Harry Stovey

Harry Stovey
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1856-12-20)December 20, 1856
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: September 20, 1937(1937-09-20) (aged 80)
New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 1, 1880, for the Worcester Worcesters
Last MLB appearance
July 29, 1893, for the Brooklyn Grooms
MLB statistics
Batting average.288
Home runs122
Runs batted in912
Stolen bases509
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Harry Duffield Stovey ( Stowe; December 20, 1856 – September 20, 1937) was an American 19th-century Major League Baseball player and the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stovey played for fourteen seasons in the majors and was appointed player-manager on two separate occasions during his career.[1]

Known today as both a prolific home run hitter and base-stealer, he led the league in both categories multiple times in his career, including a season record of fourteen home runs in 1883[2] and a league-leading 97 stolen bases in 1890. He stole 509 bases in his career, which is tied for 35th all-time; among players who played in fifteen seasons or less, he ranks sixth.[3] Stovey finished in the top ten in home runs eleven times (1880–1886, 1888–1991), which included time in three leagues; he led a league in home runs five times. He also finished in the top ten in runs scored ten times, batting average six times, and on-base percentage seven times.[4] He was the first to wear sliding pads and among the first to slide feet first.[5]

  1. ^ "Harry Stovey's career stats". retrosheet.org. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Progressive Leaders & Records for Home Runs". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  3. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Stolen Bases".
  4. ^ "Harry Stovey's career stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  5. ^ "Harry Stovey". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved January 15, 2008.