Joshua M. Devore (November 13, 1887 – October 6, 1954), was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player who played

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 ...

in the major leagues from –. He would play for 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 ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

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 Boston Braves. Devore resided in Seelyville, a small community in

Vigo County, Indiana Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994 . Its county seat is Terre Haute. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolit ...

during his early pro baseball career, getting his start in what was known as the Trolley League in Terre Haute, Indiana. Due to his quickness, Josh was known as "The Seelyville Speed Demon." In his prime, Devore was an expert bunter and

baserunner In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base ( home plate) to score a run. Batters strive ...

who was adept at drawing walks, and he was an effective leadoff man for the Giants' pennant-winners of 1911 and 1912. In the off-season, he owned and operated a boxing gym in Fontanet, Indiana. Devore stood at just 5'6".

Career

As a teenager, Devore played for the Meridian Ribboners of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

, hitting poorly the two years he was there. However, in 1908 he moved the Eastern League and hit .290 for the Newark Indians. He joined the

in September, just in time to watch them lose a playoff game to the

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 locate ...

and finish second in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

. Devore's first year as a regular was 1910, which was also the only year he hit .300 in the majors. In 1911, he finished second in the league with 61 stolen bases. In the

1911 World Series The 1911 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1911 season. The eighth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics against the National League (NL) champion ...

, however, Devore went 0 for 3 in steal attempts and batted .167. In the following year's World Series, he improved to .250, but the Giants lost for the second straight time. Devore was traded to the

, then to the

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

. In 1914, he was traded once more, to the Boston Braves; he arrived in time for the "Miracle Braves" stretch run which saw them win the National League pennant and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

. However, Devore batted .227 for Boston and was released the following January. He spent 1915 in the

Ohio State League The Ohio State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in numerous seasons between 1887 and 1947, predominantly as a Class D level league. League franchises were based in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Histo ...

and played in various minor leagues until 1924. He was a player-manager for Grand Rapids of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

in 1920 and 1921. In a 7 year, 601 game major league career, Devore compiled a .277

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

(520-for-1874) with 331 runs, 11

home runs 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 is ...

, 149

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

and 160 stolen bases. Devore died at the age of 66 and was buried at New

Marshfield Cemetery Marshfield may refer to various places. In some instances, the name is a corruption of march, meaning a border. In the United Kingdom *Marshfield, Gloucestershire, England *Marshfield, Newport, Wales In the United States

*Marshfield, Indiana * ...

New Marshfield, Ohio New Marshfield is a census-designated place in central Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 316 at the 2020 census. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45766. It is located along State Route 56 west o ...

References

External links

Josh Devore
- Baseballbiography.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devore, Josh 1887 births 1954 deaths Baseball players from Ohio Boston Braves players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Reds players Grand Rapids Billbobs players Grand Rapids Homoners players Grand Rapids Joshers players Huntington Babes players New York Giants (NL) players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball outfielders Maysville Angels players Meridian Ribboners players Minor league baseball managers Newark Indians players People from Hocking County, Ohio Topeka Savages players Chillicothe Babes players

Career

See also

References

External links