Thomas Carl Stouch (December 2, 1869 – October 7, 1956) was an American

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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

who played four games with the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the

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 ...

in 1898. He is best known for "discovering"

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century. His .356 career batting average ...

who played against him while Jackson was in a mill team in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 35,308, making ...

in 1907.

Playing career

Stouch was born in

Perrysville, Ohio Perrysville is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Ashland County, Ohio, Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area was first permanently settled in 1810, ...

in 1869. His professional career started in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 1892. He also played for a minor league team in Charleston in 1892. He moved on to

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

of the Pennsylvania State League in 1895. He moved around the Minors playing with four teams in 1896. He played in the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

in 1897 and 1898 before landing a four-game stint with the Louisville Colonels in 1898. He had a .313

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 is ...

, with 6

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

in 16

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s during his stint in the major leagues. He went back to the minor leagues playing in the Virginia League, the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its inaugu ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

, and the Tennessee-Alabama League before becoming

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of the

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–19 ...

Shoeless Joe Jackson

Stouch first discovered Jackson while playing an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against Jackson mill team in Greer, South Carolina in 1907. His team couldn't hold Jackson off the bases and Stouch made sure Jackson moved up the Minor Leagues. He got the chance to sign Jackson when he was offered the job of managing the Spinners in 1908. He quickly signed Jackson for $75 a month, more than Jackson made playing in the mill leagues. When 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, they became the Oakland ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

offered $900 for his contract, Stouch was the one who convinced Jackson who originally hesitated to play for the Athletics.Fleitz p. 20

Later career

Stouch was player-manager for the Greenville Spinners for four seasons from 1907 to 1912, with the exception of an eight-game stint with Augusta of the Sally League in 1911. He retired to Lancaster, where he died at the age of 86.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stouch, Tom 1869 births 1956 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball second basemen Louisville Colonels players San Antonio Missionaries players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Charleston Sea Gulls players York White Roses players Lancaster Chicks players Lancaster Maroons players Pawtucket Phenoms players Pawtucket Tigers players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Taunton Herrings players Scranton Miners players Richmond Blue Birds players Selma Christians players Atlanta Firemen players Decatur (minor league baseball) players Greenville Mountaineers players Greenville Spinners players Augusta Tourists players Furman Paladins baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers People from Perrysville, Ohio Baseball players from Ohio Paterson Silk Weavers players