Lip Pike
| Lip Pike | |||
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| Outfielder | |||
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Born: May 25, 1845 New York City |
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Died: October 10, 1893 (aged 48) Brooklyn, New York |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 9, 1871, for the Troy Haymakers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 28, 1887, for the New York Metropolitans | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .322 | ||
| Home runs | 21 | ||
| Runs batted in | 332 | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was one of the stars of 19th century baseball in the United States. He was one of the first professional players, as well as the first Jewish player. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during the 1877 season.
Pike was born in New York into a Jewish Dutch family, and grew up in Brooklyn. His father was a haberdasher. Pike was one of the premier players of his day. He was a great slugger and one of the best home run hitters, so much so that stories about balls he hit were told for quite some time after he stopped playing.
Pike began in baseball when he was thirteen. Pike first rose to prominence playing for the Philadelphia Athletics, whom he joined in 1866. He brought an impressive blend of power and speed to the team, hitting many home runs as well as being one of the fastest players around. On one occasion he hit 6 home runs in one game.
However, it was soon brought to light that he and two other Philadelphia players were being given $20 a week to play (equivalent to $327 in 2016). Since all baseball players were ostensibly amateurs (though many were, like Pike, accepting money under the table), a hearing was set up by the sport's governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players. In the end, no one showed up to the hearing, and the matter was dropped. By 1869, the became the first openly professional team, and Pike's hearing, farcical as it seems to have been, paved the way for Harry Wright's professionalization of baseball. The Athletics were very successful, but Pike was dropped from the team in 1867, because he was from New York, and thus a 'foreigner,' calling his loyalty into question.
He moved on to the Irvington, New Jersey club and later in 1867 to the New York Mutuals, always a leading team, where he returned for 1868, having caught the eye of Boss Tweed. In 1869 he moved to the Brooklyn Atlantics, another perennial leader, where he hit .610. In 1870, the Atlantics, with Pike manning second base, finally ended Cincinnati's 93-game winning streak.
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