Harry M. Steinfeldt (September 29, 1875 – August 17, 1914) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. 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 ...

, Steinfeldt 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), ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and Boston Rustlers. He batted and threw right-handed. Steinfeldt was the starting third baseman for the Cubs in the final game of the

1908 World Series The 1908 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1908 season. The fifth edition of the World Series, it matched the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs against the American League champion Detroit Ti ...

, the team's last championship until their victory in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. He was the fourth infielder on a team that gained fame for a double-play combination of "Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Early life

Steinfeldt was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

on September 29, 1875, to German immigrants. His family moved to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

when he was five years old. He initially pursued a theatrical career.

Career

While touring Texas in a

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

, Steinfeldt played baseball in a town where his show was performing. His success at baseball led him to sign his first professional contract, debuting in minor league baseball with the Houston Magnolias/Mudcats of the Class B

Texas-Southern League The Texas-Southern League was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams that operated from 1895 to 1899, primarily in Texas. During the 1896 season, the league renamed itself as the Texas Association. History of the Tex ...

in 1895. The next year, he played for the

Galveston Sandcrabs The Galveston Sand Crabs were a professional baseball team based in Texas. The team competed in the South Texas League and Texas League, and was an active baseball team from the 1903 season until the 1912 season and from 1922 to 1924. The team later ...

and

Fort Worth Panthers A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the Class C

Texas Association The Texas Association was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926. An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 throu ...

. In 1897, Steinfeldt played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

of the Class A Western League. In October 1897, the

of 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 ...

(NL) purchased Steinfeldt from Detroit. Debuting in the major leagues for the Reds in 1898, he filled in for

Bid McPhee John Alexander "Bid" McPhee (November 1, 1859 – January 3, 1943) was an American 19th-century Major League Baseball second baseman. He played 18 seasons in the majors, from until , all for the Cincinnati Reds franchise. He was elected to the B ...

Tommy Corcoran Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn G ...

, and

Charlie Irwin Charles Edwin Irwin (February 15, 1869 – September 21, 1925) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1893 and 1902 for the Chicago Colts, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Supe ...

as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various st ...

. When the Reds released Irwin during the 1901 season, Steinfeldt became the Reds' starting

. He led the NL in doubles in 1903 with 32. On October 24, 1905, the Reds traded Steinfeldt, with

Jimmy Sebring James Dennison Sebring (March 22, 1882–December 22, 1909), was a professional baseball player who played outfield from 1902 to 1909. He attended college at Bucknell University. He played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ...

, to the Chicago Cubs for

Jake Weimer Jacob Weimer, nicknamed "Tornado Jake" (November 29, 1873 – June 19, 1928), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1903–1905), Cincinnati Reds (1906–19 ...

. He led the NL in hits in 1906 with 176 and tied with Jim Nealon for most

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 ...

(RBIs) with 83. His .327 batting average finished second, behind

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...

(.339). Steinfeldt set a major league record with three

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

in a game in 1909.

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

tied the record in 1961. Steinfeldt is the only member of the Cubs' infield, which also included

Joe Tinker Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of the ...

Johnny Evers John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 – March 28, 1947) was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Philli ...

, and

Frank Chance Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 – September 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 18 ...

, who was left out of

Franklin Pierce Adams Franklin Pierce Adams (November 15, 1881 – March 23, 1960) was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F.P.A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances a ...

' famous poem "

Baseball's Sad Lexicon "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," also known as "Tinker to Evers to Chance" after its refrain, is a 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams. The eight-line poem is presented as a single, rueful stanza from the point of view of a New York Giants fa ...

" (the famous trio played together for ten years, starting in 1902, while Steinfeldt played with them for four years). On April 5, 1911, 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 ...

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 ...

purchased Steinfeldt from the Cubs. On May 25, 1911, St. Paul traded Steinfeldt to the Boston Rustlers for

Art Butler Arthur Edward "Artie" Butler (December 18, 1887 – October 7, 1984) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Boston Rustlers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an Americ ...

and Josh Clarke. Steinfeldt fell ill in July 1911, leaving the team. It was later identified as a nervous breakdown. The Rustlers released Steinfeldt after the season. In 1912, Steinfeldt returned to minor league baseball. He managed the Cincinnati Pippins of the

United States Baseball League The United States Baseball League was a short-lived hopeful third major-league that was established in New York City in 1912 and lasted only one partial season. History In March 1912, organizers of the proposed league – described by members of ...

, but the league folded in midseason. He also 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 ...

of the American Association, but was released in May. In June, he became the manager of the Meriden Metropolitans of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. In 1647 games over 14 major league seasons, Steinfeldt posted a .267

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 ...

(1578-for-5900) with 759 runs, 284 doubles, 90 triples, 27

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 ...

, 762 RBI, 202

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 ...

, 471

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 ...

, .330

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 .360

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 an overall .927

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 ...

. In 21 World Series games, he hit .260 (19-for-73) with 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 8 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 4 walks.

Death

Steinfeldt died in

Bellevue, Kentucky Bellevue is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located along the southern bank of the Ohio River. The population was 5,955 at the 2010 census. History Before Bellevue was founded, the area was used ...

in 1914 after a long illness, at the age of 38. He is interred at

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 ...

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 ...

. The death certificate indicates that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinfeldt, Harry 1875 births 1914 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Cincinnati Reds players Chicago Cubs players Boston Rustlers players National League RBI champions 19th-century baseball players Minor league baseball managers Houston Magnolias players Houston Mudcats players Fort Worth Panthers players Galveston Sandcrabs players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Baseball players from St. Louis Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links