Francis Carter Bancroft (May 9, 1846 – March 30, 1921) was an American

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist ...

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the ...

, Cleveland Blues,

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and

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 ...

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 ...

, as well as 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 ...

of the American Association. His greatest success came with the Grays, when he won the

1884 World Series In baseball, the 1884 World Series was a post-season championship series between the Providence Grays of the National League and the New York Metropolitans of the American Association at the Polo Grounds in New York City. While the 1884 post- ...

with a record of 84–28 (.750 winning percentage). His stops with teams were short, usually in an interim role, with his last stop being with the Reds after

Bid McPhee John Alexander "Bid" McPhee (November 1, 1859 – January 3, 1943) was an American 19th-century Major League Baseball second baseman. He played 18 seasons in the majors, from until , all for the Cincinnati Reds franchise. He was elected to the B ...

left the job as manager. Bancroft was 56 years old at the time. (*According to the book Opening Day, Bancroft was the Reds business manager from 1892 - 1920. He was a promotional genius and in 1895, with the help of Reds captain Buck Ewing as a local draw, the first parade included a marching band and was headed up by a three-car streetcar. The streets were a congested mass of humanity, and "Banny" knew this was the start of something BIG for the Queen City!) Bancroft served in the

8th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment The 8th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 8th New Hampshire Infantry was organized at Camp Currier, in Manchester, New Hampshire, and mustered in for ...

of the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, and was wounded in New Orleans. After recovering, he returned to his regiment and achieved the rank of

bugler The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air and ...

. He died in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

at age 74.

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com
– career managing record *Opening Day ''Erardi & Rhodes'' ''Roadwest Publ.2004'' 1846 births 1921 deaths Baseball managers Worcester Worcesters managers Detroit Wolverines managers Cleveland Blues (NL) managers Providence Grays managers Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) managers Cincinnati Reds managers Philadelphia Athletics (AA) managers People from Lancaster, Massachusetts Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Union army soldiers {{Baseball-manager-stub