Biography

The short bio from the Helmar-R319 card back: Bringing the “Gray Eagle” and “Smokey Joe” to Cleveland from the Red Sox may have been the best thing that Indian’s management has ever done. The two were irreplaceable on last season’s World Series championship team. In fact, even the World Series wasn’t very close: the Tribe whipped Brooklyn’s Robins 5 games to 2. Tris came first to Cleveland, in 1916. He led the big leagues in batting average that year, smacking a healthy .386. He didn’t take over the manager reins until the latter part of 1919. Friend Joe came to Cleveland for a brief time in 1917 and then played 119 games, batting .296, the next year.

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