Books and articles about Ross Youngs

On the wall behind the desk of John McGraw's Polo Grounds office hung portraits of pitcher Christy Mathewson and Ross Youngs, whom McGraw called his "greatest outfielder." Youngs had a brief but outstanding career; in eight full seasons with the Giants, the lefthanded hitter was consistently among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He topped the league with 31 doubles in 1919. His .351 average in 1920 put him second in the NL behind Rogers Hornsby; his .356 in 1924 placed him third.

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In 1921, the 5'8" 162-lb Texan became the first player in World Series history to connect for two hits in an inning, collecting a double and a triple in the eight-run seventh inning of Game Three. The right fielder on New York's four straight pennant winners (1921-24), his superb throwing arm and track-star speed helped to obscure his overenthusiastic defensive style. He recorded league-high totals in outfield assists and errors in both 1920 and 1922.

In the wake of the Black Sox scandal, claims were made by baseball insiders that Youngs had taken bribes from New York gamblers. Teammate Jimmy O'Connell, who was banned from baseball, alleged that Youngs knew about an attempt to fix a 1924 game. Highly regarded in the baseball world, Youngs made a quick, calm, and direct denial of the charges, and was acquitted.

Youngs had the first sub-.300 performance of his career in 1925. The following spring, he was diagnosed as suffering from Bright's disease, a terminal kidney ailment. The Giants hired a full-time nurse to travel with him, and Youngs valiantly managed a .306 average in 95 games. Bedridden in 1927, he died after watching the Giants slip to third place. He had some support for the Hall of Fame in 1938, but wasn't inducted until the Committee on Baseball Veterans recognized him in 1972. (ASNEN)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 25, 1917: The Cards beat the Series-bound Giants, 5–3. Ross Youngs debuts for the Giants, and the future Hall of Famer is 0-for-4. » May 11, 1920: For the first time in seven years, a player hits 3 triples in a game. Ross Youngs does the trick for the Giants at Cincinnati, but the Giants lose 9-4. » October 7, 1921: The Giants bats wake up against Bob Shawkey (18-12) and three other pitchers. A 20-hit barrage and 8-run 8th sink the Yanks 13–5. Jesse Barnes (15-9) gets the win. Ross Youngs set a World Series record with a pair of long hits—2B and 3B—and five total bases in the 8th. » April 29, 1922: The NY Giants collect 20 hits, including four inside-the-park home runs, in windswept Braves Field in Boston. George Kelly hits 2, one in the 4th and another in the 9th, and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft hit the others. Youngs includes the cycle in his five hits. Phil Douglas coasts to a 15–4 win. » September 3, 1922: The Giants pull off a 2nd inning triple play against the Phils. With runners on 1B and 2B Jimmy Smith pops up and the infield fly rule is called. Although Smith is called out, Frisch fails to catch the ball, and the runners take off. Giants right fielder Ross Youngs picks the ball up and the relay catches runner Cliff Lee at 3B for out #2. 3B Heinie Groh's throw and relay catch Sam Leslie at 1B for the 3rd out. The Giants then break a 7–7 tie in the 9th when Frankie Frisch scores from 2B on a muffed 6–3 play that Phils pitcher Jimmy Ring bobbles. » September 23, 1922: Rogers Hornsby belts his 40th homer, a solo shot in the 6th at the Polo Grounds, but the Giants hang on to win, 7–5. Ross Youngs saves a homer in the 9th when he leaps to snag Jack Smith's drive. Jack Scott hits 4-for-4 and goes all the way for the win to keep the Giants six games in front of Pittsburgh. » October 13, 1923: The Yankees score six runs in the 2nd off three Giants hurlers to help a shaky Bob Shawkey (16-11) to an 8–4 win. Whitey Witt has three hits and two RBI; for the losers Frank Frisch has two hits for the 3rd time, and Ross Youngs has 4. » October 1, 1924: Another bribery scandal clouds the World Series atmosphere. Judge Landis bans Giants OF Jimmy O'Connell and coach Cozy Dolan from the World Series after they admit an attempt to bribe Phils SS Heinie Sand on the 27th to "go easy" in their season-ending series against the Giants. O'Connell implicates Frank Frisch, George Kelly, and Ross Youngs, who deny everything and are cleared by Landis. O'Connell is out of baseball at 23. American League President Ban Johnson, an enemy of the Giants John McGraw, proclaims that the World Series should be canceled because of the betting scandal, a pronouncement that the owners will ignore. Johnson, however, decides not to attend any World Series games. » June 12, 1925: Against the Pirates, the Giants make a triple play that goes from SS Travis Jackson to C Hank Gowdy to 3B Heinie Groh to RF Ross Youngs to 2B George Kelly to 1B Terry. In the first inning, with Max Carey on 3B and Johnny Rawlings on 2B, Kiki Cuyler taps a slow roller to SS that gets away from Jackson for a few seconds. Carey starts home and is caught, Jackson to Gowdy to 3B Groh. Rawlings, on his way to 3B, heads back to 2B and is run down. Cuyler tries for 2B and gets caught in a rundown. » February 2, 1972: The Special Veterans Committee selects former players Lefty Gomez and Ross Youngs, and former AL president William Harridge for the Hall of Fame.