The Jersey Numbers: 100 to 109
by Corey
You're missing out! This article was part of our April Fools Day 2006 spectacular. For the full effect, check the archived copy of the home page.
Here we are at Part 11 in my ongoing investigation into the greatest Cleveland athletes ever to wear each of the jersey numbers. We've had some truly great athletes so far, but unfortunately, as we get into the higher end of the spectrum, the players become a little more obscure. Anyway, on to the honorees!
Though in two seasons with the Indians he only received 12 plate appearances, Adriano Sacapuntas went on to enjoy a long career as the star center fielder of the San Pedro Albañiles of the Paraguayan League. Sacapuntas was the first and is still the only Paraguayan baseball player to make it to the major leagues. In Cleveland, his path to a starting spot was blocked by Ty Cline, Vic Davalillo, Willie Tasby, Willie Kirkland and Don Dillard, among a host of others, so after a season and a half of riding the pine the Indians traded Sacapuntas to the Senators for cash. He never appeared in another big league ballgame.
Though he never scored a point in the NBA, Candy Bar Jefferson was a major fan favorite in Cleveland, not only for his appetizing nickname and his decision to wear #101 (in honor of the number of keys on a standard typewriter keyboard), but for his role as Coach Bill Fitch's designated inbounds pass breaker-upper (a function of Candy Bar's freakishly long arms). You probably remember the fateful play on which Jefferson's promising career was cut short, as Rockets guard Jimmy Walker's inbounds pass struck Candy Bar in the eye, permanently damaging his vision. To this day, we are left to wonder how many championships the Cavs would have won had Jefferson remained in the fold.
Biscuits McGarnagall began his long and storied career with the Indians (then the Naps) as the left-handed hitting platoon partner of second baseman Nap Lajoie. After Lajoie was purchased by the Philadelphia A's in 1915, McGarnagall found himself the starting second baseman for a brief period before Bill Wambsganss took over for good. In 1920, his final season, McGarnagall didn't play much, but the Indians finally won the World Series for the first time in franchise history. It was during the championship celebration that McGarnagall announced his retirement, and player-manager Tris Speaker uttered his famous quote, "This one's for Biscuits."
Though current NFL regulations require jersey numbers in the 100's to be reserved for members of the officiating crew, players in the old AAFC--of which the Browns were a member prior to 1950--were allowed to wear these numbers on their uniforms. John Todeslied was a key contributor to the Cleveland squad that won the AAFC championship in every year of its existence. On offense, he played halfback and tackle, while on defense, he played end, middle guard, and cornerback. He also returned kicks and covered about half of the punting responsibilities. Alas, when the Browns made the transition to the NFL in 1950, Coach Paul Brown cut Todeslied, citing a lack of versatility.
No one today really remembers the Cavs of the 50's, and for good reason: they never once made the playoffs. In fact, only one player from those old Cavs rosters had much talent, and that was Abe Kleinschmidt, "the Brooklyn Beanpole". Kleinschmidt led the Cavs in scoring and rebounding every year of his career, which isn't saying much, I realize, but it's all I have to go on. Though he was forced into early retirement by weak knees, he later worked in the Cavs' front office and was key in assembling the legendary 1964 squad that only missed the playoffs by two games.
When I began this whole Jersey Numbers series, I had no idea I would be delving into the rich history of Cleveland ice hockey to find honorees. The truth is, though, that no Indian, Brown or Cavalier has ever donned #105, oddly enough, and while the Cleveland Barons were not very good during the two seasons they were an NHL team, they had a couple of noteworthy players, one of whom was Sébastien Leperdant, a defenseman. Now, I don't know very much about hockey or hockey statistics, so I kind of have to rely on the opinions of others here. One almanac I found called Leperdant "very adequate" and said he had excellent fight-picking ability. That's good enough for me.
This one was kind of a toss-up between Skip Chamberlain, a messenger guard who appeared in six games for the Browns in 1947, and Dwight Onderzee, a safety who appeared in seven games for the Browns starting in 1946. Interestingly, the two men had a rather public dispute over the rights to wear #106 during training camp in the summer of '47. In the end, Chamberlain had to pay Onderzee $20,000--then something like twelve years' salary--to get him to relinquish the prized jersey number. This leads me to believe that Chamberlain was, at the very least, the more high profile player, so it stands to reason he was the better player. That's why I'm going with him.
Though he spent all of 1970 in the minor leagues working on supposed mechanical flaws, reliever Stan Lavatrici actually pitched pretty well for the Tribe in both 1969 and 1971 before going on to greater renown as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. His ERA+ of 106 in '69 and 102 in '71 made him the fourth-best reliever on the team, both years. Lavatrici was known for his eccentric rituals during games, as he would often bring talismans, snacks, or reading materials with him to the mound. The reading material was especially odd considering he never learned how to read.
Having already been named by me as the greatest #8 in Cleveland sports history, Albert Belle joins Lou Groza (#46 and #76) as one of two athletes so far to have been so honored at two different jersey numbers. You certainly remember Albert in his heyday as #8; what you may not recall is that, as a scrawny rookie in 1989, he opted for #108 because #8 was taken by DH/catcher Mark Salas. That season, Belle hit .225/.269/.394 in 234 plate appearances--not great, and certainly not up to his lofty career standards, but more than good enough to make him the greatest #108 in Cleveland history.
Coincidentally, the only man ever to wear #109 for a Cleveland team, Richie Summerfield was nowhere close to being a decent NBA player. How he managed to stay on the Cavs' roster for 27 whole games is a mystery to me. In 1985, his PER of -10.8 made him the worst Cavalier to date. In 1986, he appeared in only 2 games before Coach George Karl released him, but still managed a PER of -17.0, lowering his career rating to an unprecedented -11.3, to accompany a career Player Win Percentage of .001. I almost feel ashamed to dole out this honor to such a horrible player, but he was a jersey number pioneer of sorts, so I guess I should give him some credit.
Here we are at Part 11 in my ongoing investigation into the greatest Cleveland athletes ever to wear each of the jersey numbers. We've had some truly great athletes so far, but unfortunately, as we get into the higher end of the spectrum, the players become a little more obscure. Anyway, on to the honorees!
#100 - Adriano Sacapuntas
Indians, '62-'63Though in two seasons with the Indians he only received 12 plate appearances, Adriano Sacapuntas went on to enjoy a long career as the star center fielder of the San Pedro Albañiles of the Paraguayan League. Sacapuntas was the first and is still the only Paraguayan baseball player to make it to the major leagues. In Cleveland, his path to a starting spot was blocked by Ty Cline, Vic Davalillo, Willie Tasby, Willie Kirkland and Don Dillard, among a host of others, so after a season and a half of riding the pine the Indians traded Sacapuntas to the Senators for cash. He never appeared in another big league ballgame.
#101 - Leon "Candy Bar" Jefferson
Cavaliers, '73Though he never scored a point in the NBA, Candy Bar Jefferson was a major fan favorite in Cleveland, not only for his appetizing nickname and his decision to wear #101 (in honor of the number of keys on a standard typewriter keyboard), but for his role as Coach Bill Fitch's designated inbounds pass breaker-upper (a function of Candy Bar's freakishly long arms). You probably remember the fateful play on which Jefferson's promising career was cut short, as Rockets guard Jimmy Walker's inbounds pass struck Candy Bar in the eye, permanently damaging his vision. To this day, we are left to wonder how many championships the Cavs would have won had Jefferson remained in the fold.
#102 - Biscuits McGarnagall
Naps/Indians, '07-'20Biscuits McGarnagall began his long and storied career with the Indians (then the Naps) as the left-handed hitting platoon partner of second baseman Nap Lajoie. After Lajoie was purchased by the Philadelphia A's in 1915, McGarnagall found himself the starting second baseman for a brief period before Bill Wambsganss took over for good. In 1920, his final season, McGarnagall didn't play much, but the Indians finally won the World Series for the first time in franchise history. It was during the championship celebration that McGarnagall announced his retirement, and player-manager Tris Speaker uttered his famous quote, "This one's for Biscuits."
#103 - John Todeslied
Browns, '46-'49Though current NFL regulations require jersey numbers in the 100's to be reserved for members of the officiating crew, players in the old AAFC--of which the Browns were a member prior to 1950--were allowed to wear these numbers on their uniforms. John Todeslied was a key contributor to the Cleveland squad that won the AAFC championship in every year of its existence. On offense, he played halfback and tackle, while on defense, he played end, middle guard, and cornerback. He also returned kicks and covered about half of the punting responsibilities. Alas, when the Browns made the transition to the NFL in 1950, Coach Paul Brown cut Todeslied, citing a lack of versatility.
#104 - Abe Kleinschmidt
Cavaliers, '53-'57No one today really remembers the Cavs of the 50's, and for good reason: they never once made the playoffs. In fact, only one player from those old Cavs rosters had much talent, and that was Abe Kleinschmidt, "the Brooklyn Beanpole". Kleinschmidt led the Cavs in scoring and rebounding every year of his career, which isn't saying much, I realize, but it's all I have to go on. Though he was forced into early retirement by weak knees, he later worked in the Cavs' front office and was key in assembling the legendary 1964 squad that only missed the playoffs by two games.
#105 - Sébastien Leperdant
Barons, '77-'78When I began this whole Jersey Numbers series, I had no idea I would be delving into the rich history of Cleveland ice hockey to find honorees. The truth is, though, that no Indian, Brown or Cavalier has ever donned #105, oddly enough, and while the Cleveland Barons were not very good during the two seasons they were an NHL team, they had a couple of noteworthy players, one of whom was Sébastien Leperdant, a defenseman. Now, I don't know very much about hockey or hockey statistics, so I kind of have to rely on the opinions of others here. One almanac I found called Leperdant "very adequate" and said he had excellent fight-picking ability. That's good enough for me.
#106 - Skip Chamberlain
Browns, '47This one was kind of a toss-up between Skip Chamberlain, a messenger guard who appeared in six games for the Browns in 1947, and Dwight Onderzee, a safety who appeared in seven games for the Browns starting in 1946. Interestingly, the two men had a rather public dispute over the rights to wear #106 during training camp in the summer of '47. In the end, Chamberlain had to pay Onderzee $20,000--then something like twelve years' salary--to get him to relinquish the prized jersey number. This leads me to believe that Chamberlain was, at the very least, the more high profile player, so it stands to reason he was the better player. That's why I'm going with him.
#107 - Stan Lavatrici
Indians, '69, '71Though he spent all of 1970 in the minor leagues working on supposed mechanical flaws, reliever Stan Lavatrici actually pitched pretty well for the Tribe in both 1969 and 1971 before going on to greater renown as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. His ERA+ of 106 in '69 and 102 in '71 made him the fourth-best reliever on the team, both years. Lavatrici was known for his eccentric rituals during games, as he would often bring talismans, snacks, or reading materials with him to the mound. The reading material was especially odd considering he never learned how to read.
#108 - Albert Belle
Indians, '89-'96Having already been named by me as the greatest #8 in Cleveland sports history, Albert Belle joins Lou Groza (#46 and #76) as one of two athletes so far to have been so honored at two different jersey numbers. You certainly remember Albert in his heyday as #8; what you may not recall is that, as a scrawny rookie in 1989, he opted for #108 because #8 was taken by DH/catcher Mark Salas. That season, Belle hit .225/.269/.394 in 234 plate appearances--not great, and certainly not up to his lofty career standards, but more than good enough to make him the greatest #108 in Cleveland history.
#109 - Richie Summerfield
Cavaliers, '85-'86Coincidentally, the only man ever to wear #109 for a Cleveland team, Richie Summerfield was nowhere close to being a decent NBA player. How he managed to stay on the Cavs' roster for 27 whole games is a mystery to me. In 1985, his PER of -10.8 made him the worst Cavalier to date. In 1986, he appeared in only 2 games before Coach George Karl released him, but still managed a PER of -17.0, lowering his career rating to an unprecedented -11.3, to accompany a career Player Win Percentage of .001. I almost feel ashamed to dole out this honor to such a horrible player, but he was a jersey number pioneer of sorts, so I guess I should give him some credit.
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