Wally Pipp

Wally Pipp
First Baseman
Born: (1893-02-17)February 17, 1893 Chicago, Illinois
Died: January 11, 1965(1965-01-11) (aged 71) Grand Rapids, Michigan
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 29, 1913 for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1928 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
Batting average	.281
Home runs	90
Runs batted in	998
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1913) New York Yankees (1915–1925) Cincinnati Reds (1926–1928)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion: 1923 American League pennant: 1921, 1922 American League home run champion: 1916, 1917 3 seasons with a .300+ batting average 2 seasons with 100+ RBI

Walter Clement Pipp (February 17, 1893 – January 11, 1965) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball, now best remembered as the man who lost his starting role to Lou Gehrig at the beginning of Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

Major League career

After playing 12 games with the Detroit Tigers in 1913, Pipp graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1914. The Chicago-born Pipp then joined the New York Yankees for the 1915 season, and would play 136 or more games for them every season until 1925 (except 1918, when his playing was curtailed by injury), hitting .282 with a little power, even after the end of the "dead ball" era. Pipp did lead the American League with 12 home runs in 1916, and again with 9 in 1917. Pipp was the first Yankee to win a home run title. Pipp scouted and asked Miller Huggins to sign young Lou Gehrig from Columbia University, whom Pipp personally helped develop as a young first baseman.

Pipp's removal from the Yankees' starting lineup

On June 2, 1925, Pipp was removed from the Yankees' starting lineup and replaced with Gehrig. The story has become baseball legend:

In the most popular version, one supported in later accounts by Pipp himself (although he wasn't always consistent on the subject, either), Pipp arrived at Yankee Stadium one day in 1925 with a terrific headache. He asked the Yankee trainer for a couple of aspirin. Manager Miller Huggins noted the scene and said, "Wally, take the day off. We'll try that kid Gehrig at first today and get you back in there tomorrow."

As Gehrig went on to play 2,130 consecutive games, Pipp did not get back in there tomorrow. He is later quoted to have said, "I took the two most expensive aspirin in history."

Other sources suggest Yankee manager Miller Huggins may have actually benched Pipp and other veterans in order to "shake up" the slumping lineup. A month later, Pipp received a skull fracture when he was hit by a practice pitch from Charlie Caldwell, an event that had also been mistakenly linked to his initial benching. Pipp was later traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1926 season.

Later career

Wally Pipp was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1926. He played 372 games for the Reds over the next three seasons before retiring. Pipp played in Old Timers games as a Yankee. He was later hired by Sports Illustrated as one of the magazine's first writers. His 226 sacrifices as a Yankee remain a team record.

Pipp died at age 71 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Grand Rapids.

Career statistics

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SH	HBP	AVG	OBP	SLG
1,872	6,914	1,941	311	148	90	974	997	596	551	272	38	.281	.341	.408

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Wally Pipp at The Baseball Biography Project
• Urban legend about Wally Pipp's headache (from Snopes.com)
• Wally Pipp at Find a Grave

Preceded by Braggo Roth

American League Home Run Champion 1916-1917

Succeeded by Babe Ruth & Tilly Walker