William Bingham "Klondike" Douglass (May 10, 1872 – December 13, 1953) 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 split his time between

first base 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 ...

, and at

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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 p ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

from 1896 to 1904. A good hitter, he had a career

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 ...

of .274, including a high of .329 in 1897.

Early life

Born in

Boston, Pennsylvania Boston (occasionally referred to as "Little Boston" to distinguish it from Boston, the Massachusetts capital city) is a census-designated place located in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, P ...

, Douglass was raised in

Wellsville, Missouri Wellsville is a city in Montgomery County, Missouri, United States. The population was 998 at the 2020 census. History Wellsville was platted in 1856, and named after Charles Wells who was the original owner of the land. A post office called W ...

. He played independent baseball in Missouri before ascending to professional baseball. Douglass played in the minor leagues only briefly, appearing as a player-manager for the 1895 Sherman Orphans of the

Texas-Southern League The Texas-Southern League was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams that operated from 1895 to 1899, primarily in Texas. During the 1896 season, the league renamed itself as the Texas Association. History of the Tex ...

MLB career

Douglass was a left fielder when he debuted for the St. Louis Browns in 1896, but he registered a fielding percentage of only .894, and the team moved him to catcher the next season. Douglass was sent to Philadelphia in a multiplayer trade before the 1898 season, and he became the team's first baseman. Promising infielder

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

has been the team’s primary first baseman, and Lajoie was shifted to second base. Lajoie stayed at second for the rest of his career and became a

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

inductee. Douglass had his best offensive season in 1898, hitting .258 with 105 runs scored. He spent the rest of his career at catcher or first base.

Later life

Klondike last appeared in the major leagues in 1904, and he played in the minor leagues until 1912. He died at the age of 81 in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglass, Klondike 1872 births 1953 deaths 19th-century baseball players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Pennsylvania Minor league baseball managers St. Joseph Saints players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Little Rock Travelers players Birmingham Barons players Portsmouth Pirates players