James Holdsworth (July 14, 1850 – March 22, 1918), nicknamed "Long Jim", was a professional baseball player who played

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 ...

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 seven different teams during his nine-season career from to . Holdsworth died in his hometown of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and is interred at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

. He played in the National Association,

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 ...

, and briefly the American Association. In 1877, the ''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' described Holdsworth as "a good honest player, an excellent bat and a fine outfielder." Holdsworth went through an elaborate wind-up in preparation to hit pitches, such that the press dubbed him "the dancing batter." Holdsworth carries the distinction of the lowest

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

rate in history; he walked just 8 times in 1,489

plate appearance 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 ...

s. (A walk was not earned with four balls until 1889, for several years in the 1870s taking as many as nine.) In 1885, he played for the Rochester Flour Cities of the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eigh ...

. After his retirement, he continued to play in old-timers' games.

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Major League Baseball shortstops Morrisania Unions players Cleveland Forest Citys players Brooklyn Eckfords players New York Mutuals players Philadelphia White Stockings players Hartford Dark Blues players Troy Trojans (NL) players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Baseball players from New York City Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 1850 births 1918 deaths Pittsburgh Allegheny players New Bedford (minor league baseball) players New Haven (minor league baseball) players Hartford (minor league baseball) players Brooklyn Atlantics (minor league) players Trenton (minor league baseball) players Rochester Flour Cities players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub