William Alexander Lange (; June 6, 1871 – July 23, 1950), also known as "Little Eva",Robbins, p. 194 was an American

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 ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, who played his entire seven-year career for the Chicago Colts and Orphans from to . During his time in the Majors, he once led 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 ...

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 ...

s, and was among the seasonal leaders in several other offensive categories including

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

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 ...

. Lange was noted for having a combination of great speed and power, especially for his size. His , frame was considered large for his era.Snyder, p. 101 He is best known for retiring from baseball during the prime of his career to get married, as his future father-in-law forbade his daughter to marry a baseball player. Despite the short-lived marriage, he refused all offers to return as a player. He became a successful

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

after his retirement from baseball. In addition to his success in real estate and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

, he became a leading figure in Major League Baseball's efforts to generate interest in the game worldwide. He was enlisted by the leading baseball figures of the day to assist in establishing leagues in several European countries, that could eventually compete against American teams, while also

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

for undiscovered talent.

Early life

Born in the Presidio DistrictNelson, p. 51 of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, he ran away from home while still in

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

to live with his brother in

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

. It was from there that he moved up to play

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the Seattle Reds of the Northwestern Baseball League in the early 1890s. When the Northwestern League folded, Lange return the Bay area to play for the Oakland Colonels of the California League.Nelson, p. 52 He played one season for the Colonels, then was signed by the

Chicago Colts The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining t ...

of the

Major League career

Lange made his Major League debut on April 27, for the Colts, and enjoyed a successful inaugural Major League season. He scored 92 times, hit eight

s, had 88

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 ...

(RBIs), while also finishing seventh in

s with 47, and batted .281. This was the only time he batted under .300 during his Major League career. In the field that season, he played at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

, in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

and center field. He did not start playing center field exclusively until the following season. Lange continued his success in by raising his batting average to .328 and finishing fifth in the league with 65 stolen bases. Lange achieved his highest league rankings in . His .389 batting average was fifth in the league and is still the top individual season average in Chicago Cubs history.Snyder, p. 86 He also finished second in the league in stolen bases with 67, fifth in home runs with 10, fifth in

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

with .456, hit 16

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 ...

, scored 120 runs, and batted in 98 RBIs. Lange had several notable moments during the season. On July 4, he stole five bases in one game against the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

,Snyder, p. 89 although it was two stolen bases short of the record of seven set by

George Gore George F. Gore (May 3, 1854 – September 16, 1933), nicknamed "Piano Legs", was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for 14 seasons, eight for the Chicago White Stockings, five for the New York Giants, one for the St. ...

and Billy Hamilton. During a game on August 31, he entered baseball lore with a feat that he never actually performed. The game was scoreless in the bottom of the 10th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

when Lange made a diving catch in center field to keep the game scoreless. Later in the inning, Chicago's

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

George Decker George Henry Decker (16 February 1902 – 6 February 1980) was a general in the United States Army, who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962. Early life Decker was born in Catskill, New York, and attended Lafayett ...

attempted to field a thrown ball from third baseman Barry McCormick, but it bounced off and broke his wrist instead. In an effort to get Decker to the hospital adjacent the

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

, his teammates knocked down several wooden slats of the outfield

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

to expedite his journey. However, the two events were confused and it became legend that Lange had crashed through the fence making that acrobatic catch in tenth.Snyder, p. 90 Lange finished the season with a .326 batting average, while also stealing 84 bases, second in the league, and finished eighth in league with 16 triples. His success continued into the season, as he batted .340, scored 119 runs, and led the league in stolen bases for the only time in his career. His production dropped his last two seasons in the Majors as his runs scored fell to 79 in and 81 in , although he still kept his batting averages of .319 and .325 respectively. While he was very popular, his career as a baseball player was not without controversy. He was ejected from a game on at least two occasions, one of which occurred on May 23, when he had an on-field fight with Washington Senators second baseman John O'Brien.Snyder, p. 91 On September 16, 1899, in a game against the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Ed Swartwood called the game because of darkness with Brooklyn up by two runs. Lange, and other Chicago player surrounded Swartwood and proceeded to "knock him around", with Lange notably "tweaking" the umpire's ear.Snyder, p. 198

Retirement

Lange finished his career on October 15, 1899, having announced a few days earlier his intention to retire after the season. His team played a doubleheader that day, winning 7–0 against the St. Louis Perfectos, then losing to the Louisville Colonels later that day in a game shortened by darkness. He retired from the game at age 28, during the prime of his career, so he could marry a woman whose father forbade her to marry a baseball player. In the eyes of the 19th century public, baseball players were popular, but were often looked upon as low class. Lange's future wife was from his hometown of San Francisco, and her family was very well-to-do. Also, with the prospect of entering into the world of real estate and insurance, he could make much more money than he did as a ball player.Nelson, p. 56 Though the marriage ended in a divorce a short time later, he would not take any offers to return to Major League Baseball, despite Chicago's salary offer of $3,500 that would have made him the highest paid player in the league. Although his career lasted only seven years, he finished as the decade leader among 1890s Chicago players in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.Snyder, p. 64 In 813 games over seven seasons, Lange posted a .330

(1056-for-3202) with 691 runs, 39

home runs 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 ...

, 579 RBI, 400

stolen bases 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 a ...

and 350

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

. He finished his career with a .932

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

Post-career

Lange became successful in both real estate and

in his hometown of San Francisco after he retired from baseball. Lange is also credited in several sources, as being the person who discovered future Chicago Cubs

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 ...

, and Hall of Famer,

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 and New York Yankees from 1898 through 1914. He also served ...

, after having watched him play for the local

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

team during the off-season of 1897. Lange had recommended Chance to the team owner, Jim Hart, but Hart disputed this claim, saying that Henry Harris had recommended Chance to him while Harris was an owner of a San Francisco team in the fall of 1897.Simon, p. 91 In , the California State League, a minor league, was declared by organized baseball to be an "outlaw" league. Organized baseball accused the league of harboring players from the Majors Leagues who had violated the

reserve clause The reserve clause, in North American professional sports, was part of a player contract which stated that the rights to players were retained by the team upon the contract's expiration. Players under these contracts were not free to enter into ano ...

to join a number of their teams. The league had become a rival to the already established

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL), who, after being an "outlaw" league themselves, had signed the National Agreement with organized baseball, agreeing that they would not harbor blacklisted or banned players from the Major Leagues. The National Commission decided that the best way to deal with this situation was to dissolve this outlaw league. They did this by lifting the blacklist on any player already in the State League, which would create competition among all known leagues, for these players. This commission enlisted Lange, who used his influence with the sports editors in the local area to speed up the process. The attempt worked as the PCL successfully lured the

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

team into joining their league, with many of the players soon to follow. Later,

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...

of the

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 ...

enlisted Lange as his chief European baseball

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 ...

, hoping to discover any hidden talent in that untapped market. In ,

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of th ...

, the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

president enlisted Lange as his chief organizer of baseball teams in Europe, mainly in England, France, Belgium, and Italy. Johnson's plan was for Lange to evaluate talent and establish an International Baseball League that could compete against the

pennant winning team in an effort to generate greater interest in the game. Lange became part of the board of directors at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, which helped fund the expedition. Additionally, Washington Senators 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 Re ...

donated $40,000 worth of equipment to assist in supplying the new league. Lange died at the age of 79 in his hometown of San Francisco, and is interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 U ...

. Two of his nephews played Major League ball as well, Ren, and George "Highpockets" Kelly. George later gained induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in .

References

;General *Nelson, Kevin;Greenwald, Hank. ''The Golden Game: The Story of California Baseball''. Heyday Books. . *Robbins, Michael. 2004. ''Ninety Feet From Fame''. Carroll & Graf Publishers. . *Seymour, Harold. 1960. ''Baseball''. United States: Oxford University Press. . *Simon, Thomas P. 2004. ''Deadball Stars of the National League''. Brassey's. *Snyder, John. 2005. ''Cubs Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the Chicago Cubs Since 1876''. Emmis Books. . ;Specific

External links