Frank Andrew McCormick (June 9, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was an American

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 t ...

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 ...

who played fifteen 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 ...

(MLB). Nicknamed "Buck" in honor of Frank Buck, he played 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 ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

Boston Braves 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 ...

from 1934 to 1948. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and . McCormick signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in 1934 and played for their minor league affiliate in Beckley until September of that same year, when the Reds promoted him to the major leagues. After spending twelve seasons with the organization, McCormick was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he spent the next two seasons. In the middle of the 1947 season, he was released and subsequently joined the Boston Braves, with whom he played his last game on October 3, 1948. He is most famous for winning the

National League Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

in 1940, the second of three consecutive years where a Red won the award. The Reds were only the second team to ever have a player on the roster win the award in three straight seasons (the first was the

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 Oakla ...

, who did so from 1931 to 1933) and the first to do so with three separate players, which has only been accomplished three times since.

Early life

McCormick was born on June 9, 1911 in New York City. His father, Andrew McCormick, was a railroad worker. As a child, he played

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History and ...

and participated in baseball at his high school and church's leagues, playing in 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 ...

. He made the decision to play professional baseball at seventeen and tried out for several major league teams. After he was rejected by the

, Washington Senators and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, in 1934, he took a $50 loan () from his uncle in order to go to the

' tryout held in

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus. ...

. McCormick's manager at the sandlot team encouraged him to switch positions to

first base 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 ...

, citing how there was less competition for the spot compared to the outfield. His performance at the tryout left a lasting impression on former major league player and renowned scout Bobby Wallace, who signed the 23-year-old.

Professional career

Minor leagues

McCormick began his professional baseball career for the Beckley Black Knights, a minor league baseball team that were members of the Middle Atlantic League. In 120

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 ...

and 487

at bat 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 ...

s that season, he posted a

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 ...

of .347 and garnered 169

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 ...

. His stellar performance that year earned him a promotion to the major leagues. After he was exiled back to the minors, he split the season between five teams—the Dayton Ducks,

Decatur Commodores The Decatur Commodores were a professional minor league baseball team based in Decatur, Illinois that played for 64 seasons. The Commodores are the primary ancestor of today's Kane County Cougars. They played, with sporadic interruptions, from 1 ...

, Nashville Volunteers,

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Basebal ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

—and batted .277 and made 121 hits throughout the entire season. In , he moved to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, a minor league baseball team that competed in the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmont ...

. He began the season in a disappointing fashion before his manager,

Johnny Gooch John Beverley Gooch (November 9, 1897 – May 15, 1975) was an American professional baseball player, coach, minor league manager and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently for the Pittsburgh Pirates wh ...

, advised him to modify his batting grip. The change helped McCormick tremendously, as he led the league with a .381 batting average that season and finished with 211 hits, 49

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 ...

and 15

home run 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 ...

s. His final stint in the minor leagues saw him bat .322 with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

in .

Cincinnati Reds

McCormick made his major league debut for the Reds on September 11, 1934, at the age of 23, entering the game as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

Ray Kolp Raymond Carl Kolp (October 1, 1894 – July 29, 1967) was a professional baseball pitcher. Kolp played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1921 and 1934, playing in 1921-24 for the St. Louis Browns and 1927-34 for the Cincinnati Reds. ...

in a 5–2 loss against the

Brooklyn Dodgers 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 ...

. He played just 12 games with the Reds and though he batted .313 in 16 at-bats, he was demoted to the minor leagues, where he was consigned for the next two seasons. He was briefly brought back up to the majors in , but after the Reds were unable to fit him into one position, he was sent back down and remained there until September 19. In his first day back with the team, he amassed seven hits in a doubleheader and finished the season with a .325 batting average in 83 at-bats. McCormick became the Reds' full-time

from onwards, replacing

Buck Jordan Baxter Byerly "Buck" Jordan (January 16, 1907 – March 18, 1993) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Giants (1927–1929), Washington Senators (1931), Boston Braves (1932–1937), Cincinnati Reds (1937-19 ...

. That year, he had 106

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 ...

(RBI), finished third in 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 ...

in batting average (.327) and led the majors in hits with 209. In recognition of his brilliant performance in his first full year in the major leagues, McCormick was named the unofficial "Rookie of the Year" by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

The season saw another strong showing from McCormick both offensively and defensively. He led the National League in hits (209), drove in 128 RBIs to become the league's RBI champion and finished first in

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, di ...

at first base (.996). His impressive performance during the latter half of the season was recognized as being a key factor in the Reds' drive to win the pennant. The Reds advanced to the 1939 World Series, where they lost to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in a four-game sweep. In spite of his team's performance, he was still able to maintain a .400 batting average throughout the series. His contributions to the team that year led to him being accepted into the "Jungle Club" of Reds' infielders, who gave him the nickname "Wildcat".

Career summary

In a 13-season career, McCormick posted a .299

with 1,711

, 128

s and 951

in 1,534

. An excellent first baseman, his career

was .995. He was the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

in the

in . That season, he led the league in hits (191) and

(44) as the Reds stormed to their second consecutive National League championship and the

1940 World Series The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series. The victory secured the Reds the second championship in their franchise history and came 21 years after th ...

title. McCormick was selected to the NL All-Star team for nine straight seasons (1938–1946, although there was no game played in ). McCormick also led his league in hits two other times (1938–1939, with 209 each season) and in RBI in 1939 (with 128). He topped all NL first basemen in

four times in 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1946. In three World Series (1939–1940 with the Reds and 1948 with the Braves), he batted .271 with 13 hits in 14 games played. He is one of only three NL players with three consecutive

titles. The others are

Ginger Beaumont Clarence Howeth "Ginger" Beaumont (July 23, 1876 – April 10, 1956) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1899–1906) and Boston Braves (1907–1909). He was born in Roc ...

(1902–04) and

Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 193 ...

(1920–22). McCormick set an MLB first basemen record with 138 straight errorless games (1945–46). He is a member of the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...

Personal life

At the conclusion of his 1938 rookie season, McCormick married his wife Vera (''née'' Preedy) on October 8. Together, they had two daughters, Judith and Nancy. After his Major League career ended, McCormick went on to manage the

Quebec Braves The Quebec Athletics/Alouettes/Braves were a Minor League Baseball team that operated from 1939–1955. Operating in Quebec City, the team played in the Quebec Provincial League in 1939 and 1940 and the Canadian–American League from 1941–1942 ...

, Lima Phillies and Bradford Phillies, spending one season at each minor league baseball affiliate from to . He proceeded to coach his former team—the now-renamed

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

—in , replacing

Dick Bartell __NOTOC__ Richard William Bartell (November 22, 1907 – August 4, 1995), nicknamed "Rowdy Richard", was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from to . One of the ...

. After his coaching tenure finished, he continued his affiliation with the Reds as a scout, as well as a broadcaster, announcer and analyst on WLWT-TV from to , before moving back to his hometown and working as the director of ticket sales for the

until his death.

Death

McCormick died of cancer on November 21, 1982 in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

at the age of 71. He was interred at the

Cemetery of the Holy Rood The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a Catholic cemetery located in Westbury, New York. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. History The oldest part of the cemetery was originally the burial ...

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located about east of Manhattan. The population was 15,404 at the 2020 census. History The firs ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Frank 1911 births 1982 deaths American Roman Catholics Beckley Black Knights players Boston Braves players Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood Cincinnati Redlegs coaches Cincinnati Reds announcers Cincinnati Reds players Cincinnati Reds scouts Dayton Ducks players Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Decatur Commodores players Durham Bulls players Fort Worth Cats players Lima Phillies players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball first basemen Nashville Vols players National League All-Stars National League Most Valuable Player Award winners National League RBI champions Philadelphia Phillies players Quebec Braves players Baseball players from New York City Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players