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Roger Traynor was the Federal Judge.

Pie Traynor was the Baseball Player.

Roger Traynor

Roger Traynor, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1940 until 1964, enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley because a high school teacher thought Traynor was “too roughhewn” to attend Harvard. Traynor joined Berkeley’s law school faculty within two years of obtaining both his law degree and Ph.D. in political science. Traynor taught there until his appointment to the state’s highest court. As a Justice, Traynor enjoyed a positive reputation: Chief Justice Burger of the United States Supreme Court called Traynor “one of the great contemporary figures of the law.” Judge Henry Friendly deemed Traynor “the ablest judge of his generation in the United States.” Traynor was greatly interested in making doctrine more serviceable, predictable, and logically coherent. Time magazine once described Traynor as a “law professor’s judge.” One commentator remarked, “Traynor’s academic roots affected his attitude toward judging: he wrote not only for practitioners and affected parties but for an audience of commentators.” Before becoming a judge, Traynor earned a reputation as an authority on state and federal taxation, and he served as a consultant to the California Board of Education and the United States treasury department. Traynor has received the American Bar Association’s equivalent of a Hall of Fame induction: the ABA medal "for conspicuous service to the course of American Jurisprudence.”

Pie Traynor

It is generally believed that Harold Joseph Traynor acquired his nickname because he frequently asked a grocery store for pie. After the store owner started calling him “Pie Face,” his friends shortened the moniker to “Pie.” Braves manager George Stallings actually once chased Traynor off Braves field because the scout neglected to tell Stallings about Traynor. Pie made his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1920. Three years later, he followed Rogers Hornsby’s advice and started using a heavier bat. With this change, Traynor developed into one of the best hitters in the National League. He helped lead the Pirates to their first National League pennant in 15 years. Out of 8,000 times at the plate, he only struck out 278 times. Not only an excellent hitter, he was also known as one of the senior circuit’s finest all-around players, and is generally considered to be the greatest third baseman to play in the major leagues in the first half of the 20th century. At 2,289 putouts, he is fifth among players of all time to play his position. “He had the quickest hands and the quickest arms of any third baseman I ever saw,” said former teammate Charlie Grimm. Branch Rickey said that Traynor “was a mechanically perfect third baseman, a man of intellectual worth on the field of play.” After serving as the Pirates’ manager and one of its scouts, Traynor became an extremely popular sports director for a Pittsburgh radio station, a position he held for 21 years. Eventually, he would be the first third baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And, as part of baseball’s centennial celebration in 1969, Traynor received the honor of being assigned as third baseman on the MLB’s All-Time Team.

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Roger Traynor

Roger Traynor, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court from 1940 until 1964, enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley because a high school teacher thought Traynor was “too roughhewn” to attend Harvard. Traynor joined Berkeley’s law school faculty within two years of obtaining both his law degree and Ph.D. in political science. Traynor taught there until his appointment to the state’s highest court. As a Justice, Traynor enjoyed a positive reputation: Chief Justice Burger of the United States Supreme Court called Traynor “one of the great contemporary figures of the law.” Judge Henry Friendly deemed Traynor “the ablest judge of his generation in the United States.” Traynor was greatly interested in making doctrine more serviceable, predictable, and logically coherent. Time magazine once described Traynor as a “law professor’s judge.” One commentator remarked, “Traynor’s academic roots affected his attitude toward judging: he wrote not only for practitioners and affected parties but for an audience of commentators.” Before becoming a judge, Traynor earned a reputation as an authority on state and federal taxation, and he served as a consultant to the California Board of Education and the United States treasury department. Traynor has received the American Bar Association’s equivalent of a Hall of Fame induction: the ABA medal "for conspicuous service to the course of American Jurisprudence.”

Pie Traynor

It is generally believed that Harold Joseph Traynor acquired his nickname because he frequently asked a grocery store for pie. After the store owner started calling him “Pie Face,” his friends shortened the moniker to “Pie.” Braves manager George Stallings actually once chased Traynor off Braves field because the scout neglected to tell Stallings about Traynor. Pie made his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1920. Three years later, he followed Rogers Hornsby’s advice and started using a heavier bat. With this change, Traynor developed into one of the best hitters in the National League. He helped lead the Pirates to their first National League pennant in 15 years. Out of 8,000 times at the plate, he only struck out 278 times. Not only an excellent hitter, he was also known as one of the senior circuit’s finest all-around players, and is generally considered to be the greatest third baseman to play in the major leagues in the first half of the 20th century. At 2,289 putouts, he is fifth among players of all time to play his position. “He had the quickest hands and the quickest arms of any third baseman I ever saw,” said former teammate Charlie Grimm. Branch Rickey said that Traynor “was a mechanically perfect third baseman, a man of intellectual worth on the field of play.” After serving as the Pirates’ manager and one of its scouts, Traynor became an extremely popular sports director for a Pittsburgh radio station, a position he held for 21 years. Eventually, he would be the first third baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And, as part of baseball’s centennial celebration in 1969, Traynor received the honor of being assigned as third baseman on the MLB’s All-Time Team.

CONTINUE WITH QUIZ