Frankie Frisch

Frank Francis Frisch played 19 major league seasons, hit .316 for his career, stole 419 bases, and anchored two of the most successful franchises of the first half of the twentieth century. He played for John McGraw's New York Giants and then managed the St. Louis Cardinals' Gashouse Gang to a World Series title in 1934. Sportswriters called him "The Fordham Flash" after his college, and the name fit. He played the game at full speed from the day he arrived.

From Fordham to McGraw

Frisch was born on September 9, 1897, in the Bronx, New York. He attended Fordham University, where he starred in baseball, football, basketball, and track. John McGraw signed him directly off the Fordham campus in June 1919, skipping the minor leagues entirely.

Frisch played third base, second base, and shortstop during his early years with the Giants, settling at second base by the mid-1920s. He was fast, aggressive, and willing to argue with anyone, including McGraw, whose volcanic temper he matched. He hit .341 in 1921, .327 in 1922, .348 in 1923, and .328 in 1924, helping the Giants reach four consecutive World Series from 1921 to 1924. They won in 1921 and 1922.

In the 1921 World Series against the Yankees, Frisch hit .300 and stole three bases. He hit .471 in the 1922 Series and .400 in the 1923 Series, though the Giants lost to the Yankees in six games that year. His combination of batting average, speed, and defensive range made him one of the most valuable players in the National League through the first half of the decade.

The Trade

Frisch and McGraw clashed repeatedly. After a particularly bitter argument during the 1926 season, McGraw traded Frisch and pitcher Jimmy Ring to the St. Louis Cardinals in December 1926 for Rogers Hornsby, who had just managed the Cardinals to a World Series championship. The trade shocked both cities. New York lost its best all-around player. St. Louis lost its greatest hitter. Both managers believed they had made the right deal.

Frisch thrived in St. Louis. He hit .337 in 1927 and became the on-field leader of a Cardinals team that would grow into one of the most colorful rosters in baseball history. He won the National League MVP award in 1931, hitting .311 with 28 stolen bases and leading the Cardinals to the World Series, where they beat Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics in seven games.

The Gashouse Gang

Frisch became player-manager of the Cardinals in 1933 and presided over the 1934 team that became known as the Gashouse Gang. The roster included Dizzy Dean, Joe Medwick, Leo Durocher, and Pepper Martin, a group of players who fought opponents, fought each other, and played with a rough, aggressive style that reflected the Depression-era Midwest. They won the pennant in a tight race with the Giants and beat the Detroit Tigers in a seven-game World Series that included a near-riot in Game 7 when fans pelted Medwick with garbage after a hard slide at third base.

Frisch managed the Cardinals through 1938, then managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1940 to 1946 and the Chicago Cubs from 1949 to 1951, though none of his stints after the Gashouse years produced a pennant.

The Record

Frisch finished with a career batting average of .316, 2,880 hits, and 419 stolen bases across 2,311 games. He played in eight World Series and appeared in three All-Star Games. He also worked as a broadcaster, calling games for the Boston Red Sox and Bees in 1939 and for the Giants from 1947 onward.

He died on March 12, 1973, in Wilmington, Delaware, at age 75, from injuries sustained in a car accident the previous month. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947.