Chub Collins
Chub Collins | |
---|---|
Canada West | |
Died: May 20, 1914 Dundas, Ontario, Canada | (aged 56)|
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 1, 1884, for the Buffalo Bisons | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 11, 1885, for the Detroit Wolverines | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .196 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 26 |
Teams | |
|
Charles Augustus "Chub" Collins (October 12, 1857 – May 20, 1914) was a Canadian professional
Collins compiled a .182 batting average and .901 fielding percentage in his major league career. In its obituary of Collins, Sporting Life wrote: "Charles 'Chub' Collins was a brainy ball player, a mediocre hitter, and one of the fastest base runners in America."[1]
Collins also played and managed in baseball's minor leagues from 1885 to 1890 and 1896 to 1900, including stints with the International League and Canadian League teams in Hamilton, Ontario (1885-1887, 1897-1900), Rochester, New York (1888-1889), and Galt, Ontario (1896). He stole 45 bases in 1886, 85 bases in 1888, and 81 bases in 1889. His 1898 Hamilton team won the league championship "with one of the strongest minor league aggregations ever seen In Hamilton."[1] He also served as an umpire in the Western Association in 1891.
Early years
Collins was born in
Professional baseball career
Major leagues
Collins reached the major leagues in May 1884 at age 26. He played 45 games, mostly at second base, for the
On July 21, 1884, Collins signed as a free agent with the
Collins began the 1885 season with Indianapolis, though the team that year joined the newly formed
In mid-June 1885, the Western League disbanded, and a rush developed to sign the players on the Indianapolis roster,[4] a line-up that included Sam Thompson and Deacon McGuire. The Detroit Wolverines of the National League sent two representatives to Indianapolis, principally to sign the Hoosiers' battery of Larry McKeon and Jim Keenan. The Wolverines were outbid by the Cincinnati Reds for McKeon and Keenan but wound up with the Hoosiers' manager (Bill Watkins) and the rest of the team's starting lineup.[5]
Collins made his debut with Detroit on June 24, 1885, against Providence. He scored a run and had two RBIs in the game.[6] Collins lasted less than three weeks with the Wolverines, appearing in his final major league game on July 11, 1885. He appeared in 14 games at the shortstop position for the Wolverines, committing 11 errors for a .792 fielding percentage. He also compiled a .182 batting average in 55 at bats for Detroit.[2]
Minor leagues
After being released by the Wolverines, Collins finished the 1885 season with the Hamilton Clippers in the Canadian League. He became a player-manager for Hamilton when the team joined the International League in 1886 and the International Association in 1887. He then played during the 1888 and 1889 seasons with the Buffalo and Rochester teams in the International League. He compiled a career high .276 batting average in 1889. One of the fastest base-runners in baseball, Collins stole 45 bases in 1886, 85 bases in 1888, and 81 bases in 1889.[3]
Collins played for the
In the spring of 1891, Collins was sued by Phoebe Smith, a former employee of the Dundas Cotton Mills, for breach of promise of marriage. Collins was at the time at
After a five-year absence from baseball, Collins returned in 1896 as a player-manager in the Canadian League for the team in Galt, Ontario. He also managed the Hamilton, Ontario team in the Canadian League and International League from 1897 to 1900.[1][3][12] His 1898 Hamilton team won the league championship "with one of the strongest minor league aggregations ever seen In Hamilton."[1] In September 1898, Sporting Life wrote: "Manager Charles ('Chub') Collins occasionally gets in the game, and the old ex-International Leaguer has not forgotten how the game is played. His work on several occasions has been of the fire-escape order."[13]
Politics and later years
From 1901 to 1902, Collins served as the mayor of his hometown,
Following an illness that lasted for several months, Collins died at his home in Dundas in 1914 at age 56. He was buried at St. Augustine Cemetery in that city. The Sporting Life newspaper wrote in its obituary of Collins: "Charles 'Chub' Collins was a brainy ball player, a mediocre hitter, and one of the fastest base runners in America."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Death of a Noted Player" (PDF). Sporting Life. May 30, 1914. p. 16.
- ^ a b c d "Chub Collins". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Chub Collins Minor League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ a b Maclean Kennedy (February 16, 1913). "Sam Thompson Ranks as one of the Great Sluggers of Baseball History". Detroit Free Press. p. 22.
- ISBN 978-0786480623.
- ^ "The National League" (PDF). Sporting Life. July 1, 1885. p. 3.
- ^ "Past Champions". Archived from the original on 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
- ^ "Baseball" (PDF). Sporting Life. April 2, 1890. p. 8.
- ^ "Condensed Dispatches" (PDF). The Sporting Life. July 19, 1890. p. 1.
- ^ "Notes and Gossip" (PDF). Sporting Life. September 20, 1890. p. 4.
- ^ "An Umpire's Trouble: Western Association Official Sued For Breach of Promise" (PDF). Sporting Life. May 2, 1891. p. 1.
- ^ "Canadian League Meeting". Daily Mail and Empire. March 20, 1897. p. 8.
- ^ "Hamilton Happenings" (PDF). Sporting Life. September 3, 1898. p. 9.