#50: Tim McNamara

Tim McNamara

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants

The '24 Giants are on my Connected Teams list, and the connecting player, Freddie Lindstrom played on the '26 team as well.

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants --> Freddie Lindstrom, Ty Tyson, Grover Hartley

It's like a 6 Degrees reunion! Yet, neither of these players lasted the longest. That honor goes to a Hall of Famer who debuted with the '26 Giants:

I) Tim McNamara --> '26 Giants --> Mel Ott

II) Ott --> '47 Giants

One of the greats things about this era was that there were only 16 teams at the time. That makes for a lot of repetition. Although, the '47 Giants aren't on my table yet, the '46 Giants are, so I can easily use Bobby Thompson and complete my chain. It'd be a safe assumption that he'd be the longest lasting player. Still I'll double check the roster.

II) Ott --> '47 Giants --> Bobby Thompson, Whitey Lockman
      III) Thompson --> '60 Orioles
      III) Thompson --> '60 Red Sox
      III) Lockman --> '60 Reds

Thompson still reigns, but he has company. Lockman for some reason played in '45 and '47 but somehow missed playing in '46. Still, he lasted as long as Thompson, so that's one more possibility. I had to go back and find the Thompson link again. (Note to self - it may be beneficial to amend the Connecting Teams table to show where the chain was used.) Anyway, it turns out I never tested the '60 Red Sox link, so that may be worth trying too. If I follow the Orioles path, I'll have the chain completed in 5 degrees. if the Reds or Red Sox paths can equal that, they'd be worth adding.

      III) Thompson --> '60 Red Sox --> Earl Wilson, Al Worthington, Gary Geiger, Jim Pagliaroni
              IV) Wilson --> '70 Tigers
              IV) Wilson --> '70 Padres
              IV) Geiger --> '70 Astros
              IV) Pagliaroni --> '69 Athletics
              IV) Pagliaroni --> '69 Pilots
              IV) Worthington --> '69 Twins

I only get 10 years out of the Red Sox path, not nearly enough to make it worthwhile.

      III) Lockman --> '60 Reds --> Frank Robinson, Vida Pinson, Leo Cardenas, Orlando Pena, Claude Osteen
              IV) Robinson --> '76 Indians
              IV) Osteen --> '75 White Sox
              IV) Pena --> '75 Angels
              IV) Cardenas --> '75 Rangers
              IV) Pinson --> '75 Royals

Yeah, that will work. I didn't need to go any further than Robinson though. I'm ready.

1. Tim McNamara played for the 1926 New York Giants with Mel Ott.
2. Mel Ott played for the 1947 New York Giants with Whitey Lockman.
3. Whitey Lockman played for the 1960 Cincinati Reds with Frank Robinson.
4. Frank Robinson played for the 1976 Cleveland Indians with Rick Cerone.
5. Rick Cerone played for the 1992 Montreal Expos with Matt Stairs!

Degrees of Matt Stairs: 5