Edward William Holly (1879–1973), born Edward William Ruthlavy, was a

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), ...

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 ...

. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors. He is also a member of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

Hall of Fame. Holly's professional career began in with the Western League's

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. In , he played for the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

. After eight years in the minor leagues, Holly was acquired from the

Johnstown Johnnies Johnstown may refer to: Places Australia * Johnstown, Queensland, a locality split between the Southern Burnett Region and the Gympie Region, Queensland Canada * Johnstown, Nova Scotia * Johnstown, Ontario, United Counties of Leeds and Grenvi ...

, where he had batted .298 in by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. He played 10 games for the Cards, batting just .059, but was apparently impressive enough to be handed the starting shortstop job in , replacing Forrest Crawford. Holly played 150 games for St. Louis that year, batting .229. He was let go after the season. In , Holly was back in the minor leagues, playing for the

Rochester Bronchos The Rochester Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York, from 1899 to 1911. In 1899, the franchise was purchased by a syndicate of local businessmen doing business as the "Flower City Baseball Company": George W. Swee ...

of the Eastern League, the predecessor of the

. He spent the next six seasons in that league, with the Bronchos,

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

, and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, where he built his reputation as a top defensive shortstop. Three of his teams won the league championship during his tenure: Rochester in and , and Montreal in . It would take a third major league to bring Holly back to the majors in . That year, Holly joined the

Pittsburgh Rebels The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that ...

of the upstart

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. He served as their starting shortstop that year, batting .246 in 100 games. The next season, however, he was on the bench behind Marty Berghammer, who had jumped over from the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. After the season, the Federal League folded, and Holly retired as an active player. Holly returned to the International League in as manager of the Montreal Royals. He managed the club for three full seasons and parts of two others—including winning 96 games in —before being let go partway through the season. He was also a long-time scout for several different major league teams. He was elected to the IL Hall of Fame in .

References

Holly's page at the International League Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holly, Ed 1879 births 1973 deaths Baseball players from Chicago Chicago Cubs scouts Grand Rapids Boers players Helena Senators players Johnstown Johnnies players Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Milwaukee Creams players Montreal Royals managers Montreal Royals players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Peoria Distillers players Pittsburgh Rebels players Rochester Bronchos players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Paul Saints (Western League) players San Francisco (minor league baseball) players Shreveport Pirates (baseball) players Sportspeople from Chicago Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts