 1919 while playing for Dunn’s champion Orioles.
Ben Egan was the primary catcher for the Birds in 1921. The right-handed hitting backstop was plagued with minor injuries all season but still managed to play in 95 games. Egan was one of the team’s leaders and a very good defensive catcher. He was also a steady hitter during his time with Jack Dunn’s Birds. In 1921, Big Ben connected for 18 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homeruns and finished the season with a respectable .270 batting average. In July of 1914, Dunn sold Egan, Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore to the Boston Red Sox for $28,000. Egan returned to the Birds in 1918.
Wade Lefler was another important man on the 1921 team. The
versatile Lefler played outfield, first base and catcher for Dunn’s third
consecutive pennant winners. Lefler connected for 19 doubles, 5 triples, 3
homeruns and a solid .316 batting average that season.
Two other players made contributions to the Birds offensive
success in 1921. Future Oriole and Major League star Dick Porter hit .321 in 16
games for the Birds that year. Outfielder Matt Donahue appeared in 30 games in
1921 and hit for a solid .301 batting average in his Birds debut. Porter would
go on to lead the International League in batting average in 1924 and 1927. He
later went on to a relatively short but very successful Major League career.
Donahue never made it to the Major Leagues but remained a very consistent
hitter during the rest of his professional career.
The ace of the 1921 Orioles pitching staff was Jack Ogden.
The right-hander had a pitching record of 31 wins and 8 losses with an earned
run average of 2.29. He threw 33 complete games that year. Ogden had an
incredible streak of 18 consecutive wins during the 1921 season. The Swarthmore
College graduate is also the International League’s all time win leader with
213 victories. Ogden became the general manager of the Orioles in 1934.
Oriole pitcher, Lefty Grove, won 25 games for the Birds in
1921 and his 254 strikeouts led the International League. The Baltimore
newspapers were misspelling his name as Groves at this time. The six foot three,
one hundred and ninety-five pound southpaw, pitched on five of the seven
straight Oriole championship teams. Dunn sold Grove to Connie Mack’s
Philadelphia A’s in 1926 for $100,600. Grove went on to a great Major League
career and was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame in1947.
Tommy Thomas was a Baltimorean and a City College graduate. He was the third twenty game winner on the 1921 Bird’s staff. Dunn had acquired the right-handed pitching Thomas from the Buffalo team prior to the 1921 season. Thomas had a record of 24 wins and 10 losses with a 2.78 earned run average in his first year as an Oriole. Thomas played on five of the Oriole’s seven straight championship teams. Dunn sold Thomas to the White Sox after the 1925 season for $20,000. Thomas became the Oriole manager in 1940. He led the Birds to their last International League pennant and Junior World Series title in 1944.
Oriole pitcher, Harry Frank, had pitching record of 13 wins
and 7 losses in 1921. The right-handed ace had a 3.08 earned run average for
Dunn’s three-time champions. Frank had previously won 24 games for the Orioles
in 1919 and another 25 games for the Birds in 1920. Frank is one of those great
Minor League pitchers that for whatever reason, never got a chance to pitch in
the Majors.
Pitchers’ Rufus Clarke and Jim Mathews also took the mound for Jack Dunn’s 1921 club. Clarke pitched in 29 games and won 9 of them. Mathews appeared in 5 games and earned one victory. A handful of other Oriole pitchers saw limited duty for the 1921 team.
The Oriole squad was hit with so many injuries during the
1921 season that Dunn was forced to play two of his eighteen- year old rookies,
both of whom were from Baltimore. Catcher
Calvin “Ducky” Davis caught 42 games for the Orioles in 1921 and utility
infielder Jimmy Lyston played 33 games for the Birds that year. Davis had a .269
batting average for the 1921 team and performed admirably behind the plate.
Lyston, a former Oriole batboy, was called up in late June. He played second
base, shortstop and third base along with every outfield position, until a
pitched ball broke his arm on July 31. Lyston did not know his arm had been
broken by the pitch and continued to play until August 23. These young Orioles
stepped up and helped Jack Dunn fill a huge void in his lineup until his star
players were healthy enough to resume their former positions. The Orioles were
so beset with injuries in 1921 that on September 6, Dunn was forced to use his
star pitcher, Jack Ogden, at second base in a double header against the Jersey
City team. Ogden went hitless in both games but did manage to score a run. At
second base the talented hurler had 10 assists, 2 putouts and 2 errors.
Even with all of their injuries, the 1921 Orioles were
still able to run away with the talent laden International League. In 1921, the
International League was rated as a AA Minor League. There were no AAA leagues
at this time. AA was the highest rung of the Minor League ladder. The Minor
League ranking system went from class AA down to class D. The Minor League
Baltimore Orioles joined the Eastern League in 1903. The Eastern League became
the International League in 1912. The Orioles played in the International League
through the 1953 season. The current Eastern League can trace its roots back to
the New York-Penn League of the 1920’s. At this time, the champion of the
International League would play a series of games against the American
Association pennant winners at the end of the regular season. This event was
called the Little World Series and it was first played at the end of the 1904
season. The Series was played intermittingly over the years and beginning in the
1930’s, it was known as the Junior World Series.
The Baltimore Orioles opponent in the 1921 Little World
Series was Joe McCarthy’s Louisville Cardinals. McCarthy would later manage
the New York Yankees from 1931 until 1946.Unfortunately, for Baltimore baseball
fans, Dunn’s Orioles were not at full strength when the Series opened. The
most serious injuries were Jack Bentley’s sore arm, Joe Boley’s broken
finger and Max Bishop’s bad leg. Dunn worked out a deal with the Buffalo team
to borrow their second baseman, Ray Dowd, for the Series. However, the talented
second baseman had little impact in any of the contests. The first four games of
the Series were scheduled to be played at Louisville, Kentucky. Jack Dunn and
his Oriole ball club left Baltimore by rail on October 4. There was a large
crowd of Oriole fans in attendance at the train station to send then off. A
Pullman car full of loyal rooters accompanied the Oriole team to
Louisville.
The first game of the Series was played on October 5 at Louisville. The Colonels won the opener 16 to 1 behind the great pitching of Nick Cullop. The left-handed pitching Cullop tossed a complete game, scattering ten hits and striking out six batters. Cullop had previously played in the Major Leagues for parts of six seasons. He had a lifetime Major League pitching record of 57 wins and 55 losses with an earned run average of 2.73. Cullop had been a 22 game winner for Kansas City’s Federal League team in 1915. Oriole pitcher Lefty Groves got the loss for the Birds in the Series’ first contest. The future Hall of Famer was hit hard early and taken out of the game after just three innings. Otis Lawry, Bill Holden, and Ben Egan each had two hits for the Birds in the loss.
The second game of the Series was played on October 7 at
Louisville. Baltimore won the game by the score of 2 to 1. Jack Ogden pitched a
complete game for the Orioles. He struck out six, walked three and allowed just
six hits. Ben Tincup was the losing pitcher for Louisville. Tincup also pitched
a complete game, striking out eight, walking three and giving up just five hits.
Tincup was a Native American whose Major League career spanned four seasons. He
had a lifetime Major League pitching record of 8 wins and 11 losses with an
earned run average of 3.12. Tincup had a pitching record of 9 wins and 0 losses
for the Louisville team in 1921. A double by Jack Bentley and Merwin
Jacobson’s triple were the big hits for the Birds in this hard fought contest.
The third game was played on October 8 at Louisville. The
Colonels won by the score of 14 to 8. Both teams used a total of 8 pitchers and
the weather was so cold there were 23 walks issued during the game. Louisville
scored six runs in the eighth inning to break an 8 to 8 tie. Maryland native,
Buck Herzog, played second base and batted second in the batting order for the
Louisville team. He went two for five with a double and two runs scored.
Herzog was a former Major League player and manager. Bentley, and newly
acquired catcher Lena Styles, each had two hits for the Birds in the defeat.
Dunn had acquired Styles from the Philadelphia A’s team at the end of the
regular season. International League
president John Toole had initially ruled on October 1 that Styles was ineligible
to play in the Little World Series because he had participated in the Majors
during the 1921 season. The league President evidently changed his ruling
though, because Dunn used Styles in the Series on several occasions.
On October 9, the fourth game of the Series was played in
Louisville. Baltimore was leading 12 to 4 in their half of the ninth inning when
the Louisville team was forced to forfeit the game. The home crowd disagreed
with a close call at first base and some of the fans rushed on to the field in
an attempt to attack the umpire. It was the second time during the game that the
crowd had came onto the field to protest an umpire’s call. The Louisville
Police could not control the unruly mob and the game was forfeited to the
Orioles. Jack Ogden pitched the first six innings and Bentley the last two.
Maisel and Boley each had three hits for the victorious Orioles.
The next game of the Series was played in Baltimore at
Oriole Park on October 13. Baltimore
won the game 10 to 5 behind the solid pitching of Jack Ogden. Cullop was the
losing pitcher for the Louisville team. Oriole rightfielder, Wade Lefler, was
the offensive and defensive star of the game. In the fourth inning, he came
through with the bat when he hit a clutch triple of Cullop with the bases
loaded. In the seventh inning, Lefler made an outstanding running catch off of
the bat of Buck Herzog that robbed the Eastern Shore native of a sure hit.
Lefler then had the presence of mind to throw back to the infield to
double up Louisville pitcher Tincup who had strayed too far off first base.
Lefler had four hits on the game and Jack Bentley collected three for the
triumphant Birds.
On October 15, it was Louisville’s Ben Tincup against
Baltimore’s Lefty Grove at Oriole Park. On this day Tincup came out on top by
the score of 3 to 0. The crafty right-hander threw a complete game shutout,
striking out nine while walking six Oriole batters. The Orioles managed just
five hits off of him. Louisville first baseman, Judson Kirke, went two for four
with a homerun. Kirke had a .386 batting average for Louisville during the
regular season. Oriole pitcher, Lefty Groves, pitched a complete game that day
as well. Grove struck out eight, walked eight and threw a wild pitch. The
Orioles left twelve runners stranded on the bases during the game.
On October 16, Louisville beat Baltimore by the score of 7
to 6. Louisville used pitchers Wright, Cullop and Tincup in the hard fought
contest. The crushing blow of the game was when Louisville pitcher Wright hit a
double with the bases loaded. His
two base hit knocked in all three runners and gave his team a five run lead.
Ogden and Frank both pitched for the Birds. Louisville shortstop Merito
Acosta had three hits. Acosta had
broken into the Major Leagues in 1913 at age seventeen with the Washington
Senators. Judson Kirke and A.E. Ellis each had two hits for the victorious
Colonels. For the Orioles, Ben Egan went three for four with two doubles and a
homerun. Lefler also hit a homerun for the Orioles in the tough loss.
On October 17, Louisville and Baltimore squared off in the
eighth game of the Series at Oriole Park. Sadly, for Baltimore fans, Louisville
won the game that day by the score of 11 to 5. Roy Sanders pitched a complete
game for McCarthy’s ball club striking out eight while allowing just six hits
and walking five. Sanders had posted a record 22 wins and 9 losses for the
Louisville team during the regular season. Jack Ogden got the loss for the
Orioles. The usually steady Ogden did not pitch well that day. Frank relieved
him in the fifth inning and did not fare any better. Boley and Donahue each had
two hits apiece for the Birds in the final Series game. It was a rough Series
for the Orioles and it was certainly not the way the Dunn had intended to end
his phenomenal season. The Orioles would bounce back and avenge the tough loss
with four more consecutive pennants and solidify their place in Minor League
baseball history. The International League Orioles would play in six Minor
League World Series during their seven straight pennant run.
The Series was not played in 1919. Jack Dunn’s Birds won the Little
World Series in 1920, 1922 and 1925. The Orioles came out on the losing end in
1921, 1923, and 1924. Even with their average record in the Minor League World
Series, Dunn’s Oriole teams were still in a class by themselves.
In an interview with the Baltimore Sun in the spring of
1922, Dunn stated, “I don’t intend on stopping at four straight. I expect
to keep right on winning pennants for Baltimore”. This did not sit well
with the other International League owners who were not happy with the prospect
of facing Dunn’s dominant Oriole teams and later on in the season decided to
take matters in their own hands. In
July of 1922, the International League executives presented Dunn with an
ultimatum. Either start selling his star players to the Majors or the owners
would vote to reinstall the Major League draft in the International League. The
fans in the other cities were losing interest because the Orioles usually had
the league wrapped up by July of every season. The league owners felt they would
rather lose out on the money they made in player sales as opposed to not having
any of their fans showing up at the ballpark. Dunn was left with little choice
and began disassembling his Baltimore Orioles at the end of the 1922 season.
Even with these player sales, Dunn was still able to win the league four more
years in a row. However, by 1926, the selling of his stars and various injuries
to his players had finally taken their toll. The streak ended that season with a
second place finish behind the Toronto club. The Orioles could do no better then
fifth the next two seasons. Sadly,
Jack Dunn’s untimely death on October 22, 1928, at age 56, prohibited the
Oriole leader from rebuilding and restoring his Oriole ball club to its former
glory.
As the years go by and time marches on, there are sadly too many Baltimore baseball fans that are totally unaware of these distinguished Oriole players and teams. The goal of our documentary is to bring these Forgotten Birds back into the forefront once again. Jack Dunn and his Orioles played a big part in establishing Baltimore’s baseball legacy and their accomplishments on the ball field should not be forgotten. The staff of this documentary will be going to great lengths to make sure that everyone of the International League Orioles will finally get the credit they so rightly deserve.