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George Uhle had quite a career. He was outstanding from the start. After reaching double-digits in wins in his 1919 debut year, Uhle was a World Champion with the Indians the following season.

Over the next 11 seasons Uhle won 171 games, leading the league in victories twice while topping the 20-win mark three times. By the time he completed his career, Uhle won exactly 200 games.

His contributions reach beyond the box score – in some quarters he’s credited as the inventor of the slider.

Despite his many accomplishments, Uhle remains largely forgotten today.

In the collection is a letter from legendary autograph collector George Hipp written to Uhle. Hipp requests the pitcher’s autograph in 1957. In that decade through the 1960s Hipp was a prolific letter-writer in his attempt to obtain the autograph of every living player.

The image above shows Hipp’s successful attempt to secure Uhle’s signature.

The pitcher writes, “Dear Mr. Hipp – Very sorry this letter did not get into my hands until today. Will be most pleased to accommodate you at any time – Sincerely Geo Uhle.”

Hipp’s letter is dated February 15, 1957 while Uhle has penned the date of April 5, hence his apology for not tending to the request earlier.

Similar letters to Hipp can be found on the pages of Larry French and Lon Warneke.

 

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George Uhle earned a World Series ring with the 1920 Cleveland Indians. The team’s leader in relief appearances, 21-year old Uhle also hit .344 at the plate that year.

On baseball’s biggest stage, Uhle was outstanding. He made two appearances and threw three scoreless innings. The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out three of the ten batters he faced.

The Cleveland triumph relied largely on player/manager Tris Speaker. While piloting the title team, Speaker had a league-leading 50 doubles and slashed .344/.483/.552 in the regular season.

In the collection is this letter signed by Speaker. Dated May 2, 1921 it is written to former teammate Marty McHale. The day before, the Indians beat the White Sox behind a six-hitter from ace Stan Coveleski. Century-old letters from a titan of the game such as Speaker are seldom seen.

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The last men to throw 20 innings in a single game did it against each other. On May 24, 1929 the Tigers squared off against the White Sox at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. Detroit sent George Uhle; Chicago countered with future Cooperstown man Ted Lyons.

The game lasted 21 innings with Uhle going all but three outs and Lyons lasting the distance.

Both pitchers were less than sharp to start. Uhle gave up five runs on ten hits through the first five innings. Lyons wasn’t much better, allowing his fifth run and 11th hit in his 6th frame.

From there the two right-handers put up zero after zero after zero. After 9 innings the game was tied at five. Another 9 innings later, the score remained the same.

The game entered the 21st inning with Uhle at bat. He reached on an infield single, his fourth hit of the game. His night ended when he was lifted for pinch runner Emil Yde.

Uhle departed after 20 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 17 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 4. In a game with 164 plate appearances, no batter for either team had more hits than Uhle.

Charlie Gehringer put Uhle in line for the win three batters later with a sacrifice fly. Iron man Lyons retired the next batter to end the visitor’s half of the 21st inning.

The game’s first reliever Lil Stoner recorded the final three outs to end the contest.

Lyons took the loss after throwing all 21 innings. He allowed 6 runs on 24 hits while walking 2 striking out 4. The game marked the last time any hurler completed at least 20 innings in a single game.

In the collection is this letter from AL president William Harridge dated January 6, 1959. He writes to Hall of Fame pitcher Lyons, thanking the 21-year AL veteran for his well wishes.

He writes, “I have enjoyed my long association with baseball and many of the nice friends I have made among the players, which, of course, includes Teddy Lyons. In your playing days you always gave a good account of yourself on the ball field, and since your retirement since active duty you have carried on for the good of our National Game.”

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As a pitcher George Uhle was a three-time 20-game winner who posted 200 career victories. In the batters box, Uhle claimed a .289 lifetime average, the highest among players whose only defensive position is pitcher.

Uhle was so well regarded that he once pinch hit for inner-circle Hall of Famer Tris Speaker. The episode game in a contest on June 6, 1926.

Joseph Wancho chronicled the event in Uhle’s SABR biography. ” ‘Pinch-hit for me,” ordered Spoke. ‘You must be joking,’ George told him. But Speaker insisted and Uhle grabbed a bat, and ended up flying out. ‘It was against the ‘bloop’ pitcher (Garland Braxton) and Spoke didn’t like to bat against him,’ Uhle recalled.

In the next day’s game, Uhle had a double and two runs batted in while earning the victory on the mound.

Shown here is a handwritten letter by Uhle. He writes in part, “As for my hitting ability I always felt I could hit anybody. Tris Speaker even had me pinch hit for him once…”

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George Uhle finished his 17-year big league career with a 200-166 record and a 55.7 WAR. At bat, he hit .300 or better in 9 or his 17 seasons.

The 200 victories puts Uhle tied with four pitchers on the wins list. Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright, Chuck Finley, and Tim Wakefield matched him.

In the collection is this ticket signed by Jon Lester. The game was a memorable one in Lester’s career. Diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma after his 7th big-league in in 2006, Lester underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatment at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In December CT Scans showed no signs of the disease.

After regaining his strength, Lester attended spring training in 2007 and started his path back to the bigs at Single-A Greenville. On May 19th the Sox sent him to Pawtucket to face Triple-A hitters. The ticket shown here is from his first start for the PawSox.

Lester impressed the organization before the game even started. The Pawtucket squad faced a 9-hour road trip to the contest in Ottawa. Rather than seek the comfort of a chartered flight, Lester stayed with his teammates in the longest bus ride of the season. Lester got off the bus and pitched 3 2/3 innings of one-hit scoreless baseball.