Irvin Victor "Fuzzy" Hufft (August 2, 1901 – October 28, 1973) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played in the

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

for the Seattle Indians, Mission Reds, and Oakland Oaks from 1926 to 1932. He is a member of the

PCL Hall of Fame PCL may refer to: Aviation * FAP Captain David Abenzur Rengifo International Airport, near Pucallpa, Peru (IATA code: PCL) *Pilot-controlled lighting, a system by which aircraft pilots can control the lighting of runways and taxiways via radio con ...

Career

Hufft began playing baseball as a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. He signed with the

Springfield Midgets The Springfield Midgets were a minor league baseball team that played from 1903 to 1904 in the Missouri Valley League and from 1906 to 1909 and 1921 to 1930 in the Western Association. Based in Springfield, Missouri, they were affiliated with the St ...

of the Class C

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

late in the 1923 season due to an injury to

Runt Marr Clifton Ambrose Marr (November 23, 1891 – August 1, 1981, in Grove, Oklahoma, United States) was a baseball figure who spent many years playing, managing and scouting at the minor and major league levels. Marr played in the minor leagues from 19 ...

and made his professional debut as a

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 returned to Springfield for the 1924 season, but new

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Boss Schmidt decided to play Hufft as an

. He hit well for the Midgets, but was released in May because of his poor fielding. Hufft played for the

Arkansas City Osages Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from ...

of the Class D

Southwestern League The Southwestern League was the name of four former minor league baseball leagues that operated in the Southwestern United States. The second league, also known as the ''Oklahoma State League'', was in operation for the 1904 season. The third l ...

for the remainder of the 1924 season. He began the 1925 season with Arkansas City, but in August, he was suspended by the club for the remainder of the season due to a run-in with team officials. The team subsequently sold Hufft to the

Wichita Izzies Wichita ( ) may refer to: People *Wichita people, a Native American tribe *Wichita language, the language of the tribe Places in the United States * Wichita, Kansas, a city * Wichita County, Kansas, a county in western Kansas (city of Wichita i ...

of the Class A Western League. Hufft was sold to the Seattle Indians of the

(PCL) for the 1926 season. With his strong play at the beginning of the season, Seattle made him the starting

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, relegating

Brick Eldred Ross C. "Brick" Eldred (July 26, 1892 – December 22, 1976) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Salt Lake City Bees, the Sacramento Senators (baseball), Sacramento Senators, and the Seattle Indians of the Pacific ...

to being a

bench player In team sports, substitution (or interchange) is replacing one player with another during a match. Substitute players that are not in the starting lineup (also known as bench players, backups, interchange, or reserves) reside on the bench and ar ...

. He finished the 1926 season with a .311 batting average and 16

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 in 165 games. During the 1928 season, the Indians traded Hufft to the Mission Reds for Eddie Bryan. For Seattle and Mission, he batted .371 for the 1928 season and hit 29 home runs, the third-most in the league. Hufft batted .356 in the 1930 season. During the 1931 season, he was benched by the Missions, and then sold to the Oakland Oaks for ($ in current dollar terms). He had a .343 batting average for the 1931 season. The Oaks sold Hufft to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

of 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 August 1932. The Indians released Hufft in April 1933. He signed with the

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

of the Class A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in May 1933, but was released a week later. He then caught on with the

Galveston Buccaneers The Galveston Buccaneers were a Minor League Baseball team that existed from 1931 to 1937. Based in Galveston, Texas, United States, they played in the Texas League. Their home ballpark was Moody Stadium. Notable players include Del Pratt, Beau Be ...

of the Texas League for the remainder of the 1933 season. During the 1933–34 offseason, Hufft suffered a compound fracture of his left leg between his ankle and knee in an automobile collision, and doctors feared that they might need to amputate. Though his leg was saved, he was unable to play in 1934. The Buccaneers hosted a benefit game for Hufft in March 1934 that raised ($ in current dollar terms) for him. Out of organized baseball, Hufft managed a semi-professional team in Galveston in 1935. In the PCL, Hufft recorded 1,446

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 ...

with a .346 batting average, 166 home runs, and 902

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 ...

. He was inducted into the

in 2007.

Personal life

Hufft received his nickname from a Sunday school teacher, who referred to his unkempt hair as "fuzzy". After the 1925 season, Hufft was arrested for stealing two cases of cigarettes. He was convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to two years in prison. However, he was granted

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

in December. Hufft married Jean Hainsworth in December 1928.

References

External links

Fuzzy Hufft: Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hufft, Fuzzy 1901 births 1973 deaths People from Lebanon, Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball players Parsons Parsons players Cushing Oilers players Springfield Midgets players Arkansas City Osages players Wichita Izzies players Seattle Indians players Mission Reds players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Indianapolis Indians players Oklahoma City Indians players Galveston Buccaneers players