#39: Leon Cadore

Leon Cadore

I) Leon Cadore --> '24 Giants --> Grover Hartley

Hartley was a connecting player in on of my previous chains, so I know I'll get to Stairs eventually. There are others on this team that played longer, though, so I want to see where they take me first.

I) Leon Cadore --> '24 Giants --> Bill Terry, Freddie Lindstrom, Frankie Frisch, Travis Jackson

II) Terry, Jackson --> '36 Giants
II) Lindstrom --> '36 Dodgers
II) Frisch --> '37 Cardinals

Three branches to choose from here. We'll start with Frisch, who played the longest.

II) Frisch --> '37 Cardinals --> Bob Weiland, Mickey Owen, Johnny Mize
      III) Mize --> '53 Yankees
      III) Owen --> '54 Red Sox

We've already connected Weiland, so I know this is a good route too. I'm going to go back to the '36 Giants and Cardinals teams, and see if I get any further there.

II) Terry, Jackson --> '36 Giants --> Dick Bartell, Harry Gumbert
      III) Gumbert --> '50 Pirates

Bartell was a connecting player too! So far, every branch has yielded a player I've already used. Can I go 4-4?

II) Lindstrom --> '36 Dodgers --> Dutch Leonard
      III) Leonard --> '53 Cubs

I guess not. That's OK, because I'm looking to add new teams to my table. I'm going to stick with this branch and see where it takes me.

      III) Leonard --> '53 Cubs --> Ernie Banks
              IV) Banks --> '71 Cubs --> Ken Holtzman, Earl Stephenson, Hal Breeden, Ken Rudolph
                     V) Breeden --> '75 Expos
                     V) Holtzman --> '76 Orioles
                     V) Rudolph --> '77 Orioles
                     V) Stephenson --> '78 Orioles

Although numerous players on the '71 Cubs team played well into the 1980's, these 4 stick out because they played with one of my "Big 3", which at this point is neccessary to get this at 6 degrees. I don't have the '78 Orioles on my list yet, so Stephenson gets the nod.

1. Leon Cadore played for the 1924 New York Giants with Freddie Lindstrom.
2. Freddie Lindstrom played for the 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers with Dutch Leonard.
3. Dutch Leonard played for the 1953 Chicago Cubs with Ernie Banks.
4. Ernie Banks played for the 1971 Chicago Cubs with Earl Stephenson.
5. Earl Stephenson played for the 1978 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez.
6. Dennis Mrtinez played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 6