Ohio native Benny Kauff made his Major League debut in 1912. He jumped to the Federal League in 1914 where he emerged to stand among that circuit's best hitters. After the Federal League folded, Kauff signed with John McGraw's New York Giants and claimed the team's center field position.

Kauff held that spot until a New York grand jury indicted him for grand larceny (car theft) after the 1919 season. Kauff, also burdened with gambling accusations, played just 55 games for New York in 1920 then was traded in early July to a minor league team. In May, 1921, a New York jury acquitted Kauff of the grand larceny charge, but the baseball never lifted Kauff's suspension during his life.

Kauff's is a wild tale about baseball, Tammany Hall justice, city life during the dead ball era, and a ballplayer that just maybe got a raw deal.

Sources: ( ) Gary Joseph Cieradkowski, "Benny Kauff: Stealing Bases and Automobiles," Cieradkowski at https://studiogaryc.com/2018/08/03/benny-kauff-stealing-bases-and-automobiles/ (last accessed October 11, 2025); (2) David Jones, "Benny Kauff," Society for American Baseball Research at https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/benny-kauff/ (last accessed October 11, 2025); (3) Dozens of newspapers articles accessed via newspapers.com and (4) Statistics were available via Baseball Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/.

Errata: Benny Kauff suffered from diphtheria in March 2021, not Kennesaw Mountain Landis.

Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
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This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Scipio Spinks rose from junior college ball in Chicago to the Major Leagues with Houston and St. Louis. He pitched 5 seasons before injuries derailed his promising career. Spinks talks about his pitching in the late 60s and early 70s, the wind at Candlestick, the heat at Busch and hitting his one and only home run as a big leaguer.

Today, Spinks resides in Houston where he is head coach for the University of Houston-Downtown Gator collegiate club baseball team. Spinks has coached the Gators to the NCBA World Series in Alton, Illinois twice.

Episodes Featured:

133 - We Weren't Rained Out, We Were Rained In w/ Roger Metzger

Errata: Stu Miller was the pitcher blown off the mound in the 1961 All-Star Game at Candlestick ... Jim Presley hit 19 home runs with 72 RBI with Atlanta in 1990 - he signed with the Padres and was released after hitting .136 in his first 20 games as a Padre ... Robby Thompson was caught stealing 4 times on June 27, 1986 - three were on blown hit and runs (Jeffrey Leonard) ...

Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@hofffest
Eric on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliks
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.

Joe Morgan, a native of Bonham, Texas, a small town near the Oklahoma border, is generally regarded as baseball's greatest second basemen in the post-World War II era. Originally Colt-.45 then Astro, Houston traded him to Cincinnati after the 1971 season is perhaps Houston's most ill-fated (and bone-headed) trades. Morgan went on to win two Most Valuable Player Awards with the Big Red Machine.

Also this episode - three coaches fired already in the NCAA FBS season, the Astros are on life support, the Padres clinch, festivals are faring no better than the Astros

Episodes Mentioned this Week

• 133 - We Weren't Rained Out, We Were Rained In w/ Roger Metzger
• 144 - Bill Virdon's Baseball Life w/ David Jerome & Shirley Virdon
• 195 - Looking Back at Houston's 1963 All-Rookie Lineup
• 232 - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: The 1973 New York Mets w/ Len Ferman, The Sports Time TravelerTM
• 244 - Power Outage! The 1979 Houston Astros
• 258 - "I Was a Kid Too Back Then" w/ Rick Wise

Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@hofffest
Eric on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliks
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.