John Frank Lelivelt was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 who played for the Washington Senators

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

, New York Highlanders

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 and Cleveland Naps

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

. While playing for the Rochester Hustlers, he set the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

 record for the longest hitting streak with a 42-game hitting streak in . The record was broken by Brandon Watson

Brandon Watson

Brandon Eric Watson is an American outfielder who is a free agent. Although he bats left-handed, Watson throws right-handed.Watson spent a portion of the and the with the Washington Nationals...

 in .

Early years

Lelivelt made his major league debut with the Washington Senators in . He saw his most playing time during his years in Washington. However, his batting average would increase after he left the Senators.

Record hitting streak

He started the 1912 season with the Rochester Hustlers. The Hustlers had won pennants each of the three previous years. After his record hitting streak, the first-place Hustlers sold Lelivelt and Tommy McMillen to the New York Highlanders. Lelivelt had a .351 batting average with 33 doubles for the Hustlers. The Toronto Maple Leafs passed the Hustlers in the standings. The city of Rochester would not have another International League champion until 1928. The record hitting streak was lost to history until the 2007 version of the International League Record Book recognized the hitting streak. Previous versions of the book would list the longest hitting streak as 36 games by Bill Sweeney

Bill Sweeney (first baseman)

William Joseph Sweeney was an American first baseman and coach in Major League Baseball and a longtime manager at the minor league level...

 in .

Later years

Lelivelt played from 1912 until 1914 as a part-time player. Despite having a .301 career major league average, he never was a full-time player. In 1914, several Naps players split time between the Cleveland Naps and the American Association

American Association (20th century)

The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...

 Cleveland Bearcats in an effort to prevent the Federal League

Federal League

The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from to...

 from moving a team to Cleveland. Lelivelt was one of those players. He would play in the minor leagues until retiring as a player in 1925.

Managerial career and Death

Lelivelt became a player-manager for the Western League's

Western League (defunct minor league)

The Western League is a name given to several circuits in American minor league baseball. Its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American League...

 Omaha franchise. His Seattle Rainiers teams won Pacific Coast League

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

 titles in 1939 and 1940. Except for 1937, he managed every year until his passing in January 1941. He was entombed in Glendale, California

Glendale, California

Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...

's Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery

Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery at 1341 GlenwoodRoad in Glendale, California was established in 1884 as Grand View Cemetery.The cemetery was purchased by Len C. Davis in the 1920s, renamed Grand View Memorial Park, and extensively remodeled. A 40 foot entrance arch was added on what is now...

.

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