Charles S. Abbey (October 14, 1866 – April 27, 1926) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player whose career spanned 11 seasons, including five 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 (A ...

with the Washington Senators (1893–1897). Over his major league career, Abbey batted .281 with 307 runs, 493

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

, 67

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, 46 triples, 19

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 ...

, 280

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 b ...

(RBIs) and 93

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 ...

in 452

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. In addition to playing in the majors, Abbey also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

with numerous teams. Abbey primarily played the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

position; however, he did pitch one game in the majors. Abbey batted and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

Professional career

Early career

Abbey began his professional career with the independent league

Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice () is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 12,459 at the 2010 census. Beatrice is located approximately 25 miles south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River and is surrounded by agricul ...

, baseball team in 1888. In 1889, Abbey played for the independent league

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...

, baseball team and the Des Moines Prohibitionists 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 Wester ...

. During the 1890 season, Abbey played for the St. Paul Apostles of the Western Association. In 1891, Abbey played for two teams, the St. Paul Apostles and the Portland Gladiators of the Pacific Northwest League. Abbey played with the Columbus Reds, the Ishpeming-Nagaunee Unions and the Marinette Badgers in 1892.

Washington Senators

In 1893, Abbey began his tenure with the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball's

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 ...

. He made his major league debut on August 16, 1893. When Abbey made his debut, he became the first person from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

to play in the majors. On the season, Abbey batted .259 with 11 runs, 30

, one

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, four triples, 12

(RBIs) and nine

in 31

. On the defensive side, Abbey played all of his 31 games in the

and committed five

errors An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 79 total chances. In 1894, Abbey batted .314 with 95 runs, 164 hits, 26 doubles, 18 triples, seven

, 101 RBIs and 31 stolen bases in 129 games played. Abbey led the Senators in plate appearances (589),

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

(523), hits and triples. Abbey also led all rookies in the majors in games played, at-bats, triples and walks (63). Abbey played all of his 129 games in the outfield and committed 37 errors in 407 total chances. During the 1895 season, Abbey batted .275 with 102 runs, 142 hits, 14 doubles, 10 triples, eight home runs, 84 RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 133 games played. He led the National League in assists as an outfielder (34) and defensive games in the outfield (133). In 1896, Abbey played 79 games with the Senators and batted .262 with 47 runs, 79 hits, 12 doubles, six doubles, one home run, 49 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Abbey also pitched one game, giving-up three runs (one earned) in two

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. As an outfielder, Abbey committed 16 errors 132 total chances. During his final season in professional baseball, 1897, Abbey batted .260 with 52 runs, 78 hits, 14 doubles, eight triples, three home runs, 34 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 80 games played. In all of his 80 games, Abbey played in the outfield and committed eight errors in 148 total chances. During the 1897 season, Abbey was used as a first base

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

in two National League games. Abbey also played for the Providence Clamdiggers that season in the minor leagues.

Personal

Abbey was born on October 14, 1866, in

Falls City, Nebraska Falls City is a city and county seat of Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,133 at the 2020 census, down from 4,325 in 2010 and 4,671 in 2000. History Falls City was founded in the summer of 1857 by James Lane, Jo ...

. He was married to Felicity Roman in 1897. A daughter, Lucille, was born in 1900. On April 27, 1926, Abbey died at the age of 59 in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

References

General references # # Inline citations

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Charlie 1866 births 1926 deaths People from Falls City, Nebraska Baseball players from Nebraska Major League Baseball outfielders Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Des Moines Prohibitionists players St. Paul Apostles players Portland Gladiators players Columbus Reds players Ishpeming-Nagaunee Unions players Marinette Badgers players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players 19th-century baseball umpires 19th-century baseball players