had no chance of being rehired. Speculation centered on big names from the Major Leagues, including Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics, Bucky Harris of Washington, and Art Fletcher, manager of the New York Giants. Collins was near the end of a brilliant playing career, but had stated that he wanted to pilot a ball club when he retired. Harris was player-manager of the Senators, but he was not thrilled with the fans, who had been riding him for the past two seasons. They had somehow forgotten that Harris had brought home two pennants and a World Series win in 1924. Fletcher, the manager of the New York Giants, had not indicated he was looking to change jobs, but the Cleveland sportswriters believed he could be had for the right price. Bradley and Evans told the writers a new manager would be in place in time for the minor-league meetings scheduled for the first week of December. Cleveland fans were quite eager to see what kind of manager the new ownership had in mind. The process went on longer than expected. On December 11, the front office surprised a number of folks by hiring former Cleveland Naps shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.
Once again, Alva Bradley was following the Cleveland-only rule. The Peckinpaugh family had once lived in Wooster, Ohio, just a short train ride south of the big city. There, on February 5, 1891, Roger was born. The family moved to Cleveland when Roger was a small boy, settling in the Hough neighborhood. By coincidence, League Park, the home of the 1890s Cleveland Spiders, was only a few blocks away. In the early 1900s the neighborhood was honored to have a certain gentleman from Philadelphia move in: Napoleon “Larry” Lajoie became a full-time resident.
Roger’s father John had played semipro baseball in the 1880s, eventually getting a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds. A shortstop by trade, the elder Peckinpaugh failed in his opportunity, causing him to leave the game behind and become a salesman. Roger attended East High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. A legend on the sandlots, “Peck,” as his friends now called him, was the best young shortstop in northeast Ohio. He joined the Collinwoods, a semipro team where he apparently accepted some cash for his services. Later, during Peck’s senior season, an anonymous letter surfaced, claiming he had been paid for play and was a professional. The East Senate League suspended Peck from further play.
After graduation Roger continued his dazzling play on the sandlots. The Cleveland Naps paid close attention, signing him to a contract in February 1910. Stories circulated that it was Lajoie himself who urged the Naps to acquire the nineteen-year-old infielder. The contract offered $125 a month, yet John Peckinpaugh still had deep misgivings about his son becoming a ballplayer. This may seem odd, that a former player would be strongly against his son pursuing a professional baseball career, but John Peckinpaugh enlightened his son that ballplayers were drunkards who did not want to work. Regardless of the stern warning, Roger signed the contract, joining the Naps for spring training in Alexandria, Louisiana. Henry Edwards recalled his first impression of the young shortstop, writing, “I never will forget how Roger did swat the ball that spring. There was a river back of the left field fence and Peck became a very expensive asset because of the baseballs he hit into the water.” Pitchers soon figured out that Peck had trouble hitting the curve, though, which stopped the baseballs from landing in the river. The Naps decided to send Roger to New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked on making contact with the breaking ball.
In August, the Naps brought Roger to Cleveland. He appeared in only fifteen games, but had to be thrilled to play next to the great Lajoie. They may have walked home together after ball games, stopping at Hough Bakery, where Lajoie enjoyed flirting with a young redheaded girl behind the counter. At any rate, Roger was now moving with the fast company.
The 1911 season found Peck in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Pacific Coast League. It must have been quite a jolt for him to depart Cleveland and travel all the way to the West Coast. There were few cowboys and Indians left on the way, but a trip of this magnitude was a lot to handle for a twenty-year-old.
Despite the odds against him, Roger blossomed in Portland. He hit a decent .258, stole thirty-five bases, and made all the plays at shortstop. The newspapers admired his ability, labeling him as an up-and-comer. The Naps were quite impressed with his progress, and for the 1912 season Cleveland would be his home. All he had to do was walk the few blocks from Hough Avenue to League Park. There would be no more trips to the minor leagues.
For most of the season Roger split time at the shortstop position with Ivy Olson. He still had problems with American League hurlers, batting a measly .212. Despite the problems with the bat, Roger had a good opportunity to be the regular Cleveland shortstop. Just when things appeared to be falling his way, though, a major obstacle blocked his path. His name was Ray Chapman. The new infielder had rocketed through the minor leagues, hitting and fielding like no other shortstop in the organization. He would take the job away from Peck, causing the Indians to trade the local boy to the New York Yankees.
Roger played nine seasons in New York. There he became the consummate shortstop. He had enough quickness to go deep in the hole and gun the ball to first base. Roger could dash behind second base, spear a ground ball, and fire across his body to get the runner. While batting he held his hands slightly apart and generally slashed the baseball to left field.
Near the end of the 1914 season, manager Frank Chance resigned. The Yankee ownership did not hesitate to make Peck the interim manager. It was only a handful of games, but valuable experience for a twenty-three-year-old. He showed a lot of maturity for a young man, which would later result in him becoming a Yankee captain. A few years later, Babe Ruth joined the Yankees and became fast friends with Peck. In fact, the two became close enough that Babe asked for a thousand-dollar loan. That was a considerable amount of money, but Roger wrote the check. To this day, Peckinpaugh family members assert that Babe eventually paid back the loan.
In 1921, the Yankees overtook the Indians to win the American League pennant. They lost the World Series to the New York Giants, but the Yankee dynasty was taking root. Stories remain that Ruth and several other players were feuding with manager Miller Huggins and insisting that Peck be named player-manager, but before the start of the 1922 season Peck was traded to the Boston Red Sox. The timing of the trade was quite curious, since Roger had an excellent previous season for the Yankees. He batted .288, hit seven home runs, and scored 128 runs, a career high. Newspapers mentioned a time during the season when manager Huggins was ill and Peck took over the team: almost immediately the Yankees went on a winning streak. This may have been a case of Peck becoming more popular than the manager and as a result being shipped off to the lowly Red Sox. Norman E. Brown, in his syndicated column for the Central Press Association, wrote, “The recent trading of Roger Peckinpaugh, Yankee shortstop and captain, to the Boston Red Sox is the most coldblooded deal ever put over in baseball. . . . As far as Peck is concerned it is the dirtiest piece of business ever put over in the big show.”
The trade brought Sam Jones and Leslie “Bullet Joe” Bush plus shortstop Everett Scott to the Yankees. The Red Sox got Peck, Harry “Rip” Collins, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn, and $100,000. Harry Frazee, the Boston owner, always had a blatant need for cash to support his theatrical ventures. He was a ceaseless trade partner with the Yankees. It seemed whenever the Yankees had issues, Frazee was more than willing to help. In 1919 he recklessly sold Babe Ruth to New York for $100,000. Boston fans watched glumly while their owner undid his team, squandering his money on Broadway plays.
Less than a month later, Frazee sent Peck to the Washington Senators as part of a three-way deal with the Philadelphia Athletics. Frazee insisted that there was no cash in this trade. In spite of this, Joe Dugan, who went from Philadelphia to Boston, somehow wound up in New York during the 1922 season. The Yankees, with all the newly acquired talent, would win another pennant while the Boston Red Sox finished last with a ridiculous total of fifty-three wins. The word “collusion” comes to mind here.
In Washington, Peck played alongside Bucky Harris. The two would become one of the most formidable double-play combinations in the game. Roger played in two more World Series, bringing home a championship in 1924. In game two of that series, against the New York Giants, the score was tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
