In last week's Ladder Challenge it was Basketball Hall of Famer Frank Ramsey of the Celtics edging out Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk in a tie-breaker to hold his spot at #68. This week another Red Sox great, Jimmie Foxx (#63), attempts to move up The Ladder by taking on Boston Marathon legend Johnny Kelley (#55). My vote this week goes to Kelley, a Massachusetts native and a 2-time winner of Boston's biggest race. Who has your support?
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14 comments:
JOHNNY KELLEY
Currently Ranked: 55
Challenge Record: 0-0-0
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*Native of West Medford, MA
*2-time Boston Marathon winner (1935, 1945)
*2-time U.S. Olympian (1936, 1948)
*Finished top 5 in Boston Marathon 15 times (2 wins, 7 runner-up)
*Started 61 Boston Marathons, finishing 58
*Named "Runner of the Century" for 20th Century by Runner's WOrld magazine
JIMMIE FOXX
Currently Ranked: 63
Challenge Record: 0-0-0
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*Played 7 seasons with Red Sox (1936-42)
*1938 A.L. MVP (.349, 50 HR, 175 RBI)
*Runner-up for '39 MVP when he hit .360 with 35 HR and 105 RBI in just 124 games
*Selected to 6 All Star teams in his 7 Boston seasons
*Red Sox stats: .320, 222 HR, 788 RBI in 857 games
*Among Sox career leaders in: BA (5), OBP (2), SLG (2), OPS (2), HR (9), RBI (7)
*Red Sox record for RBI's in a season (175, 1938)
*His 50 HR and 398 TB in '38 were franchise records that stood until 2006 and 1978 respectively
*Wearing a Red Sox cap on his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown
Kelley is the signature runner in Boston's signature event. Although Foxx had a brilliant run in Fenway, his lack of longevity (7 seasons) and no titles keep Kelley and his half century of running ahead of him in my book.
I'm going with the runner.
15 Top 5 finishes!!
Its gonna take more than 7 great seasons to beat that for me.
since the tie breaker mattered last week i feel i should post something here. i voted kelley. foxx had some great numbers but no rings and if i am going to make rings a factor in my voting i have to stay consistent
i should also say that rings are not the ONLY factor in my voting but a good tie breaker when it is close like this one
i do wonder how kelley would have done if there were kenyans in boston back then though. he didnt do too much in either olympics he ran in
I do see your point Bob, but it can also be argued "what would Foxx's numbers have been if there were minorities in MLB when he played?". I think you can only really judge people for what they accomplished and Kelley's accomplishments are quite impressive in Boston.
Being a Mass native is also bonus points in my book for sure.
good point about foxx's comp. and i give bonus points for mass natives too when possible. kelley is the right call here
Next person to comment gets to pick who gets challenged this week...
Dwight Evans.
2 birds with 1 stone.
So regardless of who wins this week's poll to be the Challenger, you want them to challenge Dewey? (just making sure we understand each other)
I was assuming that it looks like it will be Seymour, but yeah. I know it is only one spot, but top 50 should be sacred - and I thought it was an interesting duel.
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