John Charles Hendricks (April 9, 1875 – May 13, 1943) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played parts of two seasons in

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) ...

as an

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 c ...

, but is best known as the manager of 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 ...

from 1924 to 1929.

Playing career

Hendricks' brief playing career consisted of half a game with 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

and two with the

Chicago Orphans 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 1902, and 32 games with the Washington Senators in 1903 following the death of Ed Delahanty.

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, he started managing in the minor leagues, eventually getting his major league opportunity when

Miller Huggins Miller James Huggins (March 27, 1878 – September 25, 1929) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the ...

was fired by the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1917 season. After a 51–78 record and a last-place finish, Hendricks quit. In the 1924 season, the Reds had reported to spring training in Orlando, Florida when their manager Pat Moran died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanie ...

. Hendricks, who had resigned his post as athletic director of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

to become a Reds coach that year, took over the club. His best finish as manager was second place in the 1926 season, behind his former team, the Cardinals. He was fired in 1929 after a seventh-place finish. His overall managerial record was 520–528 (.496). Hendricks held a law degree from

Northwestern University Law School Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

and was admitted to the bar in the state of Illinois. Hendricks was one of a select group of major league managers to hold a law degree or pass a state bar. Other include James Henry O'Rourke,

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

(his successor in St. Louis),

John Montgomery Ward John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English descent, ...

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won Nat ...

Muddy Ruel Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel (February 20, 1896 – November 13, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and general manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1934. One of the top defensive c ...

, and

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A ...

Death

Hendricks died in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

at age 68.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, Jack St. Louis Cardinals managers Cincinnati Reds managers Major League Baseball right fielders New York Giants (NL) players Butler Bulldogs baseball players Chicago Orphans players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Columbus Senators players Spokane Indians players Springfield Babes (baseball) players Fort Wayne Billikens players Indianapolis Indians managers Baseball players from Illinois Sportspeople from Joliet, Illinois 1875 births 1943 deaths