Charles Sylvester "Chick" Stahl (January 10, 1873 – March 28, 1907) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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), ...

who was among the most feared and consistent hitters in his time. Stahl was an active major-league player when he committed suicide during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

before the 1907 season.

Career

In his rookie 1897 season with the

Boston Americans The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, he batted .354, and over his first sixty-nine seasons, he averaged over .300. In 1899, he had six hits in a game, and in the

1903 World Series The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, wit ...

, he hit three triples. By 1904, including his time with the Beaneaters and the

, Stahl had been a key part of four pennant winning teams in seven seasons. In , he was named acting manager of the Americans after his friend

Jimmy Collins James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Collins was especially regarded for ...

was suspended and decided to focus on his playing, and also due to the club's ownership opting for a change following a poor season by the club. He was officially named player-manager on December 4, 1906. In 1,304

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 ...

, Stahl compiled a .305

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1546-5069) with 858

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 ...

, 219 doubles, 118 triples, 36

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 622 RBI, 189

stolen bases 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 ...

, 470 walks, an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

of .369 and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

of .416 in 10 major-league seasons. In the

, he hit .303 (10-33), scoring 6 runs and recording 3 RBI, helping the

win the first modern World Series.

Managerial record

Death

In March 1907, Stahl died by suicide during

West Baden, Indiana West Baden Springs is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 574 at the 2010 census. It is well known for its West Baden Springs Hotel and for being the birthplace of Larry Bird. History ...

, by drinking four ounces of

carbolic acid Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromaticity, aromatic organic compound with the molecular chemical formula, formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatility (chemistry), volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () ...

. The reasoning behind Stahl's suicide has remained a mystery for over a century. He was known as a carefree, fun-loving man and had many love affairs going on throughout the country. He had mentioned suicide days before in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, prompting some teammates to take the carbolic acid from him. His final words to some of teammates were "Boys, I just couldn't help it. It drove me to it." What "it" exactly was remains a mystery. A 1908 newspaper article claims that he was despondent because he had been tasked with discharging his friend Collins from the team.

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

reluctantly took over as manager to start the season, but he was replaced six games into the season. Collins was traded to Philadelphia in June 1907. Stahl's widow mysteriously died a year and a half later.Bill Ferber (2007) ''A Game of Baseball: The Orioles, The Beaneaters and The Battle For The 1897 Pennant'', University of Nebraska Press, , pg. 251 Just prior to her death, Julia Stahl was seen walking in a poor area of Boston while lavishly dressed. However, no bystanders seem to have seen the events of the last moments of her life. Chick Stahl was not related to

Jake Stahl Garland "Jake" Stahl (April 13, 1879 – September 18, 1922) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and New York Highlanders. Biography A graduate of the University of ...

, despite contemporary baseball sources listing them as brothers. Stahl was mentioned along with teammates

Bill Dinneen William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen (April 5, 1876 – January 13, 1955), was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American L ...

and

in the revival of the song "

Tessie "Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper''. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how th ...

" (2004) by

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...

References

External links

The Deadball Era
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stahl, Chick 1873 births 1907 suicides Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball center fielders Boston Beaneaters players Boston Americans players Boston Red Sox managers Major League Baseball player-managers Suicides by poison Suicides in Indiana Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Roanoke Magicians players People from Noble County, Indiana

Career

Managerial record

Death

See also

References

External links