February 20
Senators Birthdays
Edgar Charles (Sam) Rice B Feb. 20, 1890 D Oct. 13, 1974
Hall Of Famer Sam Rice should need no introduction-a Senator from 1915 through 1933, played on all 3 pennant winning teams for Washington, hit over .300 in 14 of the 20 seasons he played.
Originally joining the Senators in August of 1915 as a pitcher, Rice’s talent as a hitter found him converted to an outfielder in 1916. Rice would hit .299 in 58 games in a part-time role in 1916.
Rice would hit .302 in 1917 but would only play in 7 games during the WWI year of 1918.
Back full time in 1919, Rice would hit .321 in 143 games.
Rice would lead the American League in many offensive catagories during his tenure with Washington including: hits in 1924 and 1926, singles in 1919, 1925, 1926 and 1930, triples in 1923 and stolen bases in 1920.
Rice would be a member of all 3 pennant winning teams with the Senators in 1924, 1925 and 1933, having an overall .302 BA in 15 World Series games.
Released by the Senators after the 1933 season, Rice would sign on with the Cleveland Indians and play one last season in Cleveland in 1934.
An excellent biography of Sam Rice can be found at the SABR website:
Sam Rice biography by Stephen Able
Herold Dominic (Muddy) Ruel B Feb. 20, 1896 D Nov. 13, 1963
Muddy Ruel was another catcher who made the rounds of the American League in a 19 year career, playing for 6 of the then existent 8 teams including 2 separate stints with both the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns.
Debuting with the Browns in late May of 1915, Ruel would play in 10 games going 0-14 at bat. Ruel wouldn’t make it back to the majors in 1916 but would be purchased by the New York Yankees in late August of 1917 and would make it into 6 games with New York at the end of the season.
Ruel would only play in 3 games for New York in 1918 but would see more action in 1919 and 1920, playing in 79 and 82 games respectively.
Traded to the Boston Red Sox after the 1920 season, Ruel would spend 2 years in Boston playing regularly.
Traded again, this time to the Washington Senators, along with Allen Russell for Ed Goebel, Val Pichnich and Howie Shanks, Ruel would spend the next 8 years in a Washington uniform.
The change in scenery must have agreed with Ruel as he’d hit .316 in 136 games for Washington in 1923.
A member of the pennant winning clubs of 1924 and 1925, Ruel would not fare well at the plate in the 1924 World Series, but would atone himself in 1925, hitting .316 in 7 games.
Ruel would hit over .300 3 times while playing for Washington (1923, 1925 & 1927) and would just miss in 1926, hitting .299.
After the 1930 season, Ruel would be sold to the Red Sox for a second stint in Boston but would play in just 33 games before he was traded to the Detroit Tigers where he’d finish the 1931 season playing in 14 games. Ruel would remain in Detroit for 1932 appearing in 51 games.
Ruel would spend 1933 with the St. Louis Browns playing in 36 games and would finish his career by appearing in 22 games with the 1934 Chicago White Sox.
Ruel would manage the St. Louis Browns in 1947, the Browns finishing 59-95 with their usual last place finish.
Regelio Lazaro (Roy) Valdes B Feb. 20, 1920 D Dec. 3, 2005
Another member of the Cuban Connection, Roy Valdes would also earn the title of “One Game Wonder” by virtue of his 1 at bat on May 3rd of 1944.
