Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions (1939-1942) Quiz

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig was the model of soft-spoken talent. Known as "The Iron Horse," he played in 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees between 1925 and 1939, a record that stood for 56 years until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995. Unlike his teammate Babe Ruth, who was all swagger and spectacle, Gehrig let his bat do the talking, and it spoke loudly enough for the two of them. With a .340 lifetime average, nearly 500 homers, and a reputation for clutch hitting, he was an anchor for the Yankees during their dynasty years.

Sadly, Gehrig's career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease so closely associated with him that it is still commonly called "Lou Gehrig's disease". In 1939, at age 36, he delivered his iconic "Luckiest Man" farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, a scene that remains one of baseball's most poignant moments.

That same year, he was elected to the Hall of Fame through a special election, baseball's way of acknowledging that waiting the usual five years was unthinkable for a man of Gehrig's stature and circumstances. He would pass away less than two years later, 16 years to the day that he began his consecutive games streak with the Yankees.

Answer: Eddie Collins

Eddie Collins was one of the smartest players to ever take the field, earning the nickname "Cocky", because if anyone knew how good Collins was, it was Collins. A slick-fielding second baseman, Collins was the force behind Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics dynasty of the early 20th century, winning four championships there. Later, with the Chicago White Sox, he picked up a fifth title in 1917 and survived the Black Sox scandal in 1919, never being suspected of wrongdoing. In his final year, back with the Athletics, he would retire after contributing to their 1929 championship run, though he did not play in the World Series itself.

At the plate, Collins was beyond good. His 3,315 hits rank among the highest ever for a middle infielder, and he stole 741 bases with shrewdness as much as speed. He was also one of the few stars to transition smoothly from the dead-ball era into the livelier offensive years of the 1920s.

Answer: Charles Radbourn

Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn was the epitome of 19th-century baseball toughness. In 1884, with Providence desperate after its ace pitcher left mid-season, Radbourn volunteered to take on nearly the entire pitching load. The result was one of the most absurd statistical seasons in baseball history: 60 wins, 678 innings pitched, and 441 strikeouts, numbers that make modern pitch counts and rest schedules look ridiculous. He then capped it all off by single-handedly winning the three-game "World's Championship Series" against the New York Metropolitans, pitching every inning.

Radbourn was also one of baseball's first more... colorful characters.
Competitive and cranky, he was quick with both a nasty word and, occasionally, a nastier elbow. It's not certain, but he may also hold another quirky record: in an 1886 team photograph, Radbourn can be seen giving the camera the middle finger. It is believed to be the earliest recorded photograph of the gesture in American history.

Answer: Charles Comiskey

Charles Comiskey's career reached nearly every nook and cranny of the baseball world. As a player, he started on the mound but quickly made his name as a first baseman for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association. He popularized the practice of playing off the bag at first base, allowing more range defensively, something so obvious today it's hard to believe someone had to "invent" it.

Comiskey was even more influential as a manager. He led the Browns to four straight pennants in the 1880s, finishing with a remarkable .608 winning percentage as skipper. But his lasting mark came as an owner: he founded the Chicago White Sox, moving them into the American League in 1901. Under his leadership, the Sox won the 1906 and 1917 World Series titles.

However, his reputation for stinginess with player salaries generated much resentment and culminated in the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal, when several of his players conspired to make a little extra cash by throwing the World Series.

Answer: Buck Ewing

Buck Ewing was everything you could want out of the modern catcher: athletic, versatile, and dangerous with the bat. In an age when most catchers resembled battered veteran prizefighters after a couple years behind the plate, Ewing gave the position a little more finesse. He was known for his strong throwing arm and lightning-quick release, so much so that opponents claimed he could "throw out a runner without standing up."

But Ewing wasn't just defense. He hit over .300 in ten different seasons and, in 1883, led the league in home runs with 10, proof that power hitting was possible even in the dead-ball era. Beyond catching, he could play almost every position on the diamond and even managed teams later in his career.

Answer: George Sisler

George Sisler was one of the smoothest defenders and purest hitters of his generation, earning him the nickname "Gorgeous George." In 1920, he put together a season for the record books, batting .407 with a then-record 257 hits, a mark that stood in the American League for 84 years until Ichiro came along with 262 in 2004. Sisler followed it up in 1922 with a .420 average, making him one of only a handful of players ever to hit over .400 more than once.

Though illness temporarily sapped his vision in the mid-1920s, Sisler still managed to compile a career batting average of .340 with 2,812 hits over 15 seasons. Beyond the stats, he was admired for his elegant defensive work at first base and his reputation as a quiet, and dependable leader.

Answer: Cap Anson

Adrian "Cap" Anson was Major League Baseball's first true superstar. Over 27 seasons (1871-1897), he accumulated 3,435 hits, a .334 batting average, and nearly 1,900 RBIs, incredible numbers for any period. He spent most of his career with the Chicago White Stockings (later the Cubs), where he was cheered by fans and feared by the opposition for his hitting consistency. His nicknames, "Pop" and "Baby," are reflections on his veteran status and his youthful appearance when he first broke into the game.

However, Anson's legacy is muddied by his role in baseball's segregation. He was one of the most vocal opponents of Black players in the professional game. On several occasions in the 1880s, he refused to take the field against teams that included African American players, lending his fame and authority to the movement that ultimately led to the color line being drawn. For decades afterward, Black players were excluded from organized baseball, and it wouldn't be until 1947 that Jackie Robinson got the chance to make his rebuttal.

Answer: Willie Keeler

Willie Keeler, nicknamed "Wee" because he stood 5'4 (162 cm), was one of the most potent contact hitters in baseball history. His famous hitting philosophy was summed up in his legendary quip, "Hit 'em where they ain't", which perfectly spelled out his knack for poking the ball into empty spaces on the field. In 1897, he hit an astounding .424, and he finished his career with a .341 batting average. Despite his size, Keeler was a fierce competitor and a mainstay at the top of the lineup.

Keeler's control of the bat was legendary. He struck out only 136 times in over 8,500 plate appearances, still the best ratio of at-bats to strikeouts in Major League history. A two-time batting champion, he was also an excellent fielder and a fast baserunner, swiping nearly 500 career bases.

Answer: Candy Cummings

Arthur "Candy" Cummings is remembered less for the length of his career and more for the lasting impact of his pitching. Though he pitched only six professional seasons, he is widely credited with inventing the curveball. The new pitch revolutionized the game forever by changing the entire pitcher-batter dynamic, adding the previously missing element of strategy. The story goes that Cummings, inspired as a teenager by tossing clamshells along the beach, worked to develop the same curving motion with a baseball.

Cummings' big-league career was brief compared to many of his Hall of Fame peers, but he rests comfortably on that single innovation. The curveball forced hitters to adapt, managers to rethink strategy, and pitchers to expand their arsenals. The game suddenly became a lot trickier. (The slider would have to wait a couple decades.)

Answer: Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby was one of the most feared hitters in baseball history, renowned for his remarkable consistency and just pure hitting ability. Over a 23-year career, primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns, he compiled a lifetime .358 batting average, second only to Ty Cobb in major league history. He remains the only player to bat over .400 three times in the National League. His 1924 season was especially legendary, when he hit .424, a modern record that still stands.

Hornsby was not just a hitter. He also served as a player-manager, leading the Cardinals to their first World Series title in 1926. After his playing days, he continued as a coach and mentor, passing down his philosophy of hitting to younger generations.