Before Lou Gehrig there was ‘Pep’
Fifty-one years after playing in his last major-league game, a talented Texan tragically struck down in the prime of life finally made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Aug. 7, 1972. Four or five years after Ross Middlebrook Youngs’ birth at Shiner in 1897, his father moved the family to San Antonio. Little Ross had just turned 10, when his dad walked out leaving his mother to raise their three sons. While Henrie Youngs worked night and day to support her boys, Ross excelled at athletics. He starred in every sport West Texas Military Academy (Texas Military Institute of today) had to offer. But baseball was his first love, and he turned down football scholarships from several big-name colleges in favor of the bush leagues. The teen’s career got off to a rocky start in 1915. He played briefly for Brenham and Waxahachie in the Mid-Texas and Central Texas leagues only to have both go bust. But 1916 was a different story. As a switch-hitting infielder for a club at Sherman, he was hitting .362 when Dick Kinsella caught him in action. One look was all it took for the New York Giants scout to label Youngs a “can’t-miss” prospect, and on his recommendation John McGraw bought the 19 year old’s contract for $2,000.
