[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1921–1932, 1939), Washington Senators (1933–1934), Chicago White Sox (1935–1938) and the St. Louis Browns (1942).

[3] Born in the rural town of Titus, Alabama, Sewell grew up wanting to play baseball.

[2] Sewell eventually took over as the Indians number one catcher in the 1926 season, due to his superior defensive skills.

He demanded that umpires check Ruth's bat after he clouted two straight home runs off Garland Buckeye.

[8] Despite the fact that the Indians finished the season in sixth place, Sewell ranked ninth in voting for the 1927 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

[14] Lou Gehrig and Dixie Walker were on base when, Tony Lazzeri hit a ball to deep right field.

[18][19] Two weeks later, he was struck in the head and knocked unconscious by a pitch thrown by St. Louis Browns pitcher, Bump Hadley.

[1][22] By the first week of June 1937, Sewell had a .316 batting average to earn a spot as a reserve for the American League team in the 1937 All-Star Game.

[1] Sewell finished the season ranked fifth in voting for the 1937 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

[1][26] In April 1939, the 39-year-old Sewell was released by the Dodgers but, promptly signed a contract as a third-string catcher and pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians.

[28] Because of the shortage of major league players during the Second World War, Sewell served as a player-manager during the 1942 season, appearing in six games.

[1] Sewell held the American League record of 20 seasons as an active catcher until Carlton Fisk surpassed the record with 24 seasons as an active catcher with the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–80) and the Chicago White Sox (1981–93).

[2] James ranked Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey and Rick Ferrell as the top three, all of whom were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[40] In August 1956, Sewell was fired after one season in part due to player discontent over his managerial style.