Adam Joseph DeBus, Jr. (October 7, 1892 – May 13, 1977) was a

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

professional baseball player whose career spanned three seasons, one of which was spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB)

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1917). Over his MLB career, DeBus, an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

, compiled a .229 batting average with nine

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, 30

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, five doubles, four

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, seven runs batted in (RBIs) and two

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 38

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. Originally, Debus signed with the MLB St. Louis Cardinals out of the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

, but his contract was waived after never making an appearance. He then signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his MLB debut on July 14, 1917, against the

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

. During his career, DeBus weighed and stood at . He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Adam Joseph DeBus, Jr. was born on October 7, 1892, in Chicago to Josephine and Adam DeBus, Sr., both of Germany. Josephine DeBus, who came to the United States in 1882, became a naturalized citizen in 1931. Adam DeBus, Sr., who came to the United States in 1878 and was naturalized in 1887, worked as a

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

in Chicago. Adam Joseph DeBus, Jr. was his parents' only child. He was raised to speak

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Baseball career

DeBus' professional baseball career began in 1914 as a member of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

Green Bay Bays Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combina ...

of the Class-C

Wisconsin–Illinois League The Wisconsin State League was a class D baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin State League ...

. He was under the management of Robert Lynch with the Green Bay club. Two of Debus' teammates on the Bays roster, Frank Scanlan and

Joe Weiss Joseph Harold Weiss (January 27, 1894 in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdiv ...

, had experience in Major League Baseball (MLB) one time or another over their careers. On the season, DeBus compiled a .234 batting average with 91

, 14 doubles, three

and three home runs in 108

. All of his 108 games were played at shortstop. His next professional baseball season came two seasons later in 1916 as a member of the minor league Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers of the Class-C

. The Graingrowers represented

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

and Moorhead, Minnesota. Three of his teammates on the Graingrowers,

Ralph Bell Ralph Albert "Lefty" Bell (November 16, 1890 – October 18, 1959) was a professional baseball pitcher from 1909 to 1916.Moxie Meixell and Bob Unglaub, were MLB players at one time in their careers. The Fargo-Moorhead club was managed by Bob Unglaub, who also played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the team. DeBus batted .284 with 96 hits in 100 games played. In 1917, DeBus re-signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers. On July 2, he was sold by the Fargo-Moorhead club to the MLB St. Louis Cardinals. On July 11, DeBus was waived after never making an appearance with the club. He was then signed by the

and reported to the team in Brooklyn, New York. He made his MLB debut in the second game of a doubleheader on July 14, 1917, against the

at Ebbets Field. He was sixth in the Pirates batting order. In four

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s against Brooklyn pitcher Rube Marquard, DeBus went hitless. His first MLB hit came on July 17 against

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

pitcher

Art Nehf Arthur Neukom Nehf (July 31, 1892 – December 18, 1960) was an American baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves (1915–1919), New York Giants (1919–1926), Cincinnati Reds (1926–1927), and the Ch ...

. On July 20, '' The Pittsburgh Press'' wrote that DeBus was a "better than ordinary hitter" and that he could "field with the best of them". In August, it was reported that Pittsburgh manager

Hugo Bezdek Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913– ...

was pleased with the services of DeBus. The syndicated column "Diamond Dust" compared DeBus to former MLB player Art Devlin. His final MLB appearance came on September 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals. In two at-bats against St. Louis pitcher Oscar Horstmann, DeBus went hitless. On the season with the Pirates, he batted .229 with nine

, 30 hits, five doubles, four triples, seven runs batted in (RBIs) and two

s in 38

. Defensively, he played 21 games at shortstop and 18 games at third base. DeBus committed 19 errors, 92 assists and 61

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s. He also converted 10

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s. Despite initial success in impressing Pirates manager Hugo Bezdek, by the end of the season ''The Pittsburgh Press'' wrote that DeBus " adprobably donned a Pirate uniform for the last time".

Later life

At the end of the 1917 baseball season, DeBus joined the United States Military to fight in World War I. He served with the 86th Infantry Division, and played with the division's baseball team. After his baseball career was over, he was working for an electrical company based in Chicago. By 1930, he was living with his parents in Chicago working as an electrical

auto mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...

. On August 1, 1931, DeBus and his mother boarded the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

in New York City to Germany. By 1942, DeBus was working for

Stewart-Warner Stewart-Warner was an American manufacturer of vehicle instruments (a.k.a. gauges and lubricating equipment) and many other products. History The company was founded as Stewart & Clark Company in 1905 by John K. Stewart. Their speedometers wer ...

, a manufacturer of electrical automotive parts. DeBus died on May 13, 1977, in Chicago. He was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeBus, Adam 1892 births 1977 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Green Bay Bays players Fargo-Moorhead Graingrowers players Pittsburgh Pirates players American people of German descent United States Army personnel of World War I American electricians American automotive engineers Baseball players from Chicago Engineers from Illinois 20th-century American engineers