Bucky

Bucky Harris

You know how it is with short guys. Feeling cheated by fate, they try to make up for their lack of height by being extra tough. This was certainly true in the case of Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris, both as a player and a manager.

Once, during his playing days, Ty Cobb slid into second with spikes flying (as he was known to do). "Get out of my way or I'll cut you to ribbons, busher!" he yelled. "Try it," Bucky replied, "and I'll throw the ball down your throat."

He had no more problems with Cobb (or any other bully in the league) after that.

Later, as a manager, he encouraged his players to display the same unwillingness to back down. During the course of one season, Senators pitcher Earl Whitehill was really giving it to infielder Cece Travis for making a few errors behind him. Knowing Travis was feeling down, Harris put his arm around him and said: "The next time he does it, walk over to the pitcher's mound and punch him in the nose. I'll back you up."

Simple frontier justice.