Claud Lester (Deek) Derrick was a

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), ...

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

. He was born on June 11, 1886 in

Burton, Georgia The town of Burton, Georgia now lies underwater, covered by Lake Burton. The town was located at the confluence of Dicks Creek and the Tallulah River in Rabun County, Georgia and was established in the first half of the 19th century as a result ...

. Claud attended college at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. He played five seasons in his career, for 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, the team became the Oaklan ...

in -, 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) Amer ...

in , and the

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

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in . He had 79 career hits in 326 at-bats with one

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 ...

and 33 RBI. He was discovered by Athletics' first baseman and captain Harry Davis in 1909 while playing for the Greenville Spinners in the

Carolina Association The Carolina Association was a minor league baseball league that played from 1908 to 1912. The Carolina Association played as a six–team Class D level league. The league consisted of teams based in North Carolina and South Carolina, with the s ...

when Davis and a group of Athletics players were in Greenville. The following year, Athletics' owner Connie Mack signed him to the Major Leagues from Greenville shortly before the

1910 World Series The 1910 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1910 season. The seventh edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics against the ...

, which the Athletics won. Derrick died on July 15, 1974 in

Clayton, Georgia Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,003 at the 2020 census. The county seat of Rabun County, it is in the Blue Ridge Mountains. History The area that eventually became Clayton was called the Dividings ...

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* 1886 births 1974 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Philadelphia Athletics players New York Yankees players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Greenville Spinners players Macon Peaches players Columbia Gamecocks players Charleston Sea Gulls players Knoxville Appalachians players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians players Seattle Rainiers players Toledo Mud Hens players People from Rabun County, Georgia {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub