Stump the Hersh

Ok, Hersh... it's payback time. 

I get really excited when I open my email and see a "Stump the Hersh."  We would love to do more of these and I'm sure there are more of you out there itching to get some payback for some of Hersh's painful trivia questions... don't feel bad, he's good at twisting the dagger and he really does know his stuff... so email your questions to me at fiduciarystandard@gmail.com and I will make sure that you get your chance to Stump the Hersh.  Honor system applies, Hersh... here goes:

Who was the only player in ML history to wear the name of his hometown on the back of his jersey before they started putting names on the backs of jerseys?

Charles H. from Greenwood, SC

3 comments:

  1. Payback is right. Not sure if I understand this question. Is it the players hometown, where he's from or the town he played for? I'm guessing it must be a number that is the name of a town? I'm stumped.

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  2. Your train of thought is correct... this players hometown (where he came from) was, indeed, a number. Charles H from Greenwood, SC would have heard this question because Ninety Six, SC is a town in Greenwood County... where Bill Voiselle was from.

    Voiselle received special permission from the NL to wear the number "96" in 1947, when he became a Boston Brave.

    Voiselle was a decent pitcher in the 40's, posting a career 3.82 ERA over nine seasons from 1942-1950. Interestingly, Voiselle is the answer to another trivia question because in 1944 he became the first player to win the Inaugural The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year award. 1944 was Voiselle's rookie year and he took the league by storm. In 1944, Voiselle went 21-16, starting 41 games and completing 25 of them. He led the league in strikeouts (161) and innings pitched (312.2) while posting a 3.02 ERA. Unfortunately, "Big Bill" (or "Ninety-Six" as he was casually known) was not able to duplicate that success but he will always be remembered for his jersey number.

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  3. Thanks for the question Charles. Thanks for the background on somebody I didn't know much about OCP.

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