Major League Baseball Player. The outfielder, born in St. Thomas, Ontario, played his entire 14-year career with the Cleveland Indians (1908 and from 1910 to 1922), and he has been credited with a number of firsts. As a leadoff batter, he was the first player Boston pitcher Babe Ruth faced in a game in 1914. He also was the first to wear a number on his uniform, pinned to his sleeve, on June 26, 1916, as he advocated having numbers on the uniforms to identify the players. He was a popular radio play-by-play announcer for the Indians from 1933 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1953, the first ex-big leaguer to go behind the mike. On July 8 1935, he and France Laux broadcast the 1935 All-Star Game in Cleveland on the CBS national network. He then became the first ex-player to broadcast a World Series game on October 2, 1935. Jack Buck, the St. Louis Cardinals' long-time broadcaster, once said, "Mr. Graney brought to his job knowledge and controlled enthusiasm. He had a distinctive voice, high-pitched and raspy, but quite clear. You always knew, listening to him, that he knew what was going on and he told it to you simply and accurately." As a player, he had led the American League in doubles with 41 in 1916 and scored 106 runs that season. He also paced the AL with 94 walks in 1917 and 105 free passes in 1919. He roomed on the road with shortstop Raymond Chapman, who died as a result of being hit in the head by a Carl Mays pitch on August 16, 1920 at the Polo Grounds. We went hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances in the 1920 World Series, won by the Indians five games to two over Brooklyn. The left-handed hitter batted .250 lifetime with 219 doubles, 79 triples, 18 homers and 420 runs batted in. He held the record for most games by a Canadian-born player with 1,402 games until Terry Puhl broke the mark in 1989.
Major League Baseball Player. The outfielder, born in St. Thomas, Ontario, played his entire 14-year career with the Cleveland Indians (1908 and from 1910 to 1922), and he has been credited with a number of firsts. As a leadoff batter, he was the first player Boston pitcher Babe Ruth faced in a game in 1914. He also was the first to wear a number on his uniform, pinned to his sleeve, on June 26, 1916, as he advocated having numbers on the uniforms to identify the players. He was a popular radio play-by-play announcer for the Indians from 1933 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1953, the first ex-big leaguer to go behind the mike. On July 8 1935, he and France Laux broadcast the 1935 All-Star Game in Cleveland on the CBS national network. He then became the first ex-player to broadcast a World Series game on October 2, 1935. Jack Buck, the St. Louis Cardinals' long-time broadcaster, once said, "Mr. Graney brought to his job knowledge and controlled enthusiasm. He had a distinctive voice, high-pitched and raspy, but quite clear. You always knew, listening to him, that he knew what was going on and he told it to you simply and accurately." As a player, he had led the American League in doubles with 41 in 1916 and scored 106 runs that season. He also paced the AL with 94 walks in 1917 and 105 free passes in 1919. He roomed on the road with shortstop Raymond Chapman, who died as a result of being hit in the head by a Carl Mays pitch on August 16, 1920 at the Polo Grounds. We went hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances in the 1920 World Series, won by the Indians five games to two over Brooklyn. The left-handed hitter batted .250 lifetime with 219 doubles, 79 triples, 18 homers and 420 runs batted in. He held the record for most games by a Canadian-born player with 1,402 games until Terry Puhl broke the mark in 1989.
Bio by: Ron Coons
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