John Leckie Ake (August 29, 1861 – May 11, 1887) was an American

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 who played as 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 ...

for the 1884

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 ...

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 ...

(AA). Before and after his Major league career, he played for many professional minor league baseball teams from 1881 until his death in 1887. Described as a good and popular player, he died when the boat he was travelling in capsized in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, and not knowing how to swim, he drowned.

Early life

Ake was born in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

on August 29, 1861 to William, a farmer, and his wife Anne. His family stayed in Altoona throughout his childhood, and Ake became a laborer later in his teen years.1880 U.S. Census entry for John L. Ake residing in Altoona, Penn. Son John L., age 18, born in Pennsylvania, occupation as laborer. Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Altoona, Blair, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1102; Family History Film: 1255102; Page: 82D; Enumeration District: 154; Image: 0498. 1880 United States Federal Census atabase on-line

Baseball career

He began his professional baseball career in 1882 when he joined a club located in Altoona, having played for a local non-professional team the year before. He played for this professional club through the 1883 season, before signing a contract with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association. He made his debut with the Orioles on May 12, 1884, and made his final appearance on June 15. During his time with Baltimore, he played in 13 games, playing mostly as their

, but played three games in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

, and one game at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He had a .192

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 ...

in 52

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 batt ...

s, collected ten

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, one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

, and scored one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

. After leaving the Orioles, he finished the year playing for a team in Fort Smith, Ohio. The following season, he played for a team in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...

, followed by a team

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.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, ...

team, which was later moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. He secured his release from the club shortly thereafter so he could sign with the

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

club.

Death

On May 11, 1887, he and two of his Duluth teammates, Bill Barnes and Billy Earle, were paddling in a rowboat on the

near

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, and Barron's Island. It was just after 8 pm, and the trio were approximately 200 yards from the shore, when a passing steamer overturned their boat with its wake, leaving the three clinging to the boat for some time. Barnes and Earle quickly swam to shore, but Ake, who did not know how to swim, hoisted himself on the overturned boat. Ake decided to attempt to swim ashore before Barnes and Earle could secure a rescue

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have devel ...

, but after a couple strokes, he began to shout for help, slipping under the water, and drowned. Barnes later recalled the way Earle looked at Ake during the incident. Earle, sometimes described as a "weirdo", as "creepy", and as having an "

evil eye The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...

", had an expression that Barnes never forgot. A thorough search for his body was conducted into the evening, but it was called off. It was thought that since the water was high, the chances of recovering his remains were slim, and it was best to wait until they surfaced later. His widowed mother asked that if his body was recovered, that his remains be delivered to Altoona. On June 4, 1887, fishermen discovered his body when their hooks snagged onto his clothes. Due to the condition of his remains, it was reported that he was immediately buried.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ake, John 1861 births 1887 deaths Sportspeople from Altoona, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Deaths by drowning in the United States Accidental deaths in Wisconsin Burials in Wisconsin Altoona (minor league baseball) players Youngstown (minor league baseball) players Boston Blues players Meriden Silvermen players Duluth Freezers players