Lewis Sidney Riggs (April 22, 1910 – August 12, 1975) was an American

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1934),

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 ...

(1935–40), and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

(1941–42 and 1946). He helped the Cardinals win the

1934 World Series The 1934 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals' " Gashouse Gang" won in seven g ...

, the Reds win the 1939 National League pennant and

1940 World Series The 1940 World Series matched the 1940 Cincinnati Reds season, Cincinnati Reds against the 1940 Detroit Tigers season, Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series. The victory secured the Reds the second champions ...

and the Dodgers win the 1941 NL pennant. He was named to the 1936 National League All-Star team. His eighth-inning pinch single off

Red Ruffing Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

scored teammate

Cookie Lavagetto Harry Arthur "Cookie" Lavagetto (December 1, 1912 – August 10, 1990) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1934 to 1947. Lavagetto started his ma ...

in the opening game of the

1941 World Series The 1941 World Series, the last before the entry of the United States into the Second World War, matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and the ...

, before Ruffing and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

held on for a 3-2 victory. Riggs never quite achieved the same level in his baseball career after leaving the Dodgers in 1942 in order to serve his country in the Army Air Force during World War II.

In 10 seasons he played in 760 Games and had 2,477 At Bats, 298 Runs, 650 Hits, 110 Doubles, 43 Triples, 28 Home Runs, 271 RBI, 22 Stolen Bases, 181 Walks, .262 Batting Average, .317 On-base percentage, .375 Slugging Percentage, 930 Total Bases and 37 Sacrifice Hits. He died of cancer in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

at the age of 65.

Sources

1910 births 1975 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Alamance County, North Carolina St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players National League All-Stars Brooklyn Dodgers players Shawnee Robins players St. Joseph Saints players Columbus Red Birds players Montreal Royals players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Newark Bears (International League) players People from Mebane, North Carolina Baseball players from Durham, North Carolina {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub