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.