Jaybird Wall
by Steve McCarthy
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Although his stocky frame did not give immediate indication, upon watching Jason Wall you would realize one would hard pressed to find a better athlete than the Hall of Famer who broke in as a center fielder but spent multiple season at both shortstop and second base. Wall was one of just 3 players to be named on all six ballots in voting for the initial class inducted to the Hall in 1946. That is even a greater testament to his amazing skills on the ballfield because he was also one of the least liked players by teammates and the media during his playing days. Say what you will about his personality but there is no denying that Jason Wall excelled at getting on base and was one of, if not the greatest clutch hitter of all-time.
His career .414 World Series batting average in 37 games is higher than anyone else who has played more than a dozen post-season contests. He was a key cog in 4 World Series championships for the New York Knickerbockers and was named Series MVP in two of them. Even when the Knickerbockers lost the Series, which they did twice with Wall in the lineup and once when he was on the roster but did play because of injury, it was due to no fault of Wall's as he never hit less than .318 in the 6 World Series he participated in.
He excelled at getting on base and no one is within 185 of his American Circuits career record 1,465 walks. He currently sits third among retired players with a career .441 on base percentage and his 2,565 career hits rank 16th all-time as of the start of the 1954 season. Wall was more than just a master at getting on base as he also had some power, belting 274 home runs which was the most ever hit at the time of his retirement even though he never led the league in homers. He also never won a batting title but did finish first in on base percentage 3 times. Wall participated in 4 all-star games including the very first one, which was held in 1933.
Wall was a classic can't miss prospect as a youth. He was dominant in every sport he attempted, winning letters in 4 sports in high school and carrying that on to college where he played varsity basketball as well as baseball. Jason Wall was an incredible athlete and, as the truly elite often are, he was treated differently. The issue was Wall was acutely aware of just how much better then everyone else he was and for much of his career he seemed to be constantly reminding others of that fact. He feuded with opponents and teammates alike, and always seemed to be at odds with the media, with columnists often accusing him of being far more interested in the almighty dollar and promoting himself than in either the sport or his teammates. Looking back at it after the fact there was likely a lot of truth in that argument but not when it came to the post-season as few seemed as motivated. Whether it was pride or just the desire to get the winners share in his post-season bonus cheque is debatable, but the results were there regardless.
Wall broke in with the Knickerbockers in 1923 as a highly touted prospect. He had an outstanding debut, claiming rookie of the month honors 4 times and it would likely have been five had he not missed a month with fractured cheekbone. Wall would split his time between center field and shortstop, playing 131 games and batting .347 with 18 homers and his .484 on base percentage was second only to Philadelphia's Billy Petersen. The Knickerbockers were not a particularly good team finishing in 3rd place in the Eastern Division and under .500 for the sixth consecutive season. That is a streak that would quickly come to an end as Wall never played on a losing team again in New York.
In 1924 Wall moved to shortstop. While not outstanding he was certainly servicable with the glove. At the plate however he was outstanding as New York began a run of five straight Eastern Division titles with Wall playing a key role in each. He finished third in the league with a career best .372 batting average and led the NBL in on-base percentage and OPS. His 10.3 WAR was also tops in the league and a career high for the now 24 year old. It was in the World Series that he really gained national attention. Playing against the powerful St Louis ballclub who, like New York were building a dynasty, Wall hit .522 going 12-for-23 with 5 RBI and 7 runs scored to lead New York to it's first World Series win in 8 years. It would also be the first of 5 straight World Series match-ups between the Knickerbockers and St Louis. New York would win four them and Wall was named Series MVP twice including in the '24 Fall Classic.
On a personal note Wall was having a tough time fitting in with his teammates in the New York clubhouse but it was perhaps made easier by the addition of his cousin Ed Wall to the Knickerbockers lineup late in the 1924 season. Ed, an outfielder who was 3 months younger, was a polar opposite of his cantankerous cousin. Gregarious and outgoing, Ed fit in perfectly with the team and became a very good ball player in his own right, but he also helped his kin from completely alienating himself from the rest of the team.
Ed certainly played a major role in helping Jason Wall be accepted but it was actually another future Hall of Famer in second baseman Doc Moore that played the biggest role. Moore joined the Knickerbockers as a 27 year old in 1925 and immediately became a star. His offensive numbers perhaps overshadowed Jason Wall's and his defense at second base was impeccable. Moore was also an instant favorite with his teammates and the media. One would have thought that would be a recipe for disaster as you might surmise Wall would not want to be upstaged as the top banana. It turned out to be anything but as they ended up being a perfect tandem, both on the field where for a stretch they were arguably the best hitting middle infield duo of all-time, and off the field as Moore's outgoing personality and calm demeanor seemed to disarm the normally grumpy Wall.
It was a perfect match and a combination that, along with some other very talented players like Bob Allgood, Woody Winthrop and Hall of Fame pitcher Edgar Blaney, carried New York to 3 more World Championships to go with the one they acquired the year before Moore arrived.
New York and St. Louis met again in the Series in 1925 but Wall would not play as an injury limited him to just 84 games that season. It would be the only time in the 5 year run of match-ups between the two teams that the Knickerbockers would lose to the Explorers. New York would win the next 3 Series with Wall again playing a key role in the victories and garnering his second Series MVP award in 1928.
The Knickerbockers would not be the same team in the thirties, winning just three more division titles and no World Series during Wall's tenure but through it all he continued to hit, amassing 2,462 of them in a New York uniform which was second only to Gotham legend and fellow Hall of Famer Pierre Ellsworth.
Despite hitting .370 as a 37 year old, which was the second highest season total of his career the Gothams—perhaps tiring of Wall's crusty demeanor, dealt him to Detroit for a couple of spare parts following the 1937 campaign. Wall finished out his career and got his 2,500th hit during his one uneventful season with the struggling Detroit Wolverines in 1938. Citing a nagging back problem, Wall would retire following the 1938 campaign.