Ross Youngs

Quotes About Youngs
"He was a smaller Ty Cobb. He was built like Enos Slaughter - had the same hustle, and even more ability." — Waite Hoyt

"Everybody has Cobb. Ruth and Speaker on his all-time outfield. But, somehow, I've got to find a place for Pep Young. Don't ask me to take one out, I've just got to put Pep in there somewhere." — Ford C. Frick

Quotes From Youngs
"Base stealing is one thing that you have to learn. A man is born with a good batting eye. There is a certain fielding sense which seems to come naturally to some, although of course, it may be greatly developed. But base stealing is by no means a thing of speed alone."

Played For
New York Giants (1917-1926)

Minor League Experience
In 1916, he batted .354 for Rochester in his first full professional season, playing for former big league infielder Mickey Doolan, who was instructed by John McGraw to "not mess this kid up."

All-Time Rankings
Ross Youngs ranks #29 among the Top 50 all-time at RF. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1920
Youngs was just 23 years old when he finished second in the National League to Rogers Hornsby in the batting race. Youngs hit .351 with 204 hits, 92 runs scored, 27 doubles, 14 triples, six home runs, 78 RBI and 18 steals. He walked 75 times, and he had a fine OBP his entire career, drawing 160 more free passes than strikeouts. In '20 he posted a .427 OBP and a .477 slugging mark, which was third in the loop. His other benchmark season was 1924.

Factoids
Ross Youngs became the first player to collect two hits in one inning in a World Series game, in 1921. In Game Three against the Yankees, he stroked a double and a triple in the Giants' eight-run seventh inning.

Giants Hall of Fame outfielder Ross Youngs was originally signed as a second baseman. His errant throws from that position in his first pro season, led John McGraw to move him to right field.

The Tragic Death of Pep Youngs
As early as 1925, something was wrong with Ross Youngs. He began to suffer from virus invections, stomach ailments, and headaches. His performance on the ballfield took a nosedive. He batted just .264 in 1925 and lacked his usual zest on the basepaths. The next season he missed nearly half the schedule and left the team in August. He had managed to hit over .300 in just fewer than 100 games, but he was sick. He lost 15 pounds that summer.

Doctors were not able, at first, to identify the problem. But eventually it was determined that he had a kidney ailment, known as Bright's Disease. He received all sorts of treatments that were common in those days, but none were effective, and he slipped fast. At one point he weighed less than 100 pounds.

One of the last people to visit Youngs was Dick Kinsella, the scout who had signed him to his first pro contract. Kinsella was very disturbed by the encounter.

"What I saw made me want to weep," Kinsella said. "From one of the diamond's most aggressive and colorfully successful figures, Young, through illness, is now the most heartrending tragedy in baseball. I do not think he will ever play baseball again. The hand of fate is heavy upon him. From a player who weighed 170 pounds he is down to 120 pounds. He has had numerous blood transfusions. He divides his time being carried from his home to the hospital... Baseball's slashing terror [has been] transformed into its' most helpless individual."

In an era that fostered much myth and confusion over rare diseases, some felt that Youngs' had been felled by his very own athletic ability. There was an opinion that Ross had injured his kidney during a collision on the basepaths, or that he acquired an infection from the ballfield or a hotel room.

By the spring of 1927, it was obvious to his doctors that Ross, who had just turned 30, would never play baseball again. Youngs rallied a few times, but he eventually succumbed on October 22, 1927, in San Antonio. His funeral service attracted dozens of baseball officials, thousands of fans, and nearly all of his former Giant teammates.

His manager, John McGraw, who treated Youngs like his own son, said at the funeral:

"He was the greatest outfielder I ever saw on a ballfield. The game was never over with Young until th last man was out. He could do everything a ballplayer should do, and do it better than most players. As an outfielder he had no superiors, and he was the easiest man I ever knew to handle. In all his years with the Giants, he never caused one minute's trouble for myself or the club. On top of all this, a gamer ballplayer than Young never played ball."

Description
"Fast, energetic, ambitious, with a nimble brain, a sure batting eye, and a remarkable throwing arm." — sportswriter Sam Crane

Where He Played
Youngs was the best defensive right fielder in the National League in the 1920s. "Many great outfielders are tall and rangy," wrote F.C. Lane, "Young is of the compact stocky type." Teammate Frankie Frisch, a great admirer of Youngs', said: "he played the carom off the right field wall in the Polo Grounds as if he'd majored in billiards."

Born
Royce Middlebrook Youngs was born on April 10, 1897, in Shiner, TX.

Died
October 22, 1927, San Antonio, TX

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  OF

Primary Team:  NY1

Major League Debut
September 25, 1917

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1917
Ross Youngs
Joe Dugan
Ira Flagstead
Aaron Ward
Chick Fewster
Bill Lamar
Dutch Ruether
Swede Risberg
Jimmy Cooney

Nicknames
Pep

Given to him by John McGraw for his hustle.

Similar Players
Curt Walker, Chick Stahl, Elmer Smith, Lyman Bostock, George Brett

Related Players
Christy Mathewson and Benny Kauff

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1937 BBWAA 16 8.0% 1938 BBWAA 40 15.3% 1939 BBWAA 34 12.4% 1942 BBWAA 44 18.9% 1945 BBWAA 22 8.9% 1946 Nominating Vote 25 12.4% 1947 BBWAA 36 22.4% 1948 BBWAA 19 15.7% 1949 BBWAA 20 13.1% 1949 Run Off 11 5.9% 1950 BBWAA 17 10.1% 1951 BBWAA 34 15.0% 1952 BBWAA 34 14.5% 1953 BBWAA 31 11.7% 1954 BBWAA 34 13.5% 1955 BBWAA 48 19.1% 1972 Veterans %

Post-Season Appearances
1921 World Series
1922 World Series
1923 World Series
1924 World Series

Post-Season Notes
Five years after the infamous "Black Sox Scandal" rocked baseball, another gambling and bribery scandal struck during the 1924 World Series, between the Giants and Senators. This scandal involved the Giants, specifically outfielder Jimmy O'Connell and coach Cozy Dolan, who were investigated by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for having offered a bribe to Phillies' shortstop Heinie Sand at the end of the season. After O'Connell claimed teammates Frankie Frisch, George Kelly and Ross Youngs were in on the scam, Landis interviewed those players but exonerated them. O'Connell and Dolan were banned for life, and American League president Ban Johnson reacted with his usual blustering, threatening to boycott the World Series against those "cheating Giants." The Series was played, and was won by the American League's Senators.

Youngs' hard slide into Yankee shortstop Aaron Ward in Game Three of the 1923 World Series, prompted several Yankee players and manager Miller Huggins to argue that interference should be called and a double play enforced.

Feats
On May 11, 1920, Ross Youngs hit three triples in a game against the Redlegs, tying a major league record.

Batting Feats

• April 29, 1922: Cycle...

Notes
Was originally pursued by Detroit, but accepted a chance with the Giants because he felt he had a better chance to break into their outfield... Finished fifth in 1924 National League Most Valuable Player voting... Was considered by many to be the best golfer in baseball... As a 16-year old in San Antonio, he was discovered by famed scout Dick Kinsella... Youngs' high school baseball team (West Texas Military Academy) won the Texas state championship in 1913... Also starred as quarterback on his high school football team... Hit .409 in May of 1919, but just .257 in June. His average was over .430 in late May of that season, but dipped below .300 in early August. He rallied late in the season to finish at .311... At the time of his death, Youngs was estranged from his wife, from whom he had filed a divorce. The couple had one daughter, Caroline, was was two years old when her father died. Caroline made the acceptance speech when Youngs was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

Transactions
Youngs spent his entire career with the Giants. Manager John McGraw commented in 1919: "I said early this year that I wouldn't trade Young for [Edd] Roush. That seemed an absurd statement to some, but it was the sober truth."

Trivia Question
Which Hall of Famer gave Ross "Pep" Youngs his nickname?

Trivia Answer
Giants manager John McGraw gave Youngs the name "Pep" in the first spring training he saw the player, in Marlin, TX. "Pep" was short for "pepper," which signified Youngs' hustle.

Replaced
Davey Robertson, who was popular with the fans, but not so much with John McGraw, who felt he was a little too lackadaisical in his approach to the game. Robertson retired to take a job with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Replaced By
Heinie Mueller

Best Strength as a Player
His baserunning. According to sportswriter Sam Crane: "Quick as a flash to take advantage of a momentary fumble by an opponent, he is off like the wind to stretch his hits." In this sense, and in many others, such as his love and respect for the game, his hustle on the field at all times, and his aggressive style in breaking up double plays, Youngs resembled George Brett.

Largest Weakness as a Player
No glaring weaknesses.

Learn More about Ross Youngs
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Sources used for the Ross Youngs Player Page:
Player file, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Library