Baseballtown 1 History Book Table of Contents
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Baseballtown 1 History Book Table of Contents The History of Professional Baseball in Reading ..................................................................................................... 2 Offensive Leaders Since 1952 (Key: PHI = Reading Phillies SOX = Reading Red Sox IND = Reading Indians) Top Battng Averages and Home Run Hitters ....................................................................................................... 6 RBI and At-Bats ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Most Doubles and Triples ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Hits and Runs Scored .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Total Bases and Walks .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Stolen Bases and Caught Stealing ..................................................................................................................... 11 Strikeouts and Hit by Pitch ................................................................................................................................. 12 Sacrifice Bunts and Flies ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Pitching Leaders Since 1952 (Key: PHI = Reading Phillies SOX = Reading Red Sox IND = Reading Indians) Wins and Earned Run Average ............................................................................................................................. 14 Innings Pitched and Strikeouts ........................................................................................................................... 15 Appearances and Saves .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Shutouts and Complete Games ............................................................................................................................. 17 Team Statistics Hitting, Pitching and Fielding bests since 1952 ................................................................................................ 18 Reading Phillies Hitting Statistics ..................................................................................................................... 19 Reading Phillies Pitching Statistics ................................................................................................................... 21 Reading Phillies Fielding Statistics .................................................................................................................... 22 Wins and Losses Wins, Losses, Finishes and Championships Since 1952 ........................................................................................ 23 Reading Phillies Managers Ranked by Winning Percentage and Total Wins ............................................. 24 Reading Baseball Hall of Fame Members by induction year and explanation of categories ............................................................................ 25 Major League Award Winners Former Reading Players (1952-Present) who have won Major League Awards ........................................... 26 Retired Numbers ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 Reading Phillies All-Time Roster A-E ............................................................................................................................................................................ 27 E-M ........................................................................................................................................................................... 28 M-S ........................................................................................................................................................................... 29 S-Z ............................................................................................................................................................................ 30 The Baseballtown History Book created by ... Reading Fightin Phils Public Relations Department FirstEnergy Stadium P.O. Box 15050 Reading, PA 19612 610-375-8469 x 218 www.Fightins.com Baseballtown 1 History Book The History of Professional Baseball in Reading The first official baseball organization in the city of Reading was the Reading Athletic Club, which was formed in November of 1858 “for the purpose of taking a game of ball once or twice a week.” For the next decade and a half various teams would play other local nines for unofficial titles and bragging rights. Leagues provided little in terms of consistent scheduling or reliable umpiring. In 1883, the National Agreement was drawn up to provide guidelines for player contracts and define league territories. It also set up an arbitration committee to handle player disputes. The leagues that entered into the agreement were divided, based on salary limits, into major and minor leagues. The Reading Actives were a member of the Interstate Association, which had agreed to abide by the National Agreement and was one of the two original minor leagues. The Actives played a 68 game schedule in 1883, squaring off against clubs from Brooklyn, Harrisburg, Trenton, Wilmington, Pottsville and Camden (which disbanded in July). Baseballtown’s first minor league team finished 33-35 and in third place, but the league would disband after the season. Various reincarnations of the Actives appeared sporadically throughout the next 12 years as teams would often fold or move midway through the season. Only one other Actives team, the 1894 Pennsylvania State League squad, started and finished a campaign in Reading. Those Actives tallied a 61-50 mark, good enough for another third place finish. In 1897, the Reading Coal Heavers began a four year run in the Atlantic League by becoming the first city team to reach the dubious 100 loss plateau, finishing 40-100 and 52.5 games out in eighth place. The following season Reading rebounded to post a 72-56 record (3rd place) and finished 46-40 (4th) the year after that. In 1900, the Coal Heavers were 16-16 in mid-June when the league disbanded. The most noteworthy event of Reading’s stay in the Atlantic League came on July 5, 1898, when the world’s first professional female baseball player signed and played in one game for the Coal Heavers. Lizzie Arlington pitched the final inning of a 5-0 Reading victory over Allentown that day, giving up two hits and a walk but no runs. It would be another seven years until a minor league franchise returned to Baseballtown. In 1907, the York White Roses of the Class-B Tri-State League relocated their bottom dwelling squad to Reading and became the Pretzels. Four seasons later, Reading would capture its very first title, outdistancing Trenton by 10 games for the 1911 league crown. Unfortunately, Trenton bested the home nine, four games to three, in a best-of-seven post-season series. The highlight of the year was unquestionably the perfect game tossed by George “Jake” Northrop on June 14. It remains the only nine inning perfect game in Baseballtown history. After spending two of the next three seasons in the Tri-State League, which folded after the 1914 season, a new Pretzels team was born when the Albany Senators of the New York State League moved to Baseballtown in August of 1916. These Pretzels lasted only until the end of 1917, after which the league folded due to the first World War. After another year’s hiatus, the Class-AA International League would call on Reading to assume the reins of the Syracuse franchise. For the next 13 and a half years, teams named the Coal Barons (1919), Marines (1920), Aces (1921-22) and Keystones (1923-1932) would call Baseballtown home. Mostly remembered for their futility, the Reading IL clubs finished above .500 only twice, with their best record coming in 1923 (85-79, 3rd place). The 1926 assemblage scratched out just 31 wins against 129 losses and had drifted 75 games out of first by the end of the year. The 1927 team was slightly better, going 43-123. Yet they still managed to set an International League record for consecutive losses with 31. Despite the franchise’s struggles, there were several bright spots from the International League era. The Keys, owned by the Chicago Cubs from May 1927 until the end of 1930, produced several Major League players in those three and a half seasons. Most notable were shortstop Bill Jurges and pitcher Lon Warneke, who both had fine big league careers. Warneke even threw a 7-inning rain shortened no-hitter for the Keys in 1930. The top individual accomplishment, though, came during the 1929 season, when a Reading outfielder produced one of the greatest hitting displays of all time. In mid-August of that year, George Quellich collected 15 hits in 15 consecutive at-bats over a four game span, setting a record for organized baseball that stands to this day. After the Keystones were uprooted from Baseballtown in August 1932, Reading ventured into the Class-A New York-Penn League (known today as the Eastern League) as a Boston Red Sox affiliate. In 1933, the Sox