WSC Vintage: Harry Lord

Card #38 - Harry Lord

In August 1910, one month after Walter Johnson broke Harry's finger with a pitch, Lord was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox. Harry immediately became the best hitter on a weak hitting team.

His best year would come in 1911, when he had 180 hits, including eighteen triples and eighteen doubles. He also stole forty-three bases that year. In 1912, Lord did get a bit of revenge on Walter Johnson by hitting a home run that helped end Johnson's five game winning streak.

He had maddening fluctuations in his attitude on the field. Some days he would take charge and lift the morale of his team. This eventually earned him the honorary title of captain. Other times, he would carry a nonchalant demeanor where he appeared uninterested in playing.

Harry would play with the White Sox until 1914, when he got into a salary dispute with owner Charles Comiskey. Lord held out and only showed up to demand his release. He disappeared after Comiskey turned his offer down. Harry reappeared at Sox camp in 1915, only to find himself blacklisted. He would finish his playing career with Buffalo of the Federal League, in 1915, who announced they had signed him a year earlier.