Lefty O’Doul

Born: March 4, 1897 in San Francisco, CA, How did a baseball player named Lefty O’Doul become so popular in his native San Francisco that a bridge was named after him? The answer is complicated but legendary in the Bay Area. O’Doul began as a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, working his way to the big leagues for brief stretches, but an arm injury forced him to concentrate on his hitting. At the age of 31, in 1928, he made it back to the majors as an outfielder with the New York Giants. The following year with the Phillies, the hard-hitting O’Doul smacked 254 hits and 32 homers, while batting .398 to win the first of his two batting titles. He topped the 200-hit mark twice more, and batted .300 or better six times in his “second career.” Lured by a fat contract to manage the Seals back in his home city, O’Doul took his career .349 batting mark and returned to the West Coast in 1937. He held that position for 15 seasons, managing some of the best players to come out of California.

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