David Daniel Eggler (April 30, 1849 – April 5, 1902) was a

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 ...

. He was born in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

. Eggler's career began in the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball (spelled as two words in the 19th century). The first convention of 16 New York City area clubs was held at Smith's Hotel, 462 Broome ...

with the

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 ...

in , and was a member of the Mutuals when they joined the professional National Association in . He went on to play for the

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

and

Athletic of Philadelphia Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ...

in the NA. After the formation of 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 ...

, Eggler remained with Philadelphia, then went on to play for the Chicago White Stockings,

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

before his career ended. Dave Eggler now holds an unfortunate record, as his 2,544

at-bats 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, b ...

and 2,593

plate appearances In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

are the most by any player with 0 career home runs, statistically making him the game's least prolific home run hitter. However, because his career began before the formation of the modern National League, the record isn't universally recognized as Eggler's. Also, the rarity of the home run during his career means that his inability to hit one was understandable; in 1871 (the first year of his career), his entire league combined to hit 47 home runs - a single-season home run mark that has been equalled or surpassed by 62 different individuals a combined 107 times since then. He died after being hit by a

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

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1849 births 1902 deaths Major League Baseball center fielders Brooklyn Eckfords (NABBP) players New York Mutuals (NABBP) players New York Mutuals players Philadelphia White Stockings players Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players Philadelphia Athletics (NL) players Chicago White Stockings players Buffalo Bisons (NL) players Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Baseball players from Brooklyn Accidental deaths in New York (state) Railway accident deaths in the United States Philadelphia Athletic players Buffalo (minor league baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players {{baseball-center-fielder-stub

See also

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