Harry Duffield Stovey (''

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

'' Stowe; December 20, 1856 – September 20, 1937) was a 19th-century

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), ...

player and the first player in major league history to hit 100

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. Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Stovey played for fourteen seasons in the majors and was appointed

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

on two separate occasions during his career. Known today as both a prolific home run hitter and base-stealer, he led the league in both categories multiple times in his career, including a season record of fourteen home runs in and a league-leading 97 stolen bases in . He stole 509 bases in his career, which is tied for 35th all-time; among players who played in fifteen seasons or less, he ranks sixth. Stovey finished in the top ten in home runs eleven times (1880–1886, 1888–1991), which included time in three leagues; he led the league in home runs five times. He also finished in the top ten in runs scored ten times, batting average six times, and on-base percentage seven times. He was the first to wear sliding pads and among the first to slide feet first.

Baseball career

Philadelphia Defiance

In 1877, Harry began his career in the pitcher’s box and graduated out of the ranks of a Philadelphia amateur team called the Defiance (the Philadelphia Defiance were a professional team, part of the league Alliance).

New Bedford

In 1878,

Frank Bancroft Francis Carter Bancroft (May 9, 1846 – March 30, 1921) was an American manager in Major League Baseball for the Worcester Ruby Legs, Detroit Wolverines, Cleveland Blues, Providence Grays, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Cincinnati Reds of the Natio ...

, owner/manager of the New Bedford Baseball Club, engaged Stovey to join his pitching staff. When the New Bedfords'

John Piggot John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, first baseman, became ill during their first exhibition game of the season, Stovey was asked to take over, and played brilliantly enough that he replaced Piggott as the starting first basemen for the entire season.

Worcester

Harry was 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 ...

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 ...

in for the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

under the surname of Stovey instead of his birth name of Stowe due to his desire to keep his family from discovering he was making his career at baseball, which was seen at the time as not a respectable profession. He made an immediate impact that first season, leading the league with 14 triples and six home runs, while also finishing in the top ten in many other offensive categories. On July 17, he hit his first major league home run off Jim McCormick of the Cleveland Blues. For the season, his offensive numbers did not slow down, again finishing in the top ten in several offensive categories, though he did not lead the league in any this time around. On August 17, 1881, Worcester suspended

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Mike Dorgan Michael Cornelius Dorgan (October 2, 1853 – April 26, 1909) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as an outfielder, including five seasons and 425 games with the ...

‚ and Stovey took over the position for the remainder of the season. Lee Richmond‚ who had quit because of conflicts with Dorgan‚ rejoined the team after this switch. In , his last season for the Worcesters, his

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 ...

saw an increase, up to .289 from .270 the year before, but his numbers in relation to the rest of the league took a slight dip. He ranked third in the league in runs scored, with 90, and fourth in the league in home runs, with five.

Philadelphia

For the season, Stovey moved on to play for the

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 ...

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 ...

, and it was during the next seven years when he had his best years, and made his greatest impact on the game. His first season in Philadelphia saw him set the single season record for home runs with fourteen, breaking the old mark of nine set by

Charley Jones Charles Wesley Jones (born Benjamin Wesley Rippay on April 30, 1852 – June 6, 1911) was an American left fielder in the National Association and Major League Baseball who hit 56 home runs and batted .298 during his twelve-year career. He wa ...

in . That year, the Athletics won the league pennant, doing so with a record of 66–32 that beat St. Louis by one game. Stovey kept this record for only one season, as

Ned Williamson Edward Nagle "Ned" Williamson (October 24, 1857 – March 3, 1894) was a professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for three teams: the Indianapolis Blues of the National League (NL) for one season, the Chicago White ...

set a new mark the very next season with 27. Not only did he set the home run record, he batted .306, and led the league in runs scored with 110, doubles with 31, and

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

with 112, while also finishing in the top five in most offensive categories. It was also the first of nine straight seasons where he collected 200+ total bases and 100+ runs scored. The offensive explosiveness continued throughout his stay in Philadelphia, leading the league in runs scored four times, doubles once, triples three times, and home runs three times. The accumulation of home runs led to him becoming the career home run leader, overtaking Charley Jones with his 51st career homer on September 28, . He held onto the career lead for a season until he was passed for a short period of time by

Dan Brouthers Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers (; May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in . Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was and weighed , wh ...

for the and the seasons. Stovey regained the lead, and held it until

Roger Connor Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

passed him in . 1886 was the first season with recordable data for stolen bases (albeit without caught stealing). That year, he led the league with 68 stolen bases.

Boston

In , the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

, a rival league to 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 ...

and the American Association, began, and it attracted many of the game's star players, including Stovey who "jumped" to the Boston Reds. He had a good season, batting .299, hit eleven triples, and twelve home runs while having 97 stolen bases. On September 3, 1890, Stovey became the first player to hit 100 homers for a career, off of

Jersey Bakley Edward Enoch "Jersey" Bakley (April 17, 1864 – February 17, 1915) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the late 19th century. He pitched for nine different teams in six years of play from 1883 to 1891. His last name was sometimes spe ...

in a game against Cleveland, a significant milestone in a day when home runs were relatively rare. The Reds won the league pennant with a record of 81–48 (6½ games over Brooklyn) to garner Stovey's second league championship. After the 1890 season, the Players' League folded with many of the players returning to their former ballclubs. Stovey‚ who played with the Athletics in 1889, was not claimed by that club through a clerical error, so on February 5, 1891, he signed with the Boston Beaneaters of the National League. In 134 games, he led the league that season with sixteen home runs and twenty triples, while also hitting .279 with 31 doubles as well. It proved to be last great season of his career.

Baltimore / Brooklyn

Stovey played only 38 games for the Beaneaters in , before he was released on June 20, but he was quickly signed by 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 ...

. He finished the season with a .272 batting average with the Orioles and hit eleven triples, including three in one game on July 21 in a 10–3 victory over 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 a total of 112 games, he batted .235/.326/.371 with 101 hits and 67 RBIs. The season was Stovey's last season in the majors, playing 56 total games. He was released by the Orioles on May 22 after only eight games, and was signed three days later on May 15 by the

Brooklyn Grooms 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, Califo ...

. He finished the season with Grooms and retired after the season was over.

Career statistics

In 1,489 games over fourteen seasons, Stovey posted a .288

(1,775-for-6,153) with 1,495 runs, 348 doubles, 176 triples, 122

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 ...

, 912 RBI, 509 stolen bases, and 664

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 ...

. He finished his career with a .943

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 ...

playing the outfield and first base.

Post-career

After his career, Stovey returned to

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

where he had begun his baseball career, in order to manage the local amateur team in 1893. He subsequently worked as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in the city. Stovey died at the age of 80 in New Bedford, and is interred at Oak Grove Cemetery. The Nineteenth Century Committee of the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

named Stovey the Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2011 — a 19th-century player, manager, executive or other baseball personality not yet inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stovey, Harry 1856 births 1937 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball player-managers National League home run champions Worcester Ruby Legs players Worcester Worcesters managers Philadelphia Athletics (AA) players Philadelphia Athletics (AA) managers Boston Reds (PL) players Boston Beaneaters players Brooklyn Grooms players Philadelphia Defiance players Philadelphia Athletic players New Bedford (minor league baseball) players New Haven (minor league baseball) players Hartford (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Philadelphia Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania American municipal police officers