Early Years
Edgar Charles Rice was born February 20, 1890, in Morocco, Indiana (why was he nicknamed Sam? I have no idea.) He had no real aspirations for baseball, choosing instead to work on his father's farm. At the young age of 19, he married Hannah West, and within 3 years, he had 2 beautiful little girls.
Tragedy
On April 21, 1912, a tornado unexpectedly struck the Rice family farm. The family gathered inside the house, but the roof was blown off.
Rice's parents, siblings, wife, and 2 children all perished.
Rice survived.
Baseball
Rice simply didn't have the nerve to remain on the farm, so he sold it and joined the US Navy, traveling as a sailor between the East Coast and Mexico. While in Mexico, he picked up baseball, and his speed proved to be an enormous asset. His quickness would virtually guarantee him a hit every time he came to the plate. Clark Griffith, the owner of the Washington Senators, saw him play some barnstormer games in 1914 and signed him to his team as a pitcher in 1915.
Major Leagues
Rice pitched a few games in 1915, and was moved to right field, where he platooned in the role. Taking over full time in 1917, Rice was already 27 years old, an age where many players had already had 5 or 6 years of major league experience.
Still, Rice's speed proved to be a constant annoyance to opposing teams. He never batted lower than .295 in any one season, frequently stole bases (leading the league with 63 in 1920), and would routinely turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Not a power hitter, Rice only managed 34 home runs in his career.
Three times Rice's Senators went to the World Series, in 1924, 1925, and 1933 (winning in 1924). However, it is the 1925 World Series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates for which Rice will forever be remembered.
The Catch?
The Scene
Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Game 3 of the World Series, 8th inning.
Washington leads the game 4-3 and threatens to take 2-1 lead in the Series.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
"Earl Smith steps up to the plate for the Pirates. Marberry looks fresh out there. Wings one in on Smith - strike one! Marberry settles in, reads the sign, here's the pitch and - whoa nelly! That ball's got gas! It's headed to deep right field! Deep, deep, Rice is converging on it quickly, he's up in the air, he's caught it - and he's fallen into the bleachers! I don't believe it!"
Had he caught the ball? For 15 long seconds, the umpires simply watched the tangle in the crowd unfurl as Rice tried to free himself and get back to the field.
Rice emerged, opened his glove, and showed the ball to the umps. They ruled Smith out, and immediately a protestation was begun. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was on hand and was asked to make an on-the-spot call. Landis asked Rice if he had caught it. To which Rice replied:
"The umpire said I caught it."
Apparently satisfied, Landis let the ruling on the field stand. The Senators went on to win the game, but eventually lost the Series.
The End
In 1930, Sam Rice had 207 hits at the amazing age of 40 - the oldest player to ever get 200 hits (he also did it 5 other times.) He was traded to the Cleveland Indians before the start of the 1934 season, where he batted .293 and then retired, saying his heart wasn't in the game. Rice finished with 2,987 hits, an amazing figure if you consider he missed 6 prime years of playing. Today he is still among the top 100 all-time in doubles, triples, hits, batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases.
After Baseball
Rice spent a good part of his post-baseball career working with banks throughout the Maryland/Virginia area. He also wrote a letter, to be opened upon his death, telling the truth of what had happened on that October day in 1925. He was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee in 1963.
Sam Rice passed away October 13, 1974 in Rossmoor, Maryland, just 5 years after his beloved Washington Senators had moved to Dallas and become and the Texas Rangers. On November 6 of that year, officials at Cooperstown opened his letter, which read in part:
"At no time did I lose possession of the ball."
Lifetime Statistics:
YEAR TEAM G AB R H D T HR RBI SB CS BB K BA
1915 WSH AL 4 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .375
1916 WSH AL 58 197 26 59 8 3 1 17 4 0 15 13 .299
1917 WSH AL 155 586 77 177 25 7 0 69 35 0 50 41 .302
1918 WSH AL 7 23 3 8 1 0 0 3 1 0 2 0 .348
1919 WSH AL 141 557 80 179 23 9 3 71 26 0 42 26 .321
1920 WSH AL 153 624 83 211 29 9 3 80 63 17 39 23 .338
1921 WSH AL 143 561 83 185 39 13 4 79 26 12 38 10 .330
1922 WSH AL 154 633 91 187 37 13 6 69 20 9 48 13 .295
1923 WSH AL 148 595 117 188 35 18 3 75 20 8 57 12 .316
1924 WSH AL 154 646 106 216 39 14 1 76 24 13 46 24 .334
1925 WSH AL 152 649 111 227 31 13 1 87 26 11 37 10 .350
1926 WSH AL 152 641 98 216 32 14 3 76 24 23 42 20 .337
1927 WSH AL 142 603 98 179 33 14 2 65 19 6 36 11 .297
1928 WSH AL 148 616 95 202 32 15 2 55 16 3 49 15 .328
1929 WSH AL 150 616 119 199 39 10 1 62 16 8 55 9 .323
1930 WSH AL 147 593 121 207 35 13 1 73 13 8 55 14 .349
1931 WSH AL 120 413 81 128 21 8 0 42 6 5 35 11 .310
1932 WSH AL 106 288 58 93 16 7 1 34 7 4 32 6 .323
1933 WSH AL 73 85 19 25 4 3 1 12 0 2 2 7 .294
1934 CLE AL 97 335 48 98 19 1 1 33 5 1 28 9 .293
CAREER 2404 9269 1514 2987 498 184 34 1078 351 143 708 275 .322
* Bold denotes led league.
Sources:
- BaseballHistorian.com] - http://www.baseballhistorian.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - http://www.baseball-reference.com
- Illinois Tornadoes Before 1916 - http://www.il-st-acad-sci.org/transactions/PDF/8601.pdf
Hall Of Fame Index
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