Charles Hodes (c. 1848 – February 14, 1875) was an American professional baseball player who played as a

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 catc ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

in the National Association for three seasons from 1871 to 1874. A Brooklyn native, Hodes played one season each for the Chicago White Stockings, Troy Haymakers, and

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President An ...

. He had a career

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 ...

of .231 in 63 total games before dying from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1875.

Early life

Hodes was born to German immigrants in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in about 1848, though the exact date of his birth is unknown. His family lived in Manhattan until about 1853, when they moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. There, Hodes would eventually play

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

with multiple amateur teams.

Amateur career

In 1868, Hodes joined the hometown

Brooklyn Eckfords Eckford of Brooklyn, or simply Eckford, was an American baseball club from 1855 to 1872. When the Union Grounds opened on May 15, 1862 for baseball in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it became the first enclosed baseball grounds in America. Three clubs c ...

, playing for them in 1869 as well.

Chicago White Stockings (1870-1871)

Hodes moved to Chicago before the 1870 season, and joined the city's first professional baseball team, the Chicago White Stockings. The White Stockings claimed the national championship after defeating the powerful

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

in October, although the rival

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American baseball club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players that yea ...

disputed that claim. Hodes is listed in an 1870 city directory: he lived at 101 Adams Street and his profession was simply "ball player." 1870chicagoclub

Hodes returned to the White Stockings in 1871, when the team joined the first all-professional league, the National Association. Hodes's first National Association game with Chicago came on May 8, against the

Cleveland Forest Citys The Forest Citys were a short lived professional baseball team based in Cleveland in the early 1870s. The actual name of the team, as shown in standings, was Forest City, not "Cleveland". The name "Forest Citys" was used in the same generic sty ...

at the

Union Base-Ball Grounds Union Base-Ball Grounds was a baseball park located in Chicago. The park was "very visibly downtown", its small block bounded on the west by Michigan Avenue, on the north by Randolph Street, and on the east by railroad tracks and the lake shor ...

in Chicago. Playing

for the team, he had two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, two

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, and two

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 ...

(RBI) in Chicago's 14–12 victory. Though Hodes was Chicago's main catcher during the season,

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 ...

Jimmy Wood also used him as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

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 ...

, and

. The White Stockings' season was interrupted on October 8, when the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

consumed their ballpark, uniforms, and equipment. Other teams loaned them supplies to finish the year, and they played the rest of their regularly scheduled games on the road. Despite these challenges, the White Stockings remained in contention for the league title until the final day of the season (October 30), when they faced the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

in a game that would determine the champion. Catching that day, Hode was hitless in three

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 as Philadelphia won 4–1. In 28 games in 1871, Hodes batted .277 with 32 runs scored, 36 hits, two

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 (the only ones of his career), and 25 RBI.

Troy Haymakers (1872)

The White Stockings suspended operations after the 1871 season, but Wood was hired to manage the Troy Haymakers for 1872. He brought several of his Chicago players along, including George Zettlein, Bub McAtee, and Hodes. The catcher only appeared in 13 of the team's 25 games, but he continued to demonstrate his versatility by playing third base, shortstop, and outfield. In 13 games, Hodes batted .242 with 17 runs scored, 15 hits, and 10 RBI. Hodes left the Haymakers in June 1872, and returned to Chicago. He joined a local amateur team called the Aetnas. Ironically, one of Hodes's first games with his new club was played on June 16, 1872, when the Haymakers came to Chicago to play an exhibition game at the newly built

23rd Street Grounds 23rd Street Grounds, also known as State Street Grounds and 23rd Street Park, and sometimes spelled out as Twenty-third Street Grounds, was a ballpark in Chicago, in what is now the Chinatown, Chicago, Chinatown district. In this ballpark, the C ...

. Troy beat the Aetnas, 12-2. Hodes eventually jumped to the Aetnas' cross-town rival, the Actives. Hodes's decision to leave the Haymakers proved to be a wise one, since the club went broke and disbanded in late July 1872. Six of Troy's former players joined the

for the rest of the 1872 season, but Hodes was not signed by the team. At some point, Hodes took a job with the Chicago Post Office. An 1873 city directory lists Hodes as a letter carrier living at 454 State Street. Two brief items in the

Chicago Evening Post The ''Chicago Evening Post'' was a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from March 1, 1886, until October 29, 1932, when it was absorbed by the ''Chicago Daily News''. The newspaper was founded as a penny paper during the technologica ...

, published in April and May 1873, state that he had been named the captain of the post-office clerks' baseball club.

Brooklyn Atlantics (1874)

In 1874, Hodes went back home to Brooklyn and joined the National Association's

. This time, he was used primarily as an outfielder, though he also played the positions of catcher,

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 ...

, and

first base 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 ...

. However, Hodes battled fatigue throughout the year, which affected his performance on the field. On July 13, he was hitless in five at bats in a 6–4 victory over the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford was being played in a fever pitch. ...

at the Hartford Ball Club Grounds. After that game, manager Bob Ferguson decided his player needed rest and gave him the remainder of the season off. Though Hodes did not play any more games in 1874, he did

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 ...

four contests, the last of these coming on October 3 when the Atlantics played the

Baltimore Canaries The Baltimore Canaries were a professional baseball club in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, National Association from 1872 to 1874. History The team was usually listed as Lord Baltimore in the box scores of the day, and ...

. In 21 games, he batted .148 with eight runs scored, 12 hits, and seven RBI. His three-season totals in the NA included a .231 batting average, 57 runs scored, 63 hits, and 42 RBI in 62 games.

Illness and death

Hodes's fatigue would only get worse over the offseason, as he was diagnosed with

in mid-October. Ferguson held an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

at the

Union Grounds Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862 in sports, 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15. It was the first baseball park ...

in Brooklyn on November 12 to raise funds for the player's recovery, and a benefit "hop" was held for him later that day, though the ''Brooklyn Eagle'' reported that the latter "was not so successful as might have been desired." Ferguson and Hodes's teammates also went to his house several times to encourage the ailing ballplayer. However, Hodes died of the disease on February 14, 1875. He is interred at Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

."New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W7Q-6FB : 10 February 2018), Charles Hodes, 14 Feb 1875; citing Death, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,323,716.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodes, Charlie Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball center fielders Brooklyn Eckfords (NABBP) players Chicago White Stockings (NABBP) players Chicago White Stockings players Troy Haymakers players Brooklyn Atlantics players Baseball players from Manhattan 1840s births 1875 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) American people of German descent

Early life

Amateur career

Chicago White Stockings (1870-1871)

Troy Haymakers (1872)

Brooklyn Atlantics (1874)

Illness and death

See also

References

External links