Books and articles about Chuck Klein

One of the most prodigious sluggers of the late 1920s and early 1930s, Chuck Klein was a star from the day he joined the Phillies in July 1928. The short right-field fence at Baker Bowl (280 feet) contributed to the lefthanded-hitting Klein's slugging records and high batting average. He collected more than 200 hits for five straight seasons (1929-33), leading the NL the last two. With 250 hits in 1930, he batted .386 but still finished third in the league behind Bill Terry (.401) and Babe Herman (.393). It was a hitter's year, but Klein's average was 83 points above the league mark.

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Klein led the league in total bases for four consecutive years (1930-33), leading in doubles in two of them and HR in three. He led in runs scored three straight years, powered six HR in four straight games in 1929, and twice hit five in three games. Unlike most sluggers, he was a competent baserunner, topping the circuit in 1932 with 20 steals and hitting 15 triples. His league-leading numbers of outfield assists in 1930 (44, a modern NL record), 1932, and 1933 were largely a product of his skill at fielding the strange caroms off the corrugated tin wall at Baker Bowl.

The NL MVP in 1932, Klein won the Triple Crown in 1933 (28 HR, 120 RBI, .368), though Carl Hubbell took MVP honors. During his first six years, Klein hit 191 HR and collected 1,209 hits, 699 runs, and 727 RBI. Traded to the Cubs for the 1934 season, Klein was a disappointment in Chicago by his previous standards. Many Baker Bowl home runs turned into long outs at Wrigley Field. Even so, he hit 20 and 21 HR in two seasons and batted .301 and .293. The Phillies reacquired him in May 1936, and Klein had his greatest game when he smashed four homers in a 10-inning contest on July 10. Klein was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1980. (AA)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 1, 1922: Rogers Hornsby’s 3-for-5 on the last day puts him at .401, the first .400-hitter in the NL since Ed Delahanty in 1899. His NL-record 250 hits top Willie Keeler’s 243 in 1897. Hornsby wins the Triple Crown with 152 RBIs and 42 HRs. His 102 extra-base hits will be the NL’s tops until Chuck Klein’s 107 in 1930. » July 26, 1928: The Phils buy lefthand hitting OF Chuck Klein from Fort Wayne. » April 27, 1929: At Brooklyn, Brooklyn relief pitcher Clise Dudley becomes the first man to hit a home run on the first ML pitch he sees, one thrown by Claude Willoughby. Dudley will hit two more homers in his four ML years. He is more than matched by Chuck Klein, with a single, double and homer from the 7th spot, who leads the Phils to an 8–3 win. » 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. » September 27, 1929: Phils OF Chuck Klein hits HR No. 42, tying Mel Ott and equaling Hornsby's NL record. He'll hit one more to top the NL with 43. » October 5, 1929: Mel Ott and Chuck Klein go into today's Giant-Phils doubleheader tied at 42 home runs apiece. In the opener, a 5–4 Phils victory, Ott manages a single, but Klein homers off Carl Hubbell in his first at bat to take the home run lead. In game 2, Ott singles in his first at bat. After that, manager Burt Shotton orders the Phillies pitchers, rather than give Ott a chance to tie Klein, to semi-intentionally walk him five times. The last (semi) intentional walk comes on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded as the Giants win, 12–3. Phillie Lefty O'Doul gets six hits in the two games for an National League record of 254 hits for the season. In the 5th inning of game 1, Lefty's 3rd hit of the game, a 5th inning home run, is his 251st of the year. He has a 4th hit in game one, then two more in the nitecap. Chuck Klein follows O'Doul's home run with one of his own, his 43rd. For Rogers Hornsby, it was a tough inning, as the two home runs eclipse two of his NL season records: most hits (250) and most home runs (42). » 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. » July 9, 1930: The Phillies come from behind in the last of the ninth to defeat the Giants 5-4. Chuck Klein's double off Carl Hubbell drives in Lefty O'Doul from second. » July 18, 1930: Chuck Klein's consecutive-game hitting streak ends at 26. The Phillie outfielder is stopped by journeymen hurlers Al Grabowski and Jim Lindsey of the Cardinals. » July 24, 1930: The Phillies Chuck Klein objects sharply to an eighth-inning strike call by umpire Lou Jorda and is banished for the first time in his career. Also ejected are manager Burt Shotton, captain Fresco Thompson, and 1B Don Hurst. It is necessary to use 42-year-old Cy Williams in RF in the ninth, the only inning of play Klein will miss in 1930. » August 3, 1930: In the 1st of two in a doubleheader sweep over the Braves, Chuck Klein hits safely in his 26th consecutive game, the 2nd time this season he has run a streak to this length. He will hit safely in 135 of his team's 156 games in 1930. Klein, who hit .434 in the stretch, is stopped in the 2nd game of the doubleheader. The Phils win, 11–5 and 4–1. » August 10, 1930: The last place Phillies win 18–0, as Claude "Weeping" Willoughby defeats the Reds in the first game of a twin bill, then take the 2nd game, 4–3. Chuck Klein and Lefty O'Doul each total six hits in the two games. The Phils will tie the ML mark they set last season by playing just six shutout games, winning four and losing 2. » August 19, 1930: In the first of two, Chicago's Hack Wilson connects off Phils P Sugar Sweetland for his 43rd home run, tying Chuck Klein's National League record set last year. In RF, Klein waves to Wilson as he circles the bases. The Phils hold on for a 9–8 win with Claude Willoughby the winner over rookie Bud Teachout. The second game ends in a 6–6 tie after 16 innings. » August 26, 1930: Hack Wilson has four RBIs to lead the Cubs over the Pirates 7–5. Wilson cracks a 2-run single in the 5th, but then allows a Lloyd Waner liner to skip by him for an inside-the-park-HR, and vows to atone. He hits his 44th home run, off young Larry French, breaking Chuck Klein's one-year-old National League record. » September 23, 1930: There are 42 hits in the Phillies, 19-16 loss to the pennant-bound Cardinals. RF Chuck Klein makes his 44th assist, well above the record of 39 set by Mike Mitchell with the Reds in 1907. » May 20, 1932: Paul Waner ties the major-league record with four doubles in five at bats in the Pirates 5–0 win over the Cards. He will break Chuck Klein's National League season doubles record with 62. Rip Collins' double in the 7th is the first of only two hits off Larry French. » September 26, 1932: In a doubleheader split with the Giants, Chuck Klein of the Phillies is 0-for-8 but closes the season with 38 home runs and 20 SBs to become the only player of the lively-ball era (1920 and after) to lead his league in these two departments. Klein also finishes 2nd in RBIs (137), while teammates Don Hurst (143) and Pinky Whitney (124) finish 1st and 3rd. In this century, only the 1915 Tigers and 1928 Yankees have the top three RBI producers in a season. » October 19, 1932: The BBWAA MVP awards are announced, with Jimmie Foxx winning in the AL and Chuck Klein in the NL. » May 26, 1933: Phillies OF Chuck Klein hits for the cycle for the 2nd time in his career, but the Cards win 5–4 in 14 innings. » September 23, 1933: The Phils and Braves, split a twinbill, each winning 5–4. Chuck Klein has three hits in each game, including his National League-high 28th homer in the opener. Boston's Wally Berger, 2nd in homers with 26, is out of action and doesn't play today. » November 21, 1933: Chuck Klein, who won the Triple Crown with the Phillies, is sold to the Chicago Cubs for $125,000 and veterans Mark Koenig, Harvey Hendrick, and rookie Ted Kleinhans. Hendrick will play one year in Philley, while the other two quickly go to the Reds. Klein, who also led the National League in total bases, hits, slugging, doubles, was second in runs, and 4th in steals, is the only player to be traded after a Triple Crown season. He will have two solid years at Wrigley before returning to the Phils. » May 17, 1934: In his first game in Philadelphia since the Phillies traded him to the Cubs, Chuck Klein hits two home runs to pace first-place Chicago to a 10–3 win. Gabby Hartnett adds another as Chicago pounds four hurlers for twenty hits. Kiki Cuyler and Dolph Camilli have four apiece to back the five hitting pitching of Bill Lee and Pat Malone. Malone gets credit for the win. » July 12, 1934: Chuck Klein is out of the Cubs lineup because of injuries as they beat the Braves 7-4. He is batting .331 with 19 HRs and 65 RBI, but will miss much of the second half and never again will return to the high level of performance previously shown. » June 12, 1935: After manager Grimm blasts the team in a pre-game clubhouse meeting—and bans poker games, the Cubs go out and throw a full house at the Phillies, winning 15–0. Larry French is the winner as Cavarretta has three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, and Chuck Klein adds a 3-run homer. The Cubs lose the nitecap, 11-8. » June 29, 1935: Gabby Hartnett goes 4-for-4 and drives home the game winner in the Cubs 2–1 victory over the Pirates. Chuck Klein's homer accounts for the other score to back Lon Warneke's win over Red Lucas. Chicago moves into 2nd place with the victory. » May 21, 1936: The Phillies reacquire "The Clouting Kraut" Chuck Klein, from the Cubs, along with P Fabian Kowalik and a reported $50,000, for P Curt Davis and OF Ethan Allen. Klein is hitting .294 this year for the Cubs. » July 10, 1936: Philadelphia's Chuck Klein hits four home runs in five at bats in a 10-inning game at Forbes Field. His final home run, on the first pitch in the 10th, helps beat the Pirates 9–6, and makes a winner out of Bucky Walters. Except for his three-run homer off Jim Weaver in the 1st, all of homers are solo flights. At 36, Klein is the oldest player ever to hit four homers in a game, and the first National Leaguer in the 20th century to do so. » July 25, 1936: The Cubs pound out 19 hits to beat the Phils, 17–4, and extend their lead over the Cardinals to three games. Curt Davis is the winner, holding his former teammates to six safeties. Three of the Philley hits come in the 9th when they score three runs on Bashore's single and consecutive homers by Chuck Klein and Dolph Camilli. The Cubs are led by homers from Augie Galan and Ethan Allen as they chase Bucky Walters with four runs in the 3rd, and add another nine off Sy Johnson in three innings. » July 28, 1936: Dolph Camilli's 9th inning homer, his second of the game, caps a 4-run rally as the Phillies top the visiting Cubs, 5–3. Reliever Larry French, who replaces Roy Henshaw in the 9th, loses after he gives up a single to Johnny Moore off the RF wall to tie, K's Chuck Klein and serves up the dinger to Dolph. » January 10, 1938: Before a gathering of writers, players and executives in Baltimore, Jimmie Foxx, Chuck Klein, and Charlie Keller (representing the American League, National League, and IL) try out the balls to be used in the new season. The Sporting News reports (as noted by Dick Thompson) that ". . . regarding the dead ball, as adopted by the National League, and the lively ball, as retained by the American and International Leagues . . .the NL ball has a distinctly 'dead' sound coming off the bat, compared to the livelier AL ball." » May 8, 1939: Chuck Klein hits a pinch triple with the bases loaded off the Reds Johnny Vander Meer, and the Phils win 8–7. » March 26, 1940: After being released by the Pirates, Chuck Klein signs for his third stint with the Phils. » March 12, 1980: Slugger Chuck Klein and former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Yawkey is the first club owner selected who never served as a player, manager, or general manager. » August 3, 1980: Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. » October 2, 1988: In Cleveland, Boston's Wade Boggs collects his 200th hit for the 6th straight season. Wade's mark breaks the record of five he shared with Chuck Klein (1929-33) and Charlie Gehringer (1933-37). » June 6, 1996: Boston's John Valentin hits for the cycle to lead the Red Sox to a 7-4 win over Chicago. The White Sox also execute a triple play in the game, making it the first time since July 1, 1931 that a contest has featured both a triple play and a batter (Chuck Klein) hitting for the cycle. » September 30, 2001: Todd Helton's 2B is his 100th extra base hit of the season. He is the 1st player in history to have 100 extra base hits in back–to–back seasons. Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein were the only others to do it twice in their careers. Colorado scores eight runs in the 3rd inning and go on to calcimine Milwaukee, 10–0. » October 7, 2001: The Cubs lose to the Pirates in their final game of the season, 4-3. They become the first team in ML history to not allow an opposing pitcher to throw a complete game against them all season. Sammy Sosa closes out 2001 with his 64th homer in his final at-bat of the game and sets a new franchise record with 98 extra base hits, one more than Hack Wilson smacked in 1930. He also finishes with another franchise record of 425 total bases, the 7th best all-time total, two ahead of Wilson. His 160 RBIs is the highest total in the NL since Chuck Klein knocked in 170 in 1930; Sammy's RBI total for the past four years also breaks Klein's 4-year mark set in 1929-32. To finish out the record day, five Cubs pitchers combine for 12 strikeouts as the staff sets a major-league record with 1,246 strikeouts. The Yankees do the same, setting an AL mark with 1,266 strikeouts.