Fred Clay Tenney (July 9, 1859June 15, 1919) 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 ...

player whose career spanned two seasons, one of which was spent with the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

(UA)

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, Boston Reds, and

Wilmington Quicksteps The Wilmington Quicksteps (also known as the Quickstep Club of Wilmington) were an 1884 late-season replacement baseball team in the Union Association. They finished with a 2-16 record and were managed by Joe Simmons. The team played their home ga ...

. He also played one season of minor league baseball for the

Hartford Babies Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Tenney spent the majority of his professional career as an

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 ...

, but also served as 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 as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played collegiate ball at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. After retiring from baseball, Tenney became a lawyer and the superintendent of schools for

Holliston, Massachusetts Holliston is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Greater Boston area. The population was 14,996 at the 2020 census. It is located in MetroWest, a Massachusetts region that is ...

, before his death on June 15, 1919.

Early life

Tenney was born on July 9, 1859, in

Marlborough, New Hampshire Marlborough is a New England town, town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is home to the Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuar ...

, to Henry Clay and Julia C. (née Stebbins) Tenney. Henry served as the principal of Mettowee Academy and the

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...

school. Growing up, Tenney had one sibling, Lockhart S. (born November 2, 1865).

Career

Tenney attended

and served as a pitcher during his senior year. Tenney lost in his college debut to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, 5–3. He completed his college career with a 4–2 record. He graduated the university with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1880, and was a member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

fraternity. From 1881 to 1885, Tenney was high school principal in

Yarmouth, Massachusetts Yarmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 23,793 at the 2010 census. The town is made up of three major villages: South Yarmouth, West Yarmou ...

, and in 1883 he played on the Yarmouth town baseball team in what is now the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He married Saidee Waterman of

Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is ''Post tot Naufracia Portus'', "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census. History Cape Cod wa ...

in October of 1884. In 1884, Tenney began his professional career for the Nationals, where he spent the majority of his 38-game career. Over 32 games with the team, Tenney batted .235 with a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

and 32

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 ...

, while playing 27 games in the outfield and six games at first base for the club. He also appeared in four games as a pitcher for the Reds, allowing nine

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s over 35.0

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. In his only game played for the Quicksteps, Tenney allowed one earned run in a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

loss. He finished his career with a 2.09

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

over 43.0 innings pitched. The following season, Tenney played for the Hartford Babies of the Southern New England League, appearing in three games for the team. Reports indicated that an arm injury may have ended his professional career.

After baseball

After retiring from baseball, Tenney became a lawyer, publishing agent, then principal and superintendent of schools in

. Tenney died on June 15, 1919, in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, and was interred at Lake Grove Cemetery in Holliston.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenney, Fred Major League Baseball outfielders Washington Nationals (UA) players Boston Reds (UA) players Wilmington Quicksteps players Brown Bears baseball players Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Baseball players from New Hampshire 19th-century baseball players 1859 births 1919 deaths Hartford Babies players People from Marlborough, New Hampshire School superintendents in Massachusetts American school principals 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators Massachusetts lawyers