John Albert Niehoff (May 13, 1884 – September 8, 1974) was a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for four clubs from the 1913 to 1918 seasons. He batted and threw right-handed.

Playing career

A native of

Louisville, Colorado The City of Louisville () is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 21,226 at the 2020 United States census. Louisville began as a mining community in 1877, experienc ...

, Niehoff entered the majors in 1913 with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, playing for them two years before joining the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(1915–1917),

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1918) and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(1918). He was a classic line-drive hitter and steady

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

partner for

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

s Buck Herzog (Reds) and Dave Bancroft (Phillies). His most productive season came in 1916 with Philadelphia, when he posted career-highs in runs (65) and

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(61), while leading the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

hitters with 42 doubles. He also was a member of the Phillies team that lost the

1915 World Series The 1915 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1915 season. The 12th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Philadelphia Philli ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. In a six-season career, Niehoff was a .240 hitter (489-for-2037) with 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 207 RBI in 581 games, including 210 runs, 104 doubles, 19

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and 71

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

Post-playing career

Following his playing days, Niehoff enhanced his baseball career as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and

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 ...

. He was one of the first managers selected by the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

, along with fellow former big leaguers

Johnny Gottselig Johannes “Johnny” Gottselig () (June 24, 1905 – May 15, 1986) was a professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1928 and 1945. He was the second player bo ...

and

Josh Billings Henry Wheeler Shaw (April 21, 1818October 14, 1885), better known by the pen name Josh Billings, was a 19th-century American humorist and lecturer. Biography Shaw was born in Lanesborough, Massachusetts on April 21, 1818. His father was ...

and minor leaguer Eddie Stumpf. From 1943 to 1944 Niehoff managed the

South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix F ...

, a team that included talented players as Bonnie Baker,

Doris Barr Doris "Dodie" Barr (August 26, 1921 – July 12, 2009) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 145 lb., Barr batted and threw left-handed. She was born in Starbuck, M ...

and Dottie Schroeder (the only woman who played every season of the AAGPBL). Additionally, Niehoff coached for the 1929 New York Giants; scouted both for the

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

(1948–1949) and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(1961–1968), and spent 1952 as the

Mobile Bears The Mobile Bears were an American minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama. The franchise was a member of the old Southern Association, a high-level circuit that folded after the 1961 season. Mobile joined the SA in 1908 as the ''Sea Gu ...

general manager. As a minor league manager, Niehoff compiled an 1824–1713 record in 24 seasons between 1922 and 1954, including 15 years in the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) 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 B (1902-19 ...

and three league championship titles for the Mobile Bears (1922),

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its inaugu ...

(1925) and

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

(1935). Niehoff died in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, at the age of 90.

Sources

1943 South Bend Blue Sox

AAGPBL History

Baseball Historian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niehoff, Bert 1884 births 1974 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Atlanta Crackers managers Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Colorado California Angels scouts Chattanooga Lookouts managers Cincinnati Reds players Des Moines Boosters players Indianapolis Indians players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Los Angeles Angels scouts Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball second basemen Mobile Bears players New York Giants (NL) coaches New York Giants (baseball) players New York Yankees scouts Omaha Rourkes players People from Louisville, Colorado Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players Salt Lake City Bees players Seattle Rainiers players Saginaw Jacks players 20th-century American sportsmen Selma Cloverleafs players

Playing career

Post-playing career

See also

Sources