George Edward "Stump" Weidman (February 17, 1861 – March 2, 1905) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player from 1880 to 1893. He played nine years in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, principally as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, for five different major league clubs. He appeared in 379 major league games, 279 as a pitcher and 122 as an outfielder, and his longest stretches were with 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 ...

(288 games, 1881–1885, 1887) and the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a major league baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a major league baseball team in ...

(51 games, 1886). As a pitcher, Weidman compiled a 101–156 (.393)

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 3.61

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in 1881 with a 1.80 ERA and totaled 45 wins in the 1882 and 1883 seasons. He pitched more innings for the Wolverines (1,654) than any other pitcher in the club's history.

Early years

Weidman was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, in 1861. He attended

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and was a pitcher on the

baseball team 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 beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...

there in 1880. He also played for the Hop Bitters Club of Rochester, with

Buck Ewing William "Buck" Ewing (October 17, 1859 – October 20, 1906) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He was renowned for both his offensive and defensive skills during his playing career. In 1939, Ewing was elected to the Baseb ...

as his catcher. Weidman was given his nickname due to his stocky stature, standing and weighing .

Professional baseball career

Buffalo

Weidman made his major league debut with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on August 26, 1880. In the final weeks of the 1880 season, Weidman started 13 games for the Bisons and appeared in another four games as a relief pitcher. He compiled a 0–9 record and 3.40

(ERA) in innings pitched.

Washington and Albany

Weidman began the 1881 season with the Washington Nationals, then joined the

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, club in July 1881.

Detroit Wolverines

After the Albany team folded, Weidman joined the

and brought his catcher Sam Trott with him. Weidman and Trott made their debut for Detroit on September 3, 1881, a 4–3 loss against Buffalo. Weidman started 13 games for Detroit in the last month of the season, compiling an 8–5 record and 1.18 ERA in 115 innings pitched. He led the

in ERA and had the lowest

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

rating (walks + hits per inning pitched) at 1.043. Weidman had another strong year in 1882, winning 25 games, pitching 411 innings and 43 complete games with a WHIP rating of 1.046 (4th best in the National League). On August 17, 1882, he was the losing pitcher in one of the great pitching duels in baseball history. Monte Ward was the pitcher for the Providence Grays, and he and Weidman held the game scoreless through 17 innings. Weidman allowed only seven hits but lost the game in the 18th inning on a home run by Old Hoss Radbourn, who was playing in right field. While he won 25 games in 1882, Weidman also ranked among the league leaders with 20 losses. He lost at least 20 games for five consecutive seasons from 1882 to 1886, ranking among the league leaders in losses for each of those seasons. Weidman also appeared 88 games as an outfielder for the Wolverines during the 1883 and 1884 seasons. He scored 58 runs, had 50 RBIs, and compiled a .175 batting average during those seasons. Applying the sabermetric Wins Above Replacement (WAR) model, Weidman earned negative ratings of −1.6 and −1.7 in 1883 and 1884. In 1887, Weidman returned to the Wolverines, where he went 13–7, helping them to the 1887 National League pennant. Over the course of six seasons, Weidman pitched more innings for the Wolverines (1,654) than any other pitcher in the club's history.

Kansas City

After the 1885 season, Weidman was released by the Wolverines to league control and then obtained by the newly formed

. He appeared in 51 games as a starting pitcher for the Cowboys, including 48 complete games, and also appeared in three games as an outfielder. He compiled a win–loss record of 12–36 (.250) and a −1.4 WAR rating with a 4.52 ERA in inning pitched. He led the National League in both losses (36) and earned runs allowed (549). His 36 losses in 1886 is tied for ninth highest in major league history. The Kansas City club compiled a 30–91 record and disbanded after the 1886 season.

New York

In early August 1887, Weidman was sold by Detroit to the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York M ...

for a price estimated at between $800 and $1,000. Weidman started 12 games for the Metropolitans in the last half of the 1887 season and compiled a 4–8 record with a 4.64 ERA. At the end of the 1887 season, the Metropolitans sold Weidman to the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Weidman appeared in one game for the Giants in 1887 and two games in 1888. He compiled a 1–2 record and 2.77 ERA in his three games with the Giants. He played in his last major league game with the Giants on July 5, 1888, at age 27.

Minor leagues

Although his major league career ended in 1888, Weidman continued to pitch in the minor leagues. He compiled a 10–4 record for the Toronto Canucks in 1884. Weidman remained in Canada in 1885, playing for the Hamilton Hams of the International League. He concluded his professional baseball career in 1893 with the Providence Clamdiggers of the Eastern League.

Later years

After retiring from baseball, Weidman worked as an

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 , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

for a time, including one season as an umpire in the

. He then became a saloon operator in

. His first venture in the saloon business was the firm of Coughlin & Weidman. He later formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Silk O'Loughlin, a well-known umpire. Weidman and O'Loughlin operated a saloon for several years at 158 State Street in Rochester. That establishment was sold in approximately 1903, after which Weidman and O'Loughlin conducted business at another location. By early 1905, Weidman developed a tumor which was believed to be throat cancer. He traveled to New York City where he met with medical specialists and underwent an operation that resulted in his death. He died in a New York hospital in March 1905 at age 44. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York. In an obituary, the ''Sporting Life'' wrote: "Weidman was a clean-cut, honest and well behaved ball player, and a credit to his profession at all times. Peace to his ashes."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weidman, Stump 1861 births 1905 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Albany (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Rochester, New York Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Detroit Wolverines players Hamilton Hams players Kansas City Cowboys (NL) players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals managers Montreal Royals players National League ERA champions New York Giants (baseball) players New York Metropolitans players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Rochester Brownies players Rochester (minor league baseball) players Rochester Yellowjackets baseball players Toronto Canucks players Washington Nationals (minor league) players