John E. "Scrappy" Carroll (August 27,1860 – November 14,1942) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Paul White Caps,Buffalo Bisons,and Cleveland Blues during the 1880s. Carroll stood 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). [1]
John E. Carroll was born in Buffalo,New York,in 1860. [1] He was nicknamed "Scrappy",likely due to him having a "pugnacious disposition",and he may have been the first player to have had that nickname. [2]
Carroll started his professional baseball career in 1884. [3] He played for the St. Paul Apostles of the Northwestern League during that season and made his major league debut with the Union Association's St. Paul White Caps on September 27. The White Caps played a total of nine games,and Carroll appeared in all of them,mostly as a right fielder. He went 3 for 31 at the plate for a .097 batting average and made five errors in the field. [1]
The Union Association disbanded after the 1884 season, [4] and in 1885,Carroll played for three different teams:the Western League's Cleveland Forest Cities,the Southern League's Memphis Reds,and the National League's Buffalo Bisons. [3] In his second major league trial,he played 13 games for the Bisons and went 3 for 40 (.075). [1]
In 1886,Carroll played for the Utica Pent Ups of the International League. [3] The following season,he received his final major league shot,with the American Association's Cleveland Blues. Carroll appeared in 57 games for the Blues and batted a career-high .199 with 19 runs batted in. He started in right field on August 3,which was Cleveland's first major league Sunday game. While playing for Cleveland,Carroll may have been the first major league player to wear sunglasses. According to an account of Cleveland's 1887 season,Carroll "caught the attention of the kranks at the ball park one sunny afternoon",when he wore "a pair of colored spectacles." [5] Carroll played in his final major league game on October 3 and finished his MLB career with a .171 batting average in 79 games. [1]
Carroll played for the Western Association's St. Paul Apostles in 1888 and 1889. In 1888,he batted .251 and led the team in at bats (494),runs (106),and total bases (205). [6] He also hit 16 home runs,which led not only his team,but the entire league. [7] Carroll also had 85 stolen bases in 1888. [3]
In 1890,Carroll played for the Western Association's Minneapolis Millers. The following season,he split his time between six different teams in the Western Association,New England League,and Eastern Association. Carroll's last year in professional baseball was 1892. [3] That season,he played 42 games for the Western League's Minneapolis Minnies,batting .237 with a team-leading 14 stolen bases. [8]
Carroll died in his hometown of Buffalo,New York,in 1942. He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. [1]
John Charles Rowe was an American professional baseball player,manager and team owner from 1877 to 1898. He played 12 years in Major League Baseball,as a shortstop,catcher,and outfielder,for four major league clubs. His longest stretches were in the National League with the Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885) and Detroit Wolverines (1886–1888). He was also a player-manager and part owner of the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League in 1890,and the manager of the Buffalo Bisons from 1896 to 1898.
The Western League was the name of several minor league baseball leagues that operated between 1885 and 1900. These leagues were focused mainly in the Midwestern United States.
William Reginald Armour was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was the manager of the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902 when they signed Nap Lajoie to the most lucrative contract in baseball history and the manager of the Detroit Tigers when they acquired Ty Cobb in 1905.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1885 throughout the world.
William Smith O'Brien was an American Major League Baseball player who played first base. He was considered a "one-year wonder" and led the National League (NL) in home runs in 1887.
John Edgar Clapp,nicknamed "Honest John",was an American professional baseball player-manager whose career spanned 12 seasons,11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Middletown Mansfields (1872),Philadelphia Athletics (1873–75),St. Louis Brown Stockings (1876–77),Indianapolis Blues (1878),Buffalo Bisons (1879),Cincinnati Stars (1880),Cleveland Blues (1881),and New York Gothams (1883). Clapp,who predominately played as a catcher,also played as an outfielder. Over his career,Clapp compiled a career batting average of .283 with 459 runs scored,713 hits,92 doubles,35 triples,7 home runs,and 834 runs batted in (RBI). Over 1,188 games played,Clapp struck out 51 times. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues,Clapp also played two seasons of minor league baseball. He made his MLB debut at the age of 21 and was listed as standing 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) and weighing 194 pounds (88 kg). His brother,Aaron Clapp,also played one season of MLB for the Troy Trojans.
George W. Shafer [sometimes spelled Shaffer or Schaefer] was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Orator",because he was an avid speaker,Shafer played for 10 teams in four different major leagues between 1874 and 1890. Though he was a good hitter who batted over .300 three times,Shafer was best known for his defensive abilities. He led the National League's outfielders in assists four times. In 1879,he set an MLB single-season record with 50 outfield assists,which is a mark that has stood for over 130 years. He was considered by some to be the greatest right fielder of his era.
Lawrence Grant Twitchell was an American professional baseball player from 1886 to 1896. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball,primarily as an outfielder but occasionally as a pitcher,with seven different major league clubs. His best seasons were spent with the Detroit Wolverines from 1886 to 1888,the Cleveland Spiders in 1889,and the Louisville Colonels from 1893 to 1894.
Michael Dominick Rocco was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman,Rocco played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four seasons in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. In 440 career games,Rocco recorded a batting average of .258 and accumulated 30 home runs and 186 runs batted in (RBI).
Lorenzo Edward Gremminger,nicknamed "Battleship",was an American baseball infielder.
Thomas Jefferson Sullivan was an Irish born catcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Sleeper" and "Old Iron Hands",Sullivan played for the National League's Buffalo Bisons,the American Association's St. Louis Brown Stockings and Louisville Eclipse,and the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons during the 1880s. Sullivan stood at 5' 7" and weighed 175 lb.
William Michael Crowley was an American Major League Baseball player who played mainly as an outfielder from 1875 to 1885. He played for the Philadelphia White Stockings,Louisville Grays,Buffalo Bisons,Boston Red Caps/Beaneaters,Philadelphia Athletics,and Cleveland Blues.
George J. "Doc" Yeager was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball,primarily as a catcher. He played for the Boston Beaneaters from 1896 to 1899,the Cleveland Blues in 1901,the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1901,the New York Giants in 1902,and the Baltimore Orioles in 1902. During his career,he was measured at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighing 190 lbs.
Michael Moynahan was an American professional baseball player from 1879 to 1886. He appeared in 169 games across four seasons in Major League Baseball,principally as a shortstop,for the Buffalo Bisons (1880),Detroit Wolverines (1881),Cleveland Blues,and Philadelphia Athletics (1883-1884). He was the starting shortstop,and with a .310 batting average the leading hitter,for the 1883 Athletics team that won the American Association pennant with a 66-32 record.
Owen F. "Spider" Clark was an American professional baseball player. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB):1889 for the Washington Nationals of the National League and 1890 for the Buffalo Bisons of the Players' League. While he was primarily an outfielder,he played every position at least once,including one game as a pitcher for the Bisons. He was the first MLB player nicknamed "Spider."
Cecil Calvert Broughton was an American professional baseball player from 1883 to 1891. He played parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball,principally as a catcher,for six major league clubs. His career in the major leagues included stints with the Cleveland Blues (1883),Baltimore Orioles (1883),Milwaukee Brewers (1884),St. Louis Browns (1885),New York Metropolitans (1885),and Detroit Wolverines (1888). He also played minor league baseball for clubs in Milwaukee,Wisconsin,Minneapolis and St. Paul,Minnesota,Memphis,Tennessee,and Seattle,Washington.
Charles S. Abbey was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 11 seasons,including five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators (1893–1897). Over his major league career,Abbey batted .281 with 307 runs,493 hits,67 doubles,46 triples,19 home runs,280 runs batted in (RBIs) and 93 stolen bases in 452 games played. In addition to playing in the majors,Abbey also played in the minor leagues with numerous teams. Abbey primarily played the outfield position;however,he did pitch one game in the majors. Abbey batted and threw left-handed.
Charles Franklin Bartson was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Chicago Pirates of the Players' League (PL) during the 1890 baseball season. Over his PL career,Bartson pitched to a 9–10 win–loss record with an earned run average of 4.11 and 52 strikeouts. After his PL career,he formed a Western Association team in Peoria,Illinois,and served as Republican Central Committee chairman in the city. He died of heart disease on June 9,1936.
The Kansas City Blues was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Kansas City,Missouri between 1885 and 1901. The Kansas City minor league teams played as members of the Class A level Western League in 1885,1887,1892,and from 1894 to 1899,and the Western Association in 1888,1890,1891,and 1893. The Blues transitioned to the American League in 1900,a year before the league became a major league. In 1901,the Blues franchise relocated to become the Washington Senators,which eventually evolved into today's Minnesota Twins. Meanwhile,a minor league Kansas City Blues franchise was reformed and the team rejoined the eight-team 1901 Western League. The minor league team played under the "Cowboys" moniker in 1885,1887 and 1894. The Kansas City Blues/Cowboys played home games at Exposition Park.
The Duluth Freezers were a minor league baseball team based in Duluth,Minnesota. In 1886 Duluth began minor league baseball play. In 1886 and 1887,Duluth played as members of the Independent level Northwestern League,playing as the "Jayhawks" in 1886 and the "Freezers" in 1887. Duluth won the league championship in 1886. For a partial season in 1891,the Duluth "Whalebacks" played as members of the Western Association.