Chuckles

Charley Gehringer

Coincidentally, the first two players featured on the 1984 calendar shared the first five letters of their last name. Gehrig and Gehringer. Both were second-generation German Americans. Both were durable ballplayers. Both are Hall-of-Famers.

There's an interesting story surrounding Gehringer's decision not to attend his Hall of Fame induction ceremony -- something that would be unthinkable today. During his playing career, Charley (also spelled Charlie) lived with his mother, who moved to Detroit after the death of Charley's father in 1924. She was diabetic and in need of care, and Charley provided it, choosing to remain single all that time.

"I couldn't see," he said years later, "bringing a wife into that kind of situation."

Following his mother's death some time in the 1940s, Charley finally did get married. But the wedding was scheduled for June 18, 1949, just five days after his Hall of Fame induction on June 13. Perhaps judging the former to be more important, he skipped the latter, and he and his bride no doubt lived happily ever after.

February

Who is this "wind-up" ballplayer?

I was born May 11, 1903, in Fowlerville, Michigan, the second son of German Catholic immigrants.

My first full season in the bigs was 1926, when I hit .277 with 17 triples for player-manager Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers.

I played in every game during the 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, and 1934 seasons, earning me the nickname "Mr. Mechanical."

Teammate Doc Cramer once said about me, "You wind him up on Opening Day and forget him."

I was also known as the "Quiet Man." Player-manager Mickey Cochrane described me as follows: "[He] says 'hello' on Opening Day, 'goodbye' on closing day, and in between hits .350."

I played every inning of the first six All-Star Games, batting a record .500 in 20 at-bats.

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 but did not attend the induction ceremony, as my wedding was five days later.

I died on January 21, 1993, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, age 89.

Not a Disease

Lou Gehrig

Yes, of course. January's "mystery" ballplayer is none other than Lou Gehrig, a huge part of the Yankee dynasty of the '20s and '30s.

His consecutive-game streak of 2,130 was one that many thought would never be broken -- and it wasn't until nearly 60 years later, when Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2,131st straight game in 1995.

Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscular degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in 1939, leading not only to his retirement from baseball but also his premature death two years later.

A friend of my brother once questioned why a disease should be named after the great Lou Gehrig. Doesn't he deserve better than that? I think so. Instead of referring to ALS as "Lou Gehrig's disease," let us rather say, when talking about the terrible condition, "the disease that Lou Gehrig had" or "the disease that took Lou Gehrig's life."

Isn't that a more fitting tribute to the man?

January

Who am I?

I was born in 1903 in New York City, the son of German immigrants.

I attended Columbia University on a football scholarship.

I played for the Yankees from 1925 to 1939.

My lifetime batting average was .340, and I averaged 147 RBIs a season.

I won the Triple Crown in 1934, with a .363 batting average, 49 home runs, and 165 RBIs.

I played in 2,130 consecutive games, earning me the nickname the "Iron Horse".

My more famous teammate, Babe Ruth, said this about me: "He was built like a four-car garage with five buses in it."

Sportswriter Jim Murray called me a "Gibraltar in cleats".

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

I died on June 2, 1941.

1984 All Over Again

In 1984, The Sporting News came out with this calendar, featuring portraits of baseball greats from what many consider to be the golden age of sport -- the Roaring Twenties. The photos were taken by Charles Martin Conlon (1868-1945), baseball's first prominent photographer whose most famous shot is that of Ty Cobb sliding into third base during a game in 1910.

I purchased the calendar late last year from Larry Fritsch Cards, for the photos and on the assurance that it would work for 2012 (and so far it has, with the exception that Easter fell two weeks later in 1984). So, that's how I came to be using a 1984 calendar for the year 2012! (Hard to believe it was 28 years ago!)

As you can tell from the name of this blog, I thought it might be fun to challenge all you baseball aficionados out there in blogland. So, in the coming weeks and months, I'll post the player's picture for that particular month (I'm getting a late start), with a few hints, and see if you can guess who it is.

In the meantime, here's some of what was going on in 1984:

• Ronald Reagan was president
• The Detroit Tigers won the World Series, beating the Padres in five games
• The Apple Macintosh was introduced, costing $2,495
• Iacocca: an Autobiography topped the nonfiction bestsellers' list
• Gas was $1.19 a gallon
• Trivial Pursuit, the board game, was introduced, grossing $777 million in its first year
• The Cosby Show debuted on NBC
• Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father
• The Summer Olympics, boycotted by the Soviet Union, were held in Los Angeles
• Top song: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes
• Top movie: Beverly Hills Cop