John Paul Fox (May 21, 1885 – June 28, 1963) 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 whose career spanned 11 seasons, including one 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), ...

. During that one season in 1908, Fox played with 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 ...

. Fox compiled a major league batting average of .200 with two runs, six

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and two

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 in nine

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 ...

. Fox also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

with the Class-C Poughkeepsie Colts (1906), the Class-B

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium (Albany), Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of t ...

(1906–07), the Class-A Jersey City Skeeters (1908), the Class-A Memphis Egyptians (1908), the Class-B

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

(1909), the Class-B

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

, the Class-A Lincoln Railsplitters (1910–11), the Class-B Harrisburg Senators (1912–14), the Class-D Bradford Drillers (1914) and the Class-B

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

(1915–16). He started his minor league career as an outfielder, but later converted into 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 ...

. Fox compiled a career minor league batting average of .251 with 670 hits in 694 games played. As a pitcher, he compiled a

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 90–63 in 185 career minor league games pitched. Fox batted and threw right-handed.

Professional career

Fox began his

career in 1906 with the Poughkeepsie Colts, who were members of the Class-C

Hudson River League The Hudson River League was formed in 1903 as a class D minor baseball league after playing one season in 1886. Upgraded to Class C the next season, it continued through 1907 before collapsing. There were twelve cities that represented the league ...

. With the Colts, he batted .179 with 60

in 337

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s. Fox committed four errors, 12 assists and 120

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s in 136 total chances 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 ...

. Fox then joined the Class-B

, who were members of the New York State League. In 135

with the Senators, Fox batted .268 with 136 hits. On defense, Fox played in the outfield and committed nine errors, 12 assists and 217 putouts in 238 total chances. Between the two clubs that season, he batted a combined .232 with 196 hits in 845 at-bats, and compiled a .965

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 ...

as an outfielder. In 1907, Fox spent the entire season with Albany. He batted .276 with 106 hits in 114 games played that season. Before the 1908 season, Fox was drafted by the Class-A Memphis Egyptians of the Southern Association. With the Egyptians, Fox batted .243 with 17 hits in 18 games played. Connie Mack,

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 ...

of the

, acquired Fox from the Memphis club during early June. Fox's addition to the Athletics roster was due to a depleted outfield. On June 2, 1908, Fox made his major league debut. '' Sporting Life'' described it as an "unimpressive" debut. After suffering a hand injury in mid-June, Fox was unable to accompany the Athletics on a road trip. During his final game in the majors on June 20, Fox made a base running error that ended the Athletics comeback against the Cleveland Naps in the eighth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

. With the Athletics that season, Fox batted .200 with two runs, six hits and two

s in nine games played. On defense, he played eight games in the outfield, committing one errors in 13 total chances. Fox finished the 1908 season with the Class-A Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern League. In 57 games with the Skeeters, Fox batted .268 with 59 hits, nine doubles, four

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

and two

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. After the 1908 season, the National Commission ruled that Fox's contract was held by the Memphis Egyptians, the team which the Philadelphia Athletics acquired him from. The Egyptians promptly sold him to the Class-B

of the New York State League. During the 1909 season, ''Sporting Life'' described the Wilkes-Barre trio of Fox,

Delos Drake Delos Daniel Drake (December 3, 1886 – October 3, 1965) was an American professional baseball player from 1906 to 1916. He played three seasons of Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers in 1911 and for the St. Louis Terr ...

and

Rube DeGroff Arthur Sleight "Rube" DeGroff (September 2, 1879 – December 17, 1955) was a professional baseball outfielder from 1903 to 1916. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. DeGroff was 5 feet, 11 inches tall and w ...

as the best in the "best outfielders in the league". In late-July, the Barons traded Fox to the Class-A

. Fox batted a combined .271 with 131 hits in 129 games played between the two clubs. On defense, he played all of his 129 games as an outfielder. His hits total ranked 12 amongst New York State League batters that season.

Personal

Fox was born on May 21, 1885, in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

. He died in Reading on June 28, 1963, and was buried at Aulenbach's Cemetery in

Mount Penn, Pennsylvania Mount Penn is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,106 at the 2010 census. The borough shares a name with a mountain that rises to the north and overlooks the city of Reading. The peak is sometimes recogniz ...

References

;General references # # ;Inline citations

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Jack Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Athletics players Baseball players from Pennsylvania 1885 births 1963 deaths Albany Senators players Poughkeepsie Colts players Memphis Egyptians players Jersey City Skeeters players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Lincoln Railsplitters players Harrisburg Senators players Bradford Drillers players Scranton Miners players