Biography

Royce Youngs was born on April 10, 1897, in Shiner, TX. Known as “Ross”, he was discovered by Giants' scout Dick Kinsella and purchased from Sherman (in the Western Association) for $2,000 by the Giants on August 14, 1916. Youngs made his major league debut on September 25, 1917 and played his first full season with the Giants in 1918, batting .302--sixth in the National League that year. "Pep" became one of John McGraw's favorite players, playing on four Giants' pennant-winning teams including the two that took World Series titles in 1922 and 1923. Ross provided heads-up play, consistent hitting, and excellent defense with a strong arm and was a demon on the basepaths. In 1920, at just 23 years old he had arguably his personal best season, finishing second to Rogers Hornsby in the batting race by hitting .351. That year he accumulated 204 hits, a.427 on base percentage, 75 walks, 92 runs scored, 27 doubles, 14 triples (tying a major league record), 6 home runs, 78 RBI and 18 steals. Over the course of ten seasons Ross compiled a career average of .322 and was later referred to by manager John McGraw as his "greatest outfielder". As early as 1925, however, there were signs that something was physically wrong with Youngs. He began to suffer from virus infections, stomach ailments and headaches. His playing suffered and his batting average lagged to just .264 in 1925. His usual aggressiveness on the basepaths disappeared. In the spring of 1926, Ross was diagnosed with Bright's disease, a terminal kidney disease. That year the Giants hired a full-time nurse to travel with the team, with Youngs spending the season teaching young Mel Ott everything he knew about baseball. In spite of his illness, Ross managed to hit .306 but played in fewer than 100 games. By August, having lost 15 pounds, he was forced to leave the team. Despite treatments his health deteriorated swiftly and at one point he weighed less than a hundred pounds. By the spring of 1927, it was obvious to his doctors that Ross, who had just turned 30, would never play baseball again. He eventually succumbed to his disease, dying on October 22, 1927, at home in San Antonio.

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