Edward Cunningham Foster (February 13, 1887 – January 15, 1937) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) from 1910 to 1923 for the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Washington Senators,

Boston Red Sox 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 ...

, and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

Career

Foster played in the minor leagues from 1906 to 1909, then appeared in 30 games for the New York Highlanders in 1910, hitting only .133. He returned to the minor leagues in 1911. Foster's longest stint with a professional team came with the Washington Senators between 1912 and 1919. He had one of his best seasons in 1912, finishing with career highs in

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 ...

(176), doubles (34), and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(70). In the first month of the 1913 season, Foster contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. He was treated at

Georgetown University Hospital MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is one of the Washington, D.C. area's oldest academic teaching hospitals. It is a not-for-profit, acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of the Northwest Quadrant ...

, where he was cared for by a nurse named Mary Chrismond. Foster and Chrismond got married in 1915. Foster was known for his ability to hit the ball to a given part of the field, and Senators pitcher

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

appreciated Foster's ability to field bunts at third base. AFter the 1919 season, the Senators traded Foster,

Harry Harper Harry Clayton Harper (April 24, 1895 – April 23, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher, businessman, and politician. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Brookly ...

, and Mike Menosky to the

for Braggo Roth and

Red Shannon Maurice Joseph "Red" Shannon (February 11, 1897 – April 12, 1970) born in Jersey City, New Jersey was an infielder for the Boston Braves (1915), Philadelphia Athletics (1917–1919 and 1920–21), Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox a ...

. The Red Sox waived Foster in August 1922, and the St. Louis Browns claimed him. He hit .306 for the 1922 Browns, but he hit only .180 in 37 games in 1923 before retiring. In 1500 games over 13 seasons, Foster posted a .264

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 ...

(1490-for-5652) with 732 runs, 191 doubles, 71 triples, 6

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 ...

, 451 RBI, 195

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 ...

, 528

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, .329

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 .326

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, ...

. He finished his career with a .935

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing mostly at third base but also at second base and shortstop.

Later life and death

In early 1924, Foster said that he would study to become a minister rather than returning to baseball. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1937 after being involved in an automobile accident several days earlier. He is interred at

Columbia Gardens Cemetery The Columbia Gardens Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Ashton Heights Historic District of Arlington, Virginia Cemetery The Columbia Gardens Cemetery is located at the southern boundary of the Ashton Heights Historic District and is one o ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Eddie 1887 births 1937 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players New York Yankees players Boston Red Sox players St. Louis Browns players Road incident deaths in Washington, D.C. Coffeyville Bricks players Harrisburg Senators players Williamsport Millionaires players Jersey City Skeeters players Rochester Bronchos players Baseball players from Chicago Bradford Drillers players

Career

Later life and death

See also

References

External links