Denny Mack
Denny Mack | |
---|---|
First baseman / Shortstop | |
Born: Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania | March 14, 1850|
Died: April 10, 1888 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | (aged 38)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 6, 1871, for the Rockford Forest Citys | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 27, 1883, for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys | |
MLB statistics | |
Games played | 373 |
Runs scored | 309 |
Batting average | .228 |
Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Teams | |
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Dennis Joseph Mack (né McGee; March 14, 1850 – April 10, 1888) was a professional baseball player who was a first baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball for eight seasons from 1871 to 1883. He played for seven different teams, including as a player-manager for the Louisville Eclipse in 1882.
Career
Mack spent three years at Villanova University, then joined the Rockford Forest Citys of the National Association for the 1871 season. The National Association was the first fully professional baseball league, and Rockford compiled a 4-21 record in its 25 games, finishing ninth in the nine-team league before folding at the season's end. Mack appeared in all 25 of his team's games, leading the team with 34 runs scored, 8 walks, and 12 stolen bases.
Mack went on to play the next three seasons in the National Association. During the last of these, 1874, he was involved in accusations of game fixing.[1] On August 20, umpire Billy McLean came forward with allegations that a game between Mack's Philadelphia Whites and the Chicago White Stockings had been thrown by the Philadelphia club.[1] McLean claimed that Philadelphia's John Radcliffe had approached him with an offer of $175 in exchange for making calls favorable to the White Stockings.[1] According to McLean, Radcliffe named four other players as complicit in the fix: Mack, Candy Cummings, Bill Craver, and Nat Hicks.[1] The board of directors for the Whites met to consider these charges on September 1, and they elected not to pursue the matter further with any players but Radcliffe, describing McLean's claims as "hearsay".[1] The stockholders of the club voted to expel Radcliffe on September 8, by a count of 26–15, but he appealed to the judiciary committee of the National Association, and was reinstated on March 2, due to what Henry Chadwick characterized as procedural errors during the course of his expulsion.[1]
Mack then spent 1876 and 1880 in the National League, and concluded by spending two more seasons in the American Association in 1882 and 1883. During the 1882 season, he also served as manager of the Louisville Eclipse, leading the second-place club to a 42-38 record. He led the NA in walks in 1872, and ranked among his league's leaders in stolen bases three times. Mack ended his career with a .228 batting average, .273 on-base percentage, and .271 slugging percentage in 373 games played and 1505 at bats.
Death
He suffered a fit on the evening of April 9, 1888, and remained unconscious until dying of his injuries at 6 a.m. the next day.[2]
See also
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Ginsburg, Daniel E. The Fix Is In: A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals, McFarland, 2004, pp. 24-26. ISBN 0-7864-1920-2
- ^ "Death of a Short Stop", The New York Times, April 11, 1888, p. 5.
- 1851 births
- 1888 deaths
- 19th-century baseball players
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball shortstops
- Buffalo Bisons (NL) players
- Louisville Eclipse players
- Louisville Eclipse managers
- Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players
- Philadelphia White Stockings players
- Pittsburgh Alleghenys players
- Rockford Forest Citys players
- St. Louis Brown Stockings players
- Major League Baseball player-managers
- Minor league baseball managers
- Indianapolis Blues (minor league) players
- Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players
- Buffalo (minor league baseball) players
- Utica Pent Ups players
- Springfield (minor league baseball) players
- Washington Nationals (minor league) players
- Allentown Dukes players
- Lancaster Ironsides players
- Baltimore Monumentals (minor league) players
- Baseball players from Pennsylvania
- Sportspeople from Easton, Pennsylvania
- Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania
- Accidental deaths from falls