Harry Stovey
| Harry Stovey | |||
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| Outfielder / First baseman | |||
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Born: December 20, 1856 Philadelphia |
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Died: September 20, 1937 (aged 80) New Bedford, Massachusetts |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 1, 1880, for the Worcester Ruby Legs | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 29, 1893, for the Brooklyn Grooms | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .289 | ||
| Home runs | 122 | ||
| Runs batted in | 908 | ||
| Stolen bases | 509 | ||
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As Player
As Manager
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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As Player
As Manager
Harry Duffield Stovey (December 20, 1856 – September 20, 1937), born Harry Duffield Stowe, was a 19th-century Major League Baseball player and the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stovey played for 14 seasons in the majors and was appointed player-manager on two separate occasions during his career.
Known today as both a prolific home run hitter and base-stealer, he led the league in both categories multiple times in his career, including a season record of 14 home runs in 1883 and a league-leading 97 stolen bases in 1890. From 1880 to 1891 he appeared in the top 10 in home runs every year except 1887, and led the league five times. He was the first to wear sliding pads and among the first to slide feet first.
Harry began his career as an outfielder / first baseman in 1880 for the Worcester Ruby Legs under the surname of Stovey instead of his birth name of Stowe due to his desire to keep his family from discovering he was making his career at baseball, which was seen at the time as not a respectable profession. He made an immediate impact that first season, leading the league with 14 triples and six home runs, while also finishing in the top ten in many other offensive categories. On July 17, he hit his first major league home run off Jim McCormick of the Cleveland Blues.
For the 1881 season, his offensive numbers did not slow down, again finishing in the top ten in several offensive categories, though he did not lead the league in any this time around. On August 17, 1881, Worcester suspended Captain Mike Dorgan‚ and Stovey took over the position for the remainder of the season. Lee Richmond‚ who had quit because of conflicts with Dorgan‚ rejoined the team after this switch.
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Wikipedia