Samuel James Tilden Sheckard (November 23, 1878 – January 15, 1947) was an American

left fielder 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 system ...

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), ...

who played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas (1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–05), Baltimore Orioles (NL) (1899), Baltimore Orioles (AL) (1902), Chicago Cubs (1906–12),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1913) and Cincinnati Reds (1913). Sheckard was the Chicago Cubs' leadoff batter for 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 ...

. His team played in four World Series in a five-year span from 1906-1910.

Career

Sheckard was born in

Chanceford Township, York County, Pennsylvania Chanceford Township is a township located in the southeastern portion of York County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,935 at the 2020 census. The township is home to several campsites, Allegro Vineyards, and Apollo Park. The Mason-Dixon Tr ...

. He enjoyed a great 1901 season with the Superbas, hitting .353 with 11

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 104

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 ...

, and leading the league with 19 triples and a .534

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. In that season Sheckard became the first and so far only player to hit inside the park

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

s in two consecutive games. With Baltimore in 1899, Sheckard led the league with 77 stolen bases. He played in four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

with the Cubs, winning championships in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

; and he led the league in 1911 with 121 runs and 147 walks – a major league record until broken by

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

in 1920, and still a team record. He also had the dubious distinction of going hitless in 21 at-bats in the

1906 World Series The 1906 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1906 season. The third edition of the World Series, it featured a crosstown matchup between the American League champion Chicago White Sox and the National Leagu ...

, won by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

over the Cubs. Sheckard was the first man to lead the league in homers and steals in the same season (1903).

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

(1909) and

Chuck Klein Charles Herbert Klein (October 7, 1904 – March 28, 1958), nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer", was an American professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–, –, –), Chicago Cubs ...

(1932) are the only other players to do so in the majors. Sheckard was also a good outfielder. He holds the all-time single season major league record for double plays at two separate positions. His 12 double plays as a left fielder in 1911 for the Cubs is 2 more than any other left fielder in history. And in 1899, while playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Sheckard played right field and set the record for double plays by a right fielder with 14. See related article on all time double play leaders. After the 1913 season, Sheckard retired. When the Reds traded

Joe Tinker Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of th ...

, creating a managerial vacancy, Sheckard warned that Tinker's replacement would have a tough job ahead. "No matter who gets Tinker's place, the new manager will have to get rid of the 'knockers' on that club before he can hope to succeed. There is no chance to win with players who think more of their own records than they do of the success of the club." In his 17-year career, Sheckard hit .274, with 56 home runs, 813 RBI, 1296 runs, 354 doubles, 136 triples, and 465 stolen bases in 2122 games played. In 1911, he set the single season record for walks with 147 before it was broken by

in 1920. He is one of only four players in the modern era (1900-present) to hold this record along with Ruth,

Jack Crooks John Charles Crooks (November 9, 1865 – February 2, 1918) was an American Major League Baseball infielder born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He played mainly as a second baseman, but did spend some time playing third base for four teams during his e ...

, and Barry Bonds. Sheckard is also the all-time leader among left fielders in assists, with 243. Sheckard died at age 68 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from injuries suffered when he was hit by a car while walking to work along a highway.

Highlights

* Twice led league in stolen bases (1899, 1903) * Led league in home runs (1903) * Led league in runs (1911) * Led league in triples (1901) * Led league times on base (1911)

References

External links

SABR Biography of Sheckard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheckard, Jimmy 1878 births 1947 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Pennsylvania National League home run champions National League stolen base champions Major League Baseball left fielders Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) players Brooklyn Superbas players Chicago Cubs players St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players Minor league baseball managers Lancaster Maroons players Portsmouth Browns players York White Roses players Chambersburg Maroons players Brockton Shoemakers players Cleveland Bearcats players People from York County, Pennsylvania Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania Pedestrian road incident deaths

Career

Highlights

See also

References

External links