Morris James "Farmer" Steelman (June 29, 1875 – September 16, 1944) was a
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
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), ...
. He played for the
Louisville Colonels
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 ...
,
Brooklyn Superbas
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...
, and
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
from 1899 to 1902."Farmer Steelman Statistics and History" ''baseball-reference.com''. Accessed 2010-12-17.
Career
Steelman was born in
Millville, New Jersey
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400, He started his professional baseball career in 1895 with his hometown team, which played in the
South New Jersey League
The South New Jersey League was a minor league baseball league that played from 1895 to 1897. The Independent and Class D level South New Jersey League member teams were based exclusively in New Jersey.
History
The South New Jersey League was ...
. The following season, he moved to York of the Pennsylvania State League and batted .277 in 12 games."Farmer Steelman Minor League Statistics & History" ''baseball-reference.com''. Accessed 2010-12-17. Steelman then played in the Atlantic League in 1897. In 1898, he started the season in the Southern League, but when that circuit folded, he returned north to Norfolk.
For the next few seasons, Steelman split time between the Eastern League and the majors. He hit well for the Syracuse Stars in 1899 and made his MLB debut in September with the Louisville Colonels. Steelman went just 1 for 15 at Louisville. In January 1900, he was purchased by the Brooklyn Superbas. He apparently sat on the bench all season, appearing in just one game that October. He was the only
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
to play for Brooklyn in 1900.
Steelman was released by the Superbas in May 1901. He joined the Eastern League's Hartford Indians and batted .292 for them in 90 games. In August, he jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics of the new
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 ...
and batted .261 there. Steelman started off slow in 1902 and returned to the minors. He played his last Major League game on May 22.
From 1902 to 1909, Steelman never batted above .244. He played in the Pacific Coast League for one year, 1904, and led the league's catchers in errors. Steelman then went back east for 1905 and had stints in the Eastern League,
New York State League
The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...
, and
Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball.
History
The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia.
The second leagu ...
. After batting .167 in 1909, he retired from organized baseball.
In his 14-year career, Steelman never batted .300 over the course of a season. He had a career .218 batting average in the majors, with 0
home run
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 ...
s; he also had a career .228 batting average in the minors, with exactly 4 home runs in 899 games.
Steelman moved to
Merchantville, New Jersey
Merchantville is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 3,821,Morris James "Farmer" Steelman DVRBS.com. Accessed August 14, 2016. "By the end of 1939 Morris Steelman had moved to Merchantville, New Jersey. He passed away there on September 16, 1944 and was buried near his wife. "