Harry M. Steinfeldt (September 29, 1875 – August 17, 1914) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. A

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 scoring system us ...

, Steinfeldt played 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 (AL), ...

for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Rustlers. He batted and threw right-handed. Steinfeldt was the starting third baseman for the Cubs in the final game of the

1908 World Series The 1908 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1908 season. The fifth edition of the World Series, it matched the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs against the American League champion Detroit Ti ...

, the team's last championship until their victory in

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. He was the fourth infielder on a team that gained fame for a double-play combination of "Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Early life

Steinfeldt was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 29, 1875, to German immigrants. His family moved to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

when he was five years old. He initially pursued a theatrical career.

Career

While touring Texas in a

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

, Steinfeldt played baseball in a town where his show was performing. His success at baseball led him to sign his first professional contract, debuting in minor league baseball with the Houston Magnolias/Mudcats of the Class B Texas-Southern League in 1895. The next year, he played for the Galveston Sandcrabs and

Fort Worth Panthers A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the Class C Texas Association. In 1897, Steinfeldt played for the Detroit Tigers of the Class A Western League. In October 1897, the Cincinnati Reds of 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 ...

(NL) purchased Steinfeldt from Detroit. Debuting in the major leagues for the Reds in 1898, he filled in for Bid McPhee, Tommy Corcoran, and Charlie Irwin as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

. When the Reds released Irwin during the 1901 season, Steinfeldt became the Reds' starting

. He led the NL in doubles in 1903 with 32. On October 24, 1905, the Reds traded Steinfeldt, with

Jimmy Sebring James Dennison Sebring (March 22, 1882–December 22, 1909), was a professional baseball player who played outfield from 1902 to 1909. He attended college at Bucknell University. He played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ...

, to the Chicago Cubs for Jake Weimer. He led the NL in hits in 1906 with 176 and tied with Jim Nealon for most

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) with 83. His .327 batting average finished second, behind

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...

(.339). Steinfeldt set a major league record with three sacrifice flies in a game in 1909.

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

tied the record in 1961. Steinfeldt is the only member of the Cubs' infield, which also included Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and

Frank Chance Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 – September 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 18 ...

, who was left out of

Franklin Pierce Adams Franklin Pierce Adams (November 15, 1881 – March 23, 1960) was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F.P.A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances a ...

' famous poem "

Baseball's Sad Lexicon "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," also known as "Tinker to Evers to Chance" after its refrain, is a 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams. The eight-line poem is presented as a single, rueful stanza from the point of view of a New York Giants fa ...

" (the famous trio played together for ten years, starting in 1902, while Steinfeldt played with them for four years). On April 5, 1911, the St. Paul Saints of the American Association purchased Steinfeldt from the Cubs. On May 25, 1911, St. Paul traded Steinfeldt to the Boston Rustlers for Art Butler and Josh Clarke. Steinfeldt fell ill in July 1911, leaving the team. It was later identified as a nervous breakdown. The Rustlers released Steinfeldt after the season. In 1912, Steinfeldt returned to minor league baseball. He managed the Cincinnati Pippins of the United States Baseball League, but the league folded in midseason. He also played for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association, but was released in May. In June, he became the manager of the Meriden Metropolitans of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. In 1647 games over 14 major league seasons, Steinfeldt posted a .267

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 ...

(1578-for-5900) with 759 runs, 284 doubles, 90 triples, 27 home runs, 762 RBI, 202 stolen bases, 471 bases on balls, .330 on-base percentage and .360 slugging percentage. He finished his career with an overall .927 fielding percentage. In 21 World Series games, he hit .260 (19-for-73) with 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 8 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 4 walks.

Death

Steinfeldt died in

Bellevue, Kentucky Bellevue is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located along the southern bank of the Ohio River. The population was 5,955 at the 2010 census. History Before Bellevue was founded, the area was used ...

in 1914 after a long illness, at the age of 38. He is interred at

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The death certificate indicates that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinfeldt, Harry 1875 births 1914 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Cincinnati Reds players Chicago Cubs players Boston Rustlers players National League RBI champions 19th-century baseball players Minor league baseball managers Houston Magnolias players Houston Mudcats players Fort Worth Panthers players Galveston Sandcrabs players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Baseball players from St. Louis Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links