I’ve been looking forward to doing this one.
Obviously I’m eager to play the games and test the rosters. But the most fun I have in any of these projects is putting the teams together. And there aren’t many, if any, that have been more fun to assemble than the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nebraska has produced 105 major league ballplayers. That puts it pretty close to the bottom of the “independent” states. Only about a dozen teams in our project have fewer players to choose from, and five of them are hybrid teams with two or even three states.
Remarkably, though, Nebraska has five Hall of Fame players (plus a HoF manager). And two of them just happen to be among the greatest pitchers to ever take the mound – especially in big games.
Grover Cleveland Alexander won 373 games. The Elba native won 28 for the Phillies in his rookie year of 1911, and in 1915 he won 31 with a 1.22 ERA as the Phils won the pennant. He followed that with 33 and 30. Then he was sold to the Cubs and never hit those heights again, though he won his third pitching triple crown with Chicago in 1920. In his late career, his big moment was saving the 1926 World Series for the Cardinals – a day after starting and winning Game 6.
Bob Gibson, who turns 74 today, most of you are familiar with. He was the man who set the ERA record of 1.12 — even better than Alexander’s 1915 season — in 1968. Gibson made the All-Century team and Alex somehow did not, which is a big reason why I featured “Old Pete” here.
Pretty good, huh? The Nebraskans can line those guys up in Games 1 and 2, and pitch them five times in a seven-game series. But wait, there’s more!
There are also two Hall of Fame outfielders. Richie Ashburn and Wahoo Sam Crawford (nicknamed for his hometown, a real place that wasn’t just David Letterman’s “home office”) provide great speed, on-base ability and defense. And five-time batting champion Wade Boggs was also born in the state.
There are also Mel Harder, a 223-game winner as a third starter, and ’89 AL Rookie of the Year Gregg Olson, who is joined in the bullpen by new World Series ring owner Joba Chamberlain. Bob Cerv, Ron Hansen and Jackie Brandt give the Huskers a pretty well rounded lineup. This is really an interesting team, especially when we get to the tournament part or as the soccer types say, the knockout stages.
The Hall of Fame skipper, Billy Southworth, wasn’t a bad ballplayer either. On the Nebraska roster, only the three HoF batters plus outfielder Les Mann had more career ABs than Southworth. But his fame came from leading the Cardinals to three straight 100-win seasons in the ’40s with a pair of world titles, then taking the Boston Braves to their last pennant in 1948.
One more thing – if I ever get back to Nebraska I will definitely visit this museum. After all it’s part of what makes all of this so much fun.
http://www.nebraskabaseballmuseum.com
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
RH Grover C. Alexander
OF Richie Ashburn
RH Fred Beebe
2B Pug Bennett
3B Wade Boggs
OF Jackie Brandt
OF Eddie Brown
RH Tim Burke
OF Bob Cerv
RH Joba Chamberlain
OF Sam Crawford
CA Ted Easterly
RH Bob Gibson
3B Alex Gordon
SS Ron Hansen
RH Mel Harder
1B Johnny Hopp
UT Bob Johnson
RH Sheldon Jones
UT Cliff Lee
OF Les Mann
LH Clarence Mitchell
CA Les Nunamaker
RH Gregg Olson
CA Todd Pratt
OF Russ Snyder
OF Billy Southworth
RH Sloppy Thurston
Next: Colorado.
Base instincts 