24-2 Loss Sends Pitcher To Priesthood!

24-2 Loss Sends Pitcher To Priesthood!

On May 15, 1912, Ty Cobb entered the stands at New York’s Hilltop Park to fight a Highlanders fan who was heckling him.

The fan, who once suffered an industrial accident, was missing a hand and three fingers on the other. Cobb still punched the fellow repeatedly and when fans screamed at him to stop, he yelled back: “I don’t care if he has no feet!”

Ban Johnson, American League President, witnessed the ghastly incident and suspended Cobb indefinitely. The Tigers traveled on to a series in Philadelphia where Detroit players voted to strike until their teammate was reinstated.

To avoid forfeiting games, Detroit’s owner Frank Navin directed his manager Hughie Jennings to field any team he could assemble. Jennings sought help from a Philadelphia sports writer who had contacts around the city.

That’s how Allan Travers entered this crazy story. He was serving as assistant manager of the St. Joseph’s College baseball team having failed to make the varsity squad. Frankly, Travers’ primary on-field experience was playing stickball as a youngster. Yet he convinced Jennings that he could swiftly recruit a replacement Tigers team that ultimately consisted of college buddies, sandlot sluggers and two amateur boxers. The next day, this group of misfits arrived early at Shibe Park and sat together in the bleachers.

Ty Cobb and the Tigers took the field to play against Connie Mack’s powerful Athletics team featuring the $100,000 infield of Homerun Baker, Jack Barry, Eddie Collins and Stuffy McInnis. But stop! Umpire Bill Dineen ordered the Tigers off the field and 20,000 fans were about to witness the craziest of circumstances.

Hughie Jennings waved the replacements across the field and into the clubhouse where they quickly changed into the striking players’ Detroit uniforms.

The new Tigers then raced out of the dugout. They were joined as players by Hughie Jennings himself and his two not-young assistant coaches. Allan Travers took the mound. His instructions from Jennings were simple: “throw slow pitches with some bend because if you throw fast balls you’ll get killed.”

The Athletics let it rip. Travers gave up 26 hits including 7 triples but he miraculously struck out one batter! The final score was 24-2 but it definitely could have been worse. Much worse.

Ban Johnson ordered the real Tigers to play the next game or be banned for life. While convincing everyone to return, Cobb threatened to sue Major League baseball and his own suspension was reduced to 10 games.

After graduation in 1913, Travers joined the Jesuit Order, studied at St. Andrew on the Hudson, and was eventually ordained as a Catholic priest. Father Aloysius S. Travers is believed to be the only priest to have played Major League baseball.

God bless him!