Dennis Joseph Mack (''

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

'' McGee; March 14, 1850 – April 10, 1888) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player who was a

first baseman 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 ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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), ...

for eight seasons from to . He played for seven different teams, including as a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the

Louisville Eclipse The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

in .

Career

Mack spent three years at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, then joined the

Rockford Forest Citys Rockford Forest Citys (officially the Forest City Club), from Rockford, Illinois was one of the first professional baseball clubs. Rockford played for one season during the National Association inaugural year of . They are not to be confused wit ...

of the National Association for the 1871 season. The National Association was the first fully professional baseball league, and Rockford compiled a 4-21 record in its 25 games, finishing ninth in the nine-team league before folding at the season's end. Mack appeared in all 25 of his team's games, leading the team with 34

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 ...

, 8 walks, and 12

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. Mack went on to play the next three seasons in the National Association. During the last of these, 1874, he was involved in accusations of

game fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

.Ginsburg, Daniel E. ''The Fix Is In: A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals'', McFarland, 2004, pp. 24-26. On August 20, umpire Billy McLean came forward with allegations that a game between Mack's

Philadelphia Whites The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

and the Chicago White Stockings had been thrown by the Philadelphia club. McLean claimed that Philadelphia's John Radcliffe had approached him with an offer of $175 in exchange for making calls favorable to the White Stockings. According to McLean, Radcliffe named four other players as complicit in the fix: Mack,

Candy Cummings William Arthur "Candy" Cummings (October 18, 1848 – May 17, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher in the National Association and National League. Cummings is widely credited with inventing the curveball. H ...

Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven ...

, and

Nat Hicks Nathaniel Woodhull "Nat" Hicks (April 19, 1845 – April 21, 1907) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for six seasons, two in the National League. Hicks was one of the first catchers t ...

. The board of directors for the Whites met to consider these charges on September 1, and they elected not to pursue the matter further with any players but Radcliffe, describing McLean's claims as "hearsay". The stockholders of the club voted to expel Radcliffe on September 8, by a count of 26–15, but he appealed to the judiciary committee of the National Association, and was reinstated on March 2, due to what Henry Chadwick characterized as procedural errors during the course of his expulsion. Mack then spent 1876 and 1880 in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, and concluded by spending two more seasons in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in 1882 and 1883. During the 1882 season, he also served as manager of the

, leading the second-place club to a 42-38 record. He led the NA in walks in 1872, and ranked among his league's leaders in stolen bases three times. Mack ended his career with a .228

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 ...

, .273

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 ...

, and .271

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, ...

in 373 games played and 1505

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 batt ...

Death

He suffered a fit on the evening of April 9, 1888, and remained unconscious until dying of his injuries at 6 a.m. the next day.Death of a Short Stop
, The New York Times, April 11, 1888, p. 5.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Denny 1851 births 1888 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Louisville Eclipse players Louisville Eclipse managers Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players Philadelphia White Stockings players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players Rockford Forest Citys players St. Louis Brown Stockings players Major League Baseball player-managers Minor league baseball managers Indianapolis Blues (minor league) players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Utica Pent Ups players Springfield (minor league baseball) players Washington Nationals (minor league) players Allentown Dukes players Lancaster Ironsides players Baltimore Monumentals (minor league) players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Easton, Pennsylvania Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Accidental deaths from falls

Career

Death

See also

External links

References