Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League baseball as a catcher for fifteen seasons (1902 to 1916) with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and the New York Giant, with thirteen of those seasons with the Phillies, where he established himself as one of the best defensive catcher in the early 1900s (in 1908 he led all National League catchers in assists). His value on defense outweighed the fact he was a mediocre hitter (his highest single season batting average as a starter was .250 in 1905), and allowed him to prolong his career. In 1910 the Phillies named him their player-manager, and he managed the team until 1914. A broken ankle in 1910 and a broken leg in 1911 ended his effectiveness as a starter, and he gave himself only limited time after 1910 season. He led the team to a second place finish in 1913, but was fired by the Phillies after the 1914 season, because the team slipped to 6th place. His replacement, Paddy Moran, led the Phillies to the World Series in 1915. He played 10 games for the Reds in 1915 before being sent to the Giants, with whom he ended his career in 1916. He finished with career totals of 1,290 games played, 961 hits, and a .240 batting average. His five years as the Phillies player-manager produced a 392-370 won/loss record. Personally very honest, he was offered a bribe to throw a series with the Giants in 1908, but he reported it to the police, and the bribers were arrested. He holds two catching baseball records. His 1,185 games caught for the Phillies between 1902 and 1914 is still the record for games caught by one player for one team (and is the oldest standing catching record). His career error total of 320 still holds up as the Modern Day record for catchers. A fine singer as well as a catcher, he often performed in front of theater audiences in the off-season.

Major League Baseball Player. He played Major League baseball as a catcher for fifteen seasons (1902 to 1916) with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and the New York Giant, with thirteen of those seasons with the Phillies, where he established himself as one of the best defensive catcher in the early 1900s (in 1908 he led all National League catchers in assists). His value on defense outweighed the fact he was a mediocre hitter (his highest single season batting average as a starter was .250 in 1905), and allowed him to prolong his career. In 1910 the Phillies named him their player-manager, and he managed the team until 1914. A broken ankle in 1910 and a broken leg in 1911 ended his effectiveness as a starter, and he gave himself only limited time after 1910 season. He led the team to a second place finish in 1913, but was fired by the Phillies after the 1914 season, because the team slipped to 6th place. His replacement, Paddy Moran, led the Phillies to the World Series in 1915. He played 10 games for the Reds in 1915 before being sent to the Giants, with whom he ended his career in 1916. He finished with career totals of 1,290 games played, 961 hits, and a .240 batting average. His five years as the Phillies player-manager produced a 392-370 won/loss record. Personally very honest, he was offered a bribe to throw a series with the Giants in 1908, but he reported it to the police, and the bribers were arrested. He holds two catching baseball records. His 1,185 games caught for the Phillies between 1902 and 1914 is still the record for games caught by one player for one team (and is the oldest standing catching record). His career error total of 320 still holds up as the Modern Day record for catchers. A fine singer as well as a catcher, he often performed in front of theater audiences in the off-season.

Bio by: RPD2