Red Snapp

Red Snapp
Snapp, c. 1923, from The Sporting News
Infielder / Manager
Born: (1888-12-08)December 8, 1888 Stephenville, Texas
Died: January 3, 1974(1974-01-03) (aged 85) Dallas, Texas

Earl Elmer "Red" Snapp (December 8, 1888 – January 3, 1974) was a longtime minor league baseball player and manager notable for leading seven teams to pennants in their respective leagues.

Snapp attended Texas Christian University but left the school in 1908 to play professional baseball. He began playing professional ball in 1909 for the Fort Worth Panthers in the Texas League. He was an infielder for Fort Worth until the middle of the 1912 season. After leaving Fort Worth, he played for the Houston Buffaloes. He then served as a player-manager for teams in Topeka, Kansas, Manhattan, Kansas, and York, Nebraska during the 1913 season.

In 1914, he joined the Paris, Texas team in the Texas–Oklahoma League. In 1915, he served as a player-manager for the Paris team, which was renamed the "Snappers" in his honor. During the 1916 season, he served as the player-manager of the Oklahoma City Senators in the same league.

An infielder, Snapp played from 1909 to 1916, appearing in more than 600 games. His best season was perhaps 1911, when he hit .255 with two home runs and 157 total bases for Fort Worth.

After the 1916 season, Snapp retired from baseball for five years. In June 1917, Snapp was living in Paris, Texas, working as a shoe salesman. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Snapp was still living in Paris and working as a salesman in a shoe store. He was living with his wife, Maude H. Snapp, and two daughters, ages six and two years. In November 1920, the Oklahoma City team tried to lure Snapp back to baseball. At the time, The Sporting News noted that, while coaching in the Western Association, Snapp had developed a reputation as "a smart manager, a strict disciplinarian," and someone who could also "give a good account of himself on the playing field."