Books and articles about Babe Herman

As the lefthanded-batting Herman put it, "I wasn't the world's greatest fielder, as a lot of stories will attest, but I was always a pretty fair country hitter." Having led the NL in errors in consecutive seasons (at first base in 1927, outfield in 1928), Herman often had to deny having once been hit on the head by a fly ball.

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Only he and Bob Meusel have hit for the cycle three times. The .393 batting average (second to Bill Terry's .401), 416 total bases, 241 hits, and 143 runs he amassed in 1930 still stand as Dodger records. He also reached a high of 35 HR in 1930, and, with the Reds in 1932, led the NL with 19 triples. On July 10, 1935 at Cincinnati, he hit the first home run in a night game. The "headless horseman of Ebbets Field," as Dazzy Vance called Herman, once "tripled" into a double play (Herman got a double on the play), as three Dodgers wound up on third base, leading to the greatest of all the "Daffiness Boys" quips: "The Dodgers have three men on base." "Oh yeah, which base?" (TG)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 18, 1922: The Tigers trade pitchers Carl Holling and Howard Ehmke, along with infielder Danny Clark, outfielder Babe Herman, and $25,000 to Boston for 2B Del Pratt and P Rip Collins. Pratt has two more .300 seasons left; Collins and Ehmke provide long-term benefits to their clubs. Herman, 19, won’t make it to the big leagues until 1926, and then it will be with Brooklyn. » August 11, 1926: Dodgers rookie Babe Herman collects his ninth hit in a row, but flies out to Kiki Cuyler in the 6th to fall short of the record of 10 straight, held by Cuyler and Ed Konetchy. » August 15, 1926: The Braves are at Ebbets Field with Brooklyn's Hank DeBerry on 3B, Dazzy Vance on 2B, and Chick Fewster on 1B. Babe Herman drives the ball against the RF wall, and DeBerry scores. Vance holds up, then rounds 3B headed for home. Fewster stops at 3B. The RF throws home and traps Vance, who heads back to 3B. Herman slides into 3B as Fewster steps off. Herman is out for passing a base runner. Fewster, thinking he's out, too, walks off with Babe, and gets tagged out. Vance, still on 3B, later admits it was his fault, but Herman, who doubles into a double play, gets the blame. » May 20, 1927: At Ebbets Field, the Cubs top the Dodgers, 7–5, behind Tony Kaufmann. Fans interrupt the game with a shower of bottles after a disputed call by umpire Pete McLaughlin. Babe Herman has a pair of homers for Brooklyn, but costs his team two runs with a errant throw. » September 4, 1928: With yesterday's Labor Day DH rained out, the Braves will play a record nine consecutive doubleheaders between now and the 15th: Brooklyn today and the 5th; Philadelphia on the 7th and 8th; New York on the 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th; and the Cubs on the 15th. Starting with the Phils on the 8th, they will lose five of them in a row—a record, including all four to the Giants. They start the streak by dropping both games today to Brooklyn: the Robins win the opener, 3–2, behind Jake Flowers 10th-inning homer for Dazzy Vance's 19th win; Brooklyn takes the nitecap, 9–2, as Babe Herman and Del Bissonette wallop 4th-inning homers. » May 17, 1929: At Baker Bowl, the Robins hang on to edge the Phillies, 14–13. Chuck Klein hits a 2-run homer in the 9th, but the Phils leave the bases full when George Susce grounds out. O'Doul is 4-for-4 with four runs scored, while for Brooklyn, Babe Herman has four hits, including a homer. » May 18, 1929: Brooklyn and Philadelphia score a ML-record 50 runs in a doubleheader at Baker Bowl. The Robins (Dodgers) win the opener 20–16, and the Phils take the 2nd game 8–6, despite a Dodgers triple play. Highlights include Brooklyn's Johnny Frederick tallying five runs in the opener, which combined with his three yesterday, gives him a ML-record eight in two games. Both Frederick and teammate Babe Herman collect five hits in the slugfest. Chuck Klein homers in each game, #'s seven and 8. » May 30, 1930: With two on base in game one, Del Bissonette, Brooklyn 1B, hits the ball over the RF screen at Ebbets Field, but baserunner Babe Herman, "the Headless Horseman of Ebbets Field," stops to watch and is passed by Bissonette, reducing the home run to a single. Despite this, the Robins win a pair of games from the Phillies, 11–1 and 11–9 and take first place. Unfazed, Herman will pull off the move again on September 15th. In the nitecap, Bissonette collects five hits, including a homer. Chuck Klein homers in each game for the Phils to bring his total to 13. » June 8, 1930: The increased hitting in the NL is reflected in these batting averages: Riggs Stephenson .420; Babe Herman .414; Chuck Klein .401; Harry Heilmann .400; and Bill Terry .399. » August 10, 1930: In a Sunday doubleheader in St. Louis, 21,000 fans cheer as the Cards sweep two from the first place Dodgers. Burleigh Grimes takes the opener 8–2, despite Babe Herman starting a triple play for Brooklyn. Bill Hallahan K's 12 to win the nitecap 4–0. The 4th place Cards are now nine games behind Brooklyn. » August 12, 1930: With 40,000 fans on hand at Wrigley Field, Dazzy Vance gives up 14 hits and walks four but strands 16 Cubs runners. With the game tied, 2–2, in the 11th Riggs Stephenson bounces a single to drive in the winning run. Brooklyn loads the bases in both the 9th and 10th but comes up dry; in the 8th Brooklyn adds up a triple by Babe Herman, a walk to Dale Bissonette, and an Al Lopez single for zero runs. » August 31, 1930: At Ebbets Field, the Dodgers also roll up a football-like score when they tally 23 hits, including round trippers by Babe Herman, Glenn Wright, and Rube Bressler, to stomp the Phils 14–3. » September 15, 1930: The Dodgers win their 11th straight, although Babe Herman once again stops to watch a HR disappear for a record second time in one season. This time, Glenn Wright lopes past the awestruck Herman to reduce a HR to a single. » July 24, 1931: Babe Herman hits for the cycle for the second time this season, but the Robins lose at Pittsburgh 8-7. » September 20, 1931: Before a game with Brooklyn, Sparky Adams, Cards 3B, injures his ankle. He can see only limited action in the World Series, leaving a chance for Andy High to shine as his substitute. Gabby Street, 48-year-old Cardinal manager, catches the last three innings of the 6–1 win against the Robins. Street, who last played in 1912, throws out Babe Herman, the only Brooklyn runner who tries to steal. Street is 0-for-1 at the plate. » March 14, 1932: Babe Herman is traded to Cincinnati by the Dodgers. Catching prospect Ernie Lombardi goes with him as a throw in, making it one of Cincy's best trades ever. The Dodgers acquire Tony Cuccinello, Joe Stripp, and Clyde Sukeforth. » November 30, 1932: The Chicago Cubs get Babe Herman from the Cincinnati Reds for Rollie Hemsley and three others. » September 30, 1933: In a 12–2 romp over the Cardinals, Babe Herman of the Chicago Cubs hits for the cycle, the 3rd time he has performed the feat. Guy Bush wins his 20th game, beating Dizzy Dean who finishes the season at 20–18. » June 8, 1934: At Cincinnati, the Reds edge the Cubs, 4–3, behind the hitting of Babe Herman. With a man on, he hits his 3rd homer in four days, and scores in the 6th after hitting his 2nd double of the game. With the Midwest sweltering in a heat wave, Larry MacPhail flies the Reds to Chicago to Chicago on two American Airlines cabin planes. One coach and seven players elect to travel by rail. The Cubs will travel by Pullman car and lose tomorrow to Tony Frietas and the Reds, 5–2. » November 22, 1934: The Pirates and Cubs make a trade which brings Chicago a needed lefty in Larry French, as well as Fred Lindstrom. They send Guy Bush, Jim Weaver, and Babe Herman to Pittsburgh. » June 21, 1935: Babe Herman, on waivers from Pittsburgh, returns to Cincinnati. » August 21, 1936: Babe Herman, who quit the Reds in a dispute over a bonus, rejoins the team on orders from Commissioner Landis. » April 1, 1937: Babe Herman is sold by Cincinnati to Detroit. » July 8, 1945: Filling wartime rosters requires going deeper into the bag. The Dodgers bring back Babe Herman from California. He pinch-hits twice against the Cardinals, tripping over 1B on a hit. Guy Bush, Clay Touchstone, and Hod Lisenbee, contemporaries of Babe Herman in the 1920s, will get their chances on the mound. The Babe will go 9-for-34, mostly as a pinch-hitter, sock one HR, and be a popular gate attraction in Brooklyn. » July 9, 1988: Chris Speier hits for the cycle and Ernest Riles hits the 10,000th home run in Giants history to lead San Francisco to a 21–2 rout of the Cardinals. The 21 runs are a San Francisco record. Speier also cycled as an Expo in 1978, just the 4th major leaguer to do so for two teams. He joins Joe Cronin (Washington, 1929; Red Sox, 1940), Babe Herman (Dodgers, 1931; Cubs, 1933), and Bob Watson (Astros, 1977; Boston, 1979).