DATE OF IMAGE: 1940 PRINT DATE: 1981 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 2 Original - Printed from the original negative, but in a later period TEAM: Detroit Tigers SUBJECTS: Charlie Gehringer, Earl Averill Sr, Hank Greenberg, Dick Bartell, Red Kress, Bing Miller, Del Baker, Merv Shea, Tommy Bridges, Barney McCosky, Mike Higgins, Pete Fox, Bobo Newsom, Rudy York, Frank Croucher, Dizzy Trout, Hal Newhouser, Schoolboy Rowe, Dutch Meyer, Archie McKain, Tuck Stainback, Fred Hutchinson, Birdie Tebbetts, Al Benton, Johnny Gorsica, Tom Seats, Clay Smith, Bruce Campbell ISSUER: Detroit News APPROXIMATE SIZE: 10"x8-1/8" MARKS / STAMPING: Original paper caption remains affixed. NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Charles Leonard Gehringer (The Mechanical Man) was born in Fowlerville, MI and died in 1993 in Bloomfield Hills, MI. He went to college at University of Michigan. He played major league baseball from 1924 to 1942 as 2nd baseman for the Detroit Tigers, appeared in the 1934, 1935 and 1940 World Series, was selected 6 as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949. Known for his consistency as a hitter and fielder, Gehringer was given the nickname "The Mechanical Man" by Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez. Teammate Doc Cramer quipped: "You wind him up Opening Day and forget him." Howard Earl Averill (Rock or Earl of Snohomish) was born in 1902 in Snohomish, WA and died in 1983 in Everett, WA. He played major league baseball from 1929 to 1941 as outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Boston Braves, appeared in the 1940 World Series, was selected 6 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. He's famous for hitting the line drive that broke Dizzy Dean's toe in the 1937 All-Star Game. After his career, he was very outspoken on being elected to the Hall of Fame. While he didn't campaign for induction, he did make the statement that if he was ever to be inducted, he didn't want it to be posthumously, and if that was the case, he wanted his family to decline the honor. He was inducted in 1975, 8 years before his passing, so he got his wish. His son, Earl Jr., also played in the majors from 1956 through 1963. Henry Benjamin Greenberg (Hammerin' Hank) was born in New York, NY and died in 1986 in Beverly Hills, CA. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1947 as 1st baseman and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, appeared in the 1934, 1935, 1940 and 1945 World Series, was selected 5 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. He was the American League MVP in 1935 and 1940. Greenberg was the first Jewish baseball superstar in American professional sports. He garnered national attention in 1934 when he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race. The Detroit draft board initially classified Greenberg as 4F for "flat feet." Rumors that he had bribed the board, and concern that he would be likened to Jack Dempsey, who received negative publicity for failure to serve in World War I, led Greenberg to be reexamined, and he was found fit to serve. Although drafted in 1940, he was honorably discharged after the United States Congress released men aged 28 years and older from service, being released on December 5, 1941, two days before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Greenberg re-enlisted and volunteered for service in the United States Army Air Forces. He graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a first lieutenant. He eventually served overseas in the China-Burma-India Theater, scouting locations for B-29 bases. In Greenberg's first game back after being discharged, he homered on July 1, 1945. That year, he set the major league record with 11 multi-homer games. Greenberg retired from the field to become the Cleveland Indians' farm system director and two years later, their general manager and part-owner along with Bill Veeck. During his tenure, he assembled more African American players than any other team executive in the Majors. Greenberg's contributions in finding and developing talent contributed to that team's successes through the 1950s, though Bill James wrote that Greenberg should also be given partial credit for the Indians' late 1950s collapse due to questionable personnel decisions. When Veeck sold his interest, Greenberg remained as general manager and part-owner until 1957. He was the mastermind behind a move to Minneapolis for the Indians, but that was vetoed by the rest of ownership at the last minute. Greenberg was furious and sold his share soon afterwards. In 1961, the American League announced plans to put a team in Los Angeles. Greenberg immediately became the favorite to become the new team's first owner, and persuaded Veeck, who had sold off his majority interest in the White Sox due to poor health, to join him as his partner. However, when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley got word of these developments, he threatened to scuttle the whole deal by invoking his exclusive rights to operate a major league team in Southern California. In truth, O'Malley wanted no part of having to compete against an expansion team owned by a master promoter such as Veeck, even if he was only a minority partner. Greenberg wouldn't budge, and pulled out of the running for what became the Los Angeles Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He later became a successful investment banker, briefly returning to baseball as a minority partner with Veeck when he repurchased the White Sox in 1975. Greenberg married Caral Gimbel (of the New York department store family) on February 18, 1946, three days after signing a $60,000 contract with the Tigers. Their son Glenn runs a $4 billion dollar hedge fund called Chieftain Capital. Their son Glenn runs a $4 billion dollar hedge fund called Chieftain Capital. Their son Stephen played 5 years in the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers organization. In 1995, Steve Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network with Brian Bedol, which was purchased by ESPN and became ESPN Classic. He was also the Chairman of CSTV, the first cable network devoted exclusively to college sports, which was purchased by CBS in 2006. Bruce Douglas Campbell was born in Chicago, IL and died in 1995 in Ft. Myers Beach, FL. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1942 as outfielder for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Washington Senators, and appeared in the 1940 World Series. SKU: X03245
Item: X03245
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