Earle combs biography of christopher

He made several errors in the outfield, the last giving the opposition the two runs they needed for the win. Combs sat at his locker after the game downcast and wondering what his life would be as a schoolteacher. He had married Ruth McCollum in and was concerned about being a breadwinner. His doubts about his baseball career were quickly put aside.

In Combs batted. He did not immediately report to the Yankees spring training camp because he had been promised a percentage of his purchase price that the Colonels had not paid. When Combs did report to the Yankees, Miller Huggins sat him down and had a long talk with him. Huggins, however, told Combs not to worry about stealing bases but as a leadoff man to wait out the pitcher, get on base any way he could, and let the big guns in the lineup, like Ruth, drive him in.

Combs was considered in his time the best leadoff man in the American League. Even with his patience in getting walks and sacrifices he collected at least hits five times and wound up his career with a batting average of. A left-handed hitter, he could get an extra couple of steps toward first base, enabling him to beat out infield hits. He was not a pull hitter and used the entire field to spray line shots for hits to all fields.

Once he lined a pitch in the gap, it often resulted in a three-base hit. He led the league in triples three times and finished his career with triples, averaging more than one three-bagger for every ten games. He hit at least 10 in every season in which he played at least games. Three times, and he ran out 20 or more, leading the league each time.

He got off to great start, hitting. Then misfortune struck when he fractured his ankle and was out the rest of the season. Combs returned for the season, his ankle fully recovered. He slammed out hits, scored runs, and batted. But the Yankees did not win the flag. Ruth was out much of the season, and several other players had sub-par years. The Yankees finished in seventh place.

The Yanks-with Ruth back in shape, Lou Gehrig coming into his own, and Tony Lazzeri at second base-won the pennant and faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Wagner Walsh Welch Wilhelm J. Williams Willis Wynn Young. Alomar Biggio Carew E. Robinson Sandberg Schoendienst. Collins Dandridge J. White J. Rizzuto Sewell O. Smith Tinker Trammell Vaughan H.

Wagner Wallace Ward Wells Yount. Rice A. Simmons Stargell Wheat B. Williams T. Williams Yastrzemski. Ashburn Averill Bell W. Waner H. Jackson Kaline Keeler K. Kelly Klein T. Rice F. Waner Winfield Youngs.

Earle combs biography of christopher

Baines E. Alston Anderson Cox Durocher R. Johnson Kuhn Landis La. MacPhail Le. White Wilkinson G. Wright H. Wright Yawkey. Toggle the table of contents. Earle Combs. Center fielder. Born: May 14, Pebworth, KentuckyU. Died: July 21, aged 77 Richmond, KentuckyU. Batted: Left Threw: Right. September 29,for the New York Yankees. Stats at Baseball Reference.

New York Yankees — Nicknamed "the Kentucky Colonel", Combs was known as a gentleman on and off the field. He remained in baseball as a coach for many years after his retirement as a player. This was a rather large sum at that time, but it bore fruit for the Yankees as Combs proved an immediate success in New York. In his rookie season summer ofCombs played center field and hit.

Except for one pinch-hitting appearance, he saw no more action that rookie season. His gentlemanly demeanor endeared him to fans, who at one point graciously took up a collection and bought him a gold watch. Throughout his life, he neither smoked nor swore and read the Bible diligently, which was an oddity for players in the league during that time.

In Combs was injured after crashing into a wall in the outfield while chasing a fly ball, leading to a fractured skull and an injured shoulder and knee. He spent two months in the hospital in critical condition, with his doctors fearing he could soon perish. After returning, he played in 89 games, as well as coached, but misfortune struck again when he had to sit out the rest of the season due to a broken collarbone, which lead him to retire at the age of During his career he was considered the best lead-off man in the league, and finished his career with 1, hits and a.

He collected more than hits in a season three times, scored more than runs eight straight years, from throughand hit better than. In 16 World Series games, he hit. After retiring as a player, he remained with the Yankees as a coach, where he instructed replacement center-fielder Joe DiMaggio. He continued coaching the Yankees until retiring in and returning to Kentucky, where he later served as the Kentucky state banking commissioner and as a chairman on the Eastern Kentucky University's Board of Regents from to He passed away on July 21,in Richmond, Kentucky after suffering a long illness, and was buried at the Richmond Cemetery.

Prior to his death he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and upon learning of this honor, he remarked "I thought the Hall of Fame was for superstars, not just average players like me. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.