At the end of the delightful finale of the HBO series “Succession,” when Tom Wambuzgans outsmarts the Roy brothers and joins the ranks of US executives running Waystar Loiko for GoJo, probably much of the domestic audience would have been shocked. But for baseball’s early fans and Internet conspiracy theorists, there were signs that Tom would simultaneously beat three of his players to come out on top.
“It’s me,” Wambusgans said to his wife, Shiv Roy.
Some have a clue, thanks to Bill Wambsgans, who was Cleveland’s second baseman from 1914 to 1923. Wambugans didn’t hit very often, and there’s little indication that he was a good runner or a first-rate fielder. But he had a moment of pure glory when he made the first and only unassisted triple play in World Series history.
The unusual last name, and the idea of Tom playing against three opponents at once, has gone viral in recent days on TikTok, thanks to Sophie Keem, editor-in-chief of Nameberry, an online catalog of baby names. exploded in the media.
Thanks to her video, people began to speculate that the show’s writers had tipped off on who and how to come out on top. This theory has been around in various places for a while, with some believing it explains the ending of season 3, but as the series begins to wind down, Tom will eventually find himself in a similar position to Wombusgance. It began to feel more and more plausible that the
Whether the connection was intentional or not, it shines a spotlight on one player who played ridiculously well and was largely forgotten.
Wambusgans and Cleveland were playing against Brooklyn in the 1920 World Series. In the fifth inning of Game 5, with Cleveland leading 7-0, Brooklyn’s Pete Kilduff and Otto Miller both singled. Then Clarence Mitchell hit a liner that could have scored more than one.
In a breathtaking article about tomorrow’s game on page A1 of The New York Times told what happened When the ball leaves Miller’s bat. The newspaper reported that Wambusgans, who was playing well away from second base, “jumped up onto the cushion and speared the ball with one hand with a powerful jump.”
The article went on to say, “Onebee’s noodles are up and running faster than ever before.” “He jumped to second base, touched the bag, and retired Kilduff, who was far down the alley to third base.”
With two outs already on play, Wambusgans turned his attention to Miller.
“Otto was visibly startled and was pinned to the ground,” the newspaper said.
The play gave Wumbsgans a level of notoriety that upended his career and even his life, even though he coached the All-American Women’s Professional Baseball League.
“It’s funny, I played 13 years in the big leagues, from 1914 to 1926, and the only thing everyone remembers is once in the World Series when I hit an unassisted triple play,” he said. stated in the 1966 Baseball Oral History. , “The Glory of Their Times”. “A lot of people don’t remember what team I was on, what position I played, etc. It’s an unassisted triple play for the Wambusgans! You’d think I was born the day before and died the day after.”
Now that “Succession” is a big hit on TV, I wonder if Tom Wumbsgans could grow up after achieving his own triple play, or if he would be defined in a split second like Wumbsgans. we will never know. .
More than 100 years after his unassisted triple play in Wambusgans defense, people still talk about him. You can’t help but think that Tom Wambuzguns would be okay with the same fate.
