Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was a Major League Baseball pitcher most remembered for his time with the highly successful New York Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

Born in Granville, Illinois, Ruffing suffered the loss of four toes on his left foot in a freak mine accident in Coalton, Illinois, as a youth. Subsequently converted from an outfielder to a pitcher.

Ruffing made his major league debut in 1924 with the Boston Red Sox, pitching without a decision over 23 innings of work. He saw regular playing time with the Sox over the next few years but had limited success, garnering a 39–96 record in five-and-a-half years with Boston. However, the Red Sox were in the midst of the darkest period in their history, and Ruffing usually got abysmal run support. His best year, in terms of earned run performance, came in 1928, when he posted a respectable 3.89 ERA. However, even in that year, he only had a 10–25 record.

Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American left-handed major league pitcher who played in the American League for the New York Yankees between 1930 and 1942. Considered one of the great pitchers of the day, Gomez was a seven-time All-Star and a five-time World Series Champion with the Yankees. He was also known for his colorful personality and humor throughout his career and life.

Gomez was born in Rodeo, California. His father, Francisco Gomez, had been born in California to a Spanish father, Juan Gomez, and a Portuguese mother, Rita. His mother, Lizzie Herring, was an American of Welsh-Irish descent. He played sandlot baseball in Oakland while attending Richmond High School. It was during that timeframe that he was recruited by the San Francisco Seals. The New York Yankees purchased Lefty from the Seals for an estimated $39,000.

A 20-game winner four times and an All-Star every year from 1933 to 1939, Gomez led the league twice each in wins, winning percentage and ERA, and three times each in shutouts and strikeouts. In the historic first major league All-Star Game (July 6, 1933), Gomez not only was the winning pitcher for the American League, but also drove in the first run of the game. This was out of character for him, as he was, even by the standards of pitchers, notorious for poor hitting. "I never broke a bat until I was 73 years old," he said. "And that was from backing the car out of the garage." His career OPS+ of -7 is the fifth-worst in baseball history among players with at least 1,000 plate appearances. [2] Gomez holds the record for the most innings pitched in a single All-Star game (six, in 1934).

Derek Sanderson Jeter ( /ˈdʒiːtər/; born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter has been a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,155), games played (2,472), stolen bases (342), and at bats (10,066). His accolades include twelve All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and the Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits.

The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He has consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years, and since 2003 has served as the Yankees' team captain.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988) was an American baseball player. He was a member of the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the Giants' payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.

Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. From 1936 to 1937 Hubbell set the major league record of consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star game, when he struck out in succession five of the game's great hitters. Hubbell's primary pitch was the screwball.

Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri and raised in Meeker, Oklahoma. He was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers and was invited to spring training in 1926. However, pitching coach George McBride and player-manager Ty Cobb weren't impressed with him. Additionally, they were concerned about his reliance on a screwball. Hubbell was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League before the start of the season. He went 7–7 on a championship team. In 1927 he was invited to spring training again with Detroit, but McBride and Cobb still weren't impressed and sent him two steps down the minor-league ladder, to the Decatur Commodores of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. Despite going 14–7, the Tigers didn't invite him back for 1928, and he was sent to the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League.