In the Shadow of the Greats

Driving northeast from Waco, Texas at approximately the 30 mile marker you will come to the town of Hubbard, Texas, population 1,586 according to the 2000 census. It was there on April 4, 1888 that one of the greatest baseball players of all time was born. He became known as “the Grey Eagle”.

To baseball purists the names of Ruth, Wagner, Williams, Gehrig, Cobb, Musial, Aaron and Mantle ring out as some of baseball’s greatest in history. But there is one player that falls among the greats who played in their shadows, one the average baseball fan probably never heard of yet to the baseball purists deserves every bit to be listed when the  names of the greats are on the roll call. His name was Tristram (Tris, Spoke, the Grey Eagle) Speaker.

As a kid he fell off a horse and broke his right arm so severely that he had to learn how to be left handed. In high school while playing football he injured his left arm to the point that doctors were considering amputating it. They didn’t. He recovered and moved on to become one of baseball’s greatest center fielders.

Tris played up close so that no balls would fall in front of him. He was so fast he could run and catch balls that were hit over his head. He even had a few unassisted double plays as a centerfielder catching a low fly ball and beating the runner back to second to tag him out. His position was known as “where triples go to die”.

His lifetime batting average was .345, sixth on the on the all time hitting average list. He holds the outfield record for assists. He still holds the major league record for doubles, 792. He is fifth is career hits, sixth in career triples and eighth in career runs. He is one of only two men to have 50 doubles and 50 stolen bases in a season. He hit over .380 five times. In over 10,000 times at bat he had less than 300 strikeouts. The most he ever struck out was 25 times in a season.

When it comes to the church some of the greatest workers are those in the shadows of others. In the Bible we read mostly of Peter and Paul as they spread the church, but there were the others who also gave their lives for the spreading of the good news, some we know, while others names have faded from the minds of men centuries ago. Yet many of these unknowns were just as instrumental in spreading the gospel as those who were well known.

Today we often forget that most of the Lord’s work is done by the unknowns. Everyone knows who the preachers and ministers are. They know the leaders that make the decisions. On the other hand few know that sister Ann takes food to the shut-ins or that brother Bob visits the hospitals every Tuesday. They are the quiet servants. They are the ones who serve because they love the Lord without pay or acknowledgement. Every church has them, all we have to do is open our eyes and look. As the decades pass the names of preachers and leaders will be on church history lists and reunion plaques, but the names of the silent servants will be forgotten as buildings are rebuilt and memories of old hallways fade away.

But to God they will never be forgotten. These silent servants are the ones that God loves so much because they give not for praise or money, but out of their love for Him, much like the widow in Mark 12:42 “But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."

May we never forget those who serve in the shadows.