Obscure sports trivia

Playing off Dodgers with famous classmates, Don Drysdale graduated from Van Nuys High School with a very famous actor who may or may not have been a baseball teammate.

 

My Santa Monica peeps try to claim Robert Redford. He was born there, but grew up in the San Fernando Valley and went to Van Nuys High with Drysdale.

 

Van Nuys High has quite the alumni group. Natalie Wood was a couple years behind Drysdale and Redford and Bob Waterfield and Jane Russell were classmates in the 30s.

Also Paula Abdul, Ed Begley, Jr., Kim Darby, Tony Dow, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Stacy Keach, Marilyn Monroe and Don Prudhomme.

 

Obviously, you got it.

 

Who was the first player in baseball to hit 50 home runs in a season and not lead the league?

 

Well, Mantle did it in '61, but I'm guessing it happened before that ('cause otherwise it would be too easy).

 

Not Mantle.

 

I'm thinking maybe Jimmie Foxx might have done it behind Ruth, or Johnny Mize in one of those trillion years in a row Ralph Kiner led the NL.

 

Foxx is the correct answer.

 

Just looked it up -- it was behind Hank Greenberg's 58 in 1938, not Ruth.

 

And Mize tied Kiner for the NL lead with 51 in 1947.

 

BTW, it's pretty amazing that Kiner won or tied for the NL home run title for seven consecutive seasons.

Ruth's longest streak was six league HR titles in a row. Of course, he also led his league eight times in a span of nine seasons and 12 out of 14.

So here are some questions:

How many other times have players led their league in home runs four or more years in a row?

Who was the last player to lead the National League in homers three or more years in a row?