Hub Perdue, The Gallatin Squash
As I begin this issue of Gems of Purpose, I do so with a grin on my face. In a recent conversation with MW Bro. John Palmer, editor of The Knight Templar Magazine, I stated that I was so pleased to open that publication since his residency and not see another article about a hundred year old baseball player, and what am I doing . . . I am including an article about Hub Perdue in my own publication. That might fit the definition of hypocrisy on my part, but I have often been described as an oxymoron. So, to not let my critics down . . . here we go.
Herbert “Hub” Rodney Perdue was born June 7, 1882 in Bethpage, Tennessee to Marion Perdue and Zoeintha Durham Perdue. His early life was lived in a time when things were much simpler and definitely less complicated for a child. It was a time when life in the south was slow and baseball was still the all-American past time, and it was a past time that Hub Perdue loved. Perdue has been repeatedly described as a man who never took things too seriously, and he apparently had quite a sense of humor, always loving to laugh. Perdue married Mable Polk, from Oaktown, Indiana, on December 29, 1900. They had two children together, Katherine Ashley and Marion Polk born in 1901 and 1902 respectfully.
Perdue’s early baseball career centered around the Nashville Baseball Club. It was during his time in the Southern Association that Grantland Rice, a sportswriter in the day, dubbed Perdue the “Gallatin Squash” in reference to Gallatin, TN, the county seat of Sumner, and the hubbard squash, a squash popular at the time and having name sounding like “hub”. During the 1908 championship season with Nashville, Perdue won 16 games. He went on to win 23 games in the 1909 season, leading the Southern Association in wins that year.
On April 19, 1911, Perdue debuted in the major leagues playing with the Boston Rustlers. He had a 4.98 ERA in 137.1 innings pitched during his rookie year with Boston. The Boston Rustlers were owned by William Hepburn Russell.
The season of 1913 is often taunted as Perdue’s best major league performance. He struck out 91 batters, won 16 games, and posted a 3.26 ERA. The Braves finished the year in fifth place with 69 wins and 82 losses. The 1914 season for the Boston Braves is definitely a historic one. It is also a season that is historic for Perdue. The season started disappointingly for the club. By July, Boston was ranking dead last in the National League. The manager of the team was George Stallings. Several accounts state the Perdue could not stand Stalling sharp tongue lashings of the loosing team, so Perdue asked to be traded. Stallings arranged a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. In return for Perdue, Boston gained two outfielders, Ted Cather and Possum Whitted. Before being traded, Perdue managed to pitch in 9 games, 51 innings, with 2 wins, 5 losses, 13 strikeouts, and a 5.82 ERA. The Boston Braves went on to have one of the greatest come back seasons in the history of major league baseball. Within two months, the Braves went from being in last place to first, taking the rank of number one for good on September 8, 1914. Boston won the pennant, being the first team to do so after being dead last the first week of July. The “Miracle” Braves, as they came to be known, won the 1914 World Series in a game sweep against the Philadelphia Athletics . Perdue was mad as hell that he had missed the opportunity to be in World Series, and he was even more mad that he missed out on the money ($2,812 per winning player)! Ralph McGill, a reporter for the Nashville Banner, related that following the 1914 World Series, Perdue’s friends would tease him by asking, “What did you get out of the World Series, Hub?”. To which he would skillfully reply, “I got smart.”.
Hub Perdue finished his professional baseball career at the close of the 1915 season with the St. Louis Cardinals. The team closed with 72 wins and 81 losses and finished 6th in the National League. Perdue pitched 31 games, 115.1 innings with 6 wins, 12 losses, 29 strikeouts, and a 4.21 ERA. His last major league game was September 30, 1915. Perdue left the game with a respectable record leaving behind tales of his droll humor, stories, and carefree state of mind. The October 1960 Baseball Digest recorded an excellent example of his wit, “One of the tales which he loved to tell concerned his boyhood days before he journeyed north from his home in Tennessee. Hub declared, in the course of a fanning bee, that when he went to Bowling Green, Tenn., to pitch, he carried with him only a suitcase, a mandolin and a pair of pants. ‘What did you carry in your suitcase?’ he would be asked. ‘Mandolin,’ said Perdue. ‘But where were the pants?’ ‘Ah had them on,” he would reply.
It was this humor and light-heartedness that led John McGraw, a close friend of Perdue, to describe him as being an easy-going man “with a liking for the sound of fox hounds on the chase; for bird dogs and guns, and for companionship. Life was never serious to him. If it has been . . . He would have been one of baseball’s greatest pitchers” (Baseball Digest, August 1952, p. 68).
Another classic story of Perdue involves his father. Perdue would leave every spring to travel to Gallatin, TN to catch the train to travel to spring training. He would usually return home each year in October with little money to show from his absence. Perdue’s father, who was apparently a very tight man, was repeatedly disappointed that his son had not saved enough money to get through the winters. Finally Perdue’s father made a deal with his wayward son. The father offered to match dollar per dollar the money Perdue returned home with after the close of the season. When October came, Perdue departed the train in Gallatin broke, but before heading home to his father, the witty Hub stopped by the bank and barrowed $2,000. When he arrived home, his father inquired as to how much money Perdue had saved. He calmly began to count the $2,000 out on the table. His father, impressed by his son’s efforts, raises from the table to collect an equal amount from a tin hidden in the house. Perdue eventually confessed his antics to his father and returned the money.
Perdue returned back to Sumner County and worked as a salesman for various businesses. He petitioned Bethpage Lodge on March 28, 1924. His Masonic record records him being elected on June 21, 1924, Initiated June 21, 1924, Passed July 19, 1924, and Raised August 25, 1924. There is little wonder that Perdue’s fame as a major leaguer and his quick wit lead to a career in politics. Perdue served several terms as Sumner County Clerk.
On February 15, 1943, Hub Perdue the county clerk added his name to a thread of history with no relation to baseball nor politics. It was on that day that he performed the wedding ceremony of Billy Neal and Bettie Page. Sumner County had a new beautiful court house built under President Roosevelt's WPA, and it was a popular wedding spot. Billy and Bettie lived in Nashville and wanted to run off to get married. Gallatin was the farthest distance they could afford a ticket to and back, and they both had heard of the beautiful setting. Perdue was glad to perform the ceremony, and he and Billy discussed baseball while Perdue completed the application. Sounds like an ordinary day in the life of a county clerk, but the dark headed, blue eyed Bettie went on to make quite a name for herself. Bettie Page soon became known as the “Queen of Pinups”! She was “Miss January 1955” in Playboy magazine. Although no records are easily found, one can only imagine the jokes and quick witted remarks Perdue had to share after Bettie made it big.
Hub Perdue died on October 31, 1968 and is buried in the Lower Bethpage Cemetery in Bethpage, TN. He may not have been the greatest name in baseball, but he definitely enjoyed the game and lived life fully. A quick wit, a droll sense of humor, laughter and light-heartedness are all qualities that we could all probably add into our busy lives today. ∞
Taken from Gems of Purpose 6-1
See the Newsletter for References
Herbert "Hub" Rodney Perdue
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 192 lbs.
Born: June 7, 1882 in Bethpage, TN
Debut: April 19, 1911
Teams: Braves, Cardinals, Rustlers 1911-1915
Final Game: September 30, 1915
Died: October 31, 1968 in Gallatin, TN
Buried: Lower Bethpage Cemetery, Bethpage, TN
Herbert Rodney 'Hub', Perdue, Boston Braves base
Date Created/Published: 1913 Apr. 11. - Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division, Bain Collection
Masonic Record
Petitioned Bethpage Lodge: March 28, 1924
Elected: June 21, 1924
Initiated an Entered Apprentice Mason: June 21, 1924
Passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft: July 19, 1924
Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason: August 25, 1924
Date Created/Published: [1914]
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Bain Collection
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