Memories like these of Lamar Porter Field are so ubiquitous among those who grew up in the Stifft Station neighborhood of Little Rock that they can easily fill a book. That’s exactly what Norris Guinn and Willis Callaway realized in the late 2000s when they began writing, collecting stories and eventually self-publishing Lamar Porter Field and Memories of Sports in Little Rock during the 1950’s. Part history and part memoir, the book offers a unique glimpse into the nostalgic mid-twentieth century baseball scene at Lamar Porter. As Guinn describes in the forward, “This book is a combined effort by two boys growing up at Lamar Porter Field in the 1940’s and 1950’s and then fifty years later trying to remember the wonderful times they experienced together.”

Recently, when Willis Callaway offered to let me host the book on this site, I gladly agreed. I’m excited to announce that the book is now available to be read in it’s entirety on Yakker. Click here to go to the book.

Much thanks to Willis Callaway for permission to republish this work, as well as to my uncle Jim Hardwick for getting Willis and I connected.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame’s omission of Negro baseball players has been compounded in recent weeks by Major League Baseball’s statement in December 2020 announcing that MLB would recognize seven Negro leagues from the period of 1920-1948 as “Major” leagues. This decision has been criticized by some, and perhaps rightly so, but I think I join the majority of baseball fans in celebrating the announcement. The integration of stats and records will be certainly be messy, but I consider the reckoning and rethinking of baseball history that will inevitably follow to be, in balance, a good thing. By my count, around fifty Negro baseball players from Arkansas are now likely to be recognized as big leaguers by MLB, and I believe that there is a great deal of potential to celebrate the lives and history of these players. The ASHOF offers perhaps the best and most necessary example of this kind of recognition. Small tributes to black baseball in Arkansas have been presented elsewhere, but the ASHOF is the most visible and permanent celebration of athletics in the state. I’m hopeful that MLB’s decision will finally force the ASHOF to reckon with the way it has ignored Negro leaguers and pre-integration black athletes in general. To put it simply, the time is right for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame to induct a Negro league player.

Let me be clear that I don’t think the ASHOF is entirely at fault in this matter. Arkansas is by no means alone in the challenge to properly honor the legacy of the Negro leagues. Even the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown continues to provoke a few calculated qualms for its handling of the greatest black baseball players. Each of Arkansas’ neighboring states have inducted at least one Negro leaguer in their corresponding institutions, but the majority of deserving Negro baseball candidates remain unrecognized. The challenge is for the ASHOF to lead the way in helping clear the national backlog of Negro leaguers deserving of recognition. This won’t be easy, but a lot of the groundwork has already been laid by baseball historians. A major obstacle in the past was the lack of available information on Negro league players, but much work has been done to reconstruct statistics and biographical data. We will never have a perfect record of the Negro leagues, but the incredible work of modern Negro league historians like Larry Lester and Gary Ashwill has made this a moot point. The fruit of this labor is the incredible Seamheads Negro League Database, which offers stats that rival in precision some of the well-accepted records of the early white major leagues. I’ve also done my best to aid in this effort through my research and writing for the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia. But even with more scholarship and documentation on the Negro leagues than ever before, I acknowledge that some valid concerns about inducting a Negro leaguer may still exist. Here are some of the remaining obstacles, as I see them:

• They’re all gone. It’s unfortunate that nearly all Negro leaguers have at this point passed on. Ollie Brantley, one of the last surviving Negro leaguers from Arkansas, died in April 2020. I was once told that a lack of living Negro league representatives would be a big problem for the ASHOF. As a small institution, the ASHOF relies on its annual induction banquet and ceremony for publicity and revenue, and the attendance of living athletes helps garner interest. Deceased players also face a more difficult balloting process, since they are voted on separately. But the ASHOF does nevertheless regularly honor athletes posthumously, as they did with Tatum. To accept the honor, surviving descendants of Negro league players could likely be found. Moreover, my hope is that inducting a Negro league player would draw enough interest and collective memory from the larger black community in Arkansas to offset the absence of a living player. 
• They didn’t come home. Most Negro league players from Arkansas did not return home after their baseball careers ended, instead settling in larger, industrial cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and New York. There were likely many reasons for this, including greater migration patterns, job availability, segregation politics, etc. The ASHOF would surely prefer to select athletes who returned to Arkansas, but there are already many inductees who did not. Take for example baseball players Lou Brock and Arky Vaughan who moved away from Arkansas during babyhood. It should be no issue then for Negro leaguers to be held to the same standard.
• We don’t know their personal character. An important component to the selection of a lot of local sports heroes is their admirable character and civic contributions. I acknowledge that this is one of the most genuine concerns facing the induction of a Negro leaguers or any athlete from the past. It’s difficult to determine the personal character and community impact of an athlete merely from newspaper clippings. My best suggestion is that we remember the pride that hometown athletes bring to their communities and acknowledge Negro league players surely provided similar inspiration to the black communities of Arkansas.

This topic may seem trivial, but baseball has a funny way of mirroring greater cultural movements. It has taught me that we, both privately and institutionally, need to be intentional about recognizing those on the periphery of society. The consequences of when we do not have been clearly exemplified in American history. To give a low-stakes example, it took sixteen years and sixty-six inductees before the ASHOF inducted Tatum as its first black athlete. Yet, it was through this choice to integrate that a path to induction was given to other black athletes, including baseball players Lou Brock and Torii Hunter, and most recently, Johnny Ray. In the same way, I believe that the inclusion of Negro League players in the ASHOF might open the doors to the greater inclusion of more obscure athletes as a whole. Or even better, it might become symbol of our state’s goodwill toward remembering those most often forgotten by society. Thus, I put forth below (in no particular order) nominations for seven Negro league baseball players for inclusion in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Andy Porter (1910-2010)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Sweet Home, Arkansas (Pulaski County)
• Position: Right-handed Pitcher
• 22 Professional Seasons (1932-1953)

Achievements:

• 2x East-West All-Star (1937-1949)
• 2x North-South All-Star (1939)
• Mexican League All-Star (1939)
• 2x Mexican League Strikeout Champion (1940, 1941)

Andrew “Pullman” Porter was a tall right-hander with a powerful fastball, good control and an intimidating stare. Although he never quite became an elite pitcher, he drew comparisons in pitching style to the great Satchell Paige. Over the course of twenty-two years in professional baseball, Porter built a lengthy resume that included numerous All-star game selections and a couple of strikeout championships. In a 1936 exhibition against a team of white all-stars, Porter threw four innings on only one earned run while striking out eight, including twice striking out Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby. During Porter’s transient career, he played from coast to coast in the U.S., as well as in Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, and Canada. While pitching for Nueve Laredo in 1940, Porter went 21-14 with an ERA of 3.34 and 232 strikeouts. In all, he put together a known career record of 145-115 with an ERA around 4.00. It’s probably not a stretch to say he won more than 200 games in his career, which would put him in the top ten all-time among Arkansans in that category. Porter grew up on his family’s cotton farm in rural Pulaski County and retired after baseball to Los Angeles. He was more than 100 years old at his death in 2010.

Learn More:

Andy Porter at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Andy Porter in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

Red Longley (1909-1977)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
• Position: Utility
• 21 Professional Seasons (1931-1951)

Achievements:

• 2x East-West All-Star (1938, 1944)
• 2x North-South All-Star (1934, 1935)
• NAL Pennant Champion (1938 Memphis Red Sox)

Wayman “Red” Longley was a fan favorite in his hometown of Little Rock. He was a short and stout utility player who rookied with the local Little Rock Grays and played the majority of his lengthy Negro league career with the other hometown favorites, the Memphis Red Sox. Though he was a poor hitter, he was the Jose Oquendo of his era who could play every position on the field. His versatility earned him several all-star selections, as well as the esteem of fans. In September, 1941, “Red Longley Day” was declared in his honor at Travelers Field in Little Rock during an exhibition game between Memphis and the New York Black Yankees. He also moonlighted during his career as an umpire before retiring to Memphis, where he died in 1977.

Learn more:

Red Longley at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Red Longley in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

Booker McDaniels (1913-1974)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Blackwell, Arkansas (Conway County)
• Position: Right-handed Pitcher
• 13 Professional Seasons (1940-1952)

Achievements:

• East-West All-Star (1945)
• 3x North-South All-Star (1943, 1944, 1945)
• Mexican League All-Star (1946)
• Cuban Winter League All-star (1945-1946)
• Mexican Pacific League All-Star (1948-1949)
• 2x Mexican League Strikeout Champion (1946, 1947)
• 3x NAL Pennant Champion (1940, 1941 1942, Kansas City Monarchs)
• Negro World Series Champion (1942, Kansas City Monarchs)
• First Black Player with Los Angeles Angels

Booker McDaniels pitched like gunfire, just as his Mexican nickname “Balazos” suggested. Hailing from the Arkansas River bottoms of Conway County, McDaniels grew to be a powerfully-built right-handed pitcher who at his peak was probably the most dominate pre-integration black baseball player from Arkansas. He was a key member of the Kansas City Monarchs during their most successful years, bolstering an elite pitching staff included Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith. He earned numerous all-star game selections in the U.S. and abroad, and was consistently among the league’s leaders in ERA and strikeouts in both the Negro American League and the Mexican League. According to Seamheads, McDaniels went 24-10 with an ERA+ of 121 between 1941-1945 with a strikeout rate well-above the league average. After several successful seasons in Mexico, he became the first black player with the Los Angeles Angels in 1949 and played two years in the Pacific Coast League. He retired from baseball in 1952 and later lived for many years in Kansas City where he died in 1974.

Learn More:

Booker McDaniels at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Booker McDaniels in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

Also, I put together a short video on McDaniels a few years ago. Check it out above.

Floyd Gardner (1895-1977)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Russellville, Arkansas
• Position: Outfielder
• 15 Professional Seasons (1917-1931)

Achievements:

• Negro World Series Champion (1926, Chicago American Giants)
• Baseball Hall of Fame Preliminary Ballot Nomination (2006 Special Negro Leagues Committee)

Floyd Gardner, known to the black baseball world as “Jelly,” was one of the Negro League’s all-time great lead-off hitters. True to form, Gardner was a small and speedy left-handed hitter with an excellent eye. Both patient and aggressive at the plate, Gardner was consistently among the league’s top stolen base artists and base on balls accumulators. He began his baseball days at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock and spent the majority of his professional career with the Chicago American Giants, one of the era’s best black teams. In 1926, Gardner helped the American Giants earn the Negro World Series championship by singling and scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th of deciding Game 11. On another occasion during league play in 1928, he scored a game-ending run by stealing home in the bottom of the 16th inning, giving Chicago a 1-0 win. It was this kind of scrappy play that earned Gardner an enduring reputation as one of the era’s most valuable outfielders. Even well after he left baseball, Gardner was consistently named by fans and writers to “all-time” negro league teams. In 2006, Gardner was one of ninety-four preliminary candidates nominated to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Special Negro Leagues committee. After retiring as a player, Gardner spent many years working for the railroad in Chicago. He died in Chicago in 1977.

Learn More:

Floyd Gardner at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Floyd Gardner in the Seamheads Negro League Database. 

Connie Rector (1892-1963)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Arkadelphia, Arkansas
• Position: Right-handed Pitcher
• 26 Professional Seasons (1919-1944)

Achievements: 

• American Negro League Win Percentage Leader (1929)

Cornelius “Connie” Rector spent more years in Negro baseball than any other Arkansan. The Arkadelphia native began playing with local semipro teams during the 1910s before turning pro in Texas and spending a quarter-century playing in New York. Despite picking up the moniker “Speedball Rector” along the way, he was in actuality a small, “chunky” pitcher known more for endurance and good pitch movement than speed. It was this under-powering pitching style that gave him his remarkable longevity. On one occasion while playing with the Fort Worth Black Panthers in 1920, Rector pitched 18 innings on one run while issuing only one walk and striking out fourteen batters. He went on to have a number of successful seasons in the 1920s, but his career year came in 1929 with the New York Lincoln Giants in the short-lived American Negro League. According to Seamheads, Rector went 18-1 with a 4.21 ERA (143 ERA+) in 25 games. His performance waned with age, but he was still capable of throwing complete games for the New York Black Yankees well into his 50s. Rector was also a decent hitter and was used as an outfielder and an occasional pinch hitter throughout his career. He finally retired from baseball in 1944 at age 52 and died in New York in 1963.

Learn more:

Connie Rector at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Connie Rector in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

Darltie Cooper (1902-1944)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Arkadelphia, Arkansas
• Position: Right-Handed Pitcher
• 23 Professional Seasons (1921-1943)

Achievements: 

• 2 No-Hitters (6/16/1921, 6/26/1921)
• Eastern Colored Baseball Champion (1930, Homestead Grays)
• Eastern Colored League ERA Champion (1927)

For a time, Darltie Cooper was one of black baseball’s genuine aces. He was a steady and composed starter with excellent pitch control and very good earned run averages. One of many black baseball products from Arkadelphia, Cooper once pitched two no-hitters in a span of ten days while pitching in his teens for Nashville. He rose to the top of black baseball while playing in Pennsylvania in the late 1920s alongside his longtime friend and teammate Oscar Charleston on the Harrisburg Giants and the Hilldale Club. Cooper was at his best in 1927 and 1928, compiling a combined 26-12 win-loss record and completing 32 of 33 starts. According to Seamheads, he posted a league-leading 2.51 ERA (179 ERA+) in 1927, followed by an even better 2.39 ERA (182 ERA+) in 1928. He also helped the Homestead Grays win the Colored Baseball championship of the East in 1930. His promising career dwindled in the 1930s when he became bogged down by injuries, on-field misconduct, salary disputes with team officials, and his successful attempt to sue the Newark Eagles for disability compensation. Nevertheless, he remained in professional baseball nearly until his untimely death from illness in 1944.

Learn More:

Darltie Cooper at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Darltie Cooper in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

Henry Spearman (1909-Unknown)

At a glance:

• Hometown: Arkadelphia, Arkansas
• Position: Third Base
• 14 Professional Seasons (1933-1946)

Achievements:

• North-South All-Star (1943)

Henry Spearman was the second youngest of the six Spearman brothers who played Negro league baseball. He grew up in rural Clark County, Arkansas and began as a semi-pro pitcher in Montana before developing into one of black baseball’s most valuable third basemen. Although he was a good all-around hitter with some power, he was overshadowed most of his playing days by the league’s more elite batsmen. While bouncing around the Negro National League, Spearman saw action with several of Negro baseball’s top franchises, including the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Homestead Grays, and New York Black Yankees. He won few accolades, but finished his career with a 109 OPS+ (Seamheads) and once hit three home runs during 1935 double-header. Spearman is also remembered for being part the blockbuster 1937 trade that sent Hall of Famer Josh Gibson to the Homestead Grays. After Spearman left baseball, he settled in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Sometime later, he went missing and was presumed dead by 1957.

Learn more:

Henry Spearman at the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia.

Henry Spearman in the Seamheads Negro League Database.

In addition to these seven players, there were many, many other Arkansans to play pre-integration professional black baseball. You can read about more than one-hundred of these players on the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia where I regularly add new information and research. There’s still time to keep the memory of the Negro leagues alive, and I hope that the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame will join me in being a part of the preservation work. 

-Caleb Hardwick

Max Carey (left) and Honus Wagner (right) at Whittington Park in 1913.

Perched atop the backrest of a wooden bench behind third base, Honus Wagner took a long deep breath of the chill Ouachita mountain air. The famous old ballplayer sat quietly with his enormous hands folded, exhibiting a gentle, contemplative posture. Although 39 and entering the twilight of his career, Wagner’s awkwardly powerful frame was still easily discernible among the other players at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1913 training camp in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Seated next to him, talented young teammate Max Carey glanced around the Whittington Park baseball diamond, taking in the scrimmage game that was unfolding between the Yannigans and the Regulars with one out in the third inning. Spring sunshine filled the ballpark, forcing Carey to squint to see the action. On the mound for the Yannigans, rookie pitcher Al Mamaux checked the runner on first base between pitches to left-handed hitter Chief Wilson. From the baseline, Pittsburgh manager Fred Clarke grunted instructions. Wagner watched Mamaux intently.

“Say, Hans, where did you go last night?” asked Carey.

“To bed,” replied Wagner, whose tired appearance left some doubt.

Carey paused a moment and then replied, “I thought so, but I heard otherwise –something about a midnight jaunt to angle in Swan Lake.”

Wilson swung on the pitch and shot a foul ball back toward the bench. Carey gave a jerk reflex to his right. Wagner, with hands still folded, watched the ball rocket over his head without flinching. Hitting a tree branch, the ball came to rest on the hillside above well before the crack of the bat ceased echoing in the mountain valley that cradled the little ballpark.

“I would sure well like to know the next one of those isn’t coming for me,” said Carey.

A nearby boy jumped up from his stool and climbed up the hillside to retrieve the ball. Returning it to playing field, the practice action continued. At first base, the runner began inching away from the bag, attracting a long, indiscreet glare from behind the slumped left shoulder of Mamaux. Meanwhile, the sound of casual chatter among the players filled Whittington Park. Augmenting this came a low booming noise from the foul side of the right field chalk where a large, disgruntled ostrich was voicing its displeasure with being harnessed to a sulky cart.

“I wish they’d get that filthy animal out of here. It was bad enough when we had to share this place with the Brooklyns last year,” said Carey. “But really, how are we expected to practice when they have that big ugly beast running around here? At least they keep the gators fenced in the farm.”

“He’s leaning too much. Watch him, Max,” said Wagner, undistracted.

Mamaux stepped off the rubber and made a move toward first base. An errant throw sent the ball well out the reach of the first basemen and squarely into the chest of Manager Clarke. The impact, though harmless, liberated a few curses from the old baseball man, each of which lingered in the air among the dust cloud left behind by the runner’s hasty flight to the second base.

“A pitcher can’t make a good pickoff when he’s slumping that much. Always watch for that,” advised Wagner.

“That’s what you keep telling me,” said Carey. “You know, I think I’ve almost got it down pat. Last year I swiped forty-five. This year I’m going to steal more than Cobb.”

At home plate, Wilson leaned on his heavy wooden bat while waiting patiently for the dust to settle. When Manager Clarke finished coaching Mamaux with his choice words of wisdom, Wilson stepped back into the batter’s box and dug his cleats into gravely soil. The ensuing pitch from the rookie pitcher came in high and hard, an expression of his inexperience and frustration with himself. Wilson, in turn, made solid contact and pulled the ball hard to right field. Ascending up and over the unamused ostrich, the ball easily dropped over the short outfield fence and bounced onto Whittington Avenue where an oncoming trolley car narrowly avoided the projectile. The sparse group of grandstand patrons watching the scrimmage game offered Wilson a few complementary claps. The lone umpire who had been calling strikes from the infield gestured for a new ball and headed back to his customary position behind the next batsman.

“Right field here is an awful bit undersized. Heck, I’d bet right field here is shorter than in New York,” said Carey.

“It’s 22 feet longer,” corrected Wagner.

“Is it? Well I’ll be darned.”

Finishing his circuit around the bases, Wilson picked up his bat and sauntered toward the little white springhouse next to Carey where a spigot offered some of the spring water for which the valley was famous.

“Say, Chief, that’s your third home run since we’ve been here, is it not?” asked Carey.

The tall, lanky slugger took a long swig from a cup full of cool mineral water.

“If you say so, Scoops,” came his reply in a low, Texas drawl. Picking up his bat again, Wilson walked off without saying another word. The booming noise from right field filled the silence.

“You know, Hans, I like coming here in the spring and all, but I’m mighty grateful that we don’t have to play in this ballpark all season,” said Carey. “I suppose I could get used to the short fences and such, but there’s something downright strange about letting an ostrich play right field.”

Another crack of the bat resonated across the grounds. The new ball, already scuffed and muddied, fell gently into an unmanned part of left-center and rolled toward the trolley car barn that abutted the field. A sudden carom forced the center fielder to quickly change his trajectory and simultaneously inspired the baserunner to try for three bases instead of two. Taking extra care to avoid tripping in the ditch that diverted a little creek around the outer parts of the park, the center fielder relayed the rogue orb in to the infield. When the third basemen’s long sweeping tag came down, the sliding runner was easily tagged out.

“Another thing –the infield here’s like sandpaper. The other day I slid into second and the rocks tore a hole in my trousers. Goodness knows why they put a diamond on such a rough spot of ground.”

A breeze carried some of the slider’s dust toward the bench. A well-dressed photographer from the Tri-State News Bureau in Pittsburgh approached and requested permission to take Wagner’s portrait. The tired old veteran unenthusiastically consented, never taking his eyes off the pitcher. The photographer adjusted the camera’s lenses and cocked the shutter. With a click, Wagner’s iconic likeness became fixed on the camera’s film.

Carey continued, “Still, I suppose there’s plenty to be said for Hot Springs. A man can certainly enjoy himself here –drinking the water, climbing the mountains, taking the baths and all. The hotels aren’t half bad, and most of the clubs are friendly. So I’ve heard, anyway.”

Mamaux, who had quickly worked the new batter to an 0-2 count, readied his next delivery.

“And the weather darn sure beats Pittsburgh –not bad for moonlight fishing, I would guess,” said a winking Carey.

The batman watched a third strike sail across the plate with little interest. An indiscernible groan came from the umpire to signal the end of the inning, much to the relief of Mamaux and the other young hopefuls. The Yannigans began clearing from the playing field, and Carey stood to stretch. Before taking his regular outfield position in front of the trolley car barn, he turned to Wagner once more.

“Yes, Hans, I say that there is nowhere quite little this little valley. But I suppose it is all the same to you after all these years. What do you say?”

Wagner pulled his cap low and breathed in the mountain air slowly. “I say your parents were right—you should have been a preacher, Max.”

Weaver appeared in eight games with Arkansas in 2005 and went 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA.

Embed from Getty Images

Despite struggling with a 5.15 ERA over his last three seasons, Weaver put together a solid career with the Los Angeles Angels. He was selected to three all-star games and led the league in 2010 with 233 strikeouts. In all, Weaver’s big league record is easily enough to rank him high on the list of all-time Arkansas Travelers pitching greats.

All-Time Travelers Pitching Greats

For simplicity, I chose to rank these players using Adam Darowski’s Hall Rating metric, part of his fabulous Hall of Stats project. Hall Rating is based on Baseball-Reference.com’s Wins Above Average and Wins Above Replacement and makes adjustments for things like position and schedule. The result is a handy little metric that gives us an easy way to compare the all-time greatest Arkansas Travelers pitchers.

Weaver ranks well behind Travelers legends Fergie Jenkins and Jim Bunning, but is rightfully honored among the top pitchers in Travelers history. Of course, Weaver already recieved the ultimate honor in 2013 when the Travelers immortalized him with his own bobblehead.

Related post: Mike Trout is Climbing the List of All-Time Arkansas Travelers Greats

Mike Trout is incredible. The former Arkansas Travelers player is only two-thirds of the way through his 7th major league season but has achieved feats only comparable to all-time greats like Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron. And considering that he will only be 26 at his birthday on Monday, it’s easy to foresee Trout earning a permanent place among these legendary players.

With that in mind, I took to Twitter back in September 2015 to make a bold claim about Trout’s legacy here in Arkansas. Even at that point nearly two years ago, I felt confident enough in Trout’s eventual place in history to assert that he will someday top the list of all-time greatest Arkansas Travelers players.

Of course, this claim was a bit premature. With names like Tris Speaker, Fergie Jenkins and Bill Dickey currently holding the top positions on the list of all-time Arkansas Travelers, Trout still has a ways to go before he reaches the top. But as he continues to build his astounding career, there’s no doubt that Trout is climbing the list –and fast. (In fact, while I was working on this piece, Trout added to his career numbers so fast that I had to update the table below several times).

So where is Trout when ranked against all other Arkansas Travelers players from history? To find out, I sorted through the major league careers of all several thousand Travelers players dating back to 1901. Since then, the Travelers have produced a healthy assortment of big leaguers, not the least of which are six MVP winners (including Trout) and two Cy Young winners. For simplicity, I chose to rank these players using Adam Darowski’s Hall Rating metric, part of his fabulous Hall of Stats project. Hall Rating is based on Baseball-Reference.com’s Wins Above Average and Wins Above Replacement and makes adjustments for things like position and schedule. The result is a handy little metric that gives us an easy way to compare the all-time greatest Arkansas Travelers players.

Five Arkansas Traveler greats in uniform. Left to right, Tris Speaker, Travis Jackson, Bill Dickey, Jim Bunning and Fergie Jenkins.

Trout Already an All-Time Great

Hall Rating leaves Trout roughly in the same territory as mustachioed Keith Hernandez and sideburned Dick Allen, the first black Traveler. By the end of the 2017 season, Trout should easily surpass both and probably even overtake Jim Bunning to move into fourth place behind Dickey. He’s got a long way to go before reaching Speaker status, but it’s not hard to see him passing Dickey and Jenkins in the next few years. At his current pace, he’d likely do so by the end of 2019 at age 28.

So while it’s too early to know whether my original tweet was baseball prophecy, Trout is quickly proving me more and more correct with every at-bat.

Loyal Chicago Cubs rooters are one of the largest baseball fanbases in Arkansas. (According to Facebook, Arkansas’ favorite team is the rival St. Louis Cardinals). Naturally, young and old Arkansans alike have dreamed of donning a Cubs uniform and competing in front of the ivy at Wrigley Field. However, only a handful have actually had this day dream become reality. In fact, by my count, only 15 Arkansans have played with the Cubs. Among these are players like brothers Solly and Sammy Drake of Little Rock, the first two black Arkansans in the major leagues. Also included in the Arkansas-Chicago club is Joe Berry, a Huntsville native who’s entire Cubbie career consisted of two innings in 1942. However, several Arkansans have left a more significant impact on Wrigleyville over the years. Thus, here are the top five Chicago Cubs from Arkansas:

#5: Travis Wood (Bryant, Saline County)

Wood is one of only two Arkansas natives to play with the Cubs during the last 40 years. (Fayeteville’s Blake Parker is the other). Since he was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to Chicago before the 2012 season, Wood has played 220 games with the Cubs, fourth most ever by an Arkansan. Working as a starting pitcher for the Cubs in 2013, Wood was named an All-Star and finished the season with a team-leading 3.11 ERA. This past season, Wood pitched 77 games out of the bullpen to help the Cubs win their first National League pennant since 1945. And for what it’s worth, Wood has been valuable at the plate as well. Since 2010, only one pitcher has hit more home runs.

#4: Hank Wyse (Trumann, Poinsett County)

Wyse was one of the Cubs’ best starters during the war-shortage years of 1940s. Though not overpowering, Wyse possessed excellent control and a curve ball that earned him the nickname “Hooks”. After breaking into the big leagues with Chicago as a September call-up in 1942, Wyse pitched the next five full seasons in a Cubs uniform. His best year came in 1945 when he won 22 games and posted a 2.68 ERA in the process of helping the Cubs win the National League pennant. Although no All-Star game was held that year due to the war, Wyse was unofficially named to the National League squad by the Associated Press. In the World Series, Wyse pitched parts of three games, including the final inning of decisive Game 7. Thus, Wyse earned the distinction of being the last Cubs pitcher to appear in a World Series until Jon Lester in 2016. After his career in Chicago ended in 1947, Wyse appeared in several seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators.

#3 Randy Jackson (Little Rock)

“Handsome Ransom” Jackson played parts of seven seasons with Chicago during the 1950s. A big third baseman with plus power, Jackson averaged around 15 home runs a season as a Cub. He graduated from Central High in Little Rock in 1943 and subsequently attended the University of Arkansas, Texas Christian University and University of Texas at Austin. He was signed by Chicago in 1947 and made his major league debut with the Cubs during the 1950 season. He was selected to the 1954 and 1955 National League All-Star teams before he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers. He briefly returned to the Cubs during the 1959 season before retiring from baseball. In total, Jackson hit 88 home runs as a member of the Cubs, by far the most of any Arkansan.

#2 Don Kessinger (Forrest City, St. Francis County)

Only a handful of people have played more games with the Chicago Cubs than Don Kessinger. Between 1964-1975, Kessinger played 1,648 games with the Cubs, 10th most among all big league players and by far the most of any Arkansas native. During those years, Kessinger showed good range as a defensive shortstop, a position that had been long held at Wrigley Field by legendary Cub Ernie Banks. He routinely led all major league shortstops in assists, putouts and double plays and was awarded Gold Gloves for his defense in 1969 and 1970. Although he never hit above .274, Kessinger was selected to six All-Star games and led the 1969 Cubs squad with 109 runs scored. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1976 season and later spent time as a player-manager for the Chicago White Sox.

#1 Lon Warneke (Mount Ida, Montgomery County)

In the 86 years since Lon Warneke became the first Arkansan to play with the Cubs, no native of the state has been as successful in Chicago. Warneke, a tall and lanky country boy from Mount Ida, pitched 1.1 innings for the Cubs in 1930 and thereafter pitched 1,624 more during parts of ten seasons in Chicago. In all, he won 109 games for the Cubs, including twenty or more in three different seasons. His best year came as a 23-year old in 1932 when he finished second in the National League MVP voting by going 22-6 with a 2.37 ERA. His performance on the mound led Chicago to National League pennants in both that season and 1935. He thrice represented the Cubs in the All-Star game, including in the first ever All-Star game in 1933. Although he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937, Warneke ended his career in Chicago by rejoining the Cubs for the 1942, ’43 and ’45 seasons. He also later returned to Wrigley Field as a big league umpire for many years.

Arkansans like Wood (Bryant, Saline County) have an eerie history of being final, decisive players in past World Series featuring the Cubs or Indians. This tradition dates all the way back to 1908 when Chicago last won a championship title and was revived when they last appeared in a World Series in 1945 and when Cleveland last won a title in 1948. In each case, an Arkansan earned a unique distinction by factoring into the final outs of the decisive game of the series.  And as the only Arkansan in this year’s series, it would seem that Wood may be in a unique position to do the same.

The connection between Arkansas and the Cubs-Indians series began with Charley “Boss” Schmidt, a tough-as-nails catcher who grew up working the mines at Coal Hill, Ark. In 1908, Schmidt was a 28-year old member of the American League champion Detroit Tigers club. Pitted against the Tigers in the World Series were the reigning champions, the National League’s Chicago Cubs. The series lasted only five games, ending on October 14th at Bennett Park in Detroit. Perhaps non-coincidentally, Schmidt was the final obstacle between the Cubs and victory. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Schmidt came to the plate for Detroit and hit a foul pop-up to Chicago catcher Johnny Kling. The final out of the series was recorded, and Chicago began a championship celebration that hasn’t been repeated since.

Thirty-seven years later, Trumann, Ark., native Hank Wyse helped lead the Cubs to the 1945 National League pennant. Wyse had been Chicago’s star pitcher that season, winning 22 games. He was selected to start Game 2 of the World Series for the Cubs, who were once again challenged for the championship by the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs failed to support Wyse at the plate and lost the game, but fought hard late in the series to force a decisive Game 7 on October 10th at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Trailing 3-9 in the 9th inning, Chicago sent Wyse to the mound with their final hopes of a championship. Wyse pitched a perfect inning, but Chicago couldn’t create a comeback in the bottom of the inning and lost the series to Detroit. As fate would have it, Wyse became the last Chicago Cubs pitcher to appear in a World Series.

For Cleveland, the Arkansas connection stems from the club’s last World Series title in 1948. That season, the Indians were led in part by Gene Bearden, their 28 year-old star rookie from rural Phillips County, Ark. With 20 wins on the mound for Cleveland, Bearden had become a breakout performer and was dominant in Game 3 of the World Series when he shut out the Boston Braves on five hits. The series was tight, but the Indians gained a 3-2 edge on the Braves heading into Game 6 on October 11th at Braves Field in Boston. With only a slim lead, Cleveland called on Bearden to relieve Bob Lemon from a tough situation in the 8th inning. Bearden escaped the inning with limited damage and was allowed to return to the mound in the bottom of the 9th. After a double-play, Bearden recorded the final out of the series by forcing Boston’s Tommy Holmes to pop-up to left field. By doing so, Bearden became the last Cleveland pitcher to appear in a champion World Series.

Perhaps the unique distinctions earned by Schmidt, Wyse and Bearden are simply interesting bits of trivia. But considering that only a handful of Arkansans have ever played in a World Series, it seems remarkable that three different Cubs/Indians championships would end at the hands of an Arkansan. So if Travis Wood should enter a game in the Chicago-Cleveland series with either team poised to claim the World championship, I suggest that the superstitious pay attention.