Edward Nagle Williamson (October 24, 1857 – March 3, 1894) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

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 ...

. He played for three teams: the Indianapolis Blues of 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 ...

(NL) for one season, the Chicago White Stockings (NL) for 11 seasons, and the Chicago Pirates of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded American professional baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Pr ...

for one season. From 1883 and 1887, Williamson held the single-season record for both doubles and

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. Although his record for doubles was surpassed in 1887, he held the home run record until 1919, when it was topped by

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Statistically, he was one of the best fielders of his era. During the first eight years of his career, he led the league at his position in both

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

and

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s five times, and he also led his position in assists six times. Later, when he moved to

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

, he again led the league in both assists and double plays. His career was shortened by a knee injury that he suffered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

during a world-tour organized by

Albert Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of the Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised i ...

. After he left organized baseball, his health declined rapidly. He contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and ultimately died at the age of 36 of dropsy.

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 ...

, Williamson began his major league career on May 1, 1878 for the Indianapolis Blues of the National League. That season he played in all 63 of the team's games as the starting

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

, leading the league in that category. He umpired his only game on August 12, calling a game between the Chicago White Stockings and the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

. His season-ending statistics included a .232

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, one home run, and 31 runs scored. The Blues were only a major league team for the 1878 season, resulting in Williamson joining the Chicago White Stockings for the 1879 season. He was their regular third baseman, leading the league in multiple fielding categories for his position, including fielding percentage, assists,

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...

s, and double plays. As a hitter, his numbers improved. He finished second in the league with 13

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and eighth in doubles with 20, while also raising his batting average to .294. During the next three seasons, his batting statistics fluctuated from year to year. His batting average rose from .251 in 1880 to .282 in 1882; likewise, his 20 doubles in 1880 were good for seventh in the league, but dropped to 12 in 1881. He followed that season with 27 in 1882, which was fourth in the league. During this time period, when his level of hitting had dropped, his play in the field did not. He led the league in fielding percentage from 1880 to 1882, and in assists in 1881 and 1882. In 1883, Williamson set the major league record for doubles in a single season by hitting 49, surpassing

King Kelly Michael Joseph "King" Kelly (December 31, 1857 – November 8, 1894), also commonly known as "$10,000 Kelly", was an American outfielder, catcher, and manager (baseball), manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the Na ...

's 37 set the previous year. Williamson's record for doubles stood until

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...

of the St. Louis Browns hit 52 in 1887. Williamson's doubles achievement was attributed to the short dimensions of Chicago's Lakeshore Park; the distances were in left field, in center field, and in

right field 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 t ...

. Balls that were hit over the fence were counted as doubles until 1884, when they became home runs. On September 6, Chicago scored a record 18 runs in one

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

during a 26–6 victory over the Detroit Wolverines. Williamson contributed three hits, and scored three runs in that inning, setting individual records in both categories. Other than runs scored, the other team records set that day included the most hits and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

in one inning. During this time period, the establishment of the

ground rules Ground rules are rules applying to the baseball field, field, objects on and near it, and special situations relating to them, in the game of baseball. Major League Baseball has defined a set of "universal ground rules" that apply to all MLB ball ...

of each park rested with the home team. In 1884, team captain and on-field

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain"), "Pop", and "Baby" (early in his career) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association ...

decided that balls hit over the fence were to be home runs. Williamson used these short dimensions and new ground rules to set the single-season home run record by hitting 27 in a 112-game season, surpassing the record of 14 set by Harry Stovey the previous year. Of the 27 home runs he hit that year, 25 of them were hit at home. This record stood for 35 years until it was broken in 1919 by

, who hit 29 for the

in a 140-game schedule. The first three of Williamson's 27 home runs came on May 30, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Wolverines. Williamson became the first major league baseball player to hit three home runs in one game. During these two record-breaking seasons, his fielding prowess did not recede. He did not lead the league in fielding percentage in either 1883 or 1884, but did lead in assists, capping off a streak of five consecutive years in which he did so, while also leading the league in double plays for the second and third consecutive years. After the 1884 season, the White Stockings moved to

West Side Park West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League (baseball), National League. Both ballparks hoste ...

, and Williamson's power numbers dropped. Without the short fences, his home run total dropped to three, his doubles went down to 16, and his batting average dropped to .238, his lowest average since he became a White Stocking. Despite his low hitting numbers, he did lead the league in games played with 116, bases on balls with 75, and yet again, led his position in assists, double plays, and for the fifth and last time, fielding percentage. Chicago won the National League championship that season, and agreed to play the American Association champions, the St. Louis Browns in a seven-game "

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

". Before game one began, the players of both teams held a field day which included contests of skill, and Williamson won the long throw with a toss that traveled 400 feet, four inches. The 1885 series ended in a tie when each team won three games, and one game ended in a tie. Williamson collected two base hits in 23

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s, for a .087 batting average, and scored one run. Beginning in 1886, Williamson switched his fielding position to

, while the Chicago White Stockings again won the National League championship, their fifth in seven years. The team's success did not coincide with Williamson's slide in seasonal numbers. His batting average dropped to his career low of .216, and his

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s jumped up to a career high of 71, in 430 at bats, although he did finish third in bases on balls. The White Stockings met the St. Louis Browns following the season and agreed to play a best of seven "World Series" for the second consecutive year. The Browns won the series, four games to two, and Williamson's statistics for the series did not improve. In fact, they were worse than in 1885. He gathered one base hit in 18 at bats, for a .056 batting average, and scored two runs. 1887 was Williamson's second season at shortstop, his last full season in the majors, and his numbers began to climb back to what they were during the early part of his career. His batting average jumped back up to .267, hit 20 doubles, 14 triples, 73 base on balls, and nine home runs. In 1888, his batting average dipped again, this time to .250, but he did finish fourth in the league in both RBIs with 73, and base on balls with 65. In the field, he led the league in assists and double plays.

Spalding's world tour

At the completion of the 1888 baseball season,

organized an around-the-world tour to promote the game of baseball. The two teams Spalding selected were the White Stockings and a collection of players from other National League teams. The tour departed on October 20, 1888 to play exhibition games throughout the western United States for a month, before departing to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The tour visited several foreign countries, such as Australia,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(Sri Lanka), France, Italy, and England. It was during a game played on at the Parc Aristotique in Paris, France on March 8, 1889, when Williamson suffered a torn knee cap which forced him to be bedridden in England on doctor's orders, missing the tour through Britain. Though players in the 19th century were responsible for their own medical care, Williamson asked Spalding to help him financially with the mounting medical costs. Spalding refused, citing that he was not obligated to assist, and Williamson never forgave him for this. Williamson, among his baseball contemporaries, wrote the most colorful articles to newspapers as the tour was unfolding. Williamson, an 1880s teammate of Anson in Chicago, had a knack for roasting—poking fun at—his teammates while always coming across as good-natured. A testament to the letters' significance is that they are a dominant source of one recent book's World Tour presentation., pp. 168–171, 178–180, 182–186, 188. Besides having Williamson World Tour letter content on 13 pages of its 34 pages devoted to the tour, Cap Anson 4 also contains a 12-page biography of Williamson, focusing on his personality, including his letter-writing talents at other times. Williamson is portrayed by Charlie Crabtree in the 2015 movie "Deadball" which depicts his life and journaling of the world tour.

Late career and death

The injury to Williamson's knee caused his career to suffer, as he played in 47 games during the 1889 season. He batted .237, and of his 41 hits that season, only five of them were extra base hits. He joined the Chicago Pirates of the

for the 1890 season, his final major league season, and played in 73 games, hitting .195. In the spring of 1894, Williamson traveled to

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

, in hopes that he could recover from a liver ailment and lose some weight as well, but the treatments did not work. Williamson died on March 3 of that year, at the age of 36 in Willow Springs, Arkansas, of dropsy (edema) complicated by

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

(tuberculosis). He was interred in an unmarked grave at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, until November 6, 2021, when the grave received a dedication thanks to the efforts 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 ...

(SABR); the grave notes his single-season record of home runs set in 1884.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Ned 1857 births 1894 deaths National League home run champions Baseball players from Philadelphia Major League Baseball third basemen Indianapolis Blues players Chicago Pirates players Chicago White Stockings players Burials at Rosehill Cemetery 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Deaths from edema Pittsburgh Allegheny players San Francisco (minor league baseball) players Tuberculosis deaths in Arkansas

Career

Spalding's world tour

Late career and death

See also

References

External links