Walter Farr Prince (May 9, 1861 – August 4, 1938) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player from 1883 to 1889. He played two seasons 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), ...

, principally as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, from 1883 to 1884. His longest stint with one team was 43 games with the Washington Nationals (AA) in 1884.

Early years

Prince was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, in 1861.

Professional baseball player

Prince began his professional baseball career with the Woonsocket Comets. In August 1883, he joined the

Louisville Eclipse 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 ...

of the American Association to replace the team's injured first baseman Jumbo Latham. Prince appeared in only four games for Louisville, compiling a .182 batting average. In 1884, Prince played for three different major league clubs—the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of 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 s ...

(seven games), the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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 ...

(43 games), and the

of the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

(one game). In 51 major league games during the 1884 season, he compiled a .209 batting average with three doubles, two triples, one home run and one RBI. Prince continued to play minor league baseball through the 1889 season, including stints with Haverhill of the Eastern New England League (1885), the Salem Witches of the New England League (1888), Portland of the New England League, and the London Tecumsehs of the International League (1888–89). He compiled a career high .380 batting average with Salem in 1888.

Later years

After retiring from baseball, Prince worked for the International Steam Pump Company for 25 years. In 1910, he was in charge of the company's foundry department at

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

. Prince later owned a developed a group of overnight bungalows known as Prince's Place on

Newfound Lake Newfound Lake is located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It is situated in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, in the towns of Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, and Hebron. Its area of places it behind only Lake Winnipesa ...

Bristol, New Hampshire Bristol is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,244 at the 2020 census. It is home to Wellington State Park, Sugar Hill State Forest, and Profile Falls on the Smith River. Surrounded by hills and lakes, Br ...

. He was also an investor in Camp Berea on Newfound Lake in

Hebron, New Hampshire Hebron is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 632 at the 2020 census. Settlements include the town center and the village of East Hebron. History First settled in 1765, Hebron was incorporated in 1792 fro ...

. Prince died of cancer in 1938 at age 76 in Bristol, New Hampshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Walter People from Amherst, New Hampshire Major League Baseball first basemen Louisville Eclipse players Detroit Wolverines players Washington Nationals (AA) players Washington Nationals (UA) players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Salem Witches players Haverhill (minor league baseball) players Portland (minor league baseball) players 19th-century baseball players 1861 births 1938 deaths Baseball players from New Hampshire People from Bristol, New Hampshire