George Joseph "Candy" LaChance (February 14, 1870 – August 18, 1932) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played twelve seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) between 1893 and 1905 for the Brooklyn Grooms / Bridegrooms,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, Cleveland Blues, and

Boston Americans 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

."Candy LaChance Statistics and History"
"baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2017. LaChance reached the majors in 1893, spending six years with the Brooklyn Grooms / Bridegrooms before moving to the

(1899), Cleveland Blues (1901) and

(1902–05). He hit .300 or more five times, and from 1894 to 1899 averaged 26

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s each year, with a career-high 37 in 1895. In that season he also led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

hitters with 108 RBI, while hitting .312 with 38 extra-bases and 99 runs. While in Boston in , he was a member of the first

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

team in major league history. In a 12-season career, LaChance was a .280 hitter (1380-for-4928) with 39

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 693 RBI in 1265 games, including 681 runs, 198

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, 87 triples and 192 stolen bases. Later he played with

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

and for

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

and

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

in the

Connecticut League The Connecticut League, also known as the Connecticut State League, was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut. The league began as offshoot of the original Connecticut State League, which dates back as far as 1884 ...

. LaChance earned the nickname of "Candy" because he preferred to chew on peppermints rather than

chewing tobacco Chewing tobacco is a type of smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the cheek and lower gum to draw out its flavor. Some users chew it, others do not. It consists of coarsely chopped aged tobacco that is flavored and often sweetened; ...

.. LaChance died in Waterville, Connecticut at the age of 62.

References

External links

Baseball ReferenceSABRCandy LaChance
- Baseballbiography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lachance, Candy 1870 births 1932 deaths People from Putnam, Connecticut Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Boston Americans players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Brooklyn Grooms players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Major League Baseball first basemen 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Connecticut Waterbury (minor league baseball) players Portland (minor league baseball) players Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons players Montreal Royals players Providence Grays (minor league) players Waterbury Authors players

See also

References

External links