"If you put a baseball and other toys in front of a baby, he'll pick up a baseball in preference to the others." Source: Baseball Magazine (January 1951)

"It would be useless for any player to attempt to explain successful batting." Source: Baseball Magazine (March 1917)

"Luck is the great stabilizer in baseball." Source: Baseball Magazine (March 1917)

"(Babe) Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week he might have lasted a long time and become a great star."

"The American boy starts swinging the bat about as soon as he can lift one."

"The Babe was a great ballplayer, sure, but (Ty) Cobb was even greater. Babe could knock your brains out, but (Ty) Cobb would drive you crazy."

"When I was a rookie, Cy Young used to hit me flies to sharpen my abilities to judge in advance the direction and distance of an outfield-hit ball."

"An outfield composed of (Ty) Cobb, (Tris) Speaker and (Babe) Ruth, even with Ruth, lacks the combined power of (Joe) DiMaggio, (Stan) Musial and (Ted) Williams." - Connie Mack

"(Ty) Cobb would have to play center field on my all time team. But where would that put (Tris) Speaker? In left. If I had them both, I would certainly play them that way." - John McGraw

National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque

TRISTRAM E. (TRIS) SPEAKER
BOSTON (A) 1909-15
CLEVELAND (A) 1916-26
WASHINGTON (A) 1927
PHILADELPHIA (A) 1928
GREATEST CENTERFIELDER OF HIS
DAY. LIFETIME MAJOR LEAGUE BATTING
AVERAGE OF .344. MANAGER IN 1920
WHEN CLEVELAND WON ITS FIRST
PENNANT AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

"Despite spending most of his career in Ty Cobb's considerable shadow, Tris Speaker's .345 lifetime batting average and revolutionary defensive play made him one of Cobb's few rivals as the greatest player of the 1910s." - National Baseball Hall of Fame

"(Tris) Speaker was the king of the outfield. It was always 'Take it,' or 'I got it.' In all the years we never bumped each other." - Outfielder / teammate Duffy Lewis

Quotations From & About Tris Speaker