Bob O’Farrell

Career Statistics-
1492 G, .273 AVG, .360 OBP, .388 SLG, .748 OPS, 549 RBI, 517 R, 51 HR, 547 BB, 408 SO,
48% CS

Quotes-
“The Babe took off for second. Alex pitched, and I fired the ball to Hornsby and caught Babe
stealing, and ​that​ was the last play of the game and of the series.”

O’Farrell was playing for the Cardinals in the ‘26 World Series, fresh off his MVP season.
There was a famed play in which Tony Lazerri was struck out, often remembered as the end of
the series. That was in the seventh, and the Yankees went down in order until Babe Ruth was
walked, but promptly thrown out by O’Farrell, a catcher with a great arm.
“We almost won the pennant again in 1927. Lost out to the Pirates by only 1 and a half games.
But we ​didn’t ​win it.”

After baseball legend Roger Hornsby was traded, O’Farrell was named manager. As the general
of the field, the catcher, and as the previous year’s MVP he seemed like the natural choice, but
he was young, only 30 at the time. His Cardinals did quite well, only barely missing the pennant.
The owner settled for nothing but the best, though, and he was relieved of his duties as manager
after only one year and promptly traded.

Quote relating to the American Dream- “When I was a kid, about eight years old, my Dad took
me to see the White Sox play. They were his team. Billy Sullivan was their catcher, and I
thought he was really something. I wanted to be another Billy Sullivan and catch for the White
Sox.”

This relates to the American Dream because it shows that O’Farrell was able to fulfill his
greatest desire. Although he would instead catch for the crosstown rival Cubs, he was able to
come from an average life and become a professional ballplayer. He did not need to be born into
much and come from a certain family to become a great baseball player, he only had to be a great
and talented player. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can achieve what they are
capable of regardless of position, and O’Farrrell was able to reach his full potential as a player
and as a man through the American Pastime.