Simon Burdette Nicholls (July 18, 1882 – March 12, 1911) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

, and

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 ...

. A native of

Boyds, Maryland Boyds is an unincorporated community in rural Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located approximately north of Washington, D.C. Its ZIP Code is 20841. According to the United States 2010 Census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) for ...

, he attended the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

. He was signed as an emergency replacement by the Tigers during a road trip to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in 1903 and played both games of a doubleheader for the Tigers. He was a member of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1906 to 1909, and was the team's primary shortstop in 1907 and 1908. He appeared for the Cleveland Naps in only three games at the beginning of the 1910 season. He spent most of that season with the minor-league

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

and was named the team's captain. He died of complications from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

in Baltimore before the beginning of the 1911 season. In 312 games over six seasons, Nicholls posted a .251

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 ...

(284-for-1133) with 144 runs, 4

home runs 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 ...

, 58 RBI, 27

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

and 65

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. He finished his career with an overall .918

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Recorded the 1st hit and 1st run scored in the history of Shibe Park in 1909

Personal life

Simon Burdette Nicholls was born on July 18, 1882, in

Germantown, Maryland Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of 2020 U.S. Decennial Census, Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after the city of Baltimore ...

, the older of two sons born to George (1848–1919) and Courtney (Burdette) (1846–1887) Nicholls. He had one younger brother, Roger Darby Nicholls (1885–1966), a native of

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, ...

. His father raised Simon and Roger on the family farm after Courtney died when Simon was five and Roger was two.

External links

Campbell Gibson, "Simon Nicholls," SABR Baseball Biography Project.
1882 births 1911 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Detroit Tigers players Philadelphia Athletics players Cleveland Naps players Memphis Egyptians players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Maryland People from Germantown, Maryland People from Montgomery County, Maryland Maryland Terrapins baseball players Deaths from typhoid fever {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub