Tommy Leach
Encyclopedia
Thomas Andrew Leach was a baseball player during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Leach participated in the first modern World Series
in 1903
with the Pittsburgh Pirates
, hitting four triple
s to set a record that still stands. He played with legendary ballplayers such as Honus Wagner
, Dummy Hoy
, Three Finger Brown, Frank Chance
, Heinie Groh
, Max Carey
, Casey Stengel
and Rube Waddell
. Leach played professionally for the Louisville Colonels
, Pirates, Chicago Cubs
and Cincinnati Reds
for nineteen seasons. Early on, Leach was primarily an infielder including playing shortstop, second base and, mostly, third base. Later in his career, to take advantage of his speed, Leach played mostly outfield. Leach is also famous for having interviewed for Lawrence Ritter
's The Glory of Their Times
collection.
in home run
s with a total of six. Each one was of the inside-the-park
variety, which was not unusual in the "dead-ball era
". 49 of Tommy Leach's 63 career home run
s were inside-the-park, which is still a National League record.
During Leach's years in Pittsburgh as a regular and playing with stars such as Honus Wagner, the Pirates won the National League pennant four times and were World Series champions once. Among the swiftest runners of his era, Leach is in the top 100 all-time in stolen bases and runs scored.
, owner of the Pirates, saw an opportunity to bring fans back to the game and so proposed a 'World Series' between the top teams in the two leagues, Boston and Pittsburgh.
With stars Wagner, Leach and player–manager Fred Clarke
, Pittsburgh appeared the more formidable of the two. And indeed the Pirates jumped to a three to one series lead. Leach had the first World Series hit, a triple, and scored the first ever World Series run in game one with Honus Wagner batting him in. Leach finished the game with two singles and two triples as the Pirates won, seven to three. In game four, Leach again starred, getting two hits, including a two-run triple and knocking in three runs, with the Pirates winning a close game five to four.
Pittsburgh, at this point, had a seemingly insurmountable three games to one lead, but would not win again, losing the series to Boston five games to three. Despite the loss, Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss could feel his vision of a World Series had been a success, since the public had come out in large numbers to watch the games with over 100,000 paying spectators, the games had been hard fought with the players on both teams giving it their all, and the Pirates had proven to be a mighty foe with stars such as Tommy Leach proving their worth on the field. Leach led both teams in RBIs in the series with seven and finished second on the Pirates in batting average for the series. A commonly cited anecdote, one which Leach recanted to Lawrence Ritter, is the Boston Royal Rooters
constant chanting of the popular song "Tessie
" threw Honus Wagner off his game, though it is more likely that Wagner played hurt during the series.
in 1929, and did some scouting for the Boston Braves
. Leach was considered for a few managerial positions including manager of the New York Yankees as well as the Chicago entry of the Federal League
. He eventually retired in Florida where he went into the citrus business. Tommy was the oldest participant included in Lawrence Ritter
's famous The Glory of Their Times collection, having been born in 1877 and being 86 when Ritter interviewed him. Leach, as part of his interview with Ritter for the book recounted an anecdote concerning Dummy Hoy. It seems the two roomed together in 1899, and Leach said of Hoy: "We got to be good friends. He was a real fine ballplayer. When you played with him in the outfield, the thing was that you never called for a ball. You listened for him and if he made this little squeaky sound, that meant he was going to take it." Leach went on to say, "We hardly ever had to use our fingers to talk, though most of the fellows did learn the sign language, so that when we got confused or something we could straighten it out with our hands." As a result of this and similar experiences, some historians credit Hoy with umpires using hand signals for balls and strikes and safe and out calls.
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in 1903
1903 World Series
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the Boston Americans of the American League against the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last...
with the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, hitting four triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
s to set a record that still stands. He played with legendary ballplayers such as Honus Wagner
Honus Wagner
-Louisville Colonels:Recognizing his talent, Barrow recommended Wagner to the Louisville Colonels. After some hesitation about his awkward figure, Wagner was signed by the Colonels, where he hit .338 in 61 games....
, Dummy Hoy
Dummy Hoy
William Ellsworth Hoy , nicknamed "Dummy," was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1888 to 1902, most notably the Cincinnati Reds and two Washington, D.C...
, Three Finger Brown, Frank Chance
Frank Chance
Frank Leroy Chance was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Chance was elected to...
, Heinie Groh
Heinie Groh
Henry Knight "Heinie" Groh was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. He was the National League's top third baseman in the late 1910s and early 1920s, and captained championship teams with the Reds and ...
, Max Carey
Max Carey
Max George Carey was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who starred for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961...
, Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
and Rube Waddell
Rube Waddell
George Edward Waddell was an American southpaw pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his thirteen-year career he played for the Louisville Colonels , Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Orphans in the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns in the American League...
. Leach played professionally for the Louisville Colonels
Louisville Colonels
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891, first as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels , the latter name derived from the historic Kentucky colonels...
, Pirates, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
for nineteen seasons. Early on, Leach was primarily an infielder including playing shortstop, second base and, mostly, third base. Later in his career, to take advantage of his speed, Leach played mostly outfield. Leach is also famous for having interviewed for Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
's The Glory of Their Times
The Glory of Their Times
The Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It is a book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball...
collection.
Pittsburgh Years
Leach was well-known for his small stature and was nicknamed "Wee Tommy". In 1902, while with the Pirates, he led the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s with a total of six. Each one was of the inside-the-park
Inside-the-park home run
In baseball parlance, an inside-the-park home run, "leg home run", or "quadruple", is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of play.-Discussion:...
variety, which was not unusual in the "dead-ball era
Dead-ball era
The dead-ball era is a baseball term used to describe the period between 1900 and the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919. In 1919, Ruth hit a then league record 29 home runs, a spectacular feat at that time.This era was characterized by low-scoring games and a lack of home runs...
". 49 of Tommy Leach's 63 career home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s were inside-the-park, which is still a National League record.
During Leach's years in Pittsburgh as a regular and playing with stars such as Honus Wagner, the Pirates won the National League pennant four times and were World Series champions once. Among the swiftest runners of his era, Leach is in the top 100 all-time in stolen bases and runs scored.
1903 World Series
Following two years of infighting, and a subsequent peace pact signed by the presidents of the National and American leagues, Barney DreyfussBarney Dreyfuss
Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to 1932....
, owner of the Pirates, saw an opportunity to bring fans back to the game and so proposed a 'World Series' between the top teams in the two leagues, Boston and Pittsburgh.
With stars Wagner, Leach and player–manager Fred Clarke
Fred Clarke
Fred Clifford Clarke was a Major League Baseball player from 1894 to and manager from 1897 to 1915. A Hall of Famer, Clarke played for and managed both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a left fielder and left-handed batter.Of the nine pennants in Pittsburgh franchise...
, Pittsburgh appeared the more formidable of the two. And indeed the Pirates jumped to a three to one series lead. Leach had the first World Series hit, a triple, and scored the first ever World Series run in game one with Honus Wagner batting him in. Leach finished the game with two singles and two triples as the Pirates won, seven to three. In game four, Leach again starred, getting two hits, including a two-run triple and knocking in three runs, with the Pirates winning a close game five to four.
Pittsburgh, at this point, had a seemingly insurmountable three games to one lead, but would not win again, losing the series to Boston five games to three. Despite the loss, Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss could feel his vision of a World Series had been a success, since the public had come out in large numbers to watch the games with over 100,000 paying spectators, the games had been hard fought with the players on both teams giving it their all, and the Pirates had proven to be a mighty foe with stars such as Tommy Leach proving their worth on the field. Leach led both teams in RBIs in the series with seven and finished second on the Pirates in batting average for the series. A commonly cited anecdote, one which Leach recanted to Lawrence Ritter, is the Boston Royal Rooters
Royal Rooters
The original Royal Rooters were a fan club for the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century. They were led by Michael T. McGreevy, who owned a Boston saloon called "3rd Base". While M.T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy was certainly the spiritual leader of the Royal Rooters, Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald,...
constant chanting of the popular song "Tessie
Tessie
"Tessie" is both the anthem of the Boston Red Sox and also the title of a newer song by the punk rock band Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical The Silver Slipper. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how the singing of the original "Tessie" by the Royal...
" threw Honus Wagner off his game, though it is more likely that Wagner played hurt during the series.
Later years
After his playing career was over, Leach managed in the minor leagues, was signed as an infield coach for the minor league Atlanta CrackersAtlanta Crackers
The Atlanta Crackers were minor league baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee in 1966....
in 1929, and did some scouting for the Boston Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
. Leach was considered for a few managerial positions including manager of the New York Yankees as well as the Chicago entry of 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...
. He eventually retired in Florida where he went into the citrus business. Tommy was the oldest participant included in Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
's famous The Glory of Their Times collection, having been born in 1877 and being 86 when Ritter interviewed him. Leach, as part of his interview with Ritter for the book recounted an anecdote concerning Dummy Hoy. It seems the two roomed together in 1899, and Leach said of Hoy: "We got to be good friends. He was a real fine ballplayer. When you played with him in the outfield, the thing was that you never called for a ball. You listened for him and if he made this little squeaky sound, that meant he was going to take it." Leach went on to say, "We hardly ever had to use our fingers to talk, though most of the fellows did learn the sign language, so that when we got confused or something we could straighten it out with our hands." As a result of this and similar experiences, some historians credit Hoy with umpires using hand signals for balls and strikes and safe and out calls.
See also
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
- The Glory of Their TimesThe Glory of Their TimesThe Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It is a book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball...
