George A. Turner (February 13, 1867 – July 16, 1945) was an American

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) ...

player for 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 ...

and St. Louis Browns.

Career

Born in

West New Brighton, Staten Island West New Brighton (also called West Brighton) is a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City, situated along the central North Shore. The neighborhood is bordered by New Brighton to the east, Port Richmond to the west, the waters of the Kill ...

, Turner began his baseball career as a paid player in the Buffalo Amateur Baseball League of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

. "Tuck" broke into 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 ...

with the

in 1893 at the age of 26, but as was a common practice in baseball at the time, Turner lied about his age, claiming to be only 20. In 1894, Turner was part of one of the greatest outfields in baseball history; Turner, Billy Hamilton,

Sam Thompson Samuel Luther "Big Sam" Thompson (March 5, 1860 – November 7, 1922) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906. At , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known ...

, and

Ed Delahanty Edward James Delahanty (October 30, 1867 – July 2, 1903), nicknamed "Big Ed", was an American professional baseball player, who spent his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers, Cleveland Infants, Philadelphia ...

all batted over .400 on the year. Turner, with a .418 batting average, finished second in the league that season to

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwauke ...

, who also happened to set the single-season batting average record of .440. The Phillies were unable to win the pennant, however, as the late 1890s were the peak of the powerful Original Baltimore Orioles and

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

. Turner had another great season in 1895, leading the league with a .411 batting average through August. By the tail end of 1895 and the beginning of 1896, Turner had lost his batting touch and was traded to St. Louis for

Duff Cooley Duff Gordon "Sir Richard" Cooley (March 29, 1873August 9, 1937) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned 17 seasons, 13 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cooley, an outfielder and first baseman, had a career batt ...

. According to accounts in the defunct sports journal '' The Sporting Life'', Turner had contracted

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

, suffering recurrent attacks in 1897 and 1898. On October 3, 1897, while playing for St. Louis, Turner accomplished a rare feat by hitting an inside-the-park grand slam. Turner's .418 batting average in 1894 is ninth all-time in single-season batting average and also the highest in a single season for a switch hitter. From 1899 to 1901, Turner played with the Hartford Indians in the Eastern League, replacing the legendary

Louis Sockalexis Louis Francis Sockalexis (October 24, 1871 – December 24, 1913), nicknamed the Deerfoot of the Diamond, was an American baseball player. Sockalexis played professional baseball in the National League for three seasons, spending his entire c ...

in the field his first season. Turner's post-majors career also included stops in the Western League,

Connecticut League The Connecticut League, also known as the Connecticut State League, was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut. The league began as offshoot of the original Connecticut State League, which dates back as far as 1884 ...

and

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 ...

. Turner was inducted into the

Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame The Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame mission is "to recognize those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Staten Island sports history, and by virtue of their accomplishments, service, or force of character, have enriched that ...

in 2011. His award was accepted by his grandson Richard Turner.

External links

Boxscore from Giants game against Amos RusieToledo Mud Hens All Time Roster

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Tuck 1867 births 1945 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from New York (state) Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns (NL) players St. Paul Apostles players St. Paul Saints (Western League) players Reading Actives players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Hartford Indians players Wooden Nutmegs players Toronto Royals players Norwich Reds players New Bedford Whalers (baseball) players People from West New Brighton, Staten Island Plainfield Crescent Cities players

Career

See also

External links

References