| Topper Rigney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: January 7, 1897 Groveton, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: June 6, 1972 (aged 75) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1922, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 26, 1927, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Home runs | 13 |
| Runs batted in | 312 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Emory Elmo "Topper" Rigney (January 7, 1897 – June 6, 1972) was an American professional baseball player between 1920 and 1928. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Detroit Tigers (1922–1925), Boston Red Sox (1926–1927), and Washington Senators (1927).
A Texas native, Rigney served in the U.S. Navy and played two years in the Texas League before making his major league debut in 1922 at age 25. During his six-year major league career, Rigney ranked among the American League leaders in sacrifice hits four times. He was also among the league leaders in bases on balls three times, leading to his impressive on-base percentages of .410 in 1924 and .395 in 1926. Rigney also had good speed on the base paths and ranked among the league leaders in triples twice and was once among the leaders in stolen bases. He had a career batting average of .288 and .388 on-base percentage.
Rigney also ranked among the American League's best defensive shortstops in the 1920s. He led the league's shortstops in fielding percentage in 1924 and 1926 and also led the league with 492 assists in 1926. His 1926 range factor per game of 5.33 was tops among shortstops in that category as well.