Ogden Nash - Lineup for Yesterday, Part 2

Ogden Nash was best known for his humorous poetry (he’s the guy that penned “candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker…”). He was also a huge sports fan and wrote several poems about his favorite sports. It is poems like Lineup for Yesterday that give credence to the notion that baseball is America’s Pastime.

J is for Johnson
The Big Train in his prime
Was so fast he could throw
Three strikes at a time.

K is for Keeler,
As fresh as green paint,
The fastest and mostest
To hit where they ain't.



L is for Lajoie
Whom Clevelanders love,
Napolean himself,
With glue in his glove.

M is for Matty,
Who carried a charm
In the form of an extra
brain in his arm.



N is for Newsom,
Bobo's favorite kin.
You ask how he's here,
He talked himself in.

O is for Ott
Of the restless right foot.
When he leaned on the pellet,
The pellet stayed put.



P is for Plank,
The arm of the A's;
When he tangled with Matty
Games lasted for days.

Q is for Don Quixote
Cornelius Mack;
Neither Yankees nor years
Can halt his attack.

Image Key:

1. Walter Johnson – 1909 Ramly T204
2. Wee Willy Keeler – 1909 American Caramel E90
3. Napoleon Lajoie – 1903 Breisch-Williams E107
4. Christie Matthewson – 1911 General Baking Co. D304
5. Bobo Newsom – 1936 National Chicle R313
6. Mel Ott – 1933 Goudey
7. Eddie Plank – 1910 American Caramel Die Cut E125
8. Connie Mack – 1887 Goodwin & Co. Old Judge N172