Ten Million

Ten Million

• School University of Washington
• High School Broadway High School (Seattle)

• Born October 14, 1889 in Mt. Vernon, WA USA
• Died June 18, 1964 in Washington USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Ten Million was an outfielder who played for various teams in the Northwestern League, but is best known for his unusual name, and for his appearance in the T212 Obak series of baseball cards.

Million's unique name was the idea of his grandmother who convinced his parents to name him "Ten". He graduated from high school, where he was a teamate of future major leaguers Charlie Mullen and Charlie Schmutz, in 1908 and after going to college got his professional baseball start with the Tacoma Tigers in 1912. He remained with the team through 1914 and later played with the league's Seattle Giants, Spokane Indians, and Victoria Bees. His career was brought to an end by a knee injury.

Ten appeared in the 1911 issue an Obak set of baseball cards. The Obak series, published by Obak Cigarettes and catalogued as T212, was unique in that it was the first major set to exclusively feature players from west coast teams. The only other set to feature a Million card was T4, a cabinet issue also printed by Obak.

After his playing days, he moved to Seattle, WA where he worked for the city as a claims adjuster. After leaving that position, he began working for the local Spalding Sporting Goods store. There, he met his future wife Christine. Their daughter was named "Decillian" - so named at the behest of Million's grandmother and fifty dollars. Decillian elected to go by the name Dixie in her adult life.

Sources

• Shanaman Sports Museum