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Augustus Noble Hand was the Federal Judge.

Lefty Grove was the Baseball Player.

Augustus Noble Hand

Cousin of Judge Learned Hand, Augustus Noble Hand served as judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before joining the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Hand graduated from Harvard’s college and law school. Instead of being a literary craftsman who employed metaphors or flowery phrases, Judge Hand wrote his opinions to be a “careful, meticulous marshaling of the facts, and an equally careful, equally painstaking exposition and application of the law.” Judge Hand was known to be a selfless judge. He did not seek popularity in his legal opinions. But he understood people, and his decisions were not exercises in logic. For him, “impassive legal issues became human issues through evaluation and appreciation of the parties, the lawyers, the witnesses, the authors of the documentary proof.” Judge Hand exhibited devotion to his work—he rarely left for home without the record and briefs of some pending case. And “no matter what the popular appeal or the popular clamor, [people] could expect calm, disinterested judgment” from Judge Hand.

Lefty Grove

“Lefty Grove may have been baseball’s greatest all-time pitcher.” Robert Moses Grove’s nine ERA titles remain unmatched, and his 300-141 record is the best among 300-game winners. In his first seven years in the majors, he led the American League in strikeouts. He also led in a less glorious category: he struck out as a batter more than anyone else, at 593 times. But his fame came from his throwing prowess, and he dominated in that regard. “Hitters’ parks” were no problem for Grove—he did well in stadiums like Shibe Park and Fenway Park. His skills brought him to three World Series. In fact, the amount the Philadelphia Athletics paid to bring Grove into the majors ($100,600) was supposedly higher than what the Yankees had paid for Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. Ruth himself had some tough times with Grove. When a minor-league Grove played against major leaguers in an exhibition game, Grove told Ruth, “I’m not afraid of you,” and whiffed him nine out of eleven times. Years later, in a major-league game, a bit of history repeated itself. The A’s were up 3–2, there were two outs, two on, and Ruth was at the plate in the ninth. Grove fanned Ruth on a 2-2 pitch. And the Yankee Stadium’s crowd hushed up. Beyond his encounters with Ruth, Grove secured a 79–15 record over his two Triple Crown seasons. In 1947, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Charlie Gehringer summed up Grove’s trademark pitch with a succinct comment: “His fastball was so fast that by the time you'd made up your mind whether it would be a strike or not, it just wasn't there anymore.”

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Augustus Noble Hand

Cousin of Judge Learned Hand, Augustus Noble Hand served as judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before joining the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Hand graduated from Harvard’s college and law school. Instead of being a literary craftsman who employed metaphors or flowery phrases, Judge Hand wrote his opinions to be a “careful, meticulous marshaling of the facts, and an equally careful, equally painstaking exposition and application of the law.” Judge Hand was known to be a selfless judge. He did not seek popularity in his legal opinions. But he understood people, and his decisions were not exercises in logic. For him, “impassive legal issues became human issues through evaluation and appreciation of the parties, the lawyers, the witnesses, the authors of the documentary proof.” Judge Hand exhibited devotion to his work—he rarely left for home without the record and briefs of some pending case. And “no matter what the popular appeal or the popular clamor, [people] could expect calm, disinterested judgment” from Judge Hand.

Lefty Grove

“Lefty Grove may have been baseball’s greatest all-time pitcher.” Robert Moses Grove’s nine ERA titles remain unmatched, and his 300-141 record is the best among 300-game winners. In his first seven years in the majors, he led the American League in strikeouts. He also led in a less glorious category: he struck out as a batter more than anyone else, at 593 times. But his fame came from his throwing prowess, and he dominated in that regard. “Hitters’ parks” were no problem for Grove—he did well in stadiums like Shibe Park and Fenway Park. His skills brought him to three World Series. In fact, the amount the Philadelphia Athletics paid to bring Grove into the majors ($100,600) was supposedly higher than what the Yankees had paid for Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. Ruth himself had some tough times with Grove. When a minor-league Grove played against major leaguers in an exhibition game, Grove told Ruth, “I’m not afraid of you,” and whiffed him nine out of eleven times. Years later, in a major-league game, a bit of history repeated itself. The A’s were up 3–2, there were two outs, two on, and Ruth was at the plate in the ninth. Grove fanned Ruth on a 2-2 pitch. And the Yankee Stadium’s crowd hushed up. Beyond his encounters with Ruth, Grove secured a 79–15 record over his two Triple Crown seasons. In 1947, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Charlie Gehringer summed up Grove’s trademark pitch with a succinct comment: “His fastball was so fast that by the time you'd made up your mind whether it would be a strike or not, it just wasn't there anymore.”

CONTINUE WITH QUIZ