"Boy, was he a character. I really enjoyed watching him perform. He could work a pitcher by fouling off pitches forever. In those days, the umpires would try to get the foul balls back from the fans because they cost money. Some people would ask Appling to stop fouling off pitches because they would run out of baseballs." - Bill Morrow
Many people dislkie aspects of this modern sporting era, and they are for right! I'm not talking about something silly like the infield fly rule or the DH rule, I'm talking big fish here. Free Agency. While I will spare you from the agony of reading yet another diatribe on this controversial, yet omnipresent institution in modern sports, I will tell you the truth. It has marked the end for players like Luke Appling. We won't see them anymore. He would've been cut and replaced by a different shortstop, or perhaps traded to a nearby team and started a curse or something silly. Lucky for us, Major League Baseball was a different animal back in the 30's and 40's.
Lucius Benjamin Appling was born on April 2, 1907, in High Point, North Carolina. A good southern boy, Luke started his sporting career like most other athletes, in high school. There, he played football and baseball for several years. Afterwards, Appling attended Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. Luke spent only two years in Oglethorpe before signing with the Atlanta Crackers in the Southern Association. Within a year of becoming a Cracker, Appling had inked a deal with the Chicago White Sox, his new home.
Yet things would start out the only way they could for Appling. Six games after Appling was called up to the majors, he broke his finger in a morning workout. He would miss the rest of the season. It would also be the first in a long list of injuries. Over the years, Appling has amassed quite a long list of injuries and other afflictions. He often complained of his bad ankles, a sore back, the flu, pink eye, his broken finger and a leg, which he broke later in his career. Due to this minagerie of ailments, Luke Appling received the nickname "Old Aches and Pains." This nickname much preferred over his previous nicknames of "Fumblefoot" and "Kid Boots." Both nicknames he received due to consistant, poor fielding.
The 1931 season didn't start out any better for Luke Appling. During batting practice, on opening day, Appling was hit on the elbow by a wild pitch. The collision of ball and elbow caused a large amount of swelling to occur. Appling didn't practice anymore that day, but he did play in the game, striking out all four times he made it to the plate. This jumpstarted a streak where Appling went 0-28 to begin the season. Note well young ball players, this is not how you want to start off your career.
Appling's bat, and his fielding, would not heat up until 1933. 1933 brought a new manager, and a new GM. Both had faith in Appling, for reasons known only to them. '33 was the third year of Appling's marginal batting and much worse fielding (and he played shortstop too!). The lowest of the low was during a double header one day. Appling, after having played especially pitiful in the first game, was told he wouldn't be playing in the second game. Appling, knowing he had given the club three years of bad play, at his best, began to worry about his future. The general Manager, Lew Fonseca, came down to the dugout and sat with Appling during the second game. The two talk and Fonseca assured Appling that he was the team's starting shortstop, and that he believed in him. Something changed inside Appling that day. If not his heart, than his baseball skills, grew three times larger that day. He finished the season batting an impressive .322.
One would think that after such a moving year, in which Appling had learned how to play well, he'd have a breakout season in 1934. However, we are talking about Luke Appling, and, of course, Appling hurt his ankle while sliding into first base (remember kids, that's a no-no). He ended up missing 40 games that season, yet still hit above .300.
Fonseca's faith in Luke came true in 1936. Appling proved what he could do this year, hitting a redonkulous .388 (~4/10 at-bats resulted in a hit). Appling smacked a total of 204 hits, with a cool 128 RBIs. Appling also had a 27 game hitting streak going this season, until Boston Red Sox pitcher, Wes Ferrell, managed to fool Appling, and force him to go hitless. The streak was a White Sox record until it was broken by Albert Belle in 1997. In the Most Valuable Player voting this season, Appling came in second to New York Yankees first baseman, Lou Gehrig.
On March 27, 1938 Appling broke his leg during an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. He fractured his right leg in two different places and did not return until July 8. Did you really expect anything else?
Appling played five more seasons of solid play, and then a little thing called World War II started (well, ok. America's involvement, work with me here). Like several other ball players in this era, Appling left baseball to join the Army. He enlisted after the 1943 season, where Appling led the league in hitting and came in second in the MVP balloting. He came in second to Spud Chandler, another Yankee. He did not return to baseball until late in the 1945 season. Appling, amazingly, was not harmed during his time in the army. Personally, I'm shocked he wasn't hurt while the barber shaved off his hair.
For the rest of his career, Appling's numbers remain pretty constant. On August 6, 1949 Appling made his 2,154th appearance at shortstop. This mark surpassed Rabbit Maranville's previous record. Appling would finish his career with 2,218 games at shortstop, to be later passed by Luis Aparicio. Appling also established MLB records for a shortstop in double plays, and American league records in putouts and assists. All marks were later passed by Aparicio.
Appling mutually agreed to leave the Chicago White Sox as a player on November 9, 1950. Appling was moved to Tennessee, where he became manager for the Memphis Chicks in the Southern Association, a minor league squad for the Chisox. In 1952, he was named the Minor League Manager of the Year. The following year, Appling and the Chicks won the pennant in the Southern Association. After working different managerial jobs in the Minors, On August 20, 1967 Appling became manager of the (then) Kansas City Athletics, a day after previous manager, Alvin Dark, was fired, re-hired, and then fired again. Appling would go a dismal 10-30 in the last 40 games of the season. He would later work as a coach with the Chicago White Sox until he permanently retired from Major League Baseball in 1971. In 1975, his number, 4, was retired.
Some people might remember Appling from July 19, 1982. This was the date of the first annual Cracker Jack Oldtimer's Classic. This Classic took place at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington D.C.. Here, Appling, then a 75 year old (with really bad arthritis, I'd imagine) smacked a 250 foot tater off of Warren Spahn to give the American League a 7-2 win in the 5 inning battle of former baseball legends.
Appling un-retired for a short time in the 1980's. He became a hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves. However, Appling would not live to see the Braves dominate in the 90's, he passed away on January 3, 1991 in Cumming, Georgia. He is buried at the Sawnee View Gardens Mausoleum in the same town.
Even though Luke Appling never played a single game in the postseason, he was elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writer's Association of America in 1964. He received a very comfortable 84% of votes (189 out of 225 ballots), easily above the necessary 75% mark. The following is engraved on Appling's Hall of Fame plaque:
Luke Appling's Hall of Fame plaque inscription:
LUCIUS BENJAMIN APPLING
CHICAGO A.L. 1930-1950
A.L. BATTING CHAMPION IN 1936 AND 1943.
PLAYED 2,218 GAMES AT SHORTSTOP
FOR MAJOR LEAGUE MARK.
HAD 2,749 HITS.
LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE OF .310.
LED A.L. IN ASSIST 7 YEARS.
HOLDS A.L. RECORD FOR CHANCES
ACCEPTED BY SHORTSTOP 11,569.
Teammates of Luke Appling also enshrined in the Hall: Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Al Simmons, Red Ruffing, Nellie Fox.
Statistics:
Position: Shortstop
Number: #4
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 183
7 time All-Star: 1936, 1939-41, 1943, 1946, 1947
2nd in MVP voting twice: 1936, 1943
Batting Statistics:
(bold denotes a category in which Luke Appling led the league)
Year Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB
1930 CHW 6 26 2 8 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 .308 .308 .385 10
1931 CHW 96 297 36 69 13 4 1 28 9 2 29 27 .232 .303 .313 93
1932 CHW 139 489 66 134 20 10 3 63 9 8 40 36 .274 .329 .374 183
1933 CHW 151 612 90 197 36 10 6 85 6 11 56 29 .322 .379 .443 271
1934 CHW 118 452 75 137 28 6 2 61 3 1 59 27 .303 .384 .405 183
1935 CHW 153 525 94 161 28 6 1 71 12 6 122 40 .307 .437 .389 204
1936 CHW 138 526 111 204 31 7 6 128 10 6 85 25 .388 .474 .508 267
1937 CHW 154 574 98 182 42 8 4 77 18 10 86 28 .317 .407 .439 252
1938 CHW 81 294 41 89 14 0 0 44 1 3 42 17 .303 .392 .350 103
1939 CHW 148 516 82 162 16 6 0 56 16 9 105 37 .314 .430 .368 190
1940 CHW 150 566 96 197 27 13 0 79 3 5 69 35 .348 .420 .442 250
1941 CHW 154 592 93 186 26 8 1 57 12 8 82 32 .314 .399 .390 231
1942 CHW 142 543 78 142 26 4 3 53 17 5 63 23 .262 .342 .341 185
1943 CHW 155 585 63 192 33 2 3 80 27 8 90 29 .328 .419 .407 238
1945 CHW 18 57 12 21 2 2 1 10 1 0 12 7 .368 .478 .526 30
1946 CHW 149 582 59 180 27 5 1 55 6 4 71 41 .309 .384 .378 220
1947 CHW 139 503 67 154 29 0 8 49 8 6 64 28 .306 .386 .412 207
1948 CHW 139 497 63 156 16 2 0 47 10 4 94 35 .314 .423 .354 176
1949 CHW 142 492 82 148 21 5 5 58 7 12 121 24 .301 .439 .394 194
1950 CHW 50 128 11 30 3 4 0 13 2 0 12 8 .234 .300 .320 41
Totals: 2422 8856 1319 2749 440 102 45 1116 179 108 1302 528 .310 .399 .398 3528
Hall of Fame
Luis Aparicio - Richie Ashburn
Dont forget these shenanigans! Quest Up! Holla!
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Luke Appling - http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/appling_luke.htm
Luke Appling Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com - http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/applilu01.shtml
Luke Appling - BaseballLibrary.com - http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/A/Appling_Luke.stm
Luke Appling biography - http://allsands.com/Sports/History/lukeapplingbio_snf_gn.htm
quote taken from: A Trip Back In Time, by Joe Orlando - http://www.psacard.com/articles/article2556.chtml