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Catcher Herold “Muddy” Ruel broke into the big leagues with the St. Louis Browns in 1915. He remained in the game for more than 40 years and left behind a lasting baseball legacy.

A backup for the first few seasons of his playing career, Ruel became the Yankees regular catcher in 1919. The following season he called pitches the day that Yankee Carl Mays beaned Ray Chapman. The incident remains the only player fatality directly caused by on-field events. The catcher forever characterized the episode as a horrible accident.

In December of 1920, Ruel was part of an eight-player deal with Boston that brought the Yankees Wally Schang and Waite Hoyt.

Shown here is the autograph of pitcher Carl Mays. The submariner tallied 282 professional victories including 207 at the big league level. Mix in a 2.92 career ERA and Mays should be in the conversation for Cooperstown.

Unfortunately for Mays, the six votes he received on the 1958 ballot is the extent of his support for inclusion.

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Baseball has its share of colorful terms and phrases. One such phrase is “the tools of ignorance”. MLB’s glossary of idioms attributes the origin of the term to Muddy Ruel.

The MLB website explanation reads, “Coined by catcher Herold ‘Muddy’ Ruel, who played from 1915 through 1934, the term is meant to point out the irony that a player with the intelligence needed to be effective behind the plate would be foolish enough to play a position that required so much safety equipment.”

“Ignorant” is not an adjective anyone could use to describe Ruel. The St. Louis native was one of the most intelligent players during the rowdy Deadball Era. While most baseball men ruthlessly insulted opponents and umpires in hopes of gaining every edge possible, Ruel studied law. In fact on May 29, 1929 Ruel, “was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court,” according to law professor Robert M. Jarvis.

Ruel wore the tools of ignorance in 1,409 of the 1,412 games in which he appeared on defense. A fine defensive receiver, Ruel led American League backstops in putouts, assists, and doubled plays three times each. He had the highest fielding percentage among Junior Circuit catchers twice, and finished in the top three five times.

In the collection is this personal check filled out and signed by Harold “Muddy” Ruel. The date of the check is July 25, 1960.

Exactly thirteen years earlier Ruel, as the manager of the St. Louis Browns, helped make history. His lineup included right fielder Willard Brown who went 2-for-4 as the first African American to play at Boston’s Fenway Park.

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Muddy Ruel’s 19 big league seasons as a player included two trips to the World Series Both times it was under Washington Senators manager Bucky Harris.

The thrilling 1924 Fall Classic against the New York Giants was a seesaw affair. In the deciding Game 7, Ruel scored the tying and winning runs to give Washington its only World Series title.

The following season Ruel hit .310 with a .411 on-base percentage to push Harris and the Senators to a World Series return. Ruel did his part in the Fall Classic, hitting .316 with a .409 on-base mark in the loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shown here is a letter dated September 20, 1925 signed by Bucky Harris. Handwritten letters from this era penned by members of the Hall of Fame are rarely seen.

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In Spring of 1922 the Red Sox traded Muddy Ruel to the Senators. It is in Washington that Ruel enjoyed his greatest on-field success. His second season in the capital city saw the staff ERA drop by 65 points. With the Senators he became the personal catcher for Hall of Fame hurler Walter Johnson,

In 1924 Ruel led all big league catchers in hits, helping the team win the World Series. In ’25 Ruel hit .310 with a .411 on-base percentage as the Senators repeated as champions of the American League. The following season he topped American League catchers in hits and RBI.

In 1927 Ruel caught more games than any big league catcher. He posted his third-straight season with an on-base percentage over .400. Late that year Ruel called the Tom Zachary pitch that Babe Ruth hit over the wall for his 60th home run.

Eight of his 19 MLB campaigns came in Washington where he accumulated 19.2 of his 20.9 career WAR. Ruel left the game as a player with 1,242 hits, and a .275 lifetime average.

In the collection is this handwritten letter from The Big Train, Walter Johnson. In this 1935 correspondence, the Senators pitcher writes to National League president Ford Frick thanking him for a lifetime pass to all NL games.

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Muddy Ruel’s lone season as a big league manager came in 1947 with the woeful St. Louis Browns. The season was a forgettable one.

Ruel’s crew finished in last place with a 59-95 record. Browns announcer Dizzy Dean whose last big league win came in 1940, said he could pitch better than most of the hurlers on the ’47 club.

Never one to miss out on an opportunity to sell tickets, Browns owner Bill Veeck coaxed Dean out of the broadcast booth for a one-game return.

On September 28, 1947 the last game of the season, Dean took to a big league mound for the first time in more than 6 years. Starting against the Chicago White Sox before 15,910 paying customers, Dean threw four scoreless innings.

The Browns lost the game when Chicago rallied for 5 runs in the 9th off of reliever Glen Moulder.

Ruel’s departure at season’s end did not help the Brownies. They remained in St. Louis for 6 more seasons before leaving for Baltimore and becoming the Orioles. The Browns lost at least 90 games in each of their seasons after Ruel’s firing. Four of the six campaigns featured at least 100 losses.

Shown here is an postcard autographed by Hall of Fame hurler Dizzy Dean.

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Muddy Ruel served professional baseball for nearly his entire adult life. A major leaguer in 1915 at age 19, he played through the 1934 campaign. Ruel’s last season as a player he also served as a de facto pitching coach in Chicago. He stayed in that position alongside White Sox manager Jimmie Dykes through 1945.

In December of ’45 Ruel took a new role as special assistant to Happy Chandler in his first year as Commissioner of Baseball. Ruel served in the position until his desire to return to the field became too strong.

In 1947 he signed a two-year contract to manage the St. Louis Browns. After a 59-95 season in ’47, Ruel was fired. He wasn’t out of work for long. Lou Boudreau hired him for the ’48 season where they helped Cleveland win the World Series.

In 1950 Ruel ascended to the position of Farm Director for the Indians. Later he served in the same position for the Tigers before moving up as Detroit’s GM for three seasons in the middle of the decade. Muddy Ruel’s final season in baseball came in 1957 when he left the game he began playing professionally in 1915.

In the collection is this photo signed by Jimmie Dykes, the White Sox skipper who hired Ruel as pitching coach. Dykes’ 899 wins as the Chicago pilot remains the most in franchise history. Ruel was Dykes’ pitching coach for 12 of his 13 years as the Sox manager.

In addition to Dykes, former big league player and manager Paul Richards is also featured. Like Ruel, Richards was a catcher by trade. Ruel managed the St. Louis Browns in ’47; Richards managed the franchise from 1955-1961 after they moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. Richards has also signed the photo.