Outfielder Sam Crawford was one of the greatest all-around players of the Dead Ball Era. Although he was overshadowed in the public eye by his teammate Ty Cobb, "Wahoo Sam" was nearly Cobb's equal on offense and vastly superior on defense.

Crawford's 309 career triples are a record that will stand forever unless baseball undergoes a revolutionary change. With today's ball and in today's ballparks, the triple is the rarest of all hits. For example, in 1992 only 2 percent of all major league hits were triples. Batters are four times more likely to hit a home run than a triple.

In 1914, however, when Crawford cracked 26 three-base hits, nearly 6 percent of all hits in the majors were triples and batters were three times more likely to triple than to hit a home run. Even allowing for the relative prevalence of triples at the time, it is remarkable that Crawford reached double figures in triples in 17 consecutive seasons and led his league in the category six times.

Crawford was nicknamed for his hometown of Wahoo, Nebraska, where he was born in 1880. He left school after fifth grade to learn the barbering trade, played for several semipro Nebraska teams, and began his professional career in 1899 with Chatham of the Canadian League, where he hit .370 in 43 games. Before the year was out he moved up to the Western League, hit .333 in 60 games, and was purchased by the National League's Cincinnati Reds, for whom he hit .307 in 31 games and batted in 20 runs.

Crawford's hitting fell off sharply in his sophomore season, although he did bang out 15 triples to begin his streak. He was back on track in 1901, hitting .330 with 104 RBI and 16 home runs, a career high and best in the league. When he hit .333 with a league-leading 22 triples in 1902, he was established as one of the best young hitters in the National League.

The American League had declared itself a major league in 1901, and set about luring NL stars into its fold with the promise of higher salaries. A contract offer of $3,500, considerably more than the Reds were paying, convinced Crawford to become a Detroit Tiger, although he had unwisely signed a contract with Cincinnati as well. In the ensuing settlement reached by the two leagues, Crawford was awarded to the Tigers over the bitter objections of the Reds. He proved a bargain in 1903 as he hit .335, knocked in 89 RBI, and smacked 25 triples-an AL record for nearly a decade.

Ty Cobb arrived in Detroit in 1905 and soon eclipsed Crawford at the plate. By 1907 many regarded Cobb as the preeminent player in the AL, but he was a troubled and difficult individual. For years Detroit Manager Hughie Jennings played Crawford, a natural right fielder with a powerful arm, in center. Jennings assigned Cobb to right field because Cobb and left fielder Matty McIntyre hated each other, and neither would call for a flyball hit between them.

Cobb didn't dislike Crawford--no one did--but he was so jealous of him that it led to an enmity of sorts. Crawford seemed to do things naturally that Cobb worked hard to accomplish. Most of all, Cobb envied Crawford's popularity, which nothing short of a total makeover of Cobb's personality could help him attain.

Nevertheless, Cobb and Crawford soon became the AL's most potent one-two batting punch. In 1907 they led the Tigers to Detroit's first AL pennant. Crawford hit .323 and led the league in runs scored. Cobb led in hits, total bases, RBI, batting average, and stolen bases. The Tigers lost the World Series to the Chicago Cubs of Tinker-Evers-Chance fame in five games.

The Tigers repeated as AL champions in 1908, but again fell to the Cubs in the Fall Classic. Crawford led the league that year with seven home runs and finished second to Cobb with 184 hits, 270 total bases, 80 RBI, a .311 batting average, and a .457 slugging average.

Detroit won its third straight pennant in 1909 by a margin of 3 games over Philadelphia. Crawford led the league with 35 doubles and finished second to Cobb with 266 total bases, 97 RBI, and a slugging average of .452.

After the 1909 season Cleveland owner Ernest S. Barnard built a 40-foot right-field wall at League Park, announcing, "I'm going to stop Crawford from hitting home runs in our park." Crawford accepted the challenge, telling reporters that he would indeed smack one over the barrier. On one of the Tigers' first visits to Cleveland in 1910 he proved to be as good as his word.

From 1910 through 1915 Crawford led the AL in triples four times. He led the league in RBI three times, topping 100 in five of the six years. But despite the best efforts of Crawford and Cobb, the Tigers' poor pitching prevented them from winning another pennant.

Crawford retired from the major leagues in 1917 after hitting only .173 in 61 games. He had compiled a career batting average of .309 and 1,525 RBI. The record book shows that he officially collected 2,961 base hits. But Crawford always maintained that the 87 hits he got in the Western League, which became the American League in 1900, were supposed to be included in his official total under the 1903 agreement between the two leagues. Only this prevented him from becoming a member of the exclusive 3,000-hit club.