Ben Chapman (baseball)
| Ben Chapman | |||
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| Outfielder / Manager | |||
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Born: December 25, 1908 Nashville, Tennessee |
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Died: July 7, 1993 (aged 84) Hoover, Alabama |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 15, 1930, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 12, 1946, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .302 | ||
| Home runs | 90 | ||
| Runs batted in | 977 | ||
| Managerial record | 196–276 | ||
| Winning % | .415 | ||
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As player
As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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As player
As manager
William Benjamin "Ben" Chapman (December 25, 1908 – July 7, 1993) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for several teams. He began his career with the New York Yankees, playing his first seven seasons there.
His playing reputation was eclipsed by the role he played in 1947 as manager of the Phillies, antagonizing Jackie Robinson by shouting racist epithets and opposing his presence on a major league team on the basis of Robinson's race with unsportsmanlike conduct that proved an embarrassment for his team.
During the period from 1926 to 1943, he had more stolen bases than any other player, leading the American League four times. After twelve seasons, during which he batted .302 and led the AL in assists and double plays twice each, he spent two years in the minor leagues and returned to the majors as a National League pitcher for three seasons, becoming player-manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, his final team.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Chapman batted and threw right-handed. He was a teammate of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio and other stars on the Yankees from 1930 through the middle of the 1936 season. In his 1930 rookie season with the Yankees, during which he batted .316, he played exclusively in the infield as a second and third baseman; although he played only 91 games at third, he led the AL in errors, and after Joe Sewell was acquired in the offseason, Chapman was shifted to the outfield to take advantage of his speed and throwing arm. He led the AL in stolen bases for the next three seasons (1931–33); his 1931 total of 61 was the highest by a Yankee since Fritz Maisel's 74 in 1914, and would be the most by any major leaguer between 1921 and 1961 (equalled only by George Case in 1943). With the Yankees, he also batted over .300 and scored 100 runs four times each, batted in 100 runs twice, led the AL in triples in 1934, and made each of the first three AL All-Star teams from 1933–35, leading off in the 1933 game as the first AL hitter in All-Star history. In the 1932 World Series he batted .294 with six runs batted in as the Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs. In one game on July 9, 1932, he had three home runs, two of which were inside-the-park, and on May 30, 1934 he broke up Detroit Tiger Earl Whitehill's no-hitter in the ninth inning.
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