Harry Loran "Nemo" Leibold (February 17, 1892 – February 4, 1977) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

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), ...

from 1913 to 1925. He played for the

Cleveland Naps 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 ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

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 eigh ...

, and Washington Senators. He stood at and was nicknamed for the comic strip character Little Nemo.Nemo Leibold
- Baseballbiography.com

Career

Leibold began his professional career in 1911 with the minor league Milwaukee Brewers 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 1913, he was traded to the Cleveland Naps, and he immediately broke into the starting lineup. He struggled early in 1915 and was released to the White Sox. In Chicago, Leibold was a member of two

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

championship teams. He patrolled right field, alongside sluggers

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and

Hap Felsch Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch (August 22, 1891 – August 17, 1964) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920.

. His single in the ninth inning of the

1917 World Series The 1917 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1917 season. The 14th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion New York Giants ...

drove in

Buck Weaver George Daniel "Buck" Weaver (August 18, 1890 – January 31, 1956) was an American shortstop and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Weaver played for the 1917 World Series champion White Sox, then ...

with the final run of the championship-clinching game for the White Sox. He was the last surviving member of the 1917 World Champion Chicago White Sox. Leibold hit well in 1919; in 122 games, he had a

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 .302, 17 stolen bases, and set a career-high in

OPS+ OPS may refer to: Organizations *Obscene Publications Squad, a former unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England * Oceanic Preservation Society *Office of Public Safety, a former US government agency * Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg ...

with 113. However, he batted .056 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. ...

, getting one hit in 18 at-bats. Leibold was one of just three regulars on the team not accused in 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 l ...

. He was the last surviving player from the White Sox pennant-winners of 1917 and 1919. After the 1920 season, he was traded to the

with

Shano Collins John Francis "Shano" Collins (December 4, 1885 – September 10, 1955) was an American right fielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. Early life Collins was born on December 4, 1885 in Bost ...

for

Harry Hooper Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...

, then played for the Red Sox and Washington Senators for 2.5 seasons each. Leibold was sent down to the minor leagues in 1926. He was a player-manager for the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

from 1928 to 1932, then rejoined the Red Sox as a manager in their farm system in 1933. In that role, he helmed five other teams—including the top-level

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

(1935–1936) and

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

(1944–1948)—before becoming a scout for the Detroit Tigers in 1949."Nemo Leibold Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-10-19. In one game in 1946, he was suspended after shoving a minor league umpire, which caused other managers to resign in protest. Leibold managed the Colonels in the

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

that season against the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

and Jackie Robinson, losing 4 games to 2, thus involving him in baseball history again.

Career Statistics

In 13 seasons, Leibold compiled a .266

with 1,109 hits, 638 runs scored, three home runs, 283

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 ba ...

, .357 on-base percentage and .327 slugging percentage. In 13 World Series games, he hit only .161 (5-31) with 3 runs and 2 RBI. His career fielding percentage was .961. On May 10, 2022, his place of birth the City of Butler, Indiana dedicated a little league ballfield in his honor with a mural and permanent plaque.

References

External links

Picture of Leibold
(at right) with the rest of the White Sox outfielders during the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leibold, Nemo 1892 births 1977 deaths Baseball players from Indiana Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Naps players Columbus Red Birds players Detroit Tigers scouts Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Major League Baseball outfielders Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Scranton Red Sox players Syracuse Chiefs managers Washington Senators (1901–1960) players