Bobby Wallace (baseball)

Bobby Wallace
Shortstop / Pitcher / Manager / Umpire
Born: (1873-11-04)November 4, 1873 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: November 3, 1960(1960-11-03) (aged 86) Torrance, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 15, 1894 for the Cleveland Spiders
Last MLB appearance
September 2, 1918 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Batting average	.268
Hits	2,309
Runs batted in	1,121
Teams
As Player Cleveland Spiders (1894–1899) St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals (1899–1901, 1917–1918) St. Louis Browns (1902–1916) As Manager St. Louis Browns (1911–1912) Cincinnati Reds (1937)
Career highlights and awards
2× .300+ seasons 2× 100+ RBI seasons
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1953
Election Method	Veteran's Committee

Rhoderick John "Bobby" Wallace (November 4, 1873 – November 3, 1960) was a Major League Baseball infielder, pitcher, manager, umpire and scout.

Career

Wallace was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He made his major league debut in 1894 as a starting pitcher with the Cleveland Spiders. After a 12–14 record in 1895, Wallace played outfield and pitcher in 1896. In 1897 Wallace's was an everyday player as he became the team's full-time third baseman, batted .335 and drove in 112 runs.

In 1899, Wallace moved to the St. Louis Perfectos (renamed the Cardinals in 1900) and changed position to shortstop. He hit .295 with 108 RBI and 12 home runs (second in the league behind Buck Freeman's 25). Wallace changed teams again in 1902, when he joined the St. Louis Browns.

His playing time began decreasing a decade later, with his last season as a regular coming in 1912. Wallace played in just 55 games in 1913, and never played that much again for the rest of his career. In July 1917, he returned to the National League and the Cardinals, and played in just eight games that season. After batting .153 in 32 games in 1918, Wallace retired with a .268 career batting average, 1059 runs, 34 home runs, 1121 RBI and 201 stolen bases. He played his last game on September 2, 1918 at the age of 44 years and 312 days, making him the oldest shortstop to play in a regular-season game. The record was broken by Omar Vizquel on May 7, 2012.

Wallace was generally recognized as the AL's best shortstop from 1902 to 1911, when he served briefly as Browns player-manager.

He played for 24 seasons, and holds the record for the longest career by a player who never played in a World Series.

When his playing time diminished, Wallace managed and umpired. He managed the 1911 and 1912 St. Louis Browns and part of the 1937 Cincinnati Reds season, compiling 62 wins and 154 losses for a .287 winning percentage. He also managed the minor league Wichita Witches in 1917. Upon retiring, he also became a scout.

Wallace was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

See also

• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball player–managers

External links

• Bobby Wallace (baseball) at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• The Deadball Era