George A. Bechtel (September 2, 1848 — possibly April 3, 1921) was an American

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

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, ...

in 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 ...

's early history. He played in all five seasons of baseball's first all-professional league, the National Association, and later played in the first season of baseball's first major league, 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 ...

, when the Association folded. In 1876, he became the first player in Major League history to be suspended for life for intentionally losing games for money.

Career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Bechtel began his professional career in for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

, when they joined the new National Association. Bechtel had played for the Athletics in , and stayed with the team during its transformation from the previous version of the National Association. He batted .351 that season while playing in 20 of the team's 28 games, as the Athletics won the season's championship. Bechtel had also played for a couple of other Philadelphia teams during his amateur career before 1870. He was formerly of the Philadelphias in

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

, and the Keystones in both 1868 and . The following season, he signed with the

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American baseball club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players that yea ...

, who had offered him a higher salary in , and batted .302 and scored 64 runs in the team's 54-game schedule. After just one season in New York, Bechtel moved back to Philadelphia, playing the next two seasons for the

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

with mixed success at the plate, batting .244 in and .278 in . When the season began, he again moved, this time to the

Philadelphia Centennials The Centennial baseball club, or Philadelphia Centennials in modern nomenclature, were a short-lived baseball team in the National Association in 1875. They were named the Centennial club during a time when the city of Philadelphia was busy maki ...

, and was their pitcher in all 14 games that the club played. On May 26, 1875, after a 2–12 start, Bechtel and fellow Centennial

Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for sev ...

were sold to the Philadelphia Athletics for $1,500. This is the first known sale of ballplayers from one team to another in baseball history. It is theorized that sale was actually an enticement for the Centennials to fold, which they did.

Expulsion

Rumors surrounded Bechtel's play ever since the late 1860s, indicating that he was a very good fielder, one of the better fielders of the day, but his play at times became sloppy. Henry Chadwick once stated regarding his play: "At the commencement of the season, Bechtel's play in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

was equal to any player, but, as the season wore on, he grew careless, and from other causes unnecessary to mention, he played poorly." On May 30, 1876, in a game against the Mutuals, he made three of the team's nine

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

, all three in crucial game situations. After the game, he became a "much suspected man" by the press and his team alike, so the team suspended him for crooked play. On June 10, Bechtel wired teammate

Jim Devlin James Alexander Devlin (June 6, 1849 – October 10, 1883) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played mainly as a first baseman early in his career, then later as a pitcher. Devlin played for three teams during his five-ye ...

a message stating "We can make $500 if you lose the game today. Tell John (manager

Jack Chapman John Curtis Chapman (May 8, 1843 – June 10, 1916) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing in the National Association when he played for the Brooklyn Atlantics and the ...

) and let me know at once. BECHTEL." Devlin wired him back explaining that he was not that kind of player, and presented the telegram to the team's management. Louisville immediately suspended him from the team. Bechtel was picked up by the Mutuals and played in a couple of games for them before the end of the season. The National League followed the lead of the Grays and suspended Bechtel before the season, and despite attempts for re-instatement, he was denied. Devlin himself was also banned for life the following season when he and a couple of teammates were paid for losing games. According to Bill Lamb, a member of the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

, Bechtel had a stroke on April 1, 1921, and two days later, he died at St. Mary's Hospital in Philadelphia on April 3, 1921.

References

External links

Retrosheet

George Bechtel
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

(Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bechtel, George 1848 births 1921 deaths Baseball players from Philadelphia Major League Baseball right fielders Philadelphia Geary players Philadelphia Keystones (NABBP) players Philadelphia Athletics (NABBP) players Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players New York Mutuals players Philadelphia White Stockings players Philadelphia Centennials players Louisville Grays players Philadelphia (minor league baseball) players 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball controversies Sportspeople banned for life