Happy Felsch | |||
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Center fielder | |||
Born: Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
August 22, 1891|||
Died: August 17, 1964 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
(aged 72)|||
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MLB debut | |||
April 14, 1915, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 26, 1920, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .293 | ||
Home runs | 38 | ||
Runs batted in | 446 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch (August 22, 1891 – August 17, 1964) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920. He is probably best known for his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Felsch was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to German immigrant parents. He dropped out of school in the sixth grade and played baseball on Milwaukee sandlots. He began his professional baseball career in the Wisconsin-Illinois League in 1913. The next season, he batted .304 and slugged .512 for the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers, and was purchased by the White Sox.
From 1916 to 1920, Felsch was one of the best hitters in the American League, finishing in the top 10 in more than a few major batting categories. His 102 runs batted in was good enough for second place in 1917, as the White Sox won the World Series. He missed most of the 1918 season due to military service.
Felsch continued his good hitting and fielding in 1919. He had a strong throwing arm and was highly regarded as a center fielder; he led the AL in outfield putouts and assists in 1919. The White Sox won the pennant going away.
That fall, Felsch agreed to join a group of White Sox players that planned to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series in exchange for monetary payments from a network of gamblers. He was reluctant to go along with the plan at first but then eventually did because of the money. There was little doubt of Felsch's guilt on the field, as he not only hit poorly, but also misplayed flyballs in key situations. Chicago lost the series, five games to three.
For his part in the fix, Felsch received $5,000, which was more than his entire regular season salary of $2,750. However, after the scandal broke in late 1920, Felsch, along with five other players, was made permanently ineligible for organized baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. 1920, his last season in the majors, was his best. He hit .338 with 14 home runs and 115 runs batted in and it is possible that he would have put up more big numbers in the live-ball era.