William Van Winkle "Jimmy" Wolf (May 12, 1862 – May 16, 1903), also known as Chicken Wolf, 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 ...

player from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He played all or part of eleven 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), ...

. He was primarily a

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 ...

, but occasionally played other positions in the

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

. Wolf played for his hometown team, 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 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 ...

, from 1882, when they were called the Eclipse, to 1891. He was the only player to appear in that league in all ten seasons of its existence. He set a number of career American Association records: most games, most plate appearances, most hits, most triples, most total bases. When the American Association folded, he then played for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

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 ...

in 1892, his last season in the majors. He played in just three games for the Browns before being let go. He 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 ...

until 1894 before retiring. Apart from his playing exploits, Wolf is well-known for an incident that took place on August 22nd, 1886 when he hit an

inside-the-park In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score a ...

walkoff home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

against the

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867– ...

. The Reds' outfielder

Abner Powell Abner Charles Powell (December 15, 1860 – August 7, 1953) was a Major League Baseball player who was a member of the Washington Nationals of the Union Association in 1884. He later played for the Baltimore Orioles and the Cincinnati Red Stockin ...

might have been better-placed to prevent the run had he not been impeded by an angry dog who had been sleeping next to the fence. In 1889, with the team 2–8 after ten games under

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 sq ...

Dude Esterbrook Thomas John "Dude" Esterbrook (June 20, 1857 – April 30, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Staten Island, New York who played the majority of his games at third base, but did play many games at first base. Esterbrook play ...

, the managerial reins were handed over to Wolf, who won only 14 of the 65 games he managed. The other two managers to follow,

Dan Shannon Daniel Webster Shannon (March 23, 1865 – October 24, 1913) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He began his Major League career in with the Louisville Colonels as their second baseman. During the season, he became playe ...

and

Jack Chapman John Curtis "Jack" Chapman (May 8, 1843 – June 10, 1916) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing in the National Association when he played for the Brooklyn Atlantics a ...

, didn't fare any better, as Louisville won only 27 games that year with 111 losses. In 1890, he led the American Association in

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 ...

with .363. Wolf died in 1903 at the age of 41, from the effects of brain trauma he suffered a few years before in a fire-fighting accident, and is interred at

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buria ...

in Louisville. This cemetery is where other Louisville ballplayers have been buried as well, including childhood friend and teammate

Pete Browning Louis Rogers "Pete" Browning (June 17, 1861 – September 10, 1905), nicknamed "Gladiator" and "The Louisville Slugger", was an American professional baseball center fielder and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1882 to ...

.Pete Browning Bio
/ref>

References

External links

SABR Biography "Chicken Wolf"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Jimmy Major League Baseball right fielders Louisville Eclipse players Louisville Colonels players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Louisville Colonels managers Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Utica Stars players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Savannah Modocs players Macon Hornets players Major League Baseball player-managers Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky 19th-century baseball players Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery 1862 births 1903 deaths

See also

References

External links