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Al Demaree was a right-handed pitcher with the Phillies from 1915-1916. His time with the Phillies was brief, but he helped snag the club's very first National League pennant. Demaree debuted as a rookie with the New York Giants in 1912 and played two more full seasons with the Giants, posting a 24-21 record in that time. Following the 1914 season, Phils manager Pat Moran vowed to make changes and Demaree was among a group of three players that Philadelphia acquired for third baseman Hans Lobert . Demaree made a fast impact in 1915 when he shut out his former team 3-0 in his Phillies debut. However, Demaree left people doubting the trade when he strung together 6 losses in his next 6 starts. The poor stretch resulted in Demaree being pulled from the starting rotation. By early July, he got another shot at starting and again shut down the Giants, this time 1-0. Demaree won 5 of his next 6 starts. In mid-August, he would throw his 3rd shutout of the season against Boston. Demaree end...

Bill Killefer was a catcher for the Phillies from 1911-1917. Killefer's excellent defense kept him employed in the Major Leagues for over a decade. He led the league in fielding percentage four times. Killefer took over as the Phillies' everyday catcher in 1912 and quickly built a reputation for gunning down opposing baserunners. In 1913, he played 120 games and threw out 130 baserunners. At the plate, Killefer provided minimal offensive pop. During his time with the Phillies, his batting average was .244 or lower in every season except one. In his 13 combined years in the Majors, he hit a grand total of 4 homers and drove in more than 30 runs in a season only once. To top that off, Killefer acquired the nickname "Reindeer Bill" for his lack of speed on the bases. Part of the Phillies' 1915 pennant winning team, it was Killefer's superb handling of the Phils' pitching staff that enhanced his value. He became Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander...

George Chalmers was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1910-1916. Chalmers, born in Scotland, joined the Phillies late in 1910 after winning 25 games for Scranton. He made three starts in the last month of the season, including a 6-1 win over the Giants to earn his first Major League victory. In 1911, Chalmers shut out Brooklyn in his first start. His season stayed solid through much of the summer, when he blanked the Cardinals 2-0 and then shut down the Giants three weeks later by a score of 2-0 also. Things cooled down for Chalmers after that as he won only 2 more starts, finishing the season with a 13-10 record. His season ERA was 3.11. One big plus for Chalmers was that he threw over 200 innings, but he walked as many as he struck out. This was a negative aspect of his game that would stick with him throughout his career. After making 22 starts in 1911, Chalmers would make just 23 starts over the following 3 seasons combined. The dramatic drop in innings led to an increase in losses ...

Erskine Mayer was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1912-1918. He was a two-time 20 game winner for our Phils. Mayer attended Georgia Tech and left to play pro ball prior to his senior year and after going 26-9 for Portsmouth in his third year in the minors, his contract was purchased by the Phillies. As a rookie in 1913, Mayer switched between relief work and starting assignments. He finished his first full season with a 9-9 record. Mayer would become known as a workhorse. In 1914, he appeared in 48 games (39 starts), the 2nd highest total in the NL, and threw 24 complete games and 321 total innings. He had a 21-19 record with 4 shut outs, 2 saves and a 2.58 ERA. In the second game on a double header on July 27th, Mayer tossed a 1-hitter against the Cardinals. Mayer also gave up Honus Wagner's 3,000th hit earlier that season. In 1915, Mayer won 21 games again, this time with just 15 losses and a 2.36 ERA. He pitched 274 2/3 regular season innings that year. In the World Series, May...

George McQuillan was a pitcher with our Phillies from 1907-1910, and again from 1915-1916. McQuillan is best known for the record he set as a rookie that stood for over 100 years. McQuillan joined the Phillies in the final month of the 1907 season, after winning 13 games in the minors for Providence. He quickly won four of his first 5 starts, which included back to back shut outs of the Reds and Cubs. McQuillan's record of 25 consecutive scoreless innings to start a career was his main claim to fame. The record stood till 2008 when Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler eclipsed the mark. The next season, McQuillan got off to another hot start, as he won 11 of his first 14 starts. His terrific performances were, at times, hampered by the Phillies' weak offensive outputs. In his first six losses that season, the Phillies scored just 1 total run. In mid-June, he lost 3 straight starts by identical scores of 1-0. McQuillan's sudden success may have played a role in his impending alco...

Dave Bancroft, a Hall of Famer, played shortstop for the Phillies from 1915-1920. Veteran Phils shortstop Mickey Doolan had left to play in the Federal League in 1914, and the team was without a suitable replacement, so they summoned Bancroft from Portland of the Pacific Coast League. Critics asserted that he wouldn't be able to handle big league pitching, but Phillies manager Pat Moran felt, foremost, that he needed a solid defender. Not a big offensive threat, Bancroft's best season at the plate for the Phillies came in 1917, when he hit .243 with 4 homers and 43 RBI. Bancroft had great range and soft hands, however, which was just what Moran wanted. Bancroft led all National League shortstops in total chances for 3 straight seasons. In 1919, after four good seasons anchoring the middle of the Phillies infield, Bancroft was sent a contract to sign, calling for a pay decrease. This did not sit well, and he instead asked for a trade to another team. He got that wish a year late...

Another Sunday, another lesson. This week, we'll talk about a premiere slugger from the Deadball Era, Gavvy Cravath. Clifford "Gavvy" Cravath joined the Phillies in 1912, when he was 31 years old. The "Deadball Era" was a stretch in the early 1900's, when pitchers were known to throw many trick pitches and games were regularly played with a single mis-shapened ball. These factors made hitting for distance quite a challenge. Gavvy was a rightfielder. He batted right and threw right. Born on March 23, 1881, Gavvy became the first major leaguer from the San Diego area. While playing ball in his younger days in California, Cravath picked up his nickname by hitting a seagull (which is gaviota in Spanish) with a batted ball. Gavvy's pro career began with the Angels of the Pacific Coast League. He made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1908. Prior to that season, Cravath's contract had been sold to Boston, where he bacame a 27-year-old rooki...