“Money will not buy a pennant winner;” so said William George “Billy” Murphy, the sports editor of The St. Louis Star. In 1914, he set out to select a team that not even “John D. Rockefeller… (With) all his wealth could buy a club that would win a World’s championship from the one we have picked…The Billion Dollar Team.”
Murphy said:
“You fans of towns that have never won a flag, how would you feel to wake up some morning and find that Dame Fortune had so arranged matters that this club had suddenly been picked to represent your fair city.”
Behind the plate he acknowledged “There are many who would doubtless pick (John) Chief Meyers…but considering the Indian’s slowness of foot and propensity for clogging up the bases and stealing when the bags are full, we must remark we cannot see the “Chief” for a minute with Jimmy Archer, who, although not so good a hitter, is faster, a quicker thinker, greater fielder and better pegger.”
Jimmy Archer
Murphy was in the minority questioning the baseball intelligence of Meyers, who was widely considered one of the most intelligent and articulate players of his era. He also rated Ray Schalk and Wally Schang as superior, saying:
“In the writer’s humble opinion they are much more valuable men to their team than Meyers.”
“There will hardly be a dissenting vote cast against Walter Johnson. Unquestionably he is the greatest of all the pitchers.
“(Charles Chief) Bender and (Christy) Mathewson are also great—great when they should show class—in championship games. Every nerve, every fiber of their brains, every muscle necessary to their craft, is at its best when big games are being fought.
“Wonderful as they are, we must pick Johnson, who also has class and is game to the core.”
“For first base, there is only Hal Chase. He is a great hitter, marvelous fielder, can run the sacks, and is a brilliant tactician.
“(John) ‘Stuffy’ McInnis, Jake Daubert, Eddie Konetchy, Fred Merkle, and Jack (Dots) Miller are all stars, but they are ‘also rans’ in the class with Prince Hal of the White Sox.”
Prince Hal of the White Sox
“At second base, Eddie Collins in the potentate. Johnny Evers, Larry Doyle, and Larry Lajoie occupy seats in the second sackers’ hall of fame, but Collins rules over the roost.”
“At short, notwithstanding his age, the palm goes to Hans Wagner. Taken all in all he is still the greatest man at the position in the game. He can do everything and does it better than any of his contemporaries. When will we look upon his like again?”
“At third base, there is that wonderful silent son of swat, Frank Baker, the conqueror of the wonderful Mathewson and Richard (Rube) Marquard.”
“In right field we have Joe Jackson, the young Southerner with the Cleveland club. He is one of the greatest batsmen in the game today and is a fielder and base runner of unusual ability.”
Joe Jackson
“In center, there is Tyrus Raymond Cobb, the Royston, Georgia marvel, who is the greatest player baseball has ever known.”
“And in left field, there is Tris Speaker of the Boston Red Sox—second only to Cobb.”
Baseball History Daily 
As the author of “King of the Hall of Flakes” I would like to put in a good word for Rube Waddell. Connie Mack had two outstanding pitchers in Chief Bender and Ed Plank, but if he really needed a win it was Waddell he went with. His strikeout totals in an era when strikeouts were fairly rare are remarkable. He was so popular parks had to be expanded. But sometimes he wouldn’t show up for his own starts. Off the field he was an absolute nut.
I just realized that I left a letter out of my e-mail address.
It’s wgbraund@gmail.com.