Samuel Lester "Slam" Agnew (April 12, 1887 – July 19, 1951) 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. 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), ...

from 1913 through 1919 for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

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 ...

and Washington Senators. Agnew batted and threw right-handed.

Life

He was born in

Farmington, Missouri Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located about southwest of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,217. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. Farmington was established i ...

on 12 April 1887. Agnew debuted with the

on April 10, . In 105 games his rookie season, Sam hit .208 with 2

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 24 RBI, stealing 11 bases, in 307 at bats. In , Agnew hit .212 with 16 RBI in 115 games. That season he finished 23rd in the balloting for Most Valuable Player, losing out to Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics. In , he slipped down to a .203 average with 19 RBI in 104 games. On December 16, , the

purchased Agnew from the

. Serving as the backup to regular backstop

Pinch Thomas Chester David "Pinch" Thomas (January 24, 1888 – December 24, 1953) was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 through 1921 for the Boston Red Sox (1912–17) and Cleveland Indians (1918–2 ...

, Agnew hit .209 (14-for-67) with 7 RBI in 40 games. During a late season Red Sox game, a fight broke out after

Carl Mays Carl William Mays (November 12, 1891 – April 4, 1971) was an American baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. During his career, he won over 200 games, 27 in 1921 alone, and was a member of four Wor ...

hit a Washington player with a pitch. The benches emptied and subsequently Agnew punched out Senators manager

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 ...

. Agnew was arrested and was suspended by the American League President for five days. Splitting time behind the plate with Thomas in , Agnew hit .208 with 16 RBI in 85 games. Although he was considered the regular catcher in , Agnew struggled at the plate, hitting just .166 with a career-low 6 RBI in 72 games. His offensive woes continued during the

1918 World Series The 1918 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1918 season. The 15th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. The ...

, as he went hitless in nine at bats over four games against the Chicago Cubs. In January , Agnew was purchased from the

by the Washington Senators. In just 42 games, Agnew hit a career-high .235 with 10 RBI. He played his final major league game on September 28, 1919. After his playing career, he went on to become a pitching coach for the Cubs and also a minor league coach. In a seven-season career, Agnew posted a .204

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 ...

with two

s and 98 RBI in 563 games played. Agnew died in

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

, at the age of 64. After his Major League career ended, he continued to play in the minor leagues with the San Francisco Seals and

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

of the Pacific Coast League until 1929. He was later a manager in the minors for the San Diego Aces of the California State League (1929), Augusta Wolves of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(1930 & 1938) and Palatka Azaleas of the Florida State League (1937). He died on 19 July 1951 and is buried in the Chapel of the Chimes in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson

Family

His brother was

Troy Agnew Troy Pipkin Agnew (August 8, 1890 in Farmington, Missouri, USA – November 23, 1971 in Richmond County, Georgia Richmond County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,549. It is one of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Sam 1887 births 1951 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Boston Red Sox players St. Louis Browns players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Santa Clara Broncos baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Topeka Jayhawks players Omaha Rourkes players Vernon Tigers players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Hollywood Stars players San Diego Aces players People from Farmington, Missouri Baseball players from Missouri