Nat Hicks
| Nat Hicks | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: April 19, 1845 Hempstead (village), New York |
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Died: April 21, 1907 (aged 62) Hoboken, New Jersey |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 22, 1872, for the New York Mutuals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 5, 1877, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .263 | ||
| Home runs | 1 | ||
| Runs batted in | 116 | ||
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Nathaniel Woodhull "Nat" Hicks (April 19, 1845 – April 21, 1907) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for six seasons, two in the National League. Hicks was one of the first catchers to stand directly behind the batter, which allowed future Hall of Fame pitcher, Candy Cummings to develop the first curveball used in baseball. A popular and highly regarded player during his time in baseball, but injuries sustained over the course of his career cut his playing time short.
Born in Hempstead, New York, Hicks served briefly in the 15th New York Infantry Regiment near the end of the American Civil War. He began playing professional baseball in the National Association of Base Ball Players through 1871, most notably for the Eckford of Brooklyn. Hicks' pivotal role in the development of the curveball is seldom mentioned. Most catchers of his era stood twenty to twenty-five feet behind the batter, which made it impossible to field a curveball. It was Hicks' catching technique of standing directly behind the batter, that allowed Cummings to introduce his curveball. The introduction of the curveball not only caused a revolutionary change in the way catchers fielded their position, but also radically changed pitching as well.
He later moved on and spent most of his career playing in the National Association. He joined the New York Mutuals in 1872 where he was reunited with Cummings, and became their everyday catcher. He batted .306 that season as the Mutuals finished third. Hicks returned with the Mutuals in 1873, but that season saw his skills decline significantly both in the field and at the bat. He played in only 28 games and shared the catching duties that season with Dick Higham and Doug Allison.
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