Charlie Gehringer Marquee Hall of Fame 1949

In 1929 he led the American League in hits, runs, doubles, triples and stolen bases, all five in one season. He led in hits and runs again in 1934 and in doubles again in 1936; the 60 doubles of that year are the sixth-highest single-season total in the archive. He drove in 100 runs in seven different seasons from second base.

Detroit won the pennant in 1934 and the World Series in 1935 with him at second base every day. He was 34 and in his fourteenth season when he was voted Most Valuable Player in 1937. The nickname came from teammates who noticed that he did the same thing every day and said almost nothing about it.

He hit .320 for his career, with 2,839 hits and 574 doubles; only Ty Cobb and Al Kaline have more hits in a Detroit uniform. His last game came in September 1942, at 39, and he went into the Navy rather than back to second base. A 1949 runoff election put him in the Hall of Fame on 159 of 187 ballots.