Kansan Charles Victor Faust was considered by many experts to be insane. And most baseball fans would jump at the opportunity to follow in his loping footsteps.
Faust had a typical American dream. He wanted to be a major league baseball player. More specifically, he wanted to play for the New York Giants. And though the odds were stacked against him about as much as could be imagined, Faust accomplished his goal.
Though his career was short, it was far more than the majority of those that have ever entertained major league dreams can claim. He had a uniform, traveled with the team, sat in the dugout, and actually saw game action twice. Faust was even credited by one of the greatest managers of all time, John McGraw, with helping the Giants win the pennant in 1911 and received a share of the team’s World Series money. Faust was written about — as you can see in the newspaper clipping from the September 24, 1911 St. Louis Dispatch — as well as in numerous books. He was featured in baseball documentaries and some have tried to immortalize his life in plays and on the movie screen. Faust is included in one of the most respected authorities of baseball history, the Baseball Encyclopedia.
Not bad for a crazy son of a Russian immigrant farmer from Marion, Kan.
Faust was born on Oct. 9, 1880 near Marion and played town team ball there. Charley would often boast that if the New York Giants would sign him to pitch, they would really be great. In August of 1911, the Giants were slumping in third place and their pennant hopes seemed dashed.
Then came Charley.
Two versions are told about how Faust ended up with New York. One, written about by Edwin Burkholder, was that Charley received a telegram from McGraw that invited him to come and tryout with the Giants. No doubt, if there was a telegram, it was a prank. But the version had Faust jumping a train and heading off to St. Louis where the Giants were facing the Cardinals. The other version claims that Faust went to a fortuneteller who told him if he would go join the Giants they would win the pennant.
At any rate, Faust did meet up with the Giants in St. Louis and was given a tryout on the field. It ended up being a comical tryout with McGraw and the New York players playing along, but it did eventually lead to Faust getting a uniform and sticking with the club, getting up many times to throw in the bullpen during games.
Faust did get into a major league game on Oct. 7, 1911, against the Boston Braves. Faust had warmed up for eight innings and the Giants trailed 4-2. New York had already clinched its spot in the World Series and only had three starters playing in one of the final games of the season. Faust pitched one inning, giving up a double and a run. The Giants did not score in the bottom of the ninth, ending the game, but the Braves players stayed on the field to allow Faust to get a turn at the plate. He hit the ball weakly back to the pitcher who threw the ball purposefully over the first baseman’s head, who did the same thing on his throw to second. Faust slid into third, where you might guess, the ball got away again and he loped home where he was out on a close play.
On the final day of the 1911 season, with 8,000 fans watching, Faust made another appearance on the mound, allowing one hit and no runs. This time, he made an official plate appearance, getting hit by a pitch. He was then allowed to steal second and third before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Buck Herzog.
Overall, Faust was considered a mere good-luck charm or mascot by the Giants. And indeed, they did make a tremendous rally with Faust on the bench that season, winning 20 of their final 24 games to reach the World Series. New York lost the Series, four games to two, to the Philadelphia Phillies, but the New York Times carried this blurb on Oct. 4, 1911:
“Charley Faust predicts a Giant victory in the World Series. Yes, yiou may smile, but just the same, all of Faust’s optimistic predictions about the Western invasion have come true.”
You can read a lot more about Faust’s career and sad demise, as well as stories about other Kansas baseball players and teams in the upcoming book, Home, Home Plate on the Range: Historical Guide of Major League Players from Kansas and Baseball in the Sunflower State. More details soon!
Kansas Sports Journal 