George Giles

George Giles was a man's man.

George played mainly with the Kansas City Monarchs as one of the finer fielding first basemen, and was a .313 lifetime hitter. He had a very strong personality and he would hold court with his stories. He lived in Manhattan, Kansas and had a bar, he was a legend there.

George could run like the wind, and he would tell you that he belonged in the HOF, and that his stats are of HOF caliber. He also was the manager of the 1935 Brooklyn Eagles and managed other teams throughout his career.

George and I hit it off from our first phone call to the last time I saw him at my wedding in New York City. When he left the wedding I bought him a vanilla ice cream cone (his favorite) for the trip home. He passed away a couple of months after. What a man.