Topper Rigney
| Topper Rigney | |||
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| Shortstop | |||
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Born: January 7, 1897 Groveton, Texas |
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Died: June 6, 1972 (aged 75) San Antonio, Texas |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 12, 1922, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 26, 1927, for the Washington Senators | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .288 | ||
| On-base percentage | .388 | ||
| Runs batted in | 312 | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Emory Elmo "Topper" Rigney (January 7, 1897 – June 6, 1972) was a professional baseball player from 1920 to 1928. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Detroit Tigers (1922–1925), Boston Red Sox (1926–1927), and Washington Senators (1927).
A Texas native, Rigney served in the U.S. Navy and played two years in the Texas League before making his major league debut in 1922 at age 25. During his six-year major league career, Rigney ranked among the American League leaders in sacrifice hits four times. He was also among the league leaders in bases on balls three times, leading to his impressive on-base percentages of .410 in 1924 and .395 in 1926. Rigney also had good speed on the base paths and ranked among the league leaders in triples twice and was once among the leaders in stolen bases. He had a career batting average of .288 and .388 on-base percentage.
Rigney also ranked among the American League's best defensive shortstops in the 1920s. He led the league's shortstops in fielding percentage in 1924 and 1926 and also led the league with 492 assists in 1926. His 1926 range factor per game of 5.33 was tops among shortstops in that category as well.
Rigney was born in Groveton, Texas, in 1897. His father, Robert Rigney, was a dry goods merchant in Leonard, Texas, in 1910, and a real estate agent in 1920. Rigney attended Texas A&M University, playing at the shortstop position for the Texas A&M baseball team from 1915 to 1918. He attained the rank of colonel in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and was also captain of the Ross Volunteers. Rigney then served in the U. S. Navy in 1918 and 1919 and listed his occupation as real estate agent in the 1920 United States Census.
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