Joe DiMaggio set the standard. Mickey Mantle continued the tradition. But Earle Combs was the first of the great Yankees center fielders. Combs not only was an excellent outfielder who had a lifetime batting average that equaled that of the great DiMaggio, he has a college dormitory named in his honor. Earl Combs Hall at Eastern Kentucky University is named in honor of the baseball player, who attended the school and served as chairman on the University's Board of Regents for several years.
The Committee on Baseball Veterans elected Earle Combs to Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1970. He played for the New York Yankees from 1924 until 1935, when he was forced to retire due to crashing into an outfield wall the previous season in St. Louis. Modern fans may not have even heard of Earle Combs, much less be familiar with his abilities.
Combs batted leadoff and averaged almost 200 hits, 75 walks, and only 31 strikeouts a season. His lifetime batting average was .325, and his on base average was an amazing .397. In four World Series, he batted .350 with .443 on base average. Combs had great speed, as attested to by the fact that he averaged 17 triples a season and had a lifetime fielding percentage 7 points better than the league average.
The quiet, efficient individual's achievements usually are taken for granted. All fans know that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were great hitters. Ruth averaged an incredible 143 RBIs a season while Gehrig averaged an even more incredible 149 RBIs a season---more incredible because with Ruth batting ahead of him, Gehrig often came up with the bases empty. Of course, Ruth drew a tremendous number of bases on balls, which put a runner on base for Gehrig.
But few fans know that Earle Combs averaged 132 runs scored a season, which meant that he was often on base for Ruth and Gehrig and was partially responsible for their swollen RBI totals.. Batting third most of their careers, DiMaggio averaged 130 runs scored a season and Mantle 113. Current Yankees centerfielder and number 4 batter Bernie Williams averages 112 runs scored a season.
Today's fans are as knowledgeable about Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano and Mariano Rivera as the fans of other eras were about their Yankees. There is a natural tendency to favor those of one's own generation or era. With the passage of time, the greatness of players not of the ilk of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle is lost because the media do not refer to them often or at all. Earle Combs was a Hall of Fame player who helped create a tradition that continues to flourish at Yankee Stadium.
References
http://www.math.eku.edu/campus_tour/Buildings/earle.html
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/combs_earle.htm
http://www.baseball-reference.com/
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Posted June 10, 2003.
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