Trying to identify name

[alphamommy]

I may have posted this on here a long, long time ago, but I'm going to try again.

My MIL has an artifact that is autographed by a variety of people assoicated with baseball in the 1930s. I have been able to identify all of them except one. The autograph reads "Dr. L Knowls". I believe that he travelled to Japan in approx. 1934 as part of a promotional tour organized by Fredrick G. Lieb.

Have any of you ever heard of this person?

Thanks,
Tammy

[IceRef]

Alphamommy:

Sorry to not be much of a help in answering your question completely, but this may be a start at the least. I have found in the 1932 Spalding Official Baseball Guide a reference that sounds close to your summary. It mentions that 14 baseball players, managed by Herb Hunter and Fred Lieb, traveled to Honolulu and Japan after the 1931 World Series to play in exhibition games.

Dr. Leonard Knowles, is listed as the trainer for the team. There does not seem to be much personal information about him available at the sources I have checked, but if your curiosity is strong enough you might try contacting the Baseball Hall of Fame Research Center in Cooperstown, NY.

Hope this helps a bit.

[alphamommy]

Thanks! This is the best lead I've had on this name!

Tammy

[TonyM]

IceRef is right Tammy, it is Doc Knowles who accompanied the Herb Hunter All Stars on that trip to the Orient. I don't know much about him either but i do recall that he is mentioned at least once in Larry Ritters Glory Of Their Times.
I have a bunch of pics from that trip with many that include Doc Knowles. How did your MIL come across her photo? :)
Tony in Lansing

[Advnt05]

Found this:

Q: Can you tell me the lineup of major-league baseball players who were involved in the 1931 Tour of Japan?
-- Pete
A: According to the 1932 Spalding Official Baseball Guide (provided by Steve Gietschier), 14 major-league baseball players, managed by Herb Hunter and Fred Lieb, traveled to Honolulu and Japan after the 1931 World Series to play in exhibition games against local talent. The team consisted of:

» Muddy Ruel, c
» Mickey Cochrane, c
» Lou Gehrig, 1b
» Frankie Frisch, 2b
» Rabbit Maranville, ss
» Willie Kamm, 3b
» Al Simmons, lf
» Thomas Oliver, cf
» Lefty O'Doul, rf
» Lefty Grove, p
» Larry French, p
» Bruce Cunningham, p
» George Kelly, utility
» Ralph Shinners, utility
» John Reardon, umpire
» Dr. Leonard Knowles, trainer

They won all 18 games they played -- 17 against teams from Japan, and one against the Hawaii All-Stars. As a team, they batted .346.