Asa Evans Stratton (February 10, 1853 – August 14, 1925) was an American newspaper editor, lawyer, and baseball player who played one game for the

Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist ...

in 1881.

Early life

Stratton was born on February 10, 1853, in

Grafton, Massachusetts Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated ...

, to Cyrus W. Stratton and Eliza A. (Bosworth) Stratton.

Baseball

Stratton attended

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where he played on the school's baseball team and was managing editor of the school newspaper, ''Libre Braunensis''. He graduated in 1873 and went on to attend the

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

and play semipro baseball for a number of teams including Live Oak and the Rolestone nine in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

. On June 17, 1881, Stratton appeared in a game at shortstop for the Worcester Ruby Legs. In that game, he had one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

in four

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s. He was the first Brown alumnus to play in the majors.

Newspaper editor

Outside of baseball, Stratton practiced law in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and Fitchburg. In 1885 he ended his practice when he became the proprietor of '' The Gardner News''. From 1895 to 1902 he was the editor of the ''Fitchburg Morning Sun''. From 1905 to 1925 he worked for ''

Fitchburg Sentinel The ''Sentinel & Enterprise'' is a morning daily newspaper published in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with a satellite news bureau in Leominster, Massachusetts. The newspaper covers local news in Fitchburg, Leominster and several nearby towns in nor ...

'' as city editor (1905 to 1918) and editorial writer (1918 to 1925). He was also a well known music critic.

Personal life

On April 10, 1878, Stratton married Ada F. Bigelow. They had one child, Helen Florence Stratton. Stratton resided in Fitchburg for 47 years and was a member of the city's Library Board of Trustees.

Death

Stratton died in his home at 80 Highland Ave. in Fitchburg on August 14, 1925. The cause of death was listed as "shock". He is interred at Riverside Cemetery in Grafton.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Asa 1853 births 1925 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen American music critics American newspaper people Baseball players from Worcester County, Massachusetts Boston University School of Law alumni Brown Bears baseball players Major League Baseball shortstops Massachusetts lawyers Baseball players from Fitchburg, Massachusetts People from Grafton, Massachusetts Worcester Worcesters players 19th-century American lawyers