Ross Youngs
Ross Middlebrook "Pep" Youngs (April 10, 1897 – October 22, 1927) was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Pep", he played ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants from 1917 through 1926, playing right field almost exclusively. Youngs was a part of the Giants teams that won four consecutive National League pennants and the 1921 and 1922 World Series.
From Shiner, Texas, Youngs excelled at baseball and American football at the West Texas Military Institute. After beginning his professional career in minor league baseball, Youngs was signed by the Giants in 1916. Youngs had a lifetime .322 batting average with the Giants and batted over .300 nine times in his career, including eight consecutive seasons. His career was cut short by illness, however, as he died at the age of 30 of Bright's disease.
Youngs was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 by the Veterans Committee. His election was not without controversy,[1] however, as the Veterans Committee consisted of his former teammates, and charges of cronyism were leveled against the committee.[2][3]
Youngs was born in Shiner, Texas, the second of three children, all sons.[4] His father was a railroad worker,[5] but suffered disability and moved his family to San Antonio where he worked as a rancher. Youngs' mother ran a small hotel in San Antonio and Youngs had a paper route.[4]
Youngs was educated at West Texas Military Institute.[4] He received offers for scholarships to play college football but passed on these, as he preferred baseball.[4] He made his professional baseball debut for the Austin Senators of the Texas League in 1914. Appearing in 17 games, he hit just .145 for the class-B Senators and, in 1915, found himself down in the Class-D leagues, playing for Brenham of the Middle Texas League and the Waxahachie Athletics of the Central Texas League; both leagues disbanded during the season.[4] In 1916, playing in the infield for the Sherman Lions of the Class-D Western Association, he hit .362 as a switch-hitter, drawing the attention of the New York Giants, who purchased his contract in August for $2,000 ($47,566 in current dollar terms).[4]
Youngs reported to spring training in Marlin, Texas with the Giants in 1917. They initially assigned him to the Rochester Hustlers, a team in the International League with which the Giants had a working relationship. Giants manager John McGraw told Mickey Doolan, the manager of the Hustlers, "I'm giving you one of the greatest players I've ever seen. Play him in the outfield. If anything happens to him, I'm holding you responsible."[4] In 140 games with Rochester, Youngs hit .356, earning himself a late-season promotion to the big league club.[4] McGraw gave Youngs the nickname "Pep" due to his hustle[6] and soon began to groom Youngs to become his successor as Giants' manager.[4]
