Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American who was one of the stars of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford, CT was being played in a fever pit ...

during the season. Pike was one of professional baseball's first great sluggers, leading early professional professional leagues in

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 four times. Pike possessed "great speed, a powerful, if erratic, throwing arm, and enormous power." Pike was also the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

baseball star and manager in America.

Early and personal life

Pike was Jewish and was born in New York into a Jewish

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

family, and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. His father Emanuel was a haberdasher. His mother was Jane, his brothers were Boaz, Israel, and Jacob, and he had a sister Julia.Robert H. Schaefer
Lip Pike , Society for American Baseball Research
/ref> His family moved to Brooklyn when he was very young.

Baseball career

Pike began in baseball when he was 13. Pike first rose to prominence playing for the

Philadelphia Athletics (1860–1876) The Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia (also known as the Philadelphia Athletics) was a prominent National Association, and later National League, professional baseball team that played in the second half of the 19th century. Forming and su ...

, whom he joined in 1866. He brought an impressive blend of power and speed to the team, hitting many

s as well as being one of the fastest players around. On one occasion he hit five home runs in one game. However, it was soon brought to light that he and two other Philadelphia players were being given $20 ($ in current dollar terms) a week to play. Since all baseball players were ostensibly amateurs (though many were, like Pike, accepting money under the table), a hearing was set up by the sport's governing body, the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball. (The sport was spelled with two words in the 19th century.) The first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857 effecti ...

. In the end, no one showed up to the hearing, and the matter was dropped. By , 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� ...

became the first openly professional team, and Pike's hearing, farcical as it seems to have been, paved the way for

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...

's professionalization of baseball. The Athletics were very successful, but Pike was dropped from the team in 1867, because he was from New York, and thus a 'foreigner,' calling his loyalty into question. He moved on to the

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.82 ...

club and later in 1867 to the

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Ass ...

, always a leading team, where he returned for 1868, having caught the eye of Boss Tweed. In 1869 he moved to the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President An ...

, another perennial leader, where he hit .610. In , the Atlantics, with Pike manning second base, finally ended Cincinnati's 93-game winning streak.

National Association

In , the National Association was formed as the first professional baseball league, and Pike joined the

Troy Haymakers The Troy Haymakers were an American professional baseball team. History Established in 1860 as the Union Base Ball Club Lansingburgh, located in neighboring Lansingburgh, New York, the Haymakers participated in the first professional pennant ra ...

for its inaugural season. He was their star and for 4 games was the captain and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

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 ...

.377 (6th best in the league) and hitting a league-leading 4 home runs.Lip Pike Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He also led the league in

extra base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

(21), and was 2nd in slugging percentage (.654) and

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

s (10), 4th in RBIs (39), 5th in

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 * ...

s (7), 6th in on-base percentage (.400), 9th in

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s (49), and 10th in runs (43). The Haymakers only finished 6th, though, and the team's captaincy switched to

Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven ...

. The Haymakers revamped their roster for the season, and Pike headed for

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where he played for the

Baltimore Canaries The Baltimore Canaries were a professional baseball club in the National Association from 1872 to 1874. History The team was usually listed as Lord Baltimore in the box scores of the day, and were also referred to as the Yellow Stockings. The can ...

. Pike had another excellent season, leading the league in home runs again (with 6), RBIs (60), and games (56), and coming in 2nd in

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, whil ...

(127) and extra base hits (26), 3rd in at bats (288), 5th in doubles (15) and triples (5), 9th in slugging percentage (.441) and stolen bases (8), and 10th in hits (84). In , Pike led the league in home runs for the 3rd consecutive season, hitting 4, and was 2nd in triples (8), 4th in total bases (132), stolen bases (8), and extra base hits (26), 7th in slugging percentage (.462), 8th in doubles (14), RBIs (50), and at bats (286), 9th in hits (90), and 10th in games (56). Pike was also one of the fastest players in the league. He would occasionally race any challenger for a cash prize, routinely coming out the winner. On August 16, 1873, he raced a fast trotting horse named "Clarence" in a 100-yard sprint at Baltimore's

Newington Park Newington Park was a baseball grounds in Baltimore, Maryland. It was home to the Lord Baltimore baseball club of the National Association from 1872 to 1874 and to the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association American Association may refer to ...

, and won by four yards with a time of 10 seconds flat, earning $250 ($ today). Baltimore went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

after the season, so Pike headed off to captain the

for the 1874 season. The Dark Blues were a poor team, but Pike had another fine season, slugging .574 to lead the league, and coming in 2nd with an on-base percentage of .368. Pike abandoned the weak Hartford team after a single season, switching to the St. Louis Brown Stockings. For the first time in his professional career, Pike failed to hit a home run, although he stole 25 bases. He also hit 12 triples and 22 doubles (leading the league) in what was probably his finest offensive season. In all, Lip Pike has the National Association career home run (15) and extra base hits (135) records.

National League

In , when 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 ...

replaced the National Association, Pike stuck with St. Louis. The Brown Stockings turned in a very good season, finishing a solid 2nd to the Chicago White Stockings. Pike continued to produce offensively, notching totals of 133 total bases (5th in the league) and 34 extra-base hits (2nd). Seemingly never content to stay with a team very long, Pike headed to the Cincinnati Reds for the season. The Reds finished last. Pike was still a top-quality player, leading the league in home runs for the 4th time in the 1870s. However, age was starting to catch up with the 32-year-old Pike. He began the season as the 8th-oldest player in the league, and was the 4th-oldest player of the 1878 season. The 1878 Reds played very well, though. They finished 2nd, but Pike was replaced by Buttercup Dickerson halfway through the season and forced to look elsewhere for a team. He ended up playing a few games for the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leag ...

, and spent the next two years playing for minor league teams. '' Sporting Life'' subsequently named him an outfielder on its 1870–1880 All-Star team. Pike got a brief call-up in 1881 to play for the

Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

, but the 36-year-old Pike could no longer play effectively, hitting .111 and not managing a single extra base hit in 18 at-bats over 5 games. His play was so poor as to arouse suspicions, and Pike found himself banned from the National League that September. He was added to the

blacklist in 1881. He turned to

haberdashery In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing ...

, the vocation of his father, and spent another 6 years playing only amateur baseball. He was reinstated in 1883.

American Association

In 1887, the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York ...

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 ...

gave Pike another chance. At 42, he was the oldest player in baseball. The only game he played was more of a sending off than a new start, though, and Pike headed back to his haberdashery once more.

Death

Pike died suddenly of heart disease at the age of 48 in 1893. ''

The Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' reported that "Many wealthy Hebrews and men high in political and old time baseball circles attended the funeral service." He was interred in the Salem Fields Cemetery in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Legacy

In 1936, decades after he died, Pike received one vote in the veterans election for the

1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting The first elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame were held in 1936. Members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) were given authority to select individuals from the 20th century; while a special Veterans Co ...

. He was not included on any further ballots. Pike was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

in 1985. Pike was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2016 Pike was the first Jewish manager in major league history and one of only seven all-time.Ryan Lawrence (October 31, 2017)
">"Who is Gabe Kapler? A Dozen Fun Facts about the new Phillies manager,"
''PhillyVoice''. The others have been

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball manager and catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus played for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Ast ...

, Jeff Newman,

Norm Sherry Norman Burt Sherry (July 16, 1931 – March 8, 2021) was an American baseball catcher, manager, and coach who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets from 1959 to 1963. He bat ...

, and Lou Boudreau.

References

External links

, o

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Lip 1845 births 1893 deaths 19th-century baseball players Albany (minor league baseball) players American people of Dutch-Jewish descent Baltimore Canaries players Baseball players from New York (state) Brooklyn Atlantics (minor league) players Brooklyn Atlantics (NABBP) players Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players Cincinnati Reds (1876–1880) managers Hartford Dark Blues players Holyoke (minor league baseball) players Jewish American baseball managers Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball player-managers Minor league baseball managers National League home run champions New York Metropolitans players Philadelphia Athletics (NABBP) players New Jersey Irvingtons players New York Mutuals (NABBP) players Providence Grays players Rochester (minor league baseball) players Sportspeople from New York City Springfield (minor league baseball) players St. Louis Brown Stockings (NA) players St. Louis Brown Stockings players Troy Haymakers managers Troy Haymakers players Worcester Ruby Legs players