Charles Comiskey
Charles Comiskey | ||
---|---|---|
Runs batted in 883 | | |
Stolen bases | 416 | |
Managerial record | 840–541 | |
Teams | ||
As player
As manager As Owner | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Member of the National | ||
Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
Induction | 1939 | |
Election method | Old-Timers Committee |
Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "the Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also founding owner of the Chicago White Sox.[1] Comiskey Park, the White Sox's storied baseball stadium, was built under his guidance and named for him.[1]
Comiskey's reputation was permanently tarnished by his team's involvement in the
Early life
Comiskey was born on August 15, 1859, in
Baseball career
Playing and managing career
Comiskey started his playing career as a
As an owner
Comiskey left Cincinnati and the majors in fall 1894 to purchase the
As owner of the White Sox from 1900 until his death in 1931, Comiskey oversaw building
When the scandal broke late in the 1920 season, Comiskey suspended the suspected players, while admitting in the telegram he sent to them that he knew this action cost the White Sox a second straight pennant. However, he initially defended the accused players and, in an unusual display of largesse, provided them with expensive legal representation. He ultimately supported baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis' decision to ban the implicated White Sox players from further participation in professional baseball, knowing full well that Landis' action would permanently sideline the core of his team.[3] Indeed, the White Sox promptly tumbled into seventh place and would not be a factor in a pennant race again until 1936, five years after Comiskey's death, and did not win another pennant until 1959.
Legacy
Comiskey is sometimes credited with the innovation of playing the
Comiskey died in Eagle River, Wisconsin in 1931, and was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston. Comiskey's son J. Louis inherited the team but died a few years later. The trustees of his estate were going to sell the team, but J. Louis' widow Grace was able to gain control of the team and avoid a sale. Her two children, Dorothy Comiskey Rigney and Charles Albert Comiskey II (who served in the White Sox front office in the 1940s and 1950s before he became owner),[9] became co-owners of the team following Grace's death in the 1950s.[7] Dorothy sold controlling interest in the team to Bill Veeck in 1958, but Chuck remained a minority owner until 1962.[10]
When the White Sox moved to a new ballpark in 1991, the Comiskey Park name was carried over from their previous home (since 1910); it is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field. A statue of Comiskey stands near center field in the new ballpark.
Career statistics
As a manager
Team | From | To | Record | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | Win % | |||
St. Louis Browns | 1883 | 1883 | 12 | 7 | .632 |
St. Louis Browns | 1884 | 1889 | 465 | 214 | .685 |
Chicago Pirates | 1890 | 1890 | 75 | 62 | .547 |
St. Louis Browns | 1891 | 1891 | 86 | 52 | .623 |
Cincinnati Reds | 1892 | 1894 | 202 | 206 | .495 |
Total | 840 | 541 | .608 | ||
Ref.:[5] |
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
- List of St. Louis Cardinals team records
References
- ^ a b c d "Charlie Comiskey". Baseball Biography. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
- ISBN 978-1613216385.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Charles "The Old Roman" Comiskey". University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
- ^ "1889 American Association Season Summary".
- ^ a b "Charlie Comiskey". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLP. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ Chicagoan, Anonymous. "Chicago White Sox: Shoeless Joe Jackson Awaits Justice 50 Years After His Death". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Creamer, Robert (February 24, 1958). "The Comiskey Affair". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- St. Louis Post Dispatch. May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "Charles Albert Comiskey II, 81, a White Sox boss, is dead". The New York Times. August 28, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- ISBN 0-7611-3943-5.
Further reading
- Riehle, Dave, "Say it Ain't So, Charlie:The 1897 Dispute Between Charles Comiskey and the St. Paul Labor Trades", Ramsey County History Quarterly V39 #2, Ramsey County Historical Society, St Paul, Minnesota, 2004.
- Axelson, Gustaf W. (1919). ""Commy": the life story of Charles A. Comiskey, the "Grand old Roman" of baseball and for nineteen years president and owner of the American league baseball team "The White Sox,"". Chicago: Reilly & Lee Co.
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Charles Comiskey managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Charles Comiskey at the Baseball Hall of Fame