Lewis L. Drill (May 9, 1877 – July 4, 1969) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player, baseball manager, and lawyer. He played professional baseball as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for eight years from 1902 to 1909, including four years 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), ...

with the Washington Senators (1902–1904),

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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1902) and Detroit Tigers (1904–1905). In 293 major league games, Drill compiled a .258

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 ...

and a .353 on-base percentage. He also served as the manager of the

Terre Haute Hottentots The Terre Haute Hottentots were a Minor League Baseball team from Terre Haute, Indiana, that played in the Northwestern League in 1891, Illinois–Iowa League in 1892, Western Interstate League in 1895, Western League in 1895, Class C Central ...

in 1908. He later served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for Minnesota from 1929 to 1931.

Early years

Drill was born in

Browerville, Minnesota Browerville is a city in Todd County, Minnesota. The population was 790 at the time of the 2010 census. History Browerville was platted in 1882, and named after Jacob V. Brower (1844–1905), a county official. Browerville was incorporated in ...

, in 1877. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the catcher for the Georgetown baseball team.

Professional baseball

Drill began his professional baseball career in 1902 as a catcher for the Washington Senators and

. He compiled a .262 batting average in 73 games during the 1902 season. He returned to the Senators in 1903 and 1904. Drill joined the Detroit Tigers in July 1904. During the 1904 and 1905 seasons, he appeared in 123 games for the Tigers and compiled a .253 batting average and a .353 on-base percentage. According to a letter in the Detroit Tiger records in the Detroit public library Frank Navin, secretary and future owner of the Detroit Tigers, offered him a contract for the 1906 season. Drill, who was making more money as a lawyer turned down the offer. In 293 major league games, Drill had a .258 batting average and .353 on-base percentage. His .359 on-base percentage in 1904 was the sixth highest in the American League. Although his major league career ended in 1905, he continued playing in the minor leagues for another four years with the St. Paul Saints (1906),

Pueblo Indians The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...

(1907),

(1908), and

Superior Blues The Superior Blues were a minor league baseball team based in Superior, Wisconsin, USA. From 1933 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1955, the Blues played in the Northern League. In 1937, they were affiliated with the St. Louis Browns. From 1938 to 1940 ...

(1909). He also served as the manager of Terre Haute in 1908.

Later years

Drill was a lawyer. Even during his playing career, he was a member of the Drill, Downing and Drill Law Collectors firm in St. Paul, Minnesota, attending to business during the winter months. He later became district attorney from 1929 to 1931 and the

for Minnesota. He died in 1969 in St. Paul at age 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drill, Lew 1877 births 1969 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) players Detroit Tigers players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Hamline Pipers baseball players Hamline Pipers football coaches Georgetown Hoyas baseball players Georgetown Hoyas football players Minor league baseball managers Pueblo Indians players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Superior Blues players Terre Haute Hottentots players All-Southern college football players People from Browerville, Minnesota Baseball players from Minnesota Burials in Minnesota United States Attorneys for the District of Minnesota