Peter James Hotaling (December 16, 1856 – July 2, 1928), nicknamed "Monkey", was an American

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the 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 to . He has been described as one of the earliest

journeymen A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

in professional baseball. When he played

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 ...

in the minor leagues in 1877, he was one of the first men to wear a catcher's mask.

Early life

Hotaling was born in Mohawk, New York. He suffered an eye injury while catching a minor league baseball game. When he came back weeks later with a catcher's mask on, his teammates gave him the nickname "Monkey".

Career

Hotaling was promoted to the major leagues in 1879, playing 81 games for the

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 ...

, mostly in the outfield. He changed teams every year through 1882, playing for the Cleveland Blues,

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 ...

and

Boston Red Caps The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

in that span, before returning to the Blues for 1883 and 1884. Hotaling spent 1885 with the

Brooklyn Grays 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 ...

, but he was in the Southern League in 1886 with its

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

club. After that season, Savannah sought to make Hotaling its manager, but he returned to Cleveland to play for 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 ...

team known as the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. Hotaling got the most major league playing time in 1887, when he appeared in 126 games, all in the outfield. He had one of his best games during his second and final season with the AA's Blues. On June 6, 1888, Hotaling batted seven times and got six hits (five singles and a triple). Sixteen AA players had a six-hit game in the span of eight years, but Hotaling had the only six-hit game by a Cleveland player. After spending almost all of the preceding decade in the major leagues, Hotaling played his last professional season in 1889, appearing with the St. Joseph Clay Eaters of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

and the Chattanooga team in the Southern League.

After baseball

Hotaling had graduated from

Eastman Business College The Eastman Business College was a business school located in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It operated from 1859 until it closed in 1931. At the height of its success, the school was one of the largest commercial colleges in the United St ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, and he worked as a grocer and then as a machinist for

White Motor Company The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the compa ...

. Ten years after the end of his baseball days, Hotaling was apparently still living in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, as a 1908 newspaper article mentioned his participation in an exhibition game pitting local former Cleveland players against an area amateur team. He died of

lobar pneumonia Lobar pneumonia is a form of pneumonia characterized by inflammatory exudate within the intra-alveolar space resulting in consolidation that affects a large and continuous area of the lobe of a lung. It is one of three anatomic classifications ...

in Cleveland at the age of 71. He is interred at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

in Cleveland.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotaling, Pete Baseball players from New York (state) Major League Baseball center fielders 19th-century baseball players Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players Worcester Ruby Legs players Boston Red Caps players Brooklyn Grays players Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Cleveland Blues (NL) players Cleveland Blues (1887–88) players 1856 births 1928 deaths Minor league baseball managers Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Savannah (minor league baseball) players St. Joseph Clay Eaters players Chattanooga (minor league baseball) players

Early life

Career

After baseball

See also

References

External links