Jackson Riggs "Warhorse" Stephenson (January 5, 1898 – November 15, 1985) was an American
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering sy ...
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) ...
. Nicknamed ''Old Hoss'',
Stephenson played for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...
from to and the rest of his career from to with 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 ...
. Benefiting from the offensive surge of the late 1920s and early 1930s, he retired with a career
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 ...
of .336, although he was only a full-time player from 1927 to 1929 and in 1932, with injuries and
platooning limiting his role for the rest of his career.
Early years

Born in
Akron, Alabama
Akron () is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. In 1906, the owner of a large plantation, Waller Evan Wedgworth, sold part of his land to developers, and a construction boom followed. The town was incorporated in March 1918. At the 2010 ...
, Stephenson originally played baseball and
football at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
before he started his professional baseball career.
A natural athlete who excelled in both sports, Stephenson had a good reputation at the university. Former University of Alabama president
George H. Denny described Riggs as "the embodiment of cleanliness, manliness, and courage."
He was an
All-Southern fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
in 1919 and 1920. He was nominated though not selected for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869–1919 era team.
Stephenson sustained a shoulder injury in a football game in 1920 when he dropped back and was tackled by a pair of linebackers. His injury to his right shoulder was so bad that he had to end his football career as a
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
, and as a result it greatly affected his throwing abilities.
His throwing problems made it difficult for him to turn
double play
In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs.
In Major Leag ...
s, but his hitting compensated for those fielding woes. Stephenson quit school at Alabama and immediately made the jump to professional baseball,
where he signed with the defending
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 ...
champions Cleveland Indians at the age of 23..
With the Indians
Stephenson made his major league debut on April 13, ,
and continued to play limitedly during the remainder of the season. His weak arm and throwing difficulties weakened his fielding abilities at
second base,
[Porter, Dave L., ''Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Q-Z'', Greenwood Press, Westport, Ct (2000), p. 1477.] as seen by the 17
errors he committed in the 54 games he played at the position that season. However, Riggs' hitting compensated for his fielding woes; he hit 17
doubles among his 68
hits during his 65-game season that year.
Stephenson batted .330, reaching a mark that he would frequently surpass during the rest of his professional career.
The following season, Stephenson made the transition towards playing
third base
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 scoring system us ...
in the middle of the season. In 34 games at third base, 25 at second base and three in the
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
, he committed 11 errors, a sharp improvement from the previous season.
He continued to shine at the plate, batting .339 in 86 games, with 24 doubles and 47
runs scored
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
. In , Stephenson was moved back to second base and only committed thirteen errors and had a .970
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
in 66 games.
He batted .319 for the season, finishing with 96 hits, 20 doubles and a .357
on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
. On September 14,
Frank Brower hit a line drive directly to
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...
George Burns
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...
, and
Rube Lutzke
Rube Lutzke (November 17, 1897 – March 6, 1938) was an American professional baseball player. He played from 1923 to 1927 with the Cleveland Indians. He primarily played third base.
According to the Saturday May 4, 1920 Montreal Standard (p.&nb ...
and Stephenson were tagged out to complete Burns'
unassisted triple play
In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) und ...
,
only the fourth in major league history.
Stephenson had limited playing time again in , only playing in 71 games. However, he batted a career-best .371 with 89 hits and a .439 on-base percentage.
He was sent to the outfield the following year, and played only 19 games before being sent back down the
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...
s by the Indians in order to make him a full-time outfielder.
During 1925, Riggs was optioned to the Kansas City AA team, which then traded him to Indianapolis (AA) for
Johnny Hodapp
Urban John Hodapp (September 26, 1905 – June 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He primarily played second base, and was a solid c ...
.
In 1926, Cubs manager
Joe McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
was able to acquire Stephenson to produce "one of the hardest hitting outfields of all time".
With the Cubs

Stephenson again played limitedly with the Cubs, but spent the whole season at left field.
In , he batted .338 with 95 hits in just 82 games.
The following season, his seventh in the majors, was the first complete season of his career. Riggs had a remarkable season, playing in 152 games while batting .344 with a .415 on-base percentage. His batting average was fourth-highest 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 ...
, and he led the league in doubles with 46. He finished fifth in the league in hits and seventh in the league for scoring 101 runs.
Riggs also placed 20th in the NL
Most Valuable Player Award voting. He also earned the nickname "''Old Hoss''" because of his reliability as a hitter that season.
Stephenson followed up with another solid performance in , batting .324 with 90
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
and 166 hits.
was a career year for Stephenson. He batted .362 on the year and had a .445 on-base percentage, both fifth highest in the league.
He finished with seventeen
home run
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 ...
s, 110 RBIs and 179 hits. He also placed 23rd in the league's MVP Award voting this time around.
Stephenson teamed up with fellow Cubs outfielders and future
Hall of Famers
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Kiki Cuyler and
Hack Wilson
Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive statur ...
to be the only outfield trio in NL history to drive in over 100 runs each on the season.
Stephenson was most useful in the
1929 World Series
The 1929 World Series featured the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics playing against the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs. The Athletics defeated the Cubs in five games to win the Series.
This Series featured the At ...
. Despite the Cubs' loss in five games to
Connie Mack
Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
and 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, the team became the Oakl ...
,
Stephenson collected six hits, including a double in
Game 3 and knocked in one and scored three runs.
Stephenson followed up with another solid, but shortened season in . In 109 games, he collected 125 hits and had a career-high .367 batting average.
Eighty games into the following season, on July 27, Stephenson broke his ankle in a game against the
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 ...
at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...
.
Danny Taylor, along with Cuyler and Wilson, saw significant playing time for the Cubs in left field in 1930 and 1931.
Stephenson came back in and collected the most
at bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s of his career (583) and hit .324 with a team leading 85 RBIs. He hit a career-best 49 doubles, which gave him the third-highest total in the league. He also finished fifth in the NL MVP Award voting.
The Cubs won the pennant over the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
in four games, but were then swept by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
in the
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 ...
that featured the Babe's "
called shot home run". Stephenson collected eight hits, drove in four runs and batted a team-high .444 in the series.
Stephenson's playing time slowly declined.
He played only 97 games the following season, but maintained a solid .329 average with 114 hits.
was Stephenson's final year in the major leagues. He spent most of his time as a
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...
, but only batted a career-low .216 in 74 at bats. The Cubs released him on October 30.
Stephenson subsequently enjoyed a somewhat illustrious minor league career.
Later years and legacy
Stephenson spent the next five years playing and
managing in the minor leagues, but called it quits for good in .
After baseball, he went back to
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
, and he opened up a successful
car dealership
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maint ...
in
Tuscaloosa and a
lumber yard in
Akron
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...
.
He was inducted into the
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in . He died at the age of 87 at his Tuscaloosa home after suffering a long illness.
Stephenson has one of the highest lifetime batting averages of eligible 20th-century players not in the
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...
, although his relatively short career (1310 games, 4508 at bats) was barely long enough to qualify for official recognition among the career leaders; other than
Shoeless Joe Jackson, every other 20th-century player with a .325 batting average exceeded 6000 at bats. Stephenson's .336 career batting average, 22nd highest in major league history, is also tied with that of
Bill Madlock's for the highest in Cubs team history. Stephenson hit over .300 (12 times total) in all but two of his seasons in the big leagues. Stephenson received a total of only eight votes in his four years on the Hall of Fame ballot in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He was on the
Veterans Committee ballot again in recent years, but failed to pick up any votes.
Career
Career Statistics:
''Hitting''
His lifetime
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
was .969. As a left fielder, his primary position, his fielding percentage was .978.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
References
External links
Riggs Stephenson- Baseballbiography.com
Baseball AlmanacAlabama Sports Hall of Fame*Interview with Riggs Stephenson conducted by
Eugene Murdock on August 4, 1977, in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Riggs
1898 births
1985 deaths
People from Hale County, Alabama
Cleveland Indians players
Chicago Cubs players
Major League Baseball left fielders
Baseball players from Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide baseball players
Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Kansas City Blues (baseball) players
Indianapolis Indians players
Birmingham Barons players
Birmingham Barons managers
Helena Seaporters players
Montgomery Rebels players
Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Baseball players from Cleveland
Baseball players from Chicago