TRIS SPEAKER·1912

Nineteen twelve belonged to Tris Speaker in Boston flannel. He hit .383 with two hundred twenty-two hits, fifty-three doubles, and fifty-two steals, scoring one hundred thirty-six times and taking the Chalmers Award as the American League’s most valuable man. Fenway was young grass; the Grey Eagle already owned the middle. The Red Sox rode that summer into a World Series, and the lore frames that follow keep the MVP year moving.

GREY EAGLE

Shallow center so bold it looked illegal — liners that should have been doubles died in his glove.

.383 MVP

Chalmers Award summer — .383, two hundred twenty-two hits, fifty-three doubles, fifty-two steals.

WORLD SERIES

Boston rode the Grey Eagle into October — pennant thunder and a Series crown.

Tris Speaker by Carl Horner. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.