Cravath, "Gavvy" (Clifford C.)
Baseball
b. March 23, 1881, Escondido, CA
d. May 23, 1963
Virtually unknown today, Cravath led the NL in home runs six times in a seven-season period. Because he played in the dead ball era, his figures don't sound impressive today, but when he retired, he was ranked fourth all-time in home runs.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Cravath joined the AL's Boston Red Sox in 1908, playing in 94 games, but he appeared in only 23 games with the Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators in 1909. After two years in the minor leagues, he went to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL in 1912 and became the team's starting right fielder.
A fine defensive player, Cravath led league outfielders with 34 assists in 1912. He had his best year in 1913, batting .341 and leading the league with 179 hits, 19 home runs, 126 RBI, and a .568 slugging percentage. He was the home run leader again with 19 in 1914. The following season, Cravath led in runs with 89, home runs with 24, RBI with 115, walks with 88, and slugging with a .510 percentage.
Cravath won the home run title three more seasons, hitting 12 in 1917, 8 in 1918, and 12 in 1919, when he played in only 83 games. He retired after hitting just 1 home run in 46 games in 1920.