Did you know that Bobby Doerr, the first Boston Red Sox player to hit for the cycle twice in his career ( May 17, 1944 & May 13, 1947 ), set franchise records upon his retirement for career games played (1,865), at bats (7,093), hits (2,042), doubles (381), total bases (3,270) and runs batted in (1,247) - all of which were later broken by his longtime teammate Ted Williams ?

Bobby Doerr | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1986 ( HOF )
Bobby Doerr's plaque (above) at the National Baseball Hall of Fame includes, "Quiet leader of Red Sox during 1940's, consistent second baseman, top double play man and fine clutch hitter." How consistent? Doerr set the American League (AL) record in 1948 by handling 414 consecutive chances over 73 games without a single error. He led junior circuit second basemen in double plays five times, tying an AL record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times, and in assists three times. He held the Major League record for career double plays at second base (1,507) until Nellie Fox surpassed his mark in 1963, and his career fielding percentage (.980) was a Major League record until Red Schoendienst passed him in 1953.

The Teammates | Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky & Ted Williams
On May 21, 1988, the Red Sox retired #1 in honor of Bobby Doerr who spent his entire 14-year big league career in Boston . From the day he made his debut, going 3-for-5 for the on Opening Day, April 20, 1937 , to the day he retired; Tommy Henrich said of him, "He is one of the few who played the game hard and retired with no enemies," Doerr embodied all the quality traits of professional baseball player both on and off the field. The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship (cover seen above), discusses that time on and off the field, includes Bobby Doerr (and Dom DiMaggio , Johnny Pesky & Ted Williams ), and is an absolutely superb and moving book about friendship that should not be missed (regardless if you are a Red Sox fan or not).