Before Lou Gehrig There Was “Pep”
T EXAS History
This Week in Texas History
Fifty-one years after playing in his last major-league game, a talented Texan tragically struck down in the prime of life finally made it into the Baseball Hall ofFame on Aug. 7, 1972.Four or five years after Ross Middlebrook Youngs’ birth at Shiner in 1897, his father moved the family to San Antonio. Little Ross had just turned ten when his dad walked out leaving his mother to raise their three sons.
While Henrie Youngs worked night and day to support her boys, Ross excelled at athletics. He starred in every sport West Texas Military Academy (Texas Military Institute of today) had to offer. But baseball was his first love, and he turned down football scholarships from several big-name colleges in favor of the bush leagues.
The teen’s career got off to a rocky start in 1915. He played briefly for Brenham and Waxahachiein the Mid-Texas and Central Texas leagues only tohave both go bust.But 1916 was a different story. As a switch-hitting infielder for a club at Sherman, he was hitting .362 when Dick Kinsella caught him in action. One look was all it took for the New York Giants scout to label Youngs a “can’t-miss” prospect, and on his recommendation John McGraw bought the 19 year old’s contractfor $2,000.The next year, the legendary manager invited the youngster to the Giants’ spring training camp in, of all places, Marlin, Texas. He seconded his scout’s opinion but decided Youngs was notsuited for the infield.McGraw sent him to Rochester with a blunt warning to the manager: “I’m giving you one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen. Play him in the outfield. If anything happens to him, I’mholding you responsible.”Youngs feasted on International League pitching for a .356 batting average in 140 games before McGraw called him up for the last week of the season. Four singles, two doubles and three triples in 26 atbats convinced the Giants skipper that the hustling Texan he nicknamed “Pep” was ready forthe big leagues.Any other rookie his age might have been awed by a rosterthat boasted half a dozen future Hall of Famers but not the confident kid from the Lone Star State. Sticking to the southpaw side of the plate, he soon proved he was a Giant in his own right by batting .302 in 1918, .311 in 1919 and .351 in 1920, second only to fellow Texan Rogers Hornsby.
From the beginning, Youngs was one of the most exciting players in the game. A terror on the base path, he broke up countless double plays with bodyblock slides.
His defensive feats were the talk of baseball and bordered on the unbelievable. On one memorable occasion, Youngs started a rundown between third base and home plate with a perfect throw, sprinted in from right field to join the chase and tagged the runner out.
Turn to History,