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By virtue of his two batting crowns and .340 career average George Sisler is remembered today as one of baseball’s most proficient batsmen. One of only five men to top the .400 mark in multiple seasons, he hit .407 in 1920 and .420 two years later.

Though Sisler’s achievements as a hitter are well-chronicled, his 1915 big league debut came on the pitchers’ mound. The St. Louis Browns left hander broke in on June 28th with three scoreless innings against the White Sox.

In his rookie season he went 4-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 appearances. He also hit .285 in 274 at bats and was soon moved off of the mound.

By the time his 15-year career ended the 1922 MVP had 2,812 hits to his credit. Sisler’s greatness at the plate obscures his time as a pitcher.

His career pitching totals include a 5-6 record, a stingy 2.35, and two appearances he always remembered. Those outings came against a man many consider the greatest pitcher ever, Walter Johnson.

Three of Sisler’s 9 complete games and his only career shutout came against the Big Train. They went head-to-head three times. Each went the distance in all three contests. Sisler came away with two victories, one defeat, and a 1.04 ERA.

The first time Sisler and Johnson squared off on August 2, 1915, Sisler took the loss. Three and a half weeks later he got his revenge.

On August 29th, 1915 Sisler scattered 6 hits against Johnson’s Senators to gain his second career win. The Senators lone run came after a pair of first-inning miscues by shortstop Doc Lavan. Like Sisler, Johnson did not yield any earned runs – the Browns’ two tallies came with the help of errors.

Sisler often referred to that victory over Johnson as the greatest thrill of his career.

The following season Sisler forced his way into the lineup as the everyday first baseman. He also made three appearances on the hill.

The finest pitching performance of his career came on September 17, 1916. Squaring off once more against Johnson and the Senators, Sisler held Washington scoreless for his only career shutout. It also marked his final career victory.

Shown here is a handwritten note from Sisler recounting his initial victory over Walter Johnson.

“Probably my 2-1 victory as a pitcher my first year over Walter Johnson was my greatest thrill,” Sisler writes before adding his signature to the bottom.

For all of his hitting accomplishments, Sisler’s fondest baseball memory was battling – and beating – the great Walter Johnson.

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George Sisler began playing big league baseball with the St. Louis Browns on the pitcher’s mound. The left-hander made 15 appearances on the mound in his first season. In 8 starts and 7 relief appearances he went 4-4 with six complete games and a 2.83 ERA.

Though the numbers were respectable, it was his hitting prowess that helped Sisler become one of the game’s greats.

After hitting .285 in 274 at bats his rookie season, Sisler forced his way into the lineup as the everyday first baseman. Foreshadowing his future as one of the majors top hitters, he hit .305 with an OPS+ of 133 in 1916.

He was just getting started.

In 1917 Sisler broke out. He tallied 190 hits, batted .353 and increased his OPS+ to 161. For the five-year period from 1917-1922, George hit .377 with a .420 on-base percentage.

In 1920 he topped the .400 mark and established the record for most hits in a season with 257. The mark stood throughout Sisler’s life. Eighty-four years after the mark was set it was finally eclipsed by the Mariners Ichiro Suzuki.

Fleet of foot, Sisler led in the AL in stolen bases four times and finished second twice. He was a five-tool player before the term became vogue.

Sisler hit .420 in 1922 to earn the MVP. He joined Ed Delehanty, Jesse Burkett, and Ty Cobb, as the only men to hit over .400 in more than one season. Three years later Rogers Hornsby completed the club of five.

In his first 8 big league seasons through 1922 he slashed .361/.404/.510. A severe bout of sinusitis caused Sisler to miss the entire 1923 season. The infection caused double vision and chronic headaches. Sisler was never the same.

Sisler played another 7 years. Though his average during that time was .320, his on-base and slugging percentages dipped to .354 and .426 respectively. In those final 7 seasons Sisler’s OPS+ was a mere 97.

He left the game in 1930 with 2,812 hits and a .340 lifetime average. Sisler made 24 appearances as a pitcher, posting a 5-6 record with 3 saves, 9 complete games, a shutout, and a 2.35 career ERA.

Sisler was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

In the collection is this government postcard signed by Sisler in January of 1949.

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George Sisler hung up his playing spikes after the 1930 season. In 1939 he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Three years after that General Manager Branch Rickey hired Sisler as a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Sisler stayed in that position throughout the rest of the 40s.

In 1947 Rickey asked Sisler to assist in player development. In that role Sisler helped Jackie Robinson learn the defensive position of first base. Though Jackie played the majority of his career at second, he played all 151 games of his rookie year at first. Sisler was a key part in helping Robinson progress.

Two years after Robinson broke in, Sisler signed the card shown in the previous image. Shown here is the back side of the card.

Notice the postmark dated January 10, 1949 from Brooklyn where Sisler worked for the Dodgers. Although Sisler’s signature is relatively easy to find, examples from the 1940s such as these more difficult to find.

When Rickey left the Dodgers for Pittsburgh before the ’51 season, he took Sisler with him. The two-time batting champ tutored future Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente on the finer points of hitting.

Sisler stayed with the Pirates after Rickey left, serving as roving hitting coach. In that role he helped the career of Willie Stargell.

A lifetime baseball man, Sisler passed away on March 26, 1973.

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George Sisler hit .407 in the 1920 season in which he set the Major League record with 257 hits. Gorgeous George lived the rest of his days as the record holder before passing away in March of 1973.

Seven months after Sisler died, Ichiro Suzuki was born in Nichi Kasugai-gu, Japan. Suzuki grew up to cross the ocean, play in the big leagues and eventually eclipse Sisler’s mark in 2004.

In the collection is this 3×5 card signed by both Sisler and Ichiro. The Japanese import recorded ten consecutive 200-hit seasons.

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Boston’s Ted Williams is the last player to hit the mark. The Splendid Splinter hit .406 in 1941. In today’s game with high velocity and relief specialists it’s doubtful baseball will produce another .400 hitter.

Not including the Negro Leagues, there have been 27 players to reach the mythical mark. Ed Delehanty, Ty Cobb, and Rogers Hornsby reached the plateau three times each. Sisler and Jesse Burkett have done it twice.

“Gentleman George” hit .407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922 and retired with a .340 lifetime average.

Here he pens a handwritten letter in which he writes of not knowing the details of a certain deal.

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The history of baseball is littered with “what if?” stories. One that is seldom thought of pertains to George Sisler.

From 1917 until 1922 when a sinus infection diminished his eyesight and gave him chronic headaches, Sisler hit .377. In the three seasons just before the infection he hit an even .400. His final season before it struck Sisler hit a career-best .420.

If not for the impaired vision and headaches, might Sisler have challenged Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting average of .367?

George’s son Dave Sisler – an MLB player himself – writes about that in the letter above.

“I talked to my father many times about his career…I think he felt that if he had not had that eye trouble, he could have surpassed Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting average.”

Dick Sisler played professionally from 1939-1958. Eight of those seasons were at the big league level. He also managed the Cincinnati Reds for parts of the 1964 and ’65 seasons.

His best season came in 1950 when he set career highs in games, at bats, runs, doubles, homers, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. For his efforts he was named to the All Star team.

Dick’s shining baseball moment also came that season. His Phillies entered the last game of the season against Brooklyn one game ahead of the Dodgers in the standings.

With the game tied 1-1 in the tenth, Sisler hit a three-run homer that gave Philadelphia their first pennant in 35 years. Ernest Hemingway later referenced Sisler’s homer in The Old Man and the Sea.

Dave Sisler, the youngest of George’s sons pitched professionally from 1953-1963. His time in the majors included 247 outings, 38 wins, 28 saves, 12 complete games and a shutout.

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Elected in 1939, George Sisler was one of 11 living Hall of Famers present on June 12 that same year when the Hall’s doors opened. His was one of the first plaques hanging in the hallowed plaque gallery.

It reads, “Hold two American League records, making 256 hits in 1920, and batting .41979 in 1922. Retired with a major league batting average of .341. Credited with being one of best two fielding first basemen in history of game.”

There was one problem. Sisler’s lifetime average is misstated. His actual batting average is .340.

Dated June 1,1956, this letter thanks the person who first brought the error to the Hall’s attention. It is signed by longtime St. Louis baseball writer and sports editor Sid Keener in his capacity as Director of the Hall of Fame.

Keener’s letter reads in part, “The Baseball Hall of Fame is indebted to you for submitting the official life-time average of George Sisler.

“Inasmuch as Sisler was elected in 1939, I do not know the author of the script on Sisler’s plaque. It is an error as you and I have detected.

“I have ordered a thorough check of Sisler’s time-at-bat and base hits, with the view of solving the two averages, whether it should be .340 or .341.”

Keener served as the Hall of Fame’s director from 1952-1963.

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When a fan wrote to Hall of Fame outfielder Harry Hooper and asked him to identify his all-time team, Hooper gladly responded. His choices are dominated by former teammates.

Red Sox catcher-manager Bill Carrigan was Hooper’s choice for both spots. So too were Boston outfield teammates Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis. Hooper’s left-handed pitcher for the team was Dutch Leonard who spent six years with the Red Sox, all with Hooper patrolling the outfield.

The notable exceptions to Hooper’s teammate bias are Walter Johnson as the right-handed pitcher and fellow Cooperstown man George Sisler as the choice as the best hitting first baseman.

From 1915 through 1925 when Hooper and him were in the league together, Sisler averaged 196 hits, and only 23 strikeouts per season while hitting .352. He also topped the .400 mark twice, first in 1920 at .407 when he set an MLB record with 257 hits, and again two years later when he hit .420.

This image shows Hooper’s response to just two of eight questions he answered. The other replies were about how Hooper wants to be remembered, what it means to be in the Hall of Fame, and thoughts about the Black Sox scandal. Those answers can be read by clicking on this link to Hooper’s page.

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Nearly two years after the death of .400 hitter George Sisler his sons still received requests for pictures and autographs of the Hall of Famer.

In the collection is this letter from George Sisler Jr. who at that time was president of the International League. Sisler Jr. writes to collector Jack Marcus in this correspondence formatted on IL letterhead and dated January 17, 1975.

The president of the IL from 1966-1976, Sisler Jr. tells Marucs that he does not have any photographs of his father but has included a Hall of Fame plaque of the two-time batting champ adorned with Sisler Jr.’s signature on the back. An image of the plaque is shown below.

The letter is a significant piece of International League history written on league letterhead from the “Office of the President” signed by Sisler in his penultimate season as the IL chief.

The younger Sisler had quite a career as an executive. His work with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings earned him the MiLB Executive of the Year in 1962.

As GM of the Columbus Clippers he was again named Minor League Executive of the Year again in 1977 and 1979. That made him the second three-time winner, and the only man to accomplish that feat with the higher-classifications of Double-A and Triple-A.

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In the collection is this Hall of Fame plaque postcard of George Sisler. Sisler’s son, George Jr. mentioned the plaque in the previous letter and has signed the back of the card.

The younger Sisler made quite a name for himself in baseball. A GM for three Minor League clubs, Sisler won the International League Executive of the Year award three times.

In 1989 he received the “King of Baseball” award, a top honor given by Minor League Baseball. Though he never played in the big leagues like his father and two brothers Dave and Dick, George Sisler Jr. did get named to the International League Hall of Fame in 2007. The league’s Hall hadn’t inducted a new member since 1963.