Description
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Frank Chance
Born: September 9, 1877 Salida, California
Died: September 15, 1924 (aged 47) Los Angeles
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 190 lbs.
Positions: First baseman, Catcher and Rightfielder / Manager
Played For:
As player
Chicago Orphans/Cubs (1898–1912)
New York Yankees (1913–1914)
As manager
Chicago Cubs (1905–1912)
New York Yankees (1913–1914)
Boston Red Sox (1923)
Biography:
Frank Leroy Chance led the National League in stolen bases in 1903 with 67 and again in 1906 with 57. He also led the league in runs scored in 1906 with 103. As a first baseman, Chance had a .983 fielding percentage and was involved in 470 double plays.
“Chance is one great artist and to my mind ranks with Lajoie and Wagner,” said former major leaguer Danny Shay. “He is everything they are – a great hitter, splendid fielder, fast base-runner and has a head full of brains.”
He was part of the trio of infielders remembered for their double-play ability, with Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers. The trio were immortalized as “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance”, also known as “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”, written by the 28-year-old New York Evening Mail newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams in July 1910. Chance helped Evers develop an underhanded throw.
Using hardnosed tactics and downright stubbornness, Chance bowled over his opponents, and displayed an infamous lack of good sportsmanship that would make the notorious Ty Cobb blush. Chance once incited a riot at the Polo Grounds after physically assaulting opposing pitcher Joe McGinnity, and on more than one occasion tossed beer bottles at fans in Brooklyn when he felt they were being too unruly, or perhaps not unruly enough. For his fighting prowess (he spent several off-seasons working as a prizefighter), old-school boxing legends Jim Corbett and John L. Sullivan both called Chance “the greatest amateur brawler of all time.” He made outfielder Solly Hofman postpone his own wedding until the off-season lest marital bliss affect Hofman’s playing ability. It was reported that Chance would fine his own players for shaking hands with opposing players, win or lose, and had no qualms about releasing players for failing to meet his demands to the letter. Chance once remarked, “You do things my way or you meet me after the game.” Generally, his players complied, and it is no small wonder that he earned yet another nickname, “The Peerless Leader,” as he was simultaneously respected and disliked by those who played for him, with him, and against him.
More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Chance
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chancfr01.shtml
https://baseballhall.org/hof/chance-frank
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/21604876
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