Pastureland for the Four Horsemen of the Houston Buffs.
As in all other things, times have changed greatly in baseball since 1928. Pitchers who once went all the way are now sharply divided into starters and a whole sub-species of pitchers who do the various specialty jobs as relievers by inning and game situation. Starters have done their job in 2013 when they have either gone five or six innings or thrown 100 pitches. As one result, the so-called “W”s that go to one man per game for a winning effort are now more easily spread throughout the staff, along with “H”s and “Sv”s that didn’t even exist back in 1928.
Throw in the fact on the major league level that any starter today who wins 20 games in a single season is going to earn a salary that will make it harder for a club that’s strapped for cash to sign others like him and you have a formula for teams winning championships with probably none or only one 20s-count official game winner.
With a record of 104-54, .658, the 1928 Houston Buffs still managed to only take the first place finish by one game over the second place Wichita Falls Spudders, who finished at 104-56, .650. The Buffs also then defeated the Spudders, 3 games to 1, in a pennant playoff series to advance to the Dixie Series against the Birmingham Barons, Champions of the Southern Association. The Buffs then took the Barons, 4 games to 2, to win the Dixie Series, the pinnacle of their opportunities.
Here’s a pitcher-by-pitcher capsule look at how the 1928 Houston Buffs of the Texas League won the pennant and also captured the Dixie Series with a pitching staff that included four 20-game winners. These men were, even though I’ve never read them described as such, The Four Horsemen of the 1928 Houston Buffs:
Jim Lindsey
1) Jim Lindsey, Age 29 (25-10, .714 W%, 3.49 ERA) (BR/TR) (6’1″, 175 LB.) Lindsey had a 9-season career in the big leagues (1922, 1924, 1929-34, 1937, posting a career MLB record of 21-20, .512 W%, 4.70 ERA.
Over the longer course of his 13-deason minor league career (1923-29, 1933-38), Lindsey posted a total mark of 143-114, .556 W% with a 4.01 ERA. Lindsey won 20 games one other time and it also occurred with Buffs the following season of 1929 when he went 21-10, .677 W%. with a 2.87 ERA.
Jim Lindsey passed away in 1963 at the age of 64.
Wild Bill Hallahan
2) Wild Bill Hallahan, Age 25 (23-12, .657 W%, 2.25 ERA) (BR/TL) (5’10”, 170 LB.) Hallahan enjoyed an 11-season career in the big leagues (1925-26, 1929-38) and played an important pitching role for three Cardinal NL pennant winners in 1930, 1931, and 1934. The Cardinals also took the World Series in 1931 and 1934. Hallahan went 19-9 for the 1931 club and he finished his big league time with a record of 102-94, a .520 W%, and an ERA of 4.03.
Wild Bill had a 5-Season (1924-24, 1927-28, 1939) minor league career, posting a record there of 62-49 with a .559 W% and an ERA of 3.50. His 23 win season in his only year with Houston was his only time to ring the 20 game winner season bell on any level
Wild Bill Hallahan passed away in 1981 at the age of 78.
Ken Penner
Ken Penner, age 32 (20-8, .714 W%, 3.47 ERA) (BL/TR) (5’11”, 170 lb.) Ken Penner is nothing short of minor league pitching roalty. He worked a 23-season career over 30 years (1913-25, 1927-38, 1942-43). Penner had an amazing minor league career mark of 315-269 with a W% of .539 and an ERA OF 2.93. In the minors, Penner earned a minimum of 20 wins in 5 different years and he also won 17-19 games in 6 other seasons. In Penner’s other 1927 season as a Buff he had chalked up one of those 19-win marks. in In spite of his overwhelming success at the minor league level, however, Ken only enjoyed two widely separated cups of coffee in the majors in 1916 and 1929, coming up with an MLB career mark of only 1-2 with a .333 W% and an ERA of 3.55.
Ken Penner died in 1959 at the age of 63.
Frank Barnes
Frank Barnes, age 28 (20-9, .690 W%, 2.95 ERA) (BL/TL) (6’2″, 195 lb.) Frank Barnes also went n to a peekaboo MLB pitching career in 1929-30, posting a career mark withe the Tigers and Yankees of 0-2, .000 W%, 7.79 ERA. Frank’s 20-win season in his only year with Houston also would be the sole time he came close that to that charmed level again, anywhere else.
Frank Barnes died in 1967 at the age of 67.
Things just came together for the ’28 Buffs. They had a brand new jewel of a ballpark and a hunger for winning that carried them to every chance for glory that lay in their realm. Together, the four horsemen of the 1928 Houston Buffs led the way to glory as 20-win pitchers, one and all.
The Pecan Park Eagle 
June 5, 2016 at 9:48 am |
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December 6, 2018 at 12:04 am |
Excellent Article! I really like the title and presentation. I have been doing extensive research on my cousin Ken Penner and found your article very informative. I thoroughly enjoyed it from top to bottom. Well done!