{"id":4812,"date":"2021-04-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www2.hshsl.umaryland.edu\/hslupdates\/?p=4812"},"modified":"2021-04-05T14:54:50","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T18:54:50","slug":"umb-and-mlb-our-four-baseball-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.hshsl.umaryland.edu\/hslupdates\/?p=4812","title":{"rendered":"UMB and MLB: Our four baseball stars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Health Sciences and Human Services Library Historical Collections’ strives to provide broad access to our diverse collections both in person and digitally. Materials in our collections appear as they originally were published or created and may contain offensive or inappropriate language or images and may be offensive to users. The University of Maryland, Baltimore does not endorse the views expressed in these materials. Materials should be viewed in the context in which they were created.<\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

In celebration of the Oriole\u2019s 2021 opening day, let\u2019s take a look back at some of UMB\u2019s major leaguers: John Francis Hayden, Robert Baker Lawson, Archibald Wright Graham, and John Frederick Anderson.\u00a0 From 1901 to 1918, four UMB graduates appeared in major league baseball games, including the World Series!\u00a0 The players graduated from the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine with the Classes of 1902, 1905, and 1909. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The four MLB Players from UMB also starred on the University\u2019s Baseball team, which formed in the late 1890s and played the Baltimore Orioles in exhibition games in 1898<\/a> and 1899. \u00a0Sports teams at UMB lasted until the early twenty-first century when grueling coursework and the lack of support from the faculty prevented students from showcasing their athletic abilities. \u00a0The following post reflects the skills of some of UMB\u2019s athletes, many of which returned to the medical field after playing professional ball.<\/p>\n

John \u201cJack\u201d Francis Hayden, <\/strong>School of Dentistry, Class of 1902, 1880-1942<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>John Francis \u201cJack\u201d Hayden was born on October 21, 1880 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.\u00a0 He attended Villanova University and the University of Pennsylvania Medical and Dental Schools (1897-1900) before graduating from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1902.\u00a0 While at Villanova and the University of Maryland, Hayden played both baseball and football.<\/p>\n

However, while a student, Hayden also played in professional and semi-professional football and baseball leagues. By 1901, he signed his first major league contract with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the American League.\u00a0 That same year he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics\u2014then a new major league team\u2014playing his first game April 26, 1901.\u00a0 He played right field and was the leadoff hitter against the Washington Senators.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Color<\/a>In June 1903, Hayden signed with the Baltimore Orioles; his first game with the Orioles occurred on June 10, 1903, where he turned heads with his hitting, scoring two runs in the 7 to 3 win against Providence.\u00a0 Hayden remained with the Orioles until 1905, when he illegally signed with a York team in the Tri-State (minor) League.\u00a0 As a result he was blacklisted by the National Commission, preventing him from playing with another major league baseball team.\u00a0 In 1906 he was removed from the blacklist and signed with the Boston Americans. \u00a0That same year he was involved in an altercation with his teammate Hobe Ferris; Ferris was suspended by the American League for kicking Hayden in the face. \u00a0Hayden fell out of favor with the team because of lackadaisical play and was traded to Rochester in 1907. From 1908 to 1910, Hayden played for the Indianapolis Indians.\u00a0 In 1911 he sighned with the Louisville Colonels, where a dislocated shoulder in June 1912 ended his playing career.\u00a0 He remained with the Louisville team as manager until 1915.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hayden also played professional football.\u00a0 In 1902 he played quarterback in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Athletics, and from 1903 to 1905 Hayden played for the Franklin Athletic Club, the Cleveland Massillon Tigers, and the Canton Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

While Hayden received his dental degree, he never entered the dentistry practice, choosing instead to return to Bryn Mawr, PA after his baseball career to run a meat and provisions business.\u00a0 He married Herminnie Jadot in 1913 and died from coronary thrombosis on August 3, 1942.<\/p>\n

Robert Baker \u201cBob\u201d Lawson School of Medicine, Class of 1902, 1875-1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>Robert Baker Lawson was a School of Medicine classmate of Dr. Hayden; while, there is no proof the two probably played football and baseball together for UMB.\u00a0 Dr. Lawson was from Lynchburg, Virginia.\u00a0 He attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, where he played baseball, football, and ran track.\u00a0 While at UNC he held a 35 to 1 record as a pitcher.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lawson\u2019s first major league game was played May 7, 1901 with the Boston Beaneaters, where he played for three games before signing with the Baltimore Orioles in May 1902.\u00a0 Lawson\u2019s first game for the Orioles occurred May 31, 1902; he came into the game as a relief pitcher and gave away six runs.\u00a0 The Orioles lost six to three to Cleveland.\u00a0 Lawson played three more games as an Oriole before returning to Rhode Island where he played in the minor leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawson\u2019s time as a professional baseball player was short lived; he joined UNC as a faculty member in 1905.\u00a0 During his 43 years at UNC, he served as head baseball coach (1900, 1905-1906, and 1910) as well as coached football, track, and gymnastics.\u00a0 He was also the school\u2019s first athletic director and trainer and taught in the School of Medicine.\u00a0 In 1906, Dr. Lawson is credited with introducing UNC\u2014arguably one of the best NCAA basketball school\u2019s today\u2014to the game of basketball during physical education classes.\u00a0 In 1911, und the petition of UNC student, Marvin Ritch, Basketball became a formal team sport at UNC.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lawson married Estelle Adlaide Ward Lawson (died in 1949).\u00a0 Together they had a daughter, Estelle Lawson Page.\u00a0 Page became an amateur golf champion in 1932.\u00a0 Dr. Lawson passed away October 28, 1952.<\/p>\n

Archibald Wright \u201cMoonlight\u201d Graham, School of Medicine, Class of 1905, 1876-1965<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Archibald Wright Graham or \u201cMoonlight\u201d Graham is the most famous Major League Baseball Player to graduate from the University of Maryland.\u00a0 His story was the inspiration for Doc Graham in Shoeless Joe,<\/em> a novel by W.P. Kinsella, and in the major motion picture, \u201cField of Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Graham was born to a large, well-educated family in Fayetteville, North Carolina.\u00a0 Both his parents and his nine siblings were college graduates.\u00a0 Graham, like Dr. Lawson, earned his bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1901.\u00a0 It is possible that Lawson\u2019s and Graham\u2019s paths crossed at UNC, as Graham played both Football and Baseball there.\u00a0 In the Fall of 1901, Graham began a two-year postgraduate medical course at the UNC, School of Medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When not in school, Graham played baseball, signing with the Charlotte Hornets of the North Carolina League in June 1902.\u00a0 Later he signed with Manchester of the New England League, playing there in the summers while continuing his medical education at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine. While at UMB, Graham played on the school\u2019s baseball and football teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>After graduating from UMB, Dr. Graham took an assistant resident physician position at Bayview Hospital and signed with the New York Giants, playing with their minor league affiliate. \u00a0Dr. Graham\u2019s first and only major league game appearance occurred on June 29, 1905.\u00a0 The Giants were playing the Brooklyn Superbas; Graham entered the game in the ninth inning.\u00a0 He reportedly never touched the ball and was \u201con deck\u201d when the third out occurred to end the game.\u00a0 The Giants won the game 11 to 1. \u00a0Graham\u2014except for a brief stint with the Memphis Egyptians in 1906\u2014 continued to play minor league baseball with the Scranton Miners until 1908.\u00a0 He also continued studying and practicing medicine in New York and Pennsylvania.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1909, he retired from baseball and moved to Chisolm, Minnesota, reportedly in search of relief from respiratory problems.\u00a0 In Chisolm, he set up a family practice and became a beloved figure in the town.\u00a0 He married Alecia Flowers on September 15, 1915.\u00a0 In 1917 he became the physician for the Chisholm City Schools as well as the Chisolm High School sports\u2019 team doctor. \u00a0Dr. Graham also became a well-known researcher in the field of hypertension in children.\u00a0 He retired from work in 1960 and died in 1965.<\/p>\n

John Frederick \u201cFred\u201d Anderson, School of Dentistry, Class of 1909, 1885-1957<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>UMB\u2019s final Major Leaguer was John Frederick Anderson from Calahan, North Carolina. \u00a0Anderson attended Oak Ridge Military Institute and Davidson College before attending the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry.\u00a0 In his final year at UMB, he pitched for the University\u2019s Baseball Team, reportedly setting the strikeout record.\u00a0 The 1909 April-May Old Maryland<\/em> had this to say about him after a game with the Midshipmen: \u201cAnderson certainly pitched peerless ball, making an exceptional record against the Navy in fanning twenty batters. His record for three consecutive games was fifty-three strikeouts in twenty-four innings of actual play, something practically unparalleled in the history of college baseball.\u201d\u00a0 Anderson graduated from the School of Dentistry in 1909.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>Dr. Anderson pitched for Wilson of the Eastern Carolina League and the Worchester Busters of the New England League before joining the Boston Red Sox in 1909.\u00a0 His first game for the Red Sox occurred on September 25, 1909 where the team beat the St. Louis Browns.\u00a0 After the 1909 season, Dr. Anderson left baseball to practice dentistry in North Carolina.\u00a0 He returned to the Red Sox in 1912 but did not make the team; instead he played with the Brockton Shoemakers of the Colonial League. In August 1913 he again returned to the Red Sox but had a series of disappointing games resulting in him leaving the team in 1914 for the Buffalo Blues of the Federal League.\u00a0 After the collapse of the Federal League in 1915, Anderson returned to the majors with the New York Giants.\u00a0 In 1917, Anderson was still with the NY Giants when they went to the World Series, losing to the Chicago White Sox.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following the shortened 1918 baseball season caused by World War I, Dr. Anderson joined the U.S. Army Dental Corps.\u00a0 When the War ended in November 1918, Anderson returned to dentistry and set up practice in North Carolina.\u00a0 He married Clementine Tise on June 28, 1921.\u00a0 He retired from dentistry in 1948 and after a two-year illness committed suicide on November 8, 1957.<\/p>\n

References and Additional Reading <\/strong><\/p>\n

HSHSL Historical Collections:<\/p>\n