George J. "Doc" Yeager (June 4, 1874 – July 5, 1940) was a

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. He played all or part of six seasons 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), ...

, primarily as 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 ...

. He played for the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

from 1896 to 1899, the Cleveland Blues in 1901, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in 1901, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in 1902, and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in 1902. During his career, he was measured at and weighing 190 lbs."George Yeager Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-03.

Biography

Yeager was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, to Henry Yeager and the former Anna Leister."George Yeager Death Certificate"
. ''thedeadballera.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-03. In his youth, he played on amateur baseball teams in the Cincinnati area, and after receiving several minor league offers, he signed with New Haven in 1894. For most of the next three seasons, however, he played with the

Pawtucket Phenoms Pawtucket may refer to: * Pawtucket, Rhode Island * Pawtucket Falls (Massachusetts), Lowell, Massachusetts * Pawtucket tribe * 2 ships named USS Pawtucket * Pawtucket Brewery, fictional brewery on the television series ''Family Guy ''Famil ...

of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. In 1896, Yeager had a good season at Pawtucket,

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.345 with 24

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 and 36

stolen base 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 ...

s."George Yeager Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-03. He made his major league debut with the Boston Beaneaters that September. Yeager was a backup catcher to Marty Bergen in 1897 and 1898 but also played other positions in the field for Boston. He batted .242 and then .267. Led by several future Hall of Famers, the Beaneaters won the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennant both years. In 1899, Boston released Yeager, and he spent most of that season with the Eastern League's

Worcester Farmers The Worcester Farmers were a minor league baseball team that played from 1899 to 1900 in the International League, Eastern League. Under manager Frank Leonard (baseball), Frank Leonard in 1899, they went 58-51, and in 1900 they went 62-63. They w ...

. In 1900, he signed with

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

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 ...

of the

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 ...

, which was a minor league at the time. Yeager started off hot at the plate and hit .387 through 19 games, by far the highest batting average of his career. However, he then tore some ligaments in his knee and was sidelined for the rest of 1900. Yeager began 1901 with the Cleveland Blues, hit poorly, was released, and then finished out the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1902, Yeager played for both the New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles, but he did not stick with those clubs, either. He played his last major league game on August 5, 1902. From 1903 to 1909, Yeager was a catcher in the minor leagues. With 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 ...

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, he batted over .300 for the last time in 1903. He also 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 ...

and

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. In 1907, he went to Des Moines of the Western League and batted .286. His batting average fell to .212 the following season, and he retired soon afterwards. After his baseball career ended, Yeager became a switch tender for the Southern Rail Road Company. He was married to Tillie Stadtlander. Yeager died in 1940 of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

"Saint Paul Saints History 1902–1919"
''usfamily.net''. Retrieved 2010-12-03. and was buried in

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham L ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeager, George Major League Baseball catchers Boston Beaneaters players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Giants (NL) players Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) players Brockton Shoemakers players Pawtucket Maroons players Pawtucket Phenoms players Providence Grays (minor league) players Worcester Farmers players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Columbus Senators players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Toledo Mud Hens players Montgomery Senators players Des Moines Champs players Des Moines Boosters players Baseball players from Cincinnati 1874 births 1940 deaths 19th-century baseball players