Jake Daubert
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Jacob Ellsworth Daubert (April 7, 1884 – October 9, 1924) was an American
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
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), ...
who played for the
Brooklyn Superbas 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, Californi ...
and
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 ...
. His career lasted from 1910 until his death in 1924. Daubert was recognized throughout his career for his performance on the field. He won the 1913 and 1914 National League
batting titles In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred". ...
and the 1913 Chalmers Award as the National League's Most Valuable Player. Between 1911 and 1919, ''The Baseball Magazine'' named him to their All-American team seven times. Baseball historian William C. Kashatus observed that Daubert was "a steady .300 hitter for 10 years of the Deadball Era" who "never fielded below the .989 mark."


Early life

Daubert was born in
Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian languages, Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") (Unami language, Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United Sta ...
to Jacob and Sarah Daubert. The lack of
child labor laws Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors. Child labour increased during the Industrial Revolution due to the children's abilities to access smaller spaces and the ability to pay children less wage ...
enabled Daubert to go to work early in his life. In 1895, at the age of eleven, the young Daubert joined his father and two brothers at work in the local
coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s. In 1906, Daubert left his job at the mines and signed a contract with a baseball team in
Lykens, Pennsylvania Lykens is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. Anthracite coal mining sustained a population of 2,762 in 1900 and 2,943 in 1910. The population was 1,865 at the 2020 census. Lykens is part of the Harrisburg– Carlisle M ...
. He was originally 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 ...
on the team before he converted to first base. At the end of the 1906 season, Daubert left Pennsylvania and traveled west to Ohio. There, he spent the 1907 season on teams in
Kane, Pennsylvania Kane is a borough in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, east by southeast of Erie. It was founded in 1864 by Civil War General Thomas L. Kane of the famous Bucktail Regiment at an elevated site 2210 feet (674 m) above sea level. ...
and
Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United S ...
.


Baseball career

In 1908, Daubert was signed by the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
. However, Daubert never played for Cleveland as they released him shortly thereafter. He left Cleveland and signed with the
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
club of the
Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...
. He spent the remainder of the season with Nashville. Daubert returned to Ohio for the start of the 1909 season. After playing the first part of the season with Toledo 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 ...
, Daubert went back to Tennessee and joined the
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
club. Like Nashville, Memphis's team played in the Southern Association. While playing for Memphis, Larry Sutton, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, observed his play. Shortly thereafter, the Dodgers purchased Daubert's contract and brought him to Brooklyn for the 1910 season. While Daubert hit just .264 in 1910, he hit over .300 in each of the next six seasons. On May 6, 1910, Daubert recorded 21
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 a single game, one short of the major league record. In 1911 and 1912, Daubert placed ninth and eighth in the Chalmers Award voting. The following year, he won the award. On August 15, 1914, Daubert tied
Cy Seymour James Bentley "Cy" Seymour (December 9, 1872 – September 20, 1919) was an American professional baseball center fielder and pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the New York Giants (1896–; –), Baltimore Orioles ( ...
's MLB record with four
sacrifice bunt In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...
s in one game. In 1916 he batted .316 and Brooklyn won their first NL pennant. His season ended in disappointment, however, after he hit only .176 in the 1916 World Series and Brooklyn lost the series to the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. Daubert hit .261 in 1917, but the following year he hit .308 and led the NL in triples. When the season was cut short due to World War I and the
Spanish flu epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
, major league owners prorated player salaries. Daubert, who had been among the founding members of the Players' Fraternity, sued for the balance of his salary. Eventually, Jake recovered most of the $2,150 he was due. After the dispute started, Brooklyn owner
Charles Ebbets Charles Hercules Ebbets, Sr. (October 29, 1859 – April 18, 1925) was an American sports executive who served as co-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1897 to 1902 before becoming majority owner of the team, doing so until his death in 1925. He ...
traded him to Cincinnati for outfielder
Tommy Griffith Thomas Herman Griffith (October 26, 1889 – April 13, 1967) was an American professional baseball player from 1913 to 1925. He was a right fielder who mainly played with the Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Robins. While with these teams he never hi ...
. Once in Cincinnati, Daubert served as the Reds'
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 ...
for the remainder of his career. In 1919, although he hit only .276, Daubert was second in the league in
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
and third in triples. The Reds won their first pennant since the inaugural season 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 ...
in 1882. In the
1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. ...
, noted for the
Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...
, he batted .241. In the 9-1 Game One victory, he had three hits, including a triple, and he had two
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
and scored twice in the final 10-5 victory in the decisive Game Eight. Daubert hit over .300 in the next three seasons. In 1922, Daubert hit for a .336 average, led the NL in triples and had a career-high 12
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. By 1923, at age 39, he was the oldest regular position player in the major leagues, and he hit .292 that season. Daubert also excelled in sacrifice hits. His career total of 392 sacrifice hits is second in MLB history, behind Hall of Famer
Eddie Collins Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from to for the Philadelphia Athlet ...
. In his career, he had 56 home runs, 1,117 runs, 722
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 ...
, 250 doubles, 165 triples and 251
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. He recorded a .991
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 ...
. When he left Brooklyn for Cincinnati, Daubert held the Brooklyn franchise record for games played at first base (1,206). The record was broken by
Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...
in 1956.


Baseball unionization efforts

Daubert was a trailblazer in baseball's unionization movement, a controversial role that may have been a factor in his omission from the Hall of Fame. In 1913, he served as vice president of the Baseball Players' Fraternity, which petitioned the
National Baseball Commission The National Baseball Commission was the governing body of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from 1903 to 1920. It consisted of a chairman, the presidents of the National League (NL) and American League (AL), and a secretary. The ...
for improved labor conditions. The petition included the following requests: 1) permission for players to negotiate with any team following their unconditional release, 2) a guarantee that clubs would provide players with 10 days' notice before releasing them unconditionally, 3) a guarantee that clubs would inform players of the terms of their contract when they are sent to another team, 4) a guarantee that a veteran players would not be sent to the minor leagues when his services are of interest to another major league club, 5) a guarantee that clubs would furnish uniforms and shoes to players free of charge, 6) a guarantee that clubs would provide traveling expenses to players between their homes and spring training camps, and 7) that players should receive written notice concerning any fine or suspension levied against them.Kashatus (2002), p. 95. Although Daubert was unsuccessful in pressuring the commissioners to accept the terms of the fledgling baseball union's petition, he lobbied continuously for his own interests as a player, thereby earning a reputation as a "troublemaker" within the baseball establishment. A salary dispute with
Charles Ebbets Charles Hercules Ebbets, Sr. (October 29, 1859 – April 18, 1925) was an American sports executive who served as co-owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1897 to 1902 before becoming majority owner of the team, doing so until his death in 1925. He ...
, owner of the Dodgers, was a major factor in Daubert's transfer to Cincinnati in 1919.


Life outside baseball and death

While Daubert was in Brooklyn, he was nominated for city
Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
. He also spent time as a businessman and invested in several business ventures. His holdings included a pool hall, a cigar business, a semi-pro baseball team, a moving-picture business and a
coal breaker A coal breaker is a coal processing plant which breaks coal into various useful sizes. Coal breakers also remove impurities from the coal (typically slate) and deposit them into a culm dump. The coal breaker is a forerunner of the modern coal pr ...
. His most profitable business was reportedly the coal breaker, which was located in his hometown. Daubert left the Reds late in the 1924 season after falling ill during a road trip to New York. Against his doctor's advice, he returned to play in the team's final home game of the season. On October 2, he had an
appendectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...
performed by Dr. Harry H. Hines, the Reds' team doctor. Complications from the operation arose, and a
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
did not improve his health. He died in
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 ...
one week after the operation, with the doctor citing "exhaustion, resulting in indigestion, sthe immediate cause of death". It was later discovered that Daubert suffered from a hereditary blood disorder called hemolytic spherocytosis, which contributed to his death. He was interred at the Charles Baber Cemetery in
Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...
. Daubert was survived by his wife Gertrude, his son George, and his daughter Louisa. As of 2022, he remains the oldest ballplayer to die while in the majors. During his career, Daubert compiled a .303 lifetime batting average. At the time of his death, he ranked among the major league career leaders in games (4th, 2,001), putouts (4th, 19,634), assists (5th, 1,128),
total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
(4th, 20,943) and
double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...
s (3rd, 1,199) at first base; he was also among the NL's leaders in hits (7th, 2,326), triples (9th, 165),
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 (9th, 7,673),
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 ...
(10th, 2,014) and
total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...
(10th, 3,074). Daubert currently holds the NL record for most
sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...
s (392). He was inducted into the
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...
in 1966 and the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame in 1990.


See also

*
List of baseball players who died during their careers This is a list of baseball players who died during their careers. These deaths occurred during a game, due to illness, results of accidents, acts of violence, or suicide. Repeated studies have shown that Major League Baseball players have a greate ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Below is the list of the 286 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders In baseball, a triple is a hit in which the batter advances to third base in one play, with neither the benefit of a fielding error nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice. Triples were more common in baseball's dead-ball era, whe ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in bold face are active as of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. Key List *Stats updated through the 2022 season. Through the end of the ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 7.01 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules, a runner acqu ...
*
List of Major League Baseball batting champions In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats (AB). In MLB, a player in each league wins ...
* List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders


References

;Bibliography * ''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated. . * Kashatus, William C. (2002). ''Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. . ;In-line citations


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daubert, Jake 1884 births 1924 deaths Major League Baseball first basemen Brooklyn Robins players Brooklyn Dodgers players Brooklyn Superbas players Burials at Charles Baber Cemetery Cincinnati Reds players Baseball players from Pennsylvania National League batting champions Kane Mountaineers players Marion Moguls players Nashville Vols players Memphis Turtles players Toledo Mud Hens players People from Shamokin, Pennsylvania