Sam Crawford the pride of Wahoo, Nebraska holds a record in the baseball record book that may never be broken. Samuel Earl "Wahoo Sam" Crawford played at Cincinnati 1899-1902 and the Detroit Tigers along side Ty Cobb "The Georgia Peach" from 1903-1917. Sam batted left handed and threw left handed and stood 6'0" at 190 lbs. and finished his career with a .390 batting average. He was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1957 and is reported to have lived a spartan life in Pearblossom, California until he died in 1968 Sam Crawford could only manage 312 triples in his playing career. The closet anyone has ever been to that mark was his teammate, Ty Cobb, with 297. Todays active player chasing that figure is Steve Finley at 112 and Kenny Lofton at 98. Sam's 312 triples appear to me to be safe for another 100 years in that it has already stood for 89 years and counting. Crawford as a young man during one summer with 12 other youths, riding a farm wagon across the Nebraska plains played other town teams wherever they could be found. Sam played briefly only 103 games in minor league ball and joined Cincinnati in 1899. During the time the National and American leagues were warring with each other Sam signed contracts with both Cincinnati and Detroit. When the leagues signed a peace agreement, Sam was awarded to the Detroit Tigers, where he batted behind Ty Cobb. Sam's physique was as solid as steel and his dad was reputed to be the strongest man in town. Wahoo, Nebraska is proud and baseball fans worldwide should tip their cap to this man's accomplishment of 312 Triples. |
