Wally Pipp

Wally Pipp
Pipp with the New York Yankees in 1922
First baseman
Born: (1893-02-17)February 17, 1893
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: January 11, 1965(1965-01-11) (aged 71)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 29, 1913, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1928, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average.281
Home runs90
Runs batted in1,004
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Walter Clement "Wally" Pipp Sr. (February 17, 1893 – January 11, 1965) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Pipp played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds between 1913 and 1928.

After appearing in 12 games for the Tigers in 1913 and playing in the minor leagues in 1914, he was purchased by the Yankees before the 1915 season. They made him their starting first baseman. He and Home Run Baker led an improved Yankee lineup that led the league in home runs. He led the American League in home runs in 1916 and 1917. With Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Joe Dugan, and Waite Hoyt, the Yankees won three consecutive American League pennants from 1921 through 1923, and won the 1923 World Series. In 1925, he lost his starting role to Lou Gehrig, after which he finished his major league career with Cincinnati.

Although he is considered to be one of the best power hitters of the dead ball era,[1] Pipp is now best remembered as the man who lost his starting role as the Yankees' first baseman to Gehrig on June 2, 1925, after experiencing a headache. This began Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, which stood as an MLB record for 56 years.

  1. ^ Spatz, Lyle. "The Baseball Biography Project: Wally Pipp". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved July 26, 2010.