Dan Brouthers

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Dan Brouthers
First baseman
Born: (1858-05-08)May 8, 1858
Sylvan Lake, New York, U.S.
Died: August 2, 1932(1932-08-02) (aged 74)
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 23, 1879, for the Troy Trojans
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 1904, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average.342
Hits2,296
Home runs106
Runs batted in1,296
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1945
Election methodOld-Timers Committee

Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers (/ˈbruːθərz/;[1] May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from 1879 to 1896, with a brief return in 1904. Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg), which was large by 19th-century standards.[2]

Recognized as the first great slugger in baseball history,[3] and among the greatest sluggers of his era, he held the record for career home runs from 1887 to 1889,[4] with his final total of 106 tying for the fourth most of the 19th century. His career slugging percentage of .519 remained the Major League record for a player with at least 4,000 at bats until Ty Cobb edged ahead of him in 1922. At the time of his initial retirement, he also ranked second in career triples (205), and third in runs batted in (1,296) and hits.[5]

A dominant hitter during the prime of his career, he led (or was in the top of) the league in most offensive categories, including batting average, runs scored, runs batted in (RBI), on-base percentage and hits. He led the league in batting average five times, the most by a 19th-century player, and his career .342 batting average still ranks ninth all-time. Brouthers is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date who have appeared in Major League games in four decades.

He was also an active players' union member, and was elected vice president of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players. Brouthers was elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame
in 1945 by the Veterans Committee.

Early life

Brouthers was born in

Wappingers Falls where Michael found safer work at a textile printing mill.[7]
: 5 

Brouthers played organized baseball beginning in childhood, from playing in the local sandlots

semi-professional Actives of Wappingers Falls. On July 7, 1877, while running the bases, he collided at home plate with a catcher, named Johnny Quigley, of the Clippers of Harlem. Quigley was knocked unconscious, having suffered a traumatic head injury, and later died from these injuries on August 12. The 19-year-old Brouthers was cleared of any wrongdoing by the authorities.[9]

Major League career

Troy

Brouthers made his Major League debut on June 23,

Boston Red Caps. Brouthers lost 16–0, and within two weeks he was released from the club.[9] He hit .274 that first season, with four home runs, and had 17 RBIs in 39 games played.[6]

After his release, Brouthers played for a

Buffalo Bisons, off future Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin.[9] He hit well enough in the minors to get another shot with the Trojans, which lasted just three games when he had only two hits in 12 at bats, and he was released again.[10]

Buffalo

Brouthers got his first chance to be an everyday player in

Philadelphia Quakers.[9]

Detroit and The Brotherhood

Tobacco card of Brouthers from 1888

At the end of the

American Association.[9]

The Detroit team was filled with stars from the era, including future Hall of Famers

Chicago White Stockings by 2+1⁄2 games.[12]

During the off-season, on November 11, 1886, The Executive Council of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players‚ formed in 1885 as the first organized players' union, met and re-elected John Montgomery Ward as president, and elected Brouthers as vice president.[9]

In

St. Louis Browns in a best-of-15 post-season tournament, the "World's Series". The Wolverines sealed a series championship with their eighth victory in 11 games; however, the two teams finished the series anyway, with Detroit winning 10 games to the Browns' five.[9][15] Brouthers only played in one of those games, getting two hits in three at bats.[16]

Following the season, on November 17, 1887, members of the NL officially recognized the Brotherhood and met with a Brotherhood committee that consisted of three players – Ward‚ Hanlon and Brouthers.[9]

The

Boston Beaneaters of the NL on October 16.[10]

Boston

Dan Brouthers of the Boston Players League team, 1887. Michael T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy Collection, Boston Public Library.

In 1889, his only season with the Beaneaters, he batted a league-leading .373, along with 105 runs scored and 118 runs batted in; he struck out only six times.[10] The first strikeout occurred on June 11 against Mickey Welch of the Giants.[9]

After the season, he – along with many Major League players – jumped to the

player-manager King Kelly,[19] finished in first place, 6+1⁄2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders.[20]

The Players' League lasted just the one season, and the Reds merged into the American Association, carrying many of the championship team's previous players.[21] Again, the team won the league's championship, finishing 8+1⁄2 games ahead of the St. Louis Browns.[22] Brouthers led the league in batting average (.350), on-base percentage and slugging, while finishing second in triples with 19, sixth in doubles with 26, and third in RBIs with 109.[10]

Later career

Plaque of Brouthers at the Baseball Hall of Fame

After the American Association folded following the

Brooklyn Grooms of the NL,[10] where he played two seasons. Most of his success came in that first season, when he led the league in batting average, hits, RBIs and total bases.[10] For the 1893 season, he played in only 77 of the team's games, but did well, hitting .337.[10] After the season, Brouthers was traded along with Willie Keeler to the Baltimore Orioles for Billy Shindle and George Treadway.[9]

This trade brought in two future Hall of Fame players, which added to the already established Orioles core of players including third baseman John McGraw, catcher Wilbert Robinson, shortstop Hughie Jennings, and center fielder Joe Kelley, all future Hall of Fame members.[23] The Orioles won the league's championship that season, and it was Brouthers' last full season in the majors, as he again produced great numbers, batting .347, finishing seventh in total bases, fifth in RBIs (128), fourth in doubles (39), and fifth in triples (23).[10]

During his career, and most notably during his time in Baltimore, he was known to always have his dog, an

Irish setter named Kelly, and had him sit in the players' area. It is claimed that the players never minded much, as he was very well-behaved and never left the area to run out on the field or made much noise.[24]

Early in the

New York Giants, where he was hitless in a two-game stint before retiring.[10]

Brouthers is still among the all-time leaders in many offensive categories. His .342 batting average ranks ninth, 205 triples ranks eighth, and his .423 on-base percentage ranks 15th.[10] He is tied with Mike Tiernan for fourth among 19th-century home run hitters with a total of 106, behind Roger Connor (138), Sam Thompson (127), and Stovey (122).[25]

Later life and legacy

Brouthers' grave at St. Mary's Church Cemetery in Wappingers Falls

Brouthers played

Eastern League, where he won a batting title with a .415 average.[2] Later he played for the Poughkeepsie Colts of the Hudson River League, batting a league-leading .373 at age 46.[8]

He remained near baseball for many years, working for his former teammate and New York Giants manager John McGraw, who placed him in charge of the Polo Grounds press gate.[2] He was with the Giants for nearly 20 years in this and other capacities.[8]

On New Year's Eve in 1884, Brouthers married Mary Ellen Croak, an Irish immigrant to New York and fellow Catholic, at St. Mary's in Wappingers Falls. They had four children together and were married for 48 years until his death.[7]

Brouthers died at the age of 74 at his home in East Orange, New Jersey, and is interred at St. Mary's Church Cemetery in Wappingers Falls, New York.[8][6] There is a statue dedicated to him located in Veteran's Park in this small village.[26] In 1945, Brouthers and several other stars of the era prior to 1910 were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.[2][3] In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, he was inducted into the newly formed Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.[27] In 1999, a survey of the Society for American Baseball Research ranked him as the sixth-greatest player of the 19th century.[28]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-7432-2722-0
    .
  2. ^ a b c d "The Ballplayers: Dan Brouthers". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  3. ^ a b "The National Baseball Hall of Fame: Dan Brouthers". baseballhalloffame.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  4. ^ "Progressive Leaders & Records for Home Runs". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  5. ^ Brouthers is credited with differing totals in career hits; at the time, he was credited with 2,349 hits, a figure still recognized by Major League Baseball, but this total includes 71 walks in 1887, when walks were counted as hits. There are slight variations in other seasons as well, but most sources today credit Brouthers with 2,296 hits.
  6. ^ a b c d "Dan Brouthers Stats". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780786475605
    . Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "Dan Brouthers' obituary". The New York Times, August 3, 1932. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Dan Brouthers career chronology". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Dan Brouthers career stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  11. ^ "1886 Detroit Wolverines season stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  12. ^ "1886 National League Standings". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  13. ^ "1887 Detroit Wolverines season stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  14. ^ a b "Detroit Wolverines/1887 World Series". michigan.gov. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  15. ^ "1887 National League Standings". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  16. ^ "1887 World Series stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  17. ^ "1888 National League Standings". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  18. ^ "A Structure To Last Forever":The Players' League And The Brotherhood War of 1890". by Ethan M. Lewis. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  19. ^ "1890 Boston Reds season stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  20. ^ "1890 Players' League Standings". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  21. ^ "1891 Boston Reds season stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  22. ^ "1891 American Association Standings". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  23. ^ "1894 Baltimore Orioles season stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  24. ISBN 0-7432-2722-0
    .
  25. ^ "19th Century Baseball History". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  26. ^ "Dan Brouthers' Monument". www.ballparkreviews.com. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  27. ^ "Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame". Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  28. ^ "SABR Century Survey Results". The SABR Bulletin. 29 (7). Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research: 8–9. July–August 1999.

External links

Records
Preceded by Career home run record holders
1887–1888 		Succeeded by
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