Robert Lynn Wood (July 28, 1865 – May 22, 1943) was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player. He played all or part of seven seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, three with the Cincinnati Reds (1898–1900), and two each with the Cleveland Blues/Bronchos (1901–1902) and Detroit Tigers (1904–1905).

Early years

Wood was born in 1865 at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He moved with his parents to the United States at age eight and was raised in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

Baseball career

Wood began his professional baseball career with the

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

of the Western League in 1895 at age 26. He remained with Indianapolis for three years. Wood made his major-league debut in 1898 for the Cincinnati Reds. He played three years for the Reds from 1898 to 1900. In 1899, he hit .313 with a .404 on-base percentage with the Reds. Wood jumped to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in 1900, appearing in 36 games for the Chicago Whitestockings. When the American League reached major-league status in 1901, Wood joined the Cleveland Blues. He spent the 1901 and 1902 seasons with Cleveland. Wood spent the 1903 season with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. He hit .324 in 121 games for Milwaukee. Wood returned to the American League in 1904, appearing in 49 games for the Detroit Tigers. In 1905, he appeared in only eight games for the Tigers. His batting average collapsed in 1905 with only two hits in 24 at bats. He was sold to Buffalo in May 1905. Wood concluded his playing career for Buffalo in 1905 and 1906, Toronto in 1906 and 1907, and Little Rock in 1907 and 1908. He played the majority of his major league career (290 out of 382 games) as a catcher. Over his entire major league career, he had a .281 batting average with two home runs, 168 RBI and a .338 on-base percentage.

Later years

During his time as a baseball player, Wood also owned two farms in Ohio. Wood died at his home in

, in May 1943.

References

Major League Baseball catchers Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Cleveland Bronchos players Detroit Tigers players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians players St. Paul Apostles players Chicago White Stockings (minor league) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Little Rock Travelers players Baseball players from Ohio 19th-century baseball players People from Trumbull County, Ohio 1865 births 1943 deaths British emigrants to the United States {{US-baseball-catcher-1860s-stub