July 3, 1912: The $11,000 Beauty

July 3, 1912: The New York Giants sweep a doubleheader from the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1 and 10-9 at the Polo Grounds.

Note that I didn't say that they swept "their arch-rivals." The Dodgers then thought of the Giants as such, but this was not reciprocated. This was just 4 years after the Giants and the Chicago Cubs had a very nasty Pennant race that included Fred Merkle's "Boner" and the ensuing "playoff" game, so the Giants and their fans still thought of the Cubs as their rivals.

The 2nd game of the doubleheader was a back-and-forth affair, and the great Christy Mathewson had to come in and nail down the save. That had not been the case in the 1st game: Richard William "Rube" Marquard outpitched George Napoleon "Nap" Rucker.

Like Cleveland baseball star Napoleon Lajoie, Rucker was nicknamed "Nap" because of part of his name. Marquard was nicknamed "Rube" because of the great George "Rube" Waddell, another lefthanded pitcher with a great fastball. Marquard had another nickname: The $11,000 Beauty.

A baseball player, an athlete, a tough guy, nicknamed "Beauty"? Beats being called the $11,000 Lemon.

Richard William Marquard was born on October 9, 1886 in Cleveland. After going 23-13 for the Canton Chinamen -- yes, such a team name actually existed; the "Progressive Era" was only comparatively progressive -- of the Central League in 1907, and 28-19 to help the Indianapolis Indians win the 1908 American Association Pennant, the New York Giants signed him for $11,000, a record signing for the time -- about $350,000 in 2022 money.

When he got off to a rough start in the majors, going 5-13 in 1909 (but with a 2.60 ERA), the press called him "the $11,000 Lemon." But he led the National League in strikeouts in 1911, helping the Giants win the Pennant, and he became "the $11,000 Beauty."

The win on July 3 made him 19-0 on the season. In fact, he had won his last 26 decisions, dating back to September 4, 1911. He allegedly celebrated by buying an opal stickpin to reward himself. Upon being told by a friend that opals were a jinx, he threw the pin into a river. Too late: If such a curse existed, it had already done its work, and he lost his next decision, to the Cubs of all teams, 7-2 on July 8.

He went 24-7 in 1911, 26-11 in 1912, and and 23-10 in 1913. The Giants won the Pennant in all 3 seasons. After a down year in 1914, the Giants traded him to the Dodgers -- or the Robins, as they were known from 1914 to 1931, while Wilbert Robinson was their manager. In 1916, he went 13-6, and Jeff Pfeffer went 25-11, and the Robins won the Pennant. (Rucker was still on the team, but was hurt most of the season.)

In 1920, Marquard helped the Robins win yet another Pennant. They were set to play the Cleveland Indians -- his hometown team. On October 9, his 34th birthday, a few hours before Game 4, the 1st World Series game ever played in Cleveland, Marquard was arrested. He tried to sell a ticket for $350 ($5,121 in 2022 money -- and you thought Yankee Stadium tickets were expensive now!), but his would-be customer is an undercover cop. When the case went to court, he was found guilty, and fined one dollar, plus court costs, for a total of $3.80 -- about $55.60 now.

His teams went 0-5 in World Series play. He was 2-5 with a 3.07 ERA in World Series games. He retired after the 1925 season, at which point he was 201-177, with a 3.08 ERA, a 1.237 WHIP, and 1,593 strikeouts -- at the time, 3rd all-time by a lefthander, trailing only Waddell and Eddie Plank. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, and lived until 1980.

Dave Bancroft, a Hall of Fame shortstop acquired by the Giants after Marquard left them, was also nicknamed "Beauty."

*

July 3, 1912 was a Wednesday. These other baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Highlanders (renamed the Yankees the next season) were swept in a doubleheader by the Washington Senators, 3-2 and 10-2 at American League Park (later renamed Griffith Stadium) in Washington. In the 1st game, Jack Martin got 3 hits, but the rest of the Highlanders only managed 6 hits off Jim "Hippo" Vaughn. Walter Johnson outpitched Ray Fisher in the 2nd game.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 8-5 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-2 at Shibe Park (later to be renamed Connie Mack Stadium) in Philadelphia. Tris Speaker went 1-for-5 for Boston. Eddie Collins went 2-for-4 for Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Naps (named for Lajoie) beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at the brand-new Navin Field (later to be renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Lajoie went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Shoeless Joe Jackson went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Ty Cobb went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park (later to be renamed Busch Stadium) in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 24. The White Sox won the 1st game, 6-2. The 2nd game was tied 2-2 after 10 innings, and was then called due to darkness.

* And the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.