Ollie Pickering: Difference between revisions

Ollie Pickering
Ollie Pickering
	Center fielder
	Born: April 9, 1870; Olney, Illinois
	Died: January 20, 1952 (aged 81); Vincennes, Indiana
	Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
	August 9, 1896, for the Louisville Colonels
Last MLB appearance
	October 8, 1908, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	9
Runs batted in	287
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	Louisville Colonels (1896–1897); Cleveland Spiders (1897); Cleveland Blues/Bronchos (1901–1902); Philadelphia Athletics (1903–1904); St. Louis Browns (1907); Washington Senators (1908);

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 20:20, 11 October 2020

Oliver “Ollie” Daniel Pickering (April 9, 1870 – January 20, 1952) was an American professional baseball player, who both managed and played outfield in a 30-year professional baseball career that spanned from the 1892 Houston Mudcats to the 1922 Paducah, KY, Indians.^[1] He played for a number of Major League Baseball teams from 1896 to 1908, including the Louisville Colonels, Cleveland Blues, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.^[2]

On April 24, 1901, Pickering was the leadoff batter for the Cleveland Blues (precursor to the Indians), which was the visiting team facing the Chicago White Sox in the first game ever played in the American League. The three other games scheduled that day were rained out. Thus, Pickering was the first person to bat in the American League.^[3]

According to The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, based on an account from the Cleveland Plains-Dealer, this transpired: "The date was April 24, in Chicago’s White Sox park (a.k.a. South Side Park), when Ollie Pickering stepped to the plate for the Cleveland Blues. Pickering, an outfielder, hit the second pitch from Chicago White Sox right-hander Roy Patterson to center field. William Hoy, a deaf-mute who was cruelly nicknamed Dummy, caught the routine fly, and with that the American League was officially underway."^[4] Chicago went on to win, 8-2.

Pickering is also credited with giving baseball the term “Texas leaguer,” a pejorative slang for a weak pop fly that lands unimpressively between an infielder and an outfielder for a base hit. According to the April 21, 1906, edition of The Sporting Life, John McCloskey, founder of the Texas League and then-manager of the Houston Mudcats – who would later go onto manage the St. Louis Cardinals – signed 22-year-old Pickering to play center field on the morning of May 21, 1892. That afternoon, Pickering turned in one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the Texas League, stringing together seven consecutive singles in one game, each a soft, looping fly ball that fell in no-man's land between either the first baseman and right fielder or the third baseman and left fielder.^[5]^[6] News of Pickering’s feat spread quickly throughout the nation and the term "Texas leaguer" became ingrained in the baseball lexicon. Pickering’s seven consecutive singles in a game still stands as a Texas League record.^[7][1]

On May 5, 1904, Pickering, playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, twice came close to spoiling Cy Young’s perfect game for the Boston Americans, the first ever thrown in the American League. Of Pickering’s performance, author Michael Coffey wrote: “In the fourth … Ollie Pickering looped one into the no-man’s land beyond the second-base bag – in a bid for the kind of hit he made famous – only to have center fielder Chick Stahl make a fine running catch. Pickering was almost the spoiler again, with one down in the top of the sixth, when he tapped a slow roller to short, but Freddy Parent charged the ball and nipped Pickering by half a step.”^[8]

Pickering played and managed in the minor leagues into his 50s. His playing days ended in 1920 at the age of 50 with the Redfield, SD, Reds. He last managed with the Paducah, KY, Indians in 1922.

Upon his retirement from the game, he became an umpire and later retired in Vincennes, Indiana. Pickering's great-great-grandson is NFL side judge Jimmy Russell.

References

^ "Ollie Pickering, Minor League Career". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Ollie Pickering, Major League Career". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Champions Win Opening Game". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 25, 1901. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
^ Schneider, Russell (2004). The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, Third Edition. Champagne, IL: Sports Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 1-58261-840-2.
^ "In Hard Luck". The Galveston Daily News. May 22, 1892. Retrieved July 30, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Texas Leaguers". Sporting Life. April 21, 1906. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
^ Collins, Craig (July 30, 2020). "Before the flair, gork or dying quail, there was always the Texas Leaguer". Medium.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ Coffey, Michael (2004). 27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games. New York, NY: Atria Books. pp. 14. ISBN 0-7434-4606-2.

External links

Career statistics from Baseball Reference

[1] "Ollie Pickering, Minor League Career". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[2] "Ollie Pickering, Major League Career". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[3] "Champions Win Opening Game". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 25, 1901. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

[4] Schneider, Russell (2004). The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia, Third Edition. Champagne, IL: Sports Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 1-58261-840-2.

[5] "In Hard Luck". The Galveston Daily News. May 22, 1892. Retrieved July 30, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[6] "Texas Leaguers". Sporting Life. April 21, 1906. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

[7] Collins, Craig (July 30, 2020). "Before the flair, gork or dying quail, there was always the Texas Leaguer". Medium.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[8] Coffey, Michael (2004). 27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games. New York, NY: Atria Books. pp. 14. ISBN 0-7434-4606-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 * [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1908}})
 }}
-[[File:May 22, 1892, Texas League Box Score, Houston Mudcats vs. Fort Worth Panthers.jpg|thumb|The recap and box score from the May 21, 1892, game in which Ollie Pickering went 7-for-7, all flairs, giving rise to the term Texas Leaguer.|alt=|border|left]]
+[[File:May 22, 1892, Texas League Box Score, Houston Mudcats vs. Fort Worth Panthers.jpg|thumb|The recap and box score from the May 21, 1892, game in which Ollie Pickering went 7-for-7, all flairs, giving rise to the term Texas Leaguer.|alt=|left]]
 '''Oliver “Ollie” Daniel Pickering''' (April 9, 1870 – January 20, 1952) was an American professional baseball player, who both managed and played outfield in a 30-year professional baseball career that spanned from the 1892 [[Houston Mudcats]] to the 1922 [[Paducah Indians|Paducah, KY, Indians]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=picker001oli|title=Ollie Pickering, Minor League Career|last=|first=|date=|website=Baseball-reference.com|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref> He played for a number of Major League Baseball teams from 1896 to 1908, including the [[Louisville Colonels]], [[Cleveland Blues (AL)|Cleveland Blues]], [[Philadelphia Athletics (AL)|Philadelphia Athletics]], [[History of the St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] and [[History of the Washington Senators (1901–1960)|Washington Senators.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pickeol01.shtml#all_appearances|title=Ollie Pickering, Major League Career|last=|first=|date=|website=Baseball-reference.com|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=October 27, 2019}}</ref>