Crew Cuts a Go-Go

It was a hip and happenin’ time, the ‘60s.  For the first time in 60 or 70 years, facial hair was okay.  And for the first time since, heck, Lord Byron and Franz Liszt, hair that went past the upper ear or collar was generally accepted.

So, what hip and happenin’ hairstyle did more than a fair share of major leaguers adopt?  Why, the crew cut, of course.

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“Here come ol’ flattop.  He come groovin’ up slowly …”

A minor-league Babe Ruth, George Banks clouted 223 homers over 11 years  and topped 30 in a season twice.  In the majors, he was up for five seasons, but only got just over 200 at bats. A .219 average (though with a respectable nine homers) probably accounted for that.  He died at age 46 of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

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Bob here is sporting the classic “animal pelt” look.

Bob Hendley bounced around the majors for seven years, finishing with a pretty ho-hum 48-52 record, 3.97 ERA, and 522 strikeouts.  Bob’s probably best known for losing a one-hitter to Sandy Koufax, who just so happened to pitch a perfect game that very same day.  Bad luck, Bob! 

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How do you mess up a crew cut?  I mean, seriously, how is it possible to mess up a friggin crewcut, fer Chrissakes?

Pete Richert started his major-league career out with a bang.  He struck out the first 6 batters he faced.  No one else has ever done that.

Pete followed that up with a respectable 13 years in the bigs.  He started for a few years in the mid-60s then switched to the bullpen, where he ended up with 51 saves overall.  He was a two-time All Star.
 

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Russ liked putting on his daughter’s plastic wig.  You know, the one she got in the mail, from that ad in the back of the comic book.  It made him feel “special.” (Also see Vic Roznovsky, for the blond version)

Russ Nixon was in the bigs for 12 years, as catcher and pinch-hitter.  He holds the record for most games played without ever stealing a base.  Russ also managed the Reds and Braves for a total of five years – and a record of 231-347 (ouch!). 
 

Danny was a monk in the off season.  He’s sporting the new tonsure crew, very popular among the more athletic brothers.

Another backup catcher (why are there so many of these guys?), Danny Kravitz got 552 at-bats over five seasons, batting .236 and never topping 200 at-bats in any one season.  His nicknames were “Dusty” and “Beak.”  “Beak”?

No relation to Lenny, as far as I know.

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Jerry “the Great Horned Owl” Lumpe swooped down on grounders and flew around the bases.

Jerry Lumpe had a pretty decent career.  He started at second for eight years, totaling almost 5000 at-bats overall.  He was an All Star one year, and started for the Yanks in the ’57 and ’58 series.  He also had a pretty funny name.
 

Hey, it’s Beaker!

You've met Bob before, just a couple of weeks ago, where he sported a more free-flowing look.  

In that post, I made fun of Bob's extremely common name.  Little did I realize it at the time, but Bob's original name was Gemeinweiser.  Now I understand.  I totally understand.

But would you believe - while we're on the subject of names - Bob was one of two Bob Millers on the '62 Mets? 


* - author has this card