Wally Pipp

Walter Pipp was born on February 17, 1893, in Chicago, Illinois, to Pauline (née Stroeber) and William H. Pipp. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, and different sources describe him as being of Irish or German ancestry. He was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a child, Pipp said that he was hit in the head with a hockey puck, which resulted in headaches throughout his life.

In 1912, Pipp made his debut in professional baseball with the Kalamazoo Celery Champs of the Class D Southern Michigan League. In 68 games played, he had a .270 batting average. The Detroit Tigers of the American League purchased his contract late in the 1912 season. Pipp attempted to hold out from the Tigers, demanding a portion of the purchase price, and threatened to return to college.

Pipp enrolled at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he studied architecture and played baseball for the Catholic University Cardinals. Pipp graduated in 1913.

After graduating from college, Pipp ended his holdout without receiving a share of the purchase price. Pipp made his major league debut with the Tigers on June 29, 1913. After playing 12 games for Detroit, batting .161, the Tigers reassigned Pipp to the Providence Grays of the Class AA International League. He committed seven errors in 14 games for Providence, and was demoted to the Scranton Miners of the Class B New York State League, where he only batted .220.

In 1914, Pipp played for the Rochester Hustlers of the International League. Pipp had a .314 batting average and 27 triples. He led all batters in the league with 15 home runs, a .526 slugging percentage, and 290 total bases.

In January 1915, Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston agreed to purchase the New York Yankees of the American League. As part of the agreement, the other team owners in the American League agreed to help the Yankees restock their system with prospects. One of the deals Ruppert and Huston negotiated was their purchase of Pipp. After the purchase was completed, all owners, with the exception of Frank Navin, the owner of the Tigers, broke their word. On February 4, 1915, the Tigers sold Pipp and outfielder Hugh High to the Yankees, receiving $5,000 for each player ($126,365 in current dollar terms).

The Yankees had struggled prior to Ruppert and Huston's purchase, having only one winning record in their previous eight seasons. They made Pipp their starting first baseman in time for Opening Day of the 1915 season. The Yankees added Home Run Baker in 1916, and they formed the center of the Yankees' batting order. Pipp led the American League in home runs with 12 in 1916; Baker finished second with 10. Pipp hit nine home runs in 1917, again leading the league.

In 1918, Pipp hit only two home runs, but batted .304. He missed playing time under the nation's "work or fight" rule during World War I; he worked as a naval aviation cadet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He batted .275 with seven home runs in 1919, as Babe Ruth surpassed him as the best power hitter in the American League. The Yankees moved to strengthen their team after the 1919 season, adding Ruth and fellow outfielder Bob Meusel and third baseman Joe Dugan. Between 1920 and 1924, Pipp had a .301 average, with season averages of 29 doubles, 94 runs scored, and 97 runs batted in (RBI) per season. Led by their strong lineup and additions to the pitching staff, such as Waite Hoyt, the Yankees finished in second place in 1920. Pipp became the cleanup hitter, behind Ruth in the batting order. Pipp hit .296 in 1921, and the Yankees won the American League pennant. However, they lost the 1921 World Series to the crosstown rival New York Giants of the National League.

On July 26, 1922, Pipp bobbled a ball during the fifth inning of a game against the St. Louis Browns. When the Yankees returned to the dugout, Ruth criticized Pipp's fielding. Pipp attacked Ruth, and the two were separated by teammates. Though Ruth insisted they'd "settle this after the game", Ruth and Pipp led the Yankees to a victory with their hitting, and when Pipp approached Ruth after the game, ready to fight, Ruth opted against it. Pipp said this resulted in reduced tension among the Yankees, to which he attributed their improved play from that point forward. Pipp batted .329 in 1922 and the Yankees again won the American League pennant. In a rematch, the Giants again defeated the Yankees in the 1922 World Series. Meanwhile, Pipp scouted Lou Gehrig, who was playing college baseball for Columbia University, and suggested to Miller Huggins, the Yankees' manager, that he should sign Gehrig. Pipp personally helped develop Gehrig after he signed. Pipp had a strong 1923 season, but he injured his right ankle while stepping off of a train in Boston late in the year. The Yankees used Gehrig, whom they promoted from the minor leagues, to play in four games at first base replacing Pipp, before calling upon Babe Ruth to substitute at first base for the four games at the very end of the season. Though Huggins initially thought Pipp would not be able to play in the 1923 World Series, Pipp recovered sufficiently in time to play. The Yankees won the series in six games over the Giants. The Yankees finished in second place in the American League in 1924, and Pipp led the league with 114 RBIs and 19 triples.

Due to the team's struggles, Huggins made personnel changes during the offseason. The Yankees attempted to trade Pipp to another American League team, but could not agree on the terms with any team. They put Pipp on waivers, and he was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, who reportedly paid the Yankees a greater sum than the $7,500 waiver price. The Reds, who had not had a strong starting first baseman since Jake Daubert died in 1924, had attempted to acquire Bill Terry from the Giants, but refused to part with Edd Roush in the transaction, and so acquired Pipp instead. Pipp again attempted to acquire a portion of the purchase price, but was rebuffed.

Although Pipp's replacement on June 2, 1925 was historic, and Gehrig had a great game by getting three hits, Gehrig would in fact go 0 for 3 in each of his next two games, before being lifted for a pinch-hitter each day. Pipp would finish both of those games defensively at first base.

Pipp played 372 games for the Reds over the next three seasons. In 1926, he had a .291 batting average, and his 99 RBIs and 15 triples were both fourth-best in the National League. He batted .260 with 41 RBIs in 1927, and .283 in 1928.

According to the most popular version of the story, Pipp showed up at Yankee Stadium that day with a severe headache, and asked the team's trainer for two aspirin. Miller Huggins, the Yankees' manager, noticed this, and said "Wally, take the day off. We'll try that kid Gehrig at first today and get you back in there tomorrow." Gehrig played well and became the Yankees' new starting first baseman. This story first appeared in a 1939 New York World-Telegram on Gehrig's career, in which Pipp was interviewed. Pipp was later quoted to have said, "I took the two most expensive aspirin in history."

Ironically, Pipp attended the Tigers' game in Detroit against the Yankees on May 2, 1939, when Gehrig took himself out of the Yankees' line-up prior to the game.

After retiring, Pipp invested in the stock market, but lost his wealth in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He authored a book, titled Buying Cheap and Selling Dear. He worked as a broadcaster on a pregame baseball show for the Tigers, wrote radio scripts, and worked in publishing. He organized baseball programs around his community for the National Youth Administration. He also spent time unemployed during the Great Depression. In 1940, Pipp was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he managed to pay off his debts without going bankrupt.

The Pipps moved to Lansing, Michigan, in 1949. After suffering a number of strokes, Pipp moved to a nursing home in Grand Rapids in September 1963. He died there on January 11, 1965, of a heart attack at the age of 71. He is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Grand Rapids.