Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh (February 5, 1891 – November 17, 1977) 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 professional ...

player

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

and manager. He 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), ...

(MLB) from 1910 through 1927, during which he played for the

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Washington Senators and

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 ...

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

discovered Peckinpaugh as a high school student, and signed him to his first professional contract. Peckinpaugh debuted with the Naps, who traded him to the Yankees in 1913. He managed the Yankees for 20 games in 1914 and was the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for the remainder of his time with the club. The Senators acquired Peckinpaugh, where he continued to play until his final season, spent with the White Sox. After his playing career, Peckinpaugh managed the Indians from 1928 through 1933 and in 1941. He was also a minor league baseball manager, and served in the

front office The front office is the part of a company that comes in contact with clients, such as the marketing, sales, and service departments. The term has more specific meaning in different industries. Types General offices The function of front office ...

of the Indians and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

from 1942 through 1947. Peckinpaugh was considered an excellent defensive shortstop and strong leader. When he managed the Yankees, he became the youngest manager in MLB history. He was named

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Most Valuable Player in 1925. He played in the

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 ...

three times: winning the

1924 World Series The 1924 World Series was the championship series of the 1924 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, the series was played between the American League (AL) pennant winner Washington Senators and the National League (NL) pennan ...

with the Senators, losing the 1921 World Series with the Yankees, and losing the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates defe ...

with the Senators.

Early life and amateur career

Peckinpaugh was born in Wooster, Ohio, the third child of Frank and Cora Peckinpaugh. His father played semi-professional baseball. At a young age, the Peckinpaughs moved from Wooster to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He attended East High School, where he played

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

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 ...

. There,

of the

, who lived in the same neighborhood, discovered Peckinpaugh. Lajoie signed Peckinpaugh to a contract with a salary of $125 per month ($ in current dollar terms) when he graduated from high school in 1910.

Playing career

Cleveland Naps and New York Yankees (1910–1921)

The Naps started Peckinpaugh's professional career by assigning him to the New Haven Prairie Hens of the Class-B

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 ...

. He was promoted to the Naps to make his

(MLB) debut in September 1910, playing in 15 games for the Naps at age 19. The Naps assigned Peckinpaugh to the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the Class-A Pacific Coast League for the entire 1911 season. He appeared in 70 games for the Naps in 1912, batting only .212. On May 25, 1913, after giving the starting shortstop position to

Ray Chapman Raymond Johnson Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American baseball player. He spent his entire career as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by pitcher Carl Mays and died ...

, the Naps traded Peckinpaugh to the

for Jack Lelivelt and Bill Stumpf. The Naps soon regretted the trade. With the Yankees, Peckinpaugh emerged as a team leader. He was named captain in 1914 by manager

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 ...

. Chance resigned with three weeks remaining in the season, and Peckinpaugh served as player–manager for the remainder of the season; at the age of 23, he became the youngest manager in MLB history. He finished the 1914 season fifth in the AL with 38 stolen bases. Roger Peckinpaugh, New York AL (baseball) (LOC)

Roger Peckinpaugh, New York AL (baseball) (LOC)

Bill Donovan was hired as the Yankees manager in the offseason. In the 1914–15 offseason, Peckinpaugh considered leaving the Yankees to join the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

, as he received offers from the

Chicago Federals (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Buffalo Blues The Buffalo Blues were a professional baseball club that played in the short-lived Federal League, which was a minor league in 1913 and a full-fledged outlaw major league the next two years. It was the last major league baseball team to be bas ...

, and Indianapolis Hoosiers. After considering the offer from Chicago, he chose to stay with the Yankees, and received a three-year contract worth $6,000 ($ in current dollar terms) per season from 1915 through 1917. He resigned with the Yankees in 1918. Peckinpaugh tied

Buck Weaver George Daniel "Buck" Weaver (August 18, 1890 – January 31, 1956) was an American shortstop and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Weaver played for the 1917 World Series champion White Sox, then ...

for fourth in runs scored (89) and several players for eighth in home runs (7) in the 1919 season. By the 1921 season, Peckinpaugh was one of three players, along with

Wally Pipp Walter Clement Pipp (February 17, 1893 – January 11, 1965) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Pipp played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds between 1913 ...

and Bob Shawkey, remaining with the Yankees from the time Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston purchased the team in 1915. The Yankees reached the

in 1921, losing to the New York Giants. Peckinpaugh set an MLB record for most assists in one game by a shortstop with nine.

Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox (1922–1926)

Peckinpaugh was traded twice during the 1921–22 offseason. On December 20, 1921, the Yankees traded Peckinpaugh with Rip Collins, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn and $100,000 ($ in current dollar terms) to 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

for Bullet Joe Bush,

Sad Sam Jones Samuel Pond "Sad Sam" Jones (July 26, 1892 – July 6, 1966) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox between 191 ...

and

Everett Scott Lewis Everett Scott (November 19, 1892 – November 2, 1960), nicknamed "Deacon", was an American professional baseball player. A shortstop, Scott played in Major League Baseball for 12 seasons as a member of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees ...

. On January 10, 1922, Pecknipaugh was involved in a three-team trade involving the Red Sox, Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics, where Peckinpaugh joined the Senators, Joe Dugan and Frank O'Rourke went to the Red Sox, and the Athletics acquired

Bing Miller Edmund John "Bing" Miller (August 30, 1894 – May 7, 1966) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1922 to 1936, most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics ...

, José Acosta, and $50,000 ($ in current dollar terms). Though team owner

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

had indicated that Peckinpaugh would serve as his player-manager at the time of the trade, he named

Clyde Milan Jesse Clyde Milan (; March 25, 1887 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional baseball player who spent his entire career as an outfielder with the Washington Senators (1907–1922). He was not a powerful batter, but was adept at getting o ...

player-manager for the 1922 season instead. This distracted Peckinpaugh, and along with injuries, limited his performance. Chance, now managing the

, attempted to acquire Peckinpaugh from the Senators before the 1923 season. Remaining in Washington, Peckinpaugh rebounded during the 1923 season with timely hitting and solid fielding. Griffith appointed Bucky Harris as manager before the 1924 season. Harris considered Peckinpaugh his "assistant manager". Peckinpaugh was a key contributor in the

, in which the Senators defeated the Giants. He won the League Award as the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1925, edging

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

by a small margin. In the

against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Peckinpaugh committed eight errors in the seven-game series, an MLB record. On January 15, 1927, the Senators traded Peckinpaugh to the

for Leo Mangum and

Sloppy Thurston Hollis John "Sloppy" Thurston (June 2, 1899 – September 14, 1973) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, and Brooklyn Robins/D ...

. However, his playing time with the White Sox was limited by a leg injury. He acted as an advisor to manager Ray Schalk. After one season with the White Sox, Peckinpaugh retired as a player.

Managerial and executive career

Peckinpaugh was named manager of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

after the 1927 season. After the Indians fell from first to fifth place during the 1933 season, the Indians fired Peckinpaugh, replacing him with Walter Johnson. After being considered for the Detroit Tigers' managerial vacancy that offseason, Peckinpaugh took over as manager of the Kansas City Blues of the Class-AA American Association for the 1934 season. Out of professional baseball in 1935, Peckinpaugh joined

Lew Fonseca Lewis Albert Fonseca (January 21, 1899 – November 26, 1989) was an American first baseman, second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox. While no ...

on nationwide baseball tours, which involved the viewing of a movie and technical demonstrations. He applied to be manager of the

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During ...

for the 1938 season, but the job was given to

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New Y ...

. Peckinpaugh returned to professional baseball as the manager of the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class-A1

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

in 1939. The Indians rehired Peckinpaugh as their manager in 1941, signing him to a two-year contract; team president Alva Bradley, who fired Peckinpaugh in 1933, promised Peckinpaugh full cooperation and minimal interference. After the 1941 season, he was promoted to vice president, later serving as Cleveland's

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

(GM) and president. When Bill Veeck bought the Indians in July 1946, he brought Harry Grabiner and Joseph C. Hostetler with him to serve in the front office. Peckinpaugh and Bradley resigned. Peckinpaugh succeeded Harris as GM for the

of the International League in the 1946–47 offseason. He was fired after the 1947 season, as the team's directors felt Peckinpaugh didn't sufficiently develop a farm system.

Managerial record

Personal

Peckinpaugh was considered a calm baseball player and manager, who did not let his temper get the best of him. After the end of his baseball career, Peckinpaugh worked as a manufacturer's representative for the Cleveland Oak Belting Company. He retired in 1976 at the age of 85. Suffering from cancer and heart disease, he was brought to a hospital for a respiratory condition, and died on November 17, 1977, in Cleveland. He was buried in Acacia Masonic Memorial Park in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. His wife, Mildred, died five years earlier. Together, they had four sons. Peckinpaugh was survived by two of his sons.

References

External links

Roger Peckinpaugh
- Baseballbiography.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peckinpaugh, Roger 1891 births 1977 deaths Cleveland Indians players Chicago White Sox players New York Yankees players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Baseball managers Cleveland Indians managers New York Yankees managers Cleveland Indians executives Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from Ohio People from Wooster, Ohio Minor league baseball managers New Haven Prairie Hens players Portland Beavers players Major League Baseball player-managers Kansas City Blues (baseball) managers Baseball coaches from Ohio