---

George Earnshaw teamed with Lefty Grove to anchor the pitching staff for three pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics teams. From 1929-1931, Connie Mack’s club was the best team in the big leagues.

The offense featured Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Mickey Cochrane. From the mound, right-hander Earnshaw and southpaw Grove combined to win 146 games during the three-year run.

Earnshaw broke in with the 1928, 98-win A’s team that finished 2 1/2 games behind the World Series champion Yankees. In ’29 he led the league with 24 wins, was second in ERA, and fifth in strikeouts.

A 20-game winner in each of the next two seasons, Earnshaw averaged 21.5 victories per year from 1929 through 1932. In 8 World Series starts, he tossed 5 complete games and one shutout. Earnshaw’s career WHIP in Fall Classic play is a tidy 0.894.

In 9 big league seasons the 6’4″, 210-pounder tallied 127 wins and 12 saves. Shown here is a sheet with the images of Athletics manager Connie Mack above his right/left combination of aces, George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove.

---

Connie Mack traded George Earnshaw to the Chicago White Sox after the 1933 season. In his first season in the Windy City, the big right-hander led the staff in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.

When Sox management tried to cut his salary for 1935, Earnshaw threatened to retire. After agreeing to return, he was shelled in his first three starts, giving up 18 runs in 18 innings.

Chicago sold him to the Dodgers in May. In Brooklyn, the 210-pound Earnshaw roomed with aging Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance to form a portly partnership.

Vance quipped, “I do the marketing and cooking. George washes the dishes. We both do the eating, of course.”

In July, 1936, the Dodgers traded Earnshaw to the St. Louis Cardinals for whom he pitched the final 20 games of his career.

In the collection is this document from the commissioner’s office consummating the transaction that brought Earnshaw to the Brooklyn Dodgers from the White Sox. It is signed by Dodger president Stephen McKeever and White Sox head man J. Louis Comiskey.

---

Though exempt for the World War II draft because of his age, George Earnshaw enlisted into the US Navy. When the aircraft carrier Yorktown was commissioned, volunteers were taken to serve aboard the new ship. Earnshaw left a cushy job coaching a Navy baseball team, opting instead for action in the Pacific.

Days after his 44th birthday, Lt. Commander Earnshaw saw battle in Operation Hailstone, a carrier raid on Truk Island in the Pacific. In a fierce fight Earnshaw was at his best.

His valor was aptly described in the commendation Earnshaw received from Admiral Chester Nimitz. “With exceptional ability and judgment and considerable calmness, he directed effective anti-aircraft fire against three fast, low-flying torpedo planes and contributed directly in saving his ship from serious damage.” Earnshaw was later awarded the Bronze Star for heroism.

He left the military in 1947 with the rank of Commander.

The signature shown above is from his military days. On the back of the album page is written, “Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla” where Earnshaw was first stationed .

While there, Earnshaw managed the Navy’s baseball team to a 35-12 record in 1942. Later that year he was selected as a coach for the Navy All Star team filled with big leaguers. He never saw that game, volunteering instead for action aboard the Yorktown.

---

When George Earnshaw returned from World War II, he came back to baseball. As pitching coach for the Phillies from 1949-1951 he mentored future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

In Earnshaw’s first year, Roberts improved on his 7-game win total as a rookie to post 15 victories. The following year Roberts was a 20-game winner and All Star starter.

Shown here is a letter dated three days after the Mid Summer Classic in Earnshaw’s second year of mentorship to Roberts. The correspondence from Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler congratulates the 23-year old Roberts after his first taste of All Star competition.