Nightengale: The mystery behind Hall of Famer Jake Beckley
From Bob Nightengale at USA Today on March 8, 2016, with mention of SABR member Jim Gates:
The folks in the sleepy town of Hannibal, Mo., home of Mark Twain, are confused about their baseball history.
They want to celebrate their homegrown baseball hero, Jake Beckley, who spent 19 seasons as a power-hitting first baseman in the big leagues from 1888 to 1907, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
The trouble is they don’t even know his career batting average, let alone much else about their native son, who has no descendants.
So the good folks of Hannibal, with a population of 17,833, are getting together Tuesday, March 8, 3/08 on your calendar, at 3:08 p.m., to figure it all out.
Read the full article here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/03/08/mystery-behind-hall-famer-jake-beckley/81488076/
Originally published: March 8, 2016. Last Updated: March 8, 2016.