Leo Christopher "Lee" Magee (born Leopold Christopher Hoernschemeyer; June 4, 1889 – March 14, 1966) was a

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), ...

player and manager between 1911 and 1919. He was the first Major League player to record five straight hits. While he played the majority of his professional games in the outfield, he also played the infield frequently. In 1915, he was a player/manager for the

Brooklyn Tip-Tops The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were a team in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team's name came from Tip Top Bread, a product of Ward Baking Company, which was also owned by team owner Robert Ward. They were so ...

of the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

for most of the season. The team was 53-64 under his management.

Professional career

Magee signed with the Seattle Turks of the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

for the 1909 season. ''The Oregonian'' noted "To provide against a possible loss of ugBennett, anDugdale signed Lee Magee, a fast youngster, who so far has justified the advance press dope of his touters that he handles himself in the field like

Johnny Evers John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 – March 28, 1947) was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Philli ...

." On August 19, 1909 Magee was sold to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

by the Seattle Turks of the Northwestern League. In 1915, Magee was sued by the St. Louis Cardinals after he jumped to the

in the

James A. Gilmore James Alexander Gilmore (March 2, 1876 – March 19, 1947) was an American businessman who served as president of baseball's Federal League when it attempted to become a third major league, alongside the American League and National League, i ...

, president of the Federal League, instructed Magee to ignore the suit. In 1015 games over nine seasons, Magee posted a .276

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 ...

(1031-for-3741) with 467 runs, 133 doubles, 54

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, 12

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 ...

, 277 RBI, 186

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 265

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 ...

. Defensively, he finished his career with an overall .962

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 ...

Banishment

As a ballplayer with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Magee and Hal Chase of the

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 ...

were accused of fixing a game on August 31, 1919 by the

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

grand jury investigating the

Black Sox scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...

. In response Cubs president

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Br ...

released Magee. Magee filed suit against the Cubs for $9,500 in lost wages and bonuses in 1920. He claimed to have damning evidence which would be the "biggest bomb in baseball history". The jury ruled in favor of the Cubs on June 9, 1920.

Personal life

Magee was accused by Fred W. Kleine of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in a reply to his wife Harriet Kleine's petition for divorce, with a charge that Harriet would meet Magee and other baseball players at

Robison Field Robison Field is the best-known of several names given to a former Major League Baseball park in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League from April 27, 1893 until June 6, 1920. History Today's C ...

and bring them home. In one instance in May 1910, Fred W. Kleine claimed he found his wife drinking beer with Magee,

Jack Bliss John Joseph Albert Bliss (January 9, 1882 – October 23, 1968) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1908 until 1912, for the St. Louis Cardinals, primarily as a catcher Catch ...

and

Kitty Knight Kitty or Kittie may refer to: Animals * Cat, a small, domesticated carnivorous mammal ** Kitten, a young cat Film * Kitty Films, an anime production company in Japan * ''Kitty'' (1929 film), based on the Deeping novel; the first British talk ...

. Another instance, according to Fred W. Kleine, his wife had to assist an inebriated Magee down their stairs. All of the players denied wrongdoing, but said they had been guests at the Kleine's house, which was across the street from the ballpark. Magee responded that it was a leg injury that made him require assistance down the Kleine's stairs. ''The Oregonian'' noted that "Magee's name in a divorce suit along with other ball players, is not much of a surprise. Lee was a handsome boy and women admired him. He had an escapade on a sleeping car when he was playing first

ase Ase may refer to: * Ase, Nigeria, a town in Delta State, Nigeria * -ase, a suffix used for the names of enzymes * Aṣẹ, a West African philosophical concept * American Sign Language (ISO 639-3 code: ase) See also

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for Seattle, that took diplomacy on the part of president Dugdale to smooth over." Magee married Beatrice Rogers in 1917 and during this time Magee petitioned the court in Cincinnati to legally change his name from Leopold Christopher Hoernschemeyer to Lee Magee. According to ''The Oregonian'' this was done so his wife would be known as Mrs. Magee following their marriage.

References

External links

Joe Magee
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Lee 1889 births 1966 deaths Baseball players from Cincinnati Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball second basemen St. Louis Cardinals players Brooklyn Tip-Tops players Brooklyn Tip-Tops managers New York Yankees players St. Louis Browns players Cincinnati Reds players Brooklyn Robins players Chicago Cubs players Burlington Pathfinders players Waterloo Cubs players Waterloo Lulus players Seattle Turks players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball player-managers