Three years after his induction to Cooperstown in 1956, seven-time All Star Joe Cronin was named president of the American League. It was in this capacity that Cronin signed this letter to an autograph hound seeking the signatures of the first and second AL chiefs. The American League began in 1901 with Ban Johnson at the helm of the highest office, a position he held for more than a quarter century until he was ousted by the owners in 1927. Johnson was a titan of the game during his reign.
Indians GM Ernest Barnard was tabbed to replace Johnson. Barnard served the Cleveland club for 24 years first as traveling secretary, general manager, and finally as the team president. Popular as AL president, Barnard was elected to his second three-year term in late 1930 but died suddenly just three months after his vote. A few hours later his predecessor Ban Johnson also succumbed.
William Harridge who held the league’s presidency from 1931 until Cronin took over in 1959 had high regard for Johnson, saying, “He was the most brilliant man the game has ever known. He was more responsible for making baseball the national game than anyone in the history of the sport”.
Harridge himself remains relevant today. Since 2017 the William Harridge Trophy has been presented to the champions of the American League.
In the collection is this letter written by Cronin who held the AL presidency from 1959-1973. Cronin tells the collector, “Mr. Harridge, I know, will gladly send you his autograph and he may have autographs of Ban Johnson and Ernest S. Barnard.” The letter spans the American League presidency from the position’s inception with Johnson (1901-1927), to Barnard (1927-1931), Harridge (1931-1959), and finally to Cronin (1959-1973).
