• Oh, those Grahams: Some last names are nickname magnets.

Moonlight Graham
Archibald Wright Graham (1876-1965)

This outfielder from Fayetteville, NC, got into one game for New York Giants on June 29, 1905, played one inning and didn't even get to bat. Graham had been a star with the Charlotte Hornets of the minor league North Carolina League. After his brief taste of the major leagues, Graham retired from baseball and devoted the rest of his life to medicine as a physician in Chisholm, MN, where he died in 1965 at age 88.

However, Moonlight Graham's most memorable baseball moment was yet to come, thanks to the 1989 movie, 'Field of Dreams', when actors Burt Lancaster and Frank Whaley brought Graham back to life, Lancaster as Doc Graham, Whaley as young Archie Graham who finally got a chance to bat against a big league pitcher in a game played on that field Kevin Costner's character carved out of the corn on his farm.

Peaches Graham
George Frederick Graham (1877-1939)

Peaches was a catcher who occasionally played every other position in a seven-season career spread over 11 years (1902-1912). He also was the father of Jack Graham, an outfielder-first baseman who played for Brooklyn and the New York Giants in 1946, the St. Louis Browns in 1949.

I also came across this weird little bit of trivia – that in 1903 and again in 1911 the Chicago Cubs roster included catchers Johnny Kling and Peaches Graham.

Skinny Graham
Arthur William Graham (1909-1967)

Skinny was an outfielder who was short, but not skinny – 5-foot-7, 181 pounds. He played a few games for Boston Red Sox in 1934-35.

Skinny Graham
Kyle Graham (1899-1973)

This pitcher really was skinny, 172 pounds stretched over a 6-foot-2-inch body. Like other Grahams, his major league career didn't amount to much – 11 wins, 22 losses in four seasons. 

Tiny Graham
Dawson Francis Graham (1892-1962)

And Tiny was a first baseman who wasn't tiny – 6-foot-2, 185 pounds. He played briefly with Cincinnati in 1914.

Boots Grantham
George Farley Grantham (1900-1954)

Grantham was a first and second baseman with Cubs, Pirates, Red and Giants (1922-34) and a model of consistency, hitting between .305 and .326 for eight consecutive seasons. His lifetime batting average: 302.

In 1929 this Boots was made for walking – he drew 93 bases on balls in just 110 games. Until then he'd averaged just 61 walks per season.

I'm still trying to account for the nickname.

Eli Grba
Eli Grba (1934- )

A pitcher, big, strong – and wild; Grba's bases on balls outnumbered his strike outs. After five seasons in the majors, he was sent back to the minors to work on his control – and never returned.

His career highlight probably occurred in 1961 when he was the starting and winning pitcher for the first American League victory by the Los Angeles Angels.

Pumpsie Green
Elijah Jerry Green (1933- )

In 1959 Green became the first black player for Boston Red Sox. He played four seasons in Boston, wound up with New York Mets in 1963. He was an infielder, mostly at second base.

He says his mother called him Pumpsie when he was a toddler, but he doesn't say why.

Jim Greengrass
James Raymond Greengrass (1927- )

As in Jim the green, Greengrass of home. The Cincinnati Reds received the outfielder on Aug. 28, 1952 as part of the trade that sent pitcher Ewell Blackwell to the New York Yankees. I was a Reds fan at the time and really excited when Greengrass made an immediate impression – five home runs, 24 RBI, and a .309 batting average in the 18 games he played with Cincinnati in '52.

Greengrass kept it going in 1953, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 100 runs. On opening day, 1954, he hit four doubles, and by the end of the season had 27 home runs. It was too good to last, and phlebitis was to blame. He limped off to a bad start in 1956 and on April 30 was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He batted .254 that season, with just 12 home runs. With the Phillies in 1956 he hit .205 in the final 86 games of his all-too-brief major league career.

Howdy Groskloss
Howard Hoffman Groskloss (1906-2006)

Groskloss played his first two major league games in 1930 with the Pittsburgh Pirates – while he was a medical student at Yale. He played 53 games in 1931, most of them at second base, and hit .280, but his big league career ended in 1932 after 17 games. However, Groskloss' real career was about to begin – as a surgeon.

By 2006 he was recognized as the oldest living former major league player, celebrating his 100th birthday on April 10 of that year in Vero Beach, FL. At least, Groskloss claimed it was his 100th. Some baseball reference books say he was born in 1907; for that matter, some books say his last name is spelled Grossklos.

However you spell his name, he was quite an athlete. At Amherst College in Massachusetts Groskloss played baseball, football, basketball, tennis, track and was a member of the swimming team. Many years later he finally took up golf and in retirement won a few amateur tournaments in Florida and the Bahamas.

But just as it seemed Groskloss would go on forever, he passed away on July 15, 2006. He'd certainly led a full, interesting life.

Sig Gryska
Sigmund Stanley Gryskaw (1915-1994)

Gryska was a shortstop who played 25 games for the St. Louis Browns (1938-39) hitting .329 in 70 at bats. Unfortunately, he made 8 errors in 14 games in 1939; his .873 fielding average spelled the end of his major league career.

His professional baseball highlight probably came on June 27, 1936 playing for San Antonio of the Texas League when he had nine RBI in a single game. He hit two home runs that day, one of them a grand slam.

Doug Gwosdz
Douglas Wayne Gwosdz (1960- )

Gwosdz – I have no idea how you pronounce it – did some catching for San Diego (1981-84). You gotta love his other nickname: "Eyechart"

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