Charles Elmer "Punch" Knoll (October 7, 1881 in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, USA – February 8, 1960 in Evansville, Indiana) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Washington Senators in 1905. He also spent 27 seasons playing in the minor leagues and managed in the minor leagues for 22 seasons.

Major league career

Knoll made his major league debut on April 27, 1905 with the Senators and played in 79 games for them. He hit .213 with no home runs and 29 RBI in 244 at-bats, scoring 24 runs and hitting five triples. He committed eight errors as an outfielder in his only major league season, posting a .927 fielding percentage at that position. He played his final big league game on October 4.

Minor league career

Knoll began his minor league career in 1901 and played every season, except for 1905, 1918 and 1929, until 1930. A .279 hitter, he had 2,455 career hits, 456 doubles, 141 triples and 85 home runs. In seasons in which he had more than 100 at-bats, Knoll hit more than .300 five times. He also exceeded the 10-triple mark four times and the 10-home run mark three times.

Managerial career

Knoll managed the

Evansville River Rats The Evansville River Rats were a professional minor league baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They played from 1901 to 1902 in the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (the "Three-I" League) and from 1903 to 1910 and 1914 to 1915 in the Cen ...

from 1907 to 1909, leading them to a league championship in 1908. He then managed the

Dayton Veterans Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

from 1910 to 1912, leading them to a league championship in 1911. In 1913, he returned to the River Rats and managed them until 1915. They switched their name to the

Evansville Evas The Evansville Evas was a primary nickname of an early minor league baseball teams in Evansville, Indiana between 1877 and 1931. Early Evansville teams played as members of the League Alliance (1887), Central Interstate League (1889-1890), Inter ...

for the 1916 season, and he managed them until 1917. He next managed the

Ludington Mariners The Ludington Mariners (official name: Ludington Mariner Base Ball Club) were a professional Class D minor league baseball team from Ludington, Michigan. Their home field was located in Culver Park. The team was formed in 1912 as part of the Mi ...

in 1920 and the Bay City Wolves from 1921 to 1924, leading them to successive league championships in 1923 and 1924. In 1925, he returned to the Danville Veterans, whom he managed until 1926. He then managed the Quincy Red Birds for part of 1927 (replacing Mack Allison), the Fort Wayne Chiefs in 1928 (leading them to a league championship), the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

in 1929 (replacing Don Sykes) and the Fort Wayne Chiefs again in 1930. Following his death, he was interred at

Locust Hill Cemetery Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumst ...

in Evansville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knoll, Punch 1881 births 1960 deaths Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Baseball players from Indiana Minor league baseball managers Evansville River Rats players Memphis Egyptians players Nashville Vols players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Dayton Veterans players Evansville Evas players Ludington Mariners players Bay City Wolves players Danville Veterans players Quincy Red Birds players Fort Wayne Chiefs players