Bibbs Raymond Makes History
Bibbs Raymond in 1917
One hundred years ago, there wasn’t a hotter hitter on the planet than Bibbs Raymond of the Doherty Silk Sox.
Believe it or not.
On Saturday, Aug. 2, Raymond collected an innocent single in his last at bat in an away loss to the South Phillies. The next day, he went five-for-five against the crack New York Fire Department team at the Doherty Oval with two homers and two doubles in a 12-3 Silk Sox win
The hometown crowd loved Bibbs – he was one of them. The majority of the other Silk Sox players came from other parts of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, but Bibbs lived in Paterson, N.J., (later in Clifton). And, unlike the other players who were white collar workers, Raymond was a blue collar guy, laboring in the Doherty Silk Mill as a weaver. Though he performed against against major league, top semipro and Negro League teams, Bibbs also played on the mill’s factory league squad with his coworkers, never putting on airs.
A quiet and intense player, Raymond was discovered shagging fly balls during the Silk Sox’s batting practice with other boys. Owner Henry Doherty saw Bibbs was better than some of his own players and signed him for the remainder of the 1915 season. The next year at age 17, Raymond was playing for the Silk Sox against major league teams.
In 1924, legendary scout Paul Kritchell signed Bibbs to play for the New York Yankees. But after spring training in 1925 – when manager Miller Huggins tried to farm him out to New Haven – Raymond turned his back on the Yankees and organized ball. He had young kids at home and his wife wasn’t keen about Bibbs being gone for half the year. Even after an angry Huggins came to his home to order Raymond to the minors, Bibbs refused to budge.
He went back to playing right field for the Silk Sox and his old job at the mill, content to be the hometown hero.
The Streak Continues
The next Saturday on Aug. 9, Raymond went six-for-six against East Orange with a homer, two triples and two doubles. On Sunday against the St. Louis Giants, a barnstorming African American club, he added three singles – giving him a remarkable 15 hits in 15 at bats and a .500 batting average for the season. An umpire stopped the game and declared Bibbs’ mark a record. He doffed his cap a dozen times to the adoring home crowd.
Newspapers, like the Paterson Evening News, wrote Raymond’s mark “is thought to be a record.”
In independent ball, it was. The longest known major league consecutive hit streak had been first set in 1902 with 12 hits by the Chicago Orphans’ Johnny Kling – a lifetime .272 hitter and world champion billiards player. But the record was so obscure, most fans believed Hall of Famer Tris Speaker set the mark with 11 straight hits (Kling’s achievement wasn’t rediscovered until 2009). The Red Sox’s Pinky Higgins (1938), the Tigers’ Walt Dropo (1952) and the Twins Jose Miranda (2024) also collected 12 hits in 12 at bats.
On Aug. 19, Raymond’s streak finally ended. Lefty Willie Gisentaner retired Bibbs and his Philadelphia Colored Giants beat the Silk Sox, 7-2.
Ripley's nationally syndicated cartoon that appeared in newspapers across the nation.
It’s possible that Raymond’s streak remains the longest known semipro consecutive hit mark and possibly the longest in baseball. In August 1934, a syndicated “Believe It or Not by Ripley” cartoon appeared in national newspapers proclaiming, “Bibbs Raymond – Doherty Silk Sox, New Jersey – made 15 hits in succession – Aug 1924,” complete with an artist’s depiction of Bibbs looming above. Again, local fans could open their newspaper and see a drawing of their favorite player – their guy, Bibbs Raymond.
A century ago, no hitter was better … believe it or not.